THE SLY COOPER CHRONICLES
TALES OF A TIGRESS

"Hold it right there, Cooper!" the voice of a female, pink-furred tigress said as she jumped in front of Sly Cooper as he was just running across the rooftops of Paris.

"Constable Neyla, another cop hot on my tail." Sly quipped.

"Oh please, I led you here." Neyla explained.

"I should have known. Any respectable law officer doesn't let anything as big as the Klaww gang just 'slip'. Why tell me this?" Sly asked.

"I know what a menace those Clockwerk parts are, and I don't like to see the Klaww Gang put them to use. Now, I want to offer an alliance, to make sure that they are out of the Klaww Gang's hands and destroyed. I can't trust Carmelita because she's a stickler for the rules and the parts would end up in the museum again. Technicality about a bunch of archeologists claiming ownership on the principle of 'finders, keepers'." Neyla said.

"How do I know I can trust you?" Sly asked.

"You are not the only one whom had lost a family to Clockwerk, Cooper." Neyla said sadly.

Sly's eyes widened. "You too?" he asked.

"Clockwerk didn't care whom got in his way, anyone whom ticks him off, ends up dead." Neyla said. There was some sorrow and anger in her voice. "So I want to make sure Clockwerk stays dead. And the best chance to make that happen is with the help of a Cooper. Your family were the only ones whom could defeat him."

Sly thought this true. If what she said was really true…then they are kindred spirits. "All right, say if I agree, what can you do for us?" Sly asked.

"I can give you a few clues to a few places of importance. Places I can't search without a warrant, but that should be no problem for you." Neyla noted. "I got a key to one of Dimitr's back doors."

"I don't normally need keys." Sly noted.

"Not for conventional locks, no. But the Klaww Gang are really secure." Neyla tossed Sly the key, whom caught it in his hands. "If you don't believe me, check it out for yourself. It's not like anyone can get the drop on the likes of you. You're basically a legend."

"Don't try to flatter me. I just put up with this because I want Clockwerk gone. And it is because of him you get the benefit of the doubt." Sly said. "But I can use all the help I can get. If we need your help again, how do we stay in touch?"

"If you need me, I'll know and I'll find you. Trust me." Neyla said as she leaped off the rooftop, walked on a rope not unlike Sly (though not as quickly) and leaped to another rooftop. For the time being, Sly decided to trust her…

A few weeks later, in India, at Rajan's 'ancestral palace'. "Cooper…that must be the worst disguise ever." Neyla pointed out. "Just a tux alone won't cut it."

"The Klaww Gang doesn't know what I look like, and Carmelita can't risk her little undercover operation for just me, not with all these other criminals in the room." Sly pointed out.

"What's your plan, Cooper?" Neyla asked.

"I need a distraction. Most of all for Carmelita. I need to convince her to have a little dance with me. Of course, she is picky about dance partners so I have to impress her." Sly explained.

"So you want me to dance with you to earn Ironsides' favour?" Neyla asked, raising an eyebrow. "I wouldn't mind dancing with a handsome man, but how are you sure things won't end in a shoot-out with Carmelita?"

"I know her. She wouldn't resist a chance to get up and close for what she thinks is a scenario I won't be able to get away from her." Sly responded.

"You seem to know her well…what do you even see in her?" Neyla asked. "For your information, she tries to arrest you."

"I think she makes my life all the more thrilling. Now, you care to help me with this dance?" Sly asked, reaching out his hand.

"Enchanté." Neyla replied.

Eventually the plan had worked, and they had gotten out with the Clockwerk wings without being arrested by Carmelita. But Rajan and the rest of the Klaww Gang had escaped as well. And Rajan still has one part, the Clockwerk Heart. And one week later, the Cooper Clan had traveled deep into the heart of the jungle to try and retrieve it.

On one of his missions, Sly ran into Neyla again. "Good to see you again Neyla. You weren't kidding when you said you'd find me when I need you."

"What can I say? I am a good tracker. And I tracked a secret entrance that you may be interested in. To one of the halves of the Clockwerk heart. If I'm not mistaken you hadn't found a way to get it." She said.

"Indeed. And you know where it is?" Sly said.

"Indeed. I can show it. You see that mossy rock, at the corner of the temple next to the huge elephant head? There is a marking on the rocks. Press it and you can get in." Neyla explained.

"Neyla…thank you, for everything." Sly said.

"Sly…when this is over…when Clockwerk is gone for good…would you go to Bollywood with me…perhaps see a musical, or have some curry?" Neyla asked, acting nervously.

"Are you asking me for a date, Neyla?" Sly asked, with a raised eyebrow and a bit of an amused grin.

"Perhaps…" Neyla pulled her hood a bit more over her head.

"I must say that my heart belongs to another, as you know…" Sly said. Neyla looked a bit dejected. "But two good friends hanging out, should be fine as well."

"Hanging out…Sure, I think I like that." Neyla said with a smile. "I have to go now, before Ironsides and Interpol get suspicious…so see you, bye!" Neyla said as she bolted off.

Sly let out a chuckle. "Well, let's get this job over with." He felt that everything would go right. They have the wings, the tailfeathers, and they were really to recover one of the heart's pieces. They got an ally on the police force to make things easier. It seemed luck was on their side.

But later that night, tragedy struck and they were reminded of a much grimmer reality. Neyla had betrayed them. Not only were Sly and Murray left to the Contessa, alongside Rajan, but she also had framed Carmelita. "You dirty, lying, cheating…she-dog!" Carmelita shouted at her as she was being cuffed. "Why? What did you ever do to you?"

"Nothing personally. I just felt it was my duty to expose a secret member of the Cooper Gang." Neyla said with a sadistic, sarcastic tone, an impish grin on her face, the façade of the sweet innocent girl gone.

"She is not part of our gang. Let her go, I'll confess every crime!" Sly said, trying to appease to the Contessa.

"I cannot take the risk. Besides, I know you Coopers have a great loyalty towards your teammates, of course you'd lie to get them to safety. Commendable, but you're all still criminals, and you all need to be rehabilitated!" the Contessa replied. She seemed just as dark as Neyla.

"Contessa…Please, let's cut the crap in front of these. You and I go way back, just let me go, I'll promise to get the spice operation up again in no time. We are friends right, Tess?" Rajan begged.

Contessa let out a cruel grin. "I have no idea what you are talking about. All I know is that you are up for a trip in my clinic. But you have been around spice your whole life, so my normal techniques won't suffice. You require…a special session. And since you're made of sturdier stuff you can take it just fine."

"You treacherous bitch! I gave you the spice you needed…you'll be nothing without me! You hear me? Without me, your operations are ruined!" Rajan said in anger, he tried rushing the Contessa but two of her vulture guards held him back. It didn't help Rajan was still weak from his beating by Murray.

"I don't know what you're saying, but you're clearly delusional. Even if you said was true, you are not the only spice lord in the world. Unfortunately, crime won't stop with you. But I can take on the problem, one criminal at the time."

"The Contessa is part of the Klaww Gang?" Murray asked. It didn't take a genius to figure that out.

"Of course. The Klaww Gang knew I would go after them eventually, so they set things up to get me out of the picutre. Neyla is your lapdog, sent to have me take the fall for you. Criminal scum! And you thought it's be funny to humiliate me by associating me with these thieves…no offense, Sly, Murray." Carmelita said.

"None taken. I take offense to the fact I thought that someone actually shared our interest of destroying those Clockwerk parts. I bet you don't even have a real history with Clockwerk." Sly growled.

"My poor family, slayed by big old bad Clockwerk!" Neyla said, in a mocking tone and faking crying sounds. "You are a fool, Sly. Quite handsome, I got to admit, but a gullible and naive fool nontheless. No worries about those Clockwerk parts, they'll be put to good use. My friend the Contessa will make sure you'll not have to worry about a thing anymore. Your brain may turn mushy in the process, but the blissful ignorance may very well be worth it." Neyla said.

"You are everything I hate: you're dishonest, you use people and throw them away as toys…and through it all you have to act like a…gold digger, putting up a pretty face and convincing men to give you things." Carmelita said.

"You are just mad that you're not the only one whom can catch Sly's eye…and don't lie about this being about playing cops and robbers, I know what you truly want of him." Neyla said, her voice, low, almost whispering, almost like the hissing of a snake. "But maybe I can convince the Contessa to turn him into a pretty boy toy I can take advantage off, while you rot away, seeing the work that generations of Foxes have built up being destroyed. A disgrace to your mother's memory!"

Carmelita lost is as she roared, knocked off the bats and wolves restraining her and jumped at Neyla. She then used the chains on her cuffs to grab Neyla from behind and started to choke her. However, one of the large vultures whacked her on the back of her head, knocking her down and forcing her to let go of Neyla.

Neyla growled angrily at Carmelita. "She's clearly a danger to herself and others…" she said, in an over-exaggerated sarcastic but creepy tone. "She needs to be put into isolation, with a muzzle, straightjacket, the whole works…where she can stay for a very long time…and rot!" Neyla shouted those last two words with venom in her voice.

"You won't get away with this!" Sly said.

"When I get out from these cuffs I'll break all of your bones and use the splinters as toothpicks!" Murray added. It took a dozen vultures to drag him off.

"Why do they always say that when it is clear we have won already?" Neyla sighed, rolling her eyes. "But at least all my least favorite people in the world are out of my hair, and I can finally do things my own way. Acting like a goody two shoes made me sick…"

"Wasn't there also a turtle on their team?" Contessa wondered.

"That guy? He is too afraid to even leave the house, let alone that he'll be able to make a change. Without his boyfriends he'll probably die in the jungle before the week is over. Oh well, in war against crime, there tend to be casualties. It will be so easy to justify to our superiors." Neyla said. With that, the criminals took off with our heroes…

Though Neyla had made a mistake in thinking that Bentley wouldn't come through for his friends…and it would eventually lead to her downfall.