Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11 Otis had four other boys with him, each of them lugging a large sack. Otis was carrying a painting in a fancy gold frame. Oscar immediately understood: Otis and his gang had been looting — stealing from houses whose owners had fled the fire. Oscar pulled Jennie closer to him and held Bruno tight. Maybe the boys would just walk by, Oscar told himself. Maybe they were too busy with their stolen treasures to even notice them. But Otis was the type who didn't miss a thing.

His yellow-tinged eyes scanned the alley and then landed right on Jennie. He stopped short, and the other boys nearly knocked into him.

"Jennie," he said. He sounded almost friendly. Oscar studied him. The other boys looked around the same age, maybe fourteen or fifteen, and two were bigger than Otis. But Otis was the leader, without a doubt. For a second, Oscar wondered if Otis wasn't so bad. Sure, he was a crook. But maybe Otis was good to the kids in his gang. Didn't Papa say that Earless treated the guys in his gang like brothers? But Oscar saw that Jennie's hands were shaking. "Hi, Otis," she said softly. "Glad we found you," he said. "We need more hands. It's a big night for us! We won't have to work again for a year." Jennie kept her eyes on the ground. "So come on," he said. "Leave the baby with your buddy here." "I not baby," Bruno growled. At least one person here wasn't terrified of Otis. Otis smiled. "Tough kid," he said, spitting on the ground. "We'll take him along, too."

"No!" Jennie said, her face suddenly fierce. Otis raised his eyebrows. "I quit," she said. "You quit?" Otis laughed, a strange highpitched giggle that raised the hairs on Oscar's neck. He looked around at the other boys, who laughed nervously. But then his face went dead. "No one quits my gang," he said in a low voice. "You know that. That's how it works." Anger rose up in Oscar as he imagined how Otis had gotten all these kids to work for him, how he picked the ones whose parents were gone, who were starving and desperate to stay out of orphanages. How helpless Jennie must have been when her mother died! She was willing to do anything to keep herself and Bruno out of the orphanage — even work for that snake. "Leave her alone," Oscar said, louder than he'd meant to. And now Otis turned his menacing stare on Oscar. For the first time, he realized he'd seen Oscar before. He smiled chillingly.

"You!" he said. "You looking for your suitcases? You think Jennie's gonna get them back for you?" Jennie looked at Oscar in confusion, but then her face seemed to crumble. Otis put the painting down and lunged toward Jennie. "No!" Oscar cried. And before he realized what he was doing, he sprang forward and gave Otis a hard push in the chest. The thug stumbled back, stomping on the painting. Snap! It broke in half. Time seemed to stop. The four boys behind Otis backed up, as if they were afraid Otis might explode. And he did. Otis reached into his jacket and pulled out a huge knife. Jennie staggered back, and Bruno went running into her arms.

But it wasn't Jennie whom Otis came at with the knife. It was Oscar. Otis sprang forward and placed the blade against Oscar's cheek. Oscar closed his eyes, bracing himself for the slicing metal. But it was Otis's other hand that came swinging up. Smack! His rocklike fist smashed into Oscar's nose. Oscar fell to the ground, the flash of pain in his head burning brighter than the blazing sky.