There was a saying that leeries had the gift of second sight.

Jack didn't know if that was true. He certainly never saw the future, or ghosts, or any of the sorts of things people with second sight were supposed to be able to see. Jack did see more than most people, but there was nothing supernatural in that. He just looked. Most people, particularly adults, stopped looking. Sure they used their eyes to watch where they were going, and to scan their environment for changes or hazards…but the things they see every day, the flowers in the park, the clouds in the sky, the faces of the buildings…those things become background, and so they see them but they don't look at them. And when something magical did happen right in front of them, their sensible brains immediately worked out how that couldn't have happened, and so they didn't see it even when they did. Jack looked. And he saw everything.

He still didn't see auras or mystical signs or get premonitions, but perhaps he did get something, a sort of compulsion that was almost impossible to define because it wasn't something he saw, not even any sort of hunch or feeling. It was just, more often than not, Jack would somehow find himself at exactly the right place at the right time. Jack wouldn't call himself magical, and he was just as likely as anyone else to miss a turning or miss the bus or forget his keys or lose a bit of money out of a hole in his pocket. It's just that when those things did happen, it quite often turned out to be for the best.

It was that sort of compulsion that had him in the park at the right time to hear Georgie calling for help as a kite dragged him up towards the sky. It was the same sort of right place at the right time that had him in the exact spot three children, lost in a fog, happened to wander to. Bert had had the same sort of compulsion as well, though he tended to call it 'luck' rather than any sort of sixth sense. Sweeps are lucky. Leeries have second sight. Jack had a bit of both inside him (same as Bert) and maybe that was why, even for a leerie, Jack was particularly good at being exactly where he needed to be.

Then again, sometimes an accident is just an accident, a wrong turning is just a wrong turning, and a coincidence is just a coincidence, and bad things can still happen, even if one walks towards them with eyes wide open.

If Jack had been able to see into the future, properly, he would likely have made some very different choices on that particular morning, choices that didn't end with him taking three children to the bank. Whether it would turn out well he did, or a horrible tragedy, remained to be seen, but it definitely wasn't what he would have chosen.

It was the summer, which meant the children were on holiday from school but their father was still working and their aunt Jane still worked with SPRUCE and their friend Jack looked just the slightest bit run down from having to wait until late to turn on the lamps but then get up quite early to turn them down again. Summertime hours are not a leerie's friend.

"It would almost pay to turn nocturnal," Jack remarked, "And sleep in the day. Only, how could a person miss out on this?"

That was during a picnic in the park one weekend, when Jack had made the unusual move of laying down for a nap after the food, instead of leaping up to play all the games the children were ready to play. It was a lovely day, particularly for London; blue skies, a warm sun with just enough breeze to offset the heat, flowers in blossom, trees hushing gently in the wind, and all sorts of insects buzzing and humming about while birdsong filled the park. The this he didn't want to miss might also have had something to do with Jane letting him use her lap as a pillow. At any rate, the children couldn't be too disappointed, because after a short nap Jack had leapt up, as energetic as ever, and they all got the most out of the sunshine. That was a good day.

On this summer day, it was just a little bit too warm, despite the sky being a rather dull gray, though the sun did peek through from time. It was the dull sort of day that made it harder to get out of bed, as though the sun hiding meant perhaps it wasn't as late as the clock said it was and perhaps it was still time to sleep. The entire Banks family slept in, in fact.

Not being a school day, this was not a problem for the children. Only their father, being an attentive sort of parent, didn't like to leave Ellen to seeing that his children were dressed and combed and fed, and the children, being an attentive sort of offspring, in turn rather enjoyed making sure their father was fed himself, and his clothes were matched up and put on the right way around (that only happened once, to be fair) and that he had everything he was meant to have before he stepped out the door.

They were so attentive of each other this morning that they rather got in each other's way. Annabel carefully made sure to pass her father toast, which he buttered and added jam to…then promptly offered to Georgie. John, in the meantime, made sure to lay out their father's hat and briefcase and accidentally insured that when his father went looking for them in their usual places, they weren't there and, as he'd just sent John to wash the jam from Georgie's hair for him (it was that sort of morning), there was no one to inform him that they were lain neatly on the chair and so he spent twice as long as he might have looking for them, along with Annabel, who was still chasing him about with toast (this time already buttered and smothered in jam) and so even when she saw the hat and briefcase she didn't think to mention it.

Then when he finally had everything he needed, and the children were lined up by the door to say goodbye and looking more or less presentable (Georgie and John looked a bit damp, and now Annabel had managed to get jam on her sleeves), Annabel finally succeeded in getting him to take her toast. It was a bit of a sticky mess, but Michael still smiled and offered sincere thanks and reminded his children to behave and mind Ellen and all the usual things a father says when he suspects it to be hopeless that his children will avoid mischief but hopes they at least won't purposefully seek it out.

And then the house shook from a canon blast and he knew that meant he should have been out the door five minutes before and out he dashed. He had his hat in one hand and Annabel's toast in the other. His briefcase was left on the floor where he set it to accept the toast.

"Father, your briefcase!" the children shouted, almost at once, but almost is not quite the same thing as at once, and Michael was feeling the late hour in his feet and he had no time to hear shouts after him. And as he had opted to drive to work to make up for lost time, he was gone before anyone could catch him and with no hope of catching up to him either.

"I suppose we had best call the bank in a bit and let him know," was Ellen's decision on the matter. "I don't suppose there can be anything so very important it can't wait until he has time to come back for it."

This wasn't at all the opinion of the children, who were quite certain the briefcase must contain something of utmost importance that their father would need at once. They had wanted Ellen to take them to the bank.

"I'm too old to go traipsing all the way to the bank," she answered, which was ridiculous because she might get a bit confused from time to time but her traipsing powers were as sharp as ever. "And in this heat," she added, "I'd catch my death of heat stroke," just as though they lived in the Sahara Desert and not in London. And, as a final stroke against leaving (and the children had all sorts of arguments lined up, from suggestions to take public transportation, to taking a taxi, to offering to fan her the entire way) she said, "And I've come down with a summer cold." And that was the end of the argument.

"Well…if Ellen can't take us, perhaps we can take ourselves," Annabel said. "I think I remember the way."

"You know we won't be allowed," Georgie said gloomily. "It's a hundred miles from here."

"If Father really needs his briefcase…perhaps he wouldn't mind so much if we called for a taxi?" John suggested. But it was too early to call the bank to ask because their father wouldn't have even arrived yet, and anyway, they all suspected they knew the answer would be 'no'.

"Could we ring Aunt Jane?" Annabel suggested. "Or…perhaps…Jack?"

"Does Jack have a telephone?" John asked doubtfully. And as they talked, they moved to the window to look out, perhaps hoping to find inspiration out on the street. If they were hoping to see Jack coming along to turn down their lamps, they were disappointed. The lamps had already been turned down.

What they were not disappointed in was the sight of a familiar bicycle pedaling past at the exact moment they happened to look out.

"Jack!" cried three voices at once, though of course he didn't hear them from all the way outside or stop, and they all ran to the door to run after him.

They had a bit of a run, because Jack clearly was intent on going somewhere, and that somewhere wasn't to visit with them, but he did hear their shouts and stopped just at the entrance to the park and let them catch up.

"Hello children," he said cheerfully. "Out for a morning run in the park?" Then, after eying Georgie's damp hair, and John's damp everything else, he added, "Or swim?"

"We are going to the bank," Georgie answered.

"Oh…investing some money? Or perhaps you need to make a withdrawal?" And somehow Jack sounded perfectly serious and at the same time seemed to be laughing with his eyes.

"To see Father," Annabel explained, though she thought Jack probably already understood that much and was just teasing them.

"He forgot his briefcase this morning," John added. "And we wanted to take it to him. Only…we aren't allowed to go alone." And now that Jack was actually standing in front of them, all three children at once wanted to beg that he take them…and at the same time suddenly thought perhaps it would be wrong or impolite to ask. Jack had clearly been off to somewhere after all, and in quite a hurry as he hadn't even paused passing their house as he usually did to wave towards them.

"You also seem to have forgotten the briefcase," Jack pointed out, this time with a raised eyebrow.

"No, we wanted to catch you so we had to run," Georgie answered. And then, perhaps because he was young enough to not feel the wrongness in asking the same as the older ones, he said, "Can you take us to the bank?"

"Oh…" said Jack, and with that hesitation, three hearts sank, certain that he did have somewhere important to go and they were being horribly rude and imposing and his next words were sure to be 'sorry, but…'. Only when he did speak, it wasn't quite that at all, though it started off sounding like he was about to make his excuses. "I'd love to take you, and I suppose it is only a matter of balance only…" and then he got a determined look on his face and finished with, "If all else fails, we have our feet. Sure, I'll take you to the bank. I'm sure Michael will appreciate having his briefcase back."

"Are you sure?" Annabel asked, feeling suddenly a bit shy and awkward, never mind that this was Jack, who was practically like an uncle.

"Course I'm sure," said Jack, all hesitance gone from his voice now.

"Only…" and this time it was John protesting, "It looked like you were going somewhere important."

"I always go somewhere important," said Jack. "And this morning, that important place is the bank. Let's go get that briefcase. And perhaps Ellen would like to know where you are going?"

So, much more slowly, all four of them made their way back to the house.

Ellen was not pleased with them running off to enlist Jack's help.

"He's not your personal taxi service," she admonished, which made the older two children feel wronger than ever but just made Georgie look confused and Jack laughed out loud. Ellen wasn't finished, either. "And who is going to help me with the dishes? And I had wanted to send you out this morning to the shops. Summer doesn't mean no work, you know."

"It should," Georgie grumbled, too low for her to hear, which was unusual for him, not least because he actually liked going to the shops (or at least, the stop at the park that going shopping usually brought), and the older two enjoyed the grown up feeling that came with doing the shopping. Usually, Ellen found a harder time sweeping them out the door to play than finding helping hands, but this morning everyone seemed to be a bit contrary. Or perhaps Ellen herself had a bit of second sight and was trying, in her way, to avert what was to come. If that were true, she failed.

"Father's briefcase is important, I know it is," said Annabel firmly. "Perhaps…if you have a list we can stop on the way back home?"

"And leave me to the washing up, I suppose?" Ellen demanded.

"Surely we can all lend a hand before we go?" Jack suggested, and led the way to the kitchen where he immediately leapt into service.

"Here, if you're going to help with the cleaning, you should have a chance to do some of the dirtying first," Ellen interrupted him, offering him the remains of the breakfast, which Jack tried to refuse and somehow still found himself sitting down to a plate of food, before she set about to get him some fresh tea while the children followed Jack's example and set to work themselves. All in all, Ellen only managed to delay them some ten minutes, and then another five while she tried to remember the list of items she wanted them to fetch, and then a few minutes more when she had to unearth the bit of money Michael had given her for the shopping. As always with Michael, who sometimes seemed to only loosely understand the realities of mundane but necessary household chores, the amount left would either be far too little…or far too much. Luckily, ever since he'd been given a raise at the bank, the latter was more likely, and there was enough that the children whispered together about getting ice-creams after.

In the middle of all this, Jack managed to gently suggest changes of clothing to those who could benefit (John's clothes would likely soon dry but would be uncomfortable until they did and Anabel's sleeves had somehow become even more of a mess during the washing up) and managed to towel off Georgie's head in the midst of drying dishes and, all in all, they actually looked somewhat presentable as they made their way towards the door, hats on heads and briefcase in hand.

It was at this moment that the phone rang. It was Michael, as it turned out, having missed his briefcase and calling to inform his children that they were not to traipse across London alone to bring it to him, never mind that he did have some rather important papers inside it. He knew his children rather well, it seemed.

So all in all, there were a million reasons why the children should have been nowhere near the bank when the event happened, and just one reason that they were.

"But Jack has agreed to take us!"

Michael was hesitant, not because he didn't trust Jack but because he didn't want his children to impose on the man's good nature. Then Jack himself said, "I'm happy to do it. Could be a bit of an adventure."

Though they didn't know it, truer words had never been spoken. And not the nice, fun kind of adventure either. But Jack couldn't see the future, and neither could anyone else in the house. And so Michael finally said, "Well if you're sure…it would help me out a lot…" And Jack said, "Course," and Ellen said "Don't be away all day, achoo," to which everyone (including Michael over the phone) said "Bless you!" and then they really were on their way. In fact, the children were so excited that they almost forgot the briefcase themselves, and Jack had to send them back in for it while he sort of looked at his bicycle as though it were a bit of a puzzle and then went to adjust the ladder into its familiar role as an extra seat.

"I'm sure it'll work," he mumbled to himself. "I don't need her to make it work, either. It's all a matter of balance. Annabel on one side, John on the other, and Georgie in the basket again."

It was awkward arranging themselves without Mary Poppins, or perhaps just because there was only Jack to hold the bike up while they got on it, and for one rather long and somewhat embarrassing moment, they thought perhaps Jack wasn't quite as wonderfully talented as they had supposed and maybe it couldn't be done. They were just getting ready to be terribly kind and polite over it, in fact, and suggest taking the bus or, if worst came to worst, walking, when Jack suddenly said, "Aha!" and tilted the entire bicycle to the side and told John to sit on the ladder and 'hold on tight!'. Then he grabbed the top rung of the ladder on the other side where it went up into the air and dropped his whole weight on it so the whole thing swung down, swinging John up and up, too far in fact, only this seemed to be on purpose so Annabel could climb onto her side. Then with both sides occupied, it turned out to be remarkable easy for Jack to get it back to its usual position, not leaning one way or the other.

"Like I said, a matter of balance," Jack said as he straddled his bicycle, steadying it with his knees so he could lift Georgie into the basket with the briefcase without any danger of his siblings taking a tumble. "Knew I could do it."

Setting off he was a bit wobbly, but then, the ride had always been a bit wobbly, even with Mary Poppins on board, and after a minute or so they all remembered how to sit and Jack remembered how to lean into turns with his wider and heavier load and they all enjoyed the ride.

They went through the park to start, in part because it was the quickest way to get on towards the bank and in part because Jack might not have been one hundred percent sure he'd really be able to manage without a certain magical nanny around to make the impossible possible…and if he discovered he really couldn't safely carry everyone he wanted to make this discovery in a place full of soft grass and ponds, not over unforgiving concrete. The park keeper shouted after them as they passed, somewhat incoherently. This was not so much because they were going too fast to understand him as because he was quite certain they were doing something they weren't supposed to do in the park, but couldn't quite figure out what rule they were breaking, and what he ended up shouting was a bit of nonsense like, "No riding ladders joyrides silly impossible doings in the park!"

At any rate, Jack took no notice, and the park keeper didn't chase after them and clearly seemed to feel better for having had a good shout, even if it was a muddled and confusing one, and so no harm was done to anyone and Jack remembered how to ride a bicycle laden down by extra people and it was almost as good as having Mary Poppins back for a bit.

It might have been better for all of them if he had discovered it really was impossible and decided they had to walk. It might have been better if they had been forced to return home, bumped and bruised but safe.

But nothing impeded the bicycle and no calamity befell them on the way and Jack didn't take any wrong turnings and get them lost and Georgie didn't drop the briefcase and oblige them to stop and collect it and all in all absolutely nothing arose to stop or slow their passage to the bank.

Jack was a leerie, and more often than not he was at the right place at the right time. That day, though, everything was contrary, and perhaps just that once, he was going to the wrong place at exactly the wrong time. And he was taking three young children with him.

They arrived at the bank and went inside.

And five minutes later, so did the bank robbers.