"It's fun being a barrier man; literally, they could throw a bomb at me and it wouldn't touch me, not even the shockwave or the heat. I would come out unscathed," I turned on the recorder.
"I am Walter Newman, and if someone asked me 'Who am I?' I would define myself as someone who likes to steal. I steal wallets with money, jewelry, large sums of money, valuable objects, and anything that catches my attention.
And if they asked me what I do, I would answer that I'm a thief; a thief recognized by the world, but no one knows that I am Walter Newman. I could kill thousands of people, and there wouldn't be a trace of me because I am a barrier man," behind me, the sirens of the patrol cars sounded.
"Catch him!" the pursuing police officers shouted, interrupting my internal monologue. "Shoot, bring down that car!"
I was speeding down the highway in a Corsa 2023. My ability was activated, so I could crash into anything and take anyone with me to escape the police.
"Shoot, he's getting away!" they said through the megaphone.
I had about ten patrol cars trying to cut me off, but their bullets bounced off the barrier I had imposed on the car. I was unharmed despite colliding with other cars, barriers, and billboards. My barrier not only prevented them from touching me but repelled them in the opposite direction with double the force.
"The world is in chaos this morning!" I said, laughing. "Come on, try to bring me down!"
I enjoyed the spectacle, I couldn't help it. When I stole, I wanted them to notice and I wanted them to rack their brains thinking about what kind of magic I used. My fingerprints never appeared at the scene, and with my barrier in action, I could take whatever I wanted without leaving a trace. However, I could choose to do that or stoke the flame.
"Damn, a bazooka! That's new," I said.
I witnessed one of the patrol cars firing a bazooka and attempting to hit my car, but my barrier remained active and repelled it. It ended up hitting a huge cement truck.
"This is art!" I shouted. "I can't wait to lose them, I've been in this chase for half an hour, and I can feel the heat of the morning," I thought out loud. "This is the downside of calling attention."
I dodged the cars in front of me, and although they swerved due to the nervousness of the pursuit, I managed to evade them as much as possible. There were patrol cars in every direction that tried to force me off the road and crashed their vehicles into mine, but the barrier pushed them away, causing a domino effect with the remaining patrol cars. It wasn't until I realized that a wave of heat reached me; the massive explosion caused by the collision between the different units had caused a great explosion.
"I'm sorry!" I said, laughing. "This is like Mario Kart," realizing how similar my actions could be.
However, I still had several helicopters following me. I knew that city; I had studied it thoroughly for a month, wandering its streets to familiarize myself. In a matter of seconds, I ventured into the streets, exiting the highway, and at a precise corner, underneath a bridge, I lost the helicopters. The tactic was new; it involved launching myself in motion and heading towards the train station, just a few meters away.
The helicopters followed my car for a few moments until it crashed at full speed into a shop. People pointed at me, but I had already lost myself in the train station. From there, I entered the subway, avoiding the presence of the authorities and the possible cameras that would be searching for my location. I took advantage of that area to change my clothes and remove the mask from my face.
"God, it's so uncomfortably hot!" I walked along some train tracks and kept going. "First impressions are always the coolest, but I think I need to slip away from this city before they find me. I made a huge scene," I wiped the sweat from my face with a handkerchief.
I discarded my garments along the way. I arrived at the planned point and retrieved the clothes I had left there.
I was in another city, contemplating the international newspaper. The news of my act was still being discussed through that medium, and I was regularly mentioned on television to evaluate my theft, even after two weeks. My nickname, the Barrier Man, was echoing around the world.
I was drinking coffee, holding what I had stolen: a crown from an ancient queen. The object was worth a lot of money on the black market, where I would sell it. I also did that discreetly.
"If Jeremy Trafalgar speaks, I'm the seller of Queen Gertrude's Byzantine crown," I said, repeating a new speech I had prepared the day before. "Hey! I don't know that guy, he just sold me the item, and I want to recover the profits because he sold it to me at a low price. You know how everything works. Okay, see you in the afternoon when the sun sets in the Plaza of the Doves. Come alone," and I hung up.
I knew they would try to trap me. They had been trying for years because even in the black market, they wanted to use me, the Barrier Man, for their plans, but I worked alone. I was alone in the world. I was bored; I wouldn't go to that meeting; I preferred to do something else.
"I'm sure you're wondering: how did I get my powers? I wonder that myself. All I know is that they manifested when some kids tried to hit me for offending another kid's sister.
The kids ran away when they saw their punches bouncing off me. Any psychologist would say it was trauma; surely a physicist would conclude that my powers originated from the mind, and esotericists would think I used dark magic and made a pact with the devil. None of them seemed very likely. I had never told anyone about my powers, and those kids thought a demon was protecting me," I took a long sip from the coffee cup.
"What times those were!" I thought nostalgically, remembering the early thefts. "Snatching wallets and running through the streets of that filthy town, then robbing banks in cities that could be considered modernized towns and growing from there," I looked out at the beautiful lake before me.
I put away the tape recorder; it was my only confidant. An old device that wasn't connected to the digital world and could keep all my confessions. That's how I managed not to go crazy. Everyone wants to share their secret, but since I was a child, watching movies, I knew that my gift could lead me to be enslaved.
So, who was I? Someone who didn't like being enslaved.
"I already have all the financial freedom I want," I said proudly. "45 years of complete and utter freedom."
Each theft made it difficult to sell the stolen items. Fame is not easy, but that didn't matter. I had a large amount of money saved up and could afford to live comfortably.
"Living alone," I mused. "It's better than being betrayed... I don't cry."
I sat on the terrace, contemplating the beautiful snow-covered mountains.
"It's fun being a barrier man. You could throw a bomb at me and it wouldn't touch me," I scratched my chin. "No siblings or parents throwing things at me, no friends sabotaging my life, and no burdensome family. I am a barrier man."
I never cried; that was for the weak. I just felt different.
"Tomorrow is another great day for stealing!" I finally said, rising to go to sleep.
Cover and Banner made in Canva; Image generated in Canva by AI, Separators made in photoshop