Ch.5 Hobson's Choice

Author Note: Here we go…

The ride to Owlcatraz was incredibly cramped and uncomfortable. For Sly anyway… After Paris, Sentrak's men had thrown him into a prison truck. Later they took a ship bound westward. Then after passing through some rough waters the ship stopped in the docks of a vast desert coast. Sly found himself in the back of a truck again. He was getting a bit bored of the whole thing, until he finally arrived at Owlcatraz itself.

The prison walls were huge and daunting. Tall, crooked watchtowers shone their spotlights around the prison's perimeter. The entrance was a large metallic gate shaped in the form of a giant owl's beak. Like an enormous mouth waiting to consume anyone who entered. But the strangest thing about the prison was it's perpetual darkness. This wouldn't have been strange…but it was the afternoon. A really bright and sunny afternoon. Sly didn't know if it was the mountain ridges surrounding the prison that cast it in constant shadow. Or some other unnatural force. As crazy as it may sound, Owlcatraz seemed to be generating darkness.

As soon as the truck entered the prison, Sly saw a huge rectangular structure in the distance. He assumed it was the main compound where they'd keep him. But the truck turned towards a small cabin (on stilts) a few meters away. Two gazelle guards flanked Cooper out of the truck towards an elevator at the right side of the cabin. One of them pressed a button on a control panel and the elevator doors slid open. The other one threw Sly inside of it. The raccoon looked around, wondering what awaited him at the top. The lift ascended until stopping at level with the cabin. The doors slid open yet again and the raccoon stepped out only to be blinded by a bright light.

"Whoops… Sorry about that." Apologized a familiar voice. All of a sudden the light was turned off. Sly blinked, before seeing Sentrak Metzerstoff in front of him, fixing a spotlight. "I'm so glad you make it Cooper! Did you enjoy the trip?"

"I've been on more comfortable rides." Sly replied.

"Yes, most of our guests feel that way. However they tend to project their complaints with more vigor."

"Suppose they would." Sly stated matter-of-factly.

Sentrak sat still for a moment before standing up. "Oh, my apologies Mr. Cooper." He motioned to a chair. "Please, have a seat."

Never taking his eye off Sentrak, Sly sat down, still handcuffed from his encounter with the police.

"Comfy, Mr. Cooper? Yes? Good." Sentrak started to walk around the room, shooting occasional glances at Sly. "You Mr. Cooper are one amazing individual. I mean, that had the quickest trial I've ever seen. Probably the shortest one in history."

"Actually my grandfather had the quickest trial in history." Sly corrected.

"Of course, of course." Sentrak walked to a nearby file cabinet and retrieved an old manila folder. "You're family has a very interesting history." He said as he opened the file. "Stemming from Babylon to the Old West. My, my, my you're heritage is incredibly illustrious Mr. Cooper."

"Yes, yes it is."

"But you know…" Sentrak closed the folder. "It's a huge burden to carry. For you Coopers have a bad habit of making enemies. Even ones that carry long-term grudges. Am I right Mr. Cooper?"

A disturbing thought went through Sly's mind. "Did this guy know about Clockwerk?" a look of worry appeared on Sly's face for a split second, before calming down. "Hmmph…what does it matter? Clockwerk's gone, nothing to hide now."

"You're family has fascinated me. So I took the liberty of obtaining a copy of your file from The Happy Campers' Orphanage." He took another folder from the cabinet. "I hope you don't mind." He opened the folder. "Looks good. You did pretty well there, met a few friends. But there's part in this file that captured my interest. You seemed to have recurring nightmares. About the sound of flapping wings, screams in the night, and piercing yellow eyes. It took a month of counseling before you got over them."

That wasn't true. Sly still had those nightmares occasionally. He would've told his friends but that would have worried them, and interfered with the job.

Sentrak went back to his chair and sat down. "You know, I studied criminal psychology in Prague a few years back. What you had back then was what I might call; night-scares. They can disappear for brief periods of time, or even years. But they do come back. And I assume you still have them. Don't you?"

Sly remained silent. Not giving the man even the slightest glimpse of weakness.

"Another problem you face Mr. Cooper is this prison. Daunting isn't it? Huge walls, big gates, tough staff, the list goes on and on."

"Nothing like the postcard." Sly observed.

Sentrak chuckled. "Indeed. But as you know, this compound is miles away from civilization. Anything could happen. Which is why I'd like to give you a generous offer."

"Which would be?" Sly asked.

"I am quite powerful in the ranks of law enforcement. I could plead diplomatic immunity, put someone in house arrest, or even set a prisoner free."

"Okay…" Sly was clearly unimpressed.

"However, my real goal is to perfect a mental suggestion process. So as to convince criminals of their wrong doings."

"Brainwashing." The master thief concluded.

"That's such a strong word Sly. I prefer the term 'advice'."

"Isn't there another warden who's tried this?"

Sentrak's expression turned to anger. "She hasn't perfected it yet!" he shouted, but quickly regained his composure.

"Skip to the chase Sentrak." Sly ordered.

"Well like I said; I can do pretty much anything. Including getting you out of here. All you have to do is assist me in a little, harmless project. You're sentence will be shortened to 20 weeks, you will be released, and you're criminal record wiped clean." The wombat leaned towards Sly. "So, what do you say? Deal?"

Sly laughed for a few minutes before shaking his head. "Of course not!"

Sentrak shook with rage. "But I'm offering you freedom! Amnesty!"

Sly laughed again before looking at Sentrak. "Why would I want to lie? If my record was wiped clean." He laughed. "It would be like I had done nothing at all."

The warden stared at Sly. "Amusing. You would make your ancestors proud. But as for me…" he pressed a button on his desk. A moment later the two guards were coming out of the elevator. "I'm unimpressed. Guards, bring him to his cell."

To be continued…