Chapter 21
Part II
Found, Fought, Forgive
A loud clattering of steel on concrete echoed across the alleyway, it continued its noise till it stopped abruptly. Not that there had been much noise to begin with, but all the same there was some. It was now quiet, very quiet in the alleyway, the only sound was the occasional tire screeches from a care, or the occasional crash and smash of some kind of china. It wasn't the most peaceful of neighborhoods, but it was better than some places around the world.
Peeking a look around a corner, a figure inched out of the shadows, his eyes darting from window to window, door to door. Anything or anywhere could be a safe house, or a place where a lookout was posted. A couple of minutes passed, they were slow and filled with tension, like a thunderstorm right over the man's head. It passed and the soft and quiet noises of people talking inside their homes rang through the alleyway once again. Not that it disturbed the shadowy figure, but this did cause him to think.
These people must live in fear, or just suspicious of everyone here. He thought to himself.
Not seeing that standing here would strive in the nights job he stepped out of the shadows, and continued traversing the narrow and sharp turns of the alleyway, which were more of a maze than anything else. The first thing he did was look for graffiti, or some small sign of a gang mark, a stack of broken bottles, strange cuts or grooves in the doors, a broken window. Anything that might prove to be an indicator that he had entered the Jackal's turf.
After an hour of wandering about the seemingly deserted, yet confusing corridors, he looked about his surroundings before returning to the shadows, so the unwanted eyes would not pry on his business. This was where his son mentioned the lookout was, and where the Jackals hideout should be around. It was a Friday night and he was glad he had the day off tomorrow. He would have been out here the night before but there was too much work to do at the station, and Bentley and Murray were busy with other things that night.
He pressed a finger to an ear piece he was wearing, and spoke in a quiet but audible tone for the microphone. "Okay Bentley, I've been looking about this place for a good hour, I haven't found anything so far…" he paused as he thought he saw something but it was just a pigeon. "Do you have anything better than what I got?"
The Brains replied back, on his end he was looking through maps of the alleyway and that district to see if he could find something. "Well, I got to hand it to you Sly, I haven't got any results that seem more fruitful, not yet at least," the nasally voice replied. He pushed his glasses closer to his eyes. He was frustrated but not much, this was a challenge and he always strode to beat everything that seemed impossible.
"This probably isn't going to help anything old pal, but everyone around here is very quiet and stays inside. It seems like their scared of the gang around here, or their apart of it," he added as an afterthought.
"I'm not surprised," he said pulling up a file on the Jackals. "Did you know that the Jackals have been around since the early nineties. They started off as a bunch of drug dealers in America then came to France and started doing theft work," he chuckled in amusement to himself as he read more about the gang. "Their amateurs compared to our gangs line of work and the other ones we have faced in the past. They steal from a bank once in a while, but otherwise it seems they just steal radios and other bits and pieces from vehicles. Nothing really impressive," he finished.
"Yeah, I read those reports too, but what can the RMF want with them, or what can they possibly give to them. It can't be money because they don't steal enough. No. It has to be something else," he mumbled to himself in thought. "Well, we'll soon find out, so how are you two holding up?"
"I'm fine, just hanging back here, in the van, where it's safe?" he said jokingly. He had been afraid to go out in the field when they were going after the Klaww gang, but now he was okay with it. "Murray's listening to the radio and just waiting to do something."
"The Murray, is getting bored here," his voice was barely able to get through but it did.
"Just hang in there, something is bound to happen," Sly said.
"Sly, while you're just standing there not doing anything, can I ask you something?" the Brains said, while still scrolling through maps and blueprints of the streets, and checking in to see if there had been any reports of strange activity from certain buildings.
"Why not, could pass the time while I think of where to look next," Sly leaned against the wall getting comfortable.
"I know that I've asked you this a lot already but, why didn't you tell us you were in a relationship with Ms. Fox?" the turtle asked, feeling nervous inside. Sly didn't get mad but he didn't want his friend to snap from all the questions he asked.
Murray heard Bentley asked this over the radio, and sighed to himself softly. He was just as curious but he wasn't asking Sly. He would tell them when he was ready, but still he listened in on the conversation, turning down the radio, so he could listen in.
"Alright, but I'm only going to tell you once, I don't want to repeat this, alright?" he growled, he wasn't angry at his pal, just he didn't like it when their conversations always lead to it. The Brains agreed to this, and listened carefully.
"Now I've told you that Carmelita and I have been dating since we defeated Clockwerk, the first time, nearly eight years ago. Well, she wanted me to keep our relationship on the low-level, just between us…."
"I know this already Sly, but why?" the turtle interjected.
"I'm getting to that, so just listen," Sly said calmly. When an answer didn't come he continued. "I agreed to this because just like her I wanted just it between us, I didn't want you guys butting in. I know I could have trusted you, but if something leaked through, or some gang of thugs found out they could use it against us, or her boss would find out and she could be accused of being an accomplice," he shook his head to himself softly, as he thought back on all the times they had shared, those that he could recall at least. They weren't all good, some nights they were tired, some they were arguing with one another, some they were just indifferent. It was hard for both of them to be sneaking about to spend time with the other.
"I just didn't want her to get hurt, honestly I wanted her to be happy, and I would do whatever it took to do that. But it wasn't always easy for us, and I know that you're still wondering why. But what can I say. Love is confusing, what can I say or do to justify what I did, why I kept it secret. It's like you and Penelope, you would do anything for each other," he said softly, almost to himself.
"Sly, you're a confusing man to try and figure out, you know that right?" Bentley asked, amusedly.
"I know, you've told me hundreds of times."
"This is my last question, and then I should have some information on where you should look," he clicked a few more pages and opened a few others up and then asked. "Would you consider being a thief again, not being tied to Interpol, if Carmelita would put up the badge?"
"I have to admit that I did use to think that when we had been together for five years, I even asked her and she said no. She told me why, and it was because if we ever had children together she didn't want them to be going back and forth all the time, and keeping their heads low, and keeping their names secret. I mean if you think about it, she thought about it more than us. Even if we did have kids and if she was with me, it would make things difficult, the kids wouldn't be arrested but Carmelita and I could. I have to agree with her, it wouldn't be fair to our children, and now that we are having kids, and because we have a kid I want the best for them, and I want to be there, and not running about stealing from other thieves and running all across the globe again," he sighed, letting out a deep breath. "I know it's not what you guys want, but it's what I want. My time is over as a thief, I going to be more like Thaddeus Winslow Cooper III, he worked for Scotland Yard for a while.
"Sly, it sounds like you've planned this longer than a few months?"
"I've been thinking about it, that is true, but I only made my mind up only a few months ago. Carmelita told me that it was okay if I left to become a thief again, and that she would still love me, because if it made me happy then she was okay with it. I'm happy where I am, I want to be by Carm's side till the day I die, I want to live a normal life, have a family, raise kids. We all have a dream in life, mine at first was to be a great thief, and we proved that we were the best. When I met Carmelita, and when things slowly changed between us, I decided that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I knew it couldn't be that simple, but now that I'm here and I'm not being chased by cops everywhere I go, I'm happy."
"Aren't you being stalked by Interpol agents and having an eye kept on you all the time?"
"Yeah, but it's better than being behind bars, and living a life full of misery, but I don't intend to work for Interpol forever, I want to eventually move on, and do other things with my life. Like maybe a Private Investigator, or something like that. I mean come on Bentley, you must have plans, you too big guy?"
"Well…..I have been planning on being a demolition driver expert for a living, and maybe opening up my own gym somewhere," Murray said with a smile, leaning back in his seat. He put his hands behind his head, and thought about his dream, and that looked like a haven for him. "Maybe even open up a meditation school as well," he added, thinking about his master, The Guru.
"Sounds like a plan pal," the Inspector commented, glad that the big guy had made plans.
"How about you Bentley?" asked Cooper.
"Yeah, what have you planned in that noggin of yours?" the Brawns asked.
"I-I, well, I don't know really," Bentley stuttered, not sure how to answer these questions. He hadn't really thought about making any life plans after reuniting with Sly, thinking that things would go back to the way they were, but that had backfired. "I, I don't really know where I'm going guys," he stated, nervously, and expecting to be laughed at.
Everything went silent between the trio, the hippo and raccoon, thought that their ears must have been stuffed, or they were having hearing problems. It was not so, and to the surprise of the other Cooper Gang members, they were left in silence.
"Ummmm, wow, that's something I thought I would never hear," Sly commented.
"Nor did the Murray, I thought that the brains would be the first to make a plan," the hippo said.
"So, why haven't you thought of anything Bentley," Cooper asked.
The turtle thought about how to word this, so as not make his friend…well more of an adopted brother, uncomfortable and bringing up an old conversation that they had dropped. "Well…I haven't planned anything because…..truthfully because I thought that things would go back to normal once we met up again. I know you've made your decision that you're not going back Sly, but I just don't know what to do…I just don't know," he said.
"Bentley, I know that this is hard and all. I know that I sort of just left without a word or anything, but can you blame me, I remember who I was properly or you until four months after Kaine Island. But, I think it's time we all go our own ways, and start our own life's, we can't do this forever and it's better to stop now before we do something that is going to get us caught," he paused thinking of where he was going with this. "Look, you're good at hacking, making things with your hands, and doing all sorts of things. Why don't you become an inventor, I know you and Penelope are into science, so why not? Or do something with computers," Sly suggested, wanting to change the conversation.
"I like the sound of being an inventor," Bentley mused to himself. "You know what Sly, you're right, I need to move on, we all do, thanks."
"Anytime Wizard," he said chuckling.
"Well there's a first," the turtle commented, in almost disbelief. Sly had teased him about that name for years. Bentley looked at a page he had just opened and it seemed like it would do the trick. "Alright, I think I've found something, you need to head down your current alleyway and then take a left. After that continue down it for a while then take a right, then take another left, and then you should be near the Jackals hideout, I think anyways."
"You think, I mean Bentley this isn't some petty little gang, these guys mean business, I don't really want to run into these guys by accident here," the raccoon said sarcastically, but meant what he said.
"I'm sorry Sly, but this is what this report says, it's the best I could find and right now we don't really have time to be picky," the Brains said typing on his lap top once again. "If I find any security systems, I'll let you know and disable them. Just be carefully, the last thing we want is this gang coming after us."
"Alight, I'll talk to you later," Sly said and took his finger off the ear piece.
This is going to be one long night. He grumbled to himself tiredly. The Inspector would rather be in bed with his mate, but he had a lot in the way till he could get his prize. It was cold out, he was tired, and he was normally asleep with his mate.
Well…..it's not going to be as easy as crawling back into bed tonight. He thought a couple of minutes later, and after the directions Bentley had given him. Carm doesn't even know I'm out here, and she is definitely going to have some questions, and be angry about me not telling her….. He reeled his thoughts to think more on what he was doing, instead of what was going to happen, he would deal with his vixen later. He would rather go home and face a silent tongue lashing then ending up shot or worse.
He kept low and used the shadows to take refuge in, when they made themselves available. The Inspector had done this on more than one occasion so he knew what he was doing, but he had never exactly tried finding a gang on his own. It was normally reports, and leads that led him and Ms. Fox to a gangs hideout and they did a bust or raid. Also this one of the first times he was by himself, he was normally with said vixen, but because of her delicate condition, or that's what he sometimes referred it to, she couldn't come along. Well she could, but he would be arguing with her till she went back home. It was to protect her and their growing kits that she was carrying. The one thing he did not want happening was her being shot at or being hurt while pregnant, and even when she wasn't.
Once this is over, I'm going home, I'm not going to bust them tonight, and try to do this by myself. I'll discover where their hideout is then I'll come back in a couple of days with some back up, if Barkley will permit the raid. He thought as he continued to stealthy move down the corridor, coming closer and closer to what the turtle had told him to go. Each step leading him closer to his nights objective, and maybe even a closer step to a trap. It was quiet and strange enough here, it seemed like that this entire alleyway was watching him, that he wasn't the only figure to be using the shadows on this night. It unsettled him, but he didn't let his imagination get the better of him. How would anyone know where he was, he hadn't told anyone and the van was parked at least six blocks away.
Something ahead of him smashed and he froze, his heart pounding in his chest from the unsuspected noise. Yet again he sunk into the shadows, and made himself as small as possible in a crouch. His back bumped into a brick wall, and he kept his eyes mere slits so the light wouldn't reflect off them. He waited again, but this time the silence seemed to be twice as long, mainly because it wasn't him who had caused it.
He was about to stand back up and retreat from the darkness that was his cover, but then someone walked around a corner, a gun in hand. The Inspector swore to himself mentally as he had nowhere to go, except the shadows, but if he was discovered, there would be little he could do to keep his presence unknown. He could fight his way out of this, but he would rather do this with stealth and not to make the Jackals suspicious and anxious of a raid in the future.
Five minutes passed, or it could have been more, he guessed that was how much time had gone by, but still he stayed where he was. The shadows were his best friend, his guardian at this point. He couldn't tell why this man was looking about for so long, it seemed like he was waiting for someone, or something. It couldn't be him he was looking for, the man was leaning against a wall, his gun was placed into a holster on his left hip. From his position the raccoon could distinguish that the male was an amphibian of some short, but nothing like Dimitri. From observation at this distance he placed his bets on that the lizard was around seventeen. His bluish hair on his head was past one of his eyes in a bang, and he was wearing clothes that were loose on him.
Cooper having been a thief for so many years had patience, so he waited, quietly, hoping and waiting that this figure would just leave and do his own thing. Maybe he would just have to find another way around, if he knocked him out silently and made it look like he slipped. He would only resort to this if this carried out any longer.
A minute passed, and then another, and another, and another, but still he didn't move. His joints were flaring up in protest from being put into the stress they were, being crouched and keeping one's self as small as possible wasn't easy. His breathing came out in long and silent inhales and exhales, but yet his body was yelling at him in protest, especially his knees.
Come on, come on just move on already, no one's here. He yelled toward the man in his thoughts.
Another minute passed and he decided that it was time to move on, he wanted to get this done tonight and not drag this on to the next morning, not dreadfully so. He started getting up slowly, un-holstering his shock pistol, and setting the shock. He started getting training his sights on the young man, or kid really, but then suddenly a female wolf half jogged and ran over to the lizard, and embraced him in a hug.
Lowering the pistol, the Inspector watched the couple as they embraced, and heard some of their conversation. He wasn't trying to but it was a bit hard when their voices carried down the alley, and in his direction. Not seeing anything else he could do for the present he simply leaned back, in his crouch a against the wall in a more lazy manner, seeing as the couple couldn't see him.
"I was starting to get worried Zoe," the man said softly, brushing some stray hairs out of her eyes, then proceeded by giving a kiss to her forehead.
"I know, and I'm sorry," she said burying her muzzle into the crook of his neck, his arm wrapping around her and holding her close.
"What was it this time?" he asked in that same soft and caring tone.
"My manager said that he needed someone because we were short on girls," she said, and then stopped.
"It's okay, I know how much you hate your job at that place, so let's just enjoy the night together," he said pushing away from the she-wolf slightly and looking down at her.
"Thank you," she said and pecked him on the snout softly. He then took her hand and the two then walked off down another bend in the alley way. Sly waited and heard the footsteps get further and further away until he could no longer here them.
The raccoon sat up and stepped out of the darkness once again, and hoped it would be the last time tonight. He was glad that he hadn't shocked the young lizard, and was woken up a bit when he overheard their conversation. It reminded him that not all gang members were bad people, some just had to live with the cards they were dealt, and some just joined a gang for protection. And listening to what the she-wolf called Zoe tell her boyfriend gave him enough of a clue of what she did for a job, and he felt sorry for her.
I may be a protector and arm of the law, but I guess the law sometimes doesn't understand that some people do these things so they can stay alive. He thought to himself as he got a move on again, he was hugging the wall tightly, so as not to draw attention to himself. He took the directions that Bentley had given him and kept moving, regretting that he didn't have his binocucom still, it was so much easier to get to places when he had a wave point on the screen to tell him where to go.
As he kept on walking he thought about what he saw, and made a connection with his brother, that he hadn't thought about. Is Silver just doing what he has to, to get by, or it is it because he is doing this for fun and not because he's desperate to survive. Either one, he would get his answers soon enough, when they met once again. This time though it would be him finding him, not the other way around. His brother would be on the receiving end while he was the one dictating the stakes and moves made.
As he came out of his thoughts he noticed that he had gotten to where he needed to be. He pressed a finger into the ear piece once again, and heard it crackle slightly. "Hey, Bentley, I'm here. Now where do I go, all I'm looking at is an empty building?"
"Yeah, I forgot to mention, I don't know Sly, this is where I've pin pointed it to, I could be wrong, but I doubt that is the possibility in this puzzle," the turtles voice came, just as confused. From everything he had looked up for the last couple of hours this seemed like the place, just an abandoned hotel, nothing special or that stood out.
"Okay, well I'll talk to you later, I'll look about the building and I'll tell you if see anything interesting," he replied, but before he took his finger off the ear piece.
"Sly, wait!" the Brains nearly yelled in his ear, making the Inspector cringe. "You remember what you have to do right?"
"Uh….oh yeah I nearly forgot, put the tracker somewhere in where they're hiding out so we can find them again. Thanks, and sorry….I keep getting sidetracked," he said shaking his head.
"Just don't get to distracted, the last thing we want is being discovered, and especially here, I got a bad feeling about this area," he said adding his worry and concern to his friend.
"Not as bad a Prague, with the ghosts and all the dark magic, or whatever you called it," that still gives me the creeps, just thinking about it," he added, feeling a shiver running up his back, remembering the specters. "Makes you think, is there an afterlife after all this? After we saw those specters, I'm not sure, it seems like there is but….I don't want to come back as that," he said thoughtfully.
Bentley was thinking the same thing, but then his thoughts took another direction. Seeing that this couldn't hurt he wanted to say something, if his calculations was correct. "You and Ms. Fox were together when you guys were in Prague, right?"
"We were a couple if that's what you're implying, but we weren't together for long, being chained didn't really give us much time for anything except to check if the other was okay," he explained.
"I-I'm sorry," he mumbled.
"For what, it wasn't like it was your fault that it happened, you were in the helicopter and it was better that you hanged back…."
"No, not for that," he cut him off abruptly," wanting to come clean with something he overheard. "If you remember when we were staying low, and breaking into old building and hiding away from Interpol, and it's mercenaries, Ms. Fox was with us as well. If you recall you helped her break into another building so she called have a "talk" with you about some things," Sly knew where this was going, and remembered what happened quiet well.
"So what are you getting at pal, did you hear some of our conversation?"
"Not to be rude, but I did sneak a little closer and listen in for a bit. I thought that she was just having an emotional breakdown in your arms, I had no clue that you too were close. I'm sorry for what happened to her, out of all of us she got the worst, besides Murray," it became silent on the channel, and Sly was thinking of what to say to that. He was about to answer in a soft and kind thanks, but his brother of sorts wasn't done. "Do-does it bother her much?"
"Bentley, thanks for the apology, but it wasn't needed. The question though, I don't want to answer, in detail that is," he sighed softly, remembering all the nights she woke up screaming or crying, or just in a frenzy. "The Contessa did…she did leaves scares on Carm, and they will never heal properly, not just physical, but mentally as well, well I have to go man," he said and lifted his finger off.
Cooper didn't mean to seem rude, but he didn't want to talk about that experience, he didn't want to remember. The Contessa had nearly taken the most important person in his life away, and made her a machine. But that twisted web-maker had done much worse things then try and take his vixen's memories and life away. It was what she had done to her before they started the brain washing, the memories started to come back, but he forced them down and into the furthest reaches in his thoughts. The last thing he wanted was that on his conscience.
The Inspector pressed his ear against the front door of the seemingly deserted house. He listened intently, but couldn't hear anything. This wasn't what he was expecting, so deciding for another directive he turned around and made his way out of sight from the house and climbed onto the roof tops. A couple of minutes passed as he grappled and climbed up poles, and rain gutters. It wasn't that difficult for the ex-thief, especially because he wasn't wearing his bullet proof best. It was good, it protected him from bullets mostly, but it was terrible for mobility.
When he reached the top of the four-story house he performed a ninja spiral jump onto a telephone wire and made his way back over to the deserted building. The Inspector made his way over to fire escape and went down a level, he then proceeded to pick the lock on the window till he opened it. This took a while, until he finally heard a satisfying click, and opened it.
Just like old times. He thought to himself amusedly. The only difference was that he didn't have a certain vixen chasing him down. Even though it had been nearly a year since he did something like this, he discovered that he hadn't lost any of his old skills or stealth. Not wanting to be lazy or clumsy he stuck his head through the opening and did a quick check before he climbed in nimbly, and closed the window.
He crouched down and hid behind a corner to a corridor, and took a quick peep over his shoulder to see or to hear if anyone was coming. Yet again, nothing, he heard nothing, just silence. It wasn't like Bentley was wrong, but maybe he was just mistaken. With his back still pressed against the wall, he did another check to be doubly sure of it.
Hmmmmmm, it seems quiet, and it looks like no one's been in here for the last ten years. He reckoned. The raccoon walked down the corridor, making sure to pick up his feet and place them back onto the wooden tiled floors carefully. Not a creak or a groan came from the floor boards, and Sly was thankful for that. He had a feeling that this was the place that the Jackals used as their hideout but from what he had found so far, it seemed more and more so that his hunch and Bentley's calculations were wrong.
At the end of the corridor, the coon took a right and found stairs that led to the second level of the house, so he made his way down quietly, and kept an eye out for anything suspicious, or just someone in general. The second level was just as uneventful, and soon he came to the first, and found it just as empty as the other two he had come from. Nothing bust gathering dust on the remaining furniture, empty bookshelves, and hanging in the air, drifting softly, and making the air feel stuffy and somewhat irritating.
Taking a quick moment to take it all in, he saw that this was a very old building. If he was to guess it was built long before any of the newer building were added to the ancient city. If he was to guess somewhere in the nineteen-forties or even before that. It was always the higher class building or something ancient, it was never anything like most movies portrayed, the thugs and gangs lived in places that were just…well more classic. From what he had found out from working in France, but it was an old country, not like America or England, so he was just guessing. Maybe they just got stuck with places like this. It was an old, cold, damp, dusty, and so many more descriptions could be made. Some of the paint was pealing, a couple of the walls seemed like they had been punched or punctured. Not to mention that there was glass laying spontaneously across the floor boards.
Wouldn't be such a bad place, if someone refurbished everything and put some time and effort into this place. It could look band new and get business. The coon thought offhandedly.
After a couple of minutes passed, and yet still no sign of anything but dust particles floating amiss in the room he decided it was time to leave, and maybe come back later. Mr. Cooper was about to press in the ear piece, was near on just walking through the door, which his ear had been pressed against moments before, but then, he heard something. Both pointed ears twitched and started picking up voices, though he couldn't find them with his eyes. He turned about on his heels in a slow and quiet manner, an eyebrow cocked in confusion and a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
He at first looked up at the ceiling, and all across the lobby of the building but came up with nothing. Just the sounds of voices all around him, and he was starting to become confused, till his eyes darted to the dirty and dusty floor boards beneath him. Though the sound of the voices was muffled and he couldn't pick any of it up, he knew that there was something underneath him. It must have been a cellar or a bomb shelter of some kind. It was most likely not a bomb shelter or a cellar, from how many voices he could hear, and the two things he thought were just too small. Maybe it was a basement that led to a sewer, or just an exclusive underground room for the rich or poor when this hotel or pub was in business. Whatever it was, it was sure holding a lot more than two or three voices.
He crouched down into his knees slowly and pressed one of his ears against the boards, and listened, keeping his breathing as shallow as possible. What he heard confirmed his arousing suspicious, and was glad that his and Bentley's prediction wasn't wrong. And to the Inspectors luck he had dropped in on when the conversation turned to a more interesting point, mainly for him.
"I tell you, the RMF will be hear next week, probably next Thursday to have that transaction. It's nothing big anyways, we're just trading, Jewels, Money, Ammo, and some drugs, for Guns, and also because they have been threatening to just take what they want by force," said a tired and bored voice. It sounded like a man in his late thirties, who had had this conversation more than once.
"I do-dout, theyze coud takus, I ean co….com…..come on, their nothen but a bun…..of druggies…..I bet they cou-ld-n't hit shit with…..their guns ev-eve if they tried," said a very young, and obviously drunk voice. The younger man then started to laugh hysterically at something he thought was funny, which elected a low and annoyed groan to come from the old thug.
The last thing the Inspector heard before he lifted his head from the floor was, "Why is it that every time we have to go check the other passages down here, you're drunk as hell, no…..look…..out where….WHY?" The older man yelled, and there was and a loud crash and clattering of items and what sounded like fine china.
When the Inspector was off of all fours and back onto his own two feet, he looked about, a stern and emotionless expression plastered on his face. Internally he was relishing in what he had found and was feeling closer to finishing this case. It had been a struggle tonight, but once Interpol brought the Jackals into justice, then they could finally find out where the RMF were, or maybe they would just be given another clue, yet again going after something else. But each step drew them closer.
Not so far behind you, am I Silver? He asked himself.
Five minutes later…..
Since he left the Jackal's hideout and made his way back into the alley, he felt like something wasn't right. Like someone was watching him again, he had this exact feeling earlier, but hadn't seen or hear anything. Now though, he was sure he caught the sounds of someone walking behind him. He was glad that this night was nearly over, and was even more excited for it to be over since he set up the tracker in the abandoned hotel. He hid it somewhere in the house, the next thing he would have to do would be to sneak in with a disguise and find out what the Jackals hideout looked like. He returned back to his current situation, an kept an eye out so as not to do something foolish, or be found out by someone who was out late this night.
Something didn't seem to add up, not in the slightest. His ears twitched as he barely caught the sound of snow crackling under a boot. The raccoon just had enough time to wheel around before a hand grabbed his shoulder forcing him to face the intruder, a fist then made contact with his gut, making him keel over, the wind being knocked out of him at the same time.
Before he could recuperate he was thrown back, and just as quickly slammed against the door when he stumbled. His head snapped back and knocked against a door loudly. Pain erupted from the back of his skull, the scar and bone was healed, but yet it was more sensitive than it had previously been. Not able to get enough time to look at his attacker, he felt another punch, but this time it made contact with his head, forcing it to smack the door again.
Feeling pain, he had just enough sense to bring his arms up to deflect another punch. His timing had been perfect, because the blow had been blocked, it didn't stop the pain that the force carried, and his arms cried out in pain from the abuse, but not as much as the rest of his body. With the adrenaline rushing through his body the pain soon got ignored and pushed aside, giving Sly a distinct advantage, he also felt the flight or fight instinct taking root. Flying wasn't an option, he had to fight to survive.
The attacker growled in frustration, and brought his arm back for another punch. His fist made contact with the door, and he screamed in pain as he felt his knuckles in his left hand shatter, and dislocate. The Inspector gave a swift punch to the man's abdomen, making the attacker, that he could now see was a wolf, lurch forward as he started gasping for breath. The lupine didn't have any time to react as the Inspector gripped him by the shoulder and forced him down as a powerful and rib breaking knee met. The wolf couldn't help but yell out in agony and cough up some blood as this was repeated twice more, on the third he let out a blood curdling yell, that echoed throughout the neighborhood.
Cooper seeing that this attacker had enough, he shoved him away. The lupine hit the ground, rolled onto his side and brought to himself barely into a fetal position, the pain was too much. The first thing that caught Sly's eye was that the black-coated lupine was wearing an RMF uniform. He didn't have much time to study his downed attacker, because another fist came out of nowhere, and struck him between the shoulder blades, which gave little pain. As he stumbled forward he was thrown into the arms of another man who held his arms behind his back, in a grip that he could have sworn was iron.
"Fucking bastard," the end of a boot was kicked into the center of his chest, making Sly yell in pain, but sadly he couldn't get away. "That was my brother you fucking pig," he made eye contact with the man, who was another lupine, who looked similar to the one on the ground a few feet away, coughing up some blood, this one's coat was gray though.
The brother who was still standing made another kick, doing a round house before it made contact with Sly's muzzle, which struck true. A sickening and loud crunch was sounded as his nose was broken, and his head snapped to the side, and he felt more dazed then he had moments before. Blood immediately started pouring out of his nose. Sly would have made a noise if it wasn't muffled and came out as ragged coughing as his blood went down his throat and his front. His head drooped till he was looking at the man's boots, and saw his blood falling to the snow-covered ground. All he could hear in his ears was a ringing, and felt the man behind him tighten his hold on him.
"Our boss wanted you alive, but you know what? I think that you need to be broken down a bit," another punch, this was to the gut again. Why didn't I wear my vest. He thought. "Or we're just going to deal with you now," the RMF merc said with a sinister and demonic smile," the man lifted his muzzle up so he looked him in the eyes. "Any last words rat?"
Sly gave him a sickening and an evil smile of his own back to the lupine. His fangs were bloodied and the edge of his muzzle was painted crimson. This took the wolf aback, the look and smile that the Inspector gave was uncanny to the one his boss would make when he was really pissed and just smiled at his mercs failures.
"Yeah, if you think Silver was bad, wait till I'm done with you, me and you in an interrogating room, alone," he said as a buff to scare the man. It did it, but not as much as he had hoped. But it was enough.
"You know what, go fuck yourself cop," the lupine said and brought his arm back for another punch, as he did, Sly was able to get the man holding him off-balance, and moved him, trying to shake him off. The man holding him cursed but it was too late, and a fist met him in the face. The man behind him swore as he held his forehead, to the shock of the lupine and the third RMF merc, who was a badger.
Sly's cane was out of its back holster and fully extended and he backed away from the two to get some breathing room, and a second to get away from his pain. For all the stupid tricks to fall for. He growled to himself as some of the more noticeable pain throbbed throughout his body.
The two RMF mercs looked at him, furry blazing in their eyes, and what looked like a little amount of fear. The third man was still on the ground groaning in pain, not wanting to get up, in too much pain from his ordeal with the Inspector. Not wanting to fall for any tricks or to give the two mercs any ideas, Sly gripped his cane in both hands, and pointed it towards them, like one would a spear. Sly could still feel blood pouring out of his nose and onto his shirt, and the concrete floor of the alley. His stance became more confident, and he spread his legs slightly, and got a better footing, and was perfectly balanced.
All three of the men's, the ones standing and the one on the floor came out as steam, from the cold night air. And out of the two mercs, the Inspector looked the worst, but he was still standing and not to the thugs knowledge he could keep this up for a lot longer than they thought. Some snow fell lightly, and the grey clouds above were black and ominous, seemingly the mood of the weather spoke that it was going to be a miserable night. This was just speculation and the appearance of the scene between the three remaining figures in the alley.
The Inspector had a lot more energy and was ready for whatever they threw at him, while the two assaulters were starting to have second thoughts. But they had orders. Cooper's adrenaline rush, was mixed with rage and the instinct of survival. He had only felt this same blood flow through his veins only a few times prior to this, thrice for his vixen, once for his friends, and one time when he was facing Clockwerk.
The two mercs weren't armed with anything that took ammo luckily, the badger took out a truncheon, while the lupine took out some brass knuckles and fitted them onto his left fist. They were sent to do a job, that was to capture Inspector Cooper, but their boss said nothing about bringing him back peacefully. It could have been so much easier for the raccoon if he just went down and gave up, but no, he had to put up a struggle.
"Well this should be fun," the badger chuckled. He was shorter than the two lupines he was with, but was better built than them. Cooper noted that he may be the hardest one to take down.
If I take down the wolf, then it's going to make it a more even fight with the badger. He thought to himself, as he surveyed and looked at his options.
His estimation was cut short as the two mercs both charged him. The lupine reached him first, his comrade only moments behind. Sly leaped to the side and dodged the metal punch that came at him. He swung about and delivered a blow to the wolf's knee and made him collapse. Before he could render the wolf unconscious with another blow, the badger joined in on the turmoil.
The Inspector backed up brought his cane up to block the batons contact with his ribs. The officer had range with his cane, but the badger was better at close range with his short rod of metal. Sly backed dodged and parried each blow, and was starting to get tired, while his hands begun to throb with pain from the vibration that his cane reverberated from each blow.
As Cooper was about to go more on the offensive again, the remaining lupine had gotten back in. His knee had become paralyzed and unresponsive after he had collapse, he was limping and off-balance somewhat from putting most of his weight on his uninjured knee. Sadly the raccoon didn't notice the wolf getting back up, his mind concentrating more on the man attacking him at the moment.
Sly ducked a blow to the head, and hooked his cane around the badgers ankle and pulled his feet from under him. The merc yelled in surprise and landed on his back hard, making him groan, daze and feeling ill as he looked up at the sky.
Cooper barely got the badger down when he felt something tackle him from the side, and send him sprawling onto the ground, his cane flying out of his reach and somewhere into the dark alleyway. He quickly rolled away from where he fell, and heard the muffled thump of a boot slamming into concrete. He placed his hands on the ground, kicked his legs up and arched his back, and jumped back onto his feet.
Again, he felt someone collide into him, but this time whichever merc it was, was clenching his neck in an iron grip and was repeatedly punching him. Cooper brought a hand up to block any of the fists landing away from his face, but he still felt them making contact with his gut, ribs and anywhere else that wasn't protected. His other hand he used to try to punch back, and got a few marks, but that was all he could dish out as he was quickly losing consciousness, and his vision was becoming hazy with his only eye that could still see. The other one had blood going into it, and it had made it hard to see, till it closed, refusing to open as it swelled up from a previous blow.
His back was once again smashed into a wall, this time it was twice as painful. He groped for the man's throat, but couldn't find it, and felt another punch reach his stomach which made him drop his hand and leave it at his side. There were a few more blows, each one more agonizing then the last, each slugged into his stomach. He was barely conscious now, and all he could hope for was the pain to stop and him to be released, either by someone helping him or just being put out of his misery.
This is it, I'm going to die. I-I-I don't want to go…..Carm….Leon….I'm so sorry. He thought as he was near the verge of blacking out. Everything seemed so fuzzy, and sound didn't register as it normally did. He heard his breathing, but he heard it in his inner ear more that the outer, and he felt his heart beating in his head. He swayed slightly, as the lupine held him up. He didn't know what to do, everything seemed off, the world around him felt like he was moving, but yet he was staying still in a fixed location.
If another fist had landed in his face that would have done just that, killing him or sending him to the black abyss of unconsciousness. But, the onslaught stopped, and he opened his eyes, and saw that the lupine, the one with the brother, was there holding him up by the throat, his grip had lessened though.
"You, are one touch son of a bitch to kill Inspector Cooper," a punch was felt in his stomach, and he groaned and coughed up a small amount of blood on the wolf's black trench coat.
"Ahh, fuck come on man," the man said in a jesting kind of way as though talking to a friend. "Not on the coat," another punch was felt, and all Sly did was let it land, not feeling any pain, just the fist making a landing. It was strange, and he would have rather wanted to feel the pain, to let him know what was hurting, but at the time he didn't care.
"I don't care what my boss says, I'm going to enjoy this, you hear me, you piece of shit," growled the lupine, his fangs snapping in the raccoon's face menacingly. The coon noticed that he had landed a few blows of himself as his vision cleared slightly, in his still open eye. He found that the other male was just as bloodied now. Out of the corner of his vision, which wasn't blocked by the wolf's face, he saw the badger leaning against a wall, holding his back slightly, and pulling what seemed like glass, stained in blood.
"Any you want to say," he growled.
Cooper came to a realization, more of a saving revelation than anything else, and he would berate himself later for it. He still had his shock pistol, but hadn't gone for it. He went for it with his right hand, and was thankful that it was on his right hip, holstered, and ready to go with a freshly charged clip. His hand slowly went for it, his hand came onto the holster and he quietly popped off the safety strap that held it in place.
Cooper looked into the green eyes of the wolf, and he could see his reflection in the pupils. He was weak and tired, but his hand found the grip. "What's there to say…except, well," he breathed out.
His thumb flicked the shock setting all the way up to the ten, but there was one more setting. It was a white skull boxed in warning stripes, the yellow and black. It was the eleventh setting, it was only post to be used to take down creatures that proved to be too much for the other settings and just wouldn't go down, and a last resort on most criminals, to just put them out for good.
His thumb flicked it between the ten and eleven, as he thought to himself.
An eleven would end this perfectly, put them into their place, send them to me, let them burrrn. Came the dark side of his mind. You're not like them, you don't kill. Let them suffer from the law, death is nothing to seeing your life wither away behind bars. Came the lighter side. Death serves them right, you would be doing the world a favor, kill them, they did hurt you. Make them fear you. Came the darker side. Once you make yourself judge, and jury, and the executioner there is no going back, do you want to be a murderer. Said the light. Tick, tock, tick tock, goes the clock, the clock strikes ten and they stop, tick tock, tick tock, the bell strikes eleven and death shrouds all.
The Inspector flicked it up to the max, and saw that the lupine was glaring at him, blood running down the younger man's face as well.
"Well, what, dumbass?"
How will this look to Carm, hmmmm? How will you explain this to Leon when he's older…how will you explain this. Came the light. Go on…do it…only four ounces of pressure, a slight recoil….and then bliss. MMMMMMM, can you smell the burnt fur….their screams of horror. Dooooo iiiiiiiiiiiit. Purred the insanity. Think of what this means, don't give in to hate, only the unloved hate, the unloved and machines, you're not a machine, you're a man. You have love within you, don't let it turn to spite, to murder. Argued the light. Think of your family. Added the reason.
His senses came back to him and he put it back on the ten. Sly took the pistol out of its holster and aimed it at the lupine's gut, who hadn't noticed anything, not even the soft clicks of the guns shock setting.
"Well…..I have to say that as something as ugly as you, I'm not surprised you're so pissed all the time," he said his voice dripping in sarcasm.
"Fuck you!" The wolf growled, and brought his brass knuckled hand back for a last strike to the cops face. Cooper didn't hesitate and squeezed the trigger, but, yet his hate towards the man, it made him reckless. He pulled the trigger rapidly, and let shock bolt after bolt shock hit its mark. When eight rounds had made their way out of the barrel, the wolf was already paralyzed and twitching madly, all his nerves and mortuary functions had gone amiss. The raccoon barely heard the wolf yell, writhing in pain and becoming very still finally, passed out.
"What the…" That was all the badger got out before he too was hit with two electrically charged plasma bolts from the pistol. The first made a straight line and collided with his face, making the badger scream out in tantalizing agony. The second struck him in the chest, as his hand had gone up to try to rip the pain away. He fell as well, the pain making him black out.
Sly, not in the best of moods, fell back against the wall, and groaned in pain. When he was sitting down, he swore softly as the pain started kicking in. Not knowing what else to do he pressed the ear piece, and contacted Bentley.
"Hey, Sly you alright, you haven't called in for the last twenty minutes?" the nasally voice came.
"Bentley, send Murray out here to come and give me a hand, and tell him to be ready to drive me to the hospital and the station. Before you say anything, I'm alright…..sort of, so just, if you do this, please man?" he said.
"Umm…..alright, is everything alright man?" he asked worryingly,
"You'll see, but I should be, but just send Murray, also I go the tracker placed, so we'll come back another day," he replied. There was some mumbling on the other side of the line which he couldn't distinguish, but at the moment he didn't honestly care.
"Murray's on his way, do you want me to do anything?" he asked curiously.
"No there's nothing I want you to do, just stay there…..no wait, just keep an ear out and just don't panic when you see what you see when I get back, just do that, alright?"
"I'll try pal," he replied calmly, before Sly ended it.
Oh Carm, I hope you understand when I get home. I didn't mean this to happen. He thought to himself, as he growled and groaned as he got up from the ground. It was a bad night, but at least he had gotten through the entire night, and wasn't dead. He just hoped that Carmelita would understand. He hadn't meant to get that shit kicked out of him. She would be hysteric with worry, but he just didn't want her getting mad, this was bound to happen, and at least nothing was broken. He thought that there was nothing broken.
He tried taking a step forward but he just stayed where he was, leaning against the wall. He would wait till Murray was here, and then he would start moving again, he just needed some time.
Sometime around 3 O'clock that morning…
I wonder where Sly is, he just said he would be out for a while. Carmelita thought as she pulled the blankets higher and closer to her, and shivered from the cold. The heating was on, but she was just cold, and she didn't know why. It had been like this all day and normally the upside was that she could snuggle into her mates warm fur and loving embrace. She had been asleep earlier but, her raccoon hadn't come home yet, and she was starting to get worried.
Her eyes looked at the neon red numbers of her clock. 3:23 AM. She read. He had left around ten that night, so around five nearly six hours ago. She didn't know what to do, but she trusted her fiancée so she just let it go. He would show up later, but she would defiantly have some questions for him. It wasn't like him to just sneak out…well not anymore, he would always tell her where he was going if he would be awhile.
Not knowing what else she could do, she buried her head further into her pillows and closed her eyes. She wouldn't be able to get any decent sleep with her mind so worried about where he mate was, but she would try to….
The vixen's eyes opened slowly, as she heard the door to her bedroom open and bang in a somewhat loud way off the door stopper. She couldn't help but let out a groan as she rolled onto her side so she was facing the door, to see who it was, though she already knew. She could smell his scent as well as hers on the male. She propped herself on an elbow and reached for her mate's bedside lamp and turned it on, and the room was illuminated by the soft yellowish light.
For a good minute or so, her eyesight adjusted and she couldn't make out much of anything, because most of it looked darker than normal. She saw her mate sit down on his side of the bed, and felt the entire thing shake slightly as it got used to his weight. His back was turned to her, and he was getting his gear off. She heard him groan and moan, as he got everything off, and she then caught the smell of blood. It was fresh from what she could tell, and it didn't help to ease her nerves or her worry.
I wonder what he got himself into? She asked herself.
All she could see of her raccoon was a black outline of his back. Finally when her vision returned she saw him, and couldn't help but gasp, and she sat up and moved over so she could sit next to him.
His left right eye was covered with a makeshift eye patch of white cotton and was held on to him by white medical tape. His shirt was off, but his torso was wrapped in white cloth with some blood showing through. His nose on the end of his muzzle seemed puffy and swollen, and from seeing her brothers after a few fights, it had been clearly broken. His left arm was in a makeshift sling, and he various bruises and multiple swellings across his face and front.
She reached a hand out tentatively and slowly, so as not hurt him and placed it on his right shoulder, but he shrugged it off, and looked at the floor, his head bowed. This took her aback and it hurt her somewhat, that he was pushing her away.
"Hey, look at me, it's alright Sly," she cooed to him.
He simply shook his head, and kept his sight away from hers. A minute passed between the couple, all the while the vixen rubbed a hand up and down his back soothingly, her other hand was rubbing his sore chest and stomach softly, and the coon had to admit, it felt nice.
Not wanting to leave her to worry about him anymore, and so he didn't look rude, he broke the silence he had made. "I-I'm sorry, I should have told you where I was going out," he said softly, as to not wake up their cub who was asleep in the room next to theirs.
"It's okay," she nuzzled his back, and then rested her head on his right shoulder, he wrapped his right arm around her waist and held her close. "What happened?" she asked, and he was surprised she was being so soft and calm with him.
For the next half an hour he recounted all that had happened that night, the fight, the finding the Jackals hideout, going to the station to drop off the RMF that had beat the hell out of him, then to the hospital to see if he was okay. This was because Bentley was afraid of him internally bleeding, or some worse injuries. And what he had found out was that his left arm had a minute fracture along the forearm, his nose had been broken, his eye wouldn't be able to see anything out of it for the next few days, and he had four cracked ribs, two on each side. Luckily there had been no internal bleeding or any damage to any organs. The doctor that had seen him said he was really lucky that nothing else had happened. All Carmelita had done was nod, add in some comments and touched the places that had been hurt the worst and asked some things about how it had happened. She didn't yell and wasn't angry, she did seem teary eyes, and a few tears did escape, but he wiped them away before they managed to fall.
The vixen pressed her lips against his, and he let his tongue delve into her mouth and massage her tongue, he heard her moan, and that drove him to let the passion last longer between them. He closed his eye, as she closed hers, and they only grew more heated as the kiss went on. Time went by, and his eye opened again and he saw that she was in bliss as they kissed. His free hand was stroking her long cobalt hair, as her hand rubbed his chest, being careful not to hurt him. She moaned and groaned in the kiss, as his tongue kept playing with hers, and explored her mouth. She wanted more, and it would have been the perfect moment to do so if he hadn't been in the condition he was in. This would do though, and she enjoyed every minute of it and was just as satisfied. When they broke for air, she giggled softly, and he smiled as he heard her sweet laugh, and he nuzzled her neck with is chin, because his nose was still banged up. He kissed and suckled down on her neck for a few moments, and relished in hearing her angelic moans, and wished he could have please her even further but his body started to ache slightly, so eventually he pulled away, though he enjoyed this just as much. As long as he could be with her, and make her happy, it would always be enough.
Time went by, and the two of them were now laying in bed together, and he personally didn't remember turning off the lamp, or taking his underwear off and putting his sleeping boxers on. Or his mate pressing her back into his chest, softly, and not so tight so as not to hurt him. He was on some drugs to ignore the pain he was in, so he took his left arm out of the sling wrapped it around his vixen's waist, his other arm around her stomach protectively and pulled her tighter to him, his muzzle resting atop her head. He didn't care what had happened, all he was glad about was getting home, and being able to curl up with his love.
A question was poking at him, so he finally let it out and asked. "You're not mad are you?"
"No, I was worried and….shocked to see you like this, but I'm not mad with you. It wasn't like it was your fault, you didn't run into those thugs, they found you," she said nuzzling his chin with the top of her head. He kissed the top of her head, and breathed in her scent, feeling like crap still, but better since he was home. The night was over and he could forget about it for a couple of hours.
"I love you, so much," he whispered into one of cute pointed ears. His breath went into it and tickled her, sending a shiver up her body.
"I love you too, Sly," she mumbled back and dozed off, his right hand had been rubbing her stomach and that most of the time made her fall asleep.
Well at least that's all over with, Just one more thing to do. He thought to himself, his eyes drooping. "Goodnight Carm, love you," he said as he finally let go and fell into a comfortable darkness, all his worries could wait for a couple of hours. Right now he sleeping and with the love of his life, everything else can wait. The Jackals only had so much time left until the hand of the law caught up with them.