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roughly.
    “A pint,” he replied in a deep voice, hoping that the men in here would think him older and not try to intimidate him. He slowly drank the beer as he scouted out the other patrons. Most of them were drinking and talking, but a few were playing cards. The stakes didn’t look too high at one table, so he wandered over.
    “Room for one more?” he asked casually of the three men seated there.
    Two looked up and shook their heads, but he waited for the third man’s reply. It was easy to see that he was the leader of the group and the other two were merely his flunkies. After standing there for a full minute, he finally gained the attention of the older man who merely nodded to the empty seat.
    They played a few rounds of poker and he won a small amount, but not enough to buy his freedom. As he looked in their faces, a trickle of fear raced through him. He got the sense that these men were more likely playing with him than actually losing. His cards hadn’t been that good and he wondered what they were about. He decided to try for some conversation.
    “Any action going on in this town?” he asked disinterestedly. He knew that being eager was the wrong move. They’d make a meal out of him if he appeared to be some young pup seeking the attention of an older crowd.
    “Can’t say. Only been here a few hours,” the leader said evasively, but the other two shared a look.
    “Well,” Jackson stated with some confidence. “I just got here myself, but I’m looking to move on. Can’t do that without enough money. Is there a real game we can play, for real stakes?”
    Now the leader sneered slightly. “You’re gutsy, kid. You come in here and sit down at a table with men ya don’t know and try to hustle us. Now you want a piece of our action?”
    The previous fear worked returned. He could see that now that these men were not his usual crowd. They were older, more jaded. They weren’t small-time hustlers, but hardened criminals.
    “Uh, no. That is, I guess I was just looking for something exciting to do. Anyway, no harm done, right? And I’m no hustler. Just a little lucky. Anyway, if you think that way, just take your money back.”
    He rose and made to leave, but the leader reached across and grabbed his arm. “Nah, it’s your money fair and square, boy. Don’t let no one ever say that Austin Davis cheated a man out of his winnings.” The leader took the coins and poured them into Jackson’s hand. “But now you owe me a favor. Come back here around ten and then we’ll talk about some real action.”
    Jackson was trembling slightly as he left. What had he gotten himself into?

Chapter 6
     
    Dinner was a tense affair. Although Margie could sense that Jackson was on edge about something, Theo was oblivious and kept trying to pull him into the conversation. They’d managed to find him wandering around the streets and he didn’t look any worse for wear. Margie smelled alcohol and tobacco on him, but he wasn’t drunk.
    She watched as Theo continued to talk to her brother. He asked him a lot about New York, school, work and even sports, but Jackson’s answers were monosyllabic at best. Theo then changed tactics and told Jackson a bit about his own upbringing. The details were mostly similar to what he’d relayed to Margie that afternoon, but when he mentioned older siblings he saw that she was intrigued.
    “I didn’t have the benefit of a good family,” Theo began quietly. “That is, until I came out here. I was born into a poor community and left with older cousins when I was a child. I had an older brother who would stop by from time to time, but he only wanted money and it was clear that he wasn’t employed in honest labor. He always looked like someone was after him.” A frown crossed his features and Theo looked uncomfortable for a moment. Then, he changed the direction of his monologue. “I wish I’d had an older sister like Margie who cared enough about me to move across the country