Hello and Welcome to Chapter 2 of the Obsidian War. My request for comments and reviews is still open.
Disclaimer: The 'coon and crew are owned by Sucker Punch. All Hail Sucker Punch!
The boxcar sat on the outskirts of Paris. Many people in the nearby neighborhood had complained about it, calling it an eyesore that brought down property values. A local even started up a campaign to get it removed, but the campaign had been plagued with mysterious accidents and missing paperwork, culminating in a break in on the complainer's house. The focus however, is not on the boxcar itself, but its residents.
"Are you done yet?"
"No"
"Are you done yet?"
"No"
"Are you done yet?"
"NO, I AM NOT DONE, AND I WILL NOT BE FOR QUITE SOME TIME!" screamed a very irritated green turtle named Bentley. Sly had been asking him the same thing for about ten minutes now, more to bug his small green friend than anything else. Bentley had been running a search for a new job on Thiefnet, but with little avail. There were no ancient artifacts, rare jewels, or fine art on display anywhere.
"Hey guys" Murray said as he stepped out of the kitchen, "Do you mind keeping it down. I'm trying to learn these dance steps."
As shocked as Sly and Bentley were about Murray's new hobby, it didn't slow Sly at all when he saw a black sedan speeding up towards the boxcar.
"GET DOWN!" He screamed as he leapt across the room and tackled Murray to the ground (No easy feat) and Bentley hit the deck just as fast.
Instead of the hail of machine gun fire or explosives they expected however, they were assailed by a small package thrown through the open window. Sly jumped to the window, only to see the sedan speed off towards town.
Murray picked himself up.
"Should I get the van?" he inquired as he dusted himself off.
"No", Sly answered, "they'd be long gone by then. Let's take a look at what our mysterious friends "sent" us." Bentley approached the package slowly, eying it suspiciously. It was a simple package, the size of a software box, wrapped in brown paper and tied with some twine. There was no address, return or otherwise. Sly lifted his cane, and neatly slit the twine. Inside was a box, that when opened, turned out to contain a DVD inside a jewel case, a note that had Watch Me written on it. Sly looked at Bentley and raised an eyebrow. Bentley nodded and Sly walked over to the DVD player and inserted the disk. A black background appeared, followed by two lines of text. The first line read, Go To This Site, the second was a website that not even Bentley had heard of.
"Well?" Sly queried.
"We haven't had much business lately." Murray said.
"I'm certainly very suspicious," answered Bentley, "but this certainly is an interesting opportunity."
"Decided then!" Sly said exuberantly, and strode quickly to the computer. He sat down and connected, quickly typing in the site. He connected to it, and was pulled out of the chair by Bentley, who then hauled himself into the chair (this is after Sly 2 so Bentley is in a wheelchair) and took his rightful place at the computer chair. The site was a simple white background with an address and a time on it.
"204 Black Springs, Rue Bastille eh?" Murray said, "I know where that is. It's a high end apartment building downtown. Not too far either."
"This certainly is… intriguing." Sly muttered. "This sounds like an interesting opportunity. I think we have an appointment to keep this afternoon."
"As suspicious as I am of mysterious messages delivered by drive-by," Bentley said, "I've been searching for a job all morning and haven't found anything. If we take appropriate precautions I think we should check this out. But don't think I have thrown caution to the wind. I'm printing up maps of the neighborhood and I want everyone to familiarize themselves with three plans of escape. We have to be careful!"
The Cooper van drove into the very expensive neighborhood that their meeting was located in. It would have been a normal, everyday neighborhood, except for the fact that it was strangely empty of pedestrian traffic. Murray stopped the van in the parking lot of a building two blocks away, quickly putting up the panels that disguised the most distinctive features of the van. Bentley sat at his computer, the communications headset on his head as he triple-checked the escape plans. Sly go out, his hat and cane hidden under the long brown coat he was wearing to hide his distinctive blue garb. He walked with a strong, quick stride towards an unassuming apartment building. As he approached the building however, he noticed that the doorman was a little out of place. A tall, athletic husky stood in front, wearing a simple brown suit with a bulge under his coat that was obvious to Sly's practiced eye. He held up his hand as Sly approached, spoke quickly into a microphone clipped to his sleeve, and gestured for Sly to come over.
"Come in Mr. Cooper," the husky said, his Russian accent obvious, "they are expecting you. Eighth floor. " Sly stepped inside without a word. The lobby was filled with men who were obviously guards, at least four, and they eyed Sly as he stepped in. He strode to the elevator and stepped inside. When he reached the eighth floor he was greeted by an unusual site. One large room, it's only furnishings a large round table and chairs. At these chairs sat a variety of interesting people. The tall cougar stood up and gestured to a chair opposite to him.
"Please, have seat Mr. Cooper. Allow me to introduce my companions and myself. This large fellow here," he said indicating a massive bear that was seven feet if he was an inch "is Vladimir Zhaov. This is Professor Otto Van Trysk," next gesturing to the scruffy squirrel with goggles, "Ms. Kitsune" the striking fox in the kimono, "Apep" the massive cobra, "and I am Dr. Michael Xavius. We represent the Obsidian League.
I had heard of the Obsidian League. There are references to them in the Thievious Racconus in several chapters. They are an ancient, nation-spanning Thieves Guild that was founded in ancient Babylon. Known as the Obsidian League because of the obsidian tokens they used to identify their members, they have had a varied history. They try to uphold some tenets of honor, but they accept almost anyone with the right background so it's difficult. In their history they have been an honorable Thieves guild, an organization trying to uphold honor, and a gang of bloodthirsty thieves. The question is, what are they now?
Sly thought about all this as he sat down.
"This is all very interesting, but why have you contacted me?"
"We have contacted you, Mr. Cooper," Xhavius said with a sigh, "Because we desperately need your help."