Sly Cooper

Prologue.

Bentley.

It had been seven months since the fateful events that took place on the doomed time blimp. The skunk being thrown behind bars was little comfort to Bentley; who, like the others, waited patiently for the return of their friend. Bentley spent hours sorting through data files and research, finding nothing that led to Sly's location.

If only I hadn't invented time travel. Bentley thought as he sorted through a tabloid article titled "Time Anomalies". It seemed promising, but ended up yielding nothing.

In the time between the crash and now, Bentley and Inspector Fox had become close, but not too close. He liked to look at it as trying to solve the same case from different angles. He wasn't doing anything illegal, anymore that is, but he was still on the odds with Interpol. She seemed to turn a blind eye to his involvement with Sly.

Bentley also stayed in close contact with the third member of the gang, Murray. Murray had entered professional wrestling, which kept his strength up. But there was always time for Murray and Bentley to catch up.

The one thing that Bentley tried to push from his mind was thoughts of Penelope, his ex-girlfriend. She had not only stolen his plans for time travel, but also stabbed him in the back. That was something that haunted Bentley and didn't show signs of going away any time soon. He knew he shouldn't think of it, but one questing burned in his mind. He wanted to know why.

Life around the Paris hideout had gotten pretty dull, almost to the point of depressing for the turtle. He would occasionally have a visit from Inspector Fox, but that was a rare occurrence. This was why it was odd when there was a knock at the door of the hideout. Bentley rolled over curiously and checked his computer to see who was at the door. It was the inspector, she looked impatient as usual.

Bentley opened the door wide and waved her in. Unlike herself, something was troubling her. She sat down at the table and looked out the window distracted. Usually, Bentley would catch her glancing at the pictures of Sly on the wall, but that didn't happen.

"I'll go make some tea," Bentley offered.

"That would be nice," Inspector Fox said, absently.

Bentley rolled off to make the tea deep in thought. Inspector Fox never acted this way. She was noticeably different after Sly disappeared, but she didn't let it affect her like that. This was something else.

A few moments later, Bentley returned with two steaming cups and a tea pot on the stove. The inspector took the cup gratefully.

"Something on your mind?" Bentley finally asked, anxious to break the silence.

"A new case has me puzzled," Inspector Fox explained.

"And you want my help?" Bentley asked.

"Possibly," the inspector said testily.

"Can't help if I don't know what is going on," Bentley said.

Inspector Fox pulled a file out of her jacket. She set it down on the table and opened it. The strange part was that the file belonged to a friend of Bentley's, Dimitri Lousteau. He had been a member of the Klaww Gang, then helped the gang out in Holland and many times after. What caught Bentley's eye was his status: missing.

"What happened to Dimitri?" Bentley asked.

"That's what we are trying to figure out," Inspector Fox replied.

"I can try to find him," Bentley promised.

"It would be a big help," the inspector admitted, "we have no leads."

"I can round up the gang," Bentley said as he pulled up Murry's contact information.

"Keep me posted," Inspector Fox said as she stood up to leave.

"Take it," Bentley said as she was about to leave the room.

"Take what?" Inspector Fox asked.

"This," Bentley said as he extended his wheelchair to reach one of the pictures that was mounted on the wall.

The inspector's eyes went wide and got a little sparkly as she accepted the picture and turned quickly, heading out. Bentley typed out a message to Murray, the Guru, and the Panda King. Bentley almost typed a message to Penelope, but caught himself. He sighed and closed the files and waited. It was just a matter of time.

The Panda King was the first to respond. He said that he would be there by morning. Then Murray replied, saying that he would swing by Australia to pick the Guru up. Bentley was relieved to have company. He spent the day cleaning the place up, trying to make it presentable.