The Heist goes Boom! Part One

After a few minutes calming down the excitable Riley, Surly looked down at the men who were next to a nut cart and while they were busy with a grouchy young customer, who brought a police men to complain about being 'assaulted with nuts' he knew this was the perfect chance.

Surly got Buddy's attention by pulling his ears up to him and pulled down a scroll with drawings on it saying "Alright boys, here's the plan, that's us, there's the cart, we rob the cart-"

"Why is it a big squiggly ball?" Riley asked

"I didn't have time to draw everything," Surly said "Anywho we rob the cart and then we stuff ourselves silly all winter."

"You two look silly as big round balls." Riley said

"Oh brother." Surly said before he noticed Buddy looking down "What are you looking at Buddy?"

Then Surly saw a red squirrel and a gray squirrel scurrying to the side of an entrance where the nut cart was next to and said "Oh great, we've got company." Surly said "Into the pail Buddy."

"Why not me?" Riley asked

"Just help me lower this pail to the cart." Surly said

Riley grabbed onto the string and began to lower the pail with Buddy inside towards the cart at a slow but steady rate. They were halfway there when suddenly...

"What are you doing here Surly?"

Surly and Riley jumped when they heard a female voice and they let go of the rope and the pail fell on top of the cart with a thud. However nobody noticed the pail or the rat which made Surly and Riley sigh in relief

"Are you okay!?" Riley shouted but Surly covered his mouth with his paws and shushed him

"You want the whole park to hear you kid?" Surly asked in annoyance

"Surly, who is this?"

Riley and Surly turned to see the red squirrel looking at them in confusion, mainly Riley as the kit removed Surly's arms from his mouth and said "Hi, i'm Riley."

"Oh, hi... i'm Andie and-wait, Surly what are you doing with him?" Andie asked

"The kid offered to help me and I said yes, what helping others is a crime now?" Surly asked as he fiddled with a backpack made out of a crayon box "So your after this nut cart too?"

"Course I am, the park needs this." Andie said

"Well your too late sister, the boys and I got here first, and I ain't sharing." Surly said as he used a clothes pin to stick a spool of yarn to a branch.

"Oh yes you are, Fall's half over and the park is having the worst shortage in years, that nut cart could feed everyone." Andie said "Hey we'll work together, we can work out a deal."

"Pass me that metal thing." Surly told Riley.

Riley handed over the metal clip as Andie sighed "I just... don't get it. You have all the drive and ability to help the park but you never do, you know this is a chance to prove that Raccoon is wrong with you."

"Who's he?" Riley asked

"The park leader." Andie said

"No, he's a tyrant who rules everyone with an iron fist." Surly said with a low growl that meant one thing; sheer hatred.

"Is he really that bad?" Riley asked

"Yes!/No!" Surly and Andie replied at the same time. Surly and Andie looked at each other with surprise before Surly huffed and went back to what he was doing.

"Okay, instead of proving your not as bad as Raccoon makes you to be, do it for the park." Andie said "Stop thinking about yourself all the time."

"Maybe being nice for a chance won't be so bad." Riley said

"First, This conversation doesn't concern you kid." Surly said "You don't even live in the park. And second i'm independent, which means looking out for number one, got that?"

Andie sighed and said "I feel sorry for you Surly."

Surly blinked in surprise as the look on his face changed from cocky to sad... as if, he truly meant it. Suddenly the gray squirrel landed in front of Surly and said "Aha! Found him Andie, and in a tree no less."

"Who are you?" Riley asked

"What the-who is this?" Grayson asked "Your new sidekick?"

"I'm Riley." Riley said

"Isn't that a girl's name?" Grayson asked "Because I-wait a minute, very clever Surly, using this kid as a distraction to buy you more time to escape. I shall now arrest you before you interfere with the park's nut cart caper."

"It's okay Grayson," Andie said "I got him."

"No Grayson," Surly said "She doesn't, you better help her out."

Andie was so mad she lunged towards Surly but Grayson held her back. Andie snarled as she said "I'm just gonna rip your tail off!"

"Now, how about that date?" Grayson asked Andie

"Uh Mr. Grayson, Surly's leaving." Riley said

Grayson and Andie watched as Surly jumped from the branch and was propelled down by the string towards the cart like a super secret spy.

"That was thrilling!" Grayson said

Andie drove her elbow into his gut, making the gray squirrel let go of him and he cried "That was painful!"

Andie looked down from the branch at Surly and said "Oh this is going to end up bad."

"Don't worry, Surly's going to come back with the nuts and save the day like a super hero!" Riley said with a grin

Andie sighed and said "Riley, you... you have no clue what's going on here do you? And if you don't live in the park, where do you live?"

"With my human family." Riley said "Since I was a baby."

'Since he was a... wait, could this child be... no, it couldn't be' Raccoon said all the members of that poor squirrel family died. But still... could it be possible?' Andie thought to herself, remembering the original leader of the park before Raccoon took over when he died trying to find a different food source. There was no way this little boy was the leader's long lost son... could it?

She didn't have time to think about that now, she pushed the thought aside and focused on Surly and his scheme, with a feeling deep down inside her that something was about to go horribly wrong.