4
The spinning red and blue police lights were a sight that he was all too familiar with. For the first time in his active career, Sylvester James Cooper wasn't running from them and he had to admit, it felt really, really weird. Sure, he and his gang had helped the cops take down a few dangerous thugs before, heck he even took up the title of Constable for a few months, but actually getting a Cooper gang to work side by side with the authorities? There's something he doubted even his father would have attempted.
As the successor to the bloodline of the greatest thieves to ever walk the earth, he knew the key to a good operation was to use the dark to his advantage. So he was thankful that some of the skylights on the rooftop he was camped out on had burnt out, allowing his well-worn skills to hide him from even the keenest of eyes. From his current position, even his large tail would be indiscernible from the shadows that surrounded him, which meant he could easily do the job that he was sent here to do: reconnaissance. His masked eyes were looking through the familiar lenses of his binocucom at what was the remains of an old newspaper printing press factory.
"Ringtail, you copy?" His ear's twitched as the small radio device in his furry point buzzed with noise.
"Yeah, loud and clear;" He paused for a brief second before adding. "gorgeous." As soon as he did so he could make out the distinct sound of snickering coming from the background on the other side of the communication channel.
"What did I tell you about calling me that while we're working?
"Sly smiled to himself, picturing his lover rolling her eyes. "Well technically; only you're working right now; I was fired the moment I took up my cane again."
"Smart ass," Carmelita growled. "Can you just tell me if you've got a visual on the target?"
"Nope, but I'm positive the man you're looking for is still in there. I'm downwind and can smell that guy's cheap cologne from all the way up here." The thief smiled, his perch probably gave him the best view of Paris's skyline. He always thought the city of love looked it's best during the twilight hours of the evening.
"Good, keep your eyes sharp. We've been waiting to bust this guy for some time now."
"Really? What did the old fellow do to get on Interpol's hit list?" A moment of silence passed before Carmelita sighed.
"You didn't read the report I sent you... did you?"
"No, sorry. I was kind of in a hurry, and I didn't have much warning. I'm more used to slide shows anyways."
"Sly, I need you focused."
"I know, I know. Like I said, I'm sorry. This whole working with Interpol is still a new thing for us. Could you fill me in real quick...please?" Sly could hear another sigh on the other line before Carmelita answered:
"Fine...This Wallace character has been a huge thorn in our sides for some time now. He used to be a bouncer for Dimitri when his nightclub was the talk of the town. After Dmitri was put away, Wallace took it upon himself to take what was left of Dmitri's spice supply and start his own operation. He's been in hiding for the past few years but people around Paris have recently shown signs of being under the influence of the spice."
"Okay, I get you. That's why you asked Bentley to examine the local water supplies. You wanted to see if you can trace the effects to a specific source."
"Exactly." Nikolai Cain, Carmelita's second in command took over. "Thanks to that computer wiz friend of yours, we were able to pinpoint where this guy was hiding out. And not a moment too soon either, the number of cases involving spice symptoms has been quite alarming. We can't have it spread to every corner of Paris, that substance is dangerous."
"I hear ya," Sly said grimly. "I've seen first hand just what that stuff can do."
"Though it sounds really weird to say, I have to hand it to Miss. Fox here. So far working with your gang has been a major boon to our branch."
"Well..." Sly's smiled beamed. "I've always known that Carmelita has had an impeccable taste in the company she keeps."
"Don't push your luck lover boy," Carmelita responded. "You guys are still on thin ice. Not everyone in law enforcement likes the idea of us working with a group of thieves."
"Guess they don't know what they are..." Sly cut himself short as he noticed some figures emerge from the building he was scoping out."Hold on a second, I think our person of interest is on the move." Sure enough, a large well-dressed wolverine stepped out into the factories dimly lit back parking lot tailed by several guards. It was quite easy to see why he was once a bouncer, the guy towered over his companions and was built like a tank."I've got a clear shot, should I take him?" Sly asked.
"Negative." Cain shot the eager thief down. "Sorry Cooper but we only need your eyes this time. Just hang back and let us take this guy down."
"Come on pal it would be..." Sly started to protest but swiftly bit his tongue. As much as he wanted to help bust this guy, he knew that Carmelita had risked her whole career when she pleaded with Interpol to strike a deal with his gang."It's nothing," he quickly corrected himself. Despite hating taking orders from one of the chief's watchdogs, he wasn't about to jeopardize his lovers lively hood for his ego.
"Good, that's what I thought." The Coyote said. "Fox, will you do the honors?"
"Are all units ready?" Carmelita's voice rang on all channels, a series of 'affirmatives' poured in as various officers gave their replies. "Good...Converge on the suspect on my mark."
It took everything within him not to move when Carmelita gave the order for the officers on the team to move in. He was a field man at heart and it just didn't feel right having to watch others fight a guy whom he knew he was capable of taking down himself. But after finding out that he was only faking his amnesia, he and Barkley were on "rocky" terms at best. Sly knew that the chief had his eyes on Carmelita as much as he did himself and that he was one screw up away from getting his fiancée dishonorably discharged.
So, with a sigh, he stayed put and watched the action unfold from the rooftop he was crouched on. As he watched the Interpol officers move in, shock pistols at the ready, he had to admit their tightly packed formation and stealthy approach was impressive. Carmelita certainly knew how to effectively train the men and women under her command.
Once in position, It didn't take long for the officers to spring their trap and let loose with a volley of shock pistol charges. Catching the bouncer and his men by surprise, they quickly retaliated with their own hail of bullets. It was only then that the sensors in his binocucom alerted him that a small group of Wallace's men was approaching the engaged officers from behind. It didn't take him long to realize that someone had tipped Wallace off that the cops had finally caught up with him. It seemed that the guy was using himself as a distraction so that the remainder of his entourage could flank the police that was trying to take him in.
Sly growled in frustration as he considered his options. He really didn't want to ignore Carmelita's orders, but, it was only five men and he were sure that he could easily get the jump on them if he used some of his ancestor's techniques. Screw it. He thought, even if she hated him for it, it was the best way to ensure her safety, and that above else was what he was truly worried about at the moment.
He made sure his cap was securely on his head before taking off. It took him mere seconds to reach the end of the roof and vault himself over its side. Pressing his cane against the building's wall to slow his descent into the dark alleyway below, he quickly hugged his lithe form against the building and peeked around a corner. Being nocturnal by nature, his night vision was relativity good but not even his keen eyes could make out exactly what kind of men he was dealing with; thankfully, he was still down wind. His whiskers twitched as he took a quick whiff of the air... and immediately regretted it. Rats, he thought, all of them. Why do they always have to smell so bad? His disgusted expression quickly turned into a grin, at least now he was sure he could take these thugs out with ease.
He took a long drawn out breath, rolled his shoulders and relaxed. Within moments he had achieved the mental state that had helped make his family name infamous: the Cooper focus. When his eyes reopened, the world around him seemed to slow to a crawl. He moved quickly, knowing that he didn't have the stamina to maintain Matthew's time slowing technique for very long.
He crouched low and used his collapsible spine to hug the ground as close as possible so he could make his silent approach towards his first target. Faster than most eyes could see, he hooked the tip of his cane around the neck of the first man in the back of the group and tugged hard, forcing him to the floor before he used a swift elbow strike to knock him out cold. After making sure his soundless assault went unnoticed by the others in the group, he wasted no time picking off another in a similar fashion before taking to the rooftops once again to plan his next attack.
He took a quick glance through his binocucom at the progress of Carmelita and her team were making. To his surprise, it looked as if this job was just another day's work for the Interpol team, they had already taken out most of Wallace's entourage and had forced the big man himself to take cover behind an old dumpster. Satisfied that he no longer needed to focus on Carmelita's safety, he turned his attention back on to the remaining group of rats. Remarkably, they still seemed oblivious that their ranks were two fewer. He smiled to himself, perhaps he could take these guys out without no one knowing. It would be a win-win, Carmelita wouldn't have a reason to chew him out and he could still play the hero. As he fell in line with the rats on the street below and made his stealthy approach, his hopes came to a grinding halt when his binocucom came to life with noise, telling him (and unfortunately) the rats he had been trailing, that he had an incoming call.
"What was that?" One of the rats said before turning in Sly's direction, his remaining comrades did the same.
"Cooper?" The leader said, surprised to see the world famous thief. "What are you doing here and where the hell are Larry and Moe?"
"Oh... I set them up for a one way trip to the slammer." Sly said preparing to enter his trademark fighting stance. "If you want I can send the rest of you to join them free of charge."
"Really?" The rat said with a laugh. "You're going to take us directly to the cops yourself, is that it? If I had a record like yours, the police station would be the last place I would want to go."
"Of course not," Carmelita said as she suddenly approached with Cain and the rest of the officers following closely behind. Perfect Sly thought. So much for being subtle.
"Mr. Cooper here is a wanted man just like the rest of you and will pay his debts to society in due time. Me on the other hand..." She flashed her badge."Will have no problem putting scum like you away for the rest of your miserable lives. Since your boss is now in our custody will you gentlemen do the smart thing and kindly drop your weapons so that way we can take you in peacefully?"
"Well if it isn't the infamous madam cop. You know it's kind of funny how you and the famous raccoon thief always manage to run into each other..." The head rat paused as a light seemed to go off in his head."Oh, I get it now." He said turning towards Sly, his eyes narrowing to slits. "You're in league with the cops is that it? I should have known an honor bound coward like yourself would stoop to such a low."
"Well if it means keeping creeps like you away from the good people of Paris then I think I can live with myself for going straight just this once."
"Fine then Cooper if you want to play friends with these stuck up hard-asses then I will have no worries about burying your corpse alongside the rest of them. Ralph, Chris you ready to give these bastards HELL!? " The leader bellowed as he drew a long combat knife, his eyes thirsty for blood.
"Actually man..." Ralph spoke up. "If they've got the boss already, doesn't that mean we aren't getting paid? Sorry, but without a payout, it's just not worth more time in a cell." He dropped his gun and threw his hands up in the air.
"Screw this, I'm with Ralph." The second rat said doing the same as his companion. I don't think the union covers bail and H.R. won't let us use our vacation on jail time." The leader of the small group defiant expression turned into one of complete shock.
"You spineless little rodents..." He hissed through his enormous buck teeth.
"You know... If I were you I would stop while you have all of your teeth. Old Iron-sides here." Sly mentioned toward Carmelita. "Has a habit of going straight for the face. Just saying... from one criminal to another. "
"As much as I enjoy watching the two of you trade jabs with each other," Cain said eying the leader.
"What's your answer to the Inspectors offer; rat?"A roar was the man's only reply as he charged Cain with bloodshot red eyes. Predicting such recklessness, Sly was ready with his cane but stopped mid swing as Carmelita stepped into the path of the raging criminal and delivered a swift roundhouse kick to the rodents muzzle. Stunned at having Carmelita's boot coiled with his face with such force, the rat staggered backward a few feet before another kick from the fox sent his knife clattering to pavement.
Seeing that she had the situation under control Sly just shrugged as Cain along with the rest of the police force relaxed and watched in silence as the thug struggled hopelessly to regain his footing. For every trick the rat tried to pull Carmelita showed she was in perfect form by countering each attack with expert precision. It was only mere minutes before she had the thug pinned to the ground in handcuffs.
"Whelp, can't say you didn't warn the poor bastard." Cain cringed at the sight of the lead rat's bloody and bruised face as Carmelita shoved him into the back of a squad car."I've heard some crazy stuff about the Inspector when I first transferred, but...wow! I don't think that he has even enough teeth left to make a proper dental profile anymore. How in the hell have you managed not to come out from any of your run in's with Fox looking like that?"
Sly shrugged. "Luck? Who knows. I and Carmelita have had a kind of love and hate relationship. It's... complicated."
"COOPER!" his ears pinned to his head upon seeing Carmelita approaching, here features were set in a scowl.
"Speaking of which..." Sly mumbled under his breath.
"Yeah, good luck with that," Cain said as he placed a hand on Sly's shoulder before joining the rest of the team.
"Yes, my love?" Sly asked taking off his cap and putting on his most charming smile.
"Don't go playing the fool with me!" She poked a claw into his chest. "Why didn't you follow orders like you promised me you would? Don't tell me you've already forgotten the risks I'm taking working with your gang."
"No, I haven't," Sly said his expression turning serious. "I'm sorry for going off and doing my own thing but you didn't seem exactly ready to handle Wallice's backup. Come on admit it; I did save your tails back there didn't I?"
"Well..." She paused. "Admittedly our intel didn't tell us he had any more men than what was stationed at his hideout, so I suppose you did."
"I know we are both walking a very thin line right now." Sly took her hand in his own. "If there one thing I hope you have learned about me is that no matter what happens, your safety is my top priority and no protocol is ever going to change that." He cracked a smile. "Besides; when have some stupid rules ever stopped me from doing anything?"
"I know, and that's what worries me the most. If this truce is going to work at all, I need to know that you'll be willing to trust that I and my men can handle the dirty work by ourselves."
Sly nodded. "I'll do my best, but you can't blame me for looking out for the love of my life now can you?"
"No, I suppose not," Carmelita smirked and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Only if the stupid binocucom hadn't ... " Sly eyes lit up with realization. He retrieved the familiar device from a pack that was attached to his pants and clicked a small button on its surface. His ear's twitched as a voice mail message was fed directly into the radio he had used to stay in contact with Carmelita and her unit.
"Hadn't what?" Carmelita asked looking puzzled.
"While I was trying to take those guys out incognito style, I got a call on my binocucom. Since I was kind of busy trying to take those guys down, seeing why Bentley called wasn't exactly my top priority so I'm checking the voice mail he left me."
"That thing gets voice mails?"
"Bentley made it so of course, it does. This thing is pretty much the Swiss army knife of thieving gear. The message he left is kind of weird. He wants me to meet him at the old safe house A.S.A.P., says that he's and an old friend of mine have something big we need to talk about. Care to join me, my foxy lady?"
"Cute... Unlike you, catching the crooks is only have of the job for me. I've got to worry about paperwork and making sure the criminals we have in our custody stay that way."
"Ouch." Sly winced. "Reminds me why I'm happy I'm not on your side of the law."
"I also need to find some way to explaining what happened to Barkley." She sighed messaging her forehead. "I really need a vacation."
"I think I can be of some help to you guys." Cain suddenly said behind them. "I'll make sure to book our friends for an extended stay at the nearest maxim security prison and trudge through the mountain of paperwork that's going to have to be filed."
"Nick, you know you don't have to do that for me. It's not your job."
"Don't worry about it, Miss Fox. I'll do my best to make sure some of the finer details of how things went down tonight stay off of the report we send to Barkley. We got our man in custody and off the street. The way I see it the operation was a success, no matter how it was accomplished."He pointed in Sly's direction. " Although raccoon I'm only giving you this one chance. Next time I would listen to your lady friend. Trust me, I've been married a long time and no matter how you look at it, the female in the relationship is pretty much always right."
"Uh... thanks, pal. I guess I owe you one."
"Now go you two." Cain waved them off. "Before the chief decides to show up."
"Well then, shall we?" Sly said holding his palms out in the direction of the safe house.
"I guess, but before you take off anywhere, let's take my car. I really don't feel like going roof hoping tonight."
"Hello?" Sly said as he stepped into the main room of the old Cooper gang hideout. Well, if it could be called that anymore. Ever since the deal was made with Interpol the "hideout" had become more like a mini base of operations for Interpol's French undercover branch.
"In here." Sly's ears twitched to the sound of the nasally voice of his childhood friend. He mentioned for Carmelita to follow him. The duo's boots creaked on the old buildings worn wooden floorboards as they made their way to Bentley's study. Sly's muzzle turned up into a smile as he caught sight of the turtle.
Like usual, his face was hidden behind one of his projects, in this case, it was Sly's own Thevius Raccoonus. The leather bound tome was centrally showing it's age through it's torn sides and worn leather cover, but Bentley had done a remarkable job of persevering the account of the Cooper family line.
"Hey pal, how's it going?" Sly trailed off as he noticed a huge form hunched over by one of the bookshelves. For a second he thought it was Murry until he realized that the huge animal was not pink, but dark purple.
"Jim, is that you?" Sly asked astonished. The Walrus turned his way and smiled wide between his two huge tusks.
"Ah, Sly my boy! It's good to see you doing so well!" He wasted no time in embarrassing Sly in his massive arms.
"Good... to... see... you... too..." Sly managed to choke out with what little air was left in his lungs.
"Sorry, guess these old bones still have some strength in them." The Walrus scratched the back of his head. He turned to regard Sly's companion with a gentlemanly bow and offed an enormous hand."This lovely vixen must be the famous inspector?"
"Si, that is correct. Forgive me, but I don't believe Sly has mentioned you before."
Sly nodded. "This my love is Jim McSweeny. He ran with my dad's group back in their prime. He was what Murry is to our gang, the muscle of the group."
"Another thief, huh?" Carmelita raised an eyebrow. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Retired thief actually." McSweeny corrected. "Unlike your hippo friend, my strength is no longer used to commit acts that an officer like yourself would deem... unlawful."
"Speaking of Murray, have you heard from him recently?" Carmelita asked turning to Bentley who had put the Thevius Raccoonus down. Bentley nodded. "Just a few days ago actually. He says that his new training session with the Guru is going well and claims that he's close to reaching a new level of 'awesome sublimness; whatever that means. It should be only a few more weeks before he'll be back in town."
Carmelita smiled. "You know, I don't think I was ever able to properly introduce myself to the Guru. He seems like he's quite the character, especially considering he's taken on Murry as a disciple."
"Yes, he's a man of very wise words. With his guidance, Murray has been doing much better. Ever sine we managed to get Sly back from Egypt, he's been his happy-go-lucky, let's smash stuff up self again."
"So? Sly crossed his arms and turned to McSweeny. "I take it you're 'the old friend' Bentley mentioned in his message. I thought you had committed to the retired life in that cozy Heathrow cell of yours."
"I was up until around a year ago. Funny enough, it seems you can only be a model inmate for so long before they kick you out for good behavior."
"Hold up a second." Carmelita cut in with a raised hand. "You're telling me that you were locked up and you wanted to stay that way? In all my years on the force, I don't think I would ever hear something like that."
McSweeny shrugged. "A bed with a roof over my head and some of the best reading material in the country, It wasn't so bad. After I got word of Connor's death, may God rest his soul; I figured the best way to keep the Cooper's family secrets safe was ironically, behind bars."
"If it wasn't for good old Jim here, I would have never found out about the Cooper vault in the first place." Sly offered Carmelita before turning to his father's old friend. "You've heard what happened to Dr. M. right?"
"Yes." McSweeny said somberly "Near the end, Marty was fed up with your father's instance on keeping the vault for 'Cooper's eyes only.' He felt that since we helped Connor amass his fortune we were entitled to it as much as he was. I really couldn't blame him, though, Connor did use us as bait when Interpol had us backed up against a wall. When we were headed to Kaine Island."
"I... I'm sorry." Sly said looking at the ground, his ears pinned in shame. "I remember him saying that my father wasn't the most honorable of men, but I never thought he would sell his friends out like that."
"Don't be, it wasn't your fault." McSweeny shook his head. "He was only trying to protect your mother and you; he was after all the only one of us who had started a family. I ended up turning myself in so Marty could get away. After I got out I had not the faintest idea what to do with myself. For kicks, I headed to the south Pacific in hopes of seeing the Cooper vault for myself."
"All those years in prison and the first thing you did when you got out was to go the Cooper vault. After what my father did to you... why?"
"What else was I supposed to do? Your father's gang had been the only thing I knew since I was a kid. The moment I tattooed the clues to the Cooper vaults location on my body, I swore that if I ever had a chance I would see it with my own eyes. I can't say I respect Connor for what he did, but the early years of pulling off heist after heist were some of the best moments of my life. As lofty of a goal as that was, however, I guess it's all kind of a moot since most of what is left of the vault is just a heap of rubble."
"Yeah." Sly agreed. "What I wouldn't give to see my families accomplishments just one more time. it's a shame that everything is now lost below the pacific."
"Actually, that may not be entirely accurate." Bentley cut in, he took a quick glance at McSweeny who nodded. "Over the past couple of years, me and Pen..." He cleared his throat before continuing. "I've taken the liberty of monitoring the remains of the late doctor's fortress and it would seem that much of the vaults inner architecture still remains structurally sound."
Sly lowered his ears in frustration. "Why didn't you bother telling me any of this before?"
"My apologies!" Bently backpedaled." It was only a hypothesis at first. I couldn't actually verify it unless a pair of eyes confirmed it. Besides, I kind of figured you were over the Cooper family business when you left to be with Carmelita."
Sly sighed. "Yeah, I guess you could say I was, I wanted to see if I could make it work. It didn't turn out quite the way either us pictured but we are happy with where we're at, isn't that right my love?" Sly shot a smooth grin to his fiancée.
Carmelita rolled her eyes but smiled just the same. "I'm still getting used to the idea that I'm going to be married to a lowly pick-pocketing criminal. But even I have to admit that Sly at times can be charming, caring and sometimes even the good guy." She leaned on Sly's shoulder. "Of course things aren't perfect, but this handsome ringtail kind of has grown on me over the years. Now if only I can work on that ego of his."
"Sorry beautiful, as you've seen, it kind of runs in the family." Sly smiled sheepishly.
"Speaking of which I guess being able to meet some of my ancestors in person kind of rekindled my interest in my bloodline's history. I don't know how I'm going to do it yet, but I've made up my mind and want to keep my families accomplishments alive any way I can."
"You may still very well have a chance to do just that," McSweeny spoke up.
"While my robust form wasn't able to get very deep inside that vault, it looks like Bentley's hunch is correct and that the treasure of the Coopers isn't lost just yet. Provided that you're nimble enough to find a way through the rubble."
"I took the info McSweeny gave me and did some serious number crunching, and it looks like you and Carmelita are the perfect candidates for finding a way in."
"It sounds like an opportunity that I would be a fool to pass up but." Sly tail and ears drooped. "It wouldn't feel right going on a job without the whole gang back together." He looked into Carmelita's eyes. "And I don't know how Carmelita here would take going back to a vault with a bunch of stolen property."
"Not to worry I've already spoken to Murry about the whole idea. He totally supports us gong to check it out ourselves."
"And I'll be right beside you." Carmelita chimed in.
"See guys?" Sly blurted out without thinking. "Like I said said Carmelita isn't... wait, What!?"
Carmelita muzzle turned up in a foxy smile. "Like you said, we are trying to work things out. After everything we've been through together, I understand now just how important your family is to you. It would my honor to help restore your families legacy."
Sly's mouth hung agape for a few second before his trademark smirk returned. "See guys, this is why I'm marrying her. Isn't she the most amazing woman ever?"
He turned and embraced her in a passionate kiss which lasted far past the point of awkwardness for the other two men in the room. Both Bentley and McSweeny looked at each other for several
moments before McSweeny very loudly cleared his throat; which had no effect on the lovers embrace in the slightest.
"SLY!" Bentley finally shouted, breaking up the thief and cop. "Sorry but if we are really going to be doing this I think it's wise we start planning now... sheesh!"
"Sorry, kind of got caught up in the moment." He was about to follow it up with 'you know how it is' but deiced to stop in light of recent events in the turtles love life.
"So, Carmelita? About that vacation you needed. How does a romantic getaway to the South Pacific sound?"