Tales of the Cooper Clan - Tennessee Kid
Chapter 1
The dry air of the desert blew across the land. A gray raccoon held a firm grip on his gun revolver that was shaped like a cane. His name was Tennessee Kid Cooper and he came from a long line of family thieves that only stole from other thieves. But Tennessee hadn't been following this code at all, he wanted to steal for the fun of it. A grin formed on his face as he set his brown eyes on a lone stagecoach. He knew that stagecoach contained the mayor of the town and his riches. The only set back was he noticed an orange fox wearing a white button up shirt, a long brown coat, and a brown hat escorting them. That fox was none other than Sheriff Wiley Everett Fox and he had been trying to hunt down Tennessee Kid. The gray raccoon loaded up his gun, ready to pull off the big robbery that is until he spotted someone. A female skunk with long black hair with a white stripe, wearing a green and yellow dress.
She sat on the ground, holding her leg in pain.
Sheriff Wiley ordered his men to stop the stagecoach to see what was wrong.
"Miss are you alright?" he asked.
Though Wiley failed to see the grin the female skunk flashed, she quickly pulled out two guns and a bunch of coyotes with guns with guns stood behind her.
"Oh Sheriff didn't your ma teach ya not to talk to strangers?" she smirked.
Wiley clenched his teeth in anger; he had heard about the female skunk that stood before him. Her name was Jeanette Le Paradox. Like many people he didn't really think of her as that much of a threat due to the fact she has poor judgment of how many people she would be going up against in a heist, usually ending with her losing the fight and fleeing. Though despite the fact she was a skunk she could be very seductive when she wanted to and that was how she managed to get people to work for her.
"Jeanette Le Paradox, if you know what's good for your health, ya'll back off and drop the guns." Wiley snarled as he started reaching for his gun.
To the male fox's surprise the female skunk only laughed at this threat.
"That was the old me sheriff, this time I got a foolproof plan. Bring her out boys!" Jeanette said.
Tennessee's brow raised in interest when he saw one of the coyotes carry a female raccoon that had long brown hair tied in a ponytail and wore a brown skirt, blue button up shirt, brown jacket, brown boots, and a red neckerchief.
The female raccoon kicked her legs around, trying to get free of the ropes that bonded her arms to the sides of her body.
Tennessee couldn't help, but smirk at the sight, he actually found the female raccoon a bit attractive.
"Good thing saving pretty ladies is a hobby of mine." he said with a smirk.
Tennessee quietly made his way over to the stagecoach as Jeanette was arguing with the sheriff about demands. The male raccoon opened up the stagecoach, pointing his gun at the mayor to make him stay quiet as he forced him out of the stagecoach. Once he done this he silently knocked out the two stagecoach drivers as not to alert the sheriff of his presence. Finally he climbed on top of the stagecoach and aimed his gun at the coyote holding the female raccoon. He pulled the trigger, shooting the coyote dead, finally alerting everyone to his presence.
"Halt, Tennessee Kid, you are under arrest!" Wiley yelled as he drew his gun.
"Sorry sheriff, but better luck next time!" Tennessee smirked as he quickly pulled the female raccoon up onto the stagecoach.
He grabbed the reins to the horses and made them take off.
Wiley tried to shot at the raccoon but every single one of his shots missed.
"Cooper!" the male fox finally yelled in anger upon seeing the outlaw escaped.
Wiley quickly turned around, figuring he could at least arrest Jeanette Le Paradox. But when he did the female skunk nor were her coyotes nowhere in sight. The male fox snarled in anger, tossing his hat down on the ground before stepping on it, ignoring the fact that this was the twentieth hat he had ruined.
Tennessee smirked as he watched the female raccoon sitting next to him struggle and kick around.
"You better let me go ya lowdown outlaw or I'll get rough with ya!" she yelled.
"Well I always like when ladies play it rough." Tennessee smirked.
The female raccoon gasped before snarling "Consider ya-self lucky or I would slap that smirk right off of your face for that disrespectful remark!"
Tennessee couldn't help but laugh at the female raccoon as he rode back to his hideout. He found it amusing how the female raccoon not only kept yelling threats about if she had a gun she would blast him, but also the fact she accidentally let it slip from her mouth that her name was Clara. A few times he thought about dropping her off at town and letting her go, but the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea of having a women's company. After all he did like feisty gals. After thinking about it, he had finally came up with a way to insure Clara wouldn't run off. Before he reached the hideout he blindfolded her and guided her up to the clock tower. Once inside he took off her blindfold and had her sit down in a chair.
"Look here's the deal, I'll untie you only if you agree to stay here." he said.
"What?! I would never agree to stick around an outlaw!" she snapped.
Tennessee pushed his hat up a bit, smirking at the fact he figured she would say as much. He sat down next to her, smirking when he watched her cringe when he laid his arm on her shoulder.
"Look, Miss Clara, when I blindfolded you I took you to a town you probably don't know. If you leave you'll have no idea where to go. So if you stick with me you'll be fine unless you want to be somewhere you don't know." the male raccoon said.
Clara clenched her teeth together; as much as she hated to admit it she knew that Tennessee was right. He had taken her to a place she didn't even know; all she knew was that she was in a clock tower. With an annoyed sigh she agreed to the male raccoon's terms.
Tennessee grinned and untied Clara.
Once she was free the female raccoon tried to slap him only to have him catch her wrist.
"No need to be like that, Miss Clara, I maybe wanting ya company, but I'm not like other outlaws." he said.
Clara glared at the male raccoon before her as she pulled her wrist out of his grip. She turned away and crossed her arms; she was stuck with an outlaw.
Back with Jeanette Le Paradox she paced back and force in anger; once again she had misjudged the situation and ended up failing at the heist. She stomped her foot down in anger, letting out a frustrated yell the more she thought about her failure. She wanted to bring the Le Paradox family to light because just like Tennessee she also descended from a family line of thieves except her family were actually terrible thieves. She always heard tales about her ancestors like how her ancestor from Japan, Kenta Le Paradox actually almost succeeded in taking out Rioichi Cooper with the help of a dangerous being that most members of the Le Paradox Clan are afraid to speak to. She sat down running her fingers through her hair, letting out a frustrated sigh.
"It's just not fair, why did Tennessee have to steal my heist? He always showing me up and I'm always stuck in his shadow. Ha his bounty is up to two-thousand dollars and while my bounty is one-hundred and fifty dollars!" Jeanette thought out loud.
She wanted to overcome Tennessee and be the better thief but she didn't want to go to the lengths that her ancestor Kenta went in an attempt to overshadow Rioichi; she would only resort to that if she was really desperate. For now she would plan to stick to what she does best, seducing men so she could manipulate them.
Later that night Tennessee tossed and turned in his bed, his eyes squeezed shut, sweat dripping down his forehead, his hand clenched into fists. He was having the same nightmare he has been having for years. It always had him running in the dark with the moon's light silhouetting off of two large mechanical wings. He would try to run but no matter what the mysterious being would snatch him up in it's large deadly talons. The last thing he would see before the talons started crushing his body was two red glowing eyes full of hate. Tennessee sat up in his bed, taking huge deep breaths as he woke up in a cold sweat. He ran his fingers through his fur, trying to figure why he kept having that nightmare. He had that very same nightmare ever since he asked his mother when he was young what happened to his father. The only thing she told him was that he was murdered by an awful being before he was born.
He looked over next to his bed, spotting the Thievius Raccoonus. Figuring reading would help calm his nerves he picked up the book and began reading. The Thievius Racconus was an ancient book passed down in the Cooper family; every Cooper had written about their greatest feats in the Thievius Raccoonus and they even talked about the techniques that they hope to be taught to their descendants. Tennessee silently flipped through the pages reading about Slytunkhamen II who created the move Shadow Power and made the Cooper Vault, Henriette "One Eye" Cooper who was the greatest pirate, Rioichi who developed the Spire Jump, Sir Galleth who made the Crash Catapult Technique, and Salim Al Kupar who made the Cobra Climb. He always enjoyed reading about his ancestors; it was what helped him to strive to be a great outlaw.
The next day Clara searched all around the clock tower; she wanted a glimpse of the town to figure out where she might be. She pressed her forehead up against the glass of the clock's face, staring at the huge clock hands counting the day away. She was startled when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and clenched her hands into fists when she saw it was none other than Tennessee Kid Cooper.
"Get ready we're going on another heist." he said as he handed her the blindfold.
Clara glared at Tennessee with her brown eyes before finally tying the blindfold over her eyes.
Even though Tennessee knew the female raccoon wouldn't be able to figure out where she is by putting on the blindfold, he felt a little guilty about doing it. He quietly pushed these thoughts to the side as he guided her out of the clock tower. He walked up to the stagecoach and untied the horses from it. He set Clara on a horse and tied that horse's reigns to his saddle. With everything set he climbed up onto his horse and rode out of town. Once he was far enough out of town he had Clara take off her blindfold.
The female raccoon shielded the sunlight being exposed to her eyes with her hand, seeing that she and Tennessee were out in the desert once more.
"Where are ya taking me?" she demanded.
"To the train, hear they got a new shipment of gold." he replied.
"Typical outlaw." she muttered as she crossed her arms.
Tennessee couldn't help but grin at the remark; he didn't know why he loved making the female raccoon next to him grumble or snap with anger. Without a word he moved his horse closer to Clara, flashing his typical grin at her when he saw her snort at the action.
"So, Miss Clara, mind telling me a bit about yourself? It's going to be quite some time before we finally catch the train." he said.
Clara snapped her head toward Tennessee; she leaned close to him where their faces were inches apart.
Tennessee could clearly see the anger burning in her eyes from hearing the question.
"Why should I tell ya, an outlaw anything about my life?" she yelled.
At that moment Tennessee made the horses stop in their tracks and didn't say a word.
Clara blinked in confusion wondering why he had stopped and wasn't saying anything. All of the sudden Tennessee grab Clara by the arm and pulled her into a kiss. Clara's eyes widen for a split second before she finally shoved Tennessee away.
"Why you lowdown, dirty, good for nothing scum!" she yelled in anger.
Tennessee began laughing his head off, he had anticipated that reaction from her which is why he kissed her in the first place.
"Why I thought you would like a kiss from a good looking fellow like me." he laughed as he made the horses start walking again.
"Good looking, hardly." Clara muttered, still angry about the fact she had been kissed by an outlaw.
Jeanette tapped her fingers on the table she sat at in the saloon; she needed more recruits and she figured the place to get them was there. She applied so more lipstick on her mouth, trying to make herself look attractive as possible. She batted her eyelashes at a couple of longhorns sitting at the bar, lifting her shoulder close to her head. The longhorns' mouths dropped open as they quickly sat down at the table the female skunk sat at, just like she had anticipated.
"What's a pretty lady like ya doing here?" one of the longhorns asked.
"Oh why little old me." she said in a fake innocent tone, "I need some big strong men for a job I need completed."
"What kind of job?" another longhorn asked.
With a grin she sat down on the longhorn's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. The longhorn's eyes widen saw big that it looked like his eyeballs were going to pop out. She leaned up close to the longhorn's face
"The kind of job with great rewards." she whispered in his ear before kissing him on the cheek.
Without any seconds thoughts all the longhorns agreed to the job, having no idea that it was a job for a heist and the fact there were actually going to get nothing from it. Jeanette grinned as she got off of the longhorn's lap, loving how she's able to manipulate people.
Tennessee Kid Cooper loaded his revolver, preparing for the incoming train. He had Clara stay with the horses, knowing she wouldn't try to run off since she didn't know where to go. He perched up on the top of a building, waiting for the train approach. When the train reached him using all of his strength he jumped on top of train, clinging on to the railing his the handle of his revolver. He lowered himself down to the door of the cart he was on and got inside. A smirk formed on the raccoon's when he saw the guards' shocked faces. The guards tried to attack but Tennessee easily dodged the bullets from their guns and took them out. A jackalope tried throwing dynamite at Tennessee but his aim was off, causing the side of the car to be blown up. Tennessee kept a good grip on his bowler hat when the wind tried blowing it off. Quickly he grabbed the bags of gold and began running toward the back of the train. He made his way through the different carts, hearing passengers gasp and scream at the sudden appearance of the raccoon. Finally Tennessee managed to make it to the back of the train. He took one last look behind him, flashing a smirk at the guards pursuing him before jumping down on the tracks.
Using his move the rail slide he managed to slide down on the train tracks, watching as the train grew smaller in the distance. He jumped off the tracks when he reached Clara once more and loaded the bags of gold onto his horse.
"Well that was the best heist yet." Tennessee commented to himself.
"I still don't see why you need me." Clara snarled.
"It's like I told ya before, Miss Clara, I would like company especially a lady's company. Living the life of an outlaw can get pretty lonesome." the male raccoon replied.
"Well it should be lonesome! All ya thieves do is break the law and do terrible things! If my pa were still alive he would send ya straight to where ya belong and I don't mean jail!" she said with venom dipping of her tone.
Tennessee raised a brow in interest, he wanted to learn more about Clara, but he knew she wouldn't talk for now, especially to an outlaw. He knew he had to bide his time to make Clara to trust him though that meant loosening the tight leash he had her own.
"Tell ya what Miss Clara. I won't blindfold you this time when we go into town. I trust ya enough." he said.
The female raccoon stared in shock; she couldn't believe the words that came out of the outlaw's mouth. He was actually going to let her see the town he was hiding out in, making her wonder what kind of angle he was trying to play out. She didn't know what Tennessee was planning but for now she planned to keep her guard up around the male raccoon and figure some way to escape his grasp.