Santorini intended to dangle this priceless plum in front of the
Syndicate until they went for it. Destroying the Syndicate would cut
the crime rate in Crater City in half - at least. And it would make
-the revolution, when it came, that much easier.
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+the revolution, when it came, that much easier.
+
+==== Harlan: Thief ====
+
+The surgeon released Harlan to Santorini's care after a week of hall
+walking. He objected loudly until Santorini told him to shut up and do
+what he was told. Then Harlan grumbled but softly where no one could
+hear. When Mellie came to visit him, he complained until she left
+early. The Boss finally yelled louder than a drill sergeant,
+explaining the facts of life to a recruit with a restricted IQ and
+Harlan snapped out of his funk.
+
+He went to see Alfie.
+
+When Alfie saw Harlan walk in his cell, he talked so fast they
+couldn't understand him. But it didn't matter. He'd already given them
+everything he could think of.
+
+Harlan was sitting on a stool, staring at Alfie when the Boss walked
+in.
+
+Harlan asked "What are you going to do with him?"
+
+Santorini considered. "He's killed or been responsible for the deaths
+of several people. He almost killed you. We can kill him which is the
+easiest thing to do. Or we can send him somewhere unpleasant. It's up
+to you."
+
+Harlan's head turned quickly. "Me? You expect me to decide his fate?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+Alfie had stopped talking and was watching the two Resistance fighters
+intently. His eyes were like those of a hound dog, pleading.
+
+Harlan sat very still for several minutes, his face set in stone.
+Sweat was running down Alfie's face. Finally Harlan shrugged. "Send
+him to Alaton." he said and left. Alfie's face turned white while
+Santorini lips spread in a wicked grin.
+
+It was another week before the surgeon would allow Harlan to go back
+to work on light duty only. Specifically desk duty. The thief was on
+the street in five minutes. He found a quiet place to sleep and rested
+until dark. Then he headed for the big house and Cassidy. Alfie knew
+next to nothing. But Cassidy would have answers. And screw Santorini's
+orders.
+
+The big house was an old mansion, sprawling across several hilly
+acres. It followed the contours of the hills, which meant that there
+were probably a lot of stairs inside. Harlan had a general idea of the
+layout of the house. While he had no idea where he would find Cassidy,
+the roof contours might show him something.
+
+The motion detectors and security cams never quite covered the whole
+area. There were always places that the cams would miss. He slid from
+one of these to the next, mostly on the ground. He didn't think the
+Syndicate was quite as sophisticated as the Empire had been and
+doubted he'd be disturbing any pressure detectors.
+
+He reached the house without setting off any alarms that he could
+hear. He jumped to the roof and moved quietly to the living areas.
+These were in a relatively flat part of the property. From there, he
+began to survey the rest of the house from above. He knew there were
+at least twenty bedrooms, some bigger for the important people, some
+very big to accommodate ten or more bodyguards. Walking as softly as
+he could, he traversed the roof and found what he was looking for.
+Partitions tended to show up on the roof, partitions between rooms. He
+found the twenty plus bedroom area.
+
+Once oriented, he moved swiftly to a window looking out over the lawn.
+The alarm setup was simple and he bypassed it easily.
+
+Once in the house, he moved from the living areas to the bedrooms.
+Cassidy, as second-in command. would have his own private room. From
+the curvature of the roof, he had figured out where the rooms for the
+goons were and where the very private rooms for the bosses were. He
+crept along a carpeted hall that meandered around curves, past closed
+doors.
+
+Voices behind him warned him of the approach of two people. Cassidy
+and a woman. They were leaning into each other, laughing. Harlan
+watched them go by and slid out from behind one of the doors to follow
+silently.
+
+The couple entered a room near the end of the corridor. Harlan entered
+right behind them. The two were so involved with each other, that they
+didn't notice him. An open closet beckoned and he moved inside.
+
+The couple began making noises and comments indicating imminent sex.
+Harlan grimaced, stepping out of the closet with a gun in his hand.
+
+She noticed him first and opened her mouth to scream.
+
+He snarled "Please don't do that. I'll have to stop you."
+
+The woman thought better of the screaming and sat down on the bed.
+
+Cassidy was moving toward a desk. Harlan, being younger, slimmer, and
+a lot more in shape, cut him off and smacked him on the back of his
+head with his hand.
+
+Cassidy grabbed his head, whirling to glare at the thief. "What the
+fuck do you think you're doing? You think I don't know you? You think
+there's any chance of your walking out of this house alive? Well,
+there isn't. You're dead. You just don't know it yet."
+
+Harlan rolled his eyes. "Are you finished?"
+
+When Cassidy opened his mouth to talk, Harlan shoved the barrel of the
+gun in between his teeth. Actually, he knocked a couple of them loose.
+
+Cassidy froze. A trickle of blood leaked from between his lips.
+
+Harlan shoved him back into a chair and saw the first trace of fear in
+the man's eyes.
+
+He loomed over Cassidy, pushing his advantage. But he had the woman in
+his peripheral vision. She had stripped down to her underwear and her
+shapely breasts were bare. Now she had risen from the bed and was
+turning toward the door. Harlan took one step back, grabbed her long
+green hair, and yanked her back. She fell onto the floor with a
+shriek.
+
+"Quiet, dear." said Harlan. "I don't want to hurt you. But if it's
+necessary, I will."
+
+His conversational tone of voice made the threat even more
+frightening. The woman crawled up on the bed and lay down.
+
+As Harlan's attention refocused on Cassidy, he realized that the man
+was reaching for something on the wall by the chair. He grabbed
+Cassidy's wrist and pulled it back.
+
+Then he grasped the loose material of Cassidy's silken shirt and
+yanked him up to eye level. "Who killed Sam Tavis?" came out as a
+whisper. When Cassidy made no response, Harlan twisted the shirt so
+hard that it started to put pressure on the Syndicate leader's throat.
+
+"Who killed Sam Tavis?" A little louder.
+
+"I don't know." Cassidy tried to push at Harlan, but the thief batted
+his hands away with the gun. "Honest. All I know is that there was a
+contract out on him. I heard that from a runner."
+
+Harlan stared into Cassidy's eyes for a full minute. Then he dropped
+him and grabbed the green haired vixen again. She was again headed for
+the door. He pulled the sheets back from the bed, shoved her in, and
+then tucked the sheets in under the mattress so tightly that she
+couldn't move.
+
+Turning casually, he fired a shot that penetrated the wall next to
+Cassidy's hand. Cassidy jumped back, holding his hand. Harlan checked
+the wall and saw the tiny switch in the three dimensional art.
+
+"So why did you send Alfie to kill me?" he asked softly, his eyes as
+cold as space.
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