Gramps is furious.
“Your plan isn’t just crazy. It’s ridiculous. There is no way that this will work!” He’s yelling. I’ve never heard Gramps yell before. He gets up from the couch, where I’ve just told him about my plan. He starts pacing around his apartment. Shuffling with his cane.
“Hang on, Gramps. Maybe I didn’t explain it right. Let me try again,” I say. “It starts with Stella picking us up from the corner of Becker and Key at six o’clock tonight. She brings us to the party. Jenna already thinks we work with her.”
“And Jenna’s already suspicious of you! Right there, your plan is cooked. You’re done!” Gramps thwacks the floor with his cane for emphasis.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. I’ve got a headache coming on. “Okay, maybe. Maybe not. Stella is bringing some other staff. I think we’ll just kind of blend in. Tank and I will keep it low-key.”
Gramps snorts. “Tank has his nickname for a reason, kiddo. He’s not exactly subtle.”
I keep going with the plan. “Anyways, once the party is really busy, Tank and I will head upstairs. Jenna said she didn’t normally wear the necklace. So she’ll probably keep it in her bedroom. Which I’m pretty sure is upstairs, because I didn’t see it on the ground floor.”
“And if someone catches you strolling around?”
“We just say that we got lost. We’re looking for the bathroom. Or something.”
“That’s a terrible line.” Gramps stops pacing. “This is all my fault. I never should have asked you to help.”
“Gramps, I can do this. You did this kind of stuff your entire life, right? Tommy said you were the greatest thief ever. This is an easy job compared to what you did.”
“And I ended up in jail!” yells Gramps. His voice is getting hoarse from shouting. “Does that not teach you anything? I thought you were smart, Mikey. Learn the lesson here!” His face suddenly drains of color. He puts a hand on his chest and takes a deep breath.
“Gramps, calm down! Remember your heart condition! Should I get your pills?”
Gramps has gone from furious to exhausted. He just…deflates. I ease him down onto the couch.
After a moment Gramps pulls out an envelope from his pocket and opens it. Then carefully takes out a necklace. The copy Tricia made for him.
“Mikey, all I’ve got now is this copy. I know it’s not the real thing. And I admit, it kills me that a scumbag like Bradley Garrett has the real one.”
“Right,” I say. “I won’t feel bad about stealing from that guy. Tricia said Bradley is a big-time drug dealer. And I’m just taking back what’s yours.”
Gramps fixes me with his fiercest wolflike stare. “You will do no such thing. Michael, I’m telling you. Stay out of this. It’s not your business. I never should have involved you. You’re not up for this. Go home. And stay home.”
His words snap out like bullets. He’s never talked to me this way.
“You want me gone?” I say.
“Stay out of my business, kiddo,” he says. Tired but firm. “You’re just a child.”
Fine.
As I walk down Becker Street toward the pick-up point, I make a decision. Gramps is wrong. I can do this. I’m not going to let people like Jin and Bradley get away with it. Sure, I’m going to have to do some things that are wrong. But the reasons feel right.