Wow... okay, it's been such a long time. I'm so, so, so sorry. A year late. Life hit hard, I lost motivation for a few reasons and was hit pretty hard by writer's block... but I'm back. Not weekly, but back. And I'll try my best to avoid another year-long hiatus! Anyway... here's the final chapter of the Octavio level. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you guys can forgive the lack of updates.
Josie curled up on the couch with a cup of coffee in one hand and a groggy expression on her face as she brought said coffee to her lips, shivering in the mid-morning air. Beside her sat Sly, curled up in a blanket and staring at the floor in a half-awake-half-asleep state that he wouldn't be coming out of any time soon. She cast a glare at Tris who was buzzing around the hideout, packing and loading things into a van they'd stolen and hidden upon arriving in Italy. Josie yawned and scratched her ears, blinking away the haze of sleep as she checked her watch.
"Guys... It's only eleven, can we chill out, we've got a full hour." She grumbled, ears drooping and tail flicking in her annoyance at all the noise. Sly yawned and shuffled over to the coffee maker, downing a whole cup in less than a minute.
"An hour isn't much time and we're already behind schedule. We'll only have a handful of minutes to secure the plaza, destroy the main tar pump, and shut down Octavio's operation, we need to be ready to go.
"I thought we took care of everything..."
"We did. But we need to be prepared for a quick getaway. With the cops, and the vipers, and Octavio's mafia, and the Fox of a Thousand Faces..." Tris stopped by the couch as she came back from the garage and crossed her arms. "We're basically target number one when this all goes down. Not to mention the fact that we have to find and pick up Murray afterwards. We're running out of exit time." She checked her watch again and then went back to gathering equipment and putting it in the van or on the table for later.
Bentley rolled into the room with two plates in hand and another two being held by the robotic arms in his chair. "Here this should help put some pep in your step." He offered, giving both Sly and Josie a plate full of eggs, bacon, and toast, and then went off to eat his own with Tris. Sly stared at the plate for a long moment before starting to eat, a large yawn escaping and spreading to Josie. By the time they finished eating and each had another cup of coffee Bentley and Tris had loaded up the van and were ready to get started on setting up everything for the job.
"Kinda weird we're not actually stealing anything." Sly mused as he looked over the equipment on the table, another cup of coffee in hand.
"It is, but we'll have Murray back and that's all that matters right now." Bentley said, loading up a bag with the explosives.
"Agreed. Murray is more important than petty trinkets, though I would have loved to clean this guy out..." Tris mused, adjusting the settings on her electric batons. "He's got a fortune stashed away, I can feel it. Why else would the Fox have come sniffing around him?"
"Maybe someday we can drop back by and dig it up ourselves," Josie said. "You know, once we have ourselves a Cooper vault to put it in." She grinned and bumped her hip against Sly's. "Tris and I will park the van and then secure the plaza, make sure no one shows up for that recital."
"You'll be needing this." Bentley said, handing Sly the guard uniform and causing him to pause and groan.
"Fine but if I run into Tony B. again I'm turning around and walking right back out." He said, tugging on the disguise and then smirking at Josie. "Alright-a, let's-a do this." She laughed and shook her head, grabbing a battery pack for her pistol before kissing his cheek.
"You stay safe. Keep your eyes and ears open."
"I always do." He assured with a nod. "I'll meet you in the plaza as soon as possible." She nodded and they split up, Tris and Josie to the plaza, Sly and Bentley to the mansion.
Tris drove the van to a location just down the street from the airport, sending ahead some of their equipment, with a few old friends who owed them favors, and then together her and Josie drove another car to the plaza.
Josie was surprised to see it as empty as it was, though given the number of explosions that had been going on she was amazed the whole city wasn't on extra high alert. She slipped up onto the rooftops and onto the ledge above the recital stage that held the chandelier. "In position, looks like we did a good job scaring people off from this stupid recital, no one showed up." She said, settling down to wait.
"Good, the last thing we need right now is more people in harm's way," Bentley said, over the com unit. "Sly's made it inside, time starts now, keep that plaza on lockdown, we don't have time to lose here."
"Affirmative. We'll hold and wait for Octavio to arrive." She assured.
Getting into the mansion wasn't hard. The guards barely glanced his way, too busy setting up for their boss's big show of power. He slipped through the chaos with ease, making sure he looked as busy as everyone else, striding with purpose towards his target. And then he made it downstairs and grit his teeth.
"Bentley we have a problem." He hissed. "There's a double security door I can't get through."
"Drat! Hold on I'll think of something..." Bentley's voice crackled, breaking up slightly due to the concrete all around. Sly froze in place as the doors suddenly slid open and Octavio stepped out. The lion paused, gave him a once over and then frowned behind his mask.
"Hold up you. I don't recognize you..." He growled. "What's the secret soprano password?" Sly swallowed hard and stared up at him, hearing the frantic typing of Bentley and Tris on their computers over his headset. Octavio's eyes narrowed. "Well?"
"Alto, Soprano, Soprano, Bass." Sly spat out as Bentley fed the words to him. "Sorry boss, it's-a been a while..." He cleared his throat and Octavio frowned again.
"Send word to the rest of the guards, under no circumstances am I to be interrupted during my big comeback recital!"
"Yes-a sir, I'm certainly looking forward to-a the performance, once I'm done-a checking the pump room, I'll be-a sure to grab a front-row seat. Could you-a maybe help me with this door-a?" He gave what he hoped came off as a sheepish smile and Octavio chuckled.
"For a fellow music lover, It'd be a pleasure." He agreed, turning to open the door. Sly sagged in relief and stepped up to the second button, waiting for Octavio to count it down and then pressing the button in tandem with him. The door slid open and the mob boss nodded to him. "See you at the recital!" He called, walking off. Sly stepped through the door and it slid shut, and he sighed in relief, taking a moment to try and shake off the panic.
"I'm through, I'll meet you by the side entrance Bent. Josie, Tris, he's on his way up to you, stay out of sight and keep your eyes open for cops or vipers." He said, tossing off his disguise behind a stack of crates.
"Rodger, I'm in position."
"We're ready to go. T minus fifteen and counting to the start of the recital." Tris said. "Good luck boys." He stepped up to the side door and opened it, letting Bentley in and then took up his position at the front of the room, ready to deal with the guards that came to check on the pump.
"Ready?" Bentley asked, pulling out the first charge. "Once I set this off, those guards will come running, and we have six pipes to take care of here."
"Ready, let's do this. Leave the fighting to me, you just worry about taking out those pipes and shutting this pump down."
Bentley nodded and set the first explosive on the first pipe, getting clear before he set it off. The explosion rocked the room and sent dust from the overhead brick tumbling from the ceiling, and moments later guards began pouring into the room.
Sly gave a shout and ran at the first one, slamming into him and knocking him back into the others trying to get through the narrow doorway. Behind him Bentley raced to the next pipe, setting the next explosive.
"Heads up!" Sly called, causing him to duck as a guard went flying over his head. He grumbled to himself about his lack of wiring and how he could have rigged the whole room to go at once if he'd planned better but pulled away from the pipe as he primed the second explosive. Sly grunted as an owl guard hit him from the side, and another tried to hit him upside the head. He twisted his cane apart into two smaller versions and caught their ankles, yanking them both down and then sprinting to grab one who got too close to Bentley. "Maybe we could work a bit faster here?" He asked, already panting.
"Do you want to blow up with the room? I didn't think so!" Bentley snapped, struggling to get the third explosive primed. "Stupid cheap piece of - Oh hey it's green!" The third explosion hit not only the tar line but a water line as well, and water began to spray over the floor, causing another guard to lose his footing.
"Guess that's why they tell you not to run at swimming pools..." Sly quipped, running back into the fray.
Bentley shook his head and chuckled, moving to the next pipe as Sly fought to keep the guards off his back and buy him time to get the job done. Each pipe that burst made the large pump in the middle slow down until it was whining and struggling to get any suction. A red light filled the room and Bentley bit his lip as he prepared the final explosive. Sly panted and built up the shock capability of his cane, catching a guard in the side and sending him to the floor. He fell to one knee, using his cane to support himself and trying to catch his breath. The guards had slowed to a stop and he had time to breathe as Bentley finished up.
The final explosion rocked the room, sending several bricks tumbling from the walls and ceiling, and the pump slowed to a shuddering stop. He looked over at Bentley and grinned, standing up again and moving to the side door again. "Let's not do that again." He mused, wincing as he chuckled. "I think one of those guys bruised my ribs."
Bentley shook his head. "I'll check it when we get to a safe spot." He said. "Tris, Josie, how're things looking up top?"
Static filled the com for a long moment and he frowned as garbled words came through. "We- com... Octavio... Getaway- Vipers in pursu... Get to the-" Josie's transmission ended with a shout and Sly threw open the door, running for the surface with Bentley not far behind. They entered the plaza to find it in chaos, the chandelier was in pieces but Octavio was gone, Liam was unconscious beside one of the shops and both Tris and Josie were nowhere to be found.
"What the hell happened here?" Sly asked, looking around, a bunch of the tables had been knocked over and he spotted Josie's pistol in the middle of them. He frowned and picked it up to check the battery finding it empty. "How did she use an entire battery that quickly?" There was a slash in one of the umbrellas of a still-standing table as if it had been cut by some kind of sword.
"More importantly where are they?" Bentley asked, rolling over to check Liam's vitals and relaxing as he found him to be only unconscious.
Josie sat up a bit as she spotted Octavio coming. She grinned and her tail flicked as she got into a better position. He stepped onto the stage and frowned as he looked around the empty plaza, only finding Tris.
"Well, if it isn't the other tomato fertilizer..." He growled. "You got a death wish? Your little gang is starting to grind on my last nerve."
Tris shrugged and stood. "I figured that the best payback for kidnapping Bentley would be showing you up in front of a crowd, but..." She turned and looked around the plaza, smirking. "Seems like no one showed up but you and me."
"No matter, they will come. But if you truly want to try and out-sing me, then be my guest." He gave a mock bow, and she stepped up onto the stage. "First we sing, then I'll gut you."
"Not if I gut you first." She growled back, watching as a few curious passers-by entered the plaza. The music kicked up and Octavio began singing, glancing at Tris as she readied herself for her upcoming part. Suddenly she was glad she'd taken at least some formal training as a child. She took a deep breath and joined in as the song called for it, keeping a close eye on him as he slowly moved closer every few notes. Above them, Josie was busy removing ropes from the chandelier. She grit her teeth and waited as the song drew on, praying he wouldn't look up and catch sight of her or the unbalanced chandelier.
As the song drew to a close, Octavio grabbed Tris by the arm, smirking behind his mask and digging his claws into her arm. She yanked it away, wincing as he drew blood, and hit her final high note with surprising clarity, defiantly staring him in the face as she gave Josie the signal to drop the chandelier. She dove out of the way as it fell and Octavio looked up, gasping.
And then hell broke loose. Two shots rang out. Both aimed at the chandelier hit, one from the crowd, one from a nearby rooftop, and it exploded into thousands of tiny shards before it could fall more than a few feet. Josie turned towards the roof where Carmelita and Liam were both standing, Carmelia in a low crouch.
"Freeze! The lot of you are going to jail!" Carmelita shouted, aiming the Fox who was the only member of the crowd still standing by the tables. "Put your weapons down!"
"This recital... Is over!" Octavio shouted, turning and running to a waiting boat, and Josie gasped as they started to drive off.
"Tris he's still got the detonator switch!" She yelled, dropping onto the stage beside her, only to drag her down into several tables as bullets hit the stage where they'd been standing. She looked to her right and spotted several Blue Vipers, converging on the stage, and the Fox growled.
"No! This wasn't the plan!" Josie opened fire on the Vipers, and the Fox snarled, diving forward as Josie and Tris made for the stolen police boat. "Oh no you don't, Augustine!" Josie yelped and ducked away from the swing of a blade from the Fox, who stepped in front of her. "You're not getting away! If I can't have Octavio, I'll just have to settle for you." Josie stumbled back, trying to throw tables in her path as the Vipers closed off the area.
Carmelita fired back at the Vipers, dropping two of them before they could get in too close and Liam opened fire as well. "We need backup out here, we have one escaping by boat and multiple armed hostiles in the plaza, get someone in the air and find me, Octavio!"
Tris grabbed the Fox from behind and threw them into the stage, batons sparking with electricity as she drew them. "Josie he's getting away come on!" Josie ducked behind a table and emptied her battery into the Vipers, dropping a couple before darting to the boat with Tris right behind her.
"Damn it! Liam, they're on the canal!" Carmelita shouted, dropping from the roof and running after them, passing the Fox and punching a viper that got too close.
"Backup be advised we have a second boat in pursuit of the first, close down the canals and set up barricades where possible. Try to loop 'em back here if you can." He dropped down to follow Carmelita only to be blindsided by a blow to the head from the Fox.
"Sorry, but I can't have you following me..." They muttered, before taking off with several Vipers in pursuit. The rest turned and ran after Carmelita or hopped onto their boats to follow after Octavio.
The canals were narrow and anything but empty even as police tried to clear them. Octavio's boat swerved around abandoned gondolas and other boats with Josie and Tris gaining on him quickly.
"Try to shoot out his engine, we have to get him off the water!" Tris shouted over the engine and rushing water. Josie nodded, grabbing the gun at the front of the boat as Octavio's boat came into view ahead of them.
"Just try to keep us on his tail!" She shouted back as she opened fire. Octavio jolted and spun around, catching sight of them and snarling. "Pick up the pace you idiot!" He snapped. "Get us out of here!"
Josie yelped as a helicopter flew directly overhead, and they narrowly avoided running nose-first into a police boat. "Damn it we have to stop this!" She hissed. Octavio turned and growled again, digging into his pocket and dropping a line of explosives into the water behind them. "Tris look out! He's putting something in the water!" Tris swerved, clipping an abandoned gondola instead, which nearly sent Josie flying into the water. Josie grabbed the gun again and took aim, trying to take out his engine again and put a stop to the mad chase.
"Tris, Josie, how're things looking up top?"
"We're compromised! Octavio is getting away in a boat! Vipers in pursuit! Get to-" She yelped as a Viper boat opened fire on them from behind. "Tris we have to lose them! Evasive maneuvers!"
"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Tris snapped back, cranking the boat hard to the left and down a narrow alley. "Hold on! This could get a bit technical!" They swerved between even narrower alleys, where the buildings almost touched, speeding down them and making dozens of sharp turns, only to find the Vipers still on their tail. Josie growled and grabbed the spare pistol from the boat's compartment, spinning around and firing behind Tris at the Vipers. She hit the driver of the first boat and cheered as it took out two others and caused a pile-up, keeping any others from following. She spun back around as they cut back into the wider canal just behind Octavio once more, and she opened fire on his engine again.
Tris swerved and dogged around several police boats as they pulled out behind them. The sound of the sirens, the engines, the water spraying, explosions echoing, and the helicopter overhead reminded her almost of a war zone. She swerved, struggling to keep up with Octavio's boat, but Josie was on her a-game. The engine took a final few hits and sputtered and died, sending the boat careening out of the canal as the driver lost control. Octavio went flying, Sly and Bentley barely managed to avoid the shrapnel of the boat and the stage as it crash-landed, and Josie leapt from the boat with her spare pistol at the ready, Tris directly on her tail.
"Enough! Give up Octavio!" Josie snarled, taking aim at the old mobster as he stood, bits of debris clattering around him. "This ends here." He paused, his mask was cracked and on the ground at his fleet, and then he laughed.
"End? This is just the beginning!" He said. "You think a couple of hired cops can take down my empire?" Bentley caught sight of the detonator, laying among the rubble and slowly began trying to make his way over to the detonator before Octavio realized it was missing. "This whole city is mine! And nobody is gonna take it away from me." He reached into his jacket pocket and froze, double-checking that the detonator was not there. He spun, searching for it, finding Bentley holding it and glaring at him.
"It's over, you've lost." Bentley said.
The growl that emanated from Octavio was spine chilling. It sent every one of Josie's instincts into panic mode, her fur bristled and her heart leapt into her throat.
"You better give that back, Mr. Tomato fertilizer." Octavio snarled, his lips curling over his sharp teeth as he sneered and stalked closer. "Unless you wanna wind up in a shallow grave." Bentley swallowed hard and rolled his chair back, only to be blindsided by a strong kick that sent him out of his chair and rolling several feet.
"Bentley!" Josie ran over towards him only to have Octavio step in front of her with a low growl.
"Going somewhere?" She stumbled back, narrowly avoiding the punch he threw at her head. "You lot just cost me six months of planning!" She blocked another blow and Sly raced over to help, trying to blindside him only to get a backhand to the jaw. "I'm gonna make you wish you'd never been born!" A kick to her sternum sent her reeling and she fell into a table, gasping for air as pain radiated through her chest. "Six months I've been putting this together. Oh well, I have more where this came from."
"No!" Josie tried to stand but collapsed as Octavio pressed the button on the detonator. She couldn't see what exactly was happening but she could hear the explosion and rumbling somewhere not too far off. "You're insane!" She shifted, trying again to stand but only managing to cast a glare in his direction. "All this because you felt you couldn't sing opera? As if there aren't people who pay thousands to see opera shows every day!"
Octavio's eyes narrowed and he growled again, moving towards her and grabbing her by the neck. "You think I'm insane? Ha! You're a pathetic excuse for a thief!"
From a nearby roof, Murray watched in a conflicted panic. On one hand, he had his oaths. On the other, his friends were on the verge of either being killed by Octavio or carted off to jail.
"Murray, you've gotta help us down here, please!" Tris called. She was kneeling beside Bentley and watching as Josie struggled to escape the iron-like grip, and Sly finally managed to stumble to his feet. "Octavio may be old but he's still got it..."
Murray hesitated. Half a second, two, three. His mind racing as he tried to rationalize attacking.
"You're right to be scared Hippo. Your friends shoulda been so smart!" Octavio called, smirking up at Murray and squeezing harder on Josie's throat. She gave a strangled cry of pain, fighting to release the pressure so she could breathe.
"Murray... Help..." Bentley groaned, able to lift his head for a moment before losing his strength again and whimpering as Tris shushed him.
Murray growled, grabbed his necklace of crocodile teeth and yanked it off. "That does it! I'll floss my teeth with your spine!" He bellowed, leaping from the rooftop and rushing Octavio. Octavio barely had time to turn and drop Josie before Murray's fist connected with his jaw. "The Murray returns!"
Josie coughed and sputtered, breathing hard as she crawled towards Tris and Bentley. Behind her, Octavio and Murray were locked in an all-out brawl. Octavio was fast. He was dangerously fast. Murray was barely keeping up with him. Luckily Sly was on his feet again and he had a plan.
"He's too fast to take head-on Murray! I've got an idea!" He called, rushing to one of the valves around the plaza and spinning it open. Tar spilled over the ground, thick and sticky. Murray grinned as Octavio's shoes stuck. Unlike him, Octavio had on rather nice leather shoes, which easily were sucked into the sticky black tar. Murray had boots, thick and heavy, less likely to slip off his feet. He had little trouble moving around his opponent.
Octavio was tough, quick. He took hits like he was built to take them. If Josie hadn't known better she'd have thought he was a boxer the way he took hits.
Sly darted between the valves, ty
trying to keep the tar flowing as long as possible, but their destruction of the pump was making it tough. Eventually, it slowed to a complete stop and he gave the trio on the sidelines a worried look. "We're out of tar!" He yelped, running over to them and placing himself between the fight and them.
"The plaza... in front of the police station," Josie said. "There were more valves there... He's too focused on Murray to come after us right now." Sly wasn't convinced Octavio would follow but he nodded.
"Murray! There's more valves over by the clock tower! Come on!" He shouted, drawing Murray's attention as he ran towards the bridge. Murray yelped as he dodged a swing and then bolted after Sly.
"Come back here hippo!" Octavio snarled, lunging after them with barely a thought about the other three. Once they were out of sight Josie helped Tris get Bentley back into his chair and rubbed her throat.
"We need to move." She said softly, wheeling Bentley down the street to where they had stashed their getaway van. By the time Sly and Murry showed up the whole city was in chaos. They both were disheveled, Murry more so, but he grinned as they squeezed into the van.
"The Murray is back!" He said, though his grin faltered as he spotted Bentley. Bentley kept his head down, avoiding eye contact with anyone.
"We should go." Tris started the van up and began the drive out of town. It took some doing, as Carmelita and Liam's mercenaries flooded the streets, but they managed to lay low and slip out of town undetected.
The drive was quiet as they made their way towards Rome. No one dared break it. The tension just hung there as Murray and Bentley sat and both struggled to find the words they wanted to say. Finally, they stopped for the evening and the gang stepped out of the van to settle in for the night.
Bentley paused as the others went inside the small abandoned house, and grabbed Murray's arm. "Murray... I wanted to say... That is I..." He sighed and took off his glasses for a moment to rub his face. "I'm sorry." He looked back up at him. "I know this hasn't been easy for you either. And I understand why you blame yourself for... for this." He gave a half-hearted gesture to the chair. "But I don't blame you. I don't blame you, or Lindsey, or even Nelya. I blame myself. Because I should have thought things through. And it took me a long time to come to terms with never being able to walk again... I thought I'd be nothing but a hindrance, slow you guys down... but these past few weeks have shown me I can still help, that if anything this chair has helped me. You should see what I can do with it!" Murray listened in silence and then jumped as a pair of robotic arms sprang out of the chair.
"Whoa! Robot arms? Did you build this yourself?" He asked, circling the chair with wide eyes full of excitement.
"Why yes, I did. Of course... I could always use your mechanical skills to really beef it up! If you're into of course." Murray gave a grin. A real, genuine grin.
"The Murray would love to help you!" He said.
"So... can we put the past behind us? Pal?" He gave him a hopeful look and Murray nodded.
"Yeah... I'll try."
Bentley relaxed a bit, not realizing he'd gone tense. "Thanks." He held out a hand, only to be grabbed into a bone-crushing hug. "Ack! Easy big fella... I missed you too." He chuckled and patted his huge bicep.
"Sorry..." He set him down again and patted his head a bit awkwardly. "I really missed you guys."
"Well let's get inside and get some food and we can talk about the Dreamtime you're studying." He smiled and started inside after the others.
"Oh yeah! I have so much to tell you guys!"
Okay, once again I apologize for the accidental hiatus. I'll be back with a new chapter hopefully within a few days as my motivation has returned and my writer's block has finally let up.