Hello readers! I apologize for the long wait. The month of June has been a crazy and busy one for me. However, as I promised, here is the next chapter of Billy the Kid's life story. This chapter will be a little different in that it's going to be a collection of short stories. Hope you all enjoy it. As I said before, I do not own The Bad Guys or Wrestlemania. The Bad Guys movie is owned by Dreamworks while the books are the property of Aaron Blabey. Wrestlemania is owned by World Wrestling Entertainment.
Chapter 2: Parenthood Pains
Day 1: Supply Run
It was 2:00 AM, and the hideout was filled with the deafening wails of Billy as the infant kicked in the makeshift bed the Bad Guys made on the kitchen table. Everyone lay in their beds with bloodshot and baggy eyes, covering their heads with their pillows in hopes to block out the child's crying. Even Webs blasting her music on her headphones wasn't enough to drown out the baby's crying.
Snake's one eye twitched as he shook under his covers in anger.
Eventually, the limbless reptile burst out of his bed yelling, "THAT'S IT!"
Snake charged out of his room towards the toddler with the other Bad Guys walking out of their rooms at the same time. All of them yawned and stretched their limbs as they dragged themselves towards the kitchen in their sleepwear.
Seeing what Snake was about to do, Wolf quickly stepped in front of the baby and held his paw up saying, "Woah! Hold on, Snake!"
"I warned you about this, Wolf! That little noisemaker has been crying for four hours straight! I have never been so sleep-deprived in my life! I'm taking him down to the docks and dropping his tiny butt on the next boat to Timbuktu!" said Snake.
"Will you calm down! This is probably just an easy fix," said Wolf.
"Sure, he either goes in my gut or on the other side of the world where he can annoy someone else!" retorted the reptile.
"Maybe he's got a boo-boo?" said Piranha.
"Or he's hungry!" cried Shark.
The large predator ran to the fridge and pulled out various foods they stored for their meals. Shark laid the pile of food on the table and looked through the selection until he picked up a banana.
The master of disguise held the fruit up to the wailing infant saying with a yawn, "Here you go, Billy."
Webs smacked the fruit from Shark's fin and said, "Shark! What is the matter with you? Babies can't eat bananas, they don't even have any teeth."
"Okay, what about this then?" said Shark as he held up a push pop from the freezer.
Snake's eyes widened and he quickly wrapped his tail around Shark's arm, pulling it back.
"Oh no! You are NOT giving that parasite one of my push pops!" said the reptile.
"You have a whole stockpile in there! Losing one is not going to kill you," retorted the large fish.
Snake and Shark played tug of war with the push pop as the baby continued to cry.
Wolf rubbed his head while Webs crawled up to his side of the table.
The arachnid looked up at the leader and said, "Let's face it, Wolf. We're not cut out for raising a kid. Heck, none of us don't even know what we're doing, especially getting him to stop crying. We know this was your idea, but it's not working. The least we can do is ditch the kid in front of a daycare or something and just go back to the way things were."
But Wolf and Webs's train of thought was interrupted when they sniffed the air; there was a foul stench.
The arachnid's face scrunched up as she waved one of her legs in front of her face. "Ack! Piranha!"
The tiny Columbian fish could smell it too as he turned to Webs and replied, "Hey, that wasn't me this time! You all should know by now how bad I smell when I'm nervous."
Webs said, "Well if it wasn't you then who-"
The arachnid trailed off as everyone froze in their tracks and turned toward Billy on the table, where the source of the smell came from.
"Uh-oh!" said all of the Bad Guys in unison.
The Supermarket
The automatic doors slid open as the Bad Guys walked lazily into the store, still in their pajamas. All of them shared the same drowsy look as Billy cried in Wolf's arms. None of the Bad Guys had the energy to make their usual grand entrances when robbing a store. Luckily for the group, the supermarket was open twenty-four hours and had everything they needed.
It wasn't long until one of the cashiers stared at the group in horror and pointed at them screaming, "The Bad Guys!"
The very few shoppers and staff in the store fell into a panic as they ran out screaming in terror from the infamous criminals. While all of the customers and employees fled in a panic, the group of thieves picked up a shopping cart and pushed it towards the baby aisle. Using one arm, Shark slid a quarter of diaper packs into the cart. Webs called out the list of items on her phone as the rest of the group wandered up and down the aisle picking baby food, baby clothes, pacifiers, and all the necessities to care for Billy.
Shark took a moment to stop the cart in the middle of the toy aisle. On one of the shelves was a cute brown teddy bear. The large fish stared at the toy for a moment before he smiled and picked up a stuffed alligator instead. He thought it would be a nice toy for Billy to play with as he hid the plushy underneath the baby supplies.
The Bad Guys didn't bother to pay for their purchase as they wheeled the cart out of the store. Being thieves, they were used to taking things without paying, plus there was hardly anyone left in the store to ring up their purchase.
Snake stopped to stare at all of the lonely cash registers that were vacant from the lack of staff; a scaly grin crept across his face.
The rest of the Bad Guys waited in the car for Snake as Wolf tapped on the steering wheel impatiently.
"What is taking him so long?" asked Webs.
As if on cue, Snake slithered into the passenger's seat with a large paper bag full of money.
The rest of the group stared at the reptile as he looked back and shrugged. "What? I figured we could at least get something out of this trip."
Wolf turned on the ignition and drove the car out of the parking lot before the police arrived.
The Hideout
When the group made it back to the hideout, all five of them stood at the table with Billy in the center, a fresh diaper on his right, and a bottle of baby powder on his left.
"Well, we got everything we need. All that's left is for the hard part," said Wolf.
"Not it!" cried Shark, Snake, Piranha, and Webs in unison.
The four of them ran back to their rooms and shut their doors, leaving Wolf alone with the baby. The leader glared at where his team left.
"Thanks a lot, guys! I'll remember this the next time you need my help!" shouted Wolf.
He stared nervously at the baby, hesitant to put a single claw on the dirty diaper. The leader took out his encrypted phone and quickly searched for how-to videos on changing a baby's diaper.
"Well, if I can survive Piranha's farts then I can survive this," grumbled Wolf.
With the video playing, the canine took a few deep breaths and steeled himself as he began.
From behind their doors, the rest of the group could hear nothing but coughs, gags, and disgusted grunts from their fearless leader. Eventually, Billy's crying subsided and the hideout was drenched in silence. Everyone went back to sleep while Wolf thoroughly washed his paws.
Day 2: Feeding Frenzy
The eggs and bacon were sizzled in the frying pan as Piranha cooked breakfast for everyone. Wolf, Shark, and Snake sat around the table, sipping coffee.
The TV was on the news channel as Tiffany Fluffit reported a robbery in front of a baby store blocked off by police tape.
Billy sat in his new high chair the group stole yesterday after everyone recovered from the diaper incident.
To avoid the same catastrophe, Wolf found it best that they planned out a schedule and take turns caring for Billy on certain things.
Today, Webs was in charge of feeding Billy his Breakfast. The arachnid crawled up the high chair with a small jar in one hand and a spoon in another. She made it to the little platform where the infant babbled happily. Webs unscrewed the lid and scooped up some green mush in the spoon. Due to her size, she had to pick up the spoon with two of her legs like a shovel.
The arachnid directed the spoon to the infant saying, "Alright kiddo, open wide."
But Billy scrunched his face at the mush and turned away saying, "Nah!"
Webs rolled her eyes. "Are you serious? You haven't even tried it."
"Nah!" repeated the infant.
"Just pretend it's ice cream or chocolate pudding," replied the hacker.
But Billy refused to open his mouth.
"Billy, I need you to work with me here. Unless you want to starve, you will eat this!" growled Webs.
"Nah!" repeated Billy as he slammed his hands on the chair.
The impact was like a mini earthquake to the hacker, nearly making her trip and fall.
"And I thought Snake was a picky eater," she grumbled.
All of the guys snickered as they watched Webs struggle to feed the baby.
The arachnid slowly rotated the spoon in front of Billy saying, "Here comes the fly! Buzz! Buzz!"
But that didn't work.
Webs gave a stern glare. "Fine! If that is the way it's going to be, then…I'll bite you!"
Still didn't work.
The arachnid turned to the rest of the group and asked, "Can I get a little help here?"
"And ruin the show? Not a chance," replied Snake.
Webs growled again and turned back to Billy. How was she going to get this stubborn kid to eat his food? Eventually, the hacker got an idea.
The arachnid crawled closer to Billy and tickled his sides with her remaining legs while still holding the spoon in two.
"Tickle tickle tickle!" she said as Webs wiggled her fuzzy legs under the child's arms.
Billy burst out into laughter from the tickling and Webs took the opportunity to shove the spoon in Billy's open mouth.
"Gotcha!" shouted Webs.
She pulled the empty spoon out of the infant's mouth and stood up with pride from completing her task. Billy's cheeks bulged from the food in his mouth with a drop of the green mush dripping from the side of his lip.
"It pays to have six extra legs," she said.
But her victory was short-lived as Billy spat the food out, covering Webs from head to all of her legs in the green mush.
Wolf, Piranha, Shark, and Snake burst out into laughter. Billy clapped and laughed with them.
Webs wiped some of the food off of her face and stared back at the child with a deadpan look. "I can't wait until you're old enough to feed yourself."
Day 3: Dangers of Babysitting
"Are you sure you two are going to be okay with watching the little tyke?" asked Wolf.
The two fish smiled back at their leader.
"Don't worry about it, hermano. We got this," said Piranha.
"You guys just worry about the recon. The three of us are going to have an awesome time together," said Shark.
The master of disguise held Billy in his arms as he looked down at the infant and said in a baby voice, "Isn't that right, little man?"
Billy giggled back at Shark's funny accent.
Wolf, Snake, and Webs made their way to the elevator where the car was parked. The three of them loaded the cameras, flash drives, and disguises they need to gather the intel for their next job.
"Just promise us Billy will still be in one piece by the time we get back," said Webs.
"And remember to use that false address when ordering takeout. We don't need any prying eyes knowing where we live," said Snake.
"No problemo! The squirt will be safer than dinero in a bank vault," said Piranha.
"You're all forgetting who stole the Mona Lisa disguised as the Mona Lisa. Trust us, this will be a cakewalk," said Shark.
Wolf cocked a skeptical brow at the two smiling fish. "Alright, but if anything happens, give us a ring and we'll abort the reconnaissance."
"Chill, Lobo. Like I said, we got this," replied Piranha.
The leader shrugged. "Alright, see guys around dusk."
Wolf closed the elevator door and Snake pushed the button that made the elevator ascend towards the exit of the hideout. Once Webs, Wolf, and Snake were out of sight, the two fish turned to each other.
"Wrestlemania!" they shouted in unison.
Shark and Piranha quickly gathered snack foods and drinks in front of the TV. Both of them changed into shirts promoting different wrestlers with Billy sitting beside them. The baby sported a wrestling shirt of his own that Shark made for him. The two fish stood in front of the TV with big smiles and wild eyes as they turned on the screen and flipped to the wrestling channel. Both of them cheered as the intro to Wrestlemania played.
They dropped back down on the couch, making Billy bounce a little.
Piranha ate some popcorn. "I think El Matador has a chance of winning the belt this year."
Shark waved his hand. "Nah, man! Everyone knows it's going to be Steel Hammer."
"Are you kidding? That dude couldn't even knock out Mr. Merciless last year. What makes you think he has a shot this time?" retorted the little Colombian fish.
"He took down the Terror Twins this Spring all by himself, submitted Chainsaw under thirty minutes back in June, and he was able to get his spot on Wrestlemania by beating King Yeti in the semifinals!" explained Shark.
While the two continued to argue over which wrestler was going to win the belt, Billy tugged on the side of Shark's shirt to get his attention. Unfortunately, the large predator was too engrossed in his conversation with Piranha to notice the child.
Eventually, Billy gave up and crawled off the couch to look for something fun to do. While the infant explored the hideout, he noticed one of the curtains flapping in the air. Curious, Billy crawled his way towards the dirty drape to discover one of the windows was opened. Being just a baby, the child didn't know any better and slowly made his way towards the open window.
Shark and Piranha yelled and cheered, watching the wrestling match on TV. The master of disguise pulled a corn chip from the bowl and was about to dip it in the guacamole, only to discover there was no guacamole on the table.
"Whoops! Forgot the guacamole. I'll go get it. Let me know if he uses his signature move," said Shark.
"Sure, whatever," replied Piranha, too mesmerized by the match to care about his friend's words.
The large fish made his way to the fridge when he noticed that a certain baby was nowhere in sight. Shark turned in a complete circle to scan the hideout for any sign of the infant but found nothing. He checked under the sofa and behind the piles of loot, but still no Billy.
Nervous, Shark went back to the coach asking, "Uh, Piranha, have you seen Billy?"
The Columbian fish shrugged. "What are you talking about? He's right-."
But Piranha couldn't finish his sentence when they both noticed the empty cushion where the toddler used to be.
The nerves of both fish rose at the realization they have already lost the kid.
"Okay, he couldn't have gotten far. The little guy doesn't even know how to walk yet," said Shark in a shaky voice.
Piranha stood up from the couch. "Yeah, maybe he wandered off in a different room. We'll split up. You take one side and I'll take the other."
"Got it," replied the master of disguise.
Both the large and small fish ran around the hideout, searching every room while calling the child's name. They looked under every corner of the hideout to find the missing toddler, but Billy was nowhere to be seen.
Piranha and Shark regrouped by the couch.
The large predator's eyes were wild with fear as they darted around the hideout and he bit his fins. "Where else could he have gone? Wolf, Webs, and Snake took the elevator up, so there's no other way out."
"Not to mention, he's too short to reach the button to call the elevator back down," said Piranha. "I can't believe you lost Billy! He was sitting right next to you when we turned on the TV."
"Hey, don't pin this on me! You were supposed to watch him too," retorted Shark.
"You were the one that forgot the guacamole in the fridge!" said Piranha.
"Because your pea brain forgot first like it does with everything else!" replied Shark.
The Columbian fish glared at the master of disguise and growled, "You better watch it, Flipper."
"Why? Just because you can give a whole swat team a beat down, you think I'm scared of you? I eat little fish like you for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!" said Shark.
"Well, I bet other fish don't know how to make shark fin soup with their bare hands!" retorted Piranha.
But before either of them resorted to violence, a gust of wind blew through the opened window. The curtain flapped high in the air, getting the attention of both thieves. Shark and Piranha stared at the window with wide eyes and slacked jaws, concluding as to where the missing baby was.
"BILLY!" cried both fish.
Quickly, Piranha and Shark rushed towards the window and poked their heads out, searching for Billy. Several yards across from the windows was a cluster of buildings. The most noticeable one had a large billboard in front, advertising an energy drink. Bellow the window was unfinished scaffolding that ran across the brick exterior. At the very end of the scaffolding was an opening to a construction waste tube that ran down to the street level.
Both Piranha and Shark yelped in horror for right next to the opening of the waste tube was the familiar pudgy figure of Billy.
"Don't worry, Billy. We're coming!" cried Shark.
The baby heard the voice of the big fish and turned around. He smiled at the sight of his two family figures and clapped.
Piranha slowly climbed out onto the scaffolding and crept his way toward the child. "Stay right there, chico. Tio Piranha is on the way."
Overwhelmed by his joy, Billy couldn't wait and slowly attempted to stand up. But it wasn't long before the child lost his balance and tripped down the waste tube. Both thieves screamed in horror as they heard the happy squeals of the baby slide down the tube and come out the bottom, landing onto a dump truck full of sand. Piranha and Shark sighed with relief, only for that relief to be disolve when the truck drove away with Billy on top of it.
"No! Billy!" cried Shark.
Without thinking, the large fish hopped onto the scaffolding. Due to his sheer mass and weight, the flimsy wooden structure shattered. Both fish screamed as they fell into a dumpster.
Piranha poked his head out of the garbage. "I told Wolf we had to think of a better way to throw out our trash."
Shark poked his head out and spat a few pieces of trash before saying, "Come on! We have to catch that truck before something happens to Billy!"
"How? That truck is halfway towards uptown by now. There's no way we can catch it on foot," said Piranha.
But it didn't take the duo long to notice a lonely motorcycle with a sidecar conveniently parked not too far from the dumpster. Without hesitation, Shark bit the lock off with his sharp teeth and Piranha hotwired the bike to turn on the ignition. Once the motorcycle hummed to life, the master of disguise comedically sat on the bike while crazy Columbian fish hopped in the sidecar. Shark turned the knob for acceleration a few times before zooming in after the dump truck.
A man in a leather jacket and his girlfriend ran out of a building shouting, "Hey! That's our bike!"
Shark and Piranha weaved through the traffic to catch up with the dump truck. The motorcycle was too small for the large predator, but he was able to keep his balance while maneuvering closer to Billy. Even though Wolf was usually the driver of the team, Shark and Piranha found ways to maintain some vehicles that didn't involve the canine and his car.
In the dump truck, Billy played in the sand, oblivious to the amount of danger he was in or his guardians catching up.
Once the two thieves were close enough, Piranha jumped on the front of the bike and turned to Shark. "Keep her steady while I get the chico."
Billy paused as he looked down from the truck and saw the familiar two thieves again. The baby giggled and clapped as he reached out for both of them.
Piranha leaped towards the truck but failed to notice the bus that drove between the bike and the car. He was pressed against the windshield of the passenger vehicle. The driver immediately recognized the green face with jagged teeth and screamed before swerving the bus uncontrollably through traffic. Shark quickly steered out of the way before the bus rammed the bike to the side.
Piranha held onto the windshield for dear life, when he felt that dreaded bubbling feeling in his system that the Bad Guys were too familiar with.
"Ooh! Not now!" groaned the little fish.
Piranha tried to hold it in, but the stress of the situation was too much. A large green cloud covered the bus, temporarily blinding the driver.
Shark was also caught in the obnoxious fumes gagging and coughing. "Gah! He really needs to lay off the burritos."
Once the green smoke cleared, the bus driver looked ahead to see a red traffic light at the intersection. Quickly, he slammed his foot on the brakes, making the bus come to a complete halt. Piranha was flung off the windshield and into the air. The Colombian fish screamed as he soared across the traffic and landed in the sandy dump truck with Billy.
The infant continued to giggle and clap as Piranha smiled and cried, "Billy!"
Filled with relief, the Colombian fish hugged the infant. "You gave us quite a scare, chico. You can't go wandering off like that again. These streets will eat you alive if you're not careful."
Being a baby, Billy was unable to comprehend what Piranha was saying and continued to smile and giggle. The tiny crazy brawler couldn't be mad at the child. He was still young and had much to learn about their way of life. Little did Piranha know that staring at Billy's innocence made the Colombian fish feel a tingling sensation in his dorsal fin. It was faint, but it felt like an itch.
"Come on, let's get you back to the hideout so we don't miss the final match of Wrestlemania," said Piranha.
But the moment of relief was interrupted by the loud beeping noise of a large truck backing up. Piranha realized they had slowed down and moved in reverse.
"Alright, dump it!" said a random voice.
The back hatch of the truck slid open as both Piranha and Billy were dumped out of the truck and in the middle of a construction site. Large machines slowly moved throughout the fenced area of dirt and steel beams. The area was filled with workers dressed in bright orange and white vests. However, like always, it didn't take long for the construction crew to notice the tiny green fish on their site.
One of the men pointed and shouted, "It's one of the Bad Guys, run!"
Everyone sprinted out of the construction site, kicking up dirt and dust in their path. Even some of the workers operating the heavy machinery wasted no time jumping out of their vehicles and fleeing with everyone else.
In a panic, one of the employees grazed a lever before jumping out of the crane he operated.
Once the dust cleared, the construction site was completely vacant except for Piranha and Billy in the sand pile.
"Oh man, I hope Wolf and the others don't hear about this," said the Colombian fish as he scratched the back of his head.
Unbeknownst to him, a steel beam suspended by a crane slowly glided towards them. When the beam was close enough, Billy stood up and grabbed it. The infant held on as the crane gently carried him away with Piranha remaining oblivious.
Shark eventually arrived on the stolen bike and immediately spotted the little fish in the sand pile.
The master of disguise climbed the mound panting, "Piranha…where…is Billy?"
The little green fished waved a hand. "Relax, amigo, he's right here safe and sound."
But Piranha's eyes widened when he turned to see the baby was absent again.
"Oh, you got to be kidding me! This kid is a regular Houdini," yelled the Colombian fish as he pulled on his dorsal fin in anger.
A familiar squeaky giggle echoed high above the construction site. Both fish looked up and saw the tiny baby hanging on a still beam rising to the top by a crane.
"Aye caramba!" cried Piranha.
Shark screamed with both fins on his cheeks.
Billy held onto the beam with both hands with his feet dangling in the air.
"Quick, you climb up there and get Billy back. I'll try to stop the crane," ordered Shark.
"Aw, come on, man! I already risked my gills trying to save the kid during rush hour, why can't you get him?" whined Piranha.
Shark crossed his arms. "Do you know how to operate a crane?"
The Colombian fish thought for a moment as he drooled from his slacked jaw.
He responded with a shrug. "Good point. But do you know how?"
"No, but how hard could it be?" replied Shark with a sheepish smile. "Come on! Let's get our little man back."
The large predator ran to the crane holding the steel beam while Piranha used the elevator to reach the top of the unfinished building.
Shark squeezed himself in the operator's seat and examined the wide display of buttons and knobs. If he wasn't trying to save Billy, Shark would put his foot in his large mouth for the previous comment he made to Piranha. The master of disguise sweated bullets from the overwhelming choices to make on which of the switches stopped the crane.
Meanwhile, the elevator reached the unfinished top of the building and Piranha sprinted out, hoping to intercept the steel beam before Billy fell off. He reached the ledge and was relieved to see the beam and the infant slowly rise underneath him from within the hollow structure. Once the beam was close enough, Piranha jumped down and landed on the side where Billy hung from. The Colombian fish pulled up the infant and placed him safely on the flat surface of the beam.
"Got you, chico," said Piranha.
Shark continued to stress over all of the buttons and levers to use until he decided to press and pull all of them at the same time.
Suddenly, the steel beam jerked and spun in random directions as Piranha held on for dear life. Billy laughed and squealed as if he was on a ride.
"Shark, what is going on over there?!" shouted the Colombian fish.
The crane jerked and shifted as Shark pressed every button and pulled every leaver. With sudden swings, the crane bashed the steel beam into different parts of the unstable building, breaking support structures. Piranha continued to scream and Billy continued to laugh as the steel beam dented or busted more of the large structure. Eventually, the building endured too much abuse, that it began to collapse.
Shark stared in horror at the tall structure slowly caving in on itself.
Piranha looked down from the beam and found the sand pile where the truck dumped them. With no other options, he picked up the small child with both fins and carried him above his head.
"Looks like we're going to have to make a jump for it, buddy!" said Piranha.
The little green fish ran to the end of the beam and leaped as far as he could towards the sand pile.
Shark screamed again before climbing out of the crane.
He ran towards the falling baby and Piranha with his fins out shouting, "I gotcha! I gotcha! I gotcha! I gotcha!"
The master of disguise ran as fast as his legs could carry him with the collapsing building kicking large plumes of dust behind the Colombian fish and the infant. It was so close that both of them were mere seconds away from the ground.
Desperate, Shark took a huge leap across the dirt and slid on his belly towards his falling comrades. The large fish slid to a complete stop as the baby laded perfectly in his large fins.
"Gotcha!" he cried with a smile.
Piranha, on the other hand, screamed as he fell into a small cement mixer.
The last of the building collapsed as it made a thunderous sound and a large plume of dirt swept over Shark and Billy. The master of disguise shielded the toddler from the dust and gravel with his body.
In the distance, you could see the construction site explode like a miniature atom bomb.
Once the dust settled, Shark starred in shock at the amount of destruction they caused to save Billy. All that was left was a crumpled pile of wood, concrete, and metal.
Eventually, he broke out of his daze and turned toward the dirt-covered baby in his arms. Billy smiled as he booped Shark's nose with his tiny hands. The large fish couldn't help but smile at the cheerful child. Deep in his dorsal fin, he could feel the same faint tingling sensation that Piranha felt back on the dump truck. When Shark noticed this feeling, he scratched his fin, thinking it was an itch.
The large predator's attention was then turned to the cries for help coming from the cement turner beside the rubble. Recognizing the Hispanic accent, he immediately went over. With his free hand, Shark pushed the turner downward, making the wet cement slowly pour on the ground. Piranha fell out, covered in the thick gray substance.
The little fish stood up, dripping from head to toe in cement. "We're definitely stealing a crib for that kid."
"Agreed," replied Shark. "Let's get back before the cops show and the rest of the crew gets back from recon."
But just when Piranha was about to take a step, his body froze as the slight cracking of stone could be heard over his body. The tiny brawler groaned and growled trying to move, but remained stiff as a statue from the dry cement.
"Can you give me a hand?" he asked through a muffled voice.
Later
Shark carried both Billy and Piranha back to the hideout before Wolf, Webs, and Snake returned. He was able to find a chisel and break the Colombian fish free from his cement prison. They closed the window to ensure Billy couldn't sneak out again and kept a better eye on the infant on the couch as they finished watching Wrestlemania.
By that time, the elevator lowered itself back into the hideout. The door slid open as Wolf, Tarantula, and Snake walked back in with their equipment.
Shark quickly changed the channel to cartoons to hide what they were watching.
"We're back," said Wolf.
The leader dropped his camera on the table along with some photos and blueprints.
Both Shark and Piranha put on fake smiles as they turned toward their comrades.
"Hey, how'd it go?" asked the Colombian fish.
"Perfect. We've got everything we need to pull off the heist," said Webs.
"Now all that's left is to come up with a game plan," said Snake.
Billy played with his stuffed alligator on the couch.
Wolf smiled and picked up the baby in his arms, tickling his tiny chin with a claw. "It will also be the perfect opportunity for this little guy to prove himself. With little Billy here distracting security, this job will be a cinch."
Webs crawled up on Wolf's shoulder and asked, "So, how did it go with the babysitting?"
Both Shark and Piranha were quiet for a few seconds and exchanged glances at each other.
Their lying smiles returned as Piranha said, "No problemo! Kid was easier to watch than a convoy."
"Yeah! We were sitting around here all day, watching Billy's favorite show and eating snacks …just the three of us," said Shark.
Wolf, Webs, and Snake gave the two fish quizzical looks. Both fish struggled to keep their composure with their smiles as sweat dripped down their faces.
The leader's muzzle softened before nodding at the two and saying, "Good."
Suddenly, a news report flashed across the screen as Tiffany Fluffit stood in front of the remnants of a certain construction site.
"Breaking news, The Bad Guys have struck again as they continue to terrorize our beloved city," said the reporter. "But unlike the usual thievery and robbery these criminals are known for, two of them have completely demolished the construction site for a new homeless shelter generously funded by Professor Rupert Marmalade IV."
Everyone froze and stared at the TV as it showed footage of Shark operating the crane and Piranha falling from the collapsing debris.
Wolf, Snake, and Webs glared at Shark and Piranha as they sheepishly smiled toward the rest of the crew.
Snake slithered up beside Wolf with a smirk. "We told you they would mess it up."
"You owe us fifty bucks…each," said Webs.
Wolf gave an irritated look at both the reptile and the arachnid.
Now we've got a little taste of Billy's life with The Bad Guys. Next chapter, Billy will go on his first heist with the crew. Will he prove to be an asset or a liability? Thank you all so much for your patience. Again, I apologize for the long wait. Leave a review to give me your thoughts on this chapter and what you think of the story so far. Happy 4th of July!