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two doors down from their hotel home.
    Walter made a point of explaining that this would not be a frequent event but that once a month they would have a foundation meeting, which would involve breaking bread. The foundation would cover the expenses, of course. “Might as well be fine food,” he added with a sly grin. That news excited everyone.
    “I think we have our attorney,” Walter advised as he sampled a crab cake appetizer. “Should know tomorrow.”
    “What’s our next step?” Bernard asked, shifting his weight and wishing he’d brought his hemorrhoid cushion.
    Walter looked around the dining area to make certain no one could hear them and then answered, “Basically, we’ll have a little over a hundred grand after we pay the retainer to Sam.”
    Everybody smiled, and Walter rubbed his forehead. “It’s a really good start, but we need more to help more folks if we want it to be self-perpetuating one day.”
    After a moment’s pause to look at one of several old movie posters decorating the wall above Walter, Sebastian asked, “How much do you think we need?” He then took a loud sip of red wine.
    “About six hundred and fifty thousand more,” Walter said emphatically.
    Everybody grunted at once. That was a hell of a lot of money. More than any of them had ever seen…or could collectively imagine.
    “That’s more than you originally thought. Almost twice as much,” Sebastian said with some concern.
    “I know. But after talking with Sam, it’s clear to me that being well funded is the key to the foundation’s success. We need three-quarters of a million dollars,” Walter said in a low voice. “And we can’t do it robbing Krogers. It won’t work again. I have something in mind, though.” Walter had initially believed it would take them at least two years to raise the additional seed money. Now, he had a new plan—one that could net them about half the entire amount in one fell swoop.
    Not fully understanding what was in his future, Bernard was relieved. The stress of the responsibilities to pull off the initial heist still had lingering effects. It was way more pressure than the average senior citizen needed.
    The group had discussed splitting the hundred grand among themselves and helping their own families, but they had unanimously decided to pursue Walter’s original vision to create the foundation first. They all wanted to be a part of something bigger than themselves. They wanted to learn more, but they were nervous about what might be required of them.
    Sebastian knew that kind of money wouldn’t come without a price, and he wondered whether an old chain-saw salesman, a gunsmith, and a skating-rink manager could actually pay the tab. He watched Walter and thought about all his charismatic talk of money and the foundation. Then it occurred to him that itwas odd for someone with his persuasive skills to be so broke. He hadn’t considered this before. Something didn’t make sense, but he didn’t want to derail the group’s discussion.
I’ll just do some research on my own
, he thought.
    They were all enjoying the most exciting thing that had ever happened to them; most importantly, they had a goal, a purpose in life. They had called this their project. Now they were going to be able to help people. They considered themselves good guys, and the idea made their eyes twinkle.
    “So, what’s the new plan?” Bernard asked excitedly.
    Sebastian placed his wineglass down to focus.
    Walter looked around the room like he was expecting someone to be eavesdropping. “Lucille’s granddaughter works at this place in Columbus called the Gold Mine. It’s one of those cash-for-gold places. Her boss is a real sleazeball, and according to Lucille, he keeps a pile of cash in a safe.”
    “How much cash?”
    “We don’t really know for sure how much money. She says it’s got to be over three hundred thousand. Boot boxes full of hundreds and twenties.”
    “Hot damn!” Bernard