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    *
    E ven though Jesse was wrapped up, the cold was getting to him. His fingers were stiff and slow inside his gloves and his ears were burning.
    A light fall of snow had quietened the world. It slowed the traffic and made people walk faster as if everything was upside down.
    The darkness was perfect for Jesse. A cloak to hide under, not that he was taking any chances. As soon as he had a target, he was going to hide his face and spring into action.
    While he waited, he did a few tricks on his skateboard. Jumps and kerb-edging. It kept him busy and stopped the chill from getting any worse. It was in the middle of a 360 that he saw a suitable victim.
    The old lady had a stoop that meant she was practically looking at the floor the whole time. In one hand she carried a walking stick. With the other, she pulled along a tartan shopping basket.
    Jesse thought about it for a moment. Considered the possibility of the stick becoming a weapon, then dismissed the idea as crazy. If this old woman swung anything, she’d end up on her bahookie in the middle of a pile of slush. No, she was the one all right. Most definitely.
    He watched her patiently. Waited for her to get up close to the cash machine. Stepped on the back of his board and let the front come up to his hand, then picked it up ready to use for his escape. He pulled the skull-print buff up from his neck so that it covered his face and then tightened his hood as a finishing touch. He walked in a small loop to make it look like he just happened to be passing and approached the lady as she keyed in the last number. It was going to be easy as pie.
    As he got close, he saw the lady’s hand shaking as it waited to take the money. Beating her to it wasn’t going to be a problem.
    The woman took her card and fumbled with it, trying to get it into a blue leather purse as the machine whirred and readied the cash.
    Jesse was poised to swoop. He was close enough to get a whiff of her lavender perfume and the scent of the peppermint she was sucking when he saw her stick slip from her arm onto the floor just as the money appeared.
    He raced in, reached over and grabbed at the stick. The old lady let out a whimper. The kind of frightened moan his gran used to let out when scary things happened on River City or Eastenders . It caught him off guard. Left him standing there with a stick in his hand, pulling the buff from his face.
    “Sorry,” he said. “But I saw your stick falling and...”
    The wrinkles of fear that had surrounded the old lady’s mouth turned into smile lines. She reached out, took the stick from him and held on to his arm for support. She didn’t seem to weigh anything at all. “Thanks,” she said. “I can’t bend down like I used to. It’s no fun getting old.”
    “No worries.” Jesse reached out and took the money from the machine. Instead of speeding away on his board, he held it out to the woman. “You don’t want the machine swallowing it up. They do that sometimes if you’re not quick enough.”
    She took the cash and put it into her purse while he stood ready to support her if there were any wobbles. When she was done, she turned her head upwards and Jesse could see the watery pools of her pale eyes. “Thank you young man. Thank you.”
    His cheeks went warm when she spoke. Then hot, in spite of the weather. “It was nothing. Can I help you with anything else?” He didn’t want to be with her any longer than he had to be, but there was no way he was leaving her unless she felt strong enough to carry on.
    “I’ll be fine. You get on with living your life. That’s what it’s for.” She gathered herself and her things together and headed for the supermarket entrance. “Merry Christmas,” she said to him as she scuttled inside through the automatic doors. “To you and yours.”
    Jesse waved. Smiled. Set his board onto the ground and pushed himself along, hoping he’d be able to come up with a plan B before morning.

Plan