Okay, now that the two retarded guards are out of commission, things are gonna get serious…and this is where some more angst comes in. Read and find out!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Penelope, how much farther do we have to go?"
"According to GPS I installed on the van, we're nearing the HQ now…just about 10 miles further, and we're in business, Murray." Penelope answered from the back of the van after taking a moment to read the tiny GPS screen before her. Murray glanced down at the speedometer and noted that he was going 60 miles an hour. They'd be there in about ten minutes. He could live with that (never thought Murray would know math so good, eh?). Nick turned his head to look back at the others from the passenger's seat.
"Omega, you guys know what to do during the operation, right?" Carmelita and Artemis both nodded their heads, not bothering to look up from instant messaging each other. They could be talking, sure, but they were having a VERY private conversation, so it would be of their best benefit that no one else hears them.
"You forgot recon, Nick. In recon, we're ALPHA, not OMEGA. Omega is during the operation." Artemis pointed out as she typed furiously on her laptop.
EmberFalcon: My god, Nick is such a dumbass sometimes.
Carmelita almost failed to suppress a giggle. Bentley flicked his glance over at the two girls for a moment but said nothing, and returned to reading a book he had brought along for the road trip.
Foxy223: LOL maybe that's why you like him!
EmberFalcon: T-T dude…not cool
Foxy223: You know you do. Don't be denying it!
EmberFalcon: let's move on to another subject
Foxy223: Aww, but it's fun to pick on you!
EmberFalcon: new subject
Foxy223: You know, I bet if you asked him out or something…
EmberFalcon: new subject
"What the hell are you two doing?" Bentley's nasally voice broke the two friends out of their digital conversation. Both waved him off by saying that Artemis was checking her e-mail and Carmelita was making a Google search on different pocky recipes. The turtle shook his head and returned to his book again. He could have all the knowledge he could fit into his abnormally sized cranium, and still never understand girls.
Foxy223: why is Bentley such a stiff?
EmberFalcon: because he doesn't understand the female population
Foxy223: and that's different from any other guy in the universe…how?
EmberFalcon: he gets pissed when he doesn't understand something. Let him be pissed, at least we understand something he doesn't.
Foxy223: true, true, very true.
"WILL YOU STOP TALKING ABOUT ME?" Bentley had finally erupted from his corner of the back of the van. Artemis and Carmelita were thrown into a hysterical fit of laughter at the flustered turtle's blood red face and he fumed at their childish nature.
"Do you honestly think you're fooling anyone? You're making fun of me again! Look, it's not MY fault I'm so short, but-"
"Wha…oh, no, no, no Bentley- we weren't making fun of that. Look at the screen," Carmelita quickly said, ushering Bentley over to Artemis's laptop. His beady black eyes scrolled down the instant message box, and there was a moment of silence that ensued.
"Oh…never mind then…" Bentley muttered as he reached for his book. Retrieving the desired item and settling himself back into his comfortable sitting position, he looked back up at Artemis for a moment. They blinked at each other for a moment, almost as if challenging each other to say something. Bentley looked like he wanted to ask Artemis something but feared her Akito skills, and Artemis looked irritated at the fact that he was looking at her like he wanted to ask her something but wouldn't because he feared her Akito skills. It was Bentley who finally voiced what had been nagging at him since he read the instant message box.
"By the way…why haven't you asked him out yet?"
(Meanwhile…)
Damian had to admit, Cooper was indeed a complex character, indeed.
From the moment the ringtail had attempted to clock him in the jaw (and nearly succeeded, but he wasn't about to mention that to anyone), the wolf came to realize that Cooper was most definitely one that wouldn't crack under pressure, no matter how heavy it was being laid on him. Damian's pearly white fangs poked out from the crease of his lips in a dark grin. If Cooper wasn't going to crack easily, then at least he wouldn't be spoiling the wolf's fun. His attention turned to adjusting his eyes to the darkness of the basement as the stainless steel doors of the elevator parted in front of him. The rectangle of light that sluggishly spilt out from the elevator's inside streamed across Sly's features. Though he was in his early twenties, the young raccoon appeared older from lack of sleep. Ever since the guards that were keeping watch over him were "excused of their duties," he had been so hell bent on staying awake; he was hesitant to even blink for longer than half a second.
Sly had quickly realized that Damian wasn't just some ordinary mad villain like so many he and his gang had encountered in the years previous. Those other villains that others had called "insane" appeared to be normal compared to this one lone wolf. In the raccoon's opinion, if you looked up the word "insane" in the dictionary, Damian's mug shot would be right next to the word's definition. And with the Cooper cane in that lunatic's possession…imagine what he was capable of. Recently, it had been Damian himself that had visited Cooper's cell, always bringing the Cooper cane with him, as if to tease the raccoon with his own family heirloom. Though Damian had failed to bring any guards with him during any of his trips to the cellar, it was clear to Sly that Damian was quite capable without them. About four days ago, he had managed to nab the keys to his cell off Damian, but the pickpocket job didn't go unnoticed by the wolf, who whipped around and clocked Sly in the jaw with his very own cane. Absentmindedly, he gingerly rubbed his fingers along the bluish-purple line that trailed from the right side of his jaw diagonally to just below his right eye. Now that he'd experienced the excruciating pain of the golden jagged hook on the end of his family cane, he almost felt bad for all the thugs he knocked unconscious over the years.
"Still awake, Cooper? How long do you intend to stay alert when your senses are screaming for rest?" Damian sneered at the exhausted thief. Though Sly was perfectly capable of speech at the moment, he resorted to his ancestor Slaii Cooper's teaching of, "should you have to face your foe eye to eye, don't let him see your weaknesses" and remained stone silent, his blank stare starting to visibly unnerve Damian. When the raccoon had given no vocal reply and an unreadable stare, it had thrown the wolf off balance for a moment. Cooper was stronger than he had anticipated, even managing to make him uncomfortable by so much as being in the thief's presence. There were very few things that could make Damian uncomfortable, and the fact that Sly was doing just that was unnerving the wolf even more. He couldn't have such hesitations when he was carrying out such huge operations.
"So, you won't answer to me like a civil person, eh?"
"I answer like a civilized person to a civilized person, not some fucked up douche that's got me locked up in his basement like some damn maniac. But I should apologize for the insult, I was mistaken. You're not a fucked up douche."
"I'm glad that you've-"
"You're a maniacal fucked up douche. My mistake,"
"Damn you, Cooper- if you weren't behind those metal bars-!"
"Yeah, about those; if you really want to take a crack at me, go ahead and unlock this door that has all these bars on it. Go ahead, really- I don't mind."
"One of these days, my friend-" Damian was cut short as one of the lower guards- a kangaroo- emerged from the elevator his boss had used moments ago to enter the basement. Unlike the calm demeanor of the wolf, the guard appeared flustered and timid under his employer's glare.
"Tony, this had better be important."
"That it is, sir- we just caught us a thief- a lady one- but we had to kill 'er."
"Was she connected with the Cooper Gang?" The wolf boss asked, unaware of the breath that Sly was holding, his already frayed nerves becoming even more distorted at the thought that it could be someone close to him…like…like…
"We're not for sure, but we did find this on her…" The kangaroo pulled out what appeared to be something wrapped up in a brown tattered cloth. Sly waited with baited breath as the guard unwrapped the object. His heart gave a painful lurch before shattering like glass.
It was Carmelita's old Interpol ID, her beautiful photo stained with droplets of blood, along with her now broken Interpol shock pistol.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't freak out on me yet, alright? Everything will be explained, and for those who are familiar with the series will know how I love to throw twists into the plot. Please review- all these hits and only a handful of reviews is no fair. I don't know what you guys are thinking if you don't talk to me! Pretty please review!