Bambino Heist

The Bambino Heist was a heist devised by Griffin Bing, Ben Slovak, and their allies on October 16 to prevent S. Wendell Palomino from selling the Bambino at Professional Annual Sports and Collectibles Auction the following day.

The Man With the Plan
Griffin Bing was born in Cedarville, New York, to a prolific inventor and his wife. Ever since he could remember, he had overheard his father working on inventions in the garage. He has known his best friend, Ben Slovak, "as long as he could remember". When he was in kindergarten, he became deadlocked in rivalry with a bully named Darren Vader. Bing was well known for formulating the plans for his friends' schemes and became known as 'The Man With The Plan'. According to Ben, he always claimed that his latest plan was the most important, until the next one came to be.

Near the beginning of sixth grade, Griffin Bing's father became so obsessed with one of his creations, the SmartPick, self-described "fruit picker of the future", that he quit his engineering job to buy time to develop it. Bing privately believed it was useless, provided there were "perfectly good human hands", but the common sense of the matter would not leave him alone. His family had bet their entire future upon it, and he frequently overheard them fighting over money. Being too young to get a part-time job, Bing was agitated that no amount of scheming could solve his family's financial crisis.

Discovery
In October of the same year, Bing and his friends, with help from their teacher, created a presentation regarding how the abandoned and allegedly haunted Rockford House could be turned into a skate park. Unfortunately, the government turned them down and even refused to watch the presentation. Bing was enraged, knowing they had only been cast aside because they were underage. Knowing the Rockford House would be demolished in the morning, Bing planned a sleepover there. To give them an excuse to come, he arranged two fake sleepovers. Thirty people agreed to participate, but only Ben wound up coming, much to Bing's outrage. Lying next to him on a sleeping bag, Ben asked Griffin what it mattered how many people were there, since the campout was a complete secret. Griffin pointed out that they would know, that they would prove to themselves that "[they’re] more than a mouse caught in a trap". Ben pointed out that the others were scared of the house's status as being possibly haunted. He proceeded to explain several rumors, such as Old Man Rockford being in jail for murdering his wife via chainsaw, though Marcus claimed the weapon was actually a railway spike. After explaining several other factors he had heard, Ben was assured by Bing that his friend did not even believe in haunted houses.

A gust of wind blew through the eaves, and an odd moaning sound echoed around them. Paling slightly, Bing checked his watch and spread out his bedroll and lay back, standing his flashlight on its base as he told Ben they should get some sleep so the trip will not feel like it lasted as long. Ben agreed, though he and Bing agreed that if he woke up a victim of any of the rumors, Bing would owe him twenty dollars. They lay there in the silence for a while, until Ben fell asleep. Bing let out a low whistle of admiration at Ben's ability to sleep through his fears. It was harder for Bing to settle down. He stayed up because he was thinking over the government's denial. He regarded Ben’s slumber with envy, as he himself was too deep in thought to sleep.

At last, he decided to wander the empty halls of the Rockford House, his flashlight guiding him down hallways and through rooms. Suddenly, Griffin located a piece of furniture that had not been emptied out like the rest. He went over to investigate. Bing played with the many drawers and compartments, until one remained stuck to its sockets. Griffin accidentally hit a small button, and the drawer opened to reveal an old, faded card from the 1920s. Because his family was very much struggling to make ends meet, he knew he could use the money. He had lived with the same friends for eleven years, something he would not give up without a fight. He doubted the value of the card, though he was still eluded.

Finally, Griffin Bing went to sleep. The next morning, Ben Slovak awoke to hear the beginning of the building's destruction and hastily awoke him. Bing popped up from the bag "like a cork" and they made a narrow escape as the mansion collapsed around them, spurred on by explosions and crashes behind them. They were halfway across town when Bing sounded the all-clear. As they slowed to a walk, Bing revealed the Bambino to an irate Slovak and suggested they take it to Palomino's Emporium of Sports and Memorabilia to discover how much it was worth.

Swindled
At the museum, the assistant Tom Dufferin refers them to S. Wendell Palomino. After Bing turned over the last remnant of the Rockford House, he told him the card was worth one hundred dollars, and their bargain led to her paying one hundred twenty instead. Palomino then goaded them into lifting the safe before revealing that it was bolted to the ground, much to their embarrassment. Leaving the store, Bing gave Slovak half of the money because, in his own words, Slovak "stuck to the plan when everyone else bailed".

As Griffin set down the SmartPick, the pole brushed against the antenna of his family’s old black-and-white TV. For an instant, the small screen resolved itself into a very familiar face before the image was clear. It was S. Wendell Palomino, standing in the courtyard of his emporium and holding the baseball card Griffin had sold him, surrounded by cameramen. Turning up the volume, Griffin learned from the report that Palomino knew the card was valuable. When asked what he would sell it for, Palomino insisted the card was too valuable to simply be labeled with a price tag. He intended to sell it at the Professional Annual Sports and Collectibles Auction on October 17. The opening bid was to be 200, 000 dollars, but Palomino claimed it could be the rival of the only card that sold for over a million dollars.

Bing was shocked and infuriated beyond endurance, realizing the Bambino was right in his hands, enough to permanently solve his family's money problems. Thinking quickly, he lied that he was going to Ben's house before taking off to Palomino's Emporium. He arrived just as the press conference was breaking up under the watchful eye of the same fierce dog from before. Suddenly, he realized he did not know what to do next. He may be The Man With The Plan, but he had thought no further than getting himself to the store. Additionally, he feared that no one would believe him because he was a child. When the media people had gone, Griffin ventured up to the museum. The fierce guard dog blocked the front door, its teeth bared. Griffin sighed, and Palomino ordered the dog to let Griffin inside.

Griffin immediately accused him of knowing the baseball card was real. Palomino lied that it was a different card, and he had already sold Griffin's. Griffin stared at him, blown away at the mere dishonesty of the man. Palomino continued, lamenting that the world "is a big fat scary place with people who will walk all over you if you give them half a chance," before telling him to learn from his mistake. He further gloated that he had won the "fight" for money, something everyone wanted. Griffin warned he would not get away with his trickery. Feeling threatened, Palomino summoned Luthor, who effortlessly cornered Griffin against a display case. As it prepared to bite him, Palomino insisted that Griffin was "just leaving."

Terrified, Griffin Bing retreated in the direction of the exit. Back on bike, Griffin struggled to wrestle his spinning thoughts in a sort of order. He had been cheated, not from a mere card, but from the entire future of his family. He prepared to embark on the greatest plan of his life.

Griffin Bing promptly informed Ben Slovak of his plan, but he vehemently protested against the idea of pulling a heist on the emporium and went inside. Bing was then harrassed by the school bully, Darren Vader, at which point he accused everyone of failing to turn up at the Rockford House. We are then introduced to several of his classmates, all of whom apologize. When class begins, Bing and Slovak resume their argument, but when it gets louder, Mr. Brown orders them to sit on opposite ends of the classroom.

Over the next three days, Bing sits with the quiet and gloomy Melissa Dukakis, while Slovak sits with the ambitious yet obnoxious Logan Kellerman. However, Bing refused to sit with Slovak again. Slovak trekked out on his own, but when he learned about Bing's financial crisis, the two reconciled and began formulating their plans for the heist.

Infiltration of Palomino's Emporium
"I’ve considered every possible move and countermove. Except one. [...] A perfect plan, executed perfectly. And it’s all for nothing."

- Griffin Bing Bing fills out an outline of their plan of attack. Not knowing how to figure out the keypad code, the two boys hide inside a large globe cedar directly across 9th Street from Palomino’s Emporium so they can record Tom Dufferin keying in the keypad code. They proceed to the fence, but Luthor bursts out from the darkness and attacks them viciously, forcing them to retreat. Bing tells a shaken Slovak that they should talk to Savannah, an underage animal expert.

Bing tells Drysdale about Luthor, and Drysdale says he's only vicious because his owner must have raised him brutally, and decides to prove their assumption that no dog is one hundred percent pure evil to be warped by following them to the museum. With Drysdale making nightly attempts in an attempt to reach the puppy within, a process Slovak monitored, he and Bing videotaped Tom Dufferin keying in the code to the store so they could study it downstairs on an old plasma TV in Slovak's living room. With his father's inadvertent assistance, they deduced the last number, but then Drysdale told them she had given up trying to help Luthor and stormed off.

Shortly afterwards, Swindle unbolted the safe and took it home with him. Upon arriving, he withdrew the card and hid it under his cabinet in a Ziploc bag. He also brought Luthor home in order to guard it.

With everything in place, Griffin Bing and Ben Slovak made their way to Palomino's Emporium and infiltrated the complex as soon as Tom Dufferin left, rendering the building vacated. Having gained entry, Bing stole behind the counter, only to realize the safe was already emptied, and the baseball card with it. Miserably returning home, Bing and Slovak agreed not to consider it a truly successful break-in, for the vault was already removed, so there was nothing that could be stolen. Furthermore, its protection was minimal without Luthor's presence.

Analyzing 531 Park Expansion
Griffin Bing and Ben Slovak were riding home when a full-throated braying resounded behind them. A large black dog chased them futilely, making Slovak realize since Luthor was at Palomino's house, the Bambino must be there too. Bing declared that this time, they needed the ultimate plan.

Later, they scaled the house at night, only to evade Luthor once again. A slow chuckle mingled with Luthor’s angry braying. Bing turned to see an elderly neighbor in a rocking chair at the porch of 531. The man was peering at them over his reading glasses with great interest. He revealed that he was Eli Mulroney, and that he always sat outside watching Swindle's neighborhood.

In the library, they took to researching S. Wendell Palomino’s security system, hoping to find a way to beat it. Bing cited that the UltraTech company was almost unbeatable, especially because Swindle got notified if the alarm was shut down. Knowing the auction started in eight days, they decided to find a way into Palomino's House by scaling an identical-looking house nearby. To do so, he feigned an injury with Slovak, and while the matriarch was cleaning his "wound", Bing realized they should enter through the skylight.

Preparing for the end
Afterwards, Griffin Bing sends secret notes to his friends telling them to meet him in the "ballroom" at three thirty. The ballroom is actually a storage area by the gym piled high with broken, deflated, and squashed balls of all kinds. Bing tells them about the heist he is planning and implores their help owing to their "special skills". Everyone agrees, even though Savannah Drysdale is extremely reluctant until he takes accountability for withholding the truth from her. As it was, Bing became the team leader and blowtorch operator, Slovak became lieutenant and tight space specialist, Drysdale became dog whisperer, Logan Kellerman became the "nosy neighbor neutralizer and lookout #1", Antonia Benson became the "second-story woman", and Melissa Dukakis became technician and lookout #2. But just as Bing swears them to secrecy, Darren Vader, who had seen Benson's note earlier, reveals that he has been hiding and eavesdropping throughout the meeting. Vader asks to join the heist, but Bing refuses until he threatens to report the plan to Swindle. He fills in the role of "muscle and miscellaneous".

By the time it was over, Griffin was shaking with fury. Whatever doubts he had about Thursday night disappeared at the sound of Palomino's smug gloating. He swore that he could not be permitted to profit from his crime.

Infiltration
To be added.

Destroying the safe
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Locating the card
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Darren Vader's betrayal
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Escape
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Aftermath
To be added.