The day already started better then the last but that wasn’t all the hard. All Dick needed for that was to not be hungover. He sobered up rather quickly after everything at the Inn and he couldn’t really sleep with his ribs anyways. He decided to spend that time forming his plan. The Brooklyn Warehouse and Storage Co. was the biggest warehouse in Brooklyn. Everything from clothing to toys to housewares were all stored there. There were delivery trucks constantly coming and going, dropping things off and then picking things off immediately and speeding away. 

In all of that space though, there fell other things as well. Less legal things. The rumors were mostly whispered about guns and drugs but there was far too much room for those to be the only things there. As large as the place was, there were only a few security working at any given time. If someone was to move swiftly and quietly they could easily slip past the patrols.

The key though was not to do this alone. In order to figure out where to look instead of wandering about blindly he needed to find the ledger and in order to pull that off he needed someone that he trusted to watch his back. Unfortunately, these days, that list was rather short. It didn’t take him all that long to form the list.

Dick picked up the phone receiver and dialed one of the numbers near the top of that list. After a couple of rings someone answered, “Chris, it’s Dick, looking for some work?”

Chris was sitting on the couch he had just came in after a five mile run.   He was sitting there drinking a glass of water when the phone rung.  He picked up the receiver and answered.

"Hello?"

Chris recognized the voice on the other end it was his childhood friend Grayson.   He thought about the question then he chuckled before answering his pal.

"Depends on the cut my friend I like making a buck but I need big dollars.  So when and where do you want to meet?  

Chris walked over to the walk refrigerator and grabed a pin and paper.  He gotted down an address and the date and time.

"Alright buddy, I'll see you then and I'll bring a bottle of brandy while you break down the job requirements and details."

Chris hung the phone up and then sat back down and finished his water.  He looked at his watch and then smiled as he thought about the money and the possible fun he was going to have on this job.  

Dick lit his cigarette as he turned the corner to face the warehouse, abruptly stopping, he leaned against the building across the street. The street wasn’t terribly busy, which helped ease his mind a bit. The less eyes the better. 

Every so often he would check he watch as the patrolman made his way by, timing the space in between. He let out a grin as he worked the numbers in his head. All he needed to do was get into the building, after that it was just a matter of not making any stupid movements to get caught.

Now he just needed to wait on an old friend, lighting another smoke as he kept his eyes on the building. 

Chris pulled up in his roadster he was in his sunday best.  His shoes were shinning as always, he exited his car he walked up to DickGrayson.   They shook hands and looked at the warehouse across the street.  Chris pulled out one of his cigarettes and lit it.  He slowly exhaled as he turned his head to look at the traffic.

"So what's the job and plan, I know you cased this joint."    

Chris looked around and saw a patrol car speeding down the street then he looked at DickGrayson as he raised an eyebrow and gave his famous fuck that smirk.   Chris started to laugh and then took another puff.  He looked at the warehouse again as Dick broke down the plan.  

“It should be simple enough. Although things like this rarely end up that way,” Dick chuckled slightly before continuing, “The next time the patrol strolls by, we’ve got twelve minutes to get that door open.” He motioned to the side door casually with his cigarette between his fingers. “Once were through that door we have to find the ledger. Without that this is all useless. There is an office in there that has it, we’ve got to get our hands on that before anything else.”

Dick took a long pull from his smoke, inhaling deeply before exhaling in a puff of smoke. He continued a moment later as he let his eyes wander across the street again, “With the ledger, we will be able to find the less than legal things stored around here. If we move quietly we should be able to get through quickly, we just need to stay away from the loading docks, that’s where all the workers are. Preferably no casualties but you know what you have to do if you have to do it.” 

Dick stubbed his cigarette out as he shot Chris a sly smile as the patrol passed by once more, “Ya been keeping up on that lock picking skill? You’ve got twelve minutes.” 

Chris smirked when he heard that he had twelve to get them in.  He was expecting another guy or two as it has been years since the two of them did a breaking and entering together.   He was trying to earn a few extra bucks to by a bar not that he needed the money it was more about the thrill of the job.  He looked at the door and nodded as they walked across the street.  Chris was shaking head as he heard that there could be four or more guards and that the place had staff members working.  They were across the street when Chris asked if he knew exactly where the office was.  

Putting on his drivers gloves so that he didnt want leave prints.  He looks at the door and before picking the lock realizes that the door wasn't locked.  They open the door slowly as no one was in the hallway.  Chris slide in followed by Dick, Chris turned to look at him and told him to lead the way.  Chris was carrying his pistol but didnt unhostler it but he did love baby which was what he called his 38 special.   He followed Dick down the hall hoping that they find the room as Chris didnt like the thought of killing someone for a quick buck.  

Dick couldn’t help but smile as the door pushed open easily, first part of the plan down. They cautiously looked around as the made their way into the small hallway. They were lucky no one was here at the moment because there wouldn’t have been anywhere to hide if they were there. Before the continued, Dick had a hand signal directed towards Chris, motioning that the offices were off to the right once they made it down this hallway.

He moved with weight steps, keeping on toes and making as little noise as possible. It was an acquired skill that he had spent years honing. He kept his eyes darting towards the end of the hall as it led to the large storage facility. Dick stuck his head around the corner, not spotting anyone in his field of vision but they didn’t necessarily mean anything. With a place this big, anyone could literally walk out of anywhere. That wouldn’t be good for anybody. Dick hadn’t brought any guns with him, he didn’t need the temptation to use them if something went terribly wrong here. Besides, he had enough things on him other than firepower that if he needed to stop a potential threat, it wouldn’t be that much of a problem. 

Swinging to his right, Dick emerged from the hallway a step or two before Chris. He moved with the speed and grace of someone who surely needed balance in his everyday life. It was only a few more steps before the office doors began appearing along the entire wall to their left. He slowed to a stop, leaning towards Chris so that he could speak in barely above a whisper, “Here is where it gets tricky. The ledger is in one of these rooms. We will each take every other until we get our hands on it. When you clear a room, move onto the next. If anything goes wrong, tap on the wall between offices as the signal.”

As he finished the instructions, Dick slipped into the first small office space, quietly closing the door behind himself.

Chris followed DickGrayson down the hallway he was surprised that the guy was even better at moving quietly then when they were younger.  Chris smirked when he heard that the ledger was in one of these rooms as he realized that he never said what was in the ledgers and in cases like this warehouses have several types of ledgers.  Then Dick slipped into one of the office.  Chris took another.  

Chris looked at the room and smiled as he saw a small safe so he moved quickly towards it and started trying to listen for a click as he slowly turned the tumbler.  After several tries he had the thing open and to his surprise it was empty.  He looked around and opened the desk draws but no ledgers only a pack of half eaten cookies.  Looking around their were no other doors or desk so he moved towards the file cabinets and again to his surprise nothing but a employee files.  Shaking his head as this room was a complete zero he moved toward another room gently closing the door behind him as he exited that office.

He was not one to slow a job down but he was one to get frustrated if he didn't fine anything of value.  He took slow deep breathes to calm his impulsive nerves to control his anger and disappointment.  As he entered the second office he didn't see a safe but he did see two closet doors and a desk and even more file cabinets.  He enter and slowly closed the door behind him as he entered the office.   He went through the file cabinets and saw nothing but past paperwork of transportation billings and truck repairs and equipment invoices.   Then he moved to the desk and found a brown paper bag with a sandwich in it.  He hated peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and he thought its better to leave it then for them to think someone broke in and ate it or his staff members are thieves.  

Chris moved to the first closet door and found a closet with a couple of jackets he searched them and found two wallets an between then they had twenty five bucks.  He left that too they were worse off then him.  Then Chris thought to himself if this turns into a wasted effort he was going to move DickGrayson name from best pal list to his do not work with list.  After a little light chuckles he moved towards the two desk and they had ink pens and paper clips but no ledgers.  Looking at the last closet he was sure not to find anything until he looked at the door.  It had a key locking system.  A smile came one as he spent five minutes trying to pick it.  The door opened and to his joy the room had a safe and he went to try the tumbler on it.  

It took a few more minutes then the door which was by far longer then the first small safe.  He opened it and a smile shot across his face as he reached in and started stuffing his jacket pocket with cash.  Stacks of cash ten thousand dollars banded and he stuffed all forty thousand into his jacket pockets.  Dick might have wanted the ledgers first but a Lucchese never leaves cash on the table.  He hoped that Dick found the ledger or at least a few dollars.  

“Hey.” Dick half whispered as he stuck his head around the office door that Chris had just technically broken and entered into. “Geeze man, leave the petty cash, would ya?”

He couldn’t hide his smile as he shook the ledger he had come for in the air, alerting Chris that he had it. Quickly flipping through a few pages, his eyes lit up. If these numbers were even close to being accurate, whatever was sitting in the safe that Chris was rummaging through truly was pocket change. Turning on his heels, Dick stalked away from the offices, heading in the direction of the large storage spaces across the way.

Dick truly couldn’t lie to himself. He was enjoying this job more than he thought he ever could. It was a different rush than walking the right rope but, he wasn’t sure if he liked that or not. It made his blood pump fast in his chest with a loud thump that he could feel in his temples. 

He kept his back to the wall as he moved, occasionally shooting a glance back at Chris to make sure he was still following. It had been some time since they worked together but his old friend clearly didn’t lose a step. Dick also wasn’t surprised to see him stuffing wads of cash into his pockets, after all, no one told him he couldn’t.

Pausing for a moment before another empty hallway, Dick held his breath and pushed back into the shadows as a pair of workers made their way by. Luckily enough they were lost in whatever conversation they were having and walked right on by without noticing the two strangers. 

Letting out a deep sigh of relief and slight pent up frustration, Dick finally saw the large shuttered door that he was looking for. Looking left and right to check that it was clear, he broke out into a sprint, covering the last fifty yards or so in a few seconds. He doubled checked the ledger once more before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the Bobby pin, pressing it into the lock of someone who has practiced this many times before, popped the lock off and lifted the door with a somewhat loud clanging. 

The room wasn’t overly large but it was big enough to hold two rows of heavy wood crates, each row going back four deep. Dick quickly stepped inside and slid the door down behind them. His eyes darted around the room before he noticed the pry bar that was leaning in the corner. His fingers wrapped tightly around the handle, the muscles in his arms straining with light force, the nails have way easily enough and soon the two men were standing over and entire crate filled with wrapped blocks of heroin. Dick’s eyes lit up as his brain immediately began calculating the math. 

With the same goofy grin on his face he stepped to the crate beside that one, prying the top off the same way he did the other. Stacks upon stacks of fresh cut green bills filled the entire thing up. 

”Told ya that stuff was petty cash, buddy.”

Chris was speechless and his eye's swelled as he saw the cash stacks on stacks on stacks.  He looked at Dick and whispered that he just because his favorite person in the whole wide world.   There was enough cash to start a casino and at least play in one for a week non stop.   Chris looked around for a bag of some type and saw none but he spotted a push cart for moving large bags of trash so he started emptying the trash and cleaning supplies out and putting the cash in side.  Once the basket was full yet still manageable to push he looked at Dick and saw that dick eyes was still on his ledger.  

Chris then looked at Dick and ask now how will they get his loot out of there cause he needed all the cash but he ran out of space.   Half will go into his truck and the other half in the back seat compartment.  Chris saw a few janitor overall uniforms hanging and he smiled as he put on one and handed Dick one.  Chris then started pushing the cart behind Dick as Dick was laughing quietly at Chris.  He told Chris he was still playing with petty cash but to Chris that amount of petty cash was what he called awesome.   They went back into the hallway and pushed the cart to the door to exit.  But there were two guards talking to a cop outside. 

Chris looked at the cart then at Dick and Chris closed his eyes as if he was about to pray.  Then he reached for his gun but Dick shook his head no and then Dick whispered his plan to Chris as Dick spotted another room to duck into.  The Guards were busy laughing with the Cop.  

Dick couldn’t help but smile and nod as he followed Chris. There was still an awful lot of contraband in that room. It almost didn’t feel right leaving it behind. As they noticed the guards outside that just confirmed his suspicions. He tapped Chris lightly on the shoulder as he held a finger up to his own lips in a motion of silence. 

Dick had noticed a pallet jack as they were moving back and swiftly pushed. He is pushcart away as he whispered, “There is another one of these over there, go grab it.”

Returning to the room still dressed as janitors, Dick popped the tops back on before shifting the first crate with the jack. In a strain of effort he got the wheels going and quick enough, was pulling it towards the loading dock. Here was where it was going to get tricky. He had hoped that enough people worked here that they wouldn’t recognize all of the faces. If they acted like they were doing their jobs then no one would give them a second glance. 

Dick pulled the crate to the far end of the dock, there was an empty truck back up so he wheeled it right in. He shot Chris a sly smile before returning for the next crate. In only a matter of minutes everything was stashed away tightly and Dick pulled the back of the truck shut. 

Hopping off of the loading dock, Dick quickly moved to the front of the cab, swinging the door open and taking a step up. He checked the ignition first and found nothing before flipping the visor down as the keys dropped into view. Taking a step back, he tossed them to Chris, “You were always the better driver, you’re up.”

When Dick pointed to the other door to escape he was happy but when he saw that there was a truck there and Dick went to load the push cart he had filled into the truck Chris followed suit and as he looked at Dick tossing him the keys Chris quickly got into the truck.  It took a minute to get the truck to start but it did.  Chris drove past the guards still talking and then as they drove past Chris started laughing as he could see in the rear view mirror men running out yelling and the guards copper running in.  Dick started laughing as they turned the corner.  

Dick then told Chris to keep the cash as he would collect from the ledger.  Chris nodded as he figured he had over seven hundred thousand in the carts.   Chris drove Dick a local restaurant where they made calls to people to come get them.   Peter-Whack and Whispers came to get Chris and Chris had bring bags to carry the cash from the truck and put in the trunk of the car.   They filled three suit cases and a duffel bag.  Chris shook hands with Dick as his guy's picked him up.  

Great working with you buddy.  

“Pleasure as always. There will be more of that soon enough.” Dick smiled as he waved the men off.

The job had gone well enough. There were a few hitches in the road but they were over come easily enough. He’d have to get rid of the truck soon enough but he wasn’t in any rush. There were a thousand of these trucks all over the city, they weren’t going to find this one anytime soon.

It wasn’t even about the goods at this point, it was about the rush that Dick felt. It had been years since he had felt that.