Natural Born Thief
Chapter 1
Discovery
From the very start, Danny Cooper was a mischievous little raccoon. On his first day of elementary school, Danny got in trouble for stealing all of his classmate's lunches, which resulted in a detention after school
. His parents tried to teach him that stealing was wrong, but Danny couldn't fight the urge. He said there was something inside him that was compelling him to steal. Sly understood more than Carmelita did. Even if it had been ten years since his last heist, the Cooper's thieving legacy still flowed through his veins. He did his best to keep that part of his life a secret from Danny out of respect for Carmelita.
When the two married ten years ago, Carmelita made Sly promise never to reveal his past to their son. She was determined to end the Cooper legacy at Sly. As much as Sly hated the idea, he reluctantly agreed, out of his love for Carmelita. But as the years rolled on, Sly could see that the Cooper thieving technique was definitely in his son's veins. Carmelita scolded him every time he was caught stealing, reminding him that it was against the law and he could go jail for it.
Carmelita had been promoted to police commissioner recently, so her duties had increased ten-fold. She often had to work late nights, investigating various crimes throughout Paris. Sly had joined Interpol a few years ago as well. Though he didn't enjoy it nearly as much as thieving, he was still happy to help Carmelita out.
Danny grew up in a house with strict rules. He wasn't allowed to cross the street without an adult nearby, and he wasn't allowed to sleep over at any of his friend's houses. Danny loved his parents dearly, but he couldn't help but long for something more.
He wanted to be a normal kid, but he parents didn't think normal was appropriate for him. One day at school, Danny was caught stealing food out of the cafeteria. The principal immediately called Carmelita, who had to stop what she was doing and drive all across down just to pick him up. When she entered the principal's office, she found Danny sitting in a chair against the wall with his head hung low.
"What's this about?" she asked, eager to get back to work.
"Mrs. Cooper, I'm sorry to have to call you down here on such short notice, but it seems that Danny has been caught stealing again" Principal Warton, a small warthog said.
Carmelita flashed her son an angry glare. She was really going to let him have it this time.
"He was caught leaving the cafeteria early this morning with a shirt full of cookies. He denied stealing from the cafeteria, claiming he brought them from home. He also said that you made them. Is that true?"
"No sir," Carmelita replied. Now he's lying? What next?
"I thought so. Well, Mrs. Cooper I really don't want to do this, but you leave me no choice. Until Danny can get his kleptomania under control he is suspended from Paris Elementary. "
Carmelita lowered her head in disgust. She hoped it wouldn't have come to this. Danny was a good boy, but he did have his father's blood. So it was only natural that he would feel the need to steal for fun. After bidding Principal Warton farewell, she and Danny left the school. During the ride home, neither Danny nor Carmelita said a word. Each knew there was nothing to say. Carmelita had scolded Danny more times than she could count. She was out of ideas. When they arrived home, Carmelita escorted Danny to his room.
"We'll talk when your father gets home," she said. "Until then you're confined to your room. I'm very disappointed in you."
She locked the door behind her and Danny listened until he heard her car back out of the driveway. Afterwards, he removed the lock pick he had designed and unlocked the door to his room.
Opening the door, he crept out into the hallway and ran towards the attic. He was never allowed to go there, so now was his chance to check it out.
Once he was inside, he was surrounded by boxes.
"Mom and dad really need to clean this place out," he said.
He started to explore his new surroundings, searching to see if there was anything worth opening. But just as he turned the corner, a box fell off the shelf, bursting open instantly.
"Great. Now I'm going to get in more trouble."
Danny ran over to the box to put whatever fell out back inside, but as he reached for the items, he saw something that caught his eye. A book with a red cover and gold letters. It looked very old, and was covered in dust. He picked it up to get a closer look.
"The Thievius Racoonus?" What's this?"
He opened the book and flipped through the pages. Inside, he saw pictures of raccoons stealing priceless items and details on how to steal as well. But what caught his eye was a certain picture embedded in the pages. A picture of his father with a turtle and a hippotamaus holding a giant ruby.
"What is this?" he said aloud.
Just then a voice came from behind him.
"Don't you know you're not supposed to be in here?"
Danny turned around to find his father standing behind him. He had come home from work early.
"Dad, I was just looking around and I found this. He held up the book to show his father. Sly opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words.
"Dad, what is this book about? There's a picture of you in it," Danny said.
Sly walked over to his son and sat beside him. He took the book from his hands and looked at it himself. It had been ten years since he'd seen it. He knew it was time. Danny had the right to know about his heritage. He knew he would be breaking his promise to Carmelita, but Danny had to know the truth.
I apologize for the cliffhanger; I'll have the next chapter uploaded as soon as possible. I hope you're enjoying it so far!
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