Just a Warning

Sly couldn't stop thinking about what happened. One moment, he was putting on his jacket to go home, the next, he's lip wrestling with Carmelita! Life as he knew was turning on a dime, but in a very good way. To keep his mind off of things, he decided to go out. He needed to stop at the grocery store anyway; he was low on things to eat.

Carmelita couldn't help get the events from last night out of her head. One moment, she's watching Sly about to leave her apartment, the next; she's throwing her own lips onto his! She couldn't help but call Alexia to her office to tell her what happened.

"You did WHAT!" Alexia was stunned.

"You heard me, I kissed Cooper," Carmelita smiled.

"Holy crap," Alexia said. "Girl, YOU. ARE. IN. LOVE!"

"Gee, you think," Carmelita replied. Her heart was pounding everytime that last part floated into her mind. 'I kissed Cooper! I must really like Cooper, no, I love Sly!'

Not everyone was happy. Quite a few Interpol women sulked, having missed out on in their mind, one of the hottest male officers to end up at their precinct. The guys on the other hand were just as pissed off. They've been around Carmelita for years and all they ever got was the Nutcracker, yet Cooper has been around her for a few months and he's already earned the heart of the hottest female cop this end of Interpol's branch. It wasn't fair. Taking things even harder was Officer Tanner. This experienced weasel had no desire for Carmelita, but instead, he took things the hardest because McBride was channeling all his anger into Tanner's face. When he showed up for work, everyone couldn't help but ask what happened.

"I got wasted last night and ran into a door," he kept saying.

"You know what girl…" Alexia said to Carmelita. "…you better sign out and go after him, I'll cover for you."

"Thanks," Carmelita smiled. After last night, she didn't feel like working, at least, not as long as Sly wasn'taround.

At the grocery store, Sly had just picked up everything he needed to last him another week, when he turned the corner, and found himself staring at Penelope and Murray, backs turned to him. They were trying to figure out which brand of chili to get.

"Freeze!" he said, changing his voice. "You're under arrest, both of you! Don't look at me. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of pranking you" His voce went back to normal. "I got you so good!"

Penelope and Murray turned around, having returned from a state of shock, they were so scared!

"Not funny," Penelope said, but she couldn't hide that smile she cracked.

"I didn't buy it for one second," Murray said, trying to regain whatever dignity he still had for the moment.

"Yeah, right," Sly smiled. "It looked like you were gonna pee yourself!"

"Um, um, oh man, I got nothing…" Murray said.

"Don't hurt yourself Murray," Sly said. "By the way, thanks for those driving tips you gave me back after we had pawned General Tsao's family fortune, and Penelope, could you tell Bentley I said thanks for giving me those skeleton keys for my birthday from a while back."

"I'll pass the word," said Penelope with a smile.

Carmelita had just rounded the corner in her red sports car. Her heart was pounding. She wanted to see Sly badly. She couldn't get him out of her head. She had just rounded the corner towards Sly's apartment, when suddenly there was an explosion. It had taken out Sly's apartment.

"NO!" she cried.

Sly, lugging his groceries in a canvas bag rounded the corner to his apartment, only to find police and fire trucks standing by. Seeing Carmelita's car, he immediately ran into the building. Only to be blocked by two officers. He pulled out his wallet and flashed his badge and headed up for where his apartment once was. Dropping his groceries in the hall, he came rushing through his opened door, to find Carmelita taliking to another officer. The entire apartment was in charred ruins; had he been inside, he would have definitely have been finished. Carmelita saw him entering, and ran to him, and embraced him in an affectionate hug.

"Sly!" she said. "I would have thought you dead."

"It's okay," Sly said. "I was out. Whoever wanted me dead missed me."

After a while of searching for any personal possessions still intact, Sly and Carmelita realized that it was getting dark, and that they were alone for once all day.

"Where you gonna stay?" Carmelita asked.

"I suppose I'll stay at a hotel," Sly replied. He knew he couldn't ask to stay at the hideout, otherwise that would put the gang in jeopardy of getting caught.

"No you won't," Carmelita said. "Because you can stay with me. After all, at least your dresser mostly survived, so there are a couple of pairs of clothes you can wear."

"Well, it would save me money," Slay said. "But only until I get a new apartment."

Carmelita drove Sly to her apartment, with what remained of Sly's clothing in the trunk. Sly had just managed to drop his canvas bag filled with his cloths when Carmelita once again yanked on his collar and repeated what happened last night, except this time it was longer. When the kiss was broken off, Carmelita went through with showing him where everything was. The bathroom, the kitchen, her workout room, which she said she'd turn into his bedroom, and then her bedroom. When that was over, Sly asked to be excused, saying that he's going to go take a shower.

When he stepped out of the shower, his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his coat and answered it.

"Hello?" Sly asked.

"Is this Inspector Sly Cooper?" said a mysterious deep voice.

"Yeah, who wants to know?" Sly asked.

"You managed to get off with a warning, but next time…" the man on the other line said threateningly. "You won't be so lucky."