SLY VOICE-OVER
The massive blimp of death was gone by the time I got out of the well. (image of Sly looking at the sky as soon as he gets out, then turning to the others, Otto leaning more on his cane than normal, Murray carrying Carmelita in his arms.) As soon as Bentley saw us, he destroyed the last barrier. And we got to watch everything get sucked away yet again. (Sly holds tight to Penelope as wind whips around them and pieces of planes and tanks get sucked to the vanishing tower; even Winthorp, bumping along the ground like a doll dragged behind a child, in a comical manner. Penelope, however, stays untouched.)
We regrouped back at the safe-house. Penelope was unconscious, but we weren't taking any chances with that. (image of Penelope tied hand and foot to a chair, Bentley and Murray both staring at her.) Carmelita was unconscious, too; something happened in that blimp that knocked her and Winthorp both out. I volunteered to take care of her. (Sly sets a vase of flowers on a bedside table next to a full-sized bed where Carmelita lays sleeping, then checks that the coffee machine next to it is ready and tucks her in before curling up on the bedcover beside her. Scattered around on the bed beside him are a rose, a box of chocolates, a bottle of wine, and a get well soon card.) She woke around sunset, grumpy and confused. (Carmelita is also immediately presented with a hot cup of caffeine.) It appears she'd finally cornered Winthorp when the mysterious Doctor threw a gas grenade of some sort at them, and all she could tell was that he was a fox.
Penelope didn't wake until dawn. It was... interesting. (We see the outside of the hotel as Penelope screams, it echoing off the windmills and setting birds flying off). We learned a little once she calmed down. We were right: she'd been brainwashed, and forced to eat spice, among other things. Unfortunately, it still held enough that she refused to say anything with me in sight, since I was her 'enemy'. (cue Sly strolling out of the room and into the empty, deserted hotel, where he goes down to the kitchen and makes a massive amount of pancakes.) Or Carmelita, because, well, cop. (Carmelita storms into the kitchen and is immediately presented with more coffee.) And Bentley certainly didn't want to deal with her. (Sly sets three plates of pancakes at a table and Bentley wheels over to join them.) That left us feeding Murray and Otto questions through the binoc-u-com for Penelope to answer. It worked about as well as you'd expect.
According to Penelope, it all started a couple months before she went missing. (flashback scene of Penelope pulling off a small heist and being nabbed in the act.) She was blindfolded when they brought her to the police; but The Doctor, whoever he is, had heard of her and wanted to use her talents. She won't describe how he got her to agree... but I can guess. (Shadowy forms of The Contessa, Miss Decibel, and a glimpse of the lightshow she went through earlier pass by.) His goal is to build an army of police robots, rule enforcers that will handle any transgression the moment it occurs. And Penelope was putting together the programming chips. She swore she'd tell us where their base is, once we returned to the present... if we didn't turn her in to the police.
This wasn't news that could wait, so we said some fast goodbyes and got in the van. (Penelope remains hogtied as Murray carries her into the back; Sly puts out his hand for Otto to shake, only to have the Temporal Raccoonus slapped into his hand.) Otto wished us luck and made me promise to come back and let him know how it went... and so he could actually write down what happened for his entry in the Temporal. Nice to know that book has a name, too.
We returned to the present to an uproar: Winthorp had already been taken in for interrogation, and confessed to contributing to 'The Corruption of Former Felons' as well as dealing with Spice. (Through a door-sized window, shadows show the director of Interpol having a grand old time yelling.) They tried to give us medals, too, but Carmelita turned them down flat. (through the door-window, we watch Carmelita shove the medal back in the Interpol director's hands.) Winthorp was not the head of the operation, and whoever is is also in law enforcement. And we have a lead.
(Carmelita leaves the briefing room, exhaustion written in the droop of her tail, the downcast turn of her ears. Sly wraps her in a hug and they stand there together, leaning against each other.) This has gone on long enough.
It's time to settle things—for all our sakes.
END OF AREA 5: PROGRAMS OF BETRAYAL
Author's Notes:
Full chapter of notes on Friday, two chapters next week (Tues and Friday).