Ziggy's Corner: Hey cool, you guys have nearly captured the gold medal for my total reviewer! That means this story is a massive hit! A MidWinter's Romance is only four reviews ahead, just 47- these 43! At one point as I counted the new crop of reviews this story did actually take the gold, but lost it shortly after words. Anyway do not give up, who knows, this might just take the title yet! If I make this a forty chapter story, then it may blow the Avatar story out of the water. Anyway I will start the story, and let fate take care of the story. One word though, the sisters have just entered the normal timeline now. Before that, Carmen and Olivia were a good twenty hours behind everyone. Sorry for the inconvenience. Also sorry for the paragraph spaces, I had put some in, but apparently it wasn't obvious what they were or at least was not putting them in, so I'll try it a different way and hopefully that will work!
Carmen was tired, and Olivia was seriously irritating. It was one constant complaint with that girl this whole time, and the nun had begun to consider the wisdom of taking her along for the ride. Especially now.
"I can't believe we can't even wear our normal clothes," the actress cried, tugging at her robes and clothes around her body. "I mean have they even worn these things here?"
"Gee, I wonder," Carmen groaned. "It's an Islamic country Olivia, what do you think?"
Turkey wasn't as fanatic about their faith as say, old Afghanistan or Iran were, but they still didn't like seeing women walking around with so much flesh showing, and that suited Carmen fine. The less attention they drew to themselves, the better.
Adana, Turkey was a large city, half the size of Dallas, Texas with people going from one end to the other, selling their goods, and peparing to send agriculture and cotton, wheat, and other produce to other areas of Turkey and beyond to sell.
"Why are we here?" Olivia whined, ignoring grunts of anger as she pushed by pedestrians.
"Because we have a lead about Charlie the Great," the nun said her voice lower and her eyes moving around. "You read it, a former business partner of the shark, an Asad ben Marid, lives here, and may know something about him."
"So you had me cover up, but what about you? I mean I see a lot of women who are not veiling their faces. What is wrong with how you normally dress?"
"Islamic country," Carmen said under her breath yet again. "I've had bad experiences with countries who aren't very happy to see a woman of the cloth, so to speak, in their land."
She remembered a time when she had traveled to Nepal to aide in the recovery of a village there. She had been so optimistic, and when she and a number of nuns reached the village, several teenagers with vicious looking weapons approached them, and scanned them for a long time. Finally a nineteen year old girl looked at them, leveled the weapon and ordered them to leave.
"But why?" Carmen had asked, not sure what was happening.
"This village is under the protection of the People's Liberation Army," she had snapped, her finger itching to press the trigger. "We don't need religion here. The people can look after themselves."
"But we have food, and clothes," she had tried to say.
"Which were made on the backs of the poor, and donated by imperialistic capitalists," the girl growled, quoting her mantra as it had been programmed of her to do. "The Communist nation of Nepal does not associate with the rich and haughty, nor do we acknowledge fanatics who refuse to give up their superstitions. Now leave."
Carmen could still feel the rage and fear of that day, but in the interest of her faith, she put it behind her, and prayed for the soul of that poor, angry young girl. The day was growing late, and they still had to find the stone bridge, where they would pass to get to this contact's home.
It didn't take them long to get to it, a stone building with red bricks, and large glass windows, blowing bitter black smoke out of its chimney. It was labeled a toy factory, but she had her doubts. Why would Charlie the Great's one time partner be in business for toys? And what was a toy factory doing in Turkey?
"Some one forgot to tell this guy that we've reached the twenty-first century, Olivia said her brown eyes glittering in the sun's light.
"Just keep your mouth closed and your eyes open for anything that seems out of the ordinary," the nun said.
"Oh, you mean like a nineteenth century toy factory in a twenty-first nation that still thinks it's part of a sixteenth century empire?" Olivia asked, her lips twisting upward.
Carmen contemplated saying something to her, but decided against it. No sense in arguing here in public and letting people look at them. "Look, I am sorry if you're having a hard time here, but if we want to know what is going on, we have to do this for the family."
Olivia looked at her older sister, and turned away. "Fine, you're the boss, it's about time you decided to start acting like it."
Carmen bit her lips and opened the door, walking into the lobby. A young sheep was sitting at the front desk, and looked up at them, smiling at them as they walked in. "You are the next appointment for Mr. ben Marid?"
"We are," Carmen said.
She nodded and rose, "This way please," she said.
"Interesting place," Olivia said as they walked through the building. It was older looking on the inside than on the outside. In fact it almost looked like a demented Santa's workshop postcard to her. "Where is all of the technology? How do you compete with the big boys?"
"Madame," the sheep said, turning to look at her, "Mr. ben Marid is a Muslim of old standing. He has very little taste for technology, just bringing joy and peace to people, especially children. And as for how do we compete? Well," she laughed, "we're mainly the only toy makers for at least two hundred miles, so in fact we are the big boys."
They reached the doors of his office, and the sheep knocked on the door. A few seconds later a strong voice echoed through it, and she opened it, stepping aside to let the sisters walk through.
Asid ben Marid was a large lion, possibly of cave mountain legacy. His main was massive and brown, running from the back of his neck to two thirds of his chest. His eyes were brown, browner than mud or dark chocolate. His head was covered with a hood, but he lifted it down, and smiled, motioning them to sit down.
"What can I do for you?" he asked, his voice thick with Arabic accent.
"We want to talk to you about an old friend," Carmen said smiling at him sweetly. He looked at her and chuckled.
"I have many," he said, his large canines shining. "Which ones would you like to know about?"
"How about Charlie the Great for starters?" Olivia snapped. She could feel her sister's glare burning at her soul, but she did not really care. Asid's grin dropped like a rock, and he lowered his eyes.
"Unfortunately, I no longer associate with that particular name," he said, his tone dark. "If that's what you came here for, then I suggest that you not waste any more of your time."
"Sir, please, if there is anything you can tell us about him," Carmen blurted out.
He sighed and picked up a book, flipping through it. "They ask you about drinking and gambling. Say: 'There is great harm in both in both, although they have some benefit for men; but their harm is greater than their benefits." He closed the book and smiled sadly. "He had no problem with the alcohol, but he couldn't let go of the gambling. And when it looked like he reached his limits, he would not give it up, unlike myself. He created marked cards, and continued in his obsession to be the best."
"The Koran also says, 'Believers, wine and games of chance, idols and divining arrows, are abominations devised by Satan. Avoid them so you may prosper," Carmen said, quoting from memory.
He blinked at her and smiled. "The Table, ninetieth paragraph," he said. "Please forgive me, but you do not strike me as a Muslim woman, I am surprised that you would know it."
"I have read many sacred books in my spare time, Mr. ben Marid," she answered with a smile.
"I see," he said, raising an eyebrow. "You don't happen to be an agnostic or a non-denominationist?"
"I believe in my faith, my Church," she said. "I believe all religions have slivers or glimpses of the truth, but that my faith holds the complete plate of light in its tray. This doesn't mean my faith makes me better than you or anyone else, but I feel that mine is the one true religion." She ignored her sister's mumble about her 'eccentricity' and smiled pleasantly at the lion.
"An interesting way to put it," he said with a renewed smile.
Olivia gripped her fingers on the arm of her chair and fought the urge to sigh. The last thing she wanted was to listen to an armchair debate about the world's religions. She got enough of that as a child. "What can you tell us about him after he kind of went loopy," she snapped.
They looked at her both snarling and bearing their teeth, but not much beyond that. "Before he really went off the deep end, he told me that he had received some kind of email that told him how he could become enormously wealthy. He asked if I wanted in, but after he explained it, I realized it was criminal, and begged him not to proceed with the plan."
"Did he tell you want the plan was?" Carmen asked.
"To steal a large ruby from an Australian tribe, construct some kind of super weapon, and use it against shipping industries. But Charlie became wrapped around the idea of using it to create a small empire. Then another email came by, and he again asked for help, something about two small diskettes, that would create absolute destructive power if combined with his weapon. I again begged him to reconsider, but he hung up on me, and the legal authorities I warned seemed to think I was a little kook. I nearly lost my business because of them."
Carmen frowned, and was glad to see that her sister was mirroring her. "Didn't you go to Interpol with this kind of news? The crime you are talking about seemed liked it was outside of Turkish authority hands."
"That is exactly the authorities I mentioned," Asid said, "it was as if, I were the criminal for bringing it up in the first place."
There was a long silence and the girls looked at each other again. "You said Charlie the Great tried to get you involved with this, did you show you the email?" Carmen asked her heart racing against her chest. The room seemed to spin out of control, bookshelves, window panes; his large pine desk all seemed to flop around like a fish out of water.
"He faxed me the letter," he said, nodding. "I considered burning it, the symbol on it looked very evil, but something told me to save it, just in case." He reached down, and rummaged through his desk, until he found it, and handed it over to them. "I truly do not know what you young ladies have to do with any of this, but if you would heed my advice, I suggest that you leave well enough alone."
Carmen looked at the image on the note and her color left her body. The eyes on the pitch black figure were fiery red, and the large hateful wings looked like they were trying to reach out and grab her by the neck. The words were in hieroglyphs, and then translated into Egyptian, and numerous other languages. There was a high pitched buzzing sound as she tried to make sense of the rubbish she read, and then darkness enveloped her body.
When she opened her eyes, she was on a soft white bed, and her sister, Asid, and his secretary were bent over her, with worried glances. "How long was I out?" she asked, realizing she had fainted.
"An hour," the lion said soothingly. "I suggest that you lay here and wait for a doctor, or I would, but your sister told me everything about you two." He looked over at the other woman and blinked, turning his gaze back at Carmen. "Please, I understand what you are going through. I hate to think that my old friend is responsible for harming your family, but this whole thing just reeks of evil; and not the normal kind either, but one straight from Hell itself. I plead with you to leave this alone."
"If you know who we are, then you know why we can't just leave well enough alone," Carmen said with a weak smile.
"Then I pray to Allah that you are both safe in your journeys," he said, tears running down his cheek.
"And I pray to the Lord my God that you are kept safe from the evil that was within our presence an hour ago," Carmen said with a strengthening smile.
The girls said their good byes and headed to their next destination, hoping to further piece together this puzzle, and bring their family back together.
S L Y
Sly could only lie on the cold, stone floor, his vision flickering in and out as he labored to breathe. It had been twenty minutes since she had left, after she had kissed him, and he was feeling as lousy as if he had gone one hundred rounds with the champ. He felt bile rise up in his throat again, but he didn't panic this time. He had mainly been coughing up dry husks now, which were clinging to his fur. Of course that should have been bad news, it meant he was severely dehydrated, but at least he wouldn't choke to death on his own vomit. So this is how I exit. Lying behind bars, with my friends not even knowing where I am. Bentley, Murray, I am so very sorry.
He knew that Carmelita and her sister were just across the room from him, in their own bars. He could from time to time, see their lips move, he could see the worry in their eyes, and inwardly he had to chuckle. I always knew you cared, Inspector Fox. I'm just sorry I never got a chance to show you how much I care for you.
"Come on Ringtail," Carmelita cried. Are you going to let this be the end of the great Sly Cooper, of the Cooper Dynasty? Beaten by a lousy card shark and his cronies?" All anger and hatred and frustration were removed from her tone. There was something new there, not new exactly, but something that no longer cared about hiding. "Get up; find a way to unlock your cage! You've done it before!" Each word was met with the pounding of a distraught fist, hoping it would encourage him to move. "Sly, please, I'm begging you; don't let it end like this."
"He can't hear you, hermana," Elisa said bitterly. She didn't know Sly as well as Carmelita did, but she knew her sister well. How it hurt her to see her baby sister like this, so full of anguish, not able to bear seeing the man she cared so deeply for lie there, dying.
"Damn that scorpion to hell," Carmelita hissed, her body shaking with new found rage. "I'll see her dead for this."
"Use your energy for more constructive means, little sister; you can't very well strangle Nyoko to death, if you can't get out of these bars." She would have said more, but a small click and the drop of a pin hitting the floor caught her attention, and the sight she saw almost made her wet her pants.
"I'm going to save him," Gabriel said, opening his cage. He looked different, stronger. Though he was still nine it almost looked like the boy had aged fifteen years in the space of a few hours.
"Gus, how did you manage that?" she asked.
"Never mind that," Carmelita said. "Get us out of here, and then find some place safe to hide." Hope began to burn in her chest. If she could manage to find the antidote, give it to Sly, then there could be hope.
The boy walked over to Sly's cage, unlocked it and then did the same for theirs. "I'm going to get the antidote, stay with him," he barked.
"Now wait a minute, hermano," they both snapped,
"I'm the smallest, so I can sneak around a lot easier than the two of you, if the guards come back down here, I won't be a match to fight them off, but you two will."
"You are not going, Gabriel," Carmelita snapped, grasping the boy by his wrist. To her surprise he did a back flip and slipped from her grasp, dashing up the prison steps, and out of the door. There was another click, and he disappeared from sight.
"I'll be back," were the only words he said before vanishing like a … thief.
"Oh my God," Carmelita crooned. "Elisa why are you looking so calm about this; our little brother is out there, with those monsters! God knows what could happen to him!"
"True, but he is a Fox, and not just any Fox, but one from our side of the family tree. He's grown Carmelita," she said. "I don't like this any more than you, but if there is any chance he can get that antidote, and be back here safe and sound, it's because of who he is." She looked at her sister and raised her hands. "He's our only hope now."
Man I must love cliff hangers! Oh by the way, a helicopter saved me from certain death when I had fallen off that cliff at the end of chapter ten. Oh by the way, for those of you who have not clicked on my writer's name, and thus do not know, I am 30, going on 31 this March 7th. And yes I am still single sighes WHY AM I STILL SINGLE? LOL. I hope this "old fart" is keeping you guys amused, LOL. Course I refuse to be old, I absolutely refuse to be, so I guess you can ignore the old fart statement. Anyway time for some reviewer responses!
Divine one: Let's start with you first! Okay good question about Rose Marie! To be perfectly honest (you did want honesty, right LOL) I'm not quite sure. I've played both angles and I'm not sure which way I want to take it at this point. Guess we'll figure it out together! Anyway I put the letters SLY in bold print, italic, and underlined, in BushSeed writing, with a type size of twenty, so hopefully that will be read by now as scene breakers. Sorry again for the problem. And thanks for the praise and love.
Kaiseronni: I understand. Not a problem. I just want to thank you for the love, and look forward to hearing from you whenever you get a chance! The next chapters after this should probably be in late December, to January, depending on the schedules of everyone in my family (mom, sister, young siblings and nephew and niece's school schedules, etc. No wife or anything. SOBS LOUDER I'M STILL SINGLE! ;) ).
Cooper fan: That's okay, I'm one third Norwegian, one third Scottish, and one third English, so I can be a little goofy too. Anyway thanks for the love, and to the question, libido means that someone has a high sexual atmosphere around them. They're really considered hot. Does that answer your question?
Shark: Damn dude or dudette those were really harsh words you had for Olivia! I didn't mean for her to come out that prissy! Actually she is a very good actress; she's just a little immature. She's also a virgin, but doesn't like that to go around, so shush! ;). Thanks for the love! What do you think of these next group of updates? Oh, as to a numbat, its kind of like a small anteater, mixed with a squirrel, with a mask and strips almost like a raccoon, and it's a marsupial, so its like a koala bear too, or a kangaroo. You know, since it's an Australian animal, the best one to say what it is, is Divine One. Take it away girl!
Heiduska: To my number one fan of this Sly Story. Sorry for making you cry, I didn't mean it. Hmmm, gives her a box of chocolates, dedicates his Sly Cooper Christmas fic 'The Little Match Girl' to her I hope that might help. Like I told you in my email, and as you read in my response to Kaiseronni, my schedule is not my own. Thank you for all the love, I hope you enjoy these chapters just as much. And you are very welcome for my kind words to your story! I meant each and every word! Everyone, you should go to her story after your done reading mine and read it, it's really good. It's called Long Ride Home. Seriously it is a Sly Cooper fic worth the read! YAY promotions of other people's excellent work!
Mistress Dizzy: Okay, you're new. Sorry for making you whimper. Thanks for adding me to your favorites too, and your compliments! Murray is coming back next chapter, so that cliff hanger is going to be answered, and to top it off, he is reunited with Christian.
Okay, that about does it! Thanks for all the love and support and one last thing I have to announce. I have decided to make this 40 chapters long, and as the second half begins, it brings new characters along with it! Two of whom I based on two certain lovely young ladies who read this story! Just keep in mind that I'm not familiar with you all personally, so even though I base characters on you, it may not completely act just like you. I hope that's fair enough warning.
Ruta Valkoinen is a 23 year old artic fox who works with Interpol, and lives in Finland. Yep you guessed it, I have created her based on Heiduska!
Gwendolyn S Crane is a 26 year old crane who is a college professor with certain knowledge of this new group of baddies coming up. I based her on a certain history buff who likes my story. Yep, The Divine One!
Haydan Mac Callum is a 31 year old Komodo Dragon who is a defrocked Catholic priest who also has a certain knowledge of dark fraternal groups hiding in the shadows. He is based on me! No I am not a defrocked priest for those who wonder, lol.
The rest of you do not get discouraged. As I write more stories, and my personal Sly universe gets larger, each one of you will get your own character! I just don't want to overdo it with original character ness in this first fic. So there's the good news, see ya all in the next chapter gang! It's going to be fun!