It was Wednesday at 2:45 P.M. Sly and his gang were going over the heist once more. Sly was in a much better mood compared to how he was last Saturday. Even though his mind was still occupied with the same issues he had having for a while, he was able to handle it a little better. He did apologize to Bentley for his behavior but the turtle didn't fret much about it, he was just keeping a lookout for his Raccoon friend.
Sly and the gang didn't do much since Saturday, sure they went to stores and whatnot, Sly even got to pickpocket several times but they mostly stayed in Dimitri's apartment, more so not to attract attention. They were all in the living room, listening to Bentley prattle on excitedly.
"Ok you guys, this is what's gonna happen. Dimitri is of course our getaway driver and just in case something goes wrong, he'll be back up."
"Oh yeah Turtle-dude, you ain't gotta worry about nothing. I'm strapped!" Dimitri said proudly.
"Umm…good. Murray, you already know you're the muscle and the lookout. Try to help out Sly as much as you can buddy and if someone gets in the way, do what you do best!"
"The Murray will not let you guys down!" He said as he cracked his knuckles.
"I, Bentley, will be in the van giving updates and doing my best to disengage any security devices through my hack expertise."
"Last but not least, Sly. All you have to do is find an air vent and I'll lead you into the museum. Once you're finally in the main lobby, you either have to find the largest room or the storage room, it depends. I looked up some info about the sword; apparently it's going to be displayed Friday evening, so keep those places in mind. However, once you find the sword, don't walk in the room right away. Give me time to disarm the alarms and whatnot. But with that being said, there's always a small chance in which I may not be able to. So, if that happens, find another way around the security or destroy it yourself if you can."
"Right Bentley." Sly nodded.
"When you get your hands on the Sword, still be aware, we don't want you to trip off anything that went undetected. Then, find another air vent that will lead you out the museum and we'll be out there waiting for you."
"That's all good, Bentley." Sly said with a cool smile.
"Alrightly then. So we're ready you guys?" Bentley asked.
"Woo, Dimitri is always on the ball!" Dimitri exclaimed.
"Yeah, I'm pumped up." Murray flexed his muscles. "But can we get lunch first?"
Damien was at the playground near his building. He usually played basketball with Brandon at the court across the street but today they decided to hang out at the playground. They were hanging from the monkey bars. Shanice was swinging on the swings, laughing in glee. There were other kids having a good time also, some were on the merry-go-around, some jumped rope, there were even some kids gathered around freestyling (rapping).
"Yo Damien, look what I can do kid!" Brandon shouted. He pulled himself up onto the bars and swung back and forth by his legs, hanging upside down.
"Phhs, Brandon that's so lame. I can do that too." He sneered and performed the same trick as him.
"See Brandon." He said as he stuck his tongue at him.
"I did it first."
"Whatever man."
"Copycat."
"Fucking dummy."
"Y'all look so damn stupid." A voice interrupted.
The boys turned to see it was Shanice always trying to tease them.
"Aww, Shanice! Go play on the fucking swings and leave us alone." Damien snapped as he and Brandon pulled themselves up onto the monkey bars and then dropped down to the ground.
"Dang Damey, why you gotta be that way?" She asked with her hands on her hips. Damien walked up to her looking dead in her eyes.
"Girl, you had better leave me alone." The badger just pushed the meerkat out the way, nearly losing his balance. He forgot that she was taller than him. His bear friend giggled at the two.
"Don't be trying to get all up in my face little boy."
"Then leave me alone."
Suddenly, Shanice snatched his cap off and wore it.
"Uggh, why you always gotta steal my shit?" He angrily raised his voice at her as he tried to take it off her head.
"You gotta catch me first, Damey." She taunted him and with that she broke out sprinting.
"Uggh, she gets on my nerves." Damien cried and went after her.
Brandon just shook his head and watched the two running all over the playground. Some kids took noticed and laughed while other just merely glanced and went back to their activities. Shanice climbed up the playground set and things become even more difficult for Damien to catch up. Going over the wooden bridge, sliding down the pole, going down the slide, it was practically an obstacle course for him and not a fun one at that.
"Man, just give it back! This is how I got into trouble the last time!" Still chasing her.
"That was your fault, Damey. Look both ways before crossing the street, dummy. " She retorted and gave him a slick smile.
Finally, he was able to reach her and take his hat back. He was exhausted from all the running he was doing but he was glad to retrieve his hat.
"Stupid!" He shouted. Shanice just giggled.
"I had fun, Damey. Unfortunately, I have to go home. Bye."
"Stop calling me Damey!" But the badger was no longer within earshot to hear him. The meerkat went back to where his bear friend was, who just smiled.
"Brandon you idiot, I thought you were my friend. You let her embarrass me again." He went back to climbing the monkey bars.
"Yo kid, whatever you got between you and her got nothing to do with me." The bear simply stated as he leaned back on the poles.
"Ain't nothing going on between me and that stupid girl!" The meerkat spat back.
"Damn man calm down."
"Yo what's up little homies?" They heard a low, rough voice call out.
The two boys turned to see who it was and they immediately gave the person their undivided attention. He wore dark sunglasses, black leather jacket, jeans, and boots. They were a little scared by the mysterious stranger.
"Hey it's me." He said as he took his glasses off.
"Silas?" The two kids said in unison.
"The one and only. Now give me a hug." The Jackal said cheerfully. Damien got off the monkey bars and him and Brandon both hugged him.
"Yo Silas, how you been man?" Brandon asked.
"I've been ok. How's your mom Brandon?"
"Good."
"What about you little Dame? How's your grandmother?"
"She's fine man. Ay man, where you been? We haven't seen you in a while."
The three of them walked together for a bit and sat on a bench on the other side of the playground. Silas was a friend of Damien's father and an acquaintance of Brandon's mother. He looked out for Damien's family since his father was no longer around. Damien was just really glad to see him, especially since he hasn't seen him since the summer.
"Yeah, I had to handle some business in California, but I'm gonna be here for a while little man. Maybe I'll take ya'll to Coney Island." The Jackal tousled the meerkat's dreads.
"That'll be cool. But man, I'm just glad you're here."
They talked for a while. Silas asked them about school and what was going on in the neighborhood, then onto the subject of movies and video games. A thought came to Brandon's mind.
"Hey Silas, look what me and Damien can do on the monkey bars!"
The two boys ran over to the monkey bars with Silas following them but stopped when he noticed a beige Cadillac rode up, with the window down, with someone aiming a gun at him. He fearlessly pulled out his own gun…
Sly and the gang were in Yonkers, wasting some time until they proceed with their heist later on in the evening. It was around 4:30 P.M. and everyone was in Dimitri's black SUV, just riding around and finishing the rest of their meal.
"The Murray was so hungry, I thought I was gonna pass out." Murray said as he bit into his cheeseburger.
"Murray, you're always hungry." Bentley noted.
"Yeah I am." And everyone laughed.
They rode down the street, looking at the urban area, it wasn't as bad as Dimitri's area but nonetheless, it was obviously a Public Housing area.
"Yo Cracker-box and friends, is this where y'all lived at?"
"We didn't live in this exact area but it wasn't far from here." Sly responded. They continued their ride for a while until Sly motioned Dimitri to stop the car.
"Hey Cracker-box, what's up?" Dimitri was a little surprised as well as Bentley and Murray.
Sly noticed a playground full of kids, having fun and wrapped up in their own world. He rolled his window down to have a better look. He remembered this playground very well, He and his friends used to come and play here from time to time when they were kids. A wave of nostalgia rushed through his mind.
"I remember this playground. I see not much has changed." Murray looked on.
"Definitely." Was all Bentley said and drank his soda.
"I see the little kiddies are having a bomb-diggity blast." Dimitri commented.
"Yeah, I'm gonna go and play. Who wants to join me?"
"Sly are you serious?" Bentley cocked his eye at the Raccoon.
Murray simply laughed. "You're a grown man. Those kids will look at you crazy."
"Yo, you can go somewhere with all that kiddy shit." The Iguana crossed his arms.
"Come on you guys you know I'm a kid at heart. Where's the harm in having a little fun?" Sly asked in a child-like manner as he opened the car door.
Bentley was about to answer until he saw a suspicious looking beige Cadillac driving down the street and started spraying bullets. Sly's heart dropped as he heard the sounds of gunfire roaring in the air, he quickly closed the door.
"GET DOWN!" Sly yelled.
The four of them bent over in their seats, hoping to not get hit. They continued to hear more gunshots ranging out, and the sounds of children screaming in panic. Sly, although he wasn't a very religious man, prayed that no child was harmed. He dared not to look up as much as he wanted to.
The Cadillac sped off down the street. Sly got a good look at the car and managed to get the license plate number, committing it to his memory. He jumped out the car and ran over to the playground.
"I'm gonna check to make sure no one got hurt."
"Me too." Murray followed and the two split up.
The whole playground was eerily empty and silent; it made Sly shiver in uncertain fear.
Then he stumbled over something he dreaded the most. He saw a Jackal lying on the ground with a gun in his hand. Sly concluded that he was the target. He had several bullets embedded in his arms, chest, and legs. Crimson red blood gushed out of him uncontrollably. Sly checked the Jackal's pulse on his neck and his body flushed in a horrifying realization that the Jackal was dead. It nearly sent him over the edge when flashbacks of his parents' corpses appeared in his mind. He stared off into space for a moment's time until Murray called out.
"Sly! Sly! Come quick!" He belted from the other side.
Sly ran over to Murray and saw him trying to coax someone out from under the playground set, he heard fits of sobbing.
"Come here kid, we won't hurt you, please come out." Sly gently reassured whoever was under there. A little brown furry hand appeared and out crawl a terrified bear child, still crying.
"It's ok." Sly said as he reached for the little bear and picked him up. He examined him to make sure he was ok, he was clearly shaken but unharmed. Sly was relieved until the boy told him what he feared the most.
"M-m-my friend-d-d is under t-t-there, h-h-he g-got shot!" The child shrieked, stumbling over his words.
Sly gave Murray the frightened child, bent down and found a young meerkat child, who appeared to be unconscious, with two bullet wounds, one in his leg and another in his arm. He was also bleeding from his head, probably due to hitting his head, he must have fell or something. He grabbed the child and checked his pulse.
"He's alive!" He exclaimed and looked down at the young meerkat, rubbing his face.
"It's gonna be ok, little one." He whispered, the child grunted in pain but was still unconscious.
"Murray let me hold the other kid, I'm taking them to the car."
Then he cautiously whispered in the Hippo's ear, so the little bear wouldn't hear.
"There's a dead body over on the other side, I need you to go get him and put his body in trunk."
Murray wearily nodded and went over to get the body. Sly was nearing the SUV with the two kids in his arms. He let the bear sit in the backseat, who was still in shock and in tears, but Bentley coddled the child. Sly got into the passenger's side with the meerkat kid.
"Whoa! Cracker-box what the fuck happened, homie?!" Dimitri shouted as he saw the little meerkat in the Raccoon's hands.
"Open the trunk, Dimitri." He said grimly. "I don't have time to explain right now, we need to get this kid to the hospital." Something dawned on him and he swiftly ripped off pieces of cloth and wrapped it around the kid's arm and leg, to stop the bleeding, then wiped the blood from his head.
Murray picked up the body with ease and put it in the trunk. Before he slammed it shut, he just looked at the lifeless Jackal. He was becoming overwhelmed with sadness and sympathy but he composed himself and shut the trunk and hopped into the SUV.
"Step on it Dimitri." Sly stated unemotionally. Dimitri nodded, and they drove off speeding down the rode.
"Bentley, I need you to look up some information on that Cadillac. The license plate number is 932 H56J."
"No problem, Sly." Bentley whipped out his laptop and typed away.
The bear child was still shaking and Murray noticed this and patted the boy's shoulder.
"It's gonna be alright kid, your friend is gonna be ok." He soothed the bear child.
"Yeah, it's gonna be ok, don't worry." Sly added as he looked down at the poor little meerkat cradled in his arms, the child was barely breathing. He had to be no older than eight or nine.
"As soon as I find those fucking bastards that did this, they're gonna pay!" He mused in fury.
A/N: Oh dear, a lot of things just happened and now the gang has to race to the hospital to save Damien, so much for their heist. Stay tuned. Thanks for reading!
