Ziggy's Corner: Only one person in this chapter, but this is a longer chapter, around six pages.

Victor Arcan lay in his bed at the hospital, his foot twitching. How he had survived, he did not know, but he knew it meant he had to redefine his mission. He had thought about going soft on certain crimes, seeing as how a certain thief was dating a certain high ranking official, who had not even shown enough curtsey to say she was not coming to her new commander's first public speech.

"Commander, let me examine that piece of evidence again," he snapped. The commander, who had been selected as his guard, looked at him and back at his book, hesitant. "Is there a problem commander?"

"Sir, with a good reasoning," the man, a giraffe began.

"I don't give a damn if you think I've looked at it too many times," Victor barked. "We were attacked, commander … attacked!" His eyes narrowed. "In our own building of all places. I think I've earned the right to be angry." He snapped his the staff out of the other man's hands and studied it, frowning. "Cooper."

"It doesn't fit his M.O. sir," the commander said. His superior looked up at him and glared, causing the older man to take a few steps back. "He's a thief, not an assassin," he said.

"This would have said opposite," he growled. He stared at the brown staff, and wrapped his brown fingers tightly around it, as if he were going to strangle Sly's neck. "I want every agent on the planet to find that thief and bring him to justice," he growled.

"Sir?" the commander asked.

"I do not care about if we already have an agent after him, she's dating him for Christ's sake," he howled. "As far as I am concerned, she's just as guilty."

"Sir!" the giraffe growled. "They've lost so many of their own people, their own family! That statement is not appropriate," he growled.

He had a point. Victor knew that his anger was boiling up from the shock of the attack, that he was on the verge of a witch hunt. Still he had very little tack. He needed to know who was in charge. "Commander, I shall take that into consideration, but for right now, you are to remember your place." He sat up and grimaced in agony as the pain running through his body. "I want you to leave… I'll beep you if I need any aid." There was no disputing what he had ordered. "I mean now," he said politely, but firmly.

The commander studied his superior, then turned and left the room, locking the door. Victory looked at the cane and leaned back into his bed. His thoughts turned back to his family, more accurately his father. His dad always was considered the black sheep of their family. His grandfather paid him very little attention, focusing his attention on the younger brother, and when push came to shove, his father walked out from the ingrates when he was twenty three.

Everything Victor Arcan knew about law enforcement, he knew from his father. He could not remember his mother very well, because she had died, drowned in a lake on his fourth birthday. His father went from woman to woman after that, romancing many trying to find the perfect woman to be his son's new mother. Victor never really accepted any of them. He had rather look up to his police officer father, to be an example to the public that he could be the best man he could be, to protect the public.

None of his rise to power had been easy, there had been many horrible words that he was illegitimate, that he had cheated on his tests to rise to where he had been. For years he had been alone none of his partners liked him very much. But he had persevered. And in the end, here he was, upon the death of the last commissioner of Interpol, being elected the new commander of the world's police organization. And what had happened? A lunatic had caused the deaths of many of his men and women. What a way to start a legacy.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the ringing of his intercom, and his hand wiped out to smash it. "What is it now?" he barked.

"Sir, there's something I think you should see in the papers," the commander said.

All of the sudden, the room seemed a lot smaller, though it was nearly the size of a private suite. The colors of white and light gray seemed suffocating. "I said I wanted to be alone," he growled.

"This is important sir," the commander said.

"And I should care why?"

"Commissioner Arcan, if you would please just let me in here," the commander said, his voice weakening.

"Commander, I am warning you," the commissioner snapped.

"Sir this is important!" his officer said, his voice rising at a high pitch.

With a sigh, Victor pushed a button, and the commander marched in, dropped the paper work onto his lap, saluted, and turned to leave. "Just a moment, commander," Victor said.

"I really do not see why sir," the giraffe said. "It is obvious you are not that interested in my opinions."

"That's not true, its just this is all new to me, and I'm still a little shell shocked, what with the attack and all." He sighed. "I apologize for my attitude, it's just." He sighed again and looked down at the papers. Sly Cooper was on the cover of every single major world paper, above his head, the words, terrorist. It did not dawn on him about what was going on, until he read the reports were about an attack in Italy. "He's not that evil, I had no idea about this," he said in a low whisper.

"It would seem that the thief for whatever reason has turned terrorist," the giraffe said with a nod. A long finger tapped down on to a picture. "It appears that he might be over Carmelita Fox too," he said, towards the picture of Sly aiding a Scorpion woman hurrying into his van."

"Nyoko," Victor said with distain. "We've been after her for quite some time, used to work for Charlie the Great." His eyes rose, "I would not put it above her to influence this deluded youth." He sighed again, truth was they weren't that far off in age difference, just three years separated them. "As I said, put out an arrest for Cooper and his whole gang, his associates, anyone who might know anything."

"We have to be careful not to overstep our bounds too far," the commander said. "The U.N. would not like it if we start bursting in doors in search of him."

"You leave the U.N. to me. I don't think they'll be to big a challenge for us, with public opinion in our favor after this attack. I know there were many people who've heard about Sly, looking up to him like some kind of twisted Robin Hood, but to be honest, this should break down his popularity level too. I'm sure that if she's not too drawn to him, Ms. Fox would be happy to drag his sorry butt down into our hands." He grimaced.

"That you sir, I'll be sure to pass the word along." The giraffe saluted turned and walked out.

Victor didn't get much sleep after he left, the phone rang and he picked it up. "Hello there, my dear," he said with a genuine smile.

"I was so worried when I heard about the attack, I was afraid that you were killed."

"I'm made of tougher stuff than some lonely, crazed thief can take down," Victor chuckled, grimacing from the pain. "The thought of losing you carried me on to live."

"Victor, about Sly…," the woman on the other line said.

"Do not worry so much," Victor said with a smile. "He'll be brought down and arrested, and spend the rest of his life behind bars, if I have a say about it."

"Or I do," Olivia snarled on the other end of the phone. "He killed my family, he tried to kill my new boyfriend, he's scum."

"My dear, you need to calm down and just allow yourself to focus on that new acting career I helped you with," Victor intoned. "I don't want you around that maniac."

"But it's okay for my little sister to be?" she nearly shouted.

"Olivia, have faith, you're sister should come around. She's a smart girl. She's just a little too close to this case, perhaps I should transfer her to a desk job," Victor said with a smile. "Would that make my little girl happier?"

"He's going around bombing police buildings, no it would not make me happier," she growled. "I don't care if she's not interested in my thoughts, she's still my sister, and I want what's best for her."

"So what do you want?" Victor asked, fatigue slowly etching along his body.

"I want her off the force, period. She has nothing to do with any of this, she shouldn't be involved."

"You want me to fire her … based on what? It would look aweful suspicious if I were just to let her go for no reason," his mind raced. "Although if I was to think she would refuse to stay away from him," he scratched his chin. "Perhaps that would work out to everyone's best advantage."

"Perhaps," Olivia said. "Look I just don't want to see anyone, but that damn raccoon to get hurt."

"Let's not get too vindictive my dear," the commissioner said.

"Did you somehow manage to miss the fact, that that bastard killed some of my family?" she shrieked. "I think I have the right to be vindictive."

"I thought you didn't care much for your family," he said, worry building in him, hearing the strength of her hate.

She hissed, cursed in Spanish, and then sighed. "Look, I want what's best for them even if they don't want what's best. If they want to fight me, then screw them, but I want to give them this one last chance."

"I understand, my dear," the commissioner said in warm sincerity. "Let's just not over do anything right now. We're still not sure how your father will take to the news that his daughter is dating his boss."

"He doesn't like it, he can go suck it," she snapped. "I'm a big girl now, if I want to date the commissioner of Interpol, will. If I want to be an actress, my way, I will."

Victor smiled while listening to the Latina spitfire. They had met one evening shortly before Charlie the Great had put into actions his devious plans, and had connected. She was a black sheep, just like his father, no one in her family understood her need for freedom, just as no one understood his father's desires to better his family. It had been an easy match, she hadn't tried to force herself on him, like so many of those women who his father wanted him to accept had.

"You should get some sleep now, my dear, we'll talk again in the morning." They said they're good byes and Victor hung up the phone, fatigue no longer overpowering him. He stretched out his fingers, and scanned the room for anything of interest, knocking the papers of his lap. There would be work to be done, but not today.

Grabbing his remote by a table, he flicked on the television, and skimmed over the television channels, hoping to find some news programs. Television was something of a bane to him, the only real good that came from it was the news, interests of other people and countries. Those channels that ran the news at this hour were all talking about the recent attacks in Rome and at the Interpol office. Things he already knew, but at least he could gauge the reactions of the commentators. And it was good news, as far as he was concerned. There was nothing in most of the men and women's words except for distain of Cooper, which would make it easier for him to stretch his authority to get the thief… if it came to that.

Two hours passed, and boredom sunk in deep, with a growl of irritation only a six year old had at not getting the latest toy, he snapped the television off, and lay against his pillows. Sleep came in sessions, and before he knew it, the sun had disappeared from the window frame, crickets were chirping near his window, and he sighed. Four hours of sleep, that was all he had gotten, and it was one hour more than he normally needed. The clock said it was ten thirty in the evening, and he was wide awake, full of hunger and the need for a shower. With a press of his button, a nurse came in, and he informed her of his requests, leaving no stone unturned that he would not be denied.

After being bathed by the woman, something he found degrading, but understood as temporarily necessary, and had eaten, his adrenaline was rushing through his body, though it was now a little past eleven. He turned on television, and scowled at no new developments, and turned it off, flinging the remote into the darkness, listening to it clink against the side of his metal bars, that were used to make sure he did not slip from his bed. He pressed the button again, and inquired if there was anything in the hospital stores that he'd find interesting, ignoring the fact that it was the middle of the night. She pleaded with him to go back to bed, to sleep and get stronger, but he tossed that suggestion aside as if it was a bag of dirty laundry. He had his sleep for the night, if he were to get tired, of course he'd sleep, but he was too far awake to care.

She brought him a cup of warm milk, with three lumps of sugar in it, and just a dash of lemon juice, which he downed, and then gave him a book. Victor scanned the cover, and flipped through the pages, thankful for being in a one bed room, so he would not have had to worry about keeping his roommate awake all night. He turned the pages, one by one, and within the next hour, finished the over seven hundred volume. After that he slept for another three hours, and woke up to watch some god awful late night talk show. When it became too unbearable for him, he turned it off yet again, and asked for a computer, which he quickly skipped through the web, finding anything of interest, memorizing it, and then played a computer program, until it was close to six o'clock. Victor shut down the machine, and fell asleep for another two in a half hours, dozing really before he was completely awake around nine. He devoured another meal, allowed himself to be washed again, and then sat back in bed.

The commander slowly slipped through the doors and saluted him. "Good morning sir," the giraffe said.

"Not really, there isn't much to do here," the commissioner grumbled. His eyes turned towards his subordinates hands, and he spotted papers. "I suppose I need to go over those?"

"Yes sir, just the daily reports and what not," the commander said, handing them over. Victor flipped through them, studied what he needed to know, and signed where he needed to sign, and handed them over to the giraffe. It had taken four hours, but he was already done with most of his work for the day, which disgusted him. Had the attack not happened, had he not been hurt, he would have strolled through the offices of the headquarters, making sure everything was running smoothly. He was itchy and could not wait to get out of this damn bed.

"They say you should be up and around by next month," the commander said.

"That's not nearly good enough to suite me," Victor grumbled. "There's too much to be done, just to lay around all day." He scoffed at the giraffe's attempt to cheer him up, and waved aside any banter about gossip. "I'm afraid to say I'm a little tired, commander, would you mind waiting outside for a few hours?"

The giraffe saluted, rose to his feet, and left his commander in chief to his sleep. Victor dosed a couple of hours, and again shifted in his bed as the telephone rang. He picked it up, and listened closely. Once the other person was finished speaking, he gasped.

"How very interesting, and how did you come about this bit of information?" He waited for an answer, and only got a raspy laugh.

"Let's just say I have my sources," the voice said. "I believe you can use this information?"

"Yes… yes, it will be most, helpful." Victor smiled. "I am glad I decided to keep in touch with you for so long, there was a time I really considered having you put out of the picture."

"That wouldn't do, would it?" the voice laughed again.

"I suppose not," Victor acknowledged. "I'll put this information to good use." He hung up the phone, and ordered the commander to return. "Cooper is in England."

The giraffe blinked and frowned. "Sir how do you…,"

"Never mind how I know it, he's in England, and I know exactly where. If we're quick, we'll catch him with his pants down," a pun he knew, as the raccoon never used pants. "And if not, at least we can tighten the noose." Victor narrowed his eyes, "The time for talk and waiting is over. As of today, Interpol is officially at war with Sly Cooper."

I loved how this turned out! It allowed me to show a little bit of background info on Victor, but still add to the mystery of what's going on. And what did ya all think of the surprise that Victor is actually dating Olivia?

I hope to have a good more chapters to write, but it's probably going to be slow, as somehow I lost my outlines for this story, so either I'll find them, or just make things up as we get closer to the end. Anyway read, and review and enjoy. Also this is the first chapter that is named without using the word and in it. Bit of trivia for you.