Chapter 22
Sly and Carmelita stood on the opposite side of the van from Polarsky's complex, going through a series of warm-up and stretching exercises. While they did so, Bentley worked at a fever-pitch to complete his command center set-up. Amazingly enough, a mere fifteen minutes later, Bentley sat back with a smile of satisfaction on his face. "Done," he called outside the van.
Sly grinned, then turned to Carmelita, who he saw nervously swallow, staring over at the walled compound they intended to infiltrate this evening. "Relax, sweetheart," he advised, taking up her hand to kiss the back of it. "Just remember your training, and you'll do fantastic." He then grinned again, this time laying on the charm, solely for her benefit. "After all, what have you got to worry about?" he commented cleverly. "I mean, I'll be with you…what could go wrong?" He grinned even more broadly, his dark eyes twinkling.
As predicted, that got a rise out of Carmelita, who rolled her eyes at the brash raccoon beside her. "You know…I do feel better now," she told him. "Knowing that I'll---" she pointed her thumb to her chest. "---be there to keep you out of mischief."
Sly laughed softly, then ducked his head inside the slid open door of the team's van. "Okay, Bentley…we're set," he informed his technical expert. "What's first on our agenda this wonderful evening?" He grinned over at Carmelita, who grinned back, shaking her head…although, she silently thanked him for helping her through her case of nerves.
Bentley frowned, then shrugged at Sly's use of 'wonderful'. "Um, right," he replied, then began tapping his central keyboard. "Well, I've changed things around a bit. Phase One is now going to consist of the two of you performing a bit of reconnaissance work." He motioned for the two of them to look on either side of him. Sly and Carmelita did so, one to each side of Bentley.
"Here's the landscape plans I downloaded from the Paris Zoning Board's database," Bentley began, bringing up the schematics for them to review. "This isn't going to be any picnic, you two," he said seriously. "The compound is surrounded by a twelve foot stone wall, topped with some sort of spiky ornamentation all the way around."
"Not too worry, old boy," Sly told him, twirling his cane already. "Piece of cake, Bent. Go on…"
Bentley flicked his eyes to Carmelita, who merely grinned and shrugged. He then sighed, shrugged himself, and continued. "If you say so, Sly." He then did a little typing and threw in a blazing series of mouse clicks, which resulted in the screen being overlaid with new layer of images atop the compound's schematics. "Now, using TAPS---" he began, only to be cut off by Sly.
"TAPS?" Sly groaned, shaking his head. "C'mon, Bentley…just what kind of acronym is TAPS for folks in our particular line of business?"
Bentley grimaced, then grinned sheepishly. "Um, yeah, well...about that, I've been meaning to think of another name for it. But anyway…it stands for Trap Acquistion Program System. So…if you look closely, you'll see that our Russian friend takes his privacy rather seriously." Bentley then began to talk and point out salient items on the screen at the same time. "He's installed motion detectors…here, here, here, and over here as well. Then, there are also pressure plates all along the walls of the building inside too. See here?" He pointed all along the outer perimeter of Polarsky's HQ building.
Sly whistled softly at that. "Man, that must of cost a right pretty penny," he observed, studying the screen.
"Don't you know it, pal," Bentley affirmed. "In addition, he has established four continuous two-man patrols inside the grounds."
"Hmm," Sly mused, idly twirling his cane over and over as he thought. He then grinned. "I got it! But, before I go on, Bent old boy…has our ursinid friend located any of his many motion detectors or pressure plates on building rooftops, by chance?" He arched an eyebrow hopefully.
Bentley grinned, then typed some quick commands into his system. "Nope, he sure hasn't, Sly," he confirmed for his boss.
"Then," Sly replied, clapping his hand about his cane to stop its whirling, "my friend, we've just figured out our way in..."
Bentely shook his head, but grinned happily. "Don't know what it is…but people always seem to forget to look up. So, the trusty rooftops it is." Bentley then typed a bit more. "Okay, that's step one. Now, once inside the compound, you need to head for the building farthest back from the main gate…that's our buddy's personal hideaway." Bentley reviewed the data on his screen a moment, then continued. "From what I've deduced from our target's preferences, he'll most likely have the Ring with him at all times. Heck, if I know him, he's probably bloody wearing it!" Bentley scowled at the sacrilege of the thug wearing a priceless and ancient artifact.
"Yeah, well," Carmelita ventured. "That would complicate things now, wouldn't it?"
"Actually, no," Sly told her with a somewhat smug smile. "But, I don't think that will be the case." Sly motioned at another of Bentely's computer screens. "If I'm not mistaken…that ring looks to be about a size six, maybe a seven, right?"
Bentley goggled at Sly's ability to do that sort of thing. Yet, he still doggedly confirmed Sly's guess. "Yeah, a size six, all right. So?"
"C'mon, Bentley," Sly chided him with a smile. "Do you really think a guy with hands big enough to wring a full-grown man's neck is going to have fingers that dainty? Like these?" He reached out to lift one of Carmelita's hands as an example, showing off her long lovely fingers.
"Oh," Bentley replied, then nodded. "Yeah, that does sorta make sense. Sorry, Sly."
"Hey, no problem, pal," Sly said, patting Bentley on the shoulder.
Carmelita shook her head, uncomfortable with hair this evening, which she wore in a thick braid curled up on the back of her head, secured with bobby pins, so it wouldn't get in the way. "Okay. So…Ringtail, just how do we get inside?" she asked, completely serious now.
Sly turned to her, crossed his arms, regarding her with clever eyes. "You're the Master Thief, woman…you tell me," he returned, waiting, a smile in his eyes..
Carmelita grinned at the challenge, and accepted it readily. She turned and began a thorough search of the immediate area. There! she finally observed, then turned grinning to Sly. "Too easy, Sly," she told him, then turned and pointed to the building the van was nestled close to. "Up that downspout, then on to the rooftop. Once there, we cross the roof, then slide or Rail Walk our way to the building next to Polarsky's HQ." She then grinned, leaning toward him, waiting. "How's that for a plan, Mr. Master Thief?"
Sly grinned, pleased. "A pretty nice one, actually," he congratulated her. "I couldn't of come up with a better plan myself, querera." He looked over to Bentley. "So, when do we start, pal?" he asked.
Bentley did a quick electronic sweep of the compound. "Eh, might as well do it now. The patrols are at their furthest points from the HQ building." Bentely then turned to the two. "Remember, I'll be in contact with you via your binocucoms, and I'll be monitoring things right here, okay? So…if anything happens, you let me know, and I'll send in the cavalry." He nodded Murray's way, the big hippo giving them both a thumbs-up.
Carmelita was touched by Bentley's concern. "Thanks," she simply said. She then turned to Sly, "So…ready, Ringtail?"
"Always, querera," Sly returned, a grin blossoming on his face. "Oh, ladies first," he added, bowing to her graciously.
Carmelita shook her head, but grinned at him. "You're impossible," she accused, just before she laid her hand on the stout downspout and shinnied up it with amazing dexterity. Once she climbed up on to the roof, she turned about with the intention of helping Sly up. But, much to her dismay, he was nowhere to be seen! "Sly?" she hissed. "Cooper?"
"Yes, my exquisite jewel?" came his voice from directly beside her. Carmelita had to clap a hand over her mouth, and nearly lost her footing, she was so surprised.
"Don't do that!" she growled softly, glaring at him until her heart stopped thundering in her chest. "All right, funny man," she then added a moment later. "Let's go…"
"Right behind you, Carmelita," he assured her as the two of them ran bent over to the far end of the building's roof.
Carmelita then crouched down on one knee before the slender cable, following its length all the way to the three story building that was connected to the other end. "Rail Walk…definitely," she concluded, looking back at Sly, who could only nod, as the cable moved up at a slight, but definite angle. Carmelita was about to step out, when Sly looped a cautionary arm around her waist and drew her back to him. She frowned, misreading his intentions. "Look, Ringtail---" she began, but was cut off as he placed his other hand over her mouth to silence her.
"Shh," he whispered into her twitching ear. "It's time for those patrols to pass by."
Carmelita saw the first pair moving their way, and gratefully shrunk back against him. That had the unexpected side benefit of helping her warm up. It was chilly up on these Parisian rooftops in the Fall!
"Okay, they're gone. Move out, Carmelita," Sly whispered to her, releasing her.
Carmelita nodded, then got to her feet. She performed her Rail Walk quickly and flawlessly, Sly only three steps behind her. In five minutes time, the two Master Thieves stepped out on to the roof of the taller and adjacent building to Polarsky's headquarters. Both of them immediately crouched down to the knees to keep low profiles. "So, Sly," she wanted to know. "How do we know which window we need to go through?"
Sly grinned, his teeth glittering in the on-and-off moonlight. "Use your binocucom, Carmelita…you'll see," he counseled her, already lifting his worn blue viewing device to his eyes.
Carmelita shrugged and lifted her binocucom up and peered through its optics. She gasped a moment later softly through her teeth. "Oh, how neat!" she whispered to him.
"Thanks," came Bentley's voice in her ears.
She grinned, forgetting that Bentley was in communications with them both.
Carmelita saw a small icon, shaped like a fox's head, done up in transparent red superimposed over her target window. "Bingo," she whispered aloud. "I've got it, Sly."
"I do as well, my sweet," he told her, lowering his binocucom. "Third window to the right, correct?" He looked her way, his dark eyes glittering.
"You got it," she reaffirmed, nodding. Before she knew it, she felt his warm lips press against hers for a wonderful moment. She grinned, looking at him. "Opportunist," she accused. "What was that for?"
Sly turned and gazed at her quizzically. "Do I need to have a reason?" he queried, then flashed her a grin. Before she could utter a reply, he performed one of his acrobatic leaps across the fifteen feet separating the buildings to alight noiselessly upon the wide ledge beside the window. He then beckoned her to do the same with his hands.
Carmelita was athletic, of that there was no doubt. And, she could hold her own in the acrobatics department too. But, she still felt a momentary flutter in her stomach as she eyed that jump. But, she would be damned if she'd freeze up on her first mission! She narrowed her eyes, shored up her flagging courage, and with a powerful spring, leapt the distance handily, her feet touching down upon the sturdy ledge. However, she gasped a moment later, realizing she had jumped perhaps a bit too strongly. She was forced to windmill her arms in an attempt to regain her balance, her eyes wide with fright.
She needn't of worried though, as she felt Sly's arm go around her waist and draw her in. "I've gotcha," he whispered, grinning at her.
Carmelita grinned back, then crouched down beside him. "Shall I then?" she queried him, indicating the window with a jerk of her thumb.
"Be my guest," Sly told her, motioning her forward. "This is your mission, remember?" He moved aside, letting her by.
Carmelita leaned over, careful to keep her head in the shadows while she looked the window over. "Damn," she murmured a moment later. "It's locked."
"So?" Sly whispered confidently into her ear. "We're Master Thieves…just pick the lock, sweetheart…"
Carmelita closed her eyes a moment, chastising herself. Then, grinning, she reached into her pocket to retrieve her complex lockpick. She eyed the lock mechanism several moments, before extending the appropriate appendage from the lockpick. She then flicked her gaze to what was going on inside the window. Much to her relief, the window appeared to be one for a storage room of some sort, or so she deduced, for there were racks with supplies against the far wall. She confidently ran the lockpick under the seam between the window and the sash. In a moment, the lever locking the window moved to her right, and she noiselessly slid the sash up. "C'mon," she whispered, ducking inside…to be quickly followed by the ghost-like Sly.
"Okay, Bentley," Carmelita reported. "We're inside. Looks to be some sort of office supply room or something like that." Carmelita felt a bit strange…as if her senses were working overtime. Must be all the adrenaline in my system, she told herself.
"Great," came the sound of Bentley's voice in both her and Sly's ears. "Ordinarily, I'd have you move out into the hallway to Polarsky's office…but, there are simply too many people around." Carmelita looked to Sly, who nodded. "So, instead, look over to the left upper corner of where you're at. See anything?" he queried.
Carmelita frowned, but did as he asked. She looked left, then up. Ah! There was something there! "Yeah, there's a ventilation shaft," she reported.
"Good girl," Bentley replied, unknowingly making Sly grin and Carmelita frown. "That's your ticket to Polarsky's office. Up you go, now."
Carmelita motioned Sly to follow her, and they both moved to just underneath the screen. It was too high to reach on their own, so Carmelita---with Sly's help, of course---slid cases of copier paper over until they could comfortably reach the screen. Carmelita did the honors, gently pulling the screen free, and setting it against the wall. The ventilation shaft was only about a meter square. A pretty tight fit, Carmelita deduced…but definitely workable. "I'll be right back," she told Sly, who nodded, giving her a look of such concern that it touched her heart, making her blink. She briefly reached out her hand to touch his face tenderly that moment. She turned away, and made her way inside the shaft, wriggling her hips in. Then, with Sly gently pushing her feet the first meter, she moved down the dark, confining shaft…
Sly watched her feet disappear with mixed emotions, one of great pride and respect for her, while at the very same instant cold fear and the fierce want to go after her and protect her. He waved that feeling away…well, as much as he could, he did. Carmelita was on her own, come what may. "Come back to me, quickly and safely, my love," he whispered fervently.
Carmelita used her elbows and knees to move quickly---and noiselessly!---down the duct work, her large lovely eyes now adjusted to the near darkness. She constantly fought off the sharp jolts of fear and near panic from the confining space, concentrating on the task at hand. It seemed an eternity to her, but in mere minutes, she eventually made her way to the end, then peered down from a safe distance back. She reached her hands back, having to lift herself briefly off the surface of the duct to retrieve her binocucom. From the safety of the shadows, she peered down into the room---best as she could--- utilizing her binocucom. Her heightened sense of hearing picked out a loud deep basso voice, thundering in barely constained snarl. She also spied the profile of a huge polar bear, undoubtedly one Raikon Polarsky, who sat back, phone to his ear, his large face contorted as he barked out commands in what was most likely Russian. Carmelita, who had been in that country before chasing after Cooper, picked out a few words she understood…none that were worth repeating, mind you. "I'm just outside the target's office," she said quietly, almost under her breath. "And he's in a rare humor indeed." The huge shouldered man gestured his thick arms and huge hands animatedly while on the phone. He suddenly thumped his ham-sized fist down on his desk to make a point, setting its contents to rattle. That was when Carmelita spotted a glint of gold! There it was! Anillo del Feugo…the Ring of Fire! Right there upon the demonstrative polar bear's desktop. "It's here, Bentley. The item, I mean," she hissed softly, lest she be overheard. She quickly snapped several digital images of the scene, using her binocucom.
"Nice work, Carmelita," she heard Bentley reply in congratulations. "Now, stay put, okay?" he told her in a whisper. "Move forward as far as you dare. Take pictures of everything…the ring, our boy there, any computer screens, the security, whatever!" Bentley counseled, as he flipped through the images Carmelita was now in the process of sending. Carmelita complied, moving her binocucom about the room in an organized fashion, continuously sending digital images of what she saw. She caught sight of security cameras in his office, as well as a huge wall safe, and a bank of constantly changing computer monitors on the far side of his office. Once she completed a circuit of the room from her position, she felt like Polarsky's eyes were focused upon her in her constrained position. "Can I head back now?" she queried softly, sweating now. "I don't like the way he keeps looking in my direction." Polarsky had a distressing habit---at least to Carmelita!---of constantly flicking his dark brown eyes about the room as he ranted over the phone.
Bentley reviewed the wealth of pictures, as well as recorded conversations Carmelita had accrued in her first reconnaissance. With reluctance, Bentley radioed to her. "Yeah, you're done. Fall back to Sly, while I try to process your survellaince data," he told her.
Carmelita sagged then in relief inside the confining air duct. She felt drained as she began to wriggle herself back down the shaft. It was disquieting to move backwards, unable to see where you were going. She then had a nervous, unsettling thought, and radioed to Sly. "I'm coming out, Sly," she told him, then gulped. "Um, everything's okay your way, right?"
"Relax, sweetheart," Sly assured her, his voice sounding almost angelic to her at that moment. "I've got you covered. Come on back now."
Carmelita swallowed hard, but did as he said. She nearly screamed as she felt what had to be Sly's hand grab her left foot. Her heart thundering in her chest, she allowed him to gently pull her backward out of the duct, and---thankfully---into his arms. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him briefly, before leaning back, starting to relax. "Well…" she commented, putting on her brave face, grinning, "that was fun…"
"Isn't it, though?" Sly teased. "I mean, once your heart stops pounding, I mean…"
Carmelita's dark beautiful eyes widened. "That happens to you too?" she asked, very much surprised.
"Sure," Sly assured her. "That's part of the thrill, you see."
Carmelita shook her head, but grinned. He did have a point, sort of. Now that she was safe back with him again, she did realize that it had been sort of fun and exciting…in a certain way.
"All right, you two…back to the command post ASAP," they both heard Bentley's voice instruct them. "We need to review what we've found, and come up with one heck of a plan…and fast!"
Sly looked to Carmelita, and she back at him, then then both grinned. It was but a few exciting yet nerve-wracking minutes before the two slid gracefully down the downspout to alight beside the team's van once more.
"Nice work out there, you two," Bentley observed, then cast a critical eye toward Sly. "That was the most organized recon we've ever done." He grinned. "Maybe that has to do with the fact that you're not showing off for Carmelita's benefit this time around, eh Sly?"
Sly grinned. "Would I do something like that?" he asked, then looked over to his beautiful partner. He then shrugged, thinking it over. "On second thought, for her…yeah, I would."
Carmelita giggled. "You are such a goof, Ringtail," she commented as they both took grateful seats within the van. "Man! That was certainly a rush," she added, putting an arm around Sly's waist, exhausted for the moment.
"There," Sly told her, pausing to kiss her temple. "See what you've been missing, querera?"
"Would you two knock it off!" Bentley growled, finally tired of all their banter. "We do have a mission to complete, you know!"
"Grumpy, grumpy," Carmelita opined softly.
Bentley just rolled his eyes. "Fine, be that way then," he grumped. "Look," he then continued, realizing that he was just going to have to deal with the pair. "here's the scoop, all right?" Bentley typed furiously on his keyboard a moment. "We now know that Polarsky's got the ring. We also know that his security is top-notch. And, we know that he's one ruthless son-of-a-gun."
"Sounds like the makings of one heck of a heist," Sly replied, grinning.
Bentley grimaced. "Sometimes…there's no dealing with you," he accused, pointing one thick finger at Sly. "Do you know that?"
"Leave him alone, Bentley," Carmelita said, coming to her love's defense. "It's just the way he is. Actually, though…that works out to our advantage, really."
"I'll take your word for that," Bentley huffed, but continued. "Phase Two is next. And, that would be having you two jokers infiltrate Polarsky's inner sanctum, bug his office, then get back out with Polarsky and his goons none the wiser." He typed again, and the route to Polarsky's office appeared on the display. "Which will be no mean feat to accomplish, folks," he observed. "He's got guards all over the inside of this building…on every floor, in fact."
"We've gotten through worse situations, Bentley," Sly reminded him, then he grinned over to Carmelita, before adding, "hey, at least now, we don't have to worry about Carmelita here showing up, shock pistol blasting…"
"Hey," Carmelita protested, but with a smile.
Sly stroked her hand by way of apology, then continued. "All right, Bentley," he said, "what have you got for us?"
Bentely grinned mysteriously again. "You're just gonna love this, Sly," he observed in smug satisfaction, lifting a small metal box on to his lap, and opening it. "Does this look familiar, pal?" he asked, his eyes clever behind his spectacles. He held up a small chip…about the size of an overlarge postage stamp. He handed it over to Sly.
Sly scrutinized the small slim wafer as he held it between his forefinger and thumb. Then, he grinned, remembering. "Yeah, now that you mention it," Sly told him. "Is this the same one we acquired on that Prague Caper?" He then began to softly chuckle.
"Prague?" Carmelita questioned, then her large eyes went wide. "Hey, wasn't that where that fat wacko, the Countessa, tried to brainwash me?" She then sat forward, narrowing her eyes as she looked at the chip. "What's this got to do with that?"
"Well, Carmelita," Sly explained. "When your girlfriend, the Countessa, was trying to do her hoo-do on you, me and my pals were trying to save you, remember? Well, to do that, Bentley here got his hands on this wire-tap chip…which allowed us to fool those Shadow Guards into bolting out of her castle fortress. That left you and the Countessa, my sweet, alone for some girl-talk." He grinned savagely at Carmelita, who grinned evilly back, savoring the day she gave that nasty piece of work her come-uppance.
"Yeah, that's all swell, and all," Carmelita replied, still confused. "But how's that going to---?"
Bentley grinned. "C'mon, Carmelita, don't you see?" he urged. "We're gonna use the same ruse to get that thug Polarsky out of his office, so you and Sly can nab the Ring."
"Oh-kay," Carmelita replied, slowly nodding. "I got all that. But, weren't we supposed to be bugging tha bastard's phone first?"
Sly interjected. "That's the icing on the cake, Carmelita," he insisted, getting caught up in Bentley's clever little plan. He reached over and kissed the back of Carmelita's hand, grining widely, before he continued. "This device, once we install it, will do both! Is that sweet or what?"
"Oh," Carmelita replied, her slender dark eyebrows leaping up. "Oh, hey…that is slick," she added, turning congratulatory eyes on Bentley. "Nice work, Professor." She grinned at her gentle teasing.
"Eh, I do what I can," Bentley replied in mock humility, smiling. He sobered a moment later, and got back to the plan. "Okay, back to our plan of attack then. The main problem we have is getting into Polarsky's office…"
"Hey," Carmelita suggested. "We could just go in via the air duct…like I just did, right?"
"Wish we could, Carmelita," Bentley replied, making a face. "It was a very good thing you pulled back when you did, you know."
"Oh?" Carmelita asked, feeling her stomach swoop. "Why?"
"That's my fault," Bentley told her. "I didn't pick up on the infra-red sensors that our surly Russian friend must of just installed in the ventilation system."
Carmelita gasped, remembering with a shiver Raikon Polarsky's eyes flicking up to where she lay concealed…or so she thought! "You mean, he knew I was there?" she demanded, her face paling.
"No!" Bentley reassured her. "C'mon, Carmelita…I wouldn't put you in that kind of danger…you know that!" Bentley saw her nod reluctantly, and sighed in relief. "No, he just got the report of an intrusion on his sensor arrays. Ooh, and was he ever pissed! That guy's got a gutter mouth."
Sly and Carmelita both jerked their heads around to stare at Bentley. "You understand Russian?" they asked simultaneously.
Bentley blushed in embarrassment. "Not fluently, mind you," he admitted. "But, I'm passable in Moscovite Russian."
"So," Sly ventured, leaning forward toward a now unsettled Bentley. "What was our big Russian friend 'chatting' about on the phone then?" he asked, though his tone indicated he was more demanding than asking.
"Well," Bentley replied, turning back to review the digitized recordings of Polarsky's conversations. "It appears he was talking to someone in the German Foreign Ministry…though, they were both discussing all this in Russian. That's strange." He sat a moment, idly rubbing his chin, thinking.
"Bentley," Carmelita urged, snapping the sometimes overly cerebral turtle out of his ponderings.
"Oh, sorry," Bentley replied, grinning wanly. "Apparently, our friend Polarsky's got a man on the inside, keeping tabs on the Germans. He, Polarsky I mean, was demanding this fellow keep up the pressure on them, and wanting to know why his demands weren't being met."
"But, weren't they?" Carmelita posed in reply. "I mean, isn't that why we're here…right now?"
"No, Carmelita," Bentley told her, shaking his head. "Polarsky wanted the exchange to go last week. But, apparently…the Germans were having some trouble with dealing with the French government, using them as the go-between."
"So, our big 'friend' in there is in somewhat of a hurry, hmm?" Sly mused aloud, then grinned, nodding. "That could work to our advantage, that could."
"I agree, Sly," Bentley replied. "And, now I've got proof he's getting sloppy. By all accounts, he should have had us cold on our first intrusion. But, he didn't…much to our relief." Bentley then turned back to his computers. "You two have got to get in---alone---and do two things: bug his phone, and two, insert this voice modulator into his phone system as well."
"Got it," Carmelita assured him. "So? How?"
Bentley frowned. "The biggest problem has to do with getting past the building's security." Bentley grinned and looked Carmelita's way. "You thought you were paranoid about security? Ha! You've got nothing on our 'friend' in there! The door---a foot thick of rolled homogenous stainless steel, mind you!---is controlled by six electronic deadbolt locks."
"Couldn't we just shut the power down temporarily?" Carmelita suggested, remembering something about her lock training apparently. "Those electronic locks would shut down, unlocking the door."
"Ordinarily, yes," Bentley responded, but then shook his head. "But, not this door it won't. There's a two-hour battery back up. Nope, the only way to get inside that door is with those six keys---oh, which are all color-coded and electronically scrambled, only synchronizing when they are slid inside their corresponding locks."
"So, I'll ask the obvious question, pal," Sly threw out, idly rubbing Carmelita's back. "Who's got these keys?"
"Let me guess: Polarsky?" Carmelita ventured hopefully.
"Nope," Bentley replied, again shaking his head. "His six lieutenants do…each with their own cards. Now, Polarsky's got a master card of his own…one that will open all the locks. But, there's no chance of our getting that one. No, so we have to have you two go in and do some light-finger work on those goons."
"Ah, slight-of-hand stuff, huh?" Sly replied, savoring the idea.
Carmelita grinned as she felt Sly´s fingers twitch at the very idea. " Pickpocket time then, eh?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah," Bentley affirmed. "Remember, you two have to acquire all six of the keys, or we'll never get inside."
"Great," Carmelita groused, thinking. "How are we going to find the right six guys in that crowded HQ?"
Bentley came to the rescue. "Ordinarily, you'd have a valid point, Carmelita," he told her. "However, this is one instance where our paranoid friend has cooked his own goose. Watch," Bentley added, indicating his computer with a jerk of his chin. "Polarsky doesn't trust anyone…period! Look, he's installed GPS locators in each and every one of his goons. Now, I've hacked into his personnel system, and got the locator codes for the six lieutenants. You'll notice that each is highlighted with the color of his or her key. I'll upload this data to your binocucoms before you head out."
Fifteen minutes later, the two Master Thieves (or more accurately, one Master Thief, and one very Senior Apprenctice Master Thief!) could be found inside the storeroom they had occupied on their first incursion to Polarsky's domain.
Carmelita peered down into her binocucom's optics, which now displayed a schematic of the floor they were on. "Sly, looks like we got two of the key guys on this floor," she reported. "How do you want to handle this, honey?"
Sly grinned at her calling him that. "Well, dear," he began. "Tell you what…I'll take the west side of the building. You take the eastern one. Okay?"
"Got it," Carmelita replied, nodding. She then leaned over to quickly buss him on the lips. When he looked quizzically at her, she grinned, adding. "For luck."
Sly then noiselessly opened the door, and ducked out into the hallway, and dashed away to the west. Carmelita looked out into the hallway, and then dashed stealthily over to behind a support column that occupied a niche there. She quickly re-checked her binocucom, and noted her target was five meters ahead of her.
"That's one," came Sly's whispered voice in her ear. She grinned, then moved forward, dashing across the hallway to yet another column. There! Before her stood an alert-looking tigress, though a petite one…dressed in a deep blue jumpsuit, sporting a bright green beret. Carmelita used her binocucom to give this gal the once over…and much to her delight, she found her orange keycard clipped to her belt on her right, just at her narrow waist. "Piece of cake," Carmelita whispered to herself, and moved.
Svetlana Umanova stood reviewing the security panel in hallway Two One East, the third panel on her patrol. The young tigress was from Kiev, in the Ukraine, and thought very highly of herself. Of course, all the attention the male officers lavished on her might have everything to do with her attitude. She reached up one slender, perfectly nailed hand to interrogate a display on her panel, when she twitched, feeling as if someone had…well, tickled her. She grinned, looking about. "Arkady? Is that you, you naughty boy?" she queried in her exotic, accented voice.
Carmelita grinned from her newest place of concealment, Svetlana's orange key card securely in her jacket's inside pocket. "Two," she whispered into her radio, notifying Sly she'd made her first acquisition.
Sly was only a meter behind an inordinately tall raccoon, like himself. This one was slender, but carried himself with an air of a general. Puffed up little popinjay, Sly thought, grinning at the thought that he'd not be all puffed up when Polarsky found him without his teal colored keycard…
"That's three," Sly radioed a moment later, and Carmelita shook her head, not believeing just how good the legendary Sly Cooper was at what he did.
Carmelita padded up to the third floor via the stairwell. Her next mark was on the third floor, in the far side of the Eastern Quadrant. She silently thanked Yuri Sing for her soft-soled boots…for she made nary a sound as she moved wraith-like down the smoothly linoleumed floors. Ten meters, her binocucom reported, and she peered around the nearby corner to try to acquire her latest target. This lieutenant was shifty looking weasel, his dark blue jumpsuit dusty and slovenly. The man had protruding buck teeth, and dark pig-like eyes. A thoroughly disreputable character, Carmelita decided…not understanding why someone like Raikon Polarsky would trust one of his keycards with this yokel.
Yuri Antonin grumbled at having to perform yet another foot patrol. "Another two kilometers of walking, tovarisch?" he groaned. "My talent is in forgery…not walking about like some sort of bloody chekist."
Carmelita stalked the grumbling weasel warily. He had the infortunate habit of whirling about with no notice…making him less than an ideal target. She got an idea a moment later, seeing a small coin lying on the floor. She picked it up, then watched the weasel. When he began to turn her way again, she zipped the coin in a high arc down the hallway, where it clattered noisily.
Yuri whirled, his hand reaching for the Tokarev pistol holstered at his waist. "Who's there? Come out!" he demanded, fumbling for the catch on his holster.
Carmelita chose that moment to move, and while the weasel tugged futilely at his holster, she expertly relieved him of his red keycard. She ducked and dashed back to the convenient stairwell. "That's four," she announced in a whisper.
Sly smiled as he heard Carmelita report in. He then frowned as he looked down into his binocucom. Great, he thought to himself, this joker's all nice and snug in his office! How was he to get the man's card if he was in there? Sly then noticed that the lieutenant's office door was one of those old-fashioned kind…the kind that had a window that levered open at the top to provide ventilation for the office. Hmm, Sly thought, now smiling…I've got it!
The lieutenant---who was no man, thank you!---was Maria Foloreva, an bewitchingly attractive Arctic Fox. Maria and Svetlana hated one another with a passion, as each competed for the lion's share of male attention in the complex.
Maria was doing her paperwork, one hand idly stroking her long luxuriously fluffy tail, it's black tip twitching. Maria looked up then, as she heard a firm knock on her door. She frowned at the interruption. Bookkeeping wasn't her favorite pastime, and she hated to be interrupted when she was forced to do it. "Da? What is it? I'm busy!" she demanded.
The knock came again, hard enough to almost rattle her door. Maria snarled, her bright white teeth showing now. "Go away! I have no time for this childishness!" she growled.
The knock came yet again! Maria bolted to her feet, her tail huge and puffy in her fury. "You will rue the day, whomever you are!" she vowed, moving forward to her locked door. She stood just before it, and worked at opening the two deadbolt locks securing it.
Sly, who had been thumping on her door with the tip of his cane, hung upside down from the suspended panel roof, one convenient roof tile askew. He waited until he heard the woman stomping toward the door, then leaned through the window there and peered down. Woo, he concluded, spotting the very lovely Maria snarling at the door. He reached down with his cane, and deftly retrieved her yellow keycard from its place at her svelte waist. Sly then slipped one of his infamous calling cards from his pocket, and adroitly spun it so it slid under the irate Maria's desk. Ta ta, sweetheart, he said in his head, as he departed the scene, gone before even the very angry Maria Foloreva yanked open her door, ready to vent her spleen at whomever had--- "What is this?" she questioned.
"That's five," Sly radioed, heading back to the storeroom now, his three keycards in hand. "The last one's yours, dear," he added, by way of a challenge.
Carmelita grinned…well, for two reasons: one, because they now only needed only one more keycard, and two, because the lieutenant who held said keycard was only two meters in front of her. She had to feel sorry for this one…he was a most nervous looking porcine fellow, who sweated constantly it seemed. His heavy jowls waggled as he constantly looked over his shoulder.
Yevgeny Rozkom hated working for Raikon Polarsky…but, it wasn't as if he had much of a choice in the matter, after all. Polarsky was a bully, his means to an end coming at the end of his big brutal hands…or even worse, his fists. Yevgeny winced remembering his last encounter with his boss, one that ended up with himself on the floor, nursing a split lip. And, all that because he had been late coming back from a patrol! The unfairness of his life sat sourly in his corpulent stomach. "An intrusion," Yevgeny mumbled. "You watch…somehow, some way, it'll all be Yevgeny's fault. It always is…"
Carmelita approached and expertly swiped his purple keycard from where he had it clipped to his pocket. She almost felt guilty having to do this to this guy. By the sounds of it, he was the staff whipping boy. But, there was no room at the moment for sentimentality. She dashed off, leaving the sweating, grumbling Yevgeny far behind. "That's six," she sent, making her way back to the storeroom.
"Nice work, querera," Sly complimented her when she returned. He happily took the three cards she had collected. "See? And you thought you couldn't do this?" he teased.
"I never said that," she replied softly, grinning. "Hey, it's my first heist…give me a break, okay?"
Sly moved forward to hug her quickly, then caressed her cheek fondly. "You've made me very proud of you today, Carmelita," he told her, his eyes beaming.
"Thanks," she replied, unable to meet his gaze, feeling herself blush slightly.
"Okay, Bent," Sly radioed. "We've got our keycards, pal."
"Already?" Bentley replied, shaking his head. "That's probably a new record, Sly. Congrats, buddy."
"I had help, you know," Sly mentioned, grinning over to Carmelita, who slyly blew him a kiss.
"Oh?" Bentley replied, frowning, then slapped his forehead in reproach. "Yeah, there's two of you now, isn't there?"
"Yep," Sly replied. "For now and ever more, buddy." He looked over to Carmelita, who blinked then gave him a loving smile for his words.
"Okay, you two," Bentley radioed next. "On your floor, you need to head to the room that's blinking on your binocucoms. That's the telephone switching room. Let me know when you're there."
It didn't take the two long to get to their destination, just off the center of the Western quadrant of the second floor. "Okay, Bentley…we're here," Carmelita sent back, looking at the small room full of clicking, whirring, and humming boxes. Racks of some sort, with tons of wires looping everywhere dominated all the walls but for the one that had the door. "What are we to do?" she wanted to know.
"Fantastic," Bentley said, rubbing his hands together in glee. "You have the 'package'?" he asked, meaning the voice modulator chip.
"Affirmative," Carmelita replied, getting a smile out of Sly. He held the small chip up in his twined fingers.
"Great," Bentley responded. "Find the box labeled 'voice data in'," he instructed. Carmelita passed on the instruction to Sly, who began looking.
"Okay, got it," Sly announced softly. "What next?"
"Open the panel on the front of the box," Bentley told him, which Sly did. "Then, pry out the prominent chip that's already there, and replace it with our chip. But, you've got to do it quickly, okay?"
"Got it," Sly replied. He jerked his head to have Carmelita come by his side. "Okay, sweetheart, this is a two-person task. I'm going to pry out this chip," he said, indicating the innocuous grey chip in the box's panel. "Then, you---quick as a bunny---insert ours in its place."
"Right," Carmelita said, placing the chip vertically between her forefinger and thumb. "Ready when you are, honey…"
Sly suppressed a shiver. "I love it when you call me that," he told her, which made her grin. "Okay, ready?"
"Go for it," she replied.
Sly used his fingernail to pop the chip out of its socket, his hand retracting away, even as Carmelita's slender hand zipped forward to expertly snap the new chip in its place. "Nice hands you got there, Inspector," he teased.
Carmelita grinned, wrinkling her nose cutely at him. "The switch is complete, Bentley," she radioed.
"You guys are too good," Bentley crowed, very much pleased indeed. "You two head out and take up a safe hide near Polarsky's office. Give me a few minutes, and I'll let you know. Don't worry…I´ll take care of him."
Sly got to his feet, then helped Carmelita to hers. He then refastened the box's panel closed, and the two swept ghost-like from the switching room. They then dodged one patrol and then ascended the stairs to the third floor. They exited the starwell, and then dashed across the way. The moved stealthily forward until they caught sight of what had to be Polarsky's office, his pretty but dangerous admin sitting in a sturdy desk before the oak-veneered door that shielded Polarsky from any outsiders. Sly could already see the color coded slots in the door, three to a side.
"Sly?" Carmelita whispered into his ear. "C'mon," she counseled, dragging over to a nearby utility closet, which they had to wait for the admin to turn around before they ducked inside. "Pretty nice, huh?" she teased, resting her back against a mop handle, almost sitting on Sly's lap in the small closet.
"Nice and snug," Sly replied, snuggling his lady love close, putting his arms around her waist, and leaned in to inhale the scent of her hair. "And, now…we wait."
"In position, Bentley," Carmelita called softly, reporting they were set for the moment. "And now…we wait," she said to Sly, nodding her head, before resting it upon Sly's shoulder.