When Saturday arrived, Jakub was dismayed but not surprised when Cheshire showed up wearing a waistcoat and tie.

"What are you wearing?" he asked, apparently with even more disapproval than he'd intended to convey, because Cheshire actually flinched.

"Um…it's black?" Cheshire replied with a helpless shrug. "We're breaking in?" There was nothing to do but carry on.

Hannah parked the car down three blocks, and Jakub led Cheshire through the cellar door that he and Barney had used the week before. As soon as they were inside he realized that something was off, and a quick search revealed that much of the jewelry Barney had found unprotected originally was nowhere to be found.

He probably took something after all, and the wife noticed, Jakub thought irritably as they moved to the study. Damn it, Barney.

"All right, here it is," Jakub said as they stood before the safe. "From what I heard, if you try one handle before both have been solved, it will lock up, making it impossible to open without the company man."

Cheshire whistled appreciatively as he crouched down. His eyes were wide and fascinated as he dragged his fingertips over the polished metal surface and poked gingerly at the dials. "Other than that it's like any other safe, though, right?" he asked.

"I…suppose." Jakub frowned, reminding himself not to get his hopes up again, however confident his partner suddenly looked. "This isn't my area."

"Mine, either," said Cheshire jovially. He spun the top dial once to the right and then twisted the handle.

Something inside the safe clinked, followed by a clunk, and Jakub held his breath. Then Cheshire tugged, and he realized with a sinking feeling that nothing had disengaged. The hissing sound and three sharp clangs were extra locks fitting into place.

He stared. "You just set off failsafe."

"Yup," said Cheshire.

"You didn't even...." Jakub was too flabbergasted to even be angry. "What was the purpose of you being here if you weren't trying ?"

"I am trying. I just wanted to hear what I'm up against." Cheshire moved alongside the safe and waved for him to step back. "You might want to give me some room, here."

Jakub backed away and was tempted to keep going. Even without the safe the house had plenty of lootable items, and the sooner they were gone, the better. But as he turned to leave, his eye was caught by a flash of light. He looked back just in time to see the door of the safe explode off its hinges in a burst of orange flame. It slammed into the desk with a stunning crash, sending papers and wooden shards flying. Jakub could only stare. And as the smoke cleared, Cheshire let out a whoop.

"Aha! I did it!" he cheered, waving the rest of the smoke away. "Did you see that? Didn't I tell you?"

Jakub looked back and forth between the mangled frame of the safe and its door on the other side of the room. "How did you do that?"

"Well, magic, of—oh, fuck!" Cheshire reached into the safe, cringing as he yanked out a burning envelope.

Jakub hurried back, using his satchel to help extinguish the flames. "It's okay," Cheshire said, still half laughing as he began digging more smoking loot from the safe. "It's fine, most of it...is barely singed. You saw it, didn't you?"

"I saw it," said Jakub, still a little dazed. He came quickly back into focus when he realized Cheshire was pulling out the missing jewelry. "How did you do that?" he asked again as he began shoveling everything into his sack. "Did you say 'magic'?"

Cheshire smirked as he reached back into the safe. "What, you've never seen magic before?"

"Not like that ...." Jakub had seen parlor tricks. He had met a charming Hungarian boy who could change his hair and eye color at will, an old woman that peddled potions she swore gave people luck. A young girl he was fairly sure wasn't human lived in a small apartment above the bakery with many cats. But a steel safe blown apart at the seams? He could still smell something in the air that didn't belong, sharp and almost tangy.

"It's kind of a long story," Cheshire was saying as he pulled out a leather pouch. "Complicated, you know? Maybe when we're...."

He stopped, and when Jakub looked up he realized it was because he'd peeked into the pouch. His hazel eyes were bright with excitement and he grinned like his namesake as he showed the contents to Jakub.

Bearer bonds. Lots of bearer bonds.

A light flickered in the window. Jakub startled, realizing all at once just how much noise an exploding safe made, and how many homes were nearby with residents in them waking up in confusion and panic. "We have to go," he said, snatching the pouch out of Cheshire's hands to stow away. "Grab candlesticks on the mantle. I'll take the revolver from the hall."

"Okay!" Cheshire was beaming as he took the bag from Jakub to sling over his shoulder. He even grabbed Jakub's elbow to haul him upright, with so little effort that Jakub got a chill. They rushed out of the study together, and as Jakub reached the hall cabinet, he could have sworn he heard voices out in the street. There wasn't time to pick the lock.

"Stand back, I've got it," said Cheshire, and Jakub had only managed to take two steps out of range before the front of the cabinet blew off its hinges and sent photographs on the opposite wall crashing to the ground.

"Stop that!" Jakub scolded even as he reached inside to grab up Rutger's prized weapon and ammunition. "You are waking the entire neighborhood."

"I asked you if we had to be quiet," Cheshire retorted. He grabbed a silver picture frame from among those that had escaped the flying cabinet and tucked it into his bag. "Let's be quick and it won't matter."

They dashed to the cellar. Jakub had no idea what to expect once they were outside and he was tempted to load the revolver. To his surprise, Cheshire took to the lead, moving quickly and effortlessly between the buildings and out of sight of the curious neighbors leaning out their windows. They reached Hannah and the waiting car without having been spotted by anyone.

"See?" Cheshire boasted, full of youthful vigor as they settled in the rear seats. "I told you to give me a chance."

Jakub was speechless. He gestured for Cheshire to return their sack, which he did, and shook his head as he pawed through their take. Jewelry, cash, gold candlesticks, a rare Civil War collectible weapon, a silver frame, and a thousand dollars in untraceable bearer bonds, coupons attached.

At least the boss wouldn't have to worry about paying their liquor supplier. For a while . Jakub packed everything away and finally looked to Cheshire. Though he was still reeling from the successful outing, he did his best to sound cross. "You should have said you could make magic."

"But then I wouldn't have seen such a great look on your face," Cheshire replied, grinning. "I think I startled a few of your freckles off."

He swiped his thumb across Jakub's cheek. It was so unexpected that Jakub didn't even manage to recoil. His face went hot, but only because Cheshire's gloves were still warm from the magic. "That’s not...." Jakub glared at him, uncharacteristically stumbling for words. "...how freckles work."

Cheshire laughed, and as tempting as it was to put a fist in his flapping jaw, Jakub resisted. "You're cute," Cheshire declared, which didn't help matters any. "I think we're going to be great partners."

Jakub frowned, but then again, there was no arguing with results. "Just...give me more warning next time," he said.

"Yeah, sure."

"And I want to know more about your magic, what it's good for. And what experience you have."

"Sure, sure." He chuckled to himself some more. "Can we talk over a drink? I sure could use one, and I think we've earned it."

Hannah scoffed from behind the wheel. "You're too young to drink," she said.

That gave Jakub pause, and he looked Cheshire over again, trying to reevaluate. "Wait. How old are you?"

"Sixteen," Cheshire replied without hesitation, and he must have anticipated Jakub's startled reaction, because he had a fresh grin all lined up. "Don't believe me, do you? I get that all the time."

"Sixteen," Jakub repeated. "Really? Built like that?"

"Why thank you," said Cheshire, and he winked.

Jakub's face went hot again, but without anything to blame it on. "It would be illegal for any of us to be drinking," he said just to change the subject. "But I guess you earned it. So yeah, I say we drink."

Cheshire cheered, Hannah sighed. And Jakub counted the money again, determined not to think about soft leather counting his freckles.