With Phase One of Operation Dog House completed, Bentley was certain that Grimm Hund wasn't a threat.

"There is simply no way that Clockwerk built him. He was with Sly for over half-an-hour with no signs of aggression or anger."

"That's what you wanted me to- Wait..." Sly thought about Bentley's statement. "Was that part of the plan? You were using me as bait?"

"In a way, yes. If there was any threat present, we would've gotten you out immediately. That's what Plan B was for."

"It still was a bad joke. It didn't even work."

"Exactly. Not once did Grimm Hund make any threatening advances to you. You mentioned yourself that your ancestors never heard of Grimm Hund. Why is that?"

"Bentley, you're forgetting something." Penelope spoke up. "Grimm Hund was in and out of jail before finally escaping twenty years ago. For the rest of the time, he presumably isolated himself from society."

"So Grimm may not have been targeting his ancestors at all? What's the point of that?"

"What if he was only supposed to kill me?" Sly asked softly.

"Sly, that's already been disproven. You were alone with Grimm the entire time. Why would he hesitate?"

"Maybe he didn't recognize Sly." Murray added. "He was wearing a disguise..."

"You know, Murray's got a point." Penelope said. "What if there was supposed to be a trigger word or phrase that 'activated' Grimm Hund?"

"Activated? You make it sound like he's a light-switch. Although..." Bentley thought about it. "It would make sense that Sly's disguise kept his identity safe. Let's assume that Grimm's target was a member of the Cooper Clan. Obviously, you wouldn't program something to eliminate every raccoon; that would attract too much attention and scare the real target away. And taking into consideration that no member of the Cooper Clan has ever been attacked by Grimm, this leads us to assume that a specific member of your family is targeted. Since Grimm wasn't involved in your father's death, the next target is-"

"Me." Sly spoke aloud. "Bentley, I owe you an apology."

"Actually, I'm the one who should apologize, Sly; I sent you out there in his path unarmed. If he realized who you were, he could've turned more dangerous than either of us imagined."

"And that's why I owe you an apology. If we charged straight in, we wouldn't have been prepared for it."

"So what happens now, guys?" Penelope asked.

"Well," Bentley said. "Sly might have to sit this one out..."

Sly didn't like that idea. "No way! I'm not letting my friends walk into a trap without me."

"But Sly..." Bentley said. "You're the target. There's a chance that the rest of us won't be in harm because of that."

"Bentley..." Sly responded. "I just can't sit and do nothing. Is there anything I can do to follow this mission to the end?"

Penelope looked to Bentley for the answer.

"Well, we still have to design a plan for Phase 2. What we have so far is that Penelope and I will both go to the location and try to immobilize Grimm without 'triggering' him. Sly, if you want to be a part of this, you'd have to be stealthy."

"Stealthy, got it. What would I be doing?"

"How about backup?" Penelope added. "We'll try to get him to surrender. If that doesn't work, you can sneak up behind him and knock him out."

"That sounds like a plan to me. How are you guys gonna get him to surrender?"

The guru submitted his opinion. Bentley's eyes lit up.

"Of course! It's so simple! The necklace has sentimental value to him. If we present that as a sign of peace, then he might go quietly."

"It looks like we have a plan."

"It's such a straight-forward plan too..." Bentley said excitedly. "Penelope and I will arrive at the house in disguise with the necklace. We'll admit that we're trying to help and offer the necklace as a gift. Sly and Murray will act as Plan B. Sly will have a more direct approach by sneaking into the house. If anything goes wrong, Sly can initiate a sneak-attack and subdue Grimm that way. Murray will be our escape plan in case we need a hasty retreat. Actually... The Guru could help too."

The Guru raised his head in alertness.

"Guru, can you figure out a way to enter Grimm's mind and quiet him down if things get too rough?"

The Guru simply chuckled and nodded.

"Great! You can sneak in the building with Sly. If things get out of control, you guys can decide how to control the situation from there."

"Sounds good to me!" Sly said. "You and I haven't hung out in a while."

The Guru chuckled, remembering their mission in China.

"Great!" Bentley said. "We can get the plan underway tomorrow. You all know the drill, recreational activities!"

Sly and Murray had blank faces as they looked at each other.

"He meant for you guys to have a little fun for the rest of the day." Penelope said.

"Gotcha!" Sly replied happily.

The team left the room for an afternoon of relaxation.

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