A/N & Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the characters that are affiliated with Sucker Punch Productions (2002-05), Nihilistic Software (2011), and/or Sanzaru Games (2012-Present). I do however, own their products and highly recommend to those who don't, to please support the creators of the franchise. The portrayal of their characters in this fan fiction is just that, of fiction; they do not in any way reflect the "actual-true fictional storyline" created by the *stated above* developers of the Sly Cooper franchise.
To timexgone23, NinjaxSketcheartx, cheesebread222, case mckinley, Cooptown, and Theivius Authorius – Thank you all for leaving a review on my previous chapter, albeit it has been over 2 months since I last posted something on this website, for that, I do apologize. I have been busy with school – graduating in the summer along with applying to the English Ph.D. program in the fall, and finals just around the corner – family emergencies, work, and most recently, my girlfriend and I broke up, we haven't spoken to one another for over a month. So no happy fun times on my end.
So as you can tell, it's been a stressful couple of months and I didn't have time or the focus to sit down and type out the next chapter. But they're mere excuses and I'll try to not use them as a crutch that'll impede my progress with the stories I've come up with. I'm just as interested to see how my stories will play out and how they'll end, so even though there might be a period gap in between releases, I do intend to finish Sly as a Fox.
Please continue to leave reviews and personal messages as you see fit. I'll try to respond to them in a timely manner. Anyway with all that said and done, here is chapter 14 of Sly as a Fox.
Chapter Fourteen: Star Struck
"I should turn him in. That's the right thing to do, just hand in that lying-no-good, dirty Raccoon to Interpol, and let the law have its way with him." Carmelita fumed as she paced back and forth. "I should… But I can't!" she growled. That blasted ringtail was right. She didn't have any evidence to connect Sly and his gang to the crime, and she couldn't even arrest him for prior charges. Sly was still registered as an agent of Interpol, and having a fellow agent arrested would create uproar, something that she and Barkley typically would want to avoid. Cornered and unsure of what to do, she let out a frustrated guttural yell, and kicked over a chair.
"Uh, is this a bad time?" A voice called from the entryway.
Carmelita glanced over and was surprised to see who it was. "You… what are you doing here?"
"Well that's a fine, 'how-do-you-do.' Is that how you treat those who helped you out?"
"This is out of your pay grade inspector Fox; you're not authorized to—"
"Please, call me Tony. Or else it'll get confusing for the both of us."
"Fine 'Tony,' as I was saying… This is out of your jurisdiction. What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing. It's unusual to find a beautiful vixen like yourself hold up in such a..." he streaked a finger on the door frame, and looked at the dust that attached itself to him before wiping it on his jeans, "cozy place."
Carmelita narrowed her eyes, "You're avoiding the question, as a superior officer, I order you to answer it. If you do not, I will write you up for insubordination. Now, I won't ask you again. Why. Are. You. Here?"
Tony looked as if he had another smart retort but decided against it. "I am under orders to observe you."
"What?" She asked incredulously.
"Yes ma'am, direct orders. I was pulled from my duties as an active field agent, to assist you in any way I can, and to keep an eye on you."
Carmelita couldn't believe what she was hearing, she splayed her hands on top of the table in front of her, and she hung her head, "Under whose orders?"
"Why the big honcho himself of course. Chief Barkley." An irritating smile danced across Tony's lips, "And if I'm not mistaken, I think he outranks you, so I'd think twice about writing up that report if I were you."
Everything around her started to spin, "This can't be happening…" She looked up at him, "Why?"
"You ask 'why', but I'm not sure of it myself. Maybe it's because you've been at this for so long that he felt that you needed a young, ruggedly handsome, intelligent, action-oriented male to get your head back in the game?"
"Not that! Why you? Why is it you that Barkley assigned?" She screamed.
Tony's shoulders sagged and let out a long sigh, "It's because he's worried about you."
"What?"
"It's because he's worried about you." He repeated. "Chief Barkley assigned me to look after you. He felt that you might've been overwhelmed by your emotions while being on this case, and…" Tony walked over to pick up the chair that Carmelita had knocked over, and replaced it to its rightful place, "it would seem his worries were well-founded."
"That still doesn't explain why he chose you. Guthrie, Winthorp… even Lieutenant Gronk would have—"
"Yes, I had inquired about that also. But he told me that because they were close to you, they would choose to deny any of your questionable outbursts in their reports at the end of the mission. So, he instructed me to give an unbiased assessment of your behavior."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning, that if I 'assess' that you are unable to maintain the ability to act as a proper agent of Interpol… I have the authority to remove you from this case."
A long silence passed between them.
"And?" Carmelita asked in a hushed whisper. "What is your assessment of my current abilities as an agent of Interpol?"
"It's hard to say. I mean, it's incredible that you're so level headed being in the same room as a poltergeist. That chair was knocked over on its own." Tony smiled.
Carmelita couldn't help but laugh, "You're ridiculous, you know that?"
"Yeah, but that's why the females love me. That and everything I mentioned before doesn't hurt."
Again, Carmelita laughed. "I was wrong about you."
"Oh? What exactly were you 'wrong' about?"
"I pegged you for an idiot."
Tony chuckled, "and now?"
"Still an idiot, but a lesser one."
"I'll take it," they both laughed. "But you were right about one thing though however."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, about this being above my pay grade; I may have been assigned to watch over you, and have been authorized to relieve you of duty as I see it's necessary… But I haven't been informed to what this case is really about. I've only been briefed about the missing artifact from the museum, but that doesn't explain why I'm here, with you, in this surprisingly well-furnished abandon location. So, mind filling me in on the details?"
Carmelita pondered about it for a moment, "Come with me."
They left the affectionately dubbed "main office" that was the Cooper gang's kitchen and up a flight of stairs. On this floor, Tony noted that there were a number of doors, but only three were guarded by a fellow agent.
"Ooh, I love The Price is Right, 'let's see what's behind door number one!'" Tony exclaimed.
Carmelita glared back at him, "Stop talking."
Which prompted an immediate, "Yes ma'am," and "sorry ma'am."
They stopped in front of the last door, Guthrie's door. Tony couldn't help but admire him. The collie sat there stone-faced, solid, and unmoving. His features like that of a Greek hero, perfect in every way. Hell, even he was starting to fall for him.
"Sargent Guthrie! Good to see you. Please, don't stand up. My ego couldn't take it."
The collie raised an eyebrow, and looked over to Carmelita for an explanation.
"Inspector Tony Fox has been temporarily promoted to assist us on this case. Open the door.
Guthrie did not move.
Carmelita's face softened, "It's okay Guthrie, I'm fine now. Please, let us in."
Guthrie hesitated, but in the end nodded, stood up, and unlocked the door.
"Thank you."
Two sets of footsteps entered the room, only one continued to walk after they passed the threshold. Tony looked around and was confused to see that the guarded room was in fact, a bedroom. There was someone in the middle of the room, his arms and hands behind his back, handcuffed to his seat, facing away from the door. A table in front of him, out of place from the décor, must have been brought in for interrogation purposes. Even with his back facing towards them, it was easy to tell who it was. Carmelita continued walking to the prisoner, while Tony stood at the entrance with his mouth open like a fish gasping for air.
"Is…is that…?"
Both Carmelita and the prisoner turned their heads to look at him.
Tony raced over to them, "Is that…?" He looked over to Carmelita, "Is he...?" He looked over to the prisoner, "Are you…?"
"He sure has a way with words doesn't he Carm?" the prisoner said and gave him one of his trademark smirks.
"Inspector Tony Fox, you are not allowed to divulge anything that you learn here tonight. Is that clear?"
"You…you're…" Tony was too far gone to listen.
"Heya… Tony? Was it? How do you do? The name is Sly, Sly Cooper. Nice to meet you."
Tony's face lit up. He ran behind Sly and immediately began to shake his shackled hands. "I'm a huge fan of yours Sly, do you mind if I call you Sly? You're the reason why I joined Interpol. The capers that you and your gang pull off… they're just too amazing to put into words. I've read some of the case files on you, and I must say, to be able to catch someone of your caliber is my life's goal at Interpol."
Sly gave Carmelita a quizzical look. "Always glad to meet a fan?"
Before Tony had a chance to find a pen and paper for Sly's autograph, Carmelita spoke up. "Inspector Fox, I want to make it especially clear that everything that you learn of tonight shall not leave this room, do I make myself clear? That includes the existence of Sly here."
"That's sweet Carm, trying to keep me all to you."
Carmelita growled, "Now's not the time ringtail."
"'Carm?', 'Sly?', 'ringtail'? Do you two know each other or something?"
The two of them shared a look, "No." They responded in unison.
"Wait… Are the two of you—?"
"That's enough inspector Fox, we have business at hand to deal with here." Carmelita strolled over to grab a file from the nightstand.
"Way to go," whispered Sly, "You stepped on a land mine there; we're still hashing out the details about that."
"But why is he here? Last I heard he was one of us." Tony pushed on.
Carmelita growled as she browsed through the manila folder.
"Psst." Sly cued to Tony. "That's land mine number two. I suggest you don't make it to number three."
"If you must know inspector Fox, Sl…Cooper is charged with the theft of the artifact in question. So I suggest you don't get too friendly with him. He'll be put away for a long time."
"Carm, we've been over this. You don't have anything on me. So why don't you just let us go?"
Tony ears pricked up, "'Us?' You mean… the rest of the Cooper gang… is here?"
"Yep, Murray is being guarded by Gronk, and Penelope is—"
Before Sly finished his sentence, Tony raced out of the room. There were grunts of protest but the echo of doors being opened was distinct in the abandoned safe house.
Sly chuckled, and shook his head. He returned his focus to Carmelita who had given up all hope on the rookie. "Interesting guy."
"You don't know the half of it..." Carmelita sighed.
Sly and Carmelita shared an awkward silence, the mood was heavy and the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. It was Sly who was the first to speak. In a somber yet serious tone he asked, "So, is he… is he my replacement?"
Carmelita stared at him for a moment longer, taking her time to respond, "No. Inspector Fox has just been temporarily promoted to assist me on this case. Although he's been more of a headache to me than a helping hand, I'm a little understaffed at the moment and will take whatever I can."
"That's not what I meant. I meant—"
"I know what you meant ringtail." Carmelita kept her eyes on the pages in front of her, "And no. He's not."
Turmoil stirred within Sly, for one was happy that Tony wasn't her new suitor, but on the other hand, Sly was upset that he himself wasn't. If only the master plan wasn't ruined by unwelcomed variables, everything would have worked out. They would have had the device, hopped back in time for a little while, and when the gang had their fill of fun and adventure, they'd time travel back to present time, and it would have been as if they've never left. But now, everything that could have gone wrong did, and anything that could go wrong, probably will. Sly tested the sturdiness of his handcuffs, and sighed. If only everything went according to plan, then Carmelita would have never found out. And now, look at this situation, Carmelita sitting in front of me and… wait...
"Carmelita. How did you find me? How did you locate the gang's hideout?"
Carmelita finally separated herself from her reports. "What does it matter how I found you?"
"Well as a master thief, err… ex-master thief, from a long line of master thieves, it's been bothering me."
Carmelita thought it over, deciding whether or not to tell Sly how exactly she had managed to do it. It was one of the rare times that she had the upper hand in the dynamic between the two of them. "I had insider information." She announced cryptically.
"That's it? You had 'insider information.' That's all you're going to tell me?"
A smile appeared on her face, "Yep. Annoying isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is I have to admit. Being the one with all the questions is frustrating. I can see now why you're always pointing that blaster at me."
"And, I have to admit that being the one with all the answers is invigorating. I can see why you always have that cocky smile on your face."
The both of them cracked a smile, and broke into light-hearted laughter.
"Sorry to ruin the mood," A siren-like voice called from the doorway. Carmelita and Sly didn't even hear the door open. "But I'm afraid I have to interrupt."
Sly's fur stood on end. He knew that voice; it's the same voice that haunted him in his nightmares. Carmelita sensed the sudden shift in Sly's character, but before she could ask, Sly thrashed at his harnesses and turned his head to face the voice.
"Verda…" Sly hissed.
"Hey Sly, it's been awhile. Oh, by the way, you can drop the whole 'Verda' thing now. You can call me by my handle, 'A.C'"
"So, the two of you know each other." Carmelita said, more of a confirmation than a question. "Good, it saves us time on the lengthy introductions."
"Carmelita! What is she doing here?" Then it suddenly hit him, "She's your inside source?"
"A.C here," Carmelita said, ignoring his question. "Has agreed to aide us in your capture in exchange of a full pardon on her crimes," Carmelita glared at A.C. "As long as she returns the object in question."
A.C smiled, "It's already heading back to where it belongs, sent it via snail mail though, so it should arrive back at the Louvre in six to eight weeks."
"Carmelita, what have you done?" Sly's voice became stern. "To partner up with someone like her is beneath you. And all this for what? To find me? You could have just—"
"Just what? Hmm? You suddenly go missing. Disappear from my life, not knowing where you were or what you were doing," Carmelita stared daggers into A.C. "or with whom." She paced over to the both of them. "What was I supposed to do? Shoot a giant spotlight in the shape of a raccoon into the night sky? Like some sort of…of… Rat signal? Don't be ludicrous. This isn't some comic book or cartoon, this is real life."
"Nevertheless, to work together with someone as dangerous as her is... just sheer madness!"
"Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment Sly." A.C sneered. She turned her attention to Carmelita, "So then, we're all settled then? I return the stolen Mona Lisa; I give you the exact location of the Cooper gang's hideout, and present you the entire gang. Is this the part where you let me off?"
Carmelita growled. "I hate to admit it, but you upheld your part of the bargain. So I'll uphold mine."
"Great," A.C smirked. "Then I'll be on my way. Oh, by the way, did you retrieve the Antikythera mechanism from them? I'd hate to see you go through all this trouble and not have that in your possession."
"What? You're the one that-"
"No, in fact we did not." Carmelita interrupted.
A.C stopped grinning. "What do you mean you didn't…?" The shock from sudden realization, "Then where is it?"
The door swung open. A star-struck Tony waltzes in. "That was A-Maze-Zing! I never thought that in my life time, I would get to meet a member of the Cooper gang, let alone three in one night! And do you know what the best part of it all is? I met two of the original trio! This has got to be the most exciting moment in my life."
"Who is this numbskull? Wait…" A.C turned to Carmelita, "What does he mean two of the original trio? Who are we missing?"
"The tech savant, and highest class wizard, my good o' pal Bentley." Sly interjected.
"No, no, no, no!" A.C shouted. "You said that you didn't have the mechanism…Darn it, Bentley must have it."
"Don't worry, we have the rest of our agents scouring the area, he couldn't have gone far. Especially when Sly and the rest of his cohorts are being detained here."
"Detained for no reason if I may remind you, you don't have a case against us." Sly chimed in.
"Those who are innocent wouldn't have any reason to run or hide." Carmelita snapped back. "Bentley's action is evidence enough of your group's guilt-ridden consciences. I just have to find him and see what you're guilty for."
A.C grabbed Sly by the collar and lifted him up from his seat, she was surprisingly strong. "Where is he? Tell me where he is now!"
"That's enough!" Carmelita shouted and moved in to separate the two of them. "We've already settled this matter, this no longer involves you. You're free to go."
A.C growled but still hasn't relinquished her grip.
"Do you know why she's so interested in the recovery of the artifact Carm?" Sly asked through ragged breaths. "It's because she was the one who stole it."
Carmelita looked from one to the other, finally settling on A.C. "Is what he's saying true?"
A.C remained quiet. She had to think of a way to get the mechanism back. There were a blur of movements. Carmelita reached and drew her shock pistol from her holster, and aimed it at A.C. A.C on the other hand managed to maneuver just as quickly, and crouched behind Sly. Fully intending on using him as a shield.
"Put your hands up." Carmelita ordered.
A.C brought out her thousand watt smile. "Now Inspector Fox, I thought we had a deal. I give you what you want, and you let me off Scott free."
"The terms have changed. You didn't tell me you were the one that stole the artifact."
"Well, a girl has to have her secrets."
"Put your hands up, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way." The shock pistol began to hum.
"How about we do this my way?" A.C reached behind her and pulled out what appeared to be a short baton. With a quick press of a button it quickly deployed to its maximum length and she angled the crook underneath Sly's neck.
"Um, do I get a say in anything of this?" Sly asked, trying to make light of the situation.
"You stay out of this." Both of them shouted.
Tony could only watch wide-eyed, unsure of what to do. He slowly reached for his pistol.
"Don't move! Or your idol loses ten pounds off the top of his shoulders."
"Maybe more. I do have an inflated ego." Sly joked despite his current situation.
A.C pulled Sly's head back, his neck taut, and her crook pressed up against it. "Tell me where he is Sly. Tell me where Bentley is and maybe we can all make it out of here unscathed."
Sly tried to struggled, but being restrained by chains, resulted in all of his resistance being futile.
"Last chance Sly; I'm giving you to the count of three. One… Two…Thr—"
"I'm right here." A nasally voice originated from behind her.
Everyone in the room spun to see a green turtle materialize out of nowhere.
"Close your eyes Sly!" Bentley shouted, just before the entire room filled with white.
A/N: And there you have it. Sly Cooper: Sly as a Fox chapter fourteen. The series hasn't died out to those who believed it did. I've been busy (read intro "Author's notes") and will be for the next three weeks. With finals coming up – projects, exams, and papers – there most likely will be another delay before another release. I plan on having at least eight more chapters before I conclude this fan fiction, so don't fret. There's still more SC: Saaf to come.
Anyway I hope you all enjoyed this latest installment, and I hope you all look forward to my future updates to this story, and to my other Sly Cooper fan fiction – Sly Cooper: Heart of Darkness. As usual, please leave any comments and reviews for me in the "review" tab, and feel free to PM me with anything. It doesn't have to be about fan fiction, we can just sit back and enjoy a cup of tea and chat. Until next time, I'll see you all… in the next chapter.