In addition to his work as an Intern, Sally 'VIPCreditsGrin' Grinbini, had a sideline. Well, several sidelines in fact, he owned a freehold property in Philly, although this was strictly private and no trespassing was allowed to occur. He was also slowly moving through the ranks of the Philly underworld and he had a basketball court on the site of a former high rise building. The homeless kids had taken to hanging around there and JaVale_McGee was doing a poor job of keeping them out, which was a continual irritant to our favourite Intern. 

In addition to these sidelines, Intern Grinbini was something of a thief. He loved to pick a pocket if there was a pocket to be picked within picking distance. And if there wasn't a pocket to pick within picking distance, he would usually pick a mode of transport to the pre-picked pickpocketing destination to get a picking. 

His first target today was a policeman. Not any ordinary policeman, no, this was a corrupt officer on the payroll of some thug or other. To Grinbini this meant that the man was most likely to be carrying a fat wad of change somewhere upon his person. 

"Hello, Officer!" Grinbini yelled, giving the unsuspecting policeman a hug. The man quickly pushed him off and dusted himself down. Grinbini looked at his badge, "Kemberly_dixon", it read.

"Get off me!" Dixon shouted.

"I'm so sorry, sir!" Grinbini minced, tucking away the wallet he had pilfered, unbeknownst to the copper. "I'll leave you to your rounds," he said, hastily walking away. Once around the corner, he took a look at what he had nabbed. 

Nov 11, 10:30:52

You PICKPOCKETED! Kemberly_dixon, but walked away with nothing.

The wallet was empty. Just a couple of picture of Dixon's ugly kids. Grinbini threw it into the gutter and resolved to find a better target. 

Setting aside his disappointment over the slim pickings from Officer Dixon, Grinbini set his sights upon another. He spotted @Neil_Ambolmi half-jog, half-jaunting his way through The Loop. He wore rose tinted sunglasses despite the overcast day and his burgundy tracksuit was offensive to Grinbini. He had a cigar in his mouth and a gold chain dancing gaily from around his neck.

"Hello, Neil!" Grinbini called, catching his attention. Neil's long white blonde hair twirled as he faced the young Intern. 

"Hey, Sally. How's it going? Did you get your money from Destro yet?" Neil asked, wandering over with an outstretched hand. Perfect.

With the grace of a swan who had trained to be a high level ninja swan, Grinbini grabbed the outstretched hand, pulling Neil into a warm hug. His other hand snaked into the man's joggers, pulling out a wad of notes. He didn't suspect a thing.

"Not yet. I'm hopeful he takes you up on your offer though!" Grinbini said, disengaging with a Big Harty chuckle. Neil lapped it up. "Anyway, I should be going now, take care, Neil."

With that VIPCreditsGrin had committed another perfect robbery. He fished out the wad of notes.

Nov 11, 11:49:09

You PICKPOCKETED! Neil_Anblomi. You took $15,000.

What a day this was turning into. 

With the comfortable weight of Neil_Anblomi's $15,000 settling in to his back pocket, Grinbini sought fresh prey. He had decided that The Loop was too populated with officers, probably aware that there was a master thief plying his trade on their patch, so he crossed town and arrived in South Side. Leaving the bus station, he saw a homeless man being sick on himself and his dog lick at it. Chicago really was a beautiful city.

A casual perusal of South Side's business district found Luc-DiCaprio reopening 8 year old businesses, currently for nefarious purposes unknown, and otherwise little to take his fancy. He saw a big stadium in the distance and thought that maybe he would visit it one day. Upon his walk there was man with the wine-stained soak of a drunk. He promptly fell over in front of Grinbini, his wallet spilling slightly away from the puddle of his limbs. 

"Here you go....WeissBlood," Grinbini said sliding the man's wallet back into his jacket, taking extra care not to touch him. The man grunted unintelligibly, which VIPCreditsGrin Grinbini took for thanks. He continued on his tour of the city, depositing his "Helper's Fee" alongside the contents of Neil_Anblomi's wallet.

Nov 11, 12:58:22

You PICKPOCKETED! WeissBlood. You took $15,000.

 Chicago was proving a generous city for the young Intern. 

Intern Grinbini had stumbled upon the ultimate con; rob the robbers. They weren't exactly going to tell the cops that their ill gotten gains had been stolen and Grinbini convinced himself that he was an Apprentice Merry Man and South Side his very own Sherwood Forest. He was enjoying the afternoon, $30,000 to the good that he was, when he caught the giddy jaunt of Neil_Anblomi out of the corner of his eye.

"That motherfucker!" Grinbini exclaimed. "He's followed me!"

Grinbini ducked out of sight. Anblomi continued to meander down the road, puffing his cigar, angrily. As Grinbini hid, he caught the unmistakable whiff of $15,000 dollars coming off Neil. He peaked around the corner and there is was, sticking out of his tracksuit pocket. It was a simple thing for VIPCreditsGrinGrinbini to snatch it, his feather-light touch barely decipherable from the breeze and certainly not picked up by Neil_Anblomi who stomped off none the wiser, likely looking for discarded cigarette butts to chew.

Grinbini waited an appropriate length of time for his to depart before examining his haul.

Nov 11, 13:58:41

You PICKPOCKETED! Neil_Anblomi. You took $15,000.

His nose never lied to him, unlike CommissarZverev. It had been $15,000 and it was now his.

Back in The Loop and Grinbini was feeling flush. He thought it was probably time to leave Chicago and conclude a fine day's take in the city. He hadn't discovered the location of Destro or his illicit operation, which was frustrating. However, he was $45,000 richer for his visit and that was not to be sniffed at.

"Hear ye, hear ye, citizens!" A man called out. He was dressed like a Roman gladiator, complete with gladius and breastplate. Grinbini frowned, not liking the look of this chap one bit.

"Ave, citizen. Maximus-Decimus," the gladiator said removing his helmet and giving Intern Grinbini a nod. He had seen these charlatans before and he wasn't impressed.

"Not today, thanks," he said trying to walk around the gladiator. Maximus nimbly sidestepped and presented his breastplate and grieves to Grinbini, all smiles and Roman flair.

"A tip, for a tired solider?" Maximus asked giving the Intern a wolfish grin. Grinbini smiled back at him.

"Sure, friend. Here," he said handing him jacket. A confused Maximus took it. "Oh here, actually..." Grinbini said taking the helmet and his jacket back. He put the jacket back on, gave Maximus his helmet and $20. Maximus looked pleased.

Grinbini patted him on the arm and walked off. "Good day to you, noble warrior," he called over his shoulder, with Maximus' taking for the day tucked safely in his pants pocket. Maximus waved his gladius at him and hailed the next passerby.

The Intern examined the take when he was out of sight.

Nov 11, 15:09:30

You PICKPOCKETED! Maximus-Decimus. You took $6,780.

For the glory of Rome.  

After a profitable day of thievery, VIPCreditsGrin Grinbini headed home to lovely Philly. It was so much nice than dog-licking-sick Chicago and he immediately felt at peace. In this new found state of bliss, he resolved to break one of the golden rules and begin immediately shitting on his own doorstep.

A short walk through Bella Vista and he stumbled upon his first victim, a tough looking scamp by the name of Xibur. Grinbini recognised him because of the very generic look he had which made him readily identifiable. More fortunate, Xibur was a mute and couldn't protest when Grinbini pushed him to the ground, laughing like a spoiled rich child, the happiest of all the 7 types of children, and it was Christmas morning.

"What's that? Huh?" He taunted as he reached inside Xibur's jacket and stole his change purse. He emptied the contest on the silent figure's chest.

Nov 11, 19:58:14

You PICKPOCKETED! Xibur. You took $15,000.

"If you don't want me to take this, speak now.....no? Ok then, thanks buddy!" Intern Grinbini said, pocketing the cash and continuing on his travels.  

Xibur's $15,000 sang silently from Grinbini's inside pocket where it was lodged. He whistled a soft tune to himself as he strolled around Philadelphia. "Toot-toot-tootley-tooty-too," he went, enjoying the bright morning sunsihine.

"Oi! You!" Grinbini heard the angry shouts over his shoulder and the sound of running feet. He whirled around, his ninja-swan skills undiminished by the passage of time due to his rigorous morning regimen of porridge and hot yoga. He saw two boys in blue rapidly approaching him.

"Well, well, well," one of the generic sound policemen said. "What do we have here then?"

Grinbini was unsure whether this was a question so remained silent.

"Something wrong with your ears, sonny?" Asked the second even more generic lawman. He was a tall, pale skinned blonde man, with blue eys and blonde hair; his strong Nordic features were pronounced and he was intimidatingly handsome. Grinbini took a look at his badge, this Scandinavian. "FrederickGonzalez" it read.

"No, sir. I was just enjoying my morning, sir." Grinbini said doing the same innocent act he used on Editor-in-chief CoconutRandy when he missed his deadlines.

"There was talk of a filthy pickpocket around here. Saw a crying mute awhile back, miming about it. Know anything about that?" Asked the other man. "Mathilde_Nesmith" his badge said.

Grinbini shrugged. "I don't know anything about that, officer. Maybe he was just a little loser who didn't deserve to keep his money?"

Both officers raised eyebrows in tandem. Grinbini had made an error and promptly panicked. He went into fight or ninja-swan mode, heart pounding and before he knew it, he had downed both men in a flurry of flapping wing attacks and pecks to the nethers. Stunned anew at his own indefensible reflexes, he quickly realised that the officers were unconscious. It was a simple thing to reach into their uniforms and take the contents for himself.

Nov 12, 10:06:37    You PICKPOCKETED! Mathilde_Nesmith, but walked away with nothing.
Nov 12, 10:06:31    You PICKPOCKETED! FrederickGonzalez, but walked away with nothing.

"Cheap bastards," he muttered, tossing their wallets back to them. He decided he would keep the picture of Mrs Gonzalez for himself though. She had the type of strong jaw all men pined for in a wife. 

Las Vegas was the place to be these days and fortunately Grinbini's office in the basement of the Chronicle was located here; what a happy coincidence. He had taken a working lunch, much to the chagrin of CoconutRandy who believed in neither working nor lunch, leaving the Intern very much in the dog house. A dog, SeanCallanhound, had actually taken over part of his office/house for himself, so this, again, was a happy coincidence.

It seemed a day for the aligning of the stars because at the very moment VIPCreditsGrin Grinbini was thinking 'god, I could really use $15,000 and a hot chick", ForeverSexy came rolling past waggling just that amount of money around. So he didn't quite get the hot chick part, but the money was certainly welcome and it would have been almost rude not to take it as ForeverSexy pirouetted down the street.

"I'll take that," he muttered to himself, extracting the wad from FS's pocket mid spin, with neither interlocutor missing a step in their respective dances. 

Nov 12, 13:56:06

You PICKPOCKETED! ForeverSexy. You took $15,000.

$15,000 up before lunch and Grinbini took a look at his watch. He was going to make a fat tribute to his boss, Don Viktor, but after he had said all those mean things about him in the Streets AND failed to abide by a clearly marked ( no trespassing) sign, he decided he would spend it on Dice instead.

As he approached the Dicing tables, out of the corner of his eye he saw suspected incog Hoth, forever trapped at Wise Guy, cursing to himself and pulling madly at his admittedly very masculine beard. "What's wrong?" Grinbini nearly asked, then he thought better of it. He didn't want to be associated with that time of individual, especially not when he was throwing a wobbler.

Instead, Grinbini waited for his next bout of cursing and beard pulling and gentle relieved the man of his wallet. 

Not even 3000 bucks? Who was this guy? Why couldn't he get promoted? Probably related to his being a cheapskate, Grinbini thought, stepping past him. He would put this cash to good use and dismantle House. 

"Fuck you, House!" Grinbini yelled as he lost more money to the gormless roller. He needed to be careful, his habit was getting out of hand and if he didn't stop, he might end up like CommissarZverev, begging for people to support his ailing contests now that he had run out of money. 

"Not doing too well, huh?" A delicate voice said behind him. Grinbini whirled around to see the grinning face and painted lips of The_JesTer_2, not to be confused with The_JesTer_1 as they were MORTAL enemies.

"No. Not well at all," Grinbini said with a sad look on his face. He didn't like losing and he certainly didn't like Clowns; EvilClown had seen to that. Truth be told he wasn't too fussed on Jester's either. Or Neil_Anblomi, who was a total cunt.

The_JesTer_2 looked sad as well. "Can I do anything to help?" He asked, patting VIPCreditsGrin on the back. Grinbini had a thought.

"I suppose a hug might make me feel better?" He said extending his arms. The_JesTer_2 locked him in a deep, manly embrace. Grinbini enjoyed it immensely, all the more so as he fished The_JesTer's wallet from his baggy pockets, togther with 10,000 hankies tied together.

"Better?" The_JesTer_2 asked.

"Much," ​​​​​​​answered Grinbini with a smile. 

It had been a busy weekend for Grinbini; endless legal troubles, a charlatan masquerading as a tailor and lots of competitions. Squeezing in his job as an Intern for the Chronicle and his life as a gangster was becoming a bit of a juggling act. He was mulling over the problem at his desk when kong walked in.

"Hello," kong said sitting down, uninvited. SeanCallanhound began to growl, a low rumble, like an 11 o'clock stomach.

"kong." Grinbini didn't look up. He hoped kong would leave.

"Well done on settling that legal snafu with Dominic. I wouldn't have thought to handle it by paying him"

"That isn't a surprise to me, kong," Grinbini snapped. "Now, what do you want, I'm busy?"

kong stretched and went to put his feet on Grinbini's desk, missing and narrowly avoiding ending up on the floor. When he had ungracefully righted himself, he held out a hand. "I've come for my fee."

"Oh, no problem," Grinbini reached out with his right hand and placed a wad of notes in kong's palm. His left hand delicately extracted the man's wallet. He noted, whilst not displaying any outward signs of emotion so as not to alert kong, that the wallet was very, very sticky.

"I'm glad we settled this," kong said, all smiles, getting to his feet with the $1,000 in forged notes tucked in his jacket. 

Nov 16, 12:21:48

You PICKPOCKETED! kong. You took $15,000.

"hashtag me too, kong. Me too."