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hard squeeze made him squeal.
    â€œNot your place to ask,” Jude said, and Flea allowed himself to be dragged across to the low railing that separated the outer court from the inner. Only when they were there did Jude loosen his grip a little.
    â€œI’m curious,” he said. “What on earth did you think you were doing?”
    â€œWhat do you care?” Flea said.
    He looked properly at the man with rust-colored hair. He had a thin, horsey face with long teeth. There was a star-shaped scar in the middle of one cheek and he appeared to have lost most of his teeth on that side of his face.
    â€œAbout you? Nothing. But to be honest, I’d stick my head in boiling oil before I handed anyone over to the Temple Police, even my worst enemy.”
    â€œIf you don’t let me go, I’ll be your worst enemy!” Flea tried to kick him but could not reach.
    The grip tightened again.
    â€œAll right, all right. I’m one of the Temple Boys,” Flea said. “We’re a gang. The boys on the bridge you helped—they were Big and Snot. The one who’s all hunched over, that’s Crouch. The pretty one is Halo. I’m—”
    â€œYou’re Flea.”
    â€œHow did you know my name?”
    â€œMagic—what else? Actually, on the way here your friend Big was telling me about his gang. Apparently, all he has to do is snap his fingers and you’ll do anything he asks.” Long-toothed smile. “Now, can I let you go so we can talk? All right? Good.”
    Flea flexed his hand while Jude put the money bag safely inside his satchel.
    Jude rubbed his face and it sounded like a rock scraping on gravel. “Bottom of the heap, are you?”
    â€œYes,” Flea said reluctantly.
    â€œFinding it hard?”
    â€œI guess.”
    â€œI know all about that,” Jude said. “Although my case is slightly different.” Flea looked at him with interest.
    â€œYou see, even though I’m the outsider now, I’m actually the original member of Yesh’s gang,” Jude continued. “Except because we’re grownups we don’t call it a gang, we call it a movement. And I’m not the fixer, I’m a facilitator. And we don’t go around doing tricks and talking to people, either. We’re reaching out, we’re engaging, we’re communicating. And worst of all, we have a plan to follow and a mission to fulfill. We’re showing people the way.”
    â€œSo leave,” Flea said.
    â€œQuit? That would be like giving up. Anyway, who’d look after Yesh?”
    â€œYou don’t trust the others?”
    â€œI don’t trust him,” Jude said.
    â€œSo why should I care?” Flea tried to growl. “Anyway, what do you want?”
    Jude blinked, then laughed. “You’re a horrid little brat. I was going to hire you for a day’s work—good wages, too—but if you’re—”
    â€œHow much?” Flea said quickly. The thought of money snapped him out of his bad mood.
    â€œThat got you interested. How much do you make in a typical day?”
    â€œA shekel,” Flea lied.
    â€œNice try. I know how these things work. I bet you have to pool it anyway, or pay off Big.”
    â€œHalf a shekel.”
    â€œI’ll pay you half that,” Jude said. “And feed you. And I promise not to tell anyone that I caught you red-handed trying to rob me…”
    Jude broke off and looked over Flea’s head to the far distant southern end of the Temple. It was where the money changers took the visitors’ coins and exchanged them for Temple silver. You often got arguments there—the exchange rate was crippling and the actual cost of buying a dove or a lamb for sacrifice was high—but this was different.
    â€œIt sounds like a riot,” Flea said.
    â€œThat’s what I’m worried about. They said they were planning something.”
    â€œWho?