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Mako had been careless again. He had relied too heavily on the dim lighting in the street provided by the setting sun to hide his actions. That same lighting concealing one of the guards, Lin, who was now hellbent on catching him. This was not the first time Lin was chasing him, and they both knew it wouldn’t be the last. It was almost poetic in a way, the constant of sunset ensuring the constant game of cat and mouse between them.
Every frantic breath Mako took burned in his throat matching with the frantic pulsing in his chest. This chase had gone on longer than usual. Mako couldn’t keep running for much longer. He turned into several narrow alleyways, twisting between food stalls and ducking through small crevices, trying to lose Lin. Despite this Lin kept gaining on him.
Mako knew it would be easier if he dropped the worn leather pouch he was clutching. He knew that if he dropped it Lin, unlike other guards, would end the chase and return the items back to who he stole them from. But he couldn't do that today, both himself and Bolin had had to go without food for several days now, Mako couldn’t drop the food he had managed to take.
Mako knew these streets. You had to when your own your brother’s survival relied on not getting caught. He knew what streets led to a dead end. However it is very common for all that knowledge to leave your mind when you’re truly desperate. As Mako just discovered. He had gone down the wrong street and now he was at a crossroad. On his left, the main street. Often teeming with guards waiting to catch a petty thief. On his right, another side alley. Only leading to a dead end and his immediate capture.
Mako turned left.
If anything it will at least lead to other alleys and maybe, just maybe there won’t be too many guards given the late hour. Clearly whatever God was watching Mako was in a favourable mood as his suspicions were proven true. The main street was empty save for the occasional beggar, save from Mako and Lin. Mako knew up ahead that there was a small nook in the street that he could just about fit in to use to escape from Lin with. It may not work but Mako was running out of options. With a final burst of speed Mako ducked into the nook and waited. Lin soon passed by, sparing a glance at his hiding place but not paying it a second glance.
Leaning against the wall, all Mako could do was thank the Gods that it was only Lin chasing him tonight. If he had to dodge other guards as well, Mako doubted he would’ve been able to escape. That was close. Mako could’ve sworn that Lin saw him when he ducked into this nook but clearly she missed him somehow. Whatever. He isn't stupid enough to waste time questioning this. He needs to get this food back to Bolin before Lin spots him. Again.
Quietly Mako leaves his hiding place, walking into a side alley to try and prevent any lingering attention being drawn to him before bolting down the alley to where he and Bolin were currently calling home.
“Bolin? Are you here? Im back”
“Mako! What took you so long? Normally you're back earlier than this?”
“Yeah, sorry about that, Lin saw me swiping some bread and managed to chase me pretty much all the way here,” Mako admits, rubbing the back of his neck as he chucks the bag of bread towards Bolin. “Here, you need to eat. It's been days since you’ve had food.”
“You need to eat too, Mako.” Bolin frowns, passing Mako some of the food, clearly not fooled by his attempt to look fine.
“Bolin. It's fine. I've got to go out later, Jafar needs more information.”
“I thought you stopped working for him. It’s too danger-”
“Bolin. Enough. He pays well enough. Do you really think we’ll ever make it out of this situation without his help? No one will hire you, let alone me.” Mako sighs, heading towards the door. “Don’t stay up waiting for me, ill be fine alright? It’s my job to be alright afterall, I am the older brother aren't I?”
“Mako-”
“Goodnight Bolin.”
Closing the door Mako headed out towards the centre of Agrabah, towards the sultan’s palace. Mako didn’t agree with Jafar’s plans to mess with the royal family however he held the ticket out of poverty and Mako would be damned if he kept Bolin in poverty due to his own morals. Jafar knew he’d do anything for Bolin just as well as Mako did. They both knew that Jafar played Mako, and played him well but what else could he do? Leaving Bolin in their current situation is unthinkable.
Mako kept his head down low as he headed towards the sultan’s palace. Ordinarily he'd make his way across the rooftops, because while it did draw more attention to himself it also meant the guards were less likely to catch him. However with that earlier encounter with Lin, Mako could not risk any more attention being brought upon himself. He’d just have to hope that keeping to the quieter alleyways would be enough to keep himself hidden for tonight.
As he approached the palace Mako couldn't stop himself from swearing under his breath. Normally getting onto his specific perch would be no issue, if he travelled along the rooftops. As he chose to walk along the dust ridden streets, Mako now could not find a way up to his usual perch without drawing attention to his actions. No matter, there were plenty of other spots, Mako was sure of that, besides he may get new information for Jafar. Something that may only serve to help Mako in the future.
Walking along the palace walls Mako eventually noticed a small crevice in the walls, then another one further up and another, forming a small make-shift climbing frame along the palace walls. Mako knew he was not the first spy Jafar had used and this only served to enforce this belief. Another spy had made a way onto the palace roof in such a concealed spot, it wouldn’t be noticed if you weren't looking for a way up. The gods were clearly in a good mood today.
Glancing around once more to ensure no guards would notice him, Mako began to climb. The climb itself was fairly easy however getting onto the palace roof was the challenging part. Mako would just have to hope he’d be able to jump the gap between the outer wall and the roof, otherwise, well Mako did not want to think about that. Taking in a deep breath Mako jumped. His fingers brushing against the roof. Somehow, he held on. Exhaling, Mako pulled himself up fully onto the roof and ducked into a shadowed corner. All he had left to do was gather some information for Jafar and leave. There was no way he could mess this up now.
Hours passed with very little information for Mako to gather, if anything it was a regular night in the palace. It wasn't much for Jafar but at least it’d serve to prove that the royals were still unaware of Jafar’s plan, which after the close call last month would be good news. Until one of the palace guards opened up the treasury. Normally that would be nothing of interest, everyone knew the royals were rich, what was interesting was what the guard was holding. A small golden lamp. At first glance, it appeared to be exactly that, a magic lamp. Except for the small engravings. Mako had grown up with his parents telling him about the legend of the genie. The genie that lived in that lamp. Perfect.
Just before Mako could turn to leave, he found himself staring at the mounds and mounds of jewels and gold stored in that one room. And he could not stop himself from feeling resentful. Just thinking about what that gold could do made Mako’s blood boil. The wealth and class system in Agrabah was corrupt. Everyone knew that. If you didn't have a family business and you weren't rich, good luck trying to survive. People would rather hire their cousins with a known habit of stealing from their family then give the kids living in poverty a chance.
Mako should have been part of one of those families. His Father had a fairly successful business, it was nothing to brag about but it paid for food for everyone. When his father died, so did that business. A minor gang managed to overwhelm his father, resulting in his death and the family business being stolen from them. Mako has hated that gang ever since. Bolin shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not he’d have dinner that night, but he did have to. All because of that gang.
Speaking of Bolin, Make found his mind drifting back to their earlier argument. Mako did feel guilty about talking to Bolin like that but it had to be done. One of them had to be realistic here. It sucked that no one would give Bolin a chance as they were all too busy hiring family but that is just the way it worked. If you didn't have a family business and you weren’t rich then you were pushed to the side. It's always been that way and always will be that way. Just the way society worked here, didn't matter if you liked it or not. Mako couldn’t do anything about that. Not alone.
Jafar however. Well he could change that for Mako and Bolin. The only person richer than Jafar was the Sultan afterall. Yes, working for him was dangerous, Jafar was working against the Sultan but Mako wouldn’t get caught. He couldn’t afford to get caught. Jafar offered enough money to make it worthwhile. Money provided more chances than morals ever did here. Bolin knew that as well as Mako did, even if Bolin refused to accept it. As long as Bolin was suffering in poverty, Mako would keep working for Jafar. Morals be damned. Though… it would be easier to just steal some gold from the Sultan… He did have so much just lying around afterall.
Mako shook that idea out of his head. It would never work, the Sultan probably passed his time counting all his gold to ensure none was misplaced, even if he didn’t know how much he had exactly there were too many guards. It was too risky, even for Mako.
Re-adjusting his father’s old scarf, Mako turned to leave. He had to inform Jafar about the lamp. Not get caught up pitying himself. That wouldn’t get Bolin out of poverty afterall.