*Sly POV*
Bentley had certainly been obsessed with trying to find the perfect way to barge into Dr. M's fortress and get into the Cooper Vault. He soon came to the conclusion that there was no way inside unless we picked up a dedicated RC Specialist: an expert who had mechanical and piloting skills far exceeding his own.
After weeks of searching techy chatrooms, he finally found someone who could keep up with him intellectually: a gearhead genius out of Holland named Penelope. She politely declined our invitation to join the team, saying she only works for "the best." And her idea of the best just so happened to be her boss, the Black Baron, a bigtime dogfighting champ up there in Holland. He's so good that he's even set up an international competition called ACES to attract worthy opponents.
A few days later, she sent us a counteroffer. If our gang could manage to beat the Black Baron at his own game, then she'd know we weren't just a pack of show-offs and therefore worth her time. So, we got busy. With no time to lose, Bentley and Murray worked to put a plane together using Otto van Cooper's entries from the Thievius Raccoonus for help while Ben, Neyla, and I got our pilot licenses the fastest way possible.
We'd prove to Penelope that the Cooper Gang was up for the challenge, even if we were making it all up as we went along. But then again, that's kind of how we roll regardless.
The group decided to make their way to Holland via the planes Bentley and Murray crafted for Ben, Sly, and Neyla. Thankfully, they had plenty of seating for co-pilots and secondary passengers. Bentley flew with Sly, Murray flew with Neyla, and Ben flew with Guru.
As they were flying, Guru was telling Ben about all sorts of Aboriginal tricks that he could potentially try out. As it turned out, Ben had the potential for Aboriginal Magic just like Murray.
"I see, a way to tap into people's emotions in order to uncover truths and lies they may be hiding. Ingenious!" Ben said as Guru chuckled in agreement, nodding his head.
The trip to Holland was actually pretty short, roughly only four hours. Though Murray and Ben both needed to stop for bathroom breaks. Soon, they arrived at their destination and got themselves signed up for the ACES Competition. The gang had a few days until the tournament officially began, so they decided to settle into their hotel and see the sights before getting ready for the jobs ahead.
As everyone was doing some sightseeing, Ben decided to break off, telling them he had some important stuff he needed to do. He soon made his way to what he could only assume was the Black Baron's castle estate. There was a drawbridge and as luck would have it, it was lowered for some of the guards to walk through. Ben quickly turned invisible with Slytunkhaumen's technique and snuck inside before the drawbridge closed.
Making his way into the estate, Ben looked around to see it was surprisingly well-kept in appearance. While sneaking around, he came across a large room that looked very cutesy in design. It had a lot of plush dolls and fluffy pink furniture, including a bed that was covered in hearts. Ben then noticed a photo of Penelope, the Mouse Beastkin girl that Bentley had contacted and who had made the offer for them to beat the Black Baron in order for her to join the gang.
"This must be her room. I guess the Baron lets her live pretty comfily since she's his Chief Mechanic and all that..." Ben muttered before hearing some noise from above.
"Okay, boys, as you all know, the ACES competition is going to be full of people that, as we have seen in previous years, played quite unfairly in these tournaments. So, from here on out, I want a full armada of you out in the pastures and the towns of this place. If you spot anyone outside during downtime, unless they are going directly down the path to their hangars, beat them to a pulp and toss them right back into the hotel entrance. We will have a fair competition this year!"
"That must be the Black Baron..." Ben thought as he proceeded up the nearby staircase and saw the Baron was alone after the guards left down a different staircase.
The Baron then let out a relieved sigh before taking off his mask, Ben's eyes widening in disbelief when he saw that 'he' was actually Penelope. He almost exclaimed in shock before slapping his bionic hand over his mouth to stop himself from giving away his position.
"Finally, it's hard to keep that act up all the time all day...I really hope those Coopers deliver. I don't want to be stuck living in this suit forever."
Ben quickly bolted out of the estate, catching Penelope's attention briefly before she shrugged it off as just the place settling. He soon made his way back to the hotel room the gang was staying at. He decided to keep what he discovered to himself. After all, he often enjoyed trolling his friends here and there, all in good fun of course.
After taking some downtime, Ben and Sly dressed up in their pilot attire and headed into the hotel complex. Bentley keeping contact with them via intercoms in their ears.
"Okay, guys, it's time to get up to some deviousness."
"Deviousness is the Cooper Gang's style, Bents. What did you have in mind?" Sly asked.
"Well, the Baron is unscrupulously fair in these tournaments. In years past, competitors would go out at night and sabotage each other's planes, in preparation for the next day's dogfight."
Ben and Sly nodded. "I get it, so now they keep the line-up a secret, and no one knows who to mess with."
"Precisely. Look, guys, you and Neyla are all good pilots, but we've only got three planes, and you'll be up there against dozens of bogeys."
"You know, normally I'd make some snide remark about you being overly worried about your confidence in us, but those are some grim odds. So how do we do this?" Sly asked.
"Well, the flight roster is kept secret from the pilots, but not the event staff." Bentley smiled.
"A man on the inside, huh? Who's our mole?" Ben asked.
"Our... 'friend', Dimitri has been hired to give color commentary during the dogfights. Find him and interrogate him to find out where the roster is being kept. But remember not to pick any fights with the other pilots. If we get into a fight with any pilots, we'll be kicked out of the contest." Bentley warned.
"Sure, we all play nice until tomorrow, then we blow each other to bits at 300 feet." Sly chuckled.
The two thieves approached Dimitri as he was busy at the bar, smoking a cigar. Ben then flicked out a gold coin with a clown smile engraved on it and placed it down, sliding it up to Dimitri as he took notice and immediately recognized the two.
"Dimitri, funny seeing you here...Never pegged you as a flyboy." Sly said.
"Like a dance floor with many lights, I have many profiles, dig? Don't even try to understand the silky enigma of Dimitri." The Iguana Beastkin said in his usual smooth style.
"Bentley seemed to think you might have a copy of the ACES flight line-up...Is that true?" Ben asked as Dimitri gave him the stink eye.
"And why should I talk to a pair of two-bit, rooty-poot cracker-box like you? Question Mark in bold...Why?!"
"Hey, we all know you're gonna tell us; you wouldn't have bothered showing up if you didn't want to talk...So spill it."
Dimitri chuckled but shook his head. "I know, but to talk is like sitting on Electric Chair! The Baron has eyes, eyes and ears, ears and fists! Dimitri will be discovered, and the jig is pinched!"
"Dimitri, relax. You've got the style and besides, you helped us out back in Paris way back when after you learned of Arpeggio's schemes with the spices from your nightclub. I think you've got the guts to help us out again."
"Heh, the big guts I do have. Too tough to be punched through!" Dimitri said, finding Ben had a point. "Okay, I'll talk of flight line-up if you can agree to owe Dimitri...a favor, which I'll collect in a few months of time."
"What's the favor?" Sly asked with a curious smile.
"This no small-time favor like, 'will you water my fish or feed my plant'? No way, bros! Like awesome big mafia jumbo deal. Like action movies, big time." Dimitri explained dramatically.
"I feel like your deal might benefit us just as much as it'll benefit you. Let's shake on it." Ben said as he offered his bionic hand, which Dimitri took with a smile.
"Done! The bargain, she is struck! To find flight roster, look behind one of the tacky paintings in Black Baron's air hangar. It's hidden in secret safe."
"Art decryption lock, huh? I know just the guy for the job." Sly smirked. Dimitri then noticed something and gasped.
"Stand cool, here comes Big Cheese!"
Sly and Ben turned to see the Black Baron walking into the lobby. All the pilots who were hanging around stopped whatever they were doing to see the host of the ACES Competition in person.
"I bid you all a most flamboyant welcome, my esteemed comrades of the skies. Welcome, WELCOME to another year of the ACES competition. We've got teams here from across the globe: Canada, Belgium, Ecuador, Iceland, Korea, and many, many more! Not the least of which is last year's deadly runner-up, Team Muggshot!"
Sly and Ben were both shocked as they turned to see their old foe from the Fiendish Five standing by the railings, a cocky smirk on his face.
"This time we're gonna drill you jokers fulla holes! I got too much ridin' on this year ta fail!"
"Now, we all know that in years past, some teams have endeavored in a little 'good-natured' late night hi-jinks," the Baron said as the pilots all began laughing.
"Like when Team Canada stole Ecuador's parachutes!" one of the Belgians smiled.
"Or when Team Iceland sawed the landing gear off Korea's plane!" one of the Canadians laughed.
"Or when Portugal put rat poison in Team Muggshot's coffee machine!" Muggshot certainly looked peeved upon hearing that.
"Yes, that was all so VERY funny but NO MORE! You know the rules, no one, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE is allowed outside for any reason other than going to the hangars!" The Baron said seriously. "If my guards catch you outside and not on the trail, you will be beaten to within an inch of your life. No excuses! This will be a fair competition!"
"Same as last year and the year before, I got the scars to prove it!" one of Muggshot's boys smiled with a couple of scars on his biceps. Muggshot and the rest of his team all smiled proudly at him, giving him pointers and thumbs-up.
"I bid you all a sweet night's rest, fellow aviators. Tonight, sleep like geese. And tomorrow, soar like eagles! High! What, what! Haha!" the Baron laughed as he then walked off, his piece having been said.
"They don't lock the front door to the hotel, this isn't a jail, but you heard the Baron. Once outside, things will get dangerous!" Bentley warned on the comms as Ben and Sly nodded before heading off to the Baron's estate in order to find the painting safe he hid the flight line-up in.
"Time for some dirty playing."
Next Time: Soar like Eagles!
The Cooper Gang work to sabotage their opponents in order to make it to the finals in order to confront the Black Baron!