theft is one of the pleasures of poverty / getting away with it / poverty has so few pleasures / and pleasure is so addictive / slippery slope / given no alternative why not / so thinks this thief / to steal is an art / a performance / a circus trick / to learn the skill itself is rewarding / rewarding to the thief that is / to capture / That is the thing / to possess at will / to control / Fishface was not clear why he wanted to steal / the thought had come to him / the plan / without any decision as to the object stolen / the site he knew / Municipal Museum / as yet he could not decide which painting to take / or why / whilst marvelling at the ability of the Masters he could not but shudder at the hours of servile labour it represented / locked up in it / looking at a work he would think he could discern a veiled rejection of governmental restrictions and specifications / but in the absence of definite evidence he could only attribute this reaction to his own disturbed imagination / for him the desire to steal was greater than the desire to possess / which amounted to / he concluded / to a desire to inflict loss / all thoughts of escape had left him / for the moment / days passed now haunting the Museum / the idea of the plan developed / began to understand that he has it in him to do something with this shit / most especially their proudest possession / oldest surviving representation of the Special Crucifixion / the great crime is hatched / luckily that painting is small / small enough for underarm / so far so good