Julius and Yoshiro drove into Williamsburg in the night for their next arson attack.

When they were two blocks away from their destination Julius pulled the car over and they left it.

Apart from the knife that each of them had, and Julius's lucky lighter, Yoshiro held a beer bottle with a wick hanging from the neck and inside was a liquid that smelled strongly of kerosene. Just in case.

Julius and Yoshiro jogged down the road and turned into a road whose residents were all rich people. They left the street at about halfway and to the mansion of an extremely rich couple.

Julius started walking past the house when they reached it and Yoshiro grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him back.

"What are you doin' man?" he hissed. "That's the house right there! What's up? You seem to have something on your mind."

"It's nothing," Julius said, shrugging off Yoshiro's hand and walking up the path to the house.

In truth, Julius couldn't stop thinking about the kiss. He touched his lips gently in wonder and then forced himself to stop thinking about it.

Yoshiro placed the bottle at the foot of the letterbox by the street and followed.

"I checked out this place after lunch," Yoshiro said. "They have a mother fucker of a security system; laser sensors, cameras, heat detectors. The only way to disable it is with a keycard and a deactivation number. Luckily, you have me!"

Yoshiro picked the lock on the front door and opened it silently. He went inside and opened the flap on the keypad for the security alarm. He took something from his pocket and inserted it into the keycard slot. He jiggled it around a little and then the keypad beeped and the red light on the side of it turned green.

Julius, surprised at how easy Yoshiro had deactivated the security system, looked around at the huge living room in front of them. Right next to the door were three glass fences that were connected to the wall of the living room and made a large water feature; river rocks, aquarium plants, sea urchins, a hermit crab, three black moors and a prize-winning goldfish, judging by the plaque hanging from the forth wall.

They ventured further into the house, watchful for anything that could jeopardize their job.

Yoshiro tapped his shoulder and pointed to a corner of the living room. There was a black security camera pointed right at them.

Julius went forward to the camera and stared down the lens. He pulled the finger at the camera and then bent down where it was connected to a power point and switched it off. The red light on the camera disappeared in the dark.

Yoshiro had disappeared into the dining room looking for things to loot and Julius started looking around in the living room. In one corner there was a huge wide screen TV and a DVD player.

In front of that, on an oak coffee table was a crystal vase with a bunch of red and white roses in it. A dark red leather covered lounge suite finished off the ensemble.

Noticing nothing of interest, Julius joined Yoshiro in the dining room, who was examining the contents of a glass cabinet similar to the one at the last house. Julius looked around the room. The sliding door to his left went out onto a tiled patio and then out into a large pool. The moon shone silver on the gently rippling waters.

To his left was the cabinet and beyond that the archway separating the dining room from the kitchen and in front of him was a very expensive looking stained oak table and matching chairs. Above the table was a large crystal chandelier.

Suddenly the light in the kitchen turned on and the seals on the refrigerator sucked open. Julius frowned and gestured to Yoshiro to stay. Julius crept forward and peered around the archway into the kitchen.

There was a teenage girl in front of the fridge, about sixteen, drinking milk out of a carton. Her long, straight brown hair cascaded down her back, which was covered by a light pink dressing gown that draped down below her knees.

Julius drew his knife and crept forward, then covered the girl's mouth with his free hand and put his knife to her throat. She dropped the milk in fright and the white liquid exploded out of the carton. She squealed but the sound was muffled by Julius's gloved hand.

"You make one noise and your blood will be all over the lovely white carpet in the dining room," he hissed.

She nodded and Julius took his hand away.

He turned off the kitchen light and led the girl to the dining room and made her watch as Yoshiro took what they wanted from the glass cabinet.

Then Yoshiro disappeared upstairs for a few minutes before reappearing with his pockets bulging.

"I got some sweet pickings," he whispered. "The lady had this necklace and it's got this huge sapphire in it."

"Please don't take it!" the girl whispered frantically. "It's a family heirloom! Take anything else just not that!"

"Shut up!" Yoshiro hissed, drawing his knife.

"Stop!" Julius muttered ferociously. "Give it to me."

"No!"

"Give it to me damn it!"

"Why?"

"Because this was originally my gig, not yours, so I call the shots!"

Yoshiro muttered angrily as he dug into his pockets and retrieved the necklace. He tossed it to Julius who caught it deftly.

"How old is this necklace?" he asked, examining the necklace as much as he could in the dark.

"It's two hundred years old," the girl whispered. "It's from my grandmother's grandmother."

Julius could tell that she was sincere. Her tone of voice indicated that she was genuinely afraid of it being taken.

Julius nodded and removed the knife.

"Don't move," he said in her ear.

He undid the clasp and draped it around her neck. He redid the clasp and then lifted her hair free. She shivered under his touch.

"When the police interview you," Julius began. Yoshiro shook his head at him. "Tell them that serial arsonists have done this to your house. The fires may not be started in the same way, but they will know when it is us. And tell them... Fuck you. And remember... these fires can't be put out easily."

He let her go and then they ran. Through the dining room and the living room and then out the door, Yoshiro pouring cooking oil on the ground.

They ran onto the street and Julius picked up the bottle of kerosene. He flicked the cap on his lucky lighter, the red flame on the side glinting in the glow of the street lights. The wick caught fire immediately and Julius threw the Molotov cocktail with amazing force.

The bottle flew threw the air and broke a window as it descended into the living room of the mansion. A fiery cloud exploded out of the window, and the wall close to it instantly went up in flames. The smoke detectors in the house went off and there was a scream, presumably by the girl. The fire caught on the cooking oil and instantly the fire streaked through the house.

Julius and Yoshiro turned and sprinted back to the car. By the time they had gotten to the car and drove as close as they dared to the mansion, firefighters, paramedics and police were already there, fighting a losing battle.