Murray and Tennessee were hanging about on the rooftops near the sheriff's office, waiting for him to pass by on his rounds. "Shouldn't be long now pal." Tennessee uttered, seeing the hippo starting to squirm out of boredom. They had been sitting around out in the desert sun for over an hour. "I sure hope so. Any longer and I'll get a nasty sunburn!" Murray joked, rubbing his arms a bit. The two sat quietly for a few more minutes until the ringtail spotted their target. "Hey! Here he comes! Hurry and let Bentley know!" Murray fiddled quickly with his earpiece, sputtering his words out. "We see him Bentley! He's passing us now!" The other end of the radio crackled a little and Bentley's voice could be heard. "Roger that Murray. I'll intercept and start tailing him when he gets around the next turn."

Bentley poked his head around the corner of the crate he was taking cover behind. "I just have to stay out of sight...Hopefully this disguise works!" He smiled lightly while twirling the ends of a large puffy fake mustache. A static sigh flowed over his earpiece, Sly clearly not impressed. "Be ready you guys. Toothpick is on the move!" Sure enough the armadillo twirled his gun dangerously as he sauntered by, humming loudly to himself. He seemed to have no idea that he was being watched. His footsteps were rather loud, but his singing was louder as he wandered about aimlessly. Toothpick stopped every now and then, on occasion taking a detour to give the closest unlucky guard some grief. Bentley sighed, "Toothpick sure likes to brag to those poor guards." Sly chuckled over the radio, making a small smart comment about it. Bentley shushed Sly as Toothpick turned and started off in the opposite direction. "Sly, make sure everything is ready. No telling how quickly we'll get there." Bentley's voice was quiet, up until he caught his wheelchair on a rock, nearly rolling into plain sight because of it. He scrambled to move back and just barely made it in time as Toothpick halted and turned in the direction of the noise, but dismissed it quickly. "Guess I have to be a bit more careful this time around."

The rest of Bentley's tailing went on rather uneventfully, aside from a near mustache related catastrophe. Toothpick had lead Bentley around town a for a time until they ended up at the enclosed bridge used to move cargo across the river that split the town off from the outskirts. Bentley could make out what looked like a sectioned off area just over the riverside, wooden platforms leading up to various entrances, or what probably used to be. They look like they've been boarded up for a long time now. Situated in the center of the area was a huge door, looking to be made of a polished metal. Not something common for a simple abandoned mine. "Guys do you read me? I think I've found it. Just across the river transport tunnel. Looks like it's lightly guarded. Tennessee and Murray, be ready for my cue." Bentley rolled in a little closer, watching Toothpick walk up to a terminal and began typing while talking to himself cheerfully. After a second or two, a small corner of the massive door opened, just big enough for the sheriff to waltz through. Once the door slammed shut, Bentley went to work, rolling himself to the machine quickly and typing with ease, cracking through the first few barriers without trouble. That was until he heard the unpleasant scuttle that seeped through the air around him. Like something big moving very fast about below the wood platforms. He brushed the thought off as just some of the local pests giving him a case of the jumps and turned back to the terminal. "Alright, time to open up a can of hack...Agh!" Bentley about flew out of his shell at the size of the scorpion that had stuck up right behind him, claws and barbed tail poised to strike.

Tennessee had barely heard the first yell before he was on his feet, half dragging Murray along behind him. Bentley was still yelling through the static, apparently having retreated into his shell in hopes of defending himself until help arrived. Thankfully they were stationed close enough to be quick about getting there. The train that ran through the area however, was just as quick as it shook the tracks, alerting the duo of it's oncoming. Tennessee jumped onto the tracks, trying to move closer before the train cut them off. It worked but even the ringtail admitted that it was a close call when the train skimmed the very ends of his tail fur while he turned to see Murray stumble over the tracks in time. "This way!" Tennessee called behind him, running ahead without thinking. That was short lived however when he nearly ran into the backside of a unnaturally large scorpion. "No way! Murray friend, you're gonna have to handle this one. No way I'm getting close to those things! Not without my gun!" He scrambled backwards, getting himself as far away from the bugs as possible. This landed him behind the guard gun that was stationed just at the entrance. "Guys! Help!" Bentley yelled, daring a peek out to see how bad things were looking. A stinger flew just overhead, telling him simply that it wasn't pretty. "Don't worry Bentley! I've got the bug spray right here!" Murray yelled, hoisting himself up onto the old gun, taking aim at the bugs that now littered the grounds. He took aim, taking out the ones around Bentley, making sure not to hit his friend. Tennessee made sure to stay out of the way but couldn't help a shudder as he watched one of the monsters claw it's way out of the boarded entry.

It wasn't long before the few remaining bugs scurried back into their hiding paces, getting the picture after their companions fell. Bentley, hearing the sounds retreating, risked a peek from his shell. Noticing the lack of things trying to attack him, he corrected himself in his seat and waved appreciatively at his friends before tackling the machine again. Murray and Tennessee made their way over, glad they made it in time. As they stepped up the last platform, Bentley turned to them, a look of pride on his features. "Security, thy game is hacked!" Murray moved over to the massive door, Tennessee right behind him. "The locks are disabled Murray, so you should be able to lift it up. Just enough for Tennessee to sneak through should be good." Bentley nodded as Murray began to lift the door. "Awesome Murray! Alright, Tennessee, you're up." The ringtail looked between the now open door and Bentley before chuckling. "Shoot. I'll be in and out faster than a hyperactive rattlesnake!" He made a snake motion with his arm as if to demonstrate his point. "Hey guys...This door is kinda heavy." Murray huffed out, watching Tennessee duck down and tumble under the open door, his hat dropping behind him. Murray's grip on the door was slipping, as he started to move to drop the door. He stopped short for a second when he saw an arm reach under the door and snag the hat with ease before retreating back into the dark, the door slamming just as it cleared the area. Bentley looked from where the hand had been, over to Murray. "It's up to him now."

Writer's Comments:

I am unbelievably sorry that this took so long to post. Something about that part of the game just didn't appeal to me to write it into the story. It was really quite a challenge to keep motivated. But thankfully the next part is one of my favorites and I'm excited to start. I also have good news for the patient readers! In two chapters, the first of the mxm will begin.

Also, on an different note, what other kinds of stories would my beloved readers be interested in? Seeing that 2 of my 3 current stories are approaching their ends. Any suggestions are welcome via pm~

As usual, reviews are always welcome! Tell me what you like and what you want more of!