Sly Speaks

He didn't like it when I dropped in on him, but by this time I did not care. I had to keep his attention on me, and hopefully only me. "You sent me a message," I said. "What do you want?" " I know damn well I can look nasty when I choose. I stood with my arms crossed, staff in hand, and waited.

"So I did," he said, still sitting. He had nerve; he didn't even jump when I landed. "There is a certain party who is causing me problems. I want him dealt with." He went into detail. I almost puked. He wanted me to assassinate someone. I told him no as soon as he gave me a chance.

"Now think," he said mildly. "It seems my information must have been correct; here you are, Sly Cooper, staff and all, but it was Syl Cooper the Interpol constable I sent the message to. This rather ruins your little masquerade of forgetting, doesn't it? If I drop a line or a word to the right person, you'll have your nice little life ruined, won't you?"

"I don't kill." So it was a setup. I had wondered. I hoped again my arrangements would come through. "You must have your little cameras clicking now. Sly Cooper is dead. No more little arrogant cards, no more stunts. He died in a little island in the South Pacific when a vault fell in on him. When I got your little message, I thought it was worth the time to see what this was all about. You've wasted your time." If all he wanted was to expose me, this should get him talking. I hoped.

He smiled a grim smile that lasted only a while. "My little cameras would not do me much good, without more proof. I have sources, shall I say. I know that Sly Cooper the thief and Syl Cooper the Interpol cop are one and the same. I know that you were recruited due to loss of memory, and that more than likely that memory has returned, though at this time you're allowing the pretense to continue. I also know why you had such a change of heart. It is a wonder what a good woman can do for most of us." He raised his voice. "Isn't that so, Inspector Fox?"

I heard cursing in Carmelita's voice. Then she landed beside me, with one of those long jumps of hers. I could tell right away that something was wrong. She stood, but she was listing. I put my arm around her, my heart slamming. Was this part of the setup? Had this jerk deliberately lured her here, to see me exposed, or did he intend to threaten her to gain my cooperation? If Carmelita was hurt, we were in real trouble.

"Hello, my dear," the blackmailer said calmly. "Lovely as ever, but hardened, are you not." His voice had turned to acid.

"Is there a point to all this, Pierre?" she asked. For once, she wasn't shouting. I almost let go. My dear? Pierre? She knew him? Then she reached up and gripped my shoulder, and I knew for certain she was hurt. I didn't like the way he looked at her. There was something twisted in it.

"Certainly," he said. "I'm so glad you joined us, little Carmel." Carmelita winced. " I was certain you would appear after I left that message. It saved me the trouble of bringing you here."

"What do you want?" Her voice was cold, the same voice she used to use when I teased her. There was an edge I wasn't used to hearing. Something was certainly wrong, because Carmelita Montoya Fox, Inspector, was afraid.

"Would you care to introduce me?" I asked, hoping to distract them from the staring contest.

"Pierre Kitsune," Carmelita said flatly. "Son of Jean Kitsune, drug lord, who died in prison years ago."

"And on finding out our background, you renounced your only brother-so fickle." The acid dripped harder, and his face hardened. I thought Carmelita was as alone as I was. Come to think of it, she was; before, I'd had Bentley and Murray, and I'd never really lost them. Having someone like this for family might even be worse than being alone.

"You lied to me." Finally she started shouting. I was relieved, even though my ears were ringing now. "I heard you talking to your father about the warehouse! You always knew what was going on, and now you've taken his place. I should have listened to Mother and never talked to either of you." She lowered the volume so that only half of Paris could hear her and not the whole city. So, this was a half-brother.

"You betrayed your family." He wasn't shouting, but he was just as mad. I looked past both of them. Guards were beginning to disappear. I thought I heard some grunts or snores. I also heard something humming.

"I left," she said, this time normally. "That's not betrayal. You and your father ruined your lives all by yourselves. I went and found my own."

"Oh, yes, the famous Inspector Fox, who brings in all the major criminals except the one you were sent for?" He looked at me, and his rage was headed in my direction. "Is that what you pride yourself on? Since you were after the one who brought us down, I left you alone." I didn't even try to deny it. Pierre's father had been a drug lord from her own admission, and she knew who I went after. Deliberately, she kissed me on the cheek, and then went back to staring at her brother.

"I've known that for quite some time," she said.

That was news to both of us.

"It's time you were brought back home. Now that he's done the one thing he's good for, I can get rid of him, and you can provide me with the one thing I can't provide myself." That twisted look came back into his face. We both stared at him. Not only was he not playing with a full deck, I was fairly sure he didn't have a card left. What could he possibly be talking about? "Let me give you a hint. I own a chemist, and I knew some thieves not quite as skilled as Sly Cooper, but who only had to replace something, not steal it. For the last few months, my dear sister, you've been taking fertility pills. I can't sire children. Since I can't provide myself with a family, you will for me."

Carmelita pulled her shock pistol.

I knocked the gun out of her hand.

She fell.

I grabbed for her. Then Pierre hit both of us. I managed to knock Pierre away, and he rolled to his feet as I got Carmelita into a sitting position and stayed by her. She was listing. I could hear running and shouting behind me. Finally the backup was arriving! I glanced back to see Hank and Murray running up. Glancing up, I saw a small RC helicopter. Then I glanced behind Pierre, and I saw the shadow of a wheelchair, with a squirrel outline beside it. Murray? Bentley? What were they doing here? Pierre looked around and started shouting something I didn't understand. He held something up.

I knocked it out of his hands, and it went flying over the side of the building. He started to laugh, a high, shrill sound, and stepped back. For a moment I thought he was falling; then I realized he was descending on some kind of elevator. I picked up Carmelita and handed her to Hank. "Everyone off the building, he might be crazy enough to blow it. Get her to the hospital. I'm going after him." I couldn't afford not to; he was a threat to all of us now. I didn't stop to wonder how my two alike and different sets of friends were all there. Hank was already moving with Murray ahead of him to be sure the way was clear.

"Sly, take this!" Something flew to me. It was a binocucom. "It's already programmed!" I could see the wheelchair moving with Shelly racing behind. I leaped after the elevator, but too late; he was out of it, and moving. I followed, yanking on the binocucom as I went, and Penelope's voice came over the line.

"Sly, here's the blueprint; I've uploaded it. Bentley will take over when they're safe. Shelly said Carmelita's just faint; she doesn't think anything serious is wrong. "Part of me relaxed. "The thing you knocked out of his hand was a grenade. It exploded on the street; no one was hurt except some windows. That's the good news. The bad news is that Pierre says he's planted a bomb at the orphanage on a timer, and if he doesn't give the code, it'll go. He's known for lying and letting things like that go anyway, so you've got to get a computer on so Bentley can hack into it. There's an office room on your right."

"I'm on it." I turned on the computer and connected it to the internet. Then I went looking for Pierre again. A shot that went over my head warned me that he was probably nearby. "Penelope! Did they clear the building?"

"Yes. It should be the two of you. Wait-"

Shelly came on the line and told me not to catch him." See where he goes. Something else might be up. Carmelita's fine."

I set the smoke bomb and moved. I heard coughing and went after it, hiding in shadows, being as quiet as I could. He was heading back to the roof. I could finally see him, but not get to him. He was carrying something with an antenna. I told Shelly.

"Try to trip him and break the antenna." That was tricky. He kept turning, and sometimes he would let a shot go without any warning. I got close enough and tripped him without him seeing me, and lucked up. The antenna wasn't broken, but it was bent. Shelly consulted with Penelope, who agreed that that would force him into direct line of sight to set off the bomb or whatever he planned to set off. I followed, wanting to seize him and slam him into the ground for putting all of us into this. As if he could hear my thoughts, he started to talk, firing the gun randomly. I don't know how many times he reloaded the damn thing.

"If you're following me, Cooper, you're a fool. Little Carmen's pregnant because I can't have children. Someone told me to adopt. I won't. I've kept an eye on her for years, while I rebuilt the empire my father started. You're fools, you and her. It's a dog eat dog world, and those people with ideals will just get rolled over. You do know I'm going to kill you. I just need the child. Carmen's my half-sister, but my mother took her away and filled her with stupid ideals. Then look who she hooked up with! I couldn't have picked a better father. Your child, hers, my training- he'll be strong, and able to build the family past where father and I had it."

I would have jumped him but he started firing crazily again, and laughed. "Think of it. Think of a child with your talents, Cooper, raised without the damn nonsense about the pride of robbing other criminals. It was a kind of cowardice, wasn't it? Let them actually steal the item, then take it from them and they have all the blame and you can feel smug. Do you think your father limited himself to other criminals! Ha! But given time, he would have changed you. The damn orphanage was the one that kept you from becoming the real thief you could have been. He let your mother start you down that. He was like you, besotted with the woman. Did you know that? Do you think you were the only one to know anything about the Coopers? I found people who knew your father, who knew a little about you, and I got them to talk. Nobody knew much, but they told me enough to bring you here. And the constable you saved? You think he was grateful? He told me the most."

"He's got me pinned down!" I hissed at Shelly as the bullets rang out.

"Bentley's almost got the computer hacked." It was Penelope." They're evacuating the orphanage now, and backup is coming behind you. Let him talk. If he shuts up, follow him." He started moving again, and I followed him.

"Poor little Carmen. I had her charmed. I had it all planned out. She would go to law school, get into the judiciary. By that time she would have seen enough of the real world to be disgusted, and she would have worked with us. Papa approved. He thought keeping everything in the family was important. Then you, a cocky teenager with an attitude and a family tradition, just had to step on everything. Did it make you feel good to tear my family apart? Papa died when they brought in the verdict. She left as soon as I refused to drop the business. What kind of a fool was she? "He was raving, starting to shoot in all directions now, and I stood still, using the invisibility technique. He didn't come close, but I kept wondering if he would hear me sweat. Then he started moving again, and once again I followed. I got close enough to pick his pocket and he didn't even feel it. He was certainly headed for the roof, and I lagged long enough to tell Penelope that. She told me Bentley had the computer hacked but had not yet found the bomb information. Pierre was starting to pant and shake. I wondered what was wrong with him, beyond being out of his mind.

"I need something to come after me. I'm not leaving this world without something of me left behind. She owes me that. She betrayed me. She left, and I was alone. Everyone shunned me, even though they couldn't prove anything. I proved I was as good as Father. I got married. She died. I had a mistress. She died. Both of them of cancer, and now it's my turn." He was at the roof now. "And I won't have to hear the brats again, or think about the place that raised you to tear my family apart and reminding me of the failure of all of us." He turned and pointed the unit toward the orphanage.

I charged him. For the first time he heard footsteps and turned, but I knocked the gun away, and snatched the antenna. He started to scream curses, and pulled a knife. He knew how to use it, too. We circled. He slashed, I countered. I could only use one hand; the other held the antenna, and I couldn't take my eyes away long enough to deal with it. It was all I could do to keep him off. He managed to circle to the gun, but he was up against the edge of the roof. I dropped the antenna and smashed the gun away again.

He fell off the roof. I lunged forward and caught him by the arm. He looked up at me and kicked against the wall. At first I thought he was just flailing, and I started to pull back. He yanked, and we both almost went over. I went flat, with him still dangling. He stared at me a moment, with his other hand groping at the wall, and then an insane grin crossed his face. He pulled a loose brick from the wall and slammed it into my arm. I heard the crunch as the bones broke and pain hit. My hand let go.

It took him forever to stop falling. He made no sound at all.