Paris at night. Is there any city that looks better at night? The city was home to many thieving opportunities, whether it be paintings, sculptures or jewels. But for me, the real prize lies in a place all thieves fear, Police HQ.
Running across the rooftops, I made my to Police HQ without any trouble. Dad always said that a thief's best friend was a rooftop. It was the best place to stake out objectives and move without being seen. Once on the roof, our local genius, Bentley, contacted me.
"Sly! Come in! Sly! Do you read me?" said Bentley.
"Yeah. I read you. Loud and… very loud," I answered.
"Sorry, I'm a little nervous," said Bentley. "Trying to break into police headquarters does that."
"Get over Bentley. You're safe in the van," I reminded him. "I'm the thief here. I've got to steal that file from Inspector Carmelita Fox."
"Well, count on me to be your eyes and ears, buddy. Got their security system totally scoped," said Bentley. "To get inside, you're going to have to go through a nearby air vent. Do you see it?"
I looked around the roof and found the air vent Bentley was talking about. It looked like it needed one swing from my cane to break through.
"I see it, Bentley," I said. "I'm going in."
Our getaway driver, Murray, joined the conversation and added, "And don't forget you've got me at the wheel, Sly. All you got to do is grab the file and get back to the van. We'll do the rest."
"Just keep that engine running, Murray. I'll be down in no time," I said.
This wasn't our first heist. Far from it. But this heist was the start of something bigger. I smashed my way into the air vent and followed it into an elevator shaft full of one of a thief's worst enemies: lasers. Bentley contacted me and told me, "Be extra careful here, Sly. Break one of those laser beams and you'll set off the alarms. Not to mention you'll be burned to a crisp."
I needed to go down and the lasers were blocking a straight jump, but one of the things my dad told me was not to be intimidated by lasers, there was always a way past them. Using the environment to my advantage I slipped through their laser defense and smashed the alarm. The elevator door opened and I found myself in Police HQ.
"Nice job. You're in. Inspector Carmelita Fox's office is behind the red door," said Bentley.
I scoped all the office doors and found the door, meaning the file I needed was behind that office. As expected of Inspector Fox, the door was too strong to break through.
"That door must be super reinforced, Sly," said Bentley. "Maybe there's a way to get around it."
I looked out a nearby window and noticed that one of Inspector Fox's office windows was open. Sneaking along the outside ledge, I worked my way to the window and jumped into her office. There was a vault there, which I was sure held the file I was looking for.
"Way to go, Sly. This is where Inspector Carmelita Fox stashes all her important files," said Bentley. "I hacked into the police security mainframe and discovered this vault's combo. Try dialing 9-3-7."
As expected, Bentley was right. I opened the safe and grabbed the file I needed.
"Nice job – you got it!" said Murray. "If you come down through the fire escape and head through the parking lot , we'll be waiting in the getaway van."
But before I could do that, there was one thing I needed to do first. I left one of my calling card in the vault before opening the window to the fire escape. As soon as I got on the fire escape, I heard a lovely voice that I haven't heard in a while call out to me. I looked up and found Carmelita on a nearby sign.
"You foolish raccoon! I've caught you red-handed!" Carmelita yelled out to me.
"Ohh… Carmelita… I haven't seen you since I gave you the slip in Bombay," I told her.
"Which reminds me – you need to return the Fire Stone of India to its rightful owners," said Carmelita.
"Aw, and I was going to give it to you as a little token of my… hey, you know, that bazooka really brings out the color of your eyes. Very fetching!" I said.
"You think?" she asked. "This pistol packs a paralyzing punch. You ought to try it. Might snap you out of your crime spree."
"And give up our little rendezvous?" I asked.
"Plenty of time for that once your safely behind bars," Carmelita retorted.
"Love to stick around and chat, but I just dropped by to pick up this case file. I think you had it long enough," I told her before running down the fire escape.
Carmelita opened fire at me and let me tell you… she was not kidding when she said that thing packed a punch. It destroyed every part of the fire escape as I moved down it. I jumped into the parking lot and spotted the van on the other side. Carmelita tried to stop me from getting to the van, but I guess I was a hard target for her. I jumped in through the back and Murray drove off, out of Carmelita's reach.
Once again, my gang and I gave Inspector Carmelita Fox the slip. I was surprised to see how well she took it. Finally, the secret police file I've been searching for all these years. With this, I can avenge my family and regain possession of our most valued treasure.
It all began when I was just a kid bouncing on my father's knee. You see… I come from a long line of master thieves who kept all their secrets of sneaking and stealing in an ancient book… the Thievius Raccoonus. Anyone who read it learned to be especially sneaky, which is why we specialize in stealing from criminals. After all, there's no honor, no challenge, no fun in stealing from ordinary people. You rip off a master criminal and you know you're a master thief.
Well on the night I was supposed to inherit the book, five visitors came unannounced at our door. My father fought to protect us, but the gang of villains, known as The Fiendish Five, overpowered him and ransacked our house until they found… The Thievius Raccoonus. Our family's manual of thieving greatness fell into their filthy hands. They tore the book into five pieces and split it up, each villain disappearing into the farthest corner of the world to commit dastardly crimes.
Broke and alone, I was dumped at the town's orphanage. There I met two guys who became my life long buddies and trusted crew. Bentley, techno genius and strategist supreme, and Murray, part-time driver and full time burden. Together we pledged to track down The Fiendish Five, avenge my father and steal back the Thievius Raccoonus. I knew I was about to face the toughest test of my life. On this mission, I would either become a master thief like my ancestors before me or fail and allow my family name to bite the dust.