3:44 P.M.

"I think I'm about done waiting around for the big guys to tell me when they have a job."

A short man with a round face looked up at at much taller man with broad shoulders, a thick beard and a big stomach. "You thinkin' 'bout quittn', Wake?" The shorter man asked, putting his drink down on the table abruptly.

"Quittin'?" The bearded man replied, letting out a half laugh as a rolled his cigar from one side of his mouth to the other, "Ricky, I'm thinking about moving up."

Ricky grinned and sat forward with his elbows on his knees, keen to learn more, "Whatcha got in mind?"

"We're going to be making our mark with this one, boy-o. We can't go plain jane and knock over a bank or 'jack a tin can fulla merchandise like a couple of Joe's. We gotta do something big, something unexpected, something nobodies ever done before. . ." Wakefield trailed off as he slipped one hand into his grey vest and pulled out a pamphlet and slapped it down on the table. 

"We're going to the zoo?" Ricky asked, brows knit tightly together in confusion.

Wakefield lean back in his seat, plucking his cigar from his lips just long enough to down the rest of his drink before chomping back down on it, "We're gunna steal a lion."

5:09 P.M.

 "So, whatta we need?" Ricky asked as he climbed into the Rumbleseat Cabriolet. Wakefield sat himself behind the wheel and pulled out of the lot.

"We only gotta pick up one thing before we head out." Wake said, cruising down the street with a horse trailer in tow, "A little something to get that kitty purrin'," he flashed a smirk at Ricky, "We need tranquilizers, a lot of 'em."

Ricky didn't seem satisfied, "And just where do you plan on getting that?"

"The vet." He replied, pulling up in front of the Jamieson Veterinary Clinic. The two got out of the car and walked into the building to be greet by an older woman.

"Can I help you. . .?"

"We need to see the doc," He said, slapping a tenner down on the counter top, "It's a bit of an emergency, so urgency would be much obliged." The secretary looked down where Wakefield had planted his palm and raised her spirits.

"Oh! Of course! Mr. Colberg is seeing a client at the moment, but I'll let him know you're here!" She said, hustling away witht he big clenched tightly in his hand. Wakefield and Ricky waited at the counter a few moments for the secretary to return with Mr. Colberg in tow. 

"Can I help you gentlemen?" He asked, seeming a little at odds as to why he'd been pulled from his client so urgently.

"I'm having a problem with my horse, just can't seem to calm her down when she gets into the trailer. Was hoping you might have something I can give her so she can sleep nice and easy when I'm getting her from the farm to the show and back." Wake said, smiling through his lie.

"Oh, well. . . I wouldn't suggest putting a horse under if that's what you're--"

Wakefield stepped towards Mr. Colberg unexpectedly, causing the middle aged man to step back instinctively, "That's exactly what I'm asking. Now, you can tell me what I need to know and send me on my way with what I'm asking for and we could both walk away from this, you with a stack of ash and me with what I need. . . Or I could arrange for you to be hobbling into a clinic not too unlike this very fine establishment lookin' for something to take the edge off the pain in your mysteriously broken legs." Ricky stepped around beside Mr. Colberg, blocking him in against the counter in the lobby, "Whatta ya say?"

Mr. Colberg reached into his coat and pulled out a pad of paper and scribbled something on it, then ripped it off and handed it to Wakefield, "A sensible man. Have yourself a good day." Wake said, turning on his heel and heading out, Ricky not two steps behind. As the two men pushed through the front door, the sounds of an angry Jewish man shouting filled the vet behind them. 

1:29 P.M.

"In and out." Wakefield said, starting the engine and back up to the big gates. "Putta bow on it." He said to Ricky, prompting the short man to hop out of the car and lead a length of chain from the back of the horse trailer on up to the gates. He threaded the chain links through and slapped two padlocks on it, then hustled off to the side as Wake accelerated away from the gates, jerking them a little ajar with the first pull. Quickly backing up after having made a substantial amount of ruckus, he peeled out a second time, this time managing to dislodge on side of the gates. Ricky darted over to the trailer and unhooked the chain then ran up and got back into the Rumbleseat. 

"Good to go!" He said with a huff, catching his breath as Wakefield drove up over the knocked over gate and into the zoo. He followed the taped down map of the zoo to the lions exhibit. It didn't take very long to home in on the display and find their way around to the staff access. "Where the hell is it?"

"It? There's two."

"Two!" Ricky shouted, "You sonuvabitch, you said we were stealing 'A' lion, not two!"

Wakefield put a hand up, "Relax, Ricky, we're only here for one," He said calmly, "but I have enough dope for both of 'em, if it comes to that." He said, reaching into the backseat to grab the tranq gun before getting out of the car. Ricky followd suit.

"I still ain't gotta clue where the bastards are!" Ricky complained, shouldering his rifle.

Wakefield tried the access door, only to not surprisingly find it locked, "We'll find 'em, boy-o, relax. Go hop in the tin can, will ya? I'll hook this up and we can get ourselves inside."

Ricky grumbled as he marched back to the car and go in. Wakefield quickly hooked up a second set of chains and tugged on them, then backed away so Ricky could pluck the door off its hinges. Once open, the two men slowly stalked their way into the enclosure, rifles at the ready. "If that thing gets me, I want you to put one right here," Ricky poked himself in the side of the head, "don't let that bastard chew me up or nothin'. You understand?"

Wake sighed, "You're gunna be fine, boy-o. Just stick to the plan and we'll be outta here in no time, all in one piece."

A roar echoed through the hallway and both men went still. "What was that. . .?"

"Whatta ya think?"

Ricky sneered at Wake and they steadily approached the direction the roar had come from. "Another lock," Ricky said, exasperated, "That's it!"

"Not quite." Wakefield said, pulling a slim red cylinder out of his vest.

"The hell you doin' with that, you tryin-a kill us?" Ricky shouted, taking a step back. 

Wake sighed, "Relax. . . it's a twenty second burn, that'll give us plenty of time to get out before it goes." He assured his body guard as he quickly tied it to the hinge on the gate, "Now, you ready to run?" He asked, but before he could even reach into his jacket, Ricky darted down the hallway. "And he's supposed to keep me alive," He shook his head and flicked his lighter on, "I'm already dead." He mumbled, lighting the wick and running off after Ricky.

Quickly rounding the corner, he exited the enclosure to find his associate bunked down behind the car, "Whatta ya doin' over th--"

BOOM!

Wake threw his arms up to cover his head, then cupped one hand to his ringing ear, "We ain't gunna have long now, move it!" He shouted, running back into the enclosure. The two came upon the gate, the door blown clean off and bits of iron bars splayed at the ends.

"What's that smell?" Ricky asked. Wakefield could barely hear him, but the smell of burning hair and skin was already filling his nostrils.

"Ah, shit. . ." Wake muttered, as they both found the source of the smell. It was a hard sight to see. The first few human bodies Wakefield saw were rough and they were relatively in tact. 

Ricky choked bag a gag, then looked around, "Where's the other--"

Even with ringed ears, that roar was unmistakable. The two men shouldered their rifles and peered around the smokey room as they backed towards the blown out gate. However, before they reached it the second beast emerged, stumbling from side to side. Lucky for them, it had been dazed by the explosion too. Both men leveled their rifles and fired, then reloaded and fired again. The lion jerked from each of Ricky's hits as Wake's harmlessly bounced off the wall. 

"How long is it gunna take?" Ricky asked in the middle of a reload.

"It should be down, keep shooting!" Wakefield replied, dropping his tranq. The two men managed to put a few more volleys into the lion until finally it dropped to the ground. "Thank God. . . Let's get it into the trailer!"

With great haste, Wakefield and Ricky slung the guns over their shoulders and approached the unconscious beast. They each took a paw and started to drag the 600 lbs kitten down the hall and around the car. 

"Wh-what are you doing?" The two stopped in their tracks and dropped the cat, then turned to see a man in a grey jumpsuit. "I called the co--" Wake and Ricky exchanged a look and before he could finish, leveled their rifles and put two shots into the groundskeeper. Without bothering to watch him stumble and collapse, they turned their backs and continued dragging the lion around to the back of the trailer. Loading the beast in was a hassle, but once it was in Wake snapped a padlock into place and the two climbed back into the car.

"How long do you reckon we--" Ricky shut his mouth as he heard the faint wail of sirens approaching, "Roll!" Wake nodded and threw the car into gear and backed out, then pulled away and drove deeper into the zoo. "Whee the hell you think you're going! Exits that-a way!"

"We're not leaving where we came through," Wake informed his associate as he sped through the zoo.

"And where the hell are we goin', then!" Ricky shouted, already losing his cool.

The car popped up over a curb and bust through a low wooden fence. Ricky scream and Wakefield howled with excitement as they approached a chain link fence. The short round man covered his eyes as they blew through the fence and sped across a wide, green field. Once the ride steadied, Ricky lowered his hands and looked over at Wakefield, who just smiled, "Congratulation, Ricky," He said, making unnecessary turns that served only to tear up the green, "You just stole a lion!"

Maniscalco was having breakfast and reading the morning paper. The headline read "LION STOLEN FROM ZOO". The story was about how someone busted down gates at the local zoo, blew up portions of the zoo and made of with a lion.

He laughed to himself. Interesting heist to steal a lion. But the question this raises is what the hell would you do with a lion. He has never heard of anyone offering money for a lion on the black market. He decided to keep an ear to the ground about this, if these guys manages to make a profit out of this, there might be an opportunity for him to rake in some extra cash with wild life.

The he laughs loudly, and says out loud, "A bloody lion, imagine that."