Killer s Instinct: Thieving ways

by Observer123

Sly and his team are planning a heist again. This time they cast their covetous eye on an old Cooper family artifact which fall into the hands of a criminal calling himself "the Duke". But the job is harder than it seems. To get the precious artifact they will need help of a man called Scratch this time. But with the time it seems that the help is becoming a threat for the team.

4. Nightmare date

-Well, it´s been a while but here is the next chapter. Sorry it took so long. Anyway, enjoy the chapter and leave a comment or two if you like ;D-

The morning sun slowly heated up the city and if you believe the weather forecast it will be a warm day. A very warm day. Inside an old looking building, a raccoon was waking up as the sunlight hit him right in the face. Sly hadn't slept well, the events of the last evening disturbed his mind quite a long time. They even followed him in his dreams.

Scratch, his brutal ways, his memories, the cocaine affair, it all flooded his mind and led him to have, what very probably was, the most disturbing dream he ever had. He dreamt of himself dancing drugged over the corpses of his friends. And as he sat up in his bed, his brain felt like it was chewed and spitted out.

Sly rubbed his face and tried to rid of all the bad thoughts that swam in his mind and haunted him all night long. But it didn't help a bit, so Sly stood up and looked around. It had no use to continue sleeping, he was awake now. So, after a long sigh, the raccoon stood up and walked to the closet.

His clothes needed to be washed, that was sure, but they should still be okay this day. Yawning, he walked to the door and opened it. He headed for the bathroom to wash his face. The cold water felt refreshing and Sly felt a lot better as he dried his face. Maybe it didn't replace the hours of sleep he had lost, but it was better than nothing.

Yawning, he walked back to his room to change his shirt and to put on his hat.

Finally fully dressed, he walked in the community room of the apartment where he amazingly found Scratch sitting there, leaned back in his chair and with his eyes focused at the ceiling.

That somehow reminded him of himself last night, when he had stared at the ceiling for hours.
How long had Scratch been sitting there? As Sly thought about it, he had never seen Scratch go to bed or sleep. Maybe he looked tired sometimes but sleep seemed to be something he tried to avoid.

"Do you ever sleep?" Sly asked all of a sudden.
Scratch turned his head startled around.
"Oh... haven't heard you." He yawned. "Actually I sleep just three hours every night... more or less"
Sly smiled, he still had the touch to pass inadvertently.

"And you, already awake?" Scratch returned the question.
The raccoon couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Scratch's question.
"No, I'm just Sly's hologram decoy." Sly said sarcastically. "The real Sly is still sleeping upstairs."
"Then let him sleep." Laughed Scratch and stretched. "I could really need something to eat now."

"Lemme see what I can do." Sly said while he cracked his knuckles. "Not many know it, but I'm also a master chef."
"So, master thief and master chef?"
"I'm not the only Cooper that is a master chef too, you said that you read half of the Thievius Raccoonus, you should know that Rioichi Cooper invented sushi."
"I skipped that chapter as soon as I read sushi..." Said Scratch. "I hate sushi."

"Too bad, that's what we're having."
"Seriously?" Sighed Scratch in disbelief.
"No, I just wanted to be the one messing with you instead of otherwise."
"You win this time." Grinned Scratch. "Do you know when the others will wake up?"

"I don't know, Bentley is usually awake by now." Sly said while he put on an apron and started cooking breakfast.
"So the turtle is an early bird, huh?"
"Bentley? Yes, he's an early bird, he has always been except when he couldn't find a way to sneak into the Cooper Vault, he didn't sleep for days."

"Sounds unhealthy." Scratch put on his coat and fixed his tie. "Well then, I'm going to buy a big baguette and wine... maybe just wine. I mean, when you're in Paris, do it like the French."

"That's what the tourists say." Sly let out.
"Well, I'm nothing more than a passenger passing by in the end." The dog said amusedly and closed the door behind him.
Sly couldn't help but shake his head, the raccoon still didn't understand Scratch at all.

Few minutes later, the rest of the gang had woken up and they were having some eggs with bacon for breakfast. Sly had finished cooking, so he had sat at the table with his gang.
"Where's the psychopath?" Asked Penelope realizing first that Scratch's chair was empty.

"Probably murdering someone." Bentley said while he sipped at his coffee.
"You maybe meant that as a joke but I think he could really do that." Stated Sly sternly.
"I meant it seriously."
"Well... let's just hope he isn't breaking someone's neck now." Penelope said.

"GOD DAMMIT!" The team suddenly heard a scream from outside the door. And just a second later the door burst open and a very angry voice yelled. "SHIT"
The team dropped whatever they had in their hands and rushed to the entrance of the hideout, all of them ready for combat. However, they felt a bit relieved seeing that it was just Scratch.

"Get your guns, guys!" Ordered the dog angrily. "We got work to do!"
"What have you done this time?" Sly asked in a very annoyed tone.
"I did nothing. I was maybe a bit too merciful, that's what I did." Angrily Scratch pulled a badge out of his jacket and threw it on the ground. "Interpol is already right behind us! As I was walking to the grocery store I realized that someone followed me. In a little alley I was able to grab my pursuer by the throat, literally."

"Please tell me you didn't kill him." Sighed Bentley.
"Just choked her. As I said I was too merciful." Breathed Scratch angrily.
"Wait, was this Interpol officer a vixen of about my age with blue hair that she ties in a queue, who has a slight Mexican accent?" Sly asked nervously.

"No. A young dog not much older than twenty years." Said Scratch. "Okay... we have to get rid of Interpol first before we can continue. I have a friend that can provide us with a truck full of guns in about one day. I'd say we decrease the number of their agents."
"NO!" Sly yelled firmly. "For God's sake! Can't you just go for a single day without killing someone?!"

"Besides, it's not like Interpol has a chance at stop us, they've been trying to do so since we were sixteen." Murray said.
"Why so stubborn Sly?" Scratch asked confusedly. "These are just Interpol agents!"
"We will not kill anyone else! Taunting Interpol like me and my pals have been doing since we were sixteen is one thing, killing Interpol officers is another!" Sly said.

"They are just people... and I have to say, I haven't killed an Interpol agent yet. I have FBI, NSA and a few other agencies. Also normal cops... but an Interpol agent." The bald head dog pulled his gun out and loaded it. "Time to expand my list... well, if they get into my way of course."
"I'm serious, Scratch, we will not do such a thing, and much less to Carmelita!" Sly blurted out before realizing his mistake. "Damn it!"

"Carmelita? Again this name... no." Scratch stepped closer to Sly while he looked like that he tried to suppress the urge to scream loudly. "You don't want to tell me that your future fiancée is an Interpol agent?!"
"Why yes, yes she is, is there any trouble with that?!"

"You damn idiot!" Screamed Scratch facepalming himself.
"I love her, she loves me, that's how it works."
Scratch couldn't find any words to describe how stupid Sly was for him. So he just made undefinable angry faces.

Sly was cursing himself inwardly, how could he have been so stupid to blurt out that? Now he had literally put Carmelita over a time bomb that could kill her at any second, and that bomb was known as Scratch.

"Okay... okay..." Scratch sighed as he calmed down a bit. "Then no shooting. We continue as planned... But someone else gets some wine."
"You mean you...?!" Sly said before containing his rage. "You know what? Forget it, if you want anything, go get it yourself."

Sly was about to leave the room when a foul stench reached his nose. The thieving raccoon pinched his nose and said:
"And get rid of your macabre work before the neighbors start complaining about the stench of dead people!"

"Damn... I forgot about that!" Cursed Scratch. "Ms. King, would you be so kind to follow me?"
"Why her?" Murray asked.
"Because she already did the job and knows more than you others... Also, I need your help Murray. I need you to help us transporting it to a place to get rid of it."

"Excellent." Said the dog emotionlessly as he opened the door of the corpse room.
The stench that greeted him was in its strength already surprising for him and made him contorting his face in disgust.
"Whoa... what an aroma."

"Take this." Jing said while she tapped Scratch's shoulder to offer him a menthol-scented ointment. "It may not get rid of the stench but at least makes it less foul."
"Thanks." He said putting some of the ointment under his nose. "Well, let's get this started."
Together the dog and the panda stepped into the room and closed the door behind them.

"Okay... this time it will be quick but a bit more disgusting." Scratch started explaining. "The body will be pretty much dissolved already. We have to take a look at it if every recognizable part, for example the fingerprints are damaged beyond recognition. Then we bring it to the next dump and put the tub into a quiet corner there. Or throw it into an incinerator if they have one."

"Well..." Jing said while she controlled olympically her urges to throw up. "The local dump does have an incinerator, and most of the time it's unguarded."
"Ha! It's like they want us to get rid of Mr. Barns there." Laughed Scratch. "Oh... and a piece of advice for you. If you ever have to do this and no dump is near enough or accessible. Just put a few heavy things like stones in the tub and sink it in a river nearby. But make sure you have sealed that thing... otherwise the stuff is polluting the whole lake."

"I'll keep it in mind..." Jing said while she fought back the gag reflex that was becoming more and more intense.
"Well, then, let's see." Scratch put on a plastic glove and knelt down next to the tub. He started rummaging in the mixture of body parts and red fluid like someone who is rummaging through a backpack to find something.

Jing, who had to watch that, couldn't stand it anymore and she threw up in a bucket that she had brought with her.
"Are you alright?" Scratch called while he continued rummaging.
Jing gave Scratch a thumbs-up while she threw up her entire breakfast.
"That's the spirit, girl." Laughed the dog.

Few moments later, after finally emptying her stomach fully, the panda girl let the bucket next to the door and wiped her mouth with a tissue.
"Okay, Jing, you missed all the fun." The dog stood up from beside the tub and turned to her. "The acid did a perfect job and we just have to seal the tub. Could you hand me the lid over there?"
The girl shivered when Scratch called his actions "fun," so she focused on giving Scratch the lid.

"Thank you." said Scratch friendly and pressed the lid firmly onto the tub.
"No, thank you, Mr. Scratch." Jing said while she bowed at him.
"I think so, my dear. You're doing pretty well." He smiled
"You taught me much more than just that, and I am really sorry for being so rude to you before."

"No need to feel sorry. You had your reasons."
"Still, I should not have been so rude."
"Maybe." He said finishing putting the lid on the tub and wiping some sweat of his forehead. "Oh boy... I'm getting to old for that."

"You are not old yet, Mr. Scratch."
"Well, I'm not that old of course but I saw things enough for three lives. Also my body is damaged like I lived three lives." He meant while he smiled friendly.
"You seem much saner than the others think you really are."

"Most of it is façade of course..." Admitted Scratch. "I even though I'm not the sane nice dog I once was anymore. The times and the circumstances changed me tremendously."
"Fate sometimes seem to laugh at the good people's faces, my father once told me one a phrase, a very deep phrase that he used to tell whenever we were at a funeral."

"What kind of phrase?" He asked.
"Why is it that the ones that want to live more, the ones that deserve to live more, die; while those who deserve to die keep on living?"
"That's pretty much the same question I ask myself all the time." Said Scratch with sudden thoughtfulness in his voice.

"Me too... Especially since I met you."
"So I deserve death in your opinion?" Scratch asked tonelessly
"No! No, no, no, no! I did not mean it that way!" Jing said nervously.
"And how did you mean it then?"

"I mean that I have been pondering that since I met you because of what you told me that turn you into who you are."
"Yeah... in the end there is always a reason." Sighed Scratch. "No one is born like that."
"I also wonder if that is true, many evildoers have terrible pasts and made wrong decisions, but some others just do it because they feel like it."

"You are thinking of someone special?" Scratch probed.
"Not special, someone stupid who I will have to face someday again." Jing said while she sighed.
"Mei Ling Tsao?"

"Yes..."
"Well, I believe also she had reasons that let her become like that." Scratch grabbed one handle of the tub and started to drag it towards the door while coughing heavily.
"Are you alright?" The panda asked. "Do you need help?"

"Just a really heavy tub… but I think I can handle it." smiled Scratch sweating.
"Let me carry that for you." Jing said while she grabbed the handles of the tub.
"No, I think I can handle that…"

"Please, Mr. Scratch, let me help you."
"Well… okay." Smiled Scratch and carried with Jing the tub out of the room.

"You are a great help Ms. King. I would ask you to be part of my team under other circumstances." The dog said as they were almost in the garage.

"I would be honored but I'm already part of Mr. Cooper's team, also…"

"Yeah?" Scratch asked as Jing stopped in midsentence.
"I… I feel that we will not meet again in a long time… no matter what we'll do."
"Maybe… maybe… maybe we see again the next week after that… or we may never see again… everything is possible." Scratch said as they arrived at the van.

"Hope God hears you." Murray said while he popped out from under the van.
"God is dead my friend. Died long ago." Scratch panted and heaved together with Jing the tub on the van's load area.

"I have to disagree, God is always there, but he gives us only what we need, not what we want." Jing said in such a polite tone that confused Murray a bit.
"I don't want to start an argument about the 'theodicy' now." Sighed Scratch. "Well, I think we can start now... everything's on board."

"Where do we go?" Murray asked while he got into the driver's seat.
"To the dump nearby. Jing said that they have an incinerator." Scratch cleared his throat fast and then correct himself. "I mean Ms. King."
Murray scratched the back of his head while Jing cast a silent glance at Scratch, as if saying 'Be more careful.'

"I try." Laughed Scratch answering her glance loudly
Murray soon shrugged his confusion off, ignited the van but when he was about to pull over, a ringtailed figure rapidly hopped into the passenger's seat. When Murray turned his head, he found a tidy and sleek looking Sly right beside him.

"Why so elegant, Sly?" Murray asked.
"I guess he's meeting the enemy." Growled Scratch.
"I have a date tonight, not to mention I'd like to stay away from this psycho at least for some hours." Sly said while he glared at Scratch.

"Why you looking at me like that? Am I wrong?"
"Completely." Jing, Murray and Sly said in unison while Murray pulled off from the garage.

"Aha... and why am I so wrong?" probed Scratch.
"Bentley and I used to think the same, but seeing how she helped us during the Time Travel affair..." Murray said before Sly nudged him in the ribs.
"Time travel?" The dog started shaking his head. "You know what? I don't want to know it..."

"Ms. Fox is rather violent, headstrong and has a big sense of duty when it comes to the law, but she loves Sly truly and she would never backstab him." Jing explained.
"Thanks, Jing." Sly said with a smile.
"Headstrong and violent... actually the kind of woman I like." Smirked Scratch.

"Stay away from her, she's mine." Sly growled.
"Interesting you see me as a threat... Ha!" Scratch burst into laughter. "You better watch out. A smile from me and she'll be lying in my arms in no time."

"No way, pal, she's already hooked with my 'Cooper Charm.'" Sly said with a smirk.
"Sly, where do you want me to take you?" Murray asked.
"Oh that, um, well just drive to your destination, I'll go down when I'm near enough to not reveal any more of Carmelita than I should."

It was for a while quiet in the car. No one talked. Scratch and Jing didn't talk to each other because they didn't want to let Murray know that they actually liked each other. Murray didn't talk because he was driving and Sly stayed silent because he was kind of nervous.

Still, the raccoon couldn't let his nerves get the best of him, so he fought them back and stayed focused on the road. Finally after quite a few minutes, Sly asked Murray to stop near a fountain, Sly thanked him and started walking to Carmelita's apartment.

"Hey, Sly, about Carmelita..." Shouted Scratch through the open door of the van before they drove off. "We'll see about that."
"Too late for you to do anything..." Sly whispered with a smirk while he saw the van speeding off.

Sly started moving to Carmelita's apartment, the night was warm but something odd lay in the air. He couldn't name what it was, but it gave him a peculiar feeling.
And he didn't like that feeling.
"I hope I'm wrong." Mumbled Sly kicking a tin can away lying on the street.

Some time later, Sly had finally found Carmelita's apartment. It still amazed him how his beloved vixen could afford something so luxurious with her salary, but she had told him to keep his thieving nose away from her personal matters, and so he did, mostly because she threatened to fry him with her shock pistol if he didn't.

Hesitantly, after taking a deep breath, Sly pressed the doorbell.
Soon enough, the door was opened and his mouth dropped agape. He had never seen Carmelita so beautiful before. She had undone he queue so he long blue hair cascaded behind her shoulders, she had taken off her badge and instead used a heart-shaped golden locket that had a photo of her and Sly, she wore black stilettos and there were no gloves covering her hands that night. However, what surprised him the most was seeing Carmelita wearing the same black dress that she had worn when they had danced in India on the night when he and his gang stole the Clockwerk Wings from Rajan.

Sly just stared at her with big eyes and felt unbelievably under-dressed. He actually felt almost naked if he compared the rags he wore with her outfit.
"From the way you've been staring at me for the last five minutes, I'd say that you love what you see." Carmelita said with a loving smile.

Sly nodded in silence, his breath was still completely taken by her view.
Carmelita chuckled slightly, it was worth saying that Sly didn't look so bad either. He was wearing an actual blue shirt, black shoes and even if she still couldn't believe it, he was wearing black pants. However, Sly still had his gloves on, and Carmelita didn't know why he never took them off, she used to believe that he did so because that way nobody would ever have record of his fingerprints.

"Wow..." Sly finally could say what was on his mind. "Carm, wow!"
"You don't look so bad either, Sly." Carmelita said while she gave him a peck on the lips.
"Thank you." He grinned. "Well, should we go?"
"I'd feel honored to go out with you, Mr. Cooper." Carmelita said while she offered her arm to Sly.

"I am the one who has to feel honored." Sly said taking her arm.
The vixen smiled lovingly at her boyfriend and after locking her door, she and Sly started walking to their usual meeting place.
A little corner cafe in a lively street of Paris. Together they sat down on a little black table in the corner of the cafe.

Once they had ordered, Carmelita could tell that something was bothering Sly.
He was obviously nervous. He looked around like he was followed all the time and couldn't hold his feet still.

"What's wrong, Sly?" Carmelita asked.
"It's nothing..." Meant the raccoon grinning nervously.
Carmelita frowned a bit, she grabbed Sly's right hand and gave it a small squeeze, then she looked at him with kind eyes and asked again:
"What's wrong?"

"Nothing... I don't want to bother you with that... or put you to any unnecessary danger."
"Unnecessary danger?" Carmelita sighed annoyedly. "For Christ's sake, Sly, what have you gotten yourself into this time?"
"Nothing... just this new guy I'm working with..."
"Who is this new guy?" Carmelita said, making Sly realize that he had said too much again.

"He's a... how did he call himself?... an 'interrogation expert'..." Sly shivered. "His methods are very... brutal."
"You hired a torturer?!" Carmelita said as quietly as she could with a startle.
"Bentley did!" He whispered protesting.

"How could you let him do such a thing?!" Carmelita said before sighing. "As long as you hadn't hired someone like Lancelot McCullen, Mei Ling Tsao or that Scratch guy, I think it can't be that bad."
"Actually..." Sly said scratching the back of his head.
"Please tell me it's McCullen. Please say you hired the one that knows the word honor and not Tsao or, god forbid, Scratch..." Carmelita said while she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"It's... not McCullen..."
"Don't tell me it's Scratch..."
"What would happen if... I tell you so?" Sly asked sheepishly.
"How can you and your friends be so stupid?!" Carmelita yelled while she stood up and hit the table, startling everyone in the café.

"Carm, calm down please." The whole thing felt kind of embarrassing for the raccoon. "What's so bad?"
"Have you ever heard about a series of mass murders in Paraguay? He was the one behind them all!" Carmelita said while she sat down again.

"Mass murders, Paraguay? What do you mean?" Sly asked confused.
"Sly, he's one of the ten most wanted by all the agencies, TUFF, the FBI, the CIA, Interpol, there's no police force in the world that isn't trying to find him. He's only behind McCullen, just because Clockwerk's dead, he's been in the second place of the most wanted. But the worst of all is, that we can't actually prove anything he did. The only thing we can arrest him for would be his parking tickets… Well, at least until now." Carmelita explained. "And you're also in that list, as the third, but you're the only one that we're not looking for murders."

"What do you mean with only second?!" Another voice next to the able suddenly became audible.
Startled, Carmelita and Sly turned around seeing the bald head dog with the square glasses and the tie that was looking at them kind of insulted.
"Did you just say McCullen beat me?!"
"Speaking of the devil..." Carmelita said with a sigh. "McCullen is in that place for the number of victims he's had without any help, and because he has killed cops of each and every agency."

"You got to be kidding me! I haven't burnt half of a country to be second rank." Growled Scratch.
"You know that he has only two less victims than you without any sort of help while you have your team?" Carmelita said with a rather mocking smirk. "He may have trained his wife to be an assassin too, but he works alone and she does the same."

"You just say that because the mass graves weren't found yet..." Scratch said with a grin.
"McCullen did, he was pissed when we took him out of the first place and sent us a calculation of his victims and yours. Also a bit of info about you and your little friends, not everything because he said he wouldn't make our job any easier."

"What do you mean by that?" Scratch said coming a bit closer to Carmelita.
"Well, he sent us your photo and your friends, also their real names and their known aliases, but no matter, yesterday I received much more info than any cop in the world would've wished for."

"You know I haven't killed an Interpol agent yet." Whispered Scratch very sternly to her. "And slowly but steady, I think you could be the first."
"Don't you even think about it, Scratch!" Sly yelled out loud while he pointed at the dog with a threatening finger, attracting everyone's attention again.

"That completely depends on her."
"You can't kill me if I turn you and your little friends in." Carmelita said with a smirk.
"My team? Pah! Do you think they let YOU catch them?"
"I won't work alone pal, I can hire number one of the most wanted to help me, and I have Sly's help too."

"It's kind of cute that you really think so." Scratch said. "Try your luck. But say goodbye to those you sent in our direction."
"Pal, many have tried to kill Sly and his friends, and McCullen, not even Clockwerk has succeeded on doing so, and he was the biggest murderer of all history."

"Yet." The dog said baldly and stretched. "But as long as you are not coming up with something that is interesting..."
"Well, since we're talking about something interesting, just let me offer you a deal."
"But let me offer you a deal first." Scratch grabbed a chair and sat down besides Carmelita and Sly. "You shut up and leave the city for... let's say a week. I would even be willing to pay you that trip. In reward for that, I won't kill you. What do you think? Do we have a win-win situation here?"

"You think you can scare me? You don't know just how many idle threats like that I receive on a daily basis."
"Just saying..." Scratch laid his gun on the table. "I'm not really the guy who threats much. I'm rather the guy who shoots."

"Me too." Carmelita said while she put her shock pistol on the table in front of her.
"Is that supposed to be a gun?" Scratch picked up Carmelita's pistol and eyed it. "Seriously, what is that? A hair dryer?"

"It packs a paralyzing punch, and if you don't want me to fry whatever little brain you still have, you will accept this deal." Carmelita said while she snatched her pistol from Scratch's hands. "Turn yourself and your friends in, and I won't reveal the info that I received yesterday nor have to hunt you guys down."

"I would need to know what you have about me before I would even think about thinking about that."
"Everything, though I'm still surprised that such a good guy like Dudley Puppy could become someone like you." Carmelita said with a smirk.

Scratch suddenly sat frozen on his chair.
"What did you just say?" Scratch said almost stammering.
"You heard me, and personally, I'm very angry with you for what you did to Kitty Katswell when you left Petropolis. I made her the solemn promise that I would find you and make you pay."

"I see." said Scratch grabbed is gun and pointed it directly into Carmelita's face. "I suppose you have a file or something about me. Hand it to me."

Carmelita simply slapped the gun away from her face and pointed her shock pistol at Scratch's face.

"You want it? Turn yourself and your friends in, or else the file goes to the press, and personally I don't want to cause Kitty any more pain." Carmelita said.
"That would be quite painful for me but you won't live to see my pain." Scratch cocked his gun and growled. "Give me the file."

"That's enough!" Sly said while he lunged over Scratch.
The raccoon knocked the dog down of his seat and both started struggling for the gun's control. Sly and Scratch struggled for what seemed like hours, though it was just a few minutes. Finally, Sly snatched the gun from Scratch's hands with a victory chuckle. But his celebration was short lived when he inadvertently pressed the trigger of the gun.

The loud bang echoed through the restaurant and like a startled horde, the guests rushed in panic out of the café. After a few moments of uncertainty, Sly could finally see the only person that had a big red growing spot in her clothes.
The raccoon couldn't help but show a huge amount of growing despair and disbelief.

He had shot Carmelita Montoya Fox.
Carmelita felt how a piercing pain erupted from right above her heart. The vixen slowly moved her head downwards and put a hand on the wound that the bullet had caused her, shocking herself when she saw her hand covered in her blood.

"What...?" Carmelita breathed out in disbelieve before her knees gave in.
Time slowed down for both Carmelita and Sly as the former fell to the ground, feeling how that warm red liquid stained her fur while Sly watched her in despair and saw how more and more blood colored the floor red

Scratch sigh slowly while he holstered his gun. Sly didn't hear that, he was focused on one thing, save Carmelita, no matter what the cost. He tried to stop the blood flow by pressing his hands on the hole that the bullet caused in Carmelita's chest.
He felt helpless and just could watch the fox losing more and more blood while he was pressing his hands on her harder.

"Get away." Growled Scratch and pushed the raccoon away from Carmelita. Annoyed the dog knelt down next to her and took a skeptical look at her wound before he ordered. "Get something to disinfect."

Sly reacted completely out of instinct, he ran without arguing into the café's kitchen and used his cane to rip off a first aid kit from a wall.
Scratch meanwhile pulled his knife out.
"Stay calm… and don't die. I need to know where the file is before I you are allowed to die." He said to Carmelita as he felt the area on her chest where the bullet hit. "Now I need to know how deep the bullet lies."

His fingers pressed rather gently almost angrily on her chest. But there was no time to be gently now. He had to find the bullet.

"Try to stay awake." Scratch said as he finally felt the projectile under her skin.
The little piece of lead took a very peculiar way in her flesh. If the dog felt it right it had wandered downwards after entering her. That means that it probably didn't harm any vital veins close to the heart. But that was still uncertain.

Carmelita had just hardly an idea about her condition and that idea was that it was pretty bad. She was feeling that her body was numb and way too heavy and she couldn't speak, however, she somehow managed to say:
"Tell Sly... that he's and idiot... but I that loved him..."

"You can tell that to him yourself, later." Said Scratch and sat the knife onto her skin. "This could hurt a bit." He meant then and cut into Carmelita's flesh
Carmelita started crying, not only from physical pains she could feel through her numbness, but also because she saw the whole impact of her very likely imminent death now.
She would never marry Sly, she would never have children, she would never have a family of her own. And this thought hurt her much more than the knife that was pressing into her body.

The vixen was slowly falling unconscious, and it couldn't end up well if she did.
"I got it." Called Scratch triumphantly, holding the blood smeared projectile in his hand.
But as he realized that Carmelita had closed her eyes his mood changed.

"Sly! Get the stuff!" he roared.
Sly was taking way too long for just getting the stuff, where the hell was the raccoon? Hectically he looked around and couldn't believe what he saw. Sly stood close to him all the time and had just watched devastated how the love of his life was dying slowly, all because of him.

He fell to his knees, and the first aid kit fell to the ground too, making its contents spread on the ground.
"Goddammit, Sly!" Screamed Scratch obviously angered by this irrational behavior. "If you don't help me, you have her blood on your hands!"

Sly was crying, he was immersed in his own grief. Time stopped completely for him. Sly was looking at his dying girlfriend with a lost expression. The world had lost its sense for him. He felt cold, alone, and broken. His mind drifted off and started circling in deepest pessimism around the topic of death.

His father, his mother, Arpeggio, Neyla, Doctor M, hell, even Clockwerk. All of them, dead. He remembered the dream he had had last night. The gang was dead, and he was dancing while he was high with cocaine. Maybe that was what was what would happen after this.

Everyone that had any sort of link to him, would end up dead. His friends as well as his enemies.
The more he thought about that Sly realized that fate always seemed to mock of him.
How whenever he found something to cling on, death or, how he would rather call it, fate would find a way to snatch it from him.

He was a happy child once, and what did fate do? Took his parents away in a very sadistic way.
His life with Bentley and Murray was good, but what did fate do? Bentley got confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, Murray left the team for a long time, Penelope betrayed them and he almost got wiped out along with his family thanks to Le Paradox.

Now that finally everything was looking up, and that he thought that he could finally be happy, what did fate do? Strand him in the past for a long time, then send him this maniac and, as if all that wasn't bad enough, he was losing his one and only true love.

Scratch gritted his teeth seeing that. He really had no time for this self-loathing raccoon. He stood up and collected the things from the med-kit from the ground.
Deigning a last glance at Sly before Scratch fully concentrated on the wound. He knew what he had to do. First, stop the bleeding.

The dog took a powder out of the kit and poured her wound. The bleeding stopped after a minute, luckily. If Scratch estimated right she had lost almost too much blood. The next hours will show if she'd get through or not.

The only thing he had to do now was disinfect the wound and stitch her up.
Scratch spread the red disinfectant all over Carmelita's wounds and started at an impressive speed and skill to sew her up. As he cut the string of the needle he could finally sit back a bit more relaxed. The work was done, what would happen next was up to Carmelita's body.

But if one work was done another was already waiting. Sly still sat there staring at Carmelita with dead eyes.
"Hey, wake up!" Scratch meant flicking his fingers in front of his face and brought him out of his dark thoughts.
Sly blinked a few times, then he met his stare with Scratch's angry glare.

"Are you finally awake?" Growled the dog.
"No..." Sly said. "My whole life has been a nightmare from which I cannot wake up."
"Cry me a river." Meant Scratch rolling his eyes. "I need your help to get your girlfriend into the van"

"Why? She's going to die anyway, just like everything I love."
"If you let her lie here, then you're right. But right now it's still unsure if she will die. So help me."
"Hope is a waste of time, I'm being realistic." Sly said. "My parents died because I loved them, Carmelita is dying because I love her, and my pals will die because I love them… Everyone, and everything that I love will always die."

"Oh come on!" Meant Scratch angry. "It's really not the time to wallow in self-pity"
"Self-pity? I'm being realistic!" protested Sly.
"No you're just self-pitying yourself. If you were realistic you would help if a man who saw and caused thousands of wounds says that she has a realistic chance!"

"Fine... Have it your way. This is gonna be pointless, we will all die."
Together they dragged Carmelita to the van where a lot of confused eyes watched them
"What... what happened?" Murray asked.
"Fate, the same fate of everything I love, she'll die, and so will you, Bentley, Penelope and Jing."

"An accident." Scratch said, explaining Sly's confusing words. "Drive us to the hideout, fast."
"Accident? An accident? You are really that naïve?" Sly laughed bitterly. "There are no such a thing as accidents, just the inevitable."
"It was an accident Sly." Scratch sighed annoyedly. "Nothing more. Don't over-interpret that."
"Fate." Mumbled the raccoon again and again until it was Jing in the end who couldn't handle it anymore.

She just moved towards Sly and slapped him as hard as she could.
"Whoa..." Was the only thing Scratch could say seeing that. He had never seen that coming.
Sly fell to the ground, and so did his cane, but when he was going to grab it, Jing kicked it away.
"You are acting like a coward, like an idiot and that is a complete offense to your clan, Mr. Cooper. You do not deserve that cane."

Murray wanted to intervene by pulling her away. But Scratch kept him from that.
"Let her talk to him. Maybe she can get some sense into him. Just wait and see... or better drive. Carmelita is still hurt."

"What the hell do you mean?!" Sly barked angrily. "How dare you say that when you owe me your life, and when your dear father murdered my parents!"
Jing broke into tears, and this seemed to anger Murray, who jumped out of his van and slammed Sly against it.

"HEY EVERYBODY!" Screamed Scratch into all this madness. "Have you all forgotten that we have a wounded person in this van? First we get to the hideout, then we sort this shit out. GOT IT?!"
Murray nodded, then he threw Sly into the van, literally.

The hippo ignited the engine and hit the gas. Like a maniac he rushed through the dense traffic. He wasn't afraid that they were followed, mainly because their main pursuer laid wounded in the back of their van.

And as such, losing the cops that found them had been easier than say it.
Murray braked hard in front of the hideout what made Scratch curse furiously, mostly in languages he had never heard. The dog must have hit with his head something as he braked. But that didn't matter. Carmelita had higher priority.

Jing and Murray took Carmelita's unconscious body and got her out of the van.
Scratch and Sly followed them. When they entered the hideout, Bentley had an asthma fit as he saw Carmelita with a stitch above her heart.

"Before you ask, an accident." Explained Scratch fast
"What in the name of Albert Einstein happened?!" Bentley asked.
"As I said, an accident." Scratch said again. "Murray, Ms. King. Bring Carmelita into my room. She can have my bed"

Meanwhile Penelope saw that Sly was just looking at the ground, as if he was still lost in his thoughts.
She nudged Bentley with her elbow and pointed at Sly.
The turtle saw his life-long friend and his asthma fit suddenly vanished.
What was wrong with Sly that he sat there frustrated in the corner? That wasn't his usual behavior.

He wanted to know what was happening, but he knew that Carmelita's state had priority.
"Okay everyone." Scratch said and wiped away some sweat from his forehead with his blood covered hands, leaving a blood stain on it. "She is stable but not over the worst. If you want to do me and her a favor, we should get some blood of her blood type... Does somebody know her blood type?"

"A+, she shares my blood type." Sly said grimly.
"Then I need you as a donor. I also could need some antibiotics, just in case... But I think I patched her up quite well. This night decides if she survives or not. If she is still breathing when the sun rises she'll be safe." Scratch looked at the others. "We'll take shifts and watch for her vital signs."

"Whatever, let's do that." Sly said while he pulled out a white jar from his leg pouch. "Here, these are antibiotics."
"I don't dare to ask you why you're carrying them around with you... Now roll up your sleeve. Let's see if I'm still able to take blood without ripping the vein out."

Sly just snatched the needle from Scratch's hands and gave it to Penelope.
"You do it."
"Pah, well, why should we let the man do this who is experienced? Why if that's a complete idiocy? No, you better risk your life with an unexperienced girl." Said Scratch annoyed while he walked to the table and opened the wine.

"I'm also experienced in this, how did you think I didn't die after the ACES dogfights? I had to learn a few tricks to save my own life after every competition." Penelope said while she stuck the needle in Sly's arm.

Sly didn't feel the needle. His arm felt numb. Everything felt so numb for him right now.
"Don't take too much." Meant Scratch and took a big sip from the wine bottle. "I want him to be clear when the girl opens her eyes tomorrow."

Few moments later, Penelope had extracted at least a liter of Sly's blood, but he didn't feel anything. The Dutch mouse girl pulled out the needle from Sly's arm and gave him a cotton pad which was soaked in alcohol.

Sly put the cotton pad on the still open point in his arm, then he walked to Carmelita's unconscious body. He almost broke down seeing her there so vulnerable. Quickly he averted his gaze away from her. Holding back tears and walked to his room, feeling that a part of his heart had just been crushed.

"And I thought that this would be a nice and easy job." Scratch took another sip from his bottle and held it towards the others. "Somebody want some? Good one."
Penelope shook her head, as well as Bentley, then both couldn't help but feel sorry for Sly. They had once been in a situation like that one with Le Fwee, but even her kidnap wasn't compared to what Sly was feeling.

"Your decision." Scratch said, down on his chair and rubbed the ridge of his nose with the empty hand. "Guys... staring around doesn't get us further. We can just wait until tomorrow. Wait and hope that the time does what it should... healing wounds."

Nobody heard him, they were all staring at Carmelita. It was so unusual and heartbreaking seeing her in such a weak state. Her! The toughest woman they all knew. The woman that beat up villains and wrestled killers in a daily basis without any sort of hesitation nor any sign of fear. The woman that had chased them all around the globe at least thrice!

Penelope grabbed the bag of Sly's blood and attached an IV to it, then she stuck the IV to Carmelita's right arm, hoping that she would overcome that. She always wanted to get them but it was somehow ironic that in the end they had her. Penelope felt her pulse... it was there but so weak.
She turned around and walked back to the others.

Finally none of them, except for Scratch, could bare it anymore.
The gang started letting some tears run over their cheeks.
Only the bald head dog gazed at her with dry eyes.

The gang started leaving the room, all of them were shocked and saddened, because they all knew that if Carmelita didn't make it, Sly would never be the same again.