1Hello, everyone! So this story had initially started out as a replacement fic for the Old Habits Die Hard fic that used to be up here. However, when I started working on a rewrite idea, I realized that I already had two other storylines that are taking place in the Sly 2 universe! Why write another one?! So, I actually decided to write a new story all together. This story will take place in a parallel universe that is similar to the Strangers Series, although there will be some major differences between the two storylines. So the rules concerning magic are about the same, except for where I mention they are different. As well as both stories carry the same history regarding the Cooper clan. Depending when I post this, the history may be detailed here before Strangers. The Cooper history plays a more prominent role in this fic than it does in Strangers. This story starts in the first game, so we are running all the way from the beginning . . . well sort of.

Disclaimer: WolfKeeper989 does not own Sly Cooper or any related characters. But Horacio "Hermanito" Hernandez is a character of my own creation.

Conflicts of Interest

Series Pilot:

Star-Crossed

Sly

I stood on the rooftop of the Paris branch of Interpol, shivering. I wish I could say it was the wind. But, alas, I cannot. I was quivering from pure dread! I wasn't dreading the mission at all, no that was nothing but cake. That and the mission had to be completed, if I wanted to have a shot at getting complete control of my life again. What I was dreading was the fact that I would see him again. After all, he was assigned to our case. Ironically, it was his job to be wherever we were. But I guess that was not a completely bad thing. At least, I got to see him every now and then. But right now though things were just too ... hard. At the moment, I was planning to break into his office and steal a file! It is almost a guarantee that I will run into him here, despite it being 4:20 in the morning. He was always up before dawn, especially when something was bothering him, and work was his favorite distraction. But, I digress...

"...Hey! Hello...? Earth to Sierra! SIERRA!" called a voice in my ear, jolting me out of my morose thoughts.

"What?!" I hissed irritably. The damned turtle had scared the living daylights out of me!

"I have been calling you for the past one minute and 43 seconds! What are you standing around for?" came the equally irritated reply from my sister in all but blood, Bethany Jasmine Bentley.

"I am going! Keep your shell on, Bentley! And quit breaking character!" I rebuke her sternly, worried that someone could be listening in on our conversations. But it had mostly been meant to cover my own embarrassment at being caught daydreaming. As I made my way over to the vent to that would lead me into the interior of Interpol, Beth responded,

"Oh? Forgive me... let me try that again," the turtle then yells in a nasally voice, "SLY! Come in! SLLLYY! DO YOU READ ME?" I wince at the assault on my ears, but manage to get into my character and respond,

"Yes. I read you. Loud and very loud..."

"Sorry... I am a little nervous. Breaking into police headquarters does that to you. Especially when the person doing the leg work is daydreaming in the middle of it," came Bentley's sharp reply. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, get over it, Bentley. You're safe in the van. I am the thief here! Besides, it was only decided that I would have to steal that file from Inspector Carlos Mateo Fox. However, it wasn't decided when exactly it had to be taken!" I grumbled mutinously into the practically invisible microphone next to my mouth. I ignored Bentley's grumbling and continued with my task as I utilized my mage sight and sneaking skills to shimmy along the edge of a water tower before leaping across two antennas to the vent. I quickly pried the cover off with my cane and slid inside the vent, surprised that I could actually stand up inside it. I quickly and quietly worked my way to the end of the rather large pipe.

I come out into a wide shaft that was covered in bright yellow lasers. I swallow reflexively. I take a deep breath and study the layout. There was a computer at the bottom of the shaft. I had not doubt it was the control panel for the alarm system. I heard Bentley repeat the information about the laser system. I quickly tuned it out as I had already heard and read all about it when we started preparing for this stupid run in the first place. I continued to study the shaft silently, after a moment I spotted a way down. A little to my right, the lasers crossed in such a way that I should have been able to grapple all the way down to the ground floor without touching a single one.

I placed my cane in my mouth, before reaching into my backpack and pulling out the grappling gun I had been given by Carlton. The wolf had kindly provided us with a ton of top line equipment. The grappling gun was a matte black and had more of a box shape than the more streamline look that other guns had. Gently applying pressure to the gun's trigger caused a folded hook to slide out of the barrel. I eyed the ceiling, then pressed a small button on the handle with my thumb. A laser beam came on and a red dot appeared on the ceiling. After eyeing the shot for another moment, I squared my shoulders and planted my feet. My hands only jerked slightly in response to kickback from the gun after I completely pulled the trigger. The hook was launched from the barrel with an almost silent brr-dap sound. The hook's prongs snapped into place as it soared through air. It then buried itself into the thin metal.

I tugged on it experimentally, making sure the hook was secure before I leapt out of the shaft. Once I jumped, I hung in the air momentarily and then pressed down on the trigger again and the rope began to unwind. Slowly, I was lowered to the ground. After my feet touched the ground, I decided not to risk releasing the grappling gun. Instead, using the console in front of me, I shut down the lasers. I smirk lightly to myself as Bentley grudgingly complimented my rudimentary hacking skills. I felt some of my dread falling away as a little bit of pride grew in my chest. I quickly cleaned up the scene and repacked the grapple gun.

After picking a door lock or two, I found myself in the theft department of Interpol. The floor was covered with sea foam and emerald tiles. I moved through the hallways, quietly reading the names on the door plates as I passed them. I tried to slow my heart beat down as I moved closer to his office. Finally, I spotted the red door. I shook my head, grinning wryly. The door had been painted as a joke back when Carlos had first been promoted to Inspector. Apparently, it had started off based on some gossip that had been going around the department. It the basic "Have you seen the new hot Inspector..." gossip. Carlos' best friend and sometimes annoyance, not to mention a good friend of mine, Horacio "Hermanito" Hernandez decided he would take advantage of the gossip and painted the door. He claimed that the office should match Carlos' new 'red hot' reputation. Carlos had not been amused. Although, Hermanito and I had shared a laugh about it when Carlos was not around.

I shook myself from my memories and proceeded to pick the lock. As I stepped inside, I noticed the office was spacious, orderly, and clean. This did not surprise me. Carlos kept everything that way, even as a teen. I quickly made my way over to the file cabinet and was confronted with a combination lock. After a quick check with Bentley, I had it open. I quickly fingered through the files and finally found the one labeled with my fake name. I checked the information in it and was glad to discover what I needed. I quickly looked for anything out of the ordinary.

"What are you doing?" hissed the turtle as I continued my scan of the file. Beth could hear what I was doing at the moment but not see it. The camera feed was above my eyes and was pointing at the edge of the file. Or at least I hope it was!

"Looking for an alarm trigger... tracker... just in case. You know that Carlos is paranoid." I answered offhandedly, I was more concerned with finding what I was looking for. I chuckle quietly as "Bentley" answered back,

"And whose fault is that?" Finally with my amused grin still in place I spot a folded sheet of paper in the middle of the file. I remove it and place it in my pocket. I placed the file in my backpack and prepared to close the file cabinet, when I saw something odd. There was another file with Sly Cooper's name on it. I picked it up and leafed through, as Bentley continued to berate me for wasting time. It was the exact same file. Ha ha! That clever fox. I quickly locate the folded sheet in this file too and replaced the file, before closing the cabinet.

"Sly! Get lost fast! Somehow an alarm got tripped! You can't get out the way you came!" came Bentley's panicked voice.

"No worries! I can take the window..." I replied easily as made my way over to the window and undid the latch. The window slid open without a sound, but before I could even put a toe on the balcony, there was a horrific bang. Light blinded my vision and I stumbled backwards.

"What was that?!" screeched Bentley. I struggled to my feet. I crept back up to the window and looked out. Down below, several of the police cars were on fire. What happened? My eyes were pulled toward motion near the gate. There was a black van with people inside and they were lobbing something out of the windows. There were two more bright bangs. "Grenades..." I thought to myself. A moment of panic overtook me as my thoughts immediately flew to him and whether or not he was ok. But before I could even act on my panic, voices entered my still slightly ringing ears. One voice was Bentley screaming in my ear, but the others were coming from the other side of the door.

"¿Qué pasando?(What's happening?) What was that?" called a voice, which seemed to be growing louder. I whirled about to see that I had not closed the door all the way. Before I could even decide if there was something I could do to fix my error, someone opened the door all the way.

"Sounded like a bomb going off! Think it had anything to do with the alarm on the second floor? Wait... Why is your door open, Carlos?" inquired another Spanish spiced voice. Carlos never had a chance to answer as he seemed to be rendered speechless by my presence in his office. Both he and Constable Hernandez were frozen in the doorway, and it sounded like a third officer was coming up behind them. For a moment, the three of us just stared at one another, then another explosion shook the building. It had snapped the officers out of their daze as both of them rushed me. I made a dive for the window and scrambled onto the balcony. It was not my most graceful exit, but it did the trick. A conveniently placed drain spout allowed me to access the roof and make good on my escape. I could hear Inspector Fox barking orders from the balcony below as I stopped to get my bearings. I quickly adjust the body shaper that has all but flatten my breasts against my ribs. This thing was a bitch and half to wear but necessary. But it did not make comfort or heavy breathing easy.

"Hey guys, we are going to have to rendezvous somewhere else. Someone is blowing holes in the parking lot of Interpol... it is really odd," I radio to Bentley.

"I heard! I was worried there for a moment. I have your position, make your way south and we will converge on some side street for extraction," he recommended.

"Will do, but it may take me a minute to find a good spot," I admit as I start to make my way across the roof.

"And that would be because..?" came Michael Dugan a.k.a. Murray's voice over my receiver. He was my brother in all but blood, and highly protective.

"Well, Carlos saw- he- Carlos has-" I try to explain but Carlos's sudden leap onto the roof a few meters ahead of me, brings me up short.

"-finally caught you red-handed, ringtail!" he finished triumphantly as he points his shock pistol at me. Fuck. This is going to be difficult.

"Carlos! I haven't seen you since I gave you the slip in Bombay..." I purr as I am rapidly trying to figure out how I am going to get out of this mess. I can't see what my dad ever liked about this gig! It is damn irritating and inconvenient!

"Oh yes, which reminds me... you need to return the fire stone of India to its rightful owners." He demanded as he closed the gap between the two of us. I instinctively take a step back. I watch the fox's eyes light up in amusement as he watches me. Although, I don't know how he managed to make that comment about the Fire Stone with a straight face... The stone belonged to my family and the museum was borrowing it in the first place!

"Aww... and here I was going to give it to you as a token of my- say! That bazooka really brings out the color of your eyes. Very fetching," I say smoothly as I try not to laugh at Carlos's clearly exasperated expression. He has stopped advancing on me, but his pistol does not waver.

"Oh really?" he asked incredulously. "Well, I am flattered, truly. But it pains me to say, its function is nowhere as near as fashionable or pleasant," The todd shrugged his shoulders in an apologetic manner.

"That's too bad. But then again, you don't need a lot of help in the looks department, gorgeous." I insist, hoping to keep him preoccupied as I tried to move around him. I don't want this encounter to last longer than it needs to. I try to dart around him again.

"Yes, so I have heard. But thankfully, this does help with the one problem I do have," he explains as he quickly moves to cut me off again. I back away from the shock pistol that was now mere centimeters from my chest.

"What? Keeping my attention, Inspector?" I tease as I back away a bit more. Carlos matches me step for step. He was way too close for my comfort and yet in some ways not close enough. I was momentarily distracted by the change in his eyes. His gaze suddenly changed from focused and somewhat frustrated to almost crafty.

"Trust me, cola anillada (ringed tail (ringtail))... If it was your attention I wanted, I would not need a weapon to get it," explained the Inspector as he continued to stare me down.

"Wow... Forward much," gasped Bentley in my ear. I was still slightly shocked and thus unable to comment on her interruption or her second break of character. I could feel my mouth moving, but no sound escapes. Bentley's alarmed screeching finally shakes me from my daze and allows me to dance out of the way of Carlos's shock pistol which was once again too close for comfort. This was becoming ridiculous! I usually never let Carlos distract me this much! I blame India for that, but I digress again...

"Oh, well I don't know whether I should feel intrigued by what other methods you would employ or insulted by the idea that you possibly don't want my attention, Inspector..." I finally reply breathlessly, much to my internal embarrassment. I quickly strengthen my inner resolve as I refuse to lose this war of words with the smooth-tongued vulpine.

"Actually, I am very interested in your exclusive attention. That is why I feel it would be much easier to discuss the error of your ways behind closed doors," he said easily. I fought not to grind my teeth in sheer frustration. Carlos was in a rare form this morning.

"And I am sure those doors have bars on them, too," I chide as I eye him warily.

"Preferably, but I will take what I can get," he tossed out as he advanced on me again. My temper finally flared and I decided to change tactics.

"And here I thought you had standards, Inspector," I blurted as I rush forward and take a swing at him with my cane. He immediately dodged my swing by dodging to the left. I rushed to the right and barely managed to slip around the fox and make a break for it. Carlos swears behind me and I grinned. My grin did not last long, however. The sizzling sound of a shock pistol round gaining on me made my fur stand on end. It nearly missed me. I quickly speed up, moving in a zigzag pattern to confound his aim. Another three shots missed. I was heaving air now. This damnable costume was not made for such athletic pursuits, how the hell does Alé do this shit every day?! I cast a quick glance behind me and spot two more blazing balls of electricity come flying at me. The first one was easily dodged, the second one however, was not avoided as well as I hoped. It missed my ear by a centimeter but unfortunately the residual energy caught my earpiece. The receiver itself emitted a high pitched and painful screech as it died. I reflexively ripped the device out my ear with a cry. My ears have been taking quite a beating today. Much to my dismay, the imager Bentley built into my mask had begun to short as well. The overlay was beginning to fade and turn to static. It was now severely hampering my ability to see.

"Cooper freeze! ¡Halta! For the love of the G... Cooper stop!" I hear Carlos call behind me. I ignore him as I focus on getting away while trying to pull the offending mask off of my eyes. Finally, with a ferocious tug, I tear the mask from my face. I can see clearly but at that very moment a hand grasps me by my elbow and pulls me backwards. Suddenly, I currently couldn't see anything, but the black shirt that Carlos wore under his Interpol jacket. He had grabbed and spun me around so fast that my eyes were still rolling around in my sockets. I had no choice but to cling to his jacket until the world around me stopped spinning. Finally, I was able to regain my bearings and lean back to look at him. I was going ream him out for the rough handling, but I was cut off.

"What was that, Sierra?!" the anger and fear in his voice warped his question into a low growl. I could really only blink back at him in confusion. "You nearly ran all the way off the roof! I barely caught you!" Oh... that was why he was yelling. I sneak a peek over my shoulder and shudder as I see that I am about half a meter from the edge of the roof. I finally look back up into Carlos's face and sigh,

"Sorry! That last shock pistol blast fried my sensory equipment. I couldn't see," I explain as I reluctantly extract myself from his hold. He doesn't say anything, just sighs.

"I am not comfortable with this at all, " he muttered as he ran a trembling hand through his obsidian locks. I can only shake my head. "That makes two of us, amigo," I mentally sigh.

"Carlos, we have discussed this already... I have no other choice! It must be done." I insist as I cautiously monitor the area around us to see if there is someone lurking about. I notice the fox doing the same. With my communicator destroyed, there wasn't any chance of our conversation being heard on the gang's end. I also knew that Carlos's receiver was a one way device, he could only speak or listen at any given time. I notice my abandoned mask lying on the concrete and move around Carlos to go retrieve it.

"Sí, Sí... I know. But... I just keep seeing all the terrible things that can go wrong with this idea," he groans. Part of me does feel bad that I have dragged my lover into this mess, but what is done is done. And deep down, I know I would have never been able to keep him away. We are too bound to each other's lives, literally and metaphorically. Literally, by a bond that formed between the two of us when we were children and metaphorically because we simply loved each other too much.

"Trust me, love, I do not like this at all. But we can't keep hiding from my estate forever. Carlton is not getting any younger. We need to put an end to this. They have already gotten their hands on my father and mother. I will not stand by and watch this happen to you or anyone else I care about! I am sick and tired of waiting for the next axe to fall!" I growl as frustration and fear war in my throat and stomach. Carlos just looked at me with trepidation in his eyes. "Oh no... he is getting angry..." I moan mentally as his eyes narrow into slits and fire begins to burn within them.

"I am well aware of our predicament!" Carlos snapped, "The estate has been our goddamn bane for the last five years!" I winced at the venom in his tone. He must have seen me, because in the next moment his eyes soften. He sighs as he pulls me back into his embrace and hugs me. "Trouble... I just want you safe. That is all..." he whispers in my ear. I nod against his chest, breathing his scent of earth and citrus. My arms encircle his waist as my heart clenches at the familiar nickname.

"I know, Hero... I want the same for you. If there were an easier, cleaner way to do this then I would not be here and you know it. But desperation has led both sides to do desperate things. This is a last ditch effort. They already know I have been moving around behind the scenes during the last five years. They are putting on pressure, in hopes that I will trip up. I bet my last dollar that is what all those grenades were about, trying to get me caught!" I growl into his chest as I thought.

"Hmm... it's possible. Could also be just bad luck… another alarm was tripped on the other side of the building that could have also been a distraction for whoever was breaking in on that end, too. I sent Hermanito and another officer to look into it while I tracked you down." Carlos admitted as he loosened his hold again.

"Well, if it was someone else, they better not be there when Hermanito gets there," I mumble as finally pull myself from his arms. The brisk air blowing across the roof almost drove me back into them, but the knowledge that Beth and Mike were probably panicking by now kept me from giving into the temptation.

"Ha! They better not, or Hermanito will have them in custody before they can say, "Qué pasa?!" Carlos laughed, but I could tell it was forced. I swallowed uncomfortably and began digging around in the side pocket of my back pack and pull out another mask, this one not as hi-tech as the other. I went to wrap it around my face, but Carlos's hand coming to rest on my wrist, stopped me. I look up at him and sigh, there was pain in those earth-colored eyes. I drop one end of my mask and reach up to run my hand down the side of his face briefly. He then tugs the mask from my fingers.

"Carlos..." I protest softly, looking around worriedly. I just know Bent and Murray are going to show up any moment. But he took the mask and placed on my eyes before tying it behind my head. A moment later, he kisses my forehead and whispers,

"You better go," I nod without replying. As I turned to leave, I realize that I can't find my cane. I began searching the rooftop for it. Finally, I find it behind Carlos. It must have fallen when Carlos grabbed me. As I move to pick it up, I notice an odd, moving shape on the other end of the roof. Someone was climbing onto the roof...

Ok so this is finished! Looks like things are not going so well for Sierra at the moment but maybe not all is lost! As for this fic, obviously this is a gender bender. Things will make a bit more sense as the story goes on. First person POV severely limits what information can be conveyed at any given time so it will take time for the necessary background to be laid down. And be forewarned this is obviously AU and the characters will definitely be out of character in comparison to the original game characters. Review please if you would!