NOTES- Sly Cooper and related characters are property of Sucker Punch. Macavity's name is A.L. Webber and/or T.S. Eliot. Nee's characters belong to no man... Or woman... But Neeeee! This chapter Nee ain't too happy with, maybe redone at a later date but Nee's behind schedule as it is... hinarei! Stop poking Nee, Nee is working as fast as Nee can.
Winged Sence-
Nee's a hero... Wow... What does one say to that? Thank you doesn't
seem enough... But those are the only words that Nee can think of, so
thank you WS. Nee now just hopes to live up to these high expectations.
Nee's
with you on that one, Felix. Carmelita can be a bit, hmmm, tactless
sometimes (When Nee wrote that Sly had a nightclub called the Spanish
Vixen, she literally tore Nee's skin off! Good thing Nee's a Snake or
that might have hurt). Murray's a criminal in her eyes so she doesn't
see any reason to spare his feelings. However Nee also does feel for
poor Murray, but all superheroes need to come up against an impossibly
tough villain sooner than later.
Anyway, as for what Sly saw, Felix is right, be quiet and you shall see soon enough.
erickdragon101-
Thanks Dragon, Nee's glad the conversation was perfect in your eyes.
That was in fact the thing Nee worked on the most in that chapter. It
took a lot to get the emotion right.
Long Live Stupid Cliffhangers! Yay! Thanks for giving Nee a title for the chapter.
Knight Out!
wheres
my book- Well that would explain where Bentley is during the final part
of the last chapter... You have to read this chapter to see.
And as
for Murray, he needs stuff happen to him if he's ever going to upgrade
from annoying sidekick to something else. And this part of the story
shows even the big people need to get stuff off their chests from time
to time. So Nee has to do this to Murray to make the story progress.
P.S. Sly is strange even off drugs. XD LOL
Heiduska- Continuing Now! Thanks for liking Nee's fic, it's not that great... Is it?
carmelitasfoxboy16- Well foxboy, Murray CAN eat anything... How it goes down is a different story. Nee'll try to keep the story on the same level of awesomeness, but Nee makes no promises.
WolfKeeper989- Thanks for the comment and it's not a question of reading, it's reviewing that Nee has trouble with. Nee has read your Slyfic (The others Nee does not know enough about to comment on) and its a very good piece of well written work. In fact the 'Old Habits Die Hard' review has been pending for sometime, Nee will review soon... If Nee forgets, email Nee and give Nee a kick in the tail
Ch13 - The Stupid Cliffhanger
"What are you doing?" The cocky Cooper smiled at the sight he was beholding.
Amounts
the vast amount of foodstuffs on the cluttered countertop, Carmelita
was kneeling next to the sink, searching the top cupboard. It wasn't
the only cupboard that the slender vixen had looked through, it
appeared. All the lower cupboards had been turned out as had most of
the higher ones, including the one containing the plates. That
explained the crash but what explained the swearing (The most recent
lot anyway) was the thing that made the scene so memorable to Sly..the
young lady had found the lost bag of flour. The term 'white as a sheet'
didn't cover it. Her fur was drained of all colour, her normally
exquisite raven-coloured locks looked like they belonged to a woman who
was more 'advanced in years.
The Inspector didn't look at the charismatic coon but he could tell she had that delightful scowl on her pale face.
"I'm looking for the spices, what's it look like?"
"My dear, I am merely a thief... The best one there is, but still just a thief. I don't deal in 'Spices'."
"Not THOSE sort of spices! Trust a criminal to think I meant that!"
"Ouch." Sly put his hand to his chest comically. "That one hurt. I only thought you meant it that way because you always seem to think the worst of me, pretty lady... Now, if you don't mind me asking, why are you after spices?
"Because it bad enough I'm having to eat here, but if you think I'm ingesting that bland-tasting foulness," She indicated the pot of bolognese, "you have got to be joking."
"Well Carmelita, if you like it... Hot... I'll see what I can do."
"...Just find the spices, Ringtail, before I knock out your other teeth." Carmelita was hungry and decided to let the 'Hot' comment slide.
They
both continued to search the kitchen. Before Thiefnet had been set up,
most of the gang's stolen goods had to be sold in a face-to-face
transaction and, being the good host that he is, Sly made sure
clientele were well fed for repeat business. The Spanish Vixen had
played host to the majority of these exchanges, so that meant there was
a lot of food to look through. Eventually, after several smooth
comments from Sly and a few cantankerous remarks from Carmelita, an old
spice rack was found, with most of the old herbs still in date.
After
the vixen added apparently much needed spices to the food and tried to
get most of the flour out of her fur, it was time to eat. All sat
around the same table the Inspector had used for her gun, all eyes on
Murray, the official food expert of the group. The 'Former Superhero'
looked down at the plate before him. It looked like Spaghetti Bolognese
and although it had been thrown off slightly by the added herbs, it
smelled like Spaghetti Bolognese. With his other senses confirming the
dish as what it was meant to be, that only left the taste. Taking hold
of his fork, Murray inserted the four pronged instrument into his
dinner and after getting a large forkful allowed his tastebuds to
sample what the woman had added.
"It's good." Murray said. Although his worries still lay very much on his mind, the tang the new flavourings added perked him up enough to appreciate the food set before him. "Real good." Bentley tried next and that led to the brains of the Cooper Gang agreeing with his pink friend.
"Well, my little Spanish rose, it seems your touch has meet with approval." Sly addressed the officer in the suave voice Carmelita had become accustomed to.
"I was not looking for approval, criminal. I merely refused to partake in a meal solely prepared by you and your... Friends. I may be hungry but I still have standards."
The turtle took a break from sampling the food to enquire into a subject that puzzled him.
"Inspector..." Bentley was scared stiff, next to him sat the woman who had dedicated the best part of about four years to putting him and his friends behind bars. And now he was attempting to get into conversation with her. "... I, I, I was just wondering (gulp), why y-you are yet to eat? I mean if you are hungry, there must be a reason..." With an IQ as advanced as his, it was to be expected, the turtle was fearful of what he didn't know. Had the sauce been drugged? Was she just going to wait 'til they all zoned out, then arrest them in their haze? Would his next day be spent as Prisoner No 5411? He needed to find out.
"I said I had standards. They include not breaking bread with a bunch of crooks. I'll find myself a different table once I see sample his soup." That last line gave the vixen a small mischievous smile.
"I thought you weren't looking for approval." The raccoon returned the smile with one of his own. He picked up his spoon and dipped it into the red liquid the vixen had helped prepare. "I must say, I wouldn't have thought of you as one for cooking."
"I'm not, but chasing you all over the globe has insured that I remain single. With no-one at home to cook for me and Paris' lack of good take-out places, I've got to feed myself. That and, much to my chagrin, my mama made me take cooking and dancing lessons as a child..." The police woman looked back to her childhood as she waited for Sly to put that spoon into his mouth. When she rejoined her mother in Spain after Nathan's death, Carmelita started to want to become a police officer. After losing her ex-husband to the job, Carmelita's mother tried to curb this with a number of 'Girly' activities. No daughter of hers would join such a vulgar profession, there was no way she'd meet a 'Marrier' if she was doing police work. Or so Carmelita's mother thought. "Not that that's any of your business anyway. And I'm not looking for your approval."
"Dancing? You? This I have to see... You know, I'm quite good on the old dance floor myself. How about after dinner you and I pass the rose, eh?" Sly wink and put the spoon in his mouth.
"Dream on Cooper, the day I dance the tango with you will be the day the criminals start working for Interpol. Besides, to be my dance partner you have to be more than good, you have to be... hot..." The vixen started to laugh as her joke on Cooper began. His eyes slowly welled up with water, the roof of his mouth and throat where on fire. The master thief was panting and puffing, trying to get cooler air into his mouth. Amongst the coughs, pants and tears, Sly too started laughing. Hard! He'd not expected the usually straightlaced Miss Fox to pull such a stunt. After all these years of pulling pranks and teasing without a single sign of payback, Sly had thought he was safe from this kind of retaliation from 'The Iron Woman' (As her friends in Interpol had dubbed her). And that laughter... It wasn't the cute, silly giggle had heard from other women, nor was it a broken unfeeling cackle... It was real. In Carmelita's true laugh you could hear joy and not be afraid to laugh along with her, which even Murray did. Sly also heard the angels sing. The thief had longed to hear Miss Fox laugh like that and when she finally did it was everything he hoped and more. Although he knew that nothing would ever happen between them hearing that bout of laughter strengthened his resolve to keep pushing for that impossible future. After all, as Colonel Reid Cooper said when he developed the Time Stopper technique, it's only two little letters that seperate impossible from possible. The rest of the evening was pretty much uneventful, seeing as it was three in the morning after dinner. With the Sun peeking over the horizon, it was time for all good thieves to go to bed, and all good cops too, for that matter. After Sly had offered the officer of the law a bed for the night/day, along with the sly comments the ringtail couldn't resist making and customary response that followed, the thief and the cop drove back to a small park near where Carmelita lived before parting ways. Miss Fox needed help navigating the nameless streets which were home to the Spanish Vixen but there was no way she wanted the ringtail to learn the whereabouts of her apartment, let alone walk her to the door. As he made his way back to the hideout, Cooper couldn't help laughing about the vixen's worries. He'd known the location of his love's home for years.
"What a day!" Carmelita said as she walked up the steps to her apartment, as once again the elevator was broken. Over and over again, the vixen ran the day's events through her head, trying hard to imagine how much difference twenty-four little hours can make. She'd left hospital that day and headed straight to Police HQ, only to find Cooper had been arrested after fighting a guy who was with her father when he was murdered, and bluffed his way out of jail and then she'd decided to let him take her to his hideout. Now they were embarking on a quest together to put a bunch of murders to justice. It was a darn sight more than the paperwork she'd expected to do today (or yesterday, as the case maybe).
"Why is he doing this? I know why I'm doing this but why is he helping with a police investigation? 'For some extended time on his freedom', he said. Not likely. Why is he the one who always shows up? Just once I'd like to work with someone who's law-abiding and doesn't make me feel like..."
"Well, well, well! Look who's back from the dead!" Carmelita looked up to see her neighbour and land-lady, Miss Evans. Not your stereotypical 'old and bitter at the world' land-lady, Evans was a happy and free spirited ewe who was younger than the vixen. Having got the building from her late father to help finance her until she could get her singing career off the ground, she'd moved in and took the apartment next to Carmelita. It wasn't too bad but some things she did got on the vixen's nerves, such as suggesting the way Carmelita should use her "physical attributes" to advance her career. That and almost every week she boasted about her fans sending her all these flowers. Carmelita couldn't care less about her stupid flowers but something about it made the cop suspicious about her for some reason. "Carmelita, honey, what are you doing coming home this time in the morning? Don't tell me you finally listened to my suggestions, hmm?" The sheep's eyes narrowed as a smile crept on to her face.
"No, in actual fact I just had a very nice dinner with the criminal I've been hunting for four years..." Saying it more for her own benefit than for the ewe, Carmelita was still in the process of understanding the events of the evening. When she realised what she'd just said, the vixen froze. She was too honest for her good sometimes.
"Fine! You don't wanna fill me in. That's cool, but no need for sarcasm!" The ewe barked back, not liking the fact Carmelita had just blatantly lied to her, after all what had just come out of Carmelita's mouth was completely unbelievable. The fox couldn't believe herself.
"And why are you out so late?" The cop said trying to cover her tracks by get the conversation on Evans' favourite topic... Evans.
"Well darling, I'm not the type to kiss and tell..." The blonde sheep in a green dress started off.
'Now that's a lie' Carmelita thought but decided to remain silent. This was after all the woman in charge of the rent prices.
"...but I met this lovely young deer and me 'n' him have been painting the town fantastic tonight. We have so much in common, he's the entertainment at some exclusive island resort, likes pop music and has the cutest butt." Evans threw in so many overly-theatrical hand gestures, the clatter from her numerous pieces of arm jewelery almost drowned out the wannabe-singer's voice. "Anyway we hit a couple of nightclubs, sang at this small little bar and headed back to his place. Maybe one day we'll let you come with us. And let's be honest, a night on the tiles with me has got to be better than 'A very nice dinner' with a 'Criminal'. Say tomorrow about seven?"
"Sorry, what I've got planned with my 'Criminal' is going to be far more exhilarating."