Monte was tired of the crime rate. Try as much as he did to relate with the people of the town, they still carried on the way they wanted. He knew some of the thieves, or at least he suspected them and he had his reason for that. The latest that he knew of, two of whom he had brought into the precinct on few occasions, were a couple. The description matched both husband and wife, but their alibi checked out. They were not anywhere near the place of the crime at the time of the crime. Yet, the Police chief of Newt knew that that was not all there was to it. The man and his wife were involved in something, but he could not charge them to court without any evidence.

So, when the call came in that it was a couple that was robbing the shop downtown, the chief rushed out of his office, assigning the command of the station to his deputy. He wanted to be the one to catch this couple that was growing on him. He had a soft spot, especially for the woman. She looked delicate and innocent. Monte knew that she was one of the criminals, but he could not bring himself to believing it. Her husband's involvement could be easily believed, but hers? No.

"On me!" he told his men as they mounted their horses.

If these two criminals were captured, it would reduce the pressure being mounted on him by the royalty. They were already thinking of transferring him to a smaller town, deeming him incapable of dealing with the insecurity in his region. Dead or alive, he knew he had to stop the thieves.

"Bernard is already at the crime scene," one of the men reported, toying with his talkie.

"Let's get these criminals!" Monte declared.

They set off through the street, racing towards the grocery store. Wherever they passed, the people stopped and stared. There were, at least, ten horses galloping on the street all manned. It was the kind of movement that brought confidence back into the town and Monte decided he would have more of these patrols, if for no other thing, but to strike fear into the hearts of the criminals that have decided to turn the city into a war zone.

"Captain!" one of the officers screamed. "Bernard says they are getting away!"

"Through where?" Monte asked before he espied the shapes he had seen described on so many robberies a long distance away. "Never mind. There!" he pointed.

The party turned their horses towards the fleeing couple. There was a triumphant grin on Monte's face. He knew they could not run away from them. The thieves had the spoils from their robbery weighing down their horses. They, the police, had the finest and fastest horses in the city.

After a little dash, Monte discovered that what he expected was entirely different from what was unfolding. The couple disappeared into thin air after they veered into a dirt road. Monte did not know if the couple had seen them.

"Found something," Dany said. He had come down from his horse and was looking at a mark on the ground. It was fresh. Horse hoof mark.

"They went through here," Monte declared.

They began advancing. They were no longer galloping fast. There was no need, and they did not want to lose the robbers' tracks. It occurred to Monte that it was possible that the criminals had escaped and there would be no way he could get them. His transfer would be very justifiable then. He had accomplished nothing.

The sound of a gunshot drew him out of his self-pity. Someone was shooting and the other was returning the shot.

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"There, faster!" Monte screamed.

They rode out towards the sound of the gunshots. Bernard could not have gotten there before us, Monte thought. As they rode through the dirt way surrounded by the wood, more gunshots followed. Someone screamed.

Darn it, Bernard has been injured, the chief thought.

When they finally got to the sound of the gunshots, everything was calm. Bernard was standing before an opening, staring at a house that was hidden in the woods. It was made like a camouflage and Monte would not have seen it if Bernard was not staring so pointedly at it.

"Bernard," Monte said, surprised.

"They opened fire on me," Bernard said. "I was just keeping surveillance for backup."

"You did well to protect yourself."

"I killed them," Bernard said, wide-eyed. He was pale and shivered like paper.

Monte's eyes moved to the front of the house. There were two dead bodies there, one belonging to the man and the other to the slender, delicate woman that he admired in his privacy.

Slowly, he walked towards them, his gun drawn. He bent down to feel their pulse. The man was gone. The lady… was gone. He almost sighed, but he stopped himself.

"Well, they are dead," Monte declared.

They had their guns drawn in their now lifeless hands, lying by their sides. This was not the end Monte wanted from them.

"I did not mean to," Bernard.

"You don't have to talk about it. You did what you had to do."

Monte walked past the dead thieves towards the house.

"Check the perimeter," he said to his men. He wanted to be the first person to set foot in the house of thieves. He reckoned that they must have stolen a fortune.

When he pushed the door open and got in, he was greeted with the opposite. The roof inside was the same way he had seen it outside. The floor was covered with a threadbare carpet and the only armchair in the house was torn in different places.

"What game are you playing?" Monte murmured.

The house was quite a contrast from what it was believed the dead duo had stolen.

Monte started the process of looking for their hidden wealth when a sound halted him. It was the sound of a crying infant.

"No," he said. That could not be. Thieves had no time for kids. Why would they have a child?

The sound was coming from under the bed, and when he bent down to check, he saw the basket containing a baby. He pulled the basket out from under the bed and found a plump, cute, red-faced baby. The baby looked well-fed.

It took Monte seconds to realize why the house was bare and devoid of wealth even though the couple living here were well-known criminals who had stolen a lot of wealth. They were stealing just so they could keep feeding their child.

"I would be damned," he exclaimed.

He walked to the window and took a peek outside. His men were still covering the perimeter. There was only one near the house. He carried the baby, who was oddly quiet, found a bag, and put the baby in it. The bag contained some guns.

Immediately he walked outside, one of his men turned to him.

"There's nothing here, chief," the man said.

"Why don't you check inside then? I will take this bag back to the precinct now. When you guys are done, I would like to see you back at the station."

The fellow nodded and hurried into the house.

The police chief got on top of his horse and urged the horse forward. He did not want to leave the baby behind. The kingdom of Kora had superstitions that were not kind to the children of thieves. Once a child's father was caught stealing, the child was put to death so the stealing genes would be halted. In as much as the chief believed in the laws of the land, he found it difficult to enforce this. As a result, he knew a motherless babies' home. He had delivered about five kids to the home and would always visit to see how the kids were doing.

He rode to the place now, a building hiding behind high stone walls. Sometimes, he wondered if it was a prison, if the manager did not want any child seeing the light of the day. The gate was made with iron bars, and that was the only way through which the children could look at the world.

He stopped beside the fence and got down from his horse. A quick look about assured him that he was alone. So he picked the basket with the child out of the bag and gently dropped it on the ground.

"I can't keep you, kid," he said." I'm not even supposed to be doing this."

He got back on his horse and rode away, leaving the horse staring at the receding image of his back. The gate would soon open and the caretakers would discover they had another homeless child on their hands. Monte wondered how long he would keep doing this. He could eventually get caught one day, and the king would want his head on a spike.