Feathers snuck out of West Wallaby Street, his ears blaring with the sound of the music he had left the radio to play while Wallace and Gromit went to bed; whether they knocked on the door to the room he was currently letting - why they hadn't made any effort to dress up that so-called spare bedroom in preparation for the paying guest, Feather's genuinely did not understand; he had been looking for a room to let so he could stay and make his plans to break into the museum where the diamond exhibit was being shown for the next few days giving him a narrow window of opportunity.
He could have gone to a hotel, but that would have attracted too much attention, and for his heist to work he would need to stay in a place where he could come and go as he pleased while he finalised his plans.
But as Feathers walked out of the backdoor, his mind already calling up the routes to the museum where he would hopefully get there without really being seen, the penguin couldn't help but think.
Feathers, or rather Feathers McGraw was a criminal. He was a thief who had committed dozens of crimes during his long career, and as he passed a few dark windows, Feathers passed a few wanted posters.
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS CHICKEN?
Amusement flashed in Feather's dark eyes as he looked at the poster. It was of him of course, but where he was wearing a red glove which gave him the appearance of a chicken. It was a disguise to throw the police off, and while Feathers wasn't entirely certain if his disguise would work in the long term, it would do for now. Feathers only studied the picture for a moment before he went on his way towards the museum. He wasn't going to break into the museum now despite memorising some of the ways inside and studying the security system thanks to his contacts granting him the details of how the diamond was protected.
He wasn't ready.
He needed to finish studying the routes to the museum so that when he began the heist he would get there and back without any problems.
He needed to find a foolproof way of getting inside.
But Feathers already had an idea, and it was thanks to those two simpletons he was currently renting a room from that he had it. He had seen the dog, Gromit, hanging upside down wearing those remarkable and amazing techno-trousers which were able to stick to ceilings. The moment he had laid his eyes on those trousers, Feathers had seen the possibilities; if he could find a way of stealing the trousers, he could get inside the museum and steal the diamond. That was what he had thought at the time, but Feathers had needed to think of the possibilities, and he realised if he could find a way of threatening or coercing either Wallace or Gromit to wear the trousers, then the heist would go according to plan.
For the whole day and night since he'd arrived, Feathers had watched the two, and he found his target.
Wallace, despite his clear skill at invention - Feathers had been surprised by how many different machines were in the house, and it made him pay more attention to them; if there was a way he could capitalise on the inventions, then his career would skyrocket, but Feathers could think about that later - seemed to be the more easily swayed compared to Gromit, who seemed to be more intelligent in a more subtle way.
Wallace was perfect. While he was intelligent, he seemed gullible and easily swayed. Manipulating him shouldn't be too difficult.
Gromit was too dangerous as he seemed to be smarter, but if he could find a way to split them up… Feathers pushed those thoughts to one side, and he went on his way. Getting to the museum was easy enough, and as he memorised the route, the penguin checked out different paths while one or two led to dead ends, and a few resulted in aggressive dog barkings, Feathers found a way to the museum at the end. He took his time to explore this part of the town.
As he found himself standing outside the museum, Feathers looked up, mentally estimating the height of the walls before he turned and walked down the streets.
As he did, Feathers spotted another HAVE YOU SEEN THIS CHICKEN? poster and he shook his head in amusement. In a few more days, he would have added yet another heist to the list of crimes he'd committed.
Author's Note - I couldn't resist writing another one-shot where Feather's mind was put on show, and what he was thinking as he moved in with Wallace and Gromit. Hope you enjoyed it.