Before Andy came back with the two smaller dummies, Travis was well into his plan. He’d taken one of the rolls of shin-pad tape out of Nish’s bag and was putting it across the stairs about three-quarters of the way down and low to the ground. The cloudy tape did not show up in the dim light from the distant entrance way.

“It’s done,” whispered Nish, who came back just as Andy emerged from the darkness with the two kid dummies and plunked them down beside their parents.

Nish gave Travis a puzzled look.

“You’ll see,” said Travis. “You think you could get jackets and caps from the security guards? Maybe flashlights?”

Nish swallowed hard. “Alone?”

Travis looked at him, waiting.

Nish swallowed again. “I’ll try.”

He hurried off, past the minivan, past the Richard exhibit where he’d found the perfectly straight Love & Bennett stick, and on to the partially closed door to the room where they had found the guards.

He stopped to gather his courage. He breathed in twice, deeply, then gritted his teeth, stepped up to the door, and pulled it open.

The two security guards were sitting on the floor. Their feet and hands were tied and tape was plastered over their mouths. All he could see was their eyes: wondering, frightened, puzzled, anxious.

He couldn’t help himself. “Sorry, boys–looking for the Tie Domi exhibit.”

The two security guards looked at him as if he’d just dropped in from outer space. They had just started their evening snack when the robbers had come in. Luckily for Nish, both had removed their uniform jackets and placed them over the backs of folding chairs. One hat was hanging up, the other on the floor. He grabbed the hats and jackets and looked around for flashlights.

There was a small cupboard at the back of the room. He opened it. Inside were several big, silver flashlights and a bullhorn, just like the ones used on television for armed stand-offs. Perfect.

It was hard to carry everything. He had to put one cap on his head, then he looped the jackets over one shoulder and gathered up two flashlights and the bullhorn. The only way he could carry the second cap was to put the hard plastic peak in his mouth and bite down.

He pulled the cap out of his mouth for a moment. “I’ll try not to slobber,” he told the guards, who were still looking at him as if he were crazy. He bit down again, and with his arms and hands and mouth full, waddled quickly back to where Travis and Andy were finishing up the tape job on the stairs. When the other boys saw what Nish was bringing, they grinned. “Perfect,” said Andy.

Travis looked around. The angle was just right; anything seen from the stairs would have the dim light in the corridor behind it and only show up as a silhouette.

“Get the jackets and caps on Mom and Dad,” Travis said.

The two other boys struggled to put the jackets on, then the caps. Nish had to pound one cap down onto Dad. “Fathead,” he whispered.

They moved Mom and Dad, now “Police” Officers Mom and Dad, out into the light of the corridor. Then Travis took the two kid dummies–whom they had named Data and Sister–and placed them behind a low exhibit on the opposite side. Again, with dim light behind them and nothing but a sweeping flashlight in front, they might appear to be crouching officers, waiting. Travis hoped so.

“Nish,” Travis said, “you and I’ll have to work the dummies. Andy–we want your deepest voice for the loudspeaker.”

Andy looked shocked. “What’ll I say?”

“You’ll know. Just make it convincing.”