Chapter 4:
(If you haven't caught on a little, I've been throwing in a few references. Like Aerith being a drawing Zeke's working on. And the plush is Pabu from Legend of Korra. The song he was singing was As If It's Your Last by BLACKPINK, which played in Amphibia. There might be a few I add here that you probably won't get)
Now was the time for the Bad Guys legacy-cementing heist. This involves stealing the Golden Dolphin, being awarded to one Professor Marmalade IV for the Good Samaritan Award. From what Zeke's heard, no one's been able to steal it, not even the Crimson Paw, who was the greatest thief known.
Wolf and the boys arrived in disguises, Shark dressed as woman, with Webs hiding in his wig. Zeke walked along them, hidden, wearing just a purple and blue plaid button-up t-shirt.
Wolf went over the plan, and immediately went to get the retina scan from Governor Foxington. Zeke followed his dad, hiding the radios he had on before in his pocket. So that's the governor, he thought, wondering what she said the wounded his dad's pride.
Wolf and Zeke turned their attention to the sculpture that the governor was standing by. Zeke looked at in wonder,
"Whoa…I wonder where they got these pieces." He said, basically, running around Wolf quietly whispered, "You like this one?" To which Zeke nodded. "It reminds me of one of my favorite anime characters. CRUNCH!" He whispered cracking his knuckles.
Wolf nodded, but then got into character to get the governor's attention. "Interesting piece. Trashy. Pointless. Pretentious." He said, to which shocked Zeke. "It isn't pointless! There's beauty in recycling!" he shouted at his dad, throwing him off guard. Wolf quickly recovered before he was blown.
The governor turned her attention to the grown wolf and young rabbit. "You know, they say art reveals more about the viewer than the artist." She said to them, "Mister…"
"Poodleton. Oliver Poodleton." Wolf said charismatically, kissing Governor Foxington's hand and taking her ring.
"Huh…smooth talker." Zeke said, trying to pretend not to know him.
Diane flatly said "Uh…Okay. And this is?" Turning her attention to the boy.
"Fire. Wang Fire…I'm kidding, of course. I'm Ezekiel Smith." He said, waving his hand. "Also, don't listen to this daft idiot, the sculpture is awesome."
"Huh, got keen eyes for a kiddo. Vocabulary's good, too." Diane said, "Very astute of you, Governess." Zeke said, slyly looking at his dad. "Have I charmed you better than the moron?" Diane only giggled at the attempt. "Haha, not bad, kiddo. So, you're not with him, it seems. Where are your parents?" Zeke pulled out a ticket, "I'm here to actually see the exhibits. I heard the museum wasn't closed off completely, so I thought I'd see." Diane nodded in understanding. "Speaking of which, I've gotta go. See ya!" The rabbit walked off, Wolf smiled.
That's my boy. Still, he didn't need to be so brutal, he thought, thinking of the insults.
He then turned his attention to Diane. "Oh, Madame Governor, I gotta say: It's about time someone stood up to those diabolical Bad Guys." Wolf said, "Though I have to say, no one's succeeded yet." Adding that comment was a show of confidence.
"Oh, I don't think it'll be THAT hard." Diane said, undeterred.
"I have a feeling it'll be harder than you think. I have say they're one epic job away from cementing their legacy." Wolf said, proudly.
The governor only laughed as a response, with Wolf barely getting any chuckles in.
"Mr. Poodleton, you're-you're funny." She said and stuttered over her own laughter.
"I am?" Wolf asked. "The only legacy they're cementing is life in prison. Did you see their last job?" She began to groan.
"Unsecured exits, crude disguises, compulsive showboating. I mean, it was a mess. All the classic signs of a crew in decline. Next, they're gonna make it personal. That's when you know they're toast."
Wolf's smile immediately fell as she explained, almost as if she hit all his pressure points.
He circled back quickly, trying not to take it personally. "Uh, well, that's YOUR opinion." He retorted. "It is, and I'm the governor." She said, turning her eyes back to the statue. "As for the sculpture…I know our young rabbit friend appreciated the recycling." She said, looking at it deeper, "I think it's about perspective."
Diane grabbed Wolf's arm and gesture toward a spotlight, the sculpture casting a shadow on it.
"If you look closely enough, even trash can be recycled into something beautiful." The sculpture could turn, and in the spotlight, the shadow turned to shape a swan. Wolf looked at it, impressed.
"How 'bout that? I guess some things aren't always as they appear. Heh, guess the kid was right." He said, "Oh! May I?" He then asked, pulling out his phone for the selfie he needs for the retina scan, "I can't miss a photo op with the governor and a pile of garbage." He explained. "Oh Mr. Poodleton, you're too hard on yourself." She teased, while smiling for the camera, Wolf turned to her in response as the camera's light went off.
(Later)
The Bad Guys waited on Wolf to show up with the picture. "Okay, friends." Wolf approached the group, flipping the governor's ring in his hand, he smirked "It's showtime."
Zeke started looking at exhibits. As his family went and started their heist, he saw the police chief Luggins. "Oh geez, not her…" Zeke said worriedly, ears drooping upon sight. "Officers, if the Bad Guys crash this event, I am DEFINITELY going to lose my job and I WILL NOT HESITATE TO TAKE YOU DOWN WITH ME! Now move out!."
She shouted at her task force to survey the area. Zeke then turned his attention back to looking at exhibits. He really loved all the painting styles that paintings seem to have. He put his earpiece in to listen to what's happening; Wolf told him to have one on to hide in case of emergency.
"Mics on. Everyone on comms, do you copy?" Webs said, everyone replied with a "Copy", Shark especially in his female impression.
Zeke immediately looked at all the paintings and saw the different styles. "Wow…these are AMAAZING!" He said, eyes twinkling. That unfortunately garnered the attention of some nearby guests. "Wow, even the photography is incredible! The filter applied for the city-shot is so vivid!" Zeke was basically fanboying, "Oh my gosh, these remind me of modern marble patterns." Then, he heard his family going through the heist on the radio. "Shark!~ You're up. Do your thing." Webs said,
"Oh, do I get to improvise?" He asked, enthusiastically.
"Yes, fine. Improvise, but please be subtle." Wolf asked, pleadingly.
Now this Zeke had to see, if his knows his Uncle Lou, he does NOT know how to be subtle for distractions. Shark poured his drink on the floor and moved his table. "I'M HAVING A BABY!" Zeke was weirded out, why'd he pour his drink on the floor for that?
The guests near Shark jumped up in surprise. "Is there a doctor—or perhaps several security guards—that could leave their posts and help me?!" He saw two guards rush over to him. Zeeke giggled quietly and went back to looking around and he saw Professor Marmalade himself walking around. "Professor Marmalade?" He asked, wondering why he wasn't over there. Marmalade looked at the boy in confusion, "Oh hello there, young man." He greeted, "What are you doing here by yourself?" Zeke looked over, "I could ask you the same thing. Shouldn't you be over there with the rest of the event?" Marmalade only chuckled. "Oh, I thought I'd check some of the exhibits while I'm here." Zeke nodded, "Gotcha. Oh! I guess I should congratulate you for the award!" He told him. Marmalade smiled and blushed, "Oh, thank you! But this isn't for anything special, really. Being good is its own reward." He said. "I think so too, actually." Zeke told him. "Well, I'll be going. It was nice talking to you, young man." Marmalade told him, walking off to join the event. Zeke squinted his eyes in confusion.
There's hardly anything of note in that area, and I didn't see a bathroom, he thought. Whatever the case, he hopes this heist will be over soon. He looked upset, though.
He doesn't want his family to get caught, but he doesn't want them to be Bad Guys. He took off his radio and put in his pocket, quietly thinking of his family before shutting his eyes. "Lord…I know I'm not in position to ask, but please try to make my family see their wrongdoings."
(Hoo boy, this took a bit. I wanted to try to get the heist scenes done in one chapter, but I'm tired for today. See you guys. Stay strong and awesome, and remember who loves you most in life!)