First off I want to apologize for the previous chapter. I felt like I really dropped the ball for you guys. But I hope to make up for it with this Chapter.
Hope you guys like it!
Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own Sly Cooper or Neyla.
Chapter 10: Venice, Day 1
The next day Sly and Neyla woke up early. After they ate a light breakfast they suited up, then headed out to explore Venice. Just as Sly had promised, he was going
to teach Neyla how to handle her cane. To accomplish this he took her to a spot where a lot of Octavios goons patrolled during the day.
"What are we doing today Sly?" Neyla asked.
"Today I'm going to teach you the art of pick-pocketing." Sly said. Then a lone flashlight guard appeared below the building they were on top of.
"Observe." Sly said as he jumped behind the flashlight guard. Then as the guard moved on Sly followed closely making sure he wasn't noticed. Then carefully using
his cane, he began to pick the guards pocket relieving him of all his money. Once the guard was dry, Sly found a nearby pipe, climbed it, then returned to the building
Neyla was at.
"That's handy." Neyla said.
"It is. Now occasionally you'll come across a guard with a large glowing pocket. Guards like those are usually carrying loot that we can sell on ThiefNet for extra
coins." Sly explained. Then before he continued another guard appeared with a large glowing pocket.
"Here's one now. Want to give it a try?" Sly asked. Neyla nodded.
"Remember the key part of pick-pocketing is making sure your not spotted." Sly said.
"Alright Sly." Neyla said as she jumped down and caught up behind the guard. Then just as Sly did earlier she made sure she wasn't seen and used her cane-sword to
pick the guards pocket. After a few moments she got what she was looking for: a gold ring. Then like Sly did earlier she found a pipe, climbed it, then returned to Sly.
There she showed him the ring.
"Not too shabby Neyla." Sly said smiling.
"Well I am learning from the best." Neyla said. Then Sly took a bow in response to her compliment earning a giggle from the tigress. The pair spent several hours
picking pockets from the guards. By the time noon came, the pair had amassed a great deal of coins: both in cash and in loot.
"I think you got the hang of this." Sly said. Neyla smiled and nodded at his response. Then suddenly Slys ear communicator went off.
"Sly here." he said answering the communicator.
"Sly where have you been?" replied the voice of Bentley.
"I've been training with Neyla. Why?" Sly asked.
"Well if you must know I have a plan for tonight. I need you both back at the safe house." Bentley said.
"Alright. We're heading back." Sly said.
"Who was it?" Neyla asked.
"That was Bentley. He needs us back at the safe house." Sly replied. Neyla nodded and the two headed back to the safe house. When they arrived Bentley had his
projector set up and when he saw the loot they were carrying he wasn't really surprised.
"Let me guess… you taught her how to pickpocket guards?" Bentley asked. Sly nodded as they put the loot down. Then Bentley motioned for the two of them to take
a seat. Once they were situated, he dimmed the lights as he began the slide show. It started out with a picture of Murray.
"Now from what you two told me, Murray refuses to rejoin the gang until his mission to his Guru as been fulfilled." Bentley started. Then his slide show changed to
pictures of orange valves.
"Whether we like it or not we're going to have to deal with Venice's tar problems in order to, as Murray puts it, "Make the black water run pure." Bentley continued as
the slide changed to a picture of the fox that chased them the previous night.
"Thanks to Inspector Fox's fine detective work, we already know that Don Octavio is somehow connected." Bentley said. Then he told them that as non-law operatives
they would be able to use a more head on approach during the operation. Then the next slide showed a massive opera house.
"First we'll need to break into Octavios opera house. If there's any dirt on him, we'll find it here." Bentley said as he moved to various slides of the Don.
"We should also keep a close eye on the Don. Some photographic evidence connecting him to the tar might be enough to get the old mobster put away." Bentley said.
Then the slide show ended.
"In the meantime, I'll be monitoring local communication frequencies. With some luck I should be able to gain some quality intel." Bentley said. The two nodded as
Bentley continued.
"We begin tonight. Be ready." Bentley said. Then as they were about to leave Bentley stopped Neyla.
"What is it Bentley?" Neyla asked. Bentley gathered his thoughts before he answered. Then letting out a sigh he spoke.
"Neyla, before I let you out into the field you're going to need this." Bentley said as he turned his chair around to retrieve something. When he turned back around
Neyla saw he was holding a device that looked similar to Slys binocucom. the difference was that this device was a darker shade of blue than Sly's.
"Neyla, this is called a binocucom. It's the gangs primary form of communication." Bentley said as he handed it to Neyla and explained the devices various functions.
"Now then, while Sly and I are infiltrating the opera house, I need you to tail the Don." Bentley said. Neyla was surprised that Bentley was trusting her with such a
task. She was about to ask him why but he cut her off.
"You want to start earning my trust right?" Bentley asked. Then Neyla understood.
"I won't let you down." Neyla said. Then Bentley sighed again.
"I hope so." Bentley said. Then Neyla nodded in reassurance to the turtle, then headed to her room to get ready. Once the sun set, it was time to get the operation
underway. The trio met and went over their jobs. Sly and Bentley were to infiltrate Octavios opera house and Neyla was to follow him while he was on his daily
rounds.
"Remember Neyla, after your mission is over head back to the safe house unless I tell you otherwise." Bentley said to Neyla.
"Understood." Neyla replied. Then the trio left the safe house and headed out to their respective missions. Neyla's mission began at a fountain near the police station.
Once she was in position she pulled out her binocucom and contacted Bentley.
"I'm in position Bentley, how long until he arrives?" Neyla asked.
"According to what I heard from the guards communications, he should be there in a matter of minutes. Would you like me to explain how to use the camera on your
binocucom?" Bentley asked. Neyla responded with a yes. After Bentley finished his explanation Neyla spotted Octavio near the fountain.
"He's here." Neyla said as she followed the man with her binocucom as he approached a nearby valve and began to operate it. Then moments later tar began to flow
into the fountain.
"That's wrong on so many levels." Neyla said truly disturbed. Bentley nodded in agreement.
"Get a picture of him before he finishes, then follow him around town. In the meantime Sly and I will be heading into the opera house." Bentley said.
"Alright Bentley, consider it done." Neyla said as they ended the transmission. Then remembering Bentleys instructions she activated the camera function of her
binocucom and took a photo of the Don. After he was done he moved on and Neyla followed him from the roof tops. It became a little tricky since several of the roof
tops were patrolled by smaller guards. The bright side was that Octavio had a tendency to sing as he walked so he wasn't hard to track. In the end she had
photographed him filling a bird bath, and water wheel with tar. But on one particular shot, she took a picture of him operating a valve outside a tunnel, but no tar
could be seen.
"Bentley he's operating a valve, but I don't see any tar." Neyla said as she got off the boat she was on.
"Well it had to go somewhere. Look around." Bentley said. When she was back on shore to her horror she saw where the tar went. As Octavio operated the valve, a
nearby aquarium was being filled with tar.
"Uh… Bentley you're not going to like this." Neyla said as she explained the sight to Bentley.
"He did what?!" Bentley demanded.
"He flooded an entire aquarium with tar." Neyla said.
"I can't believe he could stoop so low… all those poor dead fish! Keep on his tail Neyla, Sly and I are almost done here in the opera house." Bentley said anger heavily
coursing in his voice.
"Right away." Neyla said. Then as they finished talking Octavio was back on the move and Neyla resumed following him.
Meanwhile Sly and Bentley, after going through several obstacles and guards they finally reached what they were after: Octavios main computer. When Bentley saw it
he was amused.
"Yes! A Worlitzer-700. I can hack into this easy." Bentley said confidently.
"As long as you're enjoying yourself, that's the important thing." Sly said. Bentley looked at his friend and spoke.
"Aside from a few tense moments everything seemed to go very well." Bentley said.
"Speaking of which, you seemed pretty upset when you spoke to Neyla earlier. What did she say?" Sly asked.
"I'll tell you later. For now let's see what we can get off of his computer." Bentley said as he cracked his knuckles and began hacking the system. But about one
minute into the hack, an alarm went off.
"What?! A delay switch?! Sorry Sly this could take a while." Bentley said as he resumed in the hack. Then guards began to appear from two nearby doors. Sly saw
this and readied his cane. It was going to be a long night.
Outside of the opera house Neyla had followed Octavio to the nearby Ferris Wheel. Octavio entered one of the cars and took out a cell phone.
"Yeah, it's me, get that engineer on the horn." Neyla heard him say.
"Bentley do you read me?" Neyla asked on her earpiece. At that moment Bentley was viciously hacking the system while Sly protected him from the guards.
"I read you Neyla what is it?" He asked.
"I tracked Octavio to the local Ferris Wheel. He's in one of the cars, cell phone in hand, it sounds important." She said.
"Latch on to the car he's in, I want to know who he's talking to." Bentley said as he resumed his hack.
"Understood." She said. When Octavios car was low enough Neyla spotted a pipe just in front of the car. She moved as quickly and quietly as she could, she reached
it and latched on. As she did Octavio dialed another number and spoke.
"Listen Giovanni, this Ferris Wheel was a good idea, she's pumping the tar fast, and nobody, but nobody suspects a thing!" he said. Already Neyla was in shock, but
kept listening.
"But still… is it going to be enough to get things ready for my opera recital?... Bella! When the people come to see me sing I want to make sure they keep a comin'...
even if they don't feel like it. One way or the other they'll be opera fans again. Heh-heh… OK see you soon." he said as he hung up and jumped out of the car and
left.
"Did you catch all that Bentley?" Neyla asked.
"I did and he won't get away with it. Break open the control box with your cane-sword, I need you to do a little rewiring." Bentley said still focused on his hack. Neyla
did as she was told and broke open the nearby control panel. There Bentley walked her through the rewiring. As she did this, the wheel began to speed up. Little did
Neyla know a patrol was heading her way.
"Done. I'm pulling out." Neyla said as she ran back to the safe house. The wheel was now spinning uncontrollably. Then within a few moments it finally broke from
it's axle and rolled free, crushing the patrol.
Back at the opera house after almost twenty minutes, Bentley was finished with his hack.
"Download complete! Now we can find out exactly what Octavio is up to!" Bentley said. Sly nodded his head then the two headed out. After they exited the opera
house Bentley stopped.
"You're not coming?" Sly asked.
"There's something I need to take care of. Go on ahead without me." Bentley said. Sly wondered what his friend was up to, but he nodded then headed back to the
safe house. When he was gone, Bentley activated his chairs built in binocucom.
Back at the safe house, Neyla was waiting for Bentley and Sly when her binocucom went off. She picked it up and looked into it. On the screen was Bentley.
"Bentley? What is it?" Neyla asked.
"Neyla, I have another job for you. I need you to meet me by the police station as soon as possible." Bentley said. Neyla was wondering what the turtle was up to but
she agreed.
"Alright, I'm on my way." Neyla said as she put her binocucom away, picked up her weapon, and headed out. When she arrived she saw Bentley near the docks in a
police speed boat.
"What's the boat for?" Neyla asked.
"My sources told me earlier today that Octavio has hired the Blue Viper Gondola Gang, to take out Inspector Fox." Bentley said. Neyla gave him a confused look.
"Wasn't she the one who shot at me and Sly yesterday?" Neyla asked. Bentley nodded.
"Yes but in the past she has proven a valuable ally, and from what I heard of the Vipers, we don't want them to get to her." Bentley said.
"So we're going to use this boat to stop them?" Neyla asked.
"Yes. The front of the boat is equipped with a machine gun. But we need to hurry she's already out for her daily patrol, the thugs can't be too far behind." Bentley
said as he turned his chair around and took the gun controls. Neyla jumped in and took the motor control. Then as they got situated, three motor boats zoomed past
them.
"There they are Neyla! After them!" Bentley said. Then Neyla took the controls and they were off. They had chased the Vipers into a canal that unfortunately was
filled with other boats, as well as various shipping. Neyla, having to learn the motor controls on the go, was just barely dodging the incoming obstacles, while Bentley
fired the boats gun. Each of the Vipers, knowing the canals like the back of their hands, had the upper hand.
"Keep us steady Neyla!" Bentley said as he continued firing.
"I'm trying!" Neyla said. Then after a few more shots, Bentley was finally able to take out one of the Vipers.
"One down, two to go!" he said. As they progressed through the canal, Neyla had finally gotten the hang of the motor controls and was dodging obstacles with ease.
Before long Bentley had taken out the second Viper.
"One more!" Bentley said. Neyla nodded as she picked up the boats pace. Then once he had a clear shot, Bentley fired full throttle at the last Viper. The barrage of
shots hit the engine and in moments, it exploded launching the last of the Blue Vipers into the canal.
"That's the last one!" Bentley said. Neyla nodded as she slowed the boat down, and began looking for a way back to the station.
Meanwhile on her own boat.
"Another uneventful patrol. This city is beautiful, but a bit quiet for my tastes." Carmelita said to herself as she resumed her patrols. In a matter of minutes Neyla had
gotten Bentley back to shore.
"That was fun." Neyla said. But Bentley looked anything but happy.
"What's wrong?" Neyla asked.
"Nothing, I'm just hoping this won't come back to bite us." Bentley said. Once again Neyla was confused.
"Why do you think that?" Neyla asked.
"Because while she has helped us before, she is also the one in charge of catching Sly and the rest of us." Bentley said.
"Well don't worry about it too much. I'll head back to the safe house in a bit, I'm going to go stash this boat. Just in case we need it later." Neyla said as she headed
out. Then Bentley headed back to the safe house.
Meanwhile back at Dr.M's fortress.
"Hyah!" the tigress said as she tossed the guard she was sparring with across the room. Ever since her awakening she had been training hard to master her new
abilities. Of these she now possessed strength that could easily rival that of Murray.
"If this keeps up, I'm going to run out of guards." said a voice from behind. The tigress just smiled.
"Good evening Dr.M." she said as she turned around to face him.
"And good evening to you as well Neyla." Dr.M said. By the look on his face she knew he was here for a reason.
"What do you need doctor?" the tigress asked. Then Dr.M motioned for her to follow him. She did and the doctor led her to his laboratory where a massive metal crate
stood in the center of the room.
"What's in the crate?" Neyla asked. Then Dr.M gave slight chuckle.
"In this crate lies the beginning of Coopers end." Dr.M said as he took out his communicator and pressed a button. When he did the crate opened to reveal a suit of
armor.
"What in the world is that?" the tigress asked as she examined it. The suit consisted of dark armored leggings with a pair of equally armored black boots. The top was
also armored, and it came with a turtle neck that could easily hide her mouth and nose. Held by a hook above the suit was a pair of silver rimmed goggles with dark
lenses that were slanted slightly to give them a menacing appearance.
"The goggles are equipped with night vision, and infrared. In addition the armor has been designed to be extremely durable, lightweight and resistant to high
amounts of electric energy." Dr. M continued. The tigress was still amazed by what the doctor had done.
"But that's not all my dear." Dr.M said as he led her to another crate nearby. When he opened it he revealed a variety of weapons for her to use. The first thing she
saw was a coiled black whip.
"That my dear is a very powerful electro-whip. Once it coils around your opponent press the red button and they will be in for the shock of a lifetime." Dr.M said.
Along side the whip was a set of curved black metal throwing knives.
"Throwing knives huh? Well that's certainly subtle." she said as she held one of them.
"Each one with an armor piercing point." Dr.M said. The tigress smiled with satisfaction.
"It's perfect." she said. Then Dr.M began to leave the room.
"I'll just leave the room so you can get changed, I need to get things ready for your departure." Dr.M said. This confused the tigress.
"Departure? To where?" Neyla asked. Dr.M stopped and without turning around he told her.
"You're going to Venice, Italy my dear. My scouts there tell me that a certain fox from your past is conducting an investigation there." Dr.M said. This caused the
tigress to form a devilish grin.
"I knew that would please you. I'll have you there before the sun rises." Dr.M said as he finally left the room. Then as she began to put on her armor there was a
single thought in her mind: How Inspector Foxes pelt would look as a rug for her room.
Good grief this chapter drove me crazier than the last one! I hope you guys enjoyed it. Please read and review and if you believe there is
improvement to be made, leave a review or send me a PM. Until then I'll see you guys later!