Hello everyone! I'm sorry it took me so long to update. Work ended up being a lot busier than I thought it would be and before I knew it school started and I was working full time and going to school full time at the same time. I'm now done with work. They gave me a couple extra weeks into the school year to work but I got done last week. I've been sitting on this mostly-written chapter for a month or so now (has it been that long?) My internet at home is terrible so part of the reason I didn't update sooner is because I didn't feel like fighting with the internet so I could get the video of one of Bentley's lectures.
That being said, I know a lot of readers were waiting for the next chapter so I'll get through my usual thanks and honorable mentions and we'll be on with the show.
Thank you for following: Yoru no Sora
Thank you for favoriting: hrodenhaver
Spartan10007 - Yeah, Australia is finally over and we're headed to Holland. I think it will be fun to see how Maya reacts to a new female gang member when we're done with Holland and there will finally be some new developments with Maya again.
ThisIsHope - I know right? (I just realized that response works for both of your reviews. Lol.)
XxWolfMan95xX - Thanks. I hope I can keep the rest of the story that interesting. Sorry it took me so long to update.
AmberEyes007 - I enjoy interacting with my readers. There are a lot of changes coming up in Maya. I also am looking forward to her future interactions with Penelope as well.
Andilite - I'm glad you liked it.
Without further ado, to the chapter!
We returned to our Paris safe house with our newest member in tow. The Guru had seemed weary about riding a plane at first, but soon Murray had talked him into it and before we knew it, we were back home.
Shortly after our arrival, Bentley began to pour over the blueprints to the Cooper Vault. While the rest of us were settling back in and winding down for a bit, Bentley was working himself to the bone trying to devise a plan to get the Gang safely into and out of the vault. I became quickly concerned about him because for days on end he went without sleeping or eating. Each night I would bring him a new plate and take his old, uneaten food away. Even though I wanted to help, I knew that there was no way to stop him once he started something like this and that it would have to work itself out with time.
Lucky for us, time was only a few days. He finally came to the conclusion that without a dedicated RC specialist the gang couldn't get into the vault. This realization seemed to bring him out of his funk and he seemed to return to the Bentley we all loved as he spent each day and night searching techie chat rooms to find a specialist who would far exceed his skill and knowledge with RC equipment. During the weeks that he searched online for someone who could keep up with him, I started my official training with the Guru.
"Form lightning in your hand" he ordered me, and I held out my hand with confidence but as soon as the first sparks began to form on my palm I felt hesitation and fear that I couldn't control it and it would hurt me or worse it would hurt someone else. Before I could get too far, a small purple hand came up and slapped my hand down. I looked down to see the chiding eyes of the Guru.
"I'm sorry" I said. "I'm worried that it might hurt someone."
"It is a part of you" he spoke calmly. "It is like your tail. Do you fear your tail when it moves behind you and you did not expect it to?"
"No" I answered, not seeing the point.
"Think of it as your tail. You may not think about controlling it all the time, but when you do it is a part of your body under your command" he explained.
"My tail can't kill anyone if I lose control of it" I argued.
"Have you ever lost control of your tail?" he asked.
"No" I replied once again.
"You haven't because it is a part of you. You control it when you are thinking about it and when you are not thinking about it some part of your mind still controls it. When you are not thinking about your power you do not lose control of it. When you are not thinking about your power no one is harmed because some part of your mind still controls it. You must lose your fear of it because it has been under your control all along" he said.
His words struck a chord with me. After all, he was right. Just because I stopped thinking about my power for a while didn't mean it wasn't there. Something had to be controlling it when I wasn't making a conscious effort to do so.
"Okay, I'll try again" I said with a nod, feeling more confident about trying this time. During all these weeks this was the first progress we'd made.
As I held my hand out to try again, Sly burst into the room. "Bentley possibly found us a specialist" he said, completely unaware that he'd interrupted something. "Her name is Penelope and if we can beat her boss, the Black Baron, in his Aces dogfighting competition she'll join us."
I put my hand down. "Dogfighting as in planes?" I asked, confused. "But none of you are pilots. You're telling me you're going to learn to fly a plane basically overnight?"
"Way ahead of you" he said as he held out a piloting license. On it was the name Jose Ortiz.
"You're not serious" I gaped.
"I'm dead serious" Sly said with a grin.
"And soon you'll just be dead" I replied with a shake of my head. "Having the license doesn't automatically mean you know how to fly a plane."
"I know that" he pouted. "But I had an ancestor who flew."
"And that means you can fly too" I said sarcastically. I was not happy with the idea of Sly jumping in a plane and flying off to get shot at. Speaking of which… "Do we even have a plane?"
"Bentley and Murray are building one right now" he answered.
"Sly Cooper, of all the harebrained, idiotic, ridiculous ideas this gang has had… this takes the stupid cake" I replied. "But I already know nothing I say will stop you."
"We need this RC specialist to join us and this was her offer. We have to prove that we're not just a group of jokers. I have to win and I'll do whatever it takes" he said. I could see the earnestness in his eyes. He really wanted to do this even though it was dangerous and stupid.
I turned my gaze away from his childishly persistent face and said "When are we leaving and where are we going?"
"We're going to Holland and we should be ready to get going by the end of the week" he replied.
"It's Monday" I stated.
"I know" he said with a chuckle.
"You're going to get real piloting lessons" I deadpanned as I looked straight into his eyes.
"What?" he asked, his childish glee was gone.
"You heard me. You're going to get some actual piloting lessons. I don't care if I have to pay for them" I said.
"But Maya…" he started.
"No buts" I cut him off. "As far as I know, you've never flown before and now you want to hop in a plane and go into a dogfighting competition. People will be shooting at you and if it's your first time ever flying you're going to die." With that final thought I started out of the room to grab a phonebook and look for a piloting school nearby.
"You have no faith in me" Sly said as he followed behind me.
"I have no faith in you when you're in a plane getting shot at" I corrected him. I found a couple of different schools in the phonebook. They were pretty far away from the safe house but if it meant Sly wouldn't die in midair it was worth it. I picked up the phone, despite Sly's protests, and started dialing.
It seemed like the rest of the week flew by. I had enrolled Sly in lessons with an instructor in Paris and from what I'd heard each night he was doing well. Now that we were almost ready to leave, the plan was that Sly would fly the plane to Holland and we would catch a train first to Rotterdam and then public transport to Kinderdjik where the competition was taking place. We were setting out ahead of Sly so that we would get there at roughly the same time that Sly arrived in the plane.
"Be safe" I said to Sly as we were exiting the safe house.
"Of course" he replied. "The flight lessons really helped. I think I'll get to Holland in one piece."
"You'd better" I nodded. He smiled and gave me a quick peck on the lips.
"Get going. Bentley looks like he might explode if you miss the train" Sly said and I looked back to see a very impatient turtle staring me down. I nodded and hugged him before grabbing my luggage and heading over to Bentley and Murray, who practically dragged me out of the safe house because Bentley was convinced we were going to be late.
We arrived an hour ahead of Sly, which gave us the chance to get our hotel room set up and prepare the bunker for Sly's arrival. Bentley went out and bought each of us a "disguise" or in other words jackets and hats that made us all look like pilots. As soon as we began exploring the grounds, it became very clear that we were sorely outnumbered. Some teams brought as many as thirty planes and pilots. The Black Baron himself seemed to have an endless supply of planes and individuals willing to fly for his team. It was pretty clear that even with Sly's flying lessons and Murray's ability to build a plane, we were going to have to cheat.
Sly finally arrived and we taxied our plane into our hangar where Murray set to work making sure that the plane had functioned properly on its first flight. It was the first time I'd seen the completed plane and my first thought was that it somehow managed to look cute and cool at the same time. Now that we were at the competition, Murray set to work outfitting the plane with guns and Sly, Bentley, and I set to work on a plan to make sure that Sly wouldn't go down in flames and we would win the competition.
Back at the hotel room, Sly changed into his disguise which was a ridiculous hat and a green flight jacket. As he left the room to go scout out the hotel, I glared at Bentley.
"Green is a terrible color on Sly" I stated.
"It was the only one in his size" Bentley said.
"I highly doubt that" I replied.
"What's going on?" I heard Sly ask over the com, interrupting our little scrape.
"Nothing… nothing" Bentley said, a bit surprised by Sly. "If we're going to succeed in this year's ACEs competition, we'll need to learn who we're flying against."
"What, they keep the flight roster a secret?" Sly asked.
"Correct" Bentley answered. "In years past, competitors would go out at night and sabotage each other's planes in preparation for the next day's dogfight."
"I get it" Sly said. "So now they keep the lineup a secret so no one knows who to mess with."
"Precisely" Bentley said. "Look Sly, you're a good pilot but we've only got one plane… and you'll be up there against dozens of bogeys."
"You know, normally I'd make some sarcastic remark about how 'overwhelmed I am by your confidence in me' but those are some grim odds… and well, you know, I'm always up for some sabotage" Sly replied. Finally he was getting the point I was making back in Paris.
"Glad to hear it" Bentley said. "Now the roster is kept secret from the pilots, but not from the event staff."
"Do we have a mole on the inside?" Sly asked. I was curious, too.
"Our 'friend' Dimitri has been hired to give color commentary during the dogfights. He'll know where the roster's hidden. Scout him out somewhere in the hotel lobby, but be careful… if you start a fight with the other pilots we'll be kicked out of the competition" Bentley explained.
"Sure, we all play nice until tomorrow and then we blow each other to bits at 300 feet" Sly joked as he turned off his Binocucom.
"Why did it have to be Dimitri?" I asked with a shake of my head. "When we were both in the Klaww Gang I wanted nothing more than to kill that lizard. Now it's like we can't get away from him."
"He's been useful so far" Bentley said.
"Yeah" Murray finally cut in. "He came and found me to tell me that you guys were in town back in Venice."
"Neither of you had to practically live with him" I replied.
"True" Bentley stated with a nod.
"Here comes big cheese" we heard Dimitri say on the other end of the com.
A very pompous sounding man welcomed everyone in his gruff voice. I figured that he could only be the Black Baron himself. He started to announce some of the competing teams including one that he called the runner up: Team Muggshot. This team seemed to have a loud-mouthed representative who was shouting about filling the other pilots full of holes.
"Muggshot's here. That can only mean trouble" Bentley said.
"What do you mean?" I asked, but I was silenced by a wave from Bentley.
The Baron continued after the loudmouth stopped talking about how in the past there had been many, as he called them, "late night hi-jinx." Other pilots chimed in about the different things that had been done until the Baron cut them off, saying that if anyone went outside after dark his guards would beat them within an inch of their life. He said that this would be a fair competition but it didn't sound like the pilots in the lobby believed him.
"Guys" Sly said over the com. "We're gonna owe Dimitri one for telling us this. The roster is in the Black Baron's hangar behind one of his paintings."
"An art decryption lock" Bentley said. "Should be easy enough if you can get me into the hangar. I believe the castle has a drawbridge and the switch for the bridge should be on top of the castle. Sly, you're a strong climber. If you can get to the top and lower the drawbridge, I'll be able to get inside the hangar and to that art decryption lock. The front door to the hotel lobby should be open. This isn't a jail. Just be careful outside."
"I'm on it" Sly replied.
"I'm going to head out to meet him" Bentley said.
"Be careful out there" I told him as he headed out the door.
"What should we do?" Murray asked me.
"You should tell me about this Muggshot character" I replied.
"Well, Sly really knows more about what happened then I do" Murray said. "See, back then Bentley and I rarely got out into the field."
"I'll ask Sly about the details later. But how do you know him?" I asked.
"Oh, that's easy" Murray said, becoming cheerful because he could answer my question. "He was a member of the Fiendish Five, Clockwerk's gang, and Sly faced off with him in Mesa City in the United States for the piece of the Thievius Raccoonus that he had."
"That's right. You guys faced off with Clockwerk's gang long before you faced ours" I said thoughtfully. "I suppose everyone has at least one skeleton in their closet."
"Sorry I don't know much else" Murray said. "Back then I really only drove the van…" At his own mention of the van he started to look depressed. I wracked my brain for a way to distract him.
"Hey, let's not think about the van" I said as I laid a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't we… go get some food?" Perfect. We hadn't eaten since this morning anyway.
It was like night and day as he immediately brightened up at the mention of food. "Yeah. We can bring some back for when Sly and Bentley get back, too!" he said.
"That's the spirit" I smiled as I went into Bentley's pile of things. "Now where did he put our disguises?"
Murray's jacket was the same blue as his shirt. Bentley had gotten me a deep purple jacket and some khaki pants. I had to admit that Bentley's taste in women's clothes wasn't too bad. It was almost certain that back in Canada the reason that I liked my winter clothes so much was probably because he picked them out. The Guru politely and quietly declined our invitation before we headed out to the hotel lobby and found a restaurant.
Somehow, Murray managed to find pizza on the hotel menu. While I ordered a more traditional dish that I couldn't pronounce that consisted of fried sea fish, Murray ordered a variety of five pizzas. I just shook my head as we waited for our food. We were in a new country, or at least I was, and instead of trying something new the boys were going to eat pizza like they always did. When our food finally arrived, mine came in a fancy covered dish while Murray got a stack of boxes. He could just barely see over it and I had to help him get up the stairs without falling and open the door for him. We shifted the room around and moved Bentley's equipment so we could actually use the table to eat. It was about the same time that Sly and Bentley returned to the room.
"Good, there's food" Sly said as he took off his pilot's coat. Once he straightened himself out, he dove into the pizza like a starving man.
"It's not going to disappear, Sly" I said as I took a bite of my fish.
"You're not sharing with Murray" he pointed out through a mouth full of food.
"But there are five pizzas" I argued.
"And Murray's a hippo" he replied.
"True" I said as I looked over at Murray to find that he'd already finished a pizza. I simply shook my head and took another bite of my fish. It was actually quite good. For fried ocean fish it didn't have that fishy taste that some fish got when it wasn't cooked quite right. Bentley pulled up a chair at the table and proceeded to pull out his laptop while Sly handed him some pizza. He stuffed the slice of pizza in his mouth and pulled out his projector. Once he finished his slice and got his equipment set up he turned to us and grabbed another piece of pizza.
"Let's get down to business" Bentley said as he started up his slideshow. "Okay, according to the ACES flight line-up, we'll be flying against Team Iceland and Team Belgium in tomorrow's semi-final round. As you're all aware, we've only got a single plane while our opponents will be flying fifteen a piece. You got that guys? That's thirty-to-one odds against us." He paused to take a bite of his pizza and let us mull over the odds. "In order to give us a fighting chance, we'll need to pit these two teams against each other. First, Murray and Sly will paddle through the sewers beneath town to get access to an air vent leading into Team Iceland's hotel room. Steal one of their trademark Viking helmets then head over to Team Belgium's hangar. Vandalize one of their aircraft then plant the helmet in order to frame Team Iceland for the damage. Next, Murray and I will steal one of Team Belgium's monogrammed handkerchiefs. Meanwhile the Guru will break into the Team Iceland supply truck carrying their lucky ice sculpture. Sly will steal the art and then place the handkerchief insinuating Team Belgium for the crime. Get it? We frame both teams so they'll be gunning for each other and not Sly in the semi-finals. All the while I'll be setting up defenses around the Team Cooper air hangar. You never know when one of the other teams might come looking to do us some harm."
"Why don't I get the handkerchief while you and Murray start early on the defenses?" I suggested.
"How would you get a handkerchief?" Bentley asked me. "These Team Belgium guys are uptight and it won't be easy to steal from them."
"So I won't steal it" I replied with a grin.
"How do you plan on getting a handkerchief if you're not going to steal it?" Bentley shot back.
"If you think the only way to get a handkerchief is to steal it, then you're being a bit narrow-minded" I said. "Let's just say a girl has her ways. These guys are uptight but it doesn't mean they're heartless."
"Okay, then" Bentley nodded. "In that case there's a change of plans. Maya will get the handkerchief and I'll head to the hangar right away to get started on the defenses. Murray when you're done with Sly in the sewers head straight down to the hangar and back me up while I'm working."
"We'll head out once we're done eating" Sly concluded. It was going to be an interesting night.