NOTE: MAKE SURE YOU READ MY OTHER FIC "CONFESSION" BEFORE YOU READ THIS ONE!
OTHERWISE YOU WILL HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON!

Well, here it is! The sequel to Confession! I am SO sorry for how long it took for me to get this out there. I promise I won't be so late again.

I'd like to thank everyone who read Confession. Especially those of you who reviewed it. I didn't really expect to get such a good reaction from the story, seeing as how it was my first fanfic. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of positive reviews I got for the story. For all of you who read the story, you freaking rock! :D

Now, about how this story came about. Way back when I was writing the first chapter of Confession, I thought of how I wanted the story to go. I had a general idea for the whole story laid out. Around the third chapter, I came up with a story for a sequel. I would have to change the original story of Confession around a little bit, but it would all be for the better. And that's exactly what I did. I changed a few minor things in the original story so it would set the stage for a sequel. The main thing I changed was Marakov's intentions. Originally, he was just going to be in it for the money. As I thought more and more about it, I realized that I could do much better than that. I intentionally finished Confession without clearing a few things up. For example, how did Marakov know about the Cooper Vault? What happened to Carson? What is he planning? And, most importantly, what is inside the Cooper Vault that Marakov is after? Everything will be answered by the end of this fic! I promise!

And now, without further ado, I present to you Secret of the Coopers.

--

Chapter 1: Unanswered Questions

The room was small. There was nothing but a table and a few chairs. A bright light was shining down onto the table. Across from the table was a window, where a few officers stood looking in, occasionally saying something to one another. Marakov gave them all a dirty look. Why were they just staring at him? They had no reason to be there. Marakov tapped his finger repeatedly on the table. He was beginning to grow impatient. He had been held in the interrogation room for hours, and no one had come in yet.

What did he do wrong? Marakov thought about his mistakes. How could he have been beaten down by the woman? He should have killed her when he had the chance. However, now that he thought about it, she shouldn't have shown up at all. He figured that she must have followed the assassin to their hideout. It was a stupid idea to attempt to assassinate the woman before they had the cane. He made a mental note to take care of the assassin if he ever got out of this hellhole.

Marakov saw a few more officers enter the view of the window. One of them was a woman. She was a red furred fox, with dark blue hair. Marakov looked away in anger. It was her. The one who had busted him. He watched as she talked to a few of the officers and opened the door to the interrogation room. He avoided her gaze as she walked up to the table and set down a few files. She sat down in the chair across from him.

"You have quite a record here Mr. Marakov," Carmelita told him as she looked through the files. "Illegal arms dealing, murder, kidnapping, attempted murder of two Interpol officers, the list goes on." Marakov said nothing. What could he say? "This is more than enough to put you away for the rest of your life. You have anything to say to that?" Marakov thought for a moment. He smiled.

"If you're looking for remorse, you're talking to the wrong person." Carmelita sighed.

"I have some questions for you," she told him.

"But of course."

"Where is your partner? Carson? Why wasn't he in the warehouse?"

"He was a coward," he said in disgust. "Once he heard the alarms, he ran to find out who it was. He saw you on camera breaking Cooper out. He ran, fearing that he would get arrested."

"And you call him a coward for that?" Carmelita asked. "I'd call him smart. After all, you were arrested, were you not?" Marakov had no reply. "Where might he be now?"

"I don't know, nor do I care."

"He has no other safe houses?"

"Not that I know of." Carmelita gathered her thoughts before she asked her next question.

"Why were you so desperate to get Sly's cane?" Marakov smiled at her again.

"For the money of course."

"Don't play that with me," Carmelita said angrily. "I already know you were after something else in the Cooper Vault." Marakov shrugged.

"Meh, it was worth a try."

"What is in the Cooper Vault that you're so desperate for?" Marakov chuckled.

"Sorry, but I'm not telling you."

"And why is that?" Carmelita demanded.

"Because it's something that Sly needs to find out on his own."

"And why can't you just tell me?"

"You know of Cooper's past," he explained. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Not only that, but I'm sure that as soon as I told you, you would take whatever I was after and destroy it. That would ruin my chance at getting it."

"You're chance at getting whatever you were after ended when you were cuffed." Marakov smirked.

"That's what you think Mrs. Fox."

"What does Cooper's past have to do with this?"

"The Cooper Clan has a dirty little secret," Marakov answered.

"What do you mean?"

"Many years ago, when the first Cooper thief was still running around, he was betrayed by his partner in crime."

"Who was it?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that." Carmelita sighed in frustration.

"What does that have to do with the Cooper Vault?"

"Again, that's just something you and Sly will have to find out for yourself."

Carmelita frowned. He wasn't going to say anything more. She got up and left the interrogation room, frustrated. Sly was going to be disappointed. If they really wanted to know what was hidden in the Cooper Vault, they would have to find out for themselves. That couldn't happen until Sly was completely healed.

-

"Hey! Wake up!"

Sly's eyes snapped wide open. He was greeted by the sight of Bentley, sitting in his wheelchair next to the bed. He slowly tried to sit up, only to find that it was too painful to do so. He lay back down onto the bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"It's almost two," Bentley answered. Sly yawned. He looked around the room.

"Where's Murray and Penelope?"

"They went out to get some food." Sly, despite the pain, sat up in his bed. He sat over the edge, wincing in pain. He looked at the bandage on his arm. The blood had seeped through a bit.

"I need to change these bandages," he said. He got out of bed and stood up. He was pleased to find that it wasn't too painful to walk. Bentley rummaged around his bag for more bandages. Sly walked over to the kitchen area and sat down at the table. "Any idea when it will be safe to go back to the safe house? Or my apartment?"

"Tough to say," Bentley said. "I think we should wait at least one more day before we go back. We don't know where Carson is, or what he's planning." Sly nodded his head. He figured as much. Suddenly, his cell phone went off. He looked at the caller ID to find that it was Carmelita. He answered the phone.

"Hey, what's up?" he said.

"I finished interrogating Marakov," she answered. "I couldn't get much out of him."

"What did he say?"

"Well, apparently he doesn't know where Carson would be. If he does know, he isn't going to tell me."

"And what about the Cooper Vault?" Carmelita paused for a second.

"He said that whatever is hidden in the vault has to do with your past."

"My past?" Sly thought about what that might be. He couldn't think of anything.

"Sly, do you know anything about your first thieving ancestor being betrayed?"

"No," Sly said in confusion. "What would that have to do with the vault?"

"He didn't say." Sly sighed. He had hoped for too much.

"Well, I guess I should have expected this," he said. "What time do you think you'll be home?"

"Around five. I still have a lot of paperwork to go through."

"Okay, I'll see you then. Love you."

"I love you too. Bye."

The call ended. Sly put the phone down, disappointed. He looked over to Bentley.

"All we know is that whatever is in the Vault has to do with my past. Or maybe my family's past."

"Your family's past?" Bentley questioned.

"Something about Slytankhamen II being betrayed. You wouldn't happen to know anything about it would you?"

"No, sorry."

"Damn." Sly wondered what his past had to do with the Cooper Vault. And what about Slytankhamen? There was no mention of betrayal in the Thievious Racoonus. Maybe Marakov was just trying to throw them off. The only way they would be able to figure all of this out would be to go to the Cooper Vault and look around. Unfortunately, that was not going to happen while Sly was in this condition. All they could do right now was wait.

--

Okay. First chapter. Finally finished. A bit short though. Big apologies for it being so damned late. Real life sucks sometimes y'know?

So, whatever is hidden in the Cooper Vault has to do with his past. What could it be? And what does a betrayal in the Cooper Clan have to do with it? You'll just have to wait to find out!

I'd appreciate it if you guys send me some reviews. I got such a positive response from my last story, and I'd like to know how I'm going with this one. :)

Until next chapter folks!

-eaglefan101