Daily Prompt: Trio No. 3

Today you can write about anything, in whatever genre or form, but your post must mention a dark night, your fridge, and tears (of joy or sadness; your call). Feel free to switch one ingredient if you have to (or revisit one from previous trio prompts).

The bandits crept silently towards their destination; no shadow was cast by the new moon. Anthony could almost taste the prize they were so close. He had been careful when assembling this crew – a specific collection of talents were mandatory if they were to succeed. The planning of the job had been a long and arduous process, taking hours. Diagrams had been drawn, schedules had been developed and collaborators had been drafted. Everything had been checked and rechecked.

Anthony had first enlisted the aid of his younger sister, Brenda, because of her uncanny ability to maintain silence. Brenda could sneak up on her cat, Prissy without being detected. When Brenda would reach out and goose her, Prissy would always start and run, having had no idea that a stalker had approached.

Anthony considered signing up Benjamin for this job. He had known Ben his whole life and had always liked him but in the end Anthony elected to keep Ben in the dark. Benny was too young, he could be hotheaded and prone to bouts of crying if things didn’t work out. At the age of three, when Benny’s tears began to flow it always brought his mother who would rush out to comfort him. If that happened they would be caught for sure so, Benjamin was not invited to participate. Perhaps they would share some of the spoils with him if all went well. Perhaps not.

Their brother, Richard was the last to sign up. Anthony knew that he and Brenda would need someone tall and agile. Richard was just the man for the job and he jumped at the chance to participate. Besides since Richard and Anthony shared living quarters it would be hard to pull off this caper without him finding out anyway.

The three conspirators gathered at the picnic table beneath the elm tree in the park and reviewed the diagrams and schedules that Anthony had developed. When Anthony was certain that everyone understood and agreed with the plan they all stood around the table and spat on their palms, shaking hands the conspiracy was sealed. They would act that very evening.

That night, Anthony could not sleep. He had hoped to get in a bit of shut-eye before embarking on the heist but the adrenalin would not allow it. Despite being awake in his bed, he still jumped when Brenda put her hand on his shoulder. It was time. They collected Richard and headed out.

Silently opening the door, Anthony led the others into the hallway towards the kitchen. The sounds of the Tonight Show reached them from behind Mom and Dad’s closed bedroom door. There was a sliver of light at the bottom of the door that sliced through the dark hallway like a knife. Benjamin’s door was open but his room was dark and silent. He slept peacefully in his crib. The bandits crept soundlessly closer to their destination.

Pausing at the kitchen door Anthony used hand signals to indicate to Brenda that she should take the point. Her job was to silently scout the kitchen terrain and ensure that no surprises awaited that might trip them up. She slipped through the doorway and disappeared into the gloom. Seconds later she returned and gave them the all clear. They moved silently towards the refrigerator where they knew their prize awaited.

A column of drawers sat silently in the cabinet next to the fridge. Richard slowly pulled them out one by one, fashioning a crude staircase which he then used to ascend closer to the prize. Brenda kept watch and Anthony stayed below. From the counter top, Richard was tall enough to reach the ceramic cookie jar that sat atop the fridge. Everyone held their breath as it scraped the top of the refrigerator but, the noise went unnoticed and no alarm was sounded. He cradled the cookie jar in his arms and turned. Handing it down to Anthony, he descended the stairway and closed the drawers, leaving no trace of his passage.

The three bandits retired back to Anthony and Richard’s room and silently high-fived each other, then they sat on the floor in a circle to divide up the loot. Mom had baked a double batch of chocolate chip cookies right after lunch. They used a pen light for illumination and reveled in their shared bounty.

The next morning when Mom came in to wake Richard and Anthony for breakfast she found her three oldest children asleep on the floor, haphazardly arranged around the empty cookie jar. The jig was up!