Evie pressed her palm against the warm railing. The city hummed below, loud and alive. She heard everything: squeaking bikes, picking locks, crunching boots.
A shadow climbed through a bedroom window downstairs. Evie dropped her apple and sprinted for her red hoodie. It was time to work.
She sat cross-legged, watching security footage on her laptop. Four bad guys caught this week. Her mum appeared in the doorway, holding a canvas tote bag.
Her mum set down a scruffy terrier mix. The dog’s nose pressed into Evie’s palm, then bolted toward the shoe rack. It dragged a sneaker across the rug.
Evie picked up the soggy shoe. The dog dropped it gently, then trotted back to sit beside her chair. Its tail thumped once against the hardwood.
Evie heard a whine near the front door. The dog tugged at her pajama pant leg with its teeth. They raced down three flights of stairs.
They burst into the alley behind the old electronics shop. The dog’s ears swiveled toward a rattling dumpster. Its whole body went rigid.
Evie pressed her back against the cold brick wall. She counted heartbeats between the dog’s barks. He darted forward into the dark, and she followed.
A tall figure emerged with a satchel of sparking electronics. The dog barked so hard its whole body shook. Evie hurled the cobblestone.
The figure yelped and dropped the satchel. The dog snatched it up in its teeth and galloped back, dropping it at Evie’s feet with a proud little bark.
Evie sat on the balcony steps, breaking a cheese cracker in half. She offered it to the dog, who took it gently from her hand.
The city stretched out before them, buzzing with a thousand sounds. For the first time, Evie didn’t feel like she was listening to all of it alone.