“If watching cartoons has taught me anything, it’s to never give up.”

Duke shakes his head. “You need to stop referencing Wiley E. Coyote while we crack this safe.”

I grin and hold my breath, stethoscope two inches below the dial, spinning it slowly, listening to the clicks. I turn it another inch. Got it.

“56,” I say, adjusting my placement. “Don’t down the ‘yote. Did you know he caught him three times?”

Duke jots it down. “And failed and fell how many?”

I grin and put it back on for the final number. The safe is a beaut — a 1955 ironside with piston action and over a hundred pins. You’d need a bomb to get it open—or me.

With steady slow clicks, we’re 2 minutes away from millions. The house sighs around us, settling in the high wind. The office is regal, expensive, worth only a quarter of what we hope to find inside.

With a little click(37), it all comes loose. I spin the combination and the lock clicks home.

“You don’t count the falls—it was part of the fun. It’s only the wins that matter,” I say, smiling. The heavy iron door creaks open and the tidy stacks of cash sit, piled almost to the top. We step back in awe.

It’s a sight to behold. “This must be Albuquerque.” I breathe.

“You’re mixing cartoons.” Duke says, in a reverent whisper.

“Doesn’t matter,” I say, pointing to the money. “This is what matters.” It’s like my fingers move of their own volition.

“Wait! Don’t!” Duke says grabbing for my hand, but it’s too late.

Rookie Wiley E. Coyote move. The alarms must have alarms as they scream into the night. We can only grab a few handfuls each before we jet.

“It’s like the Acme company made it for you!” Dike spits, running to the same window entered—through the library and in the conservatory which faces the back yard.

It’s still open. He ducks under first, then me and suddenly we’re racing under the moonlight. The alarms still howl behind us and lights have clicked on in the house. We run through the backyards until we’re three streets over, back in the van, shutting the doors.

We breathe for a second before Duke takes off into the night.

“Kinda blew it there Wiley. You left a mountain of cash!” Duke hits the wheel. “Monty’s gonna be pissed.”

“Not with these he’s not” I roll out the black bag I nabbed and the contents glitter in the yellow beams of the passing streetlights. “This and some bearer bonds should keep him happy.”

Duke snorts, angry energy dissipating. “Okay, I guess. Let me in on your harebrained scheme next time.”

I nod and look out the window. That’s one promise I can’t keep. The next one is the biggest one of all and the less he knows, the better.