AN: So, I'm pretty sure if I have anyone that reads all my works, you''l see a pattern. Start something, vanish, come back with new ideas. Sorry, but I have truly fickle muse. Plus, if I write something down for a bit, I can at least come back to it later when the idea strikes me. So, what is this about? Well, a few days ago, I was browsing through the Sly Cooper section of when an idea struck me. A common idea in many stories is Carmelita coming to terms with whether or not Sly (and by extent, his lineage) are truly criminals. What if she hadn't been the only one to think that, and it had been acted upon? So, without further adue, ladies, gentlemen, and whatever else may be reading this I present to you my latest story. (And yes, I know I stole the title from a 60's TV show). (Note, some liberties are taken with items, for a bit more flare).
It Takes a Thief
Ch1 A Moonlight Run
Inspector Barkley was in a nearly berserk rage. He was thinking of retiring soon, so he was preparing the current hands for the changing of the guard. He had personally selected the promising (until now) young Constable Fox to see her worth. He had been skeptical of her Academy scores, think favoritism played heavily in for the daughter of one of Interpol's finest. So he had given her a simple job that no one could foul up. He was wrong.
He had assigned her as extra security detail to the Parisian Opera House to help guard the Diva Diamond, a necklace containing ten flawless five carat pink diamonds (AN: After some research, this necklace would clock in at 108 million, diamonds alone), currently in possession of one Pachyderma Tuskaninny. The building dated back to the 1700's so security was understandably not up to par. It was only recently that a major overhaul was being done to bring security up to par. Until then, they had relied on massive guard staffs. But tonight, they needed something special, so Barkley had been forced to send one of his own.
According to her she had found a raccoon on the roof of the building, summoned the guards, and apprehended him. All well and good. She then proceeded to lock him in a closet to find another Interpol officer, namely me, as he was in attendance of the performance. That, in Barkley's opinion, was where thing began to go FUBAR. Every light in the opera house blinked out, and when they came back on, the necklace had vanished, and he had to deal with a frantic eight-hundred kilo opera singer. He was currently in the process of chewing out everything, bringing the young constable to tears, when the lights went out again, coupled by a muffled scream. When they came back on, in between the Inspector and the Constable was a weasel, suspended by his legs from the ceiling by a length of rope, with a bag over his head. Constable Fox ripped the bag off of his head, revealing the stage manager, Peirre, with the necklace around his neck.
"Nice to see that Interpol's finest have bagged another one!" The shout had echoed down from the ceiling, revealing a raccoon in blue in the rafters. "Sorry to do your work and run, but I must be getting home, I'm past curfew!" With that witty remark, the coon began to make his escape.
Barkley blinked twice, in sheer shock. Then, his voice came out again as a growl once more. "What am I paying you for woman! AFTER THE HIM!" The shocked Constable shook once, then took off for the roof access after him, leaving Barkley alone with the babbling would be thief, a Diva, and his thoughts.
"There was no way that was... he's just a street legend!"
POV Change: Carmelita
"That blasted ring tailed thief! There's no way I'm letting him ruin my career any further than he already has!"
Alas, the lovely Vixen would have to catch him first, as she was unarmed due to the wishes of the opera house. The thief had a good minute head start, but it seemed he was cocky, having waited on the rooftop for her. He had propped up on a cane with a golden hook at its end near the edge of the roof, twirling a blue hat on the end of his finger. He turned to face her, with and almost devilish grin on his face.
"Figured he would send you up, hes getting a bit long in the tooth for a rooftop chase."
"Who says its a chase? All I need to do is yell for the guards on patrol of the roof and your cornered."
"Ah, my lovely miss, they would, if they were not so concerned with saving face by helping secure the true thief of this night." That rather flirty line had sent Carmelita back. So, not only was she probably in the doghouse with her boss (minds out of the gutters folks, I ain't done a lemon yet), but she had to grab a flirt.
"So you admit to being a thief then? That's all the evidence I need to take you in, with or without back up."
"I'm a bit more complex than that I'm afraid, and even if you did catch me, it wouldn't last. I have my means."
"You aren't getting off this roof top. The the only way off is thru me, thief."
"One, I refuse to hurt a lady, especially one of such charm, and two, I'm not your ordinary thief." And with that, he did a back flip off the building.
"Damn it, a suicidal nut!" Carmelita raced to the edge of the building. He could survive, the roof was low here, only twenty feet up. But instead of finding a coon sprawled out on the ground, she found him racing across the power lines at breakneck speed. It should be impossible, a normal person couldn't keep their feet from slipping, but this guy was doing it. Most would have given up the chase, but, Ms. Fox was no ordinary cop. Her father had taught her a few... oddities when she was younger that he said he had developed when he was doing field work. Without a second thought, she took a running leap off the building.
POV Change: Sly
Sly figured he would have had a good chase across the roof tops of Paris that night, but there hadn't been enough buildings near the opera house for the cop to keep up. A shame to, she seemed like such pleasant company to, he'd even let himself get caught just to try and learn some more about her. He could have sworn he knew her from somewhere. It was then that he felt extra vibrations on the wire. His head darted back, and to his shock, the young constable was charging up the lines after him.
"This... bears some looking into..." Reaching up to his mask, he hit a small switch. The lenses on his Binocucom mask sprang to life with the desired task, recording sound and visuals, as well as hooking him up to Bentley.
"Bentley, you on the line? I got something that needs solving fast!"
"Sly! Where the heck are you! You know I hate it when you turn the BlueForce trackers off on your night walks! Never mind its back u- why are you running for your life down the main line form the... oh no... no no no... Sly you didn't grab the Diva Diamond, did you?" The panic was clear on the other end, as this hadn't been in the plans... for tonight, at least.
"No Bentley, long storry, tell you two about it latter. Lets just say we may have a bit of company." With that, Sly turned his head around to show Bentley the Constable, who, much to his surprise, was beginning to gain ground on him.
"Is she... no way, this can't be Sly, no ones that good without training... unless..."
"That was my though too Bentley. Grab a pic of her face, run it thru the archives, I want to know if that's who I think that is. I'll try and loose her in the sprawl. I'll keep the recorder up to."
"Don't get to reckless Sly. We still have some more planning to do."
"Yeah yeah, I know, we got that job in Bombay coming up. I'll try and make this quick mom."
"Just don't get caught. It would cause a few raised eyebrows." With that, Bentley cut the line, leaving Sly to plot.
"Time for some fun, lets see if she's really who I think she is."
POV Change: Third person
It was a long chase. Sly lead Carmelita along the roofs of Paris and through it's back alleys for over two hours, neither one truly tiring, sustained by adrenaline. No matter what Sly tried to do to, she stayed on his tail, following hi move for move, even trying a few shortcuts he hadn't yet found. Carmelita, however, couldn't close the gap, as each time she would get closer, Sly would make a sudden leap to another roof in the complete opposite direction, letting Carmelita's momentum carry her further than she wished. Eventually the chase came to a close, but thru no action of the two parties. Sly had leaped over a section of elevated rails, with Carmelita in hot pursuit, when a tram came barreling down the lines. It only delayed Carmelita's jump by a few seconds, but by that time Sly had vanished into the night, leaving her alone on the rooftops, cursing the ring tailed thief, he scream echoing thru the night.
"DAMN YOU YOU RINGTAILED BASTARD!"
Meanwhile, Sly had hidden himself on the roof of another nearby building, leaning against an rooftop AC unit. His shirt and fur were soaked thru with sweat, he hadn't had a hard run like that in months, usually he could loose any pursuers, but she was following him almost move for move. She was perfectly executing Cooper techniques, most likely without realizing it. And that kept bringing hos mind back to a place it hadn't went to in ages.
POV Change: Barkley
It was the next morning, after the fiasco of last night. Madam Tuskaninny had finally left him alone after two hours of agony. If he ever had another assignment involving opera houses, he was giving it to the poor fools on the shitlist. Let them suffer. Which brought him to his latest berserk point: sitting in his office tearing this young upstart a new one.
"So you are telling my, Constable Fox", her rank coming out with even lower a growl," that when you arrived on the roof, you were lead on a two hour chase through Paris without ever catching the bastard! Then, somehow, he manages to suddenly vanish onto thin air after you only lost sight of him for a few seconds! And, to top it all off your report claims he was performing acts of acrobatic and gymnastic skill that would put Olympic athletes of most species to shame, including, but not limited to 'running across power lines at speeds of nearly 30 miles per hour, mid air acrobatic corrections, and incredible agility on level ground."" Barkley's already furious voice suddenly became even more infused with rage. "MS. FOX,DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A DAMN FOOL! THIS ENTIRE REPORT IS SUCH A WORK OF FICTION THAT I EXPECT TO LOOK OUT MY WINDOW FOR A CHINESE DRAGON TO FLY BY AFTER READING IT! YOU FAILED TO CATCH A MAN, AND YOUR SENSE OF PRIDE, NO DOUBT BACK BY PAST FAVORATISM, LEAD YOU TO FABRICATE A REPORT OF SOME SUPER THEIF!" It was hear that Barkley went off into a mad tangent about urban legends.
Carmelita was shocked, not just by her boss's tone of voice, but the seething hate pouring from it. She had failed, yes, but that was no grounds for this. As she was about to launch into a mad tirade back at him, a loud knock was heard at the door.
"GO THE HELL AWAY!"
"I'm sorry, sir," came the sensual voice from outside as the door opened, " but I am here on the direct orders of the head of Interpol." They both turned to face the door, revealing a raccoon in a blue formal suit, with a briefcase in hand. "I am hear at his request for a immediate transfer of Ms. Fox here to a special investigative force, at the rank of Inspector." Both Barkley and Carmelita were taken aback, Carmelita at the sudden transfer after her blunder, Barkley more so than her.
"JUST WHO THE HELL ARE YOU! AFTER THIS WOMANS BLUNDERS AND UTERLY FANTASTICAL REPORT I AM HAVING HER BUSTED DOWN TO THE ACADEMY! WHAT IN GOD'S MANE DO YOU WANT THIS MONUMENTAL SCREW UP FOR!"
"That, Mr. Barkley is quite enough. Indeed, even if I felt like informing you of my reasons, it is so far above your pay grade that you do not wish to pry." At that, he held out his badge, only to Barkley's face. Carmelita could visually see him turn whiter under his fur.
"Now then, if that is settled, Ms. Fox," the raccoon said, casually tossing her a new badge and a envelope, "there is what I can give you here. Inside are the instructions to you new workplace, you'll find most of the paperwork there. Oh, and do be discreet about getting there, we don't like to advertise, co leave the corvette at home. A taxi perhaps, to the first address, would be advised." As he turned to leave, he casually glanced over his shoulder and remarked, "By the way, he no longer has any authority over you after this transfer. Feel free to slug him."
As he exited the room, a loud thud could be heard.
Five hours latter
It was nearly lunch when Carmelita arrived at the last address on her new orders. She was rather curious as to why she had arrived at a seemingly dilapidated old hotel on the outskirts of Paris. The building looked to be in perfect condition, despite the complete lack of vehicles outside. Perhaps the rail traffic on the old lines behind it had put it out of business with the noise? Either way, she went thru the side entrance of the hotel as the papers asked of her. Inside, it seemed her suspicions were confirmed about the hotel being in perfect condition. Indeed, it looked almost like she had stepped into the roaring twenties of the US. Everything was in amazing condition, save for on thing: all the windows were one way glass, letting no one see into the building, or any light out. Someone was maintaining heavy security here, but why? The files had said nothing about what division she was now in, nor why here transfer had come from the Director himself. Nonetheless, she continued thru the hotel, till she found the room the directions had given: the penthouse suite on the fifth floor. Her paranoia kicked in as for the entire trip she saw no other people. As she opened the door, she finally heard a voice, familiar but not easy to place.
"Ah, your here! Please, come into the living room, we have a bit to discuss."
Following the voice, she entered the room. The first thing she noticed was the spectacular view of the French countryside, unobstructed by anything for miles. The second was a figure sitting in a chair, facing away from her.
"Carmelita Montoya Fox, age 19, third generation Interpol officer, daughter of the legendary Gillermo Fox and Alta Adonia. Top of you class at Sleuth Academy, graduation class of '01 from Interpol Academy, top of your class as well, on the force for approximately five weeks, with a perfect record until last night. Your records show you to be an extraordinarily gifted young woman, with skill far beyond your years if your academy records are anything to go by. But, I must say this isn't our first meeting. Nor was our last one such, but it had been awhile," at this the chair turned, revealing the face of the man she had chased across Paris last night, "Carmel."
AN: And there we have it folks, the first chapter and the first cliffhanger! Sorry to leave you with such a big dropp off point, but I wanted to get this out as soon as possible. Hope to see ya soon!