I think I finally lost them, the kid thought, panting, lying flat on the top of a truck. He had changed vehicles seven times since leaping from the building, and he was now out of the city. Sitting up, he looked around him as the large transport vehicle moved through the sky, seemingly ignorant of his presence. Man, why did they have to be so persistent? he asked himself. Just for this old gun? Well, at least it has some market value. He sat his new Omega Blaster Rifle on his lap and watched the sun shine a hint of orange as it descended. Sunset was coming, and it had been a long day for him-yet another day of difficult thievery. Another day of daring, danger . . . and triumph. He spun the rifle around and pointed it in the air, laughing. But a glare caught his eyes.

He looked down to see a silver vehicle rise up from behind the truck. It was following close behind, only inches away. As the vehicle drew level with him, twin guns lowered from below its nose, pointing directly at him.

"You wouldn't . . ." the kid said, shaking his head in disbelief, pointing at the civilian truck to warn him.

But two blasts fired anyway. They missed the kid and pierced the truck, causing the autopiloted vehicle to swerve and reduce speed. The V-Extreme flew overhead as the thief reached in his cloak to grab a wire gun and shot Vecto's ship. A wire connected to the underside of the V-Extreme and pulled the thief into the air.

"Persistent, isn't he?" Vecto said to himself and flipped on his thrusters. As the wire reeled the kid in closer, Vecto's back thrusters flared, melting it. The bandit lost his grip, and his left arm swung out, causing the stolen Omega Blaster to slip off his shoulder. He grabbed for it but missed. The rifle flipped in the air as it fell.

"OK, that does it!" the kid yelled, furious that all his hard work had been lost. He reached for his Crossblade in his coat, but the wire he hung from snapped. Suddenly he was falling, following the rifle. Desperate, he unsheathed his compact sword, swung it, and detached the blade from the handle. Bingo. The blade extended and struck below the V-Extreme's thrusters. The kid now dangled behind the vehicle from a thin-but-lengthy chain hooked to the blade.

He hit the handle's switch. The V-Extreme exploded. Shrapnel showered in the orange sky. The kid yanked his sword back with the chain and braced for a landing. Fortunately, he landed on a sloped roof-a solar panel in fact. He tumbled down the panel and rolled to a flattened part of the roof, coming to an abrupt stop. He was intact, but the fall hurt his shoulder.

Slowly, he stood, holding his shoulder as he watched smoke disperse. The sun was setting, bleeding gorgeous colors across the sky. A slight wind flapped his trench cloak as he dropped the handle to his sword and clenched his gloved hand into a fist.

Once again, it seemed safe for him to leave.