Urban Outlaws Read Online Free PDF Page A

loved anything to do with the Beatles because her dad had played their music all the time. So, Charlie had named her after Paul McCartney’s song ‘Jenny Wren’.
    Wren looked up. ‘Why do they call you Obi?’
    Obi sat up in his chair. ‘It’s from Star Wars – Obi-Wan Kenobi.’ He lifted his chin. ‘Obi-Wan was a Jedi master, like me.’
    Slink tossed a can of lemonade to Wren and one to Jack. ‘That’s not why you’re called Obi. It’s short for, “Oh, be quiet, you idiot”.’
    Obi reached down by his chair, grabbed an empty can and threw it at Slink. Laughing, Slink cartwheeled out of the way and dived over the sofa in a graceful arc.
    Obi grabbed another projectile but stopped, obviously realising it was useless to try to hit the ninja-like spider monkey. He tossed the can away and looked at the screens.
    He’d hacked into the CCTV of the building Jack and Charlie were at earlier and was now watching the security guards checking the keypad lock.
    Jack flicked on the TV and turned to the news channel.
    ‘It won’t be on there that quick,’ Obi said. He was probably right. It would take days for their latest adventure to filter to the news network, if at all. ‘How much was it?’
    ‘One million,’ Jack said.
    ‘Yeah, I know that. I meant how much did we get?’
    Jack braced himself. ‘A thousand.’
    ‘ What? ’ Obi exclaimed. ‘That’s all?’
    Jack nodded, but Charlie was right. They couldn’t be too greedy. It was plenty until their next job. The only problem was Jack had no idea what their next job would be. He was the brains behind the group. They each had their own specialties and his was supposed to be the planning.
    Jack sat bolt upright. Obi was wrong, the news had spread fast. Really fast . They’d done the job less than an hour ago, and there it was. ‘Guys.’ He fumbled for the remote and increased the volume.
    A female reporter stood in front of a children’s hospital. ‘. . . is the third such mysterious donation in the last six months.’ She brushed a strand of hair from her face. ‘The amount donated this time was almost double that of the last – a million pounds.’
    Jack glanced at the others and they grinned back at him.
    The reporter continued, ‘As with the others, the gift was made by an anonymous source. Authorities and the charities involved are at a loss as to who is behind these generous donations.’ She bent towards the camera and offered a mischievous smile. ‘But long may they continue.’ She straightened up. ‘This is Susan Cross, BBC News, outside Great Ormond Street Hospital, London.’
    ‘Generous is right,’ Obi said, sounding a little disgruntled that they hadn’t kept more back for themselves.
    ‘Who’s getting the next “donation”?’ Slink said.
    Jack shrugged. They’d started small, a few quid here and there, but now they were finally in the big time. Able to make a real difference to people’s lives. Of course, the news reporters had only recently noticed the donations – the last three – because they were so big. Jack grinned to himself as he muted the TV again.
    One of the Urban Outlaws’ mottoes was, ‘Take only what others need.’ They took money from bad guys and gave it to people who needed it more. Seized the financial assets of arms dealers, thugs, gangsters, and gave it to hospitals, charities and carers. They didn’t think of it as stealing, more like ‘moving funds’. Spreading wealth round a little bit. No harm in that, right?
    Slink had once said they were like a modern-day Robin Hood and his Merry Men, but Jack didn’t think anyone would write stories about them. Besides, green tights weren’t his thing.
    The door opened and Charlie walked in, carrying several bags of shopping. Obi’s eyes lit up as she heaved them on to the dining room table. Wren jumped to her feet and started to help her unpack.
    ‘Your turn next,’ Charlie said to Jack with a pained expression. ‘I hate carrying all this stuff back