I made it back to my safe house without great difficulty, still brooding over the loss of the crown. All night long I could hear the Watch Dogs stomping through the streets, pulling in for questioning anyone unlucky enough to be caught outside. The blue coats were clutching at straws, when it came to investigative work they were hopelessly inadequate. But that made my sleep much more easy.

I needed to go speak with my fence; I had a suspicion that he had hired someone else to steal the crown for a smaller cut. It was just too much of a coincidence for another thief to be there the same night as me. The next evening the City was still under lockdown so I decided to take the Thief's Highway and maybe "acquire" a few valuables along the way. After all, if I went to my fence empty-handed, I'd never get any information out of him

He swiftly slinked across the roof, placing his feet as surely as though he had walked this path a thousand times before. He paused at the attic window and carefully slid his blade beneath the frame, prying the window open. Like a shadow he slipped through into the darkness, his eyes adjusting easily to the gloom. Downstairs he could hear the sleeping inhabitants and he crept down to take their precious belongings from right under their noses. The master of the house, clearly nervous since the infamous Dullforth theft, held his gold in his arms as he slept. Garrett smirked as he gently pried the bags from his grasp and left the fool snoring loudly. Just as quickly and quietly he was back onto the roof and in the open night air, leaving not a trace of his visit, apart from the missing gold. That was the key to being a great thief, in and out without anyone noticing. Not like this thief last night that had had the whole manor in uproar, the guards running around in a mad frenzy and the City Watch on alert.

He paused on the edge of a roof to be sure there was no one nearby, and leapt the gap to the next building. Again he froze, to be sure he had alerted no one with the sudden noise. A few streets away he could hear the casual footfalls of the patrols, but they sounded steady and even. They were not rushing to investigate the sudden staccato of his boots hitting the tiled roof. As his keen eyes scanned the dark streets a flash of movement caught his eye. Across the laneway a figure was slowly easing out through a very small window. The figure grasped the gutter as he pulled his legs free from the tiny breach, dangling in the air momentarily before hauling himself up onto the roof.

Garret melded into the nearby shadows as he watched the thief slither across the roof like a dark cloud, preparing to leap to the next building. It wasn't the first time he had seen another thief roaming the Highway at night. But it was the first time he'd recognised them. The build, posture, sinuous movements and the clothes were imprinted in his mind from the previous evening. He felt a slow rage begin to churn inside him. He wanted to rush over there, catch the thief, find out who they were and seek compensation for last night. He wanted to know if his fence had undercut him. Only the street below separated them but the thief was quickly leaping ahead of Garret, passing from one roof to another with ease, searching for the next easy target. Garret hurried to catch up with him, trying to keep parallel as he searched for a safe was to get across the street. There was an archway a few buildings ahead and he hurried so that he could be across it just in time to catch the other thief from behind.

In his haste Garret momentarily disregarded his feet. His boot slid upon a pair of loose tiles and he threw himself backward onto the roof to avoid crashing down to the street along with them. The tiles breaking on the pavement rang like thunder through the night air. Both Garrett and the mysterious thief pressed themselves flat, melting into the shadows. Garrett's heart pounded as he lay in wait, would the other thief move again soon, would he suspect that Garrett was there?

Garrett was prepared to wait out the other thief, let him make the first move but the sound of a rapidly approaching patrol alarmed him.

"I heard something crash, this way!" Three watchmen came rushing down the street to investigate the sudden noise.

"It's just some old tiles." One of them noted, crushing the remains under his boot.

"Something must have knocked them down." The most alert of them all, he had already drawn his sword as he scanned the roof. Garret lay as prone and flat as he could muster. With luck they would give up and leave.

"Probably just an animal." Without warning the third watchman suddenly threw his torch onto the roof. Garret reacted immediately, scurrying to the far side and leaping to the building behind. But they still caught a glimpse of him.

"Thief! Thief on the roof!" They howled, one of them running for reinforcements as the other two hurried to try and keep up with him. All over the block lights began to flicker in windows as residents were awakened by the alarm of the Watch. But Garret had already left them far behind. They simply could not keep up with him as they hurried through the winding streets. As he reached the end of the block, he dove into the canal; from here he could be safely swept to the other side of the city. It might have been cold, but it was dark and the Watch would never think to search for him there.

Garrett grit his teeth and swam with the current. When he had travelled far enough he grasped an access ladder and hauled himself out of the frigid water. A quick survey of his person proved that all his equipment was still with him. He squeezed the water out of his clothes and cursed. This rival thief was turning out to be nothing but trouble for him.