Four Delinquents

chapter 3-The Plan

We gathered the books we would need off the shelves. Baby Face gathered as many mystery books off the shelves as he could. Bringing his large stack that teetered and rocked as he walked over carefully. He set his books down and began reading them.

Clyde labored over engineering books looking for something that would help us to rob the bank with out even being seen. I drew up plans on a note book thinking of the possible ways to fit Clyde and Baby Face’s suggestions into play. While Pretty Boy had the librarian take him into the back to look through the newspaper archieves studying classic mistakes that got the criminals caught and how the best who never got caught operated. I looked up to see Pretty Boy walking confidently toward us.

“ find something worth using?” I asked.

“ yes” he replied smiling down smuggly and slamming a wrapped up newspaper onto a spare bit of table.

“ wow they don’t take real good care of the old newspapers do they.” I said as I picked it up and noticed it had a large stain from the gutter or something on it.

“ no I figured it might help to read todays newspaper and with that I found something. A town bout 10 miles has a bank. The janitor in that bank needs some extra help.” whispered Pretty Boy looking around to make sure no one was looking. He reached down and turned the pages of the newspaper. Until he found what he was searching for. He set it down on the table and spread it out pointing to the little add in the corner.

“ one of us could very easily get the job. Making it much easier to get inside.” Whispered Pretty Boy excitement growing in his voice. “ then we just need a plan to follow.”

He looked around at each of us. Baby Face peering around his stack of books and Clyde standing to be eye level with Pretty Boy. I nodded and then so did Clyde. Pretty Boy beamed and caressed the paper lovingly. Smiling down on it like it was the holy grale. I looked over at Baby Face who was no smiling but furrowing his brow. Thinking something over in his head.

“Its only just almost full proof.” said Baby Face sadly.

Pretty Boy looked up from his paper at Baby Face. His smile fading and his eyes narrowing daring Baby Face to challenge him.

“Well see Baby Face that’s the best part about it” whispered Pretty Boy menacingly “ it is fool proof.”

“ oh really?” growled Baby Face. “so you think when the police come to investigate the janitor wont mention the new boy to them?”

“well that’s far fetched.” said Pretty Boy rolling his eyes.

“ itll be the only out of place thing.” said Baby Face in the same manner of Sherlock Holmes. “ unless of course there were two out of place things at once.”

“ Well that’s what we need then isn’t it?” Asked Pretty Boy the smile stretching across his face again “ we need to create the second out of place thing. So we arent the ones they jump to conclusions about.”

“how would we do that?” asked Clyde his red eye brows furrowing.

“ first we would need to talk the janitor into choosing two boys. One of us and the decoy.” I said nodding at the others. “ the decoy would have to be more likely to be involved with that sort of crowd. Which means whoever goes for the job has to dress like henry.”

I looked pointedly at Baby Face. Who looked at me for a moment. Then the realization dawned on his face. He started shaking his head. Then he threw his hands out to the side sharply. Knocking over his pile of books. He watched them fall to the floor with his mouth still open and his hands still out to the sides. The librarian looked at us from over at her desk raising an eye brow. Baby Face waved his hands apologetically and dropped to collect his books. We all dropped down to help him.

“ why me?” he asked his brows furrowed at me.

“ you look the part when you wipe the dirt off your face.” I said smiling at him.

He seemed to consider for a moment. Still looking at me angrily. Then he shrugged bent reached for another book but instead took my head and slammed it against the leg of the table. Growling a little as he did. I stood up and rubbed at the spot that was slowly rising into a lump. I sniffed and laughed a little bit.

“well if not you” I said still lauging a little and wiping my nose. “ then who should we have do the job. Best have our intelect on the inside eh?”

“well in the intelect’s opinion.” Baby Face said “ it would be better not to have one of your own in there. Best have an outsider. You know a decoy and recruit someone else for the job.”

“where are we gonna get one of those?” asked Clyde lifting 6 more of Baby Face’s books back onto the table.

“ hasn’t Italo wanted to be in the group for awhile?” asked Baby Face loading the remaining books onto the table.

“ you suggest we use Italo as our inside man?” asked Pretty Boy.

“ yeah I am considering as far away as we can get from this job the better off we will be and the longer we will be able to keep from running out of town.” said Baby Face.

“ That’s actually a really good point.” I said nodding my head. “ I mean its not like we have anywhere to run to”

“ so we get Italo to do it for us. Whose gonna be a decoy for us?” Clyde asked anxiously.

“ well we arent gonna tell him what he is.” said Baby Face rolling his eyes. “ no we bring it to one of our other little friends at the home as a peace offering.”

“ but who?” I asked smiling broadly at them “ theres just too many options… geuss we cant do Heper. No one would think a cripled boy did it. I don’t think the janitor would hire him either.”

They all laughed and nodded. Clyde went back to his own books while we all returned to our business. Clyde slammed his hand down on a page. We all looked up at him. And then down at the book he had his hand sprawled across.

“ find something?” I asked.

He smiled and shook his head.

“ no I didn’t find it. I remembered it. A way to make fog. Take some glycerol from Miss Molly and mix it with some water shake it up and set it around the bank. Come in behind some adults shoot into the air and tell everyone to get down. They get down and the fog shields our faces and our stature while we take care of the bank.” said Clyde triumphantly.

“Wait whats glycerol?” asked Pretty boy

“ Chemical used to bake with” replied Baby Face looking at Clyde with a wonder. “ commonly found at bakerys. Pretty Boy.”

He turned and smiled at Pretty Boy shaking his head. He looked around the library like an accomplished actor looks around at their audience before taking a bow. He beamed at me.

“ Dodger” he said fixing his watery blue eyes one me. “ I think we have a plan.”

“ I think your right.” I said smiling back.

We stayed around the library for a bit longer. I finally sat down to read into why Baby Face found Sherlock Holmes so interesting. I got board a lot faster than the rest of them.

The librarian came over eventually and asked Clyde to go around and fix things for her. So I followed him and talked to him. Even though I was the only one talking. I watched as his usually clumsy hands zoomed across the broken little bits and made them better than new.

I was happy when we finally decided to leave the library. Coincidently at the same time as the man who looked just like the real Baby Face Nelson.

We watched as he walked down the library steps and down the street. His small figure lit by the yellow street lamps. His hands in his pockets and his foot steps echoing as he disappeared down the poorly lit street. We stood there watching him. Looking just as stupidly as we had this morning when we saw him.