20 The Press Conference Mayor Lane holds a press conference. Somebody interrupts it. Dogboy heads off on a new adventure. Cindy surprises Mr. Horum. A week later Mr. Horum, Cindy, and Bronson stood around the TV at The Old Curiosity Shop watching Mayor Lane’s press conference on WRDB. This was his fifth press conference since the 4th of July incident. “We honor the passing of the three Colta
19 Andrus Revealed Making sense of everything. A new trick. The final battle. Going home. Cindy pointed her camera at the action happening down on the stage. Her radio squeaked. She took it from her belt then switched it to channel four. “Axle?” she asked. “Yeah,” Axle said, “we gonna do this or what?” “There was that big explosion. Now Dogboy’s guy is up on stage messing with
18 The Thrill of the Fourth Our party arrives at Dixon Park. Osbert gets one over on the police. Cindy confronts Hot John. Andrus and Dogboy take the stage. The sun went down in Dixon Park. Thousands of people poured down the walkways, past the food vendors, then out onto the grass. Posters for the annual “Freedom Concert” were pasted up everywhere. There were cops everywhere. They even
17 The Reunion Bronson returns to the shop. Bronson returns to the hideout. Bronson returns to his school. The team plans their attack. A few hours later the bell above the door rang again. Bronson stepped in. “Hello?” he said. “Mr. Horum? Door’s open. Look, I wasn’t trying to be a jerk or nothing before. I—” A moan rose up from behind the counter. Bronson ran back and
16 Escape from the Underground Dogboy asks for clarification. Escape from the underground. Mr. Horum gets one last customer before he closes up shop. Andrus stood in front of a large blueprint of a stage that was taped to his office wall. He was studying the blueprints for security holes they could take advantage of on Independence Day. Osbert stood behind him looking through some notes. “Your test
15 The Ghost in the Subway Car Dogboy becomes an asset to the team. Andrus brags about him. Bronson flies and falls. An old foe returns. Paulus, Kathleen. “Guild of Thieves Baffle Police.” Colta City Herald 24 Jun. Police are still trying to piece together a mysterious spa heist that occurred on the twenty-seventh block of Oakland Street today. Missy’s Nails ‘N Things was robbed at gunpoint at
14 Trouble at Woodrow Wilcox Bugs makes nice. Uncle/teacher conference. Randolph makes a scene. Mayor Lane visits area schools. Bronson was back in school for the first time in almost a week. It wasn’t the classes that brought him back. It wasn’t Cindy, who was sitting across from him at the lunch table scribbling in a notebook. It was the free food. The glorious microwaved pizza free food
13 Embrace the Underground Bronson says his goodbyes. Andrus teaches Bronson how to be a thief. Dogboy helps rob a train. A dangerous upgrade. Bronson opened the familiar door to Mr. Horum’s store. Mr. Horum was behind the counter eating a pastry from the deli down the street. “Ah,” he said, “there is that friend of mine—the liar.” Bronson had told Mr. Horum more than a few lies.
12 In the Den of Thieves Dogboy meets Andrus. Talking with Sister Francine. The flood. Welcome to the Guild of Thieves. Bronson couldn’t see a darn thing. Once they’d arrived down in the sewers they’d walked in silence for a few minutes before coming to a door marked SERVICE TUNNEL. Once through the door Hot John had ripped his mask off and placed a black bag over his
11 A Day Out at Dixon Park Bronson replaces his cape. Skate Day in the park. Bugs gets what’s coming to him. Dogboy saves the day. Mr. Horum slid his key into the cash register and the drawer popped open. He reached in and pulled out three crisp twenty dollar bills then handed them to Bronson. Bronson instinctively counted the money. “No worry,” Mr. Horum said, “is all