Disclaimer: I don't own any Sly Cooper Characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions. I also don't own the car brand.

Claimer: I own my original character, Ramona Bandicoot, and all other related characters.

This had intentionally been planned to be chapter 4 but I figured the original chapters 2 and 3 were too short so I just combined them. Also, I found I had a little extra time today so I decided to type this up quickly and post it. So please read and review and let me know what you think and tell me ways on how I could make it better. Thanks. (:

Chapter 3: Renovations

I stood and sipped my cup of coffee while looking over the damage done to my car. As much as I hated to accept it, my car was totaled far beyond repair. There were many minor things that could be replaced but internally, it was a mess. To begin, there was no windshield anymore, the remnants of it were scattered on the black interior. I was missing three out of the four hubcaps and the tires were in pieces. The windows themselves were either shattered or only half of them remained. Since I had a two door sports car, I only had the two options but it still looked bad. The body was covered in dents and scratches and because of sliding against that brick building, the soft, yellow paint was chipping off. The front hood was completely crumpled up and almost touched the windshield, if there was one. The grill suffered a major dent from the light post I had hit. Due to the high speeds I was going when I hit the light post, I had actually cracked the engine block and made it completely useless. That also somehow caused my headlights to break and no longer become operational. There was also a dent in the bumper from the pit maneuver which caused the truck to wedge down and keep it from opening. There was a similar scenario with the driver side door. I couldn't get it open and I was pretty sure the entire front end of the car had been shifted to the right. I heard Murray walk up beside me and take a look at the car.

"What kind of car is this? Because this looks awesome! Or, I bet it did before it got smashed." Murray was defiantly a car fanatic and I was in some ways.

"Pontiac Solstice," I sipped at my coffee before continuing, "but we made some modifications to it; temporarily re-inflatable tires if they're punctured, good mileage, high speeds, modified interior, weapon upgrades, LED headlights, and until now it had a new paint job."

"Mpg's and mph's, what do you get?" he took a closer look at the car and studied it.

"Fifty-two mpg and speeds going to at lease two twenty-five."

"Are you going to be able to fix it?" I sighed and thought about that question.

"I don't know. It depends on what's cheaper to do. But if we can't fix it or it'll just be cheaper to get a new one I'll do that. But if I have to get a new one I'll have to get all new modifications and weapons and install them."

"Did you come up with the modification ideas?" Murray was still inspecting car.

"Yeah, but my brothers are the ones who actually put them in. By the way, since you have a garage and I don't, could I keep my car here until we can get it fixed?"

"Go ahead, I can take a look at it and see if there's anything I can do." We continued talking for a few minutes until I got tired of looking at my car and decided to wait for my brother.

Sitka came and picked me up shortly after I looked over my car. He had come with me to my apartment to see if there was any damage done by the police. Our guesses were confirmed when the front door had been rammed down and the inside was completely violated. Papers were everywhere, tables had been turned over, closets had been opened, and drawers had been dumped out. I headed straight for my closet and scattered the clothes around in search of the safe; just incase they had overlooked it. But, Sitka had been right and it was gone. Seeing the empty space where the safe had once been made my blood start boiling and my temper to start flaring.

"Did they even have a search warrant?" I asked as I stormed back into the living room.

"I don't know," Sitka's muffled voice came from behind the refrigerator door, "Charlotte didn't look into it." he continued as he proceeded to pull food out of the fridge and make himself a sandwich.

"Well can they even remove things from the apartment?" I leaned against the counter.

"If they have a search warrant they can." He let out a snort of laughter as I became more agitated. "Listen, I'll help you clean up a little, then I'll talk with Charlotte and see if we can get a plan together to get everything back. In the meantime, do some research and see if you can get some more locations for our map and we'll let things unfold from there." I nodded and he helped me clean up my home after he finished his lunch.

After we had finished straightening up, we realized that the only thing taken besides the safe was an old map we had used a few years ago and had no value to us anymore. Sitka had left to go talk with our sister and had given me an opportunity to think things through. It hadn't taken me long to realize that things have been going south for the past few months. Either the police were getting quicker or I was loosing my touch, but I was getting caught during heists more and more often. I was also letting my temper and other emotions get in the way of other important things and I always seemed to be on edge. I didn't know what it was but I was just ready for it all to stop so I could get on with my life. Night had just fallen and I decided that I would try and relax by going out on the balcony with a book and a cup of coffee. Already dressed in my pajamas, I had curled up in one of the two chairs I had on the balcony and just started reading when I heard the very familiar sound of metal on my balcony. I glanced up from my novel and saw that Sly was already halfway of the iron platform. I replaced my book for my coffee as he sat in the other chair and started making a conversation.

"I see you got your apartment all straightened up." he leaned into the chair and placed his legs out in front of him.

"Not all of it. It's still a mess but I'll deal with it after I come back from the Interpol station."

"The Interpol station," his ears perked, "are you sure that's a good idea? You know if you're seen there everything will get chaotic?"

"I do, but I'm talking to my sister about getting my safe back. And even if I can't get that, she somehow got one of the gems I need so I figured I'd swipe that while I'm in there."

"Who's your sister?"

"Inspector Fox." I replied as I sipped my coffee and his eyes widened.

"Inspector Fox is your sister? You failed to mention that when I met you."

"I get that often, but we haven't had a decent conversation since we were kids. But mark my words; I'm getting that gem no matter what."

"You mean the red one she had on that side table beside the couch?"

I raised an eyebrow and he silently raised his paws in and surrendering motion and I couldn't help but chuckle. We sat in silence for a few moments before he had to leave and I watched as his silhouette bounced away one the night sky. I eventually finished my coffee and part of my novel before returning to my living room and locked up before going to bed.