The sirens were blaring all over the area. People were told to stay inside and lock the doors over a massive P.A. speaker system. I was running through back alleys with a duffel bag full of jewels and bars of gold. The phantom thief, Real Rhombus, was in a pinch. I did not think that the security had a backup system that was set up to go on half an hour after the first line of defense went down. The cops were on my ass and soon the goons running the town's private government were willing to see me dead. They did not play around here. Very few governments were too comfortable to swap entire towns, but sometimes a temporary swap was done to facilitate further research with the consent of the people. Luckily, this small town was rather xenophilic. That did not stop the private corporations essentially running the town when they found an actual place where one could do all sorts of experiments in the parallel world and make money. Due to this there was a portal in the town that was open. They had some light security there, but they needed to be open at all times for the experiments.
I was able to get a full bag out of the bank. That was way less than the haul I was anticipating, but it would have to do. I emerged from the alley near the center of town and began sprinting towards the portal. There was a great deal of cops and goons around, but they were not hardened enough to fire on a teen. Being a prodigy in my field was a massive boon to me. I raced to the gate cordoning off the area for the portal. Running towards the 2 guards stationed there, they yelled at me to stop. Both of their guns were trained on me. "Stop right there!" one of them yelled. With a stern glare, the other guard added. "Your run of the town is over, kid! Put your hands up!" I did not stop running. In fact, I sped up a bit to try and break through them. A helicopter had a spotlight on me and was tracking my movements. It was probably being sent via a live feed on the news to everyone's televisions across the nation. I sucked my teeth in frustration. This was no good for me. "I guess I'm no longer a phantom thief. At least my boys will know where I am and where to find me." I said with a big sigh.
Since I was in a compromised position, escape was the main focus. The 2 guards were still training guns on me as I approached him. However, I saw that they were not using trigger discipline. They were more mall cop than the government's finest warriors. It was pretty easy for me to reach into my belt and hurl 2 throwing knives at them. They sunk between the eyes on both of their skulls and they dropped. Neither of them had any fingers on the trigger but, unlike them, I was not unwilling to kill in order to get my way. I passed them and I was soon into the small corridor leading to the portal. Since I was now an open murderer, there was no reason for the others to hold back with me. The guns got out and there was a shift in the vibe coming from them. If they were going to have me dragged off and killed quietly underground before, they were now going to execute me in the street. It was too late for that though. I was at the portal and I was going to go through. I had my mask and my outfit on. I just needed to lay low for a while. Real Rhombus would escape and get back. Better than ever.
