THE BAD GUYS: a very bad holiday

Chapter 3: Christmas canceled

"Christmas is canceled," Tiffany Fluffit wailed into her microphone.

The cameraman sobbed quietly behind his camera. Nearby, children screamed and cried.

Parents tried to comfort their kids, but everyone-adults and kids-was having a hard time getting the image of the burning Santa out of their minds.

Especially since the burning balloon had been blown into the side of a building and got stuck there.

Now the grisly face of a charred Santa was staring down at the city like a giant scary billboard.

"This is Tiffany Fluffit reporting live from the scene of the worst attack on this city since the introduction of electric scooters," Tiffany sobbed.

She gathered herself together; this was a time to be professional, after all. Our beloved Big Nick has been destroyed by the notoriously notorious Bad Guys. We're a city in mourning this morning" The cameraman panned over the scene, getting raw, live footage of people's sadness.

"Why?!" someone sobbed.

"Why, indeed," Tiffany said into her microphone, dragging the camera's lens back her way.

She shook her head miserably, frowned, then went on, "It's a senseless act of bah-humbuggery."

She gestured to the side of the building, sighing as the camera captured footage of the city's useless attempt to wash the burned Santa off.

"All attempts to wash the abomination off have only made it more terrifying, further lowering holiday spirits."

No matter how much water they sprayed at the side of the building, nothing worked.

It seemed as if the building would forever be charred with the image of the horrifyingly melted Santa balloon.

"It's never felt less like Christmas in the city, Tiffany said sadly. She scanned the people surrounding her on the street, all of whom were going miserably about their usual business.

She spotted Gary, the bank's guard, gazing up at the burned Santa wall. "Sir," the news reporter blurted out, shoving the microphone into his face. "Your reaction?"

Gary shook his head. "It's just not the holidays without Big Nick," he said gloomily. "He was like a father to me. Don't think I'll even celebrate tomorrow." Gary hung his head and shrugged.

"Probably just go into work, guard the bank like any other day .. " He choked back a sob and glanced up at the building.

"I'll be extra attentive to my job guarding the bank, to distract myself from this monstrosity." He stared at the remnants of the burned balloon in horror. "Why can't I look away?"

"Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without Big Nick. It was beginning to look like the Bad Guys Holiday Heist-tacular wasn't going to be so heist-tacular after all" wolf says.

"So what did you guys do?" Princess asked.

"We Do what any criminals would do when their heist was canceled"