Amos did not wake up to warm gentle sunshine this morning, the blinds were drawn and with the bookshelves in front of the windows it was quite dim inside of their hideaway. He had woken early, for as much as he liked their new place, he still wasn’t confident that they would be safe and secure here. At least my bed is so much more comfortable than towels on the floor, that alone is worth it.

  Amos called over to Alanah who was sleeping on the floor on the other side of the office underneath a desk. “It’s my den” she had joked but for Amos it was a reminder of what they still were, just two scared kids trying to find a safe place to live.

  The idea of creating a fort or a den was pretty appealing he had to admit, especially when it got dark. Luckily for them the building was pretty quiet with no odd sounds or creepy noises. “Let’s get moving” he said, “it’s still early and now is a great time to strike.” “I hope you mean a breakfast place” Alanah joked or at least Amos thought it was a joke, so he smiled as he responded.

  “No, after maybe but what I mean is that now is a really good time to go get our cash from the apartment. Filthy Phil is a big drinker so he is not a morning person. I just need five minutes in there to get our stuff.” “How are you going to do that? Won’t he have changed the lock by now?” Amos shrugged. “I don’t know, it’s a possibility for sure but I do have a plan b just in case so let’s get going.”

  It took them just over twenty minutes at a brisk pace to get to his old building. I like the sound of that, “old building,” I don’t want to live here ever again if I can help it. Amos scaled the gas pipe and Alanah rapidly followed him.

  He decided he liked being out in the early morning, there seemed to be not that many troublemakers out on the streets, hardly any at all. From now on he resolved to try to do most of his errands in the morning, hopefully he could avoid a lot of potential conflict this way and the city did not seem so overly hostile in the morning light either.

  Once they climbed through the window Amos felt some relief, Mr. Phil had not figured out how he was coming or going just yet, maybe they were going to have a lot of luck this morning. This sentiment changed as soon as he opened the hallway door and saw the big padlock and latch screwed to his apartment door and the door frame.

  He really wants me to keep out, hopefully he did not bother tear apart the inside looking for my stuff, but we will soon see. “What now, are we shooting our way in?” Alanah looked at him with a mischievous look. She was suddenly brimming with a ton of confidence since she had escaped her aunt and dropped Mr. Phil with the baton. He wasn’t so sure that she was joking so before she pulled out her gun he said, “let me show you plan b.”

  Alanah was skeptical when Amos pulled the grate back and climbed into the main air supply shaft. “ahhhh…. are you sure that is safe, that you know where you are going? Amos’s slightly muffled, slightly distant voice called back “I already have my light on and I am on my way, just keep watch and listen for surprises. Don’t be afraid to run, I can take care of myself.” It was odd but Amos felt a small bit of pride when he was back in the vents. He was not proud of everything that he had done lately but he was quite proud of himself for figuring ways to survive on his own.

  Crawling through these vents for the first time was the catalyst that had set everything else in motion. It was the first thing he had done to take control of his future. For better or worse he had been making an effort to survive on his own. He hadn’t had time to even consider all that he had done lately and thinking about it now it hardly seemed real.

  He took a quick look at his old apartment through the vents and shook his head in disgust. Someone, Filthy Phil almost certainly, had kicked over and scattered everything he had left in the apartment. He saw that the fridge had been emptied and left open and unplugged.

  All the kitchen cupboards were open and it looked like the apartment had been searched. I should have known better, this guy is just a thief and of course he is going to take whatever he can find. A minute later Amos was in the apartment, he was holding his breath and hoping at the same time that Mr. Phil was as sloppy a thief as he was with his appearance.

  He carefully lifted the toilet lid from the top of the tank and set it aside. He reached in and unscrewed the old white float that stopped the tank from filling. It felt heavy, this was a good sign, He squeezed the white plastic oval and the slit he had made along the back opened up. It was just above where the float rested on the water inside the tank. There were years of water staining that showed him exactly where this point was and he made his cut just above, so the inside of the float had remained dry.

  It did not matter that much as the clear zip lock bag that held their money, and his few photographs and letters would have kept it all dry anyways but at least it had not filled with water and allowed the toilet to run constantly. That would have attracted attention, and he might have lost everything.

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  He put the toilet back together and after one last look around for anything he might want he levered himself back into the vent and pulled the cover back after him. He had started to slowly back down the short run of ductwork to the main supply intersection when he heard the jingle of keys and a familiar voice that filled him with sudden dread. “YOU THERE, hey you at the door, what do you want there?”

  It was Mr. Phil, and he must have suddenly appeared from the main door at the other end of the hall. His voice had started out a bit faint, but Amos could tell from his heavy footfalls that he was covering distance rapidly and was already in the middle of the hall. His pulse started thudding and his hearing suddenly felt very sharp, very acute and he could hear his ragged breathing. It had to be Alanah that he had seen but how far away was she? Could she escape in time?

  “Relax mi hombre, relax. I am looking for my Auntie. I call her Tia Garcia. You know what floor she is on? I have not been here since I was like really young, a long time ago.” Amos couldn’t help but marvel at how calm and cool Alanah sounded. She had even managed to change her voice in an instant and sound like she had a Latin influence to her voice. “She’s on the next floor up, 306, what do you want with her?” Mr. Phil’s voice was not as urgent now but it sounded suspicious.

  “Nothing much, it was my birthday and she’s taking my shopping for my gift but she say she wanna go early before it gets too late. I knew I was on the wrong floor, thanks man, I’m gonna go get my Tia and then get my gift.” Amos heard the stairwell door open and then Alanah dash up the stairs before Mr. Phil could say or do anything else.

  Wow, she is good. Lucky too that he never saw her yesterday when she took him down from behind. Every time Amos told himself he was lucky his stomach did a little turn, sooner or later he would need some luck and what happens then if he is just out of luck? That is a problem you can’t solve so just let it go. Amos remained frozen in the vent above.

  Somewhere just below he could hear Mr. Phil now stepping heavily in the hallway. I bet his leg still hurts a fair bit, good…he deserves it. Amos heard his old landlord pull and shake the padlock a few times before stepping heavily down the hall towards the main door. When he heard the thunk of the door closing he quickly made his way down the main shaft and into the landing.

  “Pssstttt” A familiar but hushed voice called out from the landing above. “Hey, come up here and be quick will you?” Amos looked up to see Alanah motioning up the stairwell. “The big fat ogre isn’t here, come on, hurry up.” Alanah disappeared from view leaving Amos no choice.

  He cautiously climbed up the stairs to the third floor. Alanah was waiting for him at the hall door and just beyond her was Mrs. Garcia standing at the door of her open apartment. “Vamos, chico, está bien, vamos.” She was waving her large arm at him, guiding him to her open door. Her dark hair was up in curlers, and she was still wearing an old and very faded teal dressing gown, but she still projected a lot of authority. He did as he was told.

  “Amos, so good to see you and I’m so sorry about your mama, how you been keepin, how you managing?” Amos stood inside her living room, packed full of bright colours and all manner of furnishings but still tidy and comfortable. “It’s a long story but I am ok now, thanks for asking.” “Your lady friend here says you are hiding from Mr. Phil, what’s up with him? Is he trying to rob you?” “I don’t have much to rob but he is trying his best. We,….I mean, I don’t live here anymore, I just came back to get the last of my stuff.”

  Over the next half an hour, helped by some warm toast and some tea, Amos managed to explain to Mrs. Garcia what he knew about Mr. Phil and how he wanted to help.

  He did not mention that he was crawling through the air ducts, he thought it would be too hard to explain and he was worried that she would see him as a thief. I am a thief, no better than Filthy Phil stealing from old people. As Mrs. Garcia went on a long, long tirade about all of her suspicions about Mr. Phil, Amos once again fought his internal struggle with what he had done and how he could make it right.

  “Hey, hey Amos, what’s the plan. You’ve drifted off Mr. Serious, what’s wrong.” Amos blinked and looked up at the two earnest faces that had suddenly stopped their litany of complaints against Mr. Phil. “Oh nothing, it’s nothing…” he paused and went on “ it’s pretty simple I think, I will get into his apartment and surprise him and tie him up and then….”

  “Or…. or you won’t!” Alanah held up her hands in an exaggerated fashion. “What is really most likely to happen is that you might need to be rescued again. How am I gonna do that if you are locked in there with him? Huh, how am I gonna do that?” Somehow, after spending less than an hour with Mrs. Garcia she had started talking just like the older woman.

  She was now using a much louder voice, big gestures, and some dramatic facial expressions. Amos leaned back, more than a bit surprised and opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened again and said with a much smaller voice. “well…ah…. it’s, umh going to be early in the morning so I should not have too much trouble and…. if I did…...I guess…umhhh…yeah.”

  Alanah looked at him with a gentle smile and shook her head. Mrs. Garcia, unusually at a loss for words just looked on at these two strange kids with a look of open disbelief as if they were just joking around and would soon come to their senses.

  “The early bird gets the worm right?” Alanah asked in a teasing voice. “But what if this worm is a big fat sneaky slob of a worm that the early bird can’t handle? Then what? How does his ladybird friend help him then huh?”

  Alanah leaned back and said while holding up her hand “just listen to me, I have a much better plan, but we are going to need some help.