Sly Cooper: Vida La Carmelita

Barcelona, Spain, 4th July 1980

We are in the hospital, and Diego Fox of the Spanish police is looking over his beautiful pregnant bellied wife, Santana, as she lies in the maternity ward as she suddenly expects the contractions. These contractions didn't come for a while, but while they were waiting, the policeman turned to the Kangaroo midwife to get an idea of the events that he would be expecting.

"So how long does this procedure normally take for something like this?"

"Well Mr. Fox, with the amount of cubs your wife has, it'll depend. It will have to be a caesarean section for sure"

"Thank you Madam"

Diego Fox was a tall and attractive man, couldn't look anything near the age he actually was at all – he was 30, but his deep brown eyes showed a stern serious of a 50 year old along with the intelligence of a man of a similar age. Since the Spanish conversion to Democratic rule in the mid 70's, Diego had worked strongly with the police in making the conversion as safe as possible for the citizens: he'd said that he'd do anything for anyone who is a citizen of Spain. His wife, Santana, was a coffee shop owner, whom he would pop in and visit during his daily rounds. She too was 30 although she didn't look it, and she also had a deep intelligence behind her eyes like her eventual husbands. However, whilst his appeared to be animal instinct kind of intelligence and common sense, hers was clearly a sense for business and numbers, as the coffee shop was booming and did have quite a high profit turnover per annum despite being only a corner coffee shop and also living in a Spain where the economy was only just coming back into balance. Diego claimed on their first date he'd popped in just to try the special Santana Cappuccino – a hot coffee and milk frothed up well, and powdered with special orange chocolate gratings rather than the normal milk chocolate sprinkles, which she patterned and made famous throughout Barcelona. In reality however, Diego just wanted to see her face. Once they were married, it only took 9 months after that to get to this point – in the maternity ward expecting triplets.

Suddenly, the noise came – the noise of motherhood taking shape in the ward. Diego ran to the screen and pounded his hands upon the door, aching to get in, and see his wife, Santana screaming in agony upon the table, as the operation began to take shape. Diego was strong willed enough to stay and watch the three cubs be ripped from their mother's stomach…no matter how long the operation had to endure for. And it did take a long time, especially for the usual childbirth standards of time spent. During the screams and pain of Santana Fox, many other hopeful and happy parents came and went with healthy and bouncing babies of all species and sizes. And then, the glorious silence of Santana's screams: they were replaced with cries of a newborn set of fox triplet cubs – all happy, all healthy, all as gorgeous as Santana and Diego could've hope for, especially after the agonising 2 hour operation, all of which time both parents were awake and conscious. They looked down over the triplets, and they could see, there were two boys and a girl in this set. The Kangaroo midwife was the first to offer a hug to the newly made parents, which they eagerly took. Santana took her time to rest, finally taking the opportunity to look at her new born children. Diego sat with her, and they both smiled together.

"So what are we going to call them then?" She asked

"Whatever they're named, better be Spanish" Diego joked back.

The day after the birth – 1st of March – Diego and Santana made their way down to the registry office to get the birth certificates certified for use. The Aardvark across the table from them had an officious look across his whole demeanour. He wore a darkly clean suit, no element of hair or dust on any article of his clothing, and an entirely serious expression. He also had a surprisingly dead Spanish accent, with seemingly no flowing flourishes or accents on anything he said.

"Can I do much for you today?"

Diego was a man who seemed to like everyone he came into contact with, even criminals with their charismatic ways of making a life around themselves and creating an energy within the community – however negative. That was a world apart from this negative bore he was sat across from, and whom he disliked within too little reason. However, he was the man processing their sons and daughters birth documents so we may as well go ahead with it. Just then, the man noticed the pair's proper significance in society. The Aardvark slowly rose from his chair.

"You're Santana Fox. My, my wife and I really love your Latte's in that place; we pop in all the time for them. It really is a joy to meet you"

Santana looked slightly bewildered by this man's actions in praising her Latte's: after all, they were only ordinary; especially in comparison to the Cappuccinos that establishment had to offer. She politely voiced these wonders, but the only response she got back was one of a general dislike for Cappuccinos because of their frothiness. Diego in light of this decided to get the documentation done as soon as possible. He handed the Aardvark the forms, with each of the children's names on them, exchanging only the slightest smile as they handed the stuff in, and they get their jackets together as they leave the officious place and back to the hopeful joy and spontaneity of their normal lives.

Barcelona, Spain, 15th November 1993

The married couple of Diego and Santana remained a powerful force in the community in which they lived. Whilst crime and the economy were still on decline, but they did have a comfortable life with their now four children – the triplets were respectively called Paolo, Diego Jr. and Carmelita. The fourth was a good 4 years junior of the twins, and that was a 9 year old fox cub named Santiago, formed by a mix of the two parents names. Whilst the married Fox's loved each of their children the same, Santiago was their own little prodigy…and each of the older siblings understood and liked this. In particular, Santiago's only and older sister, Carmelita, would delve into his Maths homework with him – partly because it was only Maths she could fully understand, but mostly from sisterly love. Diego Jr. was definitely the more Mathematical of the siblings. Paolo was an ever improving karate student, and he and his sister would regularly practice their sports at a sun kissed field just on the edge of town: private, spacious with good conditions for gymnasts and judo fighters. So far in their 13 years of existence, the Fox triplets were closely knit, and everything was good for them…

Morning broke over the city of Barcelona, and Diego was immediately out of the door followed by his 3 children all on their way to the same local comprehensive.

In the back of the police interceptor, the shorter Carmelita sat in between her two big brothers, but each one grappling the other in one big 'bros' style hug. Diego always approved of that kinship. In terms of dress for the school day, Carmelita and Diego Jr. were dressed suitably to show of their attractive physical assets, with Carmelita wearing a T-shirt that was loose enough to leave something to the imagination yet also providing good grounds for this imagination, but also wearing jeans that hugged her rear, giving the appearance of a great blue apple with a giant orange tail. Diego Jr. likewise was wearing a pair of jeans that hugged his almost as desirable behind as his sisters, but unlike her, he was wearing a t-shirt a size too small for him, yet it was perfect to show off his highly sort-after 8-pac. In stark contrast, the more conservative Paolo was dressed in very long-sleeve, baggy jumper and trousers – not matching colours, as the bottom was black and the top was white with an intricate vortex pattern that swirled together into a hexagon that was brightly coloured and as aesthetically pleasing to look at as a Picasso drawing – but this never detracted from his overall good looks, as each of the male twins had deep blues eyes and short cropped blue hair, their sister had the same facial make-up roughly, but her hair was long and tied back and also blue. Carmelita was the first to speak, to Paolo

"Hey Pauly, you gonna get some equations done today or try and get started on some anatomy?" She asked teasingly

"Well, maybe I'll do both and convert speed into movement…" Paolo interjected.

"Wow Pauly, you seriously need to curb that nerd in you!" Diego Jr. was fast to interrupt "Papa wants grandkids some day, so me and you oughta make something of these years. Best give them a good like what we got" Diego Jr. said, slightly giving a nod to his namesake father.

"What about me" Carmelita interjected in turn.

"Well" began Paolo "Even if Dad would allow it, I can't imagine a guy insane enough to try and get under your skin Carm, eh? Besides, you're much too young for that stuff"

"Very good Paul" Their father finally interfered "You all should be staying well away from 'distractions' for the while. Unless they annoy you enough to make you want to practice your moves on them, then I'm fine with it" He smiled at the three. In truth, for their age he admired Paolo's dress-sense over the others. Obviously they stuck to their age group, but he never liked the idea of the risk, especially to Carmelita; his fears were silenced by the truth that Carmelita was as formidable lady, even at 13. Diego continued "Ah kids. You make me a proud parent. Watching my 3 first born, going out and making something of themselves, looking out for one another…if I was never to see you again, understand I'd be very pleased of you no matter what." The mood in the back suddenly got serious, as they looked at each other in confused terror.

The car pulled up outside the school, and Diego Jr. was the first to jump out. Instantly, he was snagged from his siblings attentions by two females walking up the school's front drive way. All these peacock ladies had to do was flutter their blooms a little bit, and he was immediately in-between the pair with his arms around them both. He looked behind him briefly, giving a quick wink to his dad and siblings, who chuckled bemused as he walked up the school drive. The school drive itself looked stripped down and able to sustain only a few flowers and articles of beauty at all, but it led up to a red-brick mansion-esque place with extra buildings sprouting forth from it like the head on a flower's stem – each of them red-brick like the main part of the place, but each look like a flower head in it's own way. Right above the front school gate, it said 'Toneleros Comunidad Academia', in big blue letters with a picture of a one-eyed female raccoon emblazed within ever 'o' in the name. Maybe Carmelita would work out that face one day, or the story behind it.

As Diego Jr. walked into the school, Carmelita and Paolo stayed behind to briefly speak to their father.

"What was all that about maybe dying Dad?" said Paolo "Is it something we need to be made aware of?"

Diego took a deep breath, and held his son and daughter over the shoulder, with a look in his face that looked like he was burdened with certain clarity of a fate he was due to suffer. His eyes grew sadder as he explained, not caring about the many school kids walking around him and his family as he revealed their highly classified information.

"Well, me and your Mother are encountering some issues with money; it's only recent, but they are substantial. Anyway, to make some extra money, I took a job at the police undercover agency. They've placed me inside a gang called 'mano del Diablo', and if you've read the papers, then you know that this is a bad bunch of boys we are dealing with. There's no doubt that if I get busted something bad will happen, and it just came out in the car I really don't want that to happen because I love you, and your brothers and your mother, very much". He finished with a smile, and got back in the car, giving one final look to his befuddled kids, a look of acceptance nearly. Carmelita turned to Paolo.

"This is serious Pauly! Why'd Papa get into that arrangement? Mano del Diablo – the Devil's Hand – is the most dangerous gang in all of Spain and South America"

"I heard that after a journalist over in La Paz wrote an article about their robbery of a bank where they failed to steal too much and mocked their mantle, one of the kingpins in that organisation broke into his house; beat the hell from the guy. Didn't kill him, just broke his wrists, his hands and each of his fingers and thumbs." Paolo solemnly cut in.

"And now Dad's in amongst their ranks."

The other two fox siblings simply walked into the school to see the day ahead of them.

Barcelona, Spain, 15th November 1993 (later in the day)

Carmelita sat down at the table, with Santana and her brothers gathered around the table. It was dinner time, but at the table the mood wasn't on a very high note. Paolo was sat with bandages over his hand, Diego Jr. with a large rip across his t-shirt revealing his physique nicely yet annoying him quite heavily for it, and surprisingly, it was Carmelita who looked OK – barely a scratch on her. Santana sat amongst her triplets, and had a stern look in her eye.

"OK kids. You are all 13. That's 4 years on Santiago over there; he's going to pick habits up from you guys! These are the ones I wish he'd stay away from – the ones that get you two, Carmelita and Diego, into fights. And Pauly, you've done well, but you got involved this time, and that ain't like you! I want an explanation from ALL of you NOW on what happened!" Santana literally looked as though she could shrivel into a husk with all the concentrated anger in her eyes. Paolo was the first to start.

"Well, I didn't want to: it's just Diego was getting beaten up by a bunch of boys so I knocked one out and beat another quite bad. I broke my hand, was sent to the nurse, and those boys didn't get too much of a go at me – I was interrupted by the Principle and he took me into isolation" He turned to Diego Jr. who was uncharacteristically quite for this time of day, who took over the story from a different period of time.

"And the reason I got into a fight is because some girls were angry at Carmelita for something, and they got their boyfriends involved. So four Armadillos were coming at Carm right, so I got involved and they instantly my back right, and I'm pleased to say the only things injured were my shirt and dignity…" His involvement in the story was cut by Santana's vicious glare. Finally, she turned to Carmelita, forcing her to explain.

Carmelita exhaled hard before she begun "Well, I was walking in the halls, and this girl knocked me, got mad in my face…and I slapped her…and she fainted from it…and she kinda fell on her stupid badger face" Carmelita had a small smile on her face. She never liked to admit it to her family, especially her parents, but she did find attacking and beating up unruly people who bother her state of mind incredibly satisfying. That smile was wiped by Santana, now standing and stalking around the table. She pointed to Santiago, the young little boy in the corner, working away hard with drawings in the corner – very articulate drawings of great buildings such as the Eiffel Tower, or the leaning Tower of Pisa, complete with mathematical calculations regarding their construction (With his naturally honed drawing abilities, combined with Paolo's teachings in Maths, Diego and Santiago had ambitions for him to become an Architect). Whilst pointing, Santana began her rant:

"This boy will be in your position in a few years time. Me and your father have high hopes for you all, and one of them is we want to see our three joint eldest children make a great man of your younger brother yet. Just remember that. And I don't care if you are all stressed out about what your father is doing – yes, he told me and I am fully aware of the risks he's entailing, as are you all surely – and the least you can all do is make my life easier by not doing dumb stuff like this" Rant over, she stopped. Diego Jr. lent over to his twins, almost bewildered. Carmelita nodded, and just said "Mano del Diablo: it's Dad's undercover job…"

Just then, the door was suddenly kicked open and a shot was fired. The triplets leaped to their feet, the chairs nearly falling over onto the floor with the speed they did jump to their feet. After the shot, all they'd seen was a sight that would haunt each of the children if they ever did live – their mother falling straight down to the floor, with a bullet hole in between her eyes, her face showered with blood. Behind her, four men appeared through the door – each of them of the same build, being tall and relatively skinny especially compared to the more athletic Fox teenagers, and each of their species was noticeable: Hyena, Tiger, Iguana and Wolf, each of them emblazed with an evil smile in their faces as they showed their teeth maliciously. Then they shone their guns at the children. Santiago started crying, and Paolo was around him to comfort him – even pushing in-front of him to protect him from any possible blast – whereas Carmelita shuffled herself towards the kitchen surface and reached for the knife Santana was just using, but Diego Jr. stood motionless…his siblings couldn't be sure if he was scared or just stuck in thought of a way out. As the men approached, the Tiger whacked out a camera and held it to his eyes, holding the record button while he did. The Hyena turned to him:

"What are you doing, you stupid boy?" The accents were identifiably Mexican – a region of South America, confirming the groups identify in principle as Mano del Diablo.

"You know it's my thing…for later. I always do it" The Tiger pleaded.

"ALWAYS?" The Wolf now interjecting "Does it have to be done for a simple shoot and kill job? Of a man's family?"

"Always" The Tiger confirmed "Enrico, you understand…"

"DON'T USE MY NAME ON THE JOB!" yelled the Iguana "And no, I don't understand your sick thing! Jeez. All we have to do is show that dirty poxy unreliable Vato is what happens when he messes up royal. We shoot these kids like their mother, then leg it."

Carmelita, filled with a need to protect her family as the new woman of the house, leaped forth at the aptly titled camera-man with the knife, getting a good hard slice on his leg. The Tiger screamed in agony, nearly dropping the camera but he kept a hold of the footage he'd use for his past-time, leaving him open to some slices on his face that ran nice and deep and showed some blood coming from his face. He came in with a kick that forced Carmelita back into the corner. The Tiger screaming in agony turned to his colleagues.

"That witch! I'll strangle her…"

"Or we could shot them all like we're now about to" Enrico verbalised the illogical approach of Scarface, nee Camera-man. The Hyena, Wolf and Tiger nodded, and they loaded their weapons and took aim among the children; as they did, Paolo shielded the crying Santiago tightly to him, Diego Jr. shed a small tear and Carmelita tried to find a new way to get out of this. Nevertheless, the guns went off and bullets pierced all of their bodies as they fell to the floor, hard and into a pool of their own blood. The gang was quick out of the door, with the exception of Scarface who stood with his camera as he scanned the scene for articles of his pleasure…then he heard sirens and decided to scram.

Carmelita kept her eyes open, and turned her head to the carnage surrounding her person – all of her siblings were dead: Paolo was holding the brother he'd so lovingly tried to craft into a craftsman himself, said brother was dead, and Diego Jr. was left unable to do too much. But she could feel herself living, and she saw an escape route…she began with her remaining strength to pull herself towards the fallen phone on the floor, in spite of the bullets that pierced her lung and stomach. She made her way to the phone, and tried to dial the number of the emergency services…and that was the last retainable memory of the 15th of November in 1993 that she would have before she faded to unconsciousness…