p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanCold wind bit through hard leather. There were fourteen of them, fully cloaked, walking up and down the streets. In all that snow, they looked like / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe thief watched from afar. The cloaked men were going deeper into the alleys of the small town like rats in a / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe streets grew narrow. The cloaked men walked single file. This got the thief excited. He went / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanGusts of white lowered visibility. He bumped into his target, apologized for his clumsiness, and then slipped right back / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe looked like a walking teddy bear with his fuzzy fur coat and dark goggles. They didn't suspect anything at / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe found a nice quiet corner and took a peek. The first find was a small satchel filled with blank plates you could print identification cards on. They were expensive, but common enough on the black market./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe second item he could not figure out. It was a small silver case, padded on the inside. There were no locks to fiddle, no codes to break. He wondered whether the thing would blow up when he opened it. He exhaled with relief when it didn't./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanInside the case was a glass vial. It was filled with a substance that glowed blue. He held the case up to his eyes-br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" / !- [if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" / !-[endif]-/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"BANG/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span-the case flew from his fingers, it was bulletproof, he noticed, this moment of recognition lasting about a quarter of a second. br / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe vial dislodged from the case. His hand shot out to catch it mid-air. If it fell and broke open, who knew what the liquid could do. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanBullets whizzed by him in the tight alleyway. He moved in a zigzag motion while staying low. He was nearing the end of the alley when they'd stopped firing. He stopped moving and listened. He heard a chorus of heavy boots crushing snow. They were running towards him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe thief knew these streets. He took a shortcut but found two sentries blocking the path. He slowed down to a / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"I wouldn't go back there." He said. No reply. He moved forward, but the two didn't stand aside. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Get him!" A booming voice came from behind. It probably belonged to their leader./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe command was already too late; the thief was close enough to disarm the two sentries. He knocked out the first with a clean uppercut. The second guy tried to pull a gun but was too slow. The thief had already twisted it out of his hands. Instead of firing it, he pistol whipped the guy and down he went into a / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe thief style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIt was a while before he stopped hearing footsteps, another half hour before the only things he heard were the faint cries of toddlers and the occasional howl of a lonely dog. br / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe found a house with a flat rooftop and hung around its radiator steam vent to keep warm. He waited until the snow died down./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSoon, the sky began to clear. The thief reckoned that the atmosphere generator must have been fixed. Back on Earth they used to celebrate snow, for reasons even the old timers / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanA light rain began to fall. It was time to go./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe second item he could not figure out. It was a small silver case, padded on the inside. There were no locks to fiddle, no codes to break. He wondered whether the thing would blow up when he opened it. He exhaled with relief when it didn't./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanInside the case was a glass vial. It was filled with a substance that glowed blue. He held the case up to his eyes-br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" / !- [if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" / !-[endif]-/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"BANG/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span-the case flew from his fingers, it was bulletproof, he noticed, this moment of recognition lasting about a quarter of a second. br / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe vial dislodged from the case. His hand shot out to catch it mid-air. If it fell and broke open, who knew what the liquid could do. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanBullets whizzed by him in the tight alleyway. He moved in a zigzag motion while staying low. He was nearing the end of the alley when they'd stopped firing. He stopped moving and listened. He heard a chorus of heavy boots crushing snow. They were running towards him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe thief knew these streets. He took a shortcut but found two sentries blocking the path. He slowed down to a / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"I wouldn't go back there." He said. No reply. He moved forward, but the two didn't stand aside. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Get him!" A booming voice came from behind. It probably belonged to their leader./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe command was already too late; the thief was close enough to disarm the two sentries. He knocked out the first with a clean uppercut. The second guy tried to pull a gun but was too slow. The thief had already twisted it out of his hands. Instead of firing it, he pistol whipped the guy and down he went into a / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe thief style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIt was a while before he stopped hearing footsteps, another half hour before the only things he heard were the faint cries of toddlers and the occasional howl of a lonely dog. br / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe found a house with a flat rooftop and hung around its radiator steam vent to keep warm. He waited until the snow died down./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSoon, the sky began to clear. The thief reckoned that the atmosphere generator must have been fixed. Back on Earth they used to celebrate snow, for reasons even the old timers / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanA light rain began to fall. It was time to go./span/p