Pick a Pocket or Two

 'C'mon Dodger, move your paws," barks Fagin, my boss. We are currently running after an RV and we need to bring back something or Sykes Jr. is going to have our tails.

Things have been rough since Oliver left our, well, Company, you can call it. With fewer paws on the job, we've been barely scraping through.

What we need right now is someone fresh, new and different. And some burgers. Those would be nice too.

The RV stops and a wealthy looking family hops out. Perfect. I'm sure they have supplies inside that we can get. 

"Mommy," says the little girl, "can I get 2 scoops of ice cream instead of one. I want to share with Forky."

"Bonnie, honey, how about you share the one scoop with Forky and the rest of your, erm, 'friends,'" says the mother, who casts a look to the father.

"Alright Dodger, when they head into the store, I'm going to need you take the right side while I get the left. We need to be in and out. Got it?" says Fagin.

"Got it boss." We slink to our respective sides and I unlock the door quickly with my paws. It's second nature by now.

The RV is cozy enough and the family is clearly wealthy. Sniffing around, I follow the scent of burgers until I reach a duffel bag. Actually, there are several duffel bags. I guess I'll just have to search around in each one until I come across the right one.

I paw open the first one and it's just cooking equipment. A portable stove! I toss it to Fagin who has just entered the RV. The old dog is getting rusty. 

I open the other one and it's just full of toys. Little dinosaurs and dolls and the strangest astronaut. There's also a dog shaped slinky. How strange? I get to the third duffel bag and voila, burgers. Food glorious food, am I right? With a hot sausage on the side and mustard, this ought to do it! I'm about to grab the whole bag when I hear a muffled voice.

"What are you doing. That belongs to Bonnie?" Hmm, Bonnie. That was the name of the little girl. Surveying the RV, I check to see if anyone is there. Nobody.

I hear the voice again, and this time, I see the accompanying body. The dog slinky. 

"Hey, I said what are you doing? That belongs to my owner," the toy says, wiggling around with fear and annoyance.

"Chill, we're just going to be in and out," I say as calmly as possible. The trick with thievery is to act confident like you're not actually doing something wrong. Reverse psychology is a pickpocket's best friend.

"Wait, there's more of you?" the slinky toy questions. It's then that he sees Fagin.

"Yo Buzz, can you come out here and check this out?" he asks.

Another toy comes out of the bag, practically flying. I do a double take.

"I command you to leave," he says.

"Sure thing Bugs," I start...

"Buzz," he corrects.

"Okay, BUZZ, we were just leaving with some of your finest burgers and appliances," I say with the hint of a smug smirk on my face. Play it cool Dodger, play it cool.

"Not before you go through me," says the slinky. "Our fine rib beef burgers are too valuable. Plus, they're for our beloved Bonnie."

"Sounds like a Jenny," says Fagin with a wink. We communicate quickly with a series of barks and paw taps.

"Got it boss," I say.

Before the slinky dog can protest, I have him in my paw. Swoop. Fagin and I bolt out of the RV and the man named Bugs, Buzz, whatever his name is, is gone. Left in our dust.

"Put me down, you scoundrels," says the dog, slinky, toy, a mix of all three.

"So, what's your name," I ask, ignoring his pleas.

"Slinky," he starts. Before he can complain again, I say, "Great, consider yourself our mate."

Sighing he mumbles, "Well, if Woody can go on an adventure, I guess I can too."

Not caring too much about a wooden log, I tell him of our Company's 'accommodations'.

"We offer great things, lodging, food, friends. We only ask one, itty bitty, thing of you. You help our, um, business," I tell Slinky.

He looks unsure so I tell him, "Look, we're looking for a new dog. You look like you have experience being kidnapped considering that your not freaking out too much and we could really use your help."

I'm pleading now, putting on my best 'puppy dog' look, though I am farrrr from being a puppy. Not as old as Fagin, but still old. We need younger paws on the job. This guy looks pretty indestructible so he's a good fit. We just need him to agree.

"As long as your not doing commercials with people dressed like chickens then I'm in. I need a new adventure quite honestly," says Slinky.

"Great, when we get their, I'll introduce you to the rest of the Company," I reply as I lead our new acquaintance through the busy streets of New York.

...

When we get there, Sykes Jr. is waiting for us. I pay him off with half of our stolen goods. I also don't tell him of Slinky. I didn't want a repeat of the whole Oliver ordeal, especially if he eventually wanted to return back to Bonnie. We were becoming more lenient but Sykes Jr. probably held a grudge on his father's behalf.

I introduce Oliver, I mean Slinky, to Toto, Einstein, Rita and Francis.

Slinky becomes immediately smitten with Rita.

"I'd do anything for you dear," he says.

"Anything?" she asks with a grin.

"Anything," Slinky says with a certainty to his voice.

"Great hon, why don't you come with me and Dodger then and we can show you the ropes," she says.

Saying a quick goodbye to Fagin, we head out.

Slinky makes quite the good little pickpocket.

At the candy store, he just swung his rear end into the store and got us a gum ball machine without us even having to enter the store.

We used him as a lasso of sorts, roping in a whole bunch of goodies, including a smartphone, a toaster and some high quality steaks (Slinky told us that we could have the steaks, he was a vegetarian apparently.)

Yet, our biggest catch was to come.

Slinky, Rita and i were walking the streets when we found ourselves in Central Park. After picking the pockets of a few tourists, we came across a horse drawn carriage typically used for tours around the park.

Since the park services were nearing to a close, the horses were taken off of this particular carriage.

Seeing it all alone, my mind began to fill with mischievous ideas. Quickly explaining my plan to the others, we got to work. We struck Slinky up onto the carriage, and acting as a tether, Rita and I hooked ourselves up to the carriage and began to run our fastest.

We were stealing a carriage right out of Central Park. Our biggest catch yet. If we could sell this, we would make a fortune.

Riding into the night, we carried the carriage all the way back to our hideout.

It was that moment when we proudly presented our findings to Fagin that Slinky beamed a real, genuine smile. He was now truly apart of the Company. If Woody could run off with Bo Peep, Slinky could run off with us. He had a natural knack for our industry. 

Forget Oliver, it was now Slinky and Company.