Chapter 4: The heist! Is he outmatched?
The plane ride was an awkward one. The most affection showed the whole time was when Carmelita slowly took Sly's hand as they were taking off. Both of them were glad to get off of the plane.
Jacob Doyle was at the airport, dressed in a suit and holding a sign that read: "Inspector Fox and Constable Cooper.". The two approached him, and he smiled. "I'll be taking you to your airport." He said in his thickest east-european accent. He picked up Carmelita's things and carried them out to the stolen car.
As they stepped out of the airport, they were accosted by a blind old beggar. A wolf, to be precise. He was hunched over, and wearing a pair of dark glasses. His clothing was hidden under an old wrap, and he looked ancient. He tapped Sly's leg with what Sly thought to be an odd looking cane, and said in a hoarse voice. "Excusssee me sssir..." The man started. "Could you pleassse spare me sssome coin?"
Sly dropped a handful into the man's hand. "Here. My traveler's checks ought to be enough for everything else." Sly said, smiling a bit.
"Oh, thank you, ssssir." The man said. "Travelers, then? What're Y'here for?"
"Anniversary." Carmelita said, pulling Sly to the car quickly.
The blind man hobbled away, and the car sped off.
The wolf removed his glasses and straightened his posture. Bentley and Murray approached him. "Think they noticed?" Eoin asked, grinning a little and tossing the ratty wrap away.
"Not a chance!" Bentley said. "You got the tracker on Sly?"
"Yup. I've been usin' that shellaillagh trick T'track people fer years." Eoin said, grinning. "Let's meet up with Ronan. He should be done doing his rounds at the bank, now."
Ronan Doyle stepped out of the bank, a slight gait to his step. He got in the back of Murray's van, and they drove off to the safehouse.
Once inside, the planning began.
"There'll be three teams. Two teams will be used to distract our interpol friends, and the last team will actually be breaking into the safe. The safe will require demolitions and a strong lifter, so Murray and I will take that." Bentley said. "Ronan and Jacob, you'll keep Inspector Fox busy. She has a shock pistol, so you two will make great decoys."
"IN ME HOLE!" Jacob shouted. "Our job is T'get zapped with a bleedin' bazooka? Fuck you, Turtle!"
"Calm down! Jesus!" Eoin said. "He's sayin' that since you two are twins, yer gonna have the best chance T'give the girl a psyche out."
"Right." Bentley said, shaking his head. "You'll have to dress the same, head to toe. Masks are going to be necessary. Try not to let her see your tails, as that could give away your different fur colors."
"...Fine." Jacob said, shrugging.
"Good. Eoin, you'll take on Sly. I've done the calculations, and it's almost certain that the two will split up to reach the vault Sly is going to enter on the second story, as he still has his great jumping and climbing skills."
"I can give him a run fer the money there." Eoin said.
"You're going to make it look like we went in through the skylights over the bank foyer. We're actually going to go through the computer rooms in the first floor. Hope you guys are up for a little vent crawling." Bentley said, Murray blinked.
"How is The Murray supposed to fit in those minute vents?" He asked, overdramatic as always.
Bentley nodded. "We're going to override the computers and unlock the fire escapes. You'll come in through the one nearest the vault. I'll open the door for you."
"Goodo." Eoin said. "Cameras and all that shite?"
"Nothing to worry about there. I'm going to blast the servers, so the power should be out. That'll also take out the magnetic locks on the vault."
"Good thinkin', mate." Ronan mused.
"I know." Bentley said, light glinted off his glasses as if to puncuate his smugness.
"Can't wait T'get this show on the road." Eoin mused, standing up and taking his shellaillagh. "I've always wanted T'meet Sly, an' this plan is just plain... Sneaky. I like it." He smiled.
Jacob stood up, his tail flicking about quickly. "S'pose I ought T'get properly dressed, eh?"
"Good plan." Ronan said, walking out with his brother.
Murray looked over at Eoin. "Think you can take on Sly? He's done a lot of fighting in his life."
"So have I, mate." Eoin said, turning around and giving a little smile. "I'm not worried, an' I've got his number." Eoin gave a wink.
Bentley tapped his chin with his index finger, wondering if all of this would go off well.
Eoin jumped, grabbing the pipe and swiftly pulling himself up onto the roof. He ran silently across the darkened rooftop and to the skylights. A whack from his shellaillagh broke the windows, and he lowered down a rope, which he then tied to one of the numerous light hooks on the walls.
He moved away from the skylights, looking about the rooftop. There were a number of pillars near the edge of the roof, and lots of shadows. He'd have an easy time ambushing Cooper up here.
Ronan jammed the fan, then kicked it out. He dropped into the computer banks, and helped Jacob lower Bentley in. Bentley quickly placed a charge on the servers, and the three retreated into the corners of the room.
The blast unlocked the doors, and Murray was in.
Within no time at all, Bentley and Murray were down in the vault. Ronan and Jacob took their stations on opposite sides of an office complex near the front entrance, and waited.
Carmelita and Sly approached the bank. Sly looked at the locks on the front door. They were deactivated, but he had a hunch that the door hadn't been used in a while. "I'm going to check out the roof. This door hasn't been used for a while..." Sly said, peering through the glass and seeing a fiber-optic rope. "Yup. They came in through the roof. You go inside, I'll try to see if they have a man waiting for recovery."
Carmelita slid her pistol out of it's holster and moved to the door. "Be careful, Constable." She said, as usual. This time, there was a strange lack of the sense of duty in it. It sounded like she was actually worried for him.
He nodded to her, and moved to the side of the building. He expertly ascended a pipe onto the roof, and saw the broken skylight right away.
He moved to the skylight and looked down into the foyer. Carmelita had made her way across, and was entering another room.
When she was gone, he looked up from the hole to see a very, very annoyed looking Wolf crouching on the window frame.
"Ello, love." The wolf said, giving Sly a rough knock to the head with his shellaillagh. Sly stumble back, the blood beating in his temples now.
"You must be Eoin Lynch..." Sly said, one eye shut out of the pain. That was no normal walking stick...
"Y'got that right, sweetheart. An' you must be Sly Cooper." Eoin said, flipping off of the frame and landing on the roof. He stood with both hands on the shellaillagh, straight and proud. "The once great thief, who ditched his best friends."
"I suppose Bentley told you that part?" Sly said.
"Bentley told me a lot O'things, mate." Eoin said, letting the Shellaillagh fall forward. Sly's eyes widened as the wolf burst towards him on all-fours, jumping up at the last moment, and giving Sly a slash to the chest with his claws.
Sly fell back, hands over his shirt and feeling for cuts. He had barely gotten the skin. "That's yer problem, Cooper. Y'talk too bloody much." Eoin said, turning around. He kicked the Shellaillagh up and caught it. "Wanting T'get close to a lady is one thing, but leavin' yer friends and yer past behind for it? What's the matter with you, Cooper!"
Sly pushed himself up and pounced quickly at Eoin. The wolf sidestepped it, giving Sly another knock with the walking stick. Sly hit the ground, hard.
Sly forced himself up, not used to his enemies being that fast. Usually, he'd fall back on his team, and they'd take the guy on together.
Eoin's turn to pounce, and he was far more successful. He pressed the Shellaillagh down on the Raccoon's chest. Sly pushed against it.
Eoin laughed. "You gave up who you were fer her, lad! She might not be in love with you, but this "Constable Cooper". It must hurt, lad. Knowin' that yer relationship depends entirely on how well Y'play a part." Eoin said, leaning in and snarling.
"If you hadn't had ditched yer friends, they wouldn't have come T'me to try an' knock some sense into ya." Eoin said. "What's more important to you, Cooper? You, or the Constable?"
Carmelita kicked open the door to the office complex. The room was dark, but she could still see someone moving. "Freeze, Thief!" She called out. The man stopped. There was a gauntlet of desks between her and him, and plenty of places for him to hide.
"'Bout bloody time you got here, then!" The man shouted indignantly. "I've been waitin' fer ya!"
Carmelita growled, firing a blast from her pistol. The man ducked behind a desk, and popped up on the other side of the room almost instantly.
"OI! Izzat the best you got, then?" He shouted.
She fired again, and he dissapeared again. He reappeared almost instantly, again!
In the vault, Bentley had finished attaching the charges. They moved back, and the explosion blew the door off it's hinges. Murray pushed the door out of the way. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looking into the fault.
"BENTLEY!" Murray shouted.
Bentley wheeled over as fast as he could. "What is it, Murray!"
"The vault... It's empty!"
Up on the roof, Eoin was still putting the press on Sly with his Shellaillagh. "What's the matter, mate? Think that Carmelita couldn't love Y'fer the Thief you are?"
Sly pushed back on the Shellaillagh with all his might. Damn, this guy was strong...! If he just had his cane...!
"No..." He said at last. "I don't know...!"
Eoin jumped off of Sly, hearing the engine to Murray's van start up. "Well, Sly. Yer friends need you, the world's greatest thief. An' on the way, you can find out if she really does love ya." Eoin said, standing up. "If Y'want T'find out where Y'stand in life, follow me. If not, Y'can keep lyin' here on the roof 'till the employees find Y'in the mornin'."
Eoin split, jumping off the roof, and making a run for the parking complex.
Sly pulled himself up, staring at the edge of the building. Was Carmelita okay? Was this bastard right?
He pulled himself together, the old glint in his eyes. With a new resolve, Sly ran and flipped off the edge of the building, and towards the blackness below.
To Be Continued.