CHAPTER 2: MISSION KNOWLEDGEABLE
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Okay, I did all the story content disclaimers in the first chapter. OC-focused, story basis, all the plans, T rating, yadda yadda yadda. You get the general idea there, and if you don't, go back a chapter. Long, rambling disclaimers are just boring.
Sly Cooper and all related properties are, I'm 99% sure, a trademark of Sucker Punch. Don't sue me, I'm too handsome to be in court.
With that out of the way, let's get this party started. Longtime Cooper fans will have probably already guessed the level this chapter is based on, but hey, what's wrong with the classics?
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Heists were never so tense or so fun as when running them solo. The Cooper clan knew this better than anyone else, and they acted on it whenever they could. Sure, List had some backup in the form of Abby remote hacking the station's defenses, but he was the only one in the field this time.
Landing softly on the rooftop, he paused to reflect on the past few days. He had spotted something wrong with the situation almost as soon as they were caught in the act back at the museum.
"Intel? We stole enough to relax for a bit before we go on our next heist." Abby asked, looking confused. "Why would you need to scope out the next target already?"
"Didn't you notice? One Constable, guarding the museum's storage wing… That's not normal. If it was under threat, they'd send an Inspector at least, and if it wasn't… Well, the museum is privately owned. They can't have Interpol acting as their private guards." List said, twirling his cane as he spoke. "Which means there are two possibilities."
"Yeah? What are they, then?" Rick asked, clearly curious but keeping his eyes on the road.
"Simple. A: The good Constable was acting on her own for one reason or another. Unlikely; she stopped shooting when she thought I was cornered, so she's probably not going to break the rules that quickly."
"I have a feeling B is the one you think is right." Abby murmured, as List let them consider.
"Hit it on the nose. B: They have several stakeouts going and are low on local personnel. Now, the only reason they'd send a Constable in alone is that the museum is low on the priority list - and given the value of the legit goods there, that's worrisome." he continued, looking pleased with himself.
"That makes… way too much sense. But who would they be looking for? This was our first heist… And we didn't even leave a calling card. The punishment for ratting out another ThiefNet member is a one-way ticket to the bottom of the Seine, and we wouldn't rat each other out, so they couldn't have been waiting for us." Abby mused, analyzing the situation.
"Right again. I want to find out who they were after… and whose toes we stepped on in that heist, other than the mafia."
"So that means… List, you're not thinking of-"
"I promise to be careful."
Prying the cover off of an air vent, List looked into the room below, then let out a soft chuckle. Looked like he was right; everyone was out of the office. Dropping quietly into the Interpol break room, he quickly scanned the room, then straightened up.
"Empty." he said with a smirk, to which a groan came through his earpiece.
"Be professional, please. You're breaking into the Interpol France HQ, and if you get caught, there is no way we can get you out." Abby scolded him, frantically typing on her computer. She had control of the cameras, but the firewall was a fierce one; she had to fight the system just to retain what little command she had.
"Who's gonna hear me? The walls?"
"Maybe! It might be bugged, did you think of that?!"
"Geez, fine, I'll be quiet."
List dropped into a crouch and stealthily made his way to the door. Picking the lock in the blink of an eye, he slipped into the hallway, still grinning at the complete absence of guards or officers.
"Alright, the information you want… It should be behind the door at the end of the hall."
Said door was red and unimportant-looking, but even with his stellar night-vision, List couldn't quite see the writing on it. Looking back, he later cursed his thoughtlessness for not having stopped and gotten a closer look.
"Sun's up in 20. Get your tail moving, List!" Abby's voice hissed through the earpiece. List responded by breaking into the stealthiest run he could manage; skidding to a stop at the door, he knelt down and inspected the lock.
"I don't think this can be picked. Well, it could, but the sun would be up and my cover would be blown long before I could get it open. Is there an alternate route into there?"
"Uh… Um… List, I'm freaking out!"
"Well, why are you asking me for suggestions? Take a deep breath and calm down."
"R…Right…"
A gasping breath quickly became a nearly inaudible muttering, but List's sensitive ears could hear the jackal on the other end clear as day. He never quite understood why she always did that to calm down, but whatever worked, he guessed.
"The door is locked, the roof's too slow, the vent is blocked, but that leaves the… Window! List, the window to that room is cracked open! You should be able to shimmy along the outside of the building and get in that way!" Abby exclaimed, sounding triumphant.
"Good thinking. There's no lock on this window, so I should be in and out in twenty seconds, tops." the half-coon grinned, before sliding open the window. Carefully climbing out into the cool Paris night, he spared a moment to admire the view of the Seine before slowly making his way across the narrow ledge connecting the two windows.
Grabbing the window, List pulled it all the way up, then swung into the room, landing in a silent roll. "Whoever works in this room, they definitely don't like paperwork. Say, whose room is this, anyways?" he asked, looking at the massive stacks of unfinished reports scattered around the room with something approaching genuine awe. He noted a small safe in the corner of the room; irrelevant, but if he had some time, maybe he could crack it for whatever was inside. Another window overlooked the fire escape.
"Uh… I didn't check. I just found that the case files you wanted were linked to this room number. Hang on, let me look it up…"
While Abby busied herself with the identity of the room's occupant, List quickly picked the lock on the desk drawer marked 'FILES K-S', reflecting on their laughable preparation for this heist. Heck, he had gone straight here after stashing the van!
"I still think this is a really bad idea." Abigail remarked, looking at the thief with a reproachful glare. "But the files you wanted to lift from Interpol… I found them."
"Really? Great work, Abby. We're not even home yet." List grinned, looking at the team hacker with a curious grin on his face.
"Yeah, yeah. They're labeled 'Steele Ring'. That's two e's and then one tacked on after the l. Room 4-C."
"Great! I should be able to get in and out before the night's even over. Any info from ThiefNet yet?"
"Before - List, what the hell?! You're going into Interpol TONIGHT?! We just pulled off our first major heist!"
"And considering the entire reason I'm going, the building should be practically abandoned. ThiefNet?"
"Ugh, fine. Nothing much from ThiefNet, but one of my fellow hackers says that the Steele Ring is one of the biggest smuggling operations worldwide. The members of the actual ring are all supposed to be hardened criminals and very secretive. The whole shebang surfaced about a year ago, and so far nobody's been able to stand in their way. If we really stepped on their toes, then we better either run fast or make our first punch the knockout blow."
"Don't worry. Once I've lifted those files from Interpol, and with a little more info from ThiefNet, we should be able to cause some major trouble in their operations."
"Why does everyone in your family always take on impossible odds?"
"Hey, my family line's been hunted by a giant mechanical laser owl fueled by nothing but pure hatred for as long as we've been around, right up until Dad killed him. Twice. After a couple of generations of that, living on the edge becomes the family tradition."
"…I just don't know how to argue against that. Fine. But you better not do anything stupid."
Searching through the files, List's eyes lit up as he finally came across the one he wanted. It was a pretty thick file, too. Only then did he become aware of Abby rhyming again.
"…cooked like geese and our feathers are plucked, if this is her room then we're so totally f-"
"Abby! Don't swear over the comm channel. Whose room is this?" List demanded, interrupting the jackal.
"It's her! It's her it's her it's her it's her!"
"Wait, you don't mean that-"
The door swung open, and List looked over his shoulder at it with a feeling of absolute terror.
Standing in evident shock was the same tigress he knew altogether too well, still in the same outfit she had been wearing to chase him across the roofs not two hours earlier.
For approximately three seconds, there was absolute silence in the room. Abby's channel had gone quiet. You could have heard a Cooper's steps.
"We really must stop meeting like this, Constable Alayna." List remarked, breaking the silence. He regretted saying anything a moment later, when he was staring down the gun he was becoming so involuntarily well acquainted with.
"What the hell are you doing here, criminal?! How the hell did you even get in?!" the tigress demanded, her enraged expression lending her naturally soft voice all the threat it needed.
"In order; figuring out why somebody as beautifully deadly as you was at the museum all alone earlier, and the place was completely empty, I just came in through the roof." he replied, not daring to move an inch.
"Flattery won't get you anywhere. You're under arrest for the theft of… Everything your little band of thieves took from the museum, plus however many crimes you've been party to as part of the Steele Ring, and for breaking and entering with intent to steal police evidence!"
"Now, now, no need to go throwing around accusations like that. Yes, my gang stole from that secret storage space in the museum - which was all stolen goods in the hands of the mafia - and yes, I did break into your office to relieve you of these files on the Steele Ring. But what makes you think the Cooper Gang would ever run with the Steele Ring? My team works on its own, you see."
"Even if you're telling the truth, you're still under arrest. No clothing lines to save your tail this time, thief - drop the cane and put both hands above your head."
"Aw, you remembered."
"What? What are you on about now?"
"You didn't call me 'criminal' that time. You called me 'thief'."
"I… You… Just drop the damn cane!" the now-flustered Constable demanded.
"But it looks like you didn't remember everything. I told you, the cane is too precious for me to just drop, and it belongs to me by birthright."
"You're staring down the barrel of my shock pistol. You don't have any bargaining power here, thief!"
"First, I'm flattered that you called me thief again. It's a sign of real progress, I think." List replied, not bothering to address the infuriated growl now rising from the tigress. "Second, I do have some power here. Namely, the papers surrounding us."
"How do a bunch of unfinished reports help a thief facing capture?"
"Simple. I have very good reflexes. If you pull the trigger, I'll dodge your first shot at least. And there's a mountain of paper right behind me. Sure, it's electricity, but the energy has to go somewhere… And when it hits that paper, the paper will catch on fire."
"…Clever dick."
"Yeah. If you try to shoot me, you run a very high risk of trapping us both in a room that will be very, very on fire."
"Fortunately, I don't need to shoot you."
"What do you-"
That was as far as he got before he saw stars. A vicious swipe of the shock pistol had caught him right in the face, knocking him back about a foot. Scrambling back to his feet, List glanced back at Officer Marais in disbelief.
"Did you just… Did you just hit me in the face with that shock pistol?"
"You didn't think shooting was the only trick up my sleeve, did you? You've got nowhere to run, thief. Drop the damn cane."
"Two things." List replied, grinning slightly despite the blood now running down his nose.
"Mon dieu, not another two."
"First, that was really quite astoundingly clever of you. I really should've seen it coming - you did whack me with it back at the museum, after all - but who expects a weapon like that being used to smash people at close range?"
"Nobody. I already told you, flattery will get you nowhere."
"Second, you really need to learn to identify escape routes."
"This is my office! I know every nook and cranny!"
"Sure, but you can't seem to figure out how to get out of anywhere in a split second. Heck, I've already got my route all planned out."
"You're just stalling for time. There's no way out of this room. The window you got in from overlooks a four story drop, with nothing to grab onto. I'm standing between you and the door. Take more than an instant and you get to feel several thousand volts of shock pistol. You're trapped."
"Am I?"
With that, List leaped backwards, into the window behind him. Crashing through it, he immediately hit the solid metal of the fire escape, watching in satisfaction as a bolt of energy sailed uselessly above him, accompanied by another scream of rage. Not willing to give the good Constable a solid target, he scooted backwards and out under the railing, immediately catching it with the gold hook of his cane and swinging onto the lower level of the fire escape. An energy weapon like Alayna's shock pistol couldn't possibly shoot through the steel floor. Probably. He knew where to meet Rick for extraction, but it wasn't too close to the building…
"GET BACK HERE, THIEF!"
…And he was going to have to run for his life to get there.
Scrambling to his feet, List sprinted down the stairs of the fire escape at full speed. Reaching the bottom, he dropped to the streets below, and was glad he never lost his footing - not a second later, Alayna hit the ground next to him, landing hard but unharmed.
List ducked into an alleyway to avoid the shock blasts coming his way, initiating a chase worthy of Benny Hill or Scooby Doo. Running north, east, south, west, up and down the stairs littered around the streets, once or twice even bumping right into one another.
"YOU CAN'T RUN FOREVER!" Alayna yelled, having lost visual for a moment. Frustrated, she stopped and looked around, trying to find the infuriating ringtail that just wouldn't stop giving her the slip.
Ducking down another alley, List was relieved to see that the van was waiting there. Diving into the back, he gave Rick a nod and they took off into the morning light.
A crash caught List's attention, and he turned to see that the Constable had broken down a fence to get to the street they were on. Several shock blasts flew their way, but Rick was able to keep the van clear. The half-raccoon thief waved to the enraged tigress, eliciting one final shout.
"YOU WON'T GET AWAY NEXT TIME, VOLEUR!" she shouted, rage burning in her eyes.
"Vol-ur? What's that?" Rick asked, turning the van around a corner and out of sight, as List simply grinned, closed the back doors of the van, and turned to his pal.
"It's French. It means 'thief'. Gotta say, I'm almost flattered." he replied, twirling his cane. "I've got the files. Hopefully, we can have a quiet week in London before going after the Steele Ring… I don't want to step on someone's toes without following through."
"Well, whoever they are, they're no match for the might of RICK!"
"I know, buddy. I know. Let's go home."
Even as they continued onwards, Alayna found something in her pocket. Growling in frustration, she stalked back to her office, clutching that little blue card so infamous in law enforcement. The Cooper Gang's next generation had finally arrived.
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Well, that was exciting. In case you're wondering, I just felt like paying a little homage to the first level of the first game. That's right, true believers, this was based on the intro level of the original Sly Cooper game. I know a lot of you probably think that's incredibly obvious, but there's bound to be one or two people who never got around to really playing Sly 1. And I remembered the calling card this time. Hehe.
The Steele Ring, let's have a quick look through the file List just stole… Whoa. These guys are the real deal. Weapons, drugs, these guys smuggle anything you'd care to call 'illegal'. And they've got their sights set on the Cooper Gang now. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, the plot of this story revolves around the Cooper Gang taking apart the Steele Ring before vice-versa occurs. Let's give the gang some time off, then head out for our first target. We won't be plowing through these guys one a chapter, don't worry.
Review if you have something to say, follow if you wanna see where the story goes from here, like if you liked it.
KeyFire here. KeyFire gone. G'night!
What secrets lurk in the shadows now? The gang is out for their well-earned vacation, and the ever-dangerous Constable Alayna shaken off of their tail… Momentarily. Find out who the first to fall is in Chapter 3: Russian In!