Martin didn’t waste words and said directly, “I worked for Max for two weeks, so I know him a bit. He’s a family man—leaves the office at 3:30 every day to go home, always takes the same route. There’s an intersection on that road that’s perfect. We’ll wait for him there.”

Eleanor was shocked. “What are you planning? Highway robbery?”

Harris shrank back. “If we rob Max, there’s a ninety percent chance we’ll end up in jail. I still want to apply to college.”

“What are you two idiots thinking?” Martin slammed his fist hard on the armrest of the sofa. “I’m a man of principle and bottom line!”

Eleanor was confused. “I don’t want to go to damn prison. Lily and Hall, those two idiots…”

“Either shut up or listen to me!” Martin quickly explained what he had in mind, then said, “Within their rules, the poor can never beat the rich. We have to step outside the box.”

Harris muttered under his breath, “Principle and bottom line…”

Martin didn’t care. “We have principles and a bottom line, but they need to be flexible.”

At the same time as she flipped two middle fingers, Eleanor agreed, “The idiot finally got a little smarter.”

Martin grabbed Eleanor’s leg, yanked a few tufts of fur from the teddy bear costume pants, and asked, “Can you get a teddy bear mascot suit?”

Eleanor raised her eyebrows. “No problem.”

Martin asked again, “Do you have a camera or something like that?”

Harris jumped in, “Scott’s shop should have some second-hand stuff.”

“Great!” Martin ordered, “Eleanor, you get the mascot suit. I’ll go find Scott. Harris, keep an eye on those two idiots and don’t let them cause any more trouble!”

Eleanor was the first to stand up. As she walked out, she said, “Lazybones, get your asses moving, the Teddy Bear Operation starts now!”

She drove back to the mall with the promotion.

Martin headed to the north side of the neighborhood and found a tiny grocery store.

Scott–Carter was sitting by the counter, chugging from a bottle of rum. When he saw Martin, he burped and said, “Kid, what are you here for?”

Martin walked up to the counter. “Your son Harris broke his arm.”

Scott took a swig and said, “Remind him to go to the hospital.”

Martin knew Scott wouldn’t cough up any money, so he asked, “Do you have a camera?”

“No camera, but I’ve got a camcorder.” Scott put down the bottle and proudly took out a mini camcorder. “New JVC, just got it last week. You find me a buyer, I’ll give you a cut.”

Martin had seen this model before. He picked it up and fiddled with it. “Still works?”

Scott craned his neck. “Of course it works!”

Martin took it and left without looking back. “Harris needs it for treatment. I’ll return it later.”

“Damn it, stop! Stop right there!” Scott shouted fiercely, but didn’t chase after him.

Back at the Carter house, Eleanor returned soon after. The three regrouped and set out together.

The Teddy Bear Operation began.

Chapter Four: The Big Collision

At 3:30 in the afternoon, Max went downstairs on time, got into his Cadillac, and drove home along his usual route.

On the roadside, in an old Toyota that had changed hands who knows how many times, Eleanor spotted the Cadillac turning into the intersection. She pulled out her phone, dialed a number, and said, “The idiot’s on the move!”

After getting a response, she drove off, following from a distance.

There weren’t many cars on the road. Max drove fast and took a call along the way. “Sweetheart, you go pick up the kids. Tonight I’ll make chocolate chip cookies for them.”

Entering a narrow two-way road with two lanes, the Cadillac jolted over a small rock. Max instinctively slowed down, turned the wheel slightly, and steered around the rest of the stones.

Some bastard with no conscience had thrown a bunch of rocks onto the road.

Max slowed down again, suddenly drawn to something at the small intersection ahead on the left.

It was a giant teddy bear mascot, holding a colorful flag in one hand that read, “All kinds of teddy bears, big weekend sale.”

His two precious kids at home loved teddy bears, and as a result, Max loved them too. He couldn’t help but take a few extra glances.

…

On the other side of the small intersection, the greenery was thick. Harris crouched low on his bike, one foot on the ground, staring intently at the teddy bear across the road, waiting for the signal.

Because they’d rehearsed a few times before, his broken left arm hurt badly, making his face twisted in pain.

Harris gritted his teeth and calculated silently, “There’s a sixty percent chance of success. I can do this!”

Just then, the teddy bear mascot across the street threw away the flag.

Harris stomped hard on the bike pedal and shot out, squeezing out a sentence through clenched teeth: “For money!”

Faced with the temptation of money, the poor unleash unparalleled strength.

…

The sleazy bear at the intersection, after tossing the flag, suddenly made a fist with its left hand and held it in front of its furry belly, then twisted its waist and thrust its hips, again and again, at a ridiculous speed, as if trying to knock a plane out of the sky.

Max had never seen such a shameless teddy bear mascot before and almost burst out laughing.

A good part of his attention was drawn to the sleazy bear on the left ahead.