Fly Cooper
Chapter 10 Ultimate BetrayalI can't say how sorry I am for this unjust delay in my writing. But I have been working on an actual novel for close to a year now and suddenly my interest in it was rekindled. But that is no excuse. So here is chapter ten and to all who are still reading it I hope you forgive me.
When I awoke the next morning I half expected to see nothing but harsh dark concrete bricks and cell bars. So it was a pleasant, if not slightly unnerving surprise to wake up in my own bedroom. I stood up carefully, unsure if this was just a dream and any second I would wake up to the harsh reality that I'm just not that lucky or that good to have out witted my father.
Cautiously, after changing, I walked downstairs to the sound of light conversation and breakfast. My mum was sipping coffee from a mug and my dad seemed to be washing up dishes. I froze at the sight of him, all the fear I had felt last night when he had chased me was coming back on one big tidal wave of fright. I gulped and walked into the kitchen.
"You're awake." My mother said looking happy as usual. This whole thing was making my head spin; I'm going to get away with this!
My dad turned around, a bandage covering his nose. "Dad!" I said in genuine surprise. "What on earth happened to you?" Okay I knew that part but not his version.
"Your mother and I had to attend a party last night. There was a break in and a thief got away with all of Sir Monty Worthington's Faberge eggs. I chased him down but he got away. He kicked me in the face and broke my nose."
"Aww, I'm sorry." I apologised instantly, and then added: "That you didn't catch him and he broke your nose."
"It's okay, he was good though, used a lot of familiar gadgets." Dad added looking me square in the eyes.
Fear claimed me again. He knew! Of course he would know. I was using his gadgets! How could he possibly not know? Oh how could I be so stupid to think that I could have actually gotten away with this? Stupid! Stupid! Fly!
"Don't worry, we'll get him though. Even if he didn't leave any prints we'll track him down eventually." Mum said throwing down a newspaper in disgust. I tilted my head in confusion, she at least didn't know. Why hadn't dad told her?
The headline on the front of her newspaper read 'Thief escapes with million dollar eggs right under Interpol's nose'. No wonder she's pissed off.
I looked at my dad again but he had gone back to washing dishes. "I have to go to school." I told them before running out the door.
Shit! Crap! Swear word! More swear words! I'm screwed! I thought running as fast as I could. He knows and he's got something bad planned. Why else wouldn't he have told mum? In a way I understood, mum was pure cop, if she had been the one to catch me I would be in an interrogation cell right now. But dad... he was still, some part at least, thief. He had some plan storming away in his devious little raccoon brain.
I had to tell Bentley, he'll help me. Wait! If he knew it was me, knew I had his gadgets, his cane he would know I was working with his old friend. He could already have gone and planned something with the turtle, I'm sure his bonds with Sly overthrow ours. This could all be one big trap. One big set up. If only I knew what to do...
I stopped suddenly; I hadn't noticed how far I had run, where I had subconsciously gone. The safe house. I would just talk to Bentley, see what he thought and choose what I wanted to do from there. I opened the door, which was always unlocked, and strode into the main room. Bentley and his partner were sitting on the couch together watching the television report, all about the heist from last night.
"Bentley?" I asked uncertainly. They both looked at me. "I think we may need to talk."
"What's the matter?" Penelope asked getting up instantly and coming over to comfort me.
"It's my dad; I think he knows what I did last night. I'm almost certain of it and I'm... I'm scared. I don't know what to do next."
Bentley rolled over to me, he looked sympathetic but his words were not as calming as they could have been. "I wouldn't worry about it just now, just go to school and relax for a while." He said simply.
"Relax! How can I relax when I know that any second I could be hauled off to jail!" I shouted.
"Then go to the hazard room, practice a bit. Take your mind off what happened last night." He told me.
"You don't understand!-"
"I do Fly, you're stressed, I promise we won't let Sly take you to jail. But you need to trust us please."
I nodded, somehow that made sense, Penelope slowly lead me to the hazard room and started up the simulations.
*
Sly's POV
I watched Fly enter the building unopposed. And I waited, it felt... different but still second nature to me, waiting like this, crouched on top of a flag pole. Finally I simply couldn't hold it any longer and slid down and walked across the road to the same building.
I knocked and opened the door without any hassles. It was dim inside the building, all sunlight was cut out and only the bare minimum was used. I saw two shadows slowly emerge from the darkness and I couldn't help but feel a smile cross my face.
"Bentley! Penelope!" I said happily.
"Sly." They both responded with brief nods.
"So you've assumed why I'm here I guess." I told them dropping any unnecessary cheerfulness.
"I have two guesses. Neither of which I'm very comfortable with." Bentley said but he smiled back at me. He has barely changed in all these years. It's good to see.
"Do you really blame me?" I crossed the room with them and sat myself down. "I mean what other choices did I have? I couldn't tell Fly I'm a thief, or Carmelita that I remember being a thief. I don't know how she'd react."
"You didn't have to hide what you are from Fly." Penelope said not in a harsh tone but in a disapproving one.
"I couldn't tell her! 'Oh yeah Fly by the way, your old man was once a master thief. But you're not allowed to ride your bike without a helmet because it's against the law'. That would have been interesting."
"She's really good you know." Bentley told me rolling out of the room. I was hesitant for a while, and then followed.
He took me to some kind of observation room; there was a lot of activity going on down there and in amongst it all I saw Fly. I saw my little girl with saws, guns and fire traps all around her. And she was handling it better than I think I ever could have.
"She... is good." I managed to say in awe. "But it just won't work Bentley. Carmelita and I are cops. It was lucky that it was me who caught her last night and not Carm. Things would have turned out a lot differently."
"So what do you want to do?" Bentley asked looking me square in the eyes. "What do you want us to do?"
"I want her to forget. Forget everything, about meeting you, about who I am, about what she really is and what she... loves doing." It was breaking my heart to ask this of my friends. To ask this kind of thing to happen to my daughter. But it was necessary. For her safety, if nothing else.
"That's a tall order Sly. There's only one person I know who can do it and that I'd feel comfortable getting involved with." Bentley said.
"The Guru." I muttered, I was just watching Fly. She looked so happy, I had never really seen her so happy as she appeared to be right now. I shut my eyes and turned away, I would be taking all this away from her, the only thing she's ever felt like she belonged to, the only thing she's ever loved doing. And it would be all my doing. I looked at Bentley coldly. "Do it." I told him.
My friend looked to Penelope and nodded solemnly.
I have to thank "Jessica" for her bluntness and spurring me to complete this stage of the story. I promise I will finish the next chapter by my tomorrow. P.S that 'Sir Monty Worthington' thing always cracks me up.
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