Hello all. I present you all with Chapter 1 of my story, Of Cops and Thieves. I'd like to credit my good friend Mystical Mosaic for beta-reading this chapter for me, as well. Disclaimer: I own naught but ,y own OC.
Open up on the Paris skyline at night time, everything appears calm. The brightness of the looming street lights and the insides of various nearby cafes give the dark Parisian sky a hint of illumination. The cool night air and bewitchingly late time gave off an eerie feeling to any stragglers who were still about roaming at this hour.
Penelope sat at a small table outside of a quaint little French café. There, the purple Dutch mouse sat when suddenly a waiter had approached her and had then proceeded to take her order. The mouse, who had been too busy lost in her own thoughts, hardly noticed the time that had passed since she had first given her order. Soon the waiter had returned with a steaming cup of tea, Penelope thanked the man before pressing the hot cup to her mouth and sipping the warm liquid. Penelope pursed her lips; a long string of breakouts had occurred recently throughout interpool's maximum security prisons. Specifically, the broken out members had been former adversaries of the infamous Cooper Gang. Though another, much more important reason being that Penelope had been approached online by an anonymous source claiming to have valuable information. They had then agreed to meet up with here at this cafe to exchange information. She looked down towards her watch.
Right on time.
As Penelope was sipping away at her tea, an arctic wolf had stepped out of the café with a steaming mug of coffee in paw, taking a light sip. Looking about the tables, his orange gaze caught sight of the little Dutch Mouse at one of the tables. Taking another sip of his coffee, the lupine walked over, pulling out a chair and taking a seat across from her. He was well-known as Constable McKnight in certain places, and he assumed that one as smart as Penelope knew a little of him as well.
"Air Heart Babe, I presume?" he greeted in a quiet voice.
Penelope looked up from her tea and set the warm cup back down onto her plate. She smiled at the Constable after hearing his words. Knowing him, she could have assumed the Constable to have done his own research on her. After all it would only be fair, seeing as to how she had read his file. He'd more than likely gone through a more legal way of reading up on her info, but none the less she took a moment before speaking. She wanted to make sure to say the proper thing.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Constable." She attempted to say in a sly tone, though sadly the small mouse was nothing close to a suave and secretive thief, even given her former membership among the Cooper Gang. She was too childish and dorky to give the appropriate vibe off to him, but regardless she spoke again, this time in a more natural tone. "What was it you wanted to share with me?"
"General info regarding the recent chain of breakouts. I can already assume you've no bad intentions given what's happened to you in relation to the Cooper Gang lately. In my book, you're still one of the good guys." Akaari explained before taking another sip of his coffee. In his opinion, Penelope lacked the true makings of an absolute villain, and from what he gathered, she did plan to double-cross Le Paradox until her own plan with that went sideways when the gang intervened. From that, he came to the conclusion that she still hung onto some degree of morality, of which is the reason he sought her out. He also, to a degree, also thought that she was really cute, and her lisp and large glasses seemed to add to her charm, which would typically be considered undesirable traits to most. He, on the other hand, has most every trait any girl could want; a lean and athletic body, a nice personality, a good job, good looks, and that Britain accent. However, he's far from the arrogant playboy type he's made out by most to be.
Penelope smiled a bit hopeful at the mention of being one of the "good guys", but still, she had remained a bit cautious. Not only the fact that he was with Interpol and she was a thief, regardless of their moralities, but with her recent history, everyone, be it Interpol or thieves alike, now hated her guts. However, if what Akaari claimed was true, then he was willing to give her a chance, despite all of that.
Penelope took another small sip of her drink and allowed herself a moment to take in his essence and truly observe the Constable, being that this is the first time she'd actually met him in person. He had really nice features, and a charming accent, but Penelope knew now certainly wasn't a time to be making googly eyes and getting flustered. She had to get down to business. She straightened her posture and took another sip of tea, "Okay, thank you. Could you possibly specify though?" She smiled and pushed up her glasses which had fallen down onto her nose.
Akaari nodded before explaining.
"What's left of the Fiendish Five, as you may know, broke out recently all around the same time. What Interpol knows now is that they're at large. What we don't know, however, is their grand plan. It's already been drawn that the breakouts were connected, as they all happened around the same time. If it's not trouble, I'd like for us to join forces to take them down, hence why I looked for you. From your deceased identity as the Black Baron we talked about on ThiefNet, you're a skilled boxer and swordswoman as well as technician."
Penelope nodded as the man spoke. She absorbed the info and allowed it a bit for it to sink before she spoke. "This won't be easy. For all we know, this could be a big revenge plot." She stated to the wolf, who had most likely known this before hand, but it never hurt to reinforce a fact. "We did have a bit of an adventure back then, but I wouldn't say I'm a regular fighter, only not as raw as you and the rest of Interpol are." She then smirked a bit at the mention of her other skills, back when Penelope had claimed the title of Black Baron she found herself using some of the wealth she gained from her prize money on lessons. Apparently, they had paid off greatly. Needless to say, her and a sword were more than just acquaintances. "As far as the Cooper Gang goes, it's in a bit of a separation for the time being, but I myself would be more than happy to tag along."
"Glad ta 'ear it. We'll be most likely on our own for certain parts of our campaign to arrest the criminals. I can imagine thieves workin' with Interpol will create a lot of friction. But I'm sure that f I can get Inspector Fox aboard on this, this'll be a lot easier."
Penelope's attention had been caught at the mention of thieves and Interpol. This would certainly provide a tricky conundrum, especially given her reputation. She slowly drew her cup of tea to her lips, and sipped at the warm liquid. The mouse had considered this as well. Seeing as they were on the same page with this, she decided to make another inquiry, "Thank you, I believe I have a few ideas. More on that in due time though, how about Sly's other adversaries throughout the years? The Klaww Gang, Don Octavio, General Tsao? Are they all still locked up securely? I conclude that we've only seen just the beginning of what these criminals are planning."
"This could be just a big revenge plot, but all who are out at the moment are just the Fiendish Five." Akaari replied. "I fear if we don't act soon, every one of them might find a way to break out." he added.
The mouse nodded in agreement, "How soon until Interpol moves out?"
"Nothing big until we can find out where our criminals are planning to conduct business. Until then, we're locking down the prisons extra tight." Akaari explained.
"That time frame should allow me to draw up a plan to tackle this. I'm sure I can come up with something useful, provided I can get my hands on the resources." The girl's eyes lit up as she spoke about the subject, that glimmer often appeared whenever she spoke about machinery and conducting technical experiments and such.
Akaari nodded, "Whatever we may be up against, I'll lend my aid however I can. Interpol pays top dollar for its best, and I just so happen to be one of them. Provided Miss Fox won't chew me out for this."
"I'll keep it in mind." she assured, finishing the last of her tea, "But other than tech, I doubt I'd be much help out in the field. I can use a sword, but I'm not exactly what you'd call an all-around combatant." she admitted, rubbing the back of her head, looking down with a nervous blush and smile.
Akaari sent a reassuring smile her way. "Don't worry about it. Your technological prowess is more than what I can ask for alone. I know you're not a current member of the Cooper Gang due to a plan went sideways, I've read the file, but if you at least talk to them, I'm sure they'll forgive you. Or at the very least, not make you a target. As for Miss Fox, I'll keep her off you as best I can. Since the recent breakouts, I've had the pleasure of working right under her these last few months." Akaari explained.
Penelope's downed expression faded to one of brightened and renewed hope. "Thank you. I can only hope that they'd at least give me a chance to talk. That's all I can say." Penelope muttered.
"I can talk with Bentley myself on ThiefNet about you and this operation. If he's half the person Inspector Fox makes him out to be, then he should give you a chance with a nudge in the right direction. Murray seems friendly enough to talk to, provided Bentley is with us. Either way, these criminals are still rivals of the Cooper Gang, and we'll likely join forces either way, either willingly or as the situation demands." the lupine figured.
Penelope nodded in acknowledgement as she looked down at her watch, it was close to 1:30 AM, she had to get going. "It was nice speaking with you Constable, but I really need to get going." She raised her hand to flag down the waiter, she gave him a couple of bills as he took her cup and plate. She turned back to the Constable and smiled. "I'll see you soon." The Dutch mouse then proceeded to walk off into the nighttime darkness.
They exchanged a wave as the lupine watched the mouse take her leave. With the conversation over, Akaari followed suite and did the same, flagging the waiter and proceeding to make his way back to Interpol HQ.
He had someone important to talk to.
And Chapter one done, done, and done. I'm not gonna start off with rhetoric, Imma get right down to business. I hope you all had a good taste in Chapter one, and as always; have a nice day.