A/N and Disclaimer: Alright, a heist! Let's find out what happens, shall we? And no, I do not own Sly Cooper, Carmelita, Bentley, Murray, Paris or any panel vans. Anyway, on with the story…
The sun set on the beautiful Paris skyline, turning everything a lovely shade of orange. Pigeons fluttered to the safety of cathedral rooftop, locals were retiring to rest for tomorrow's work shift, while tourists stayed up, exploring the city. The twilight atmosphere spread like a soft blanket over the peaceful city.
Except for a panel van parked in a discrete alleyway, and the four individuals inside.
Carmelita's feelings were all over the place. She was nervous, at being on her first heist; angry, at actually being involved in a heist; had a hint of fear at being caught (by either Interpol or Sly); and worried, in case someone else got caught…
'Okay Carmen,' Bentley began. 'If all goes well, you'll have fallen asleep by the end of the heist.'
Carmelita, jumpy and agitated, leapt on that. 'What's that supposed to me, turtle?' she accused defensively, her anger heating up momentarily, and her body stiffening. Bentley, quite shocked at her reaction, leant back and blinked repeatedly at her fierceness. Sly read her worry quickly, and settled the nervous fox.
'Easy Carmen,' he explained slowly. 'Bentley's not having a go at you, he's just saying that if everything goes well, we won't need to distract anyone, so you won't have anything to do.'
Carmelita's logic surfaced through all her emotions, and she saw instantly that she had got it all wrong. 'Oh. Uh, sorry 'bout that, Bentley.' she apologised, feeling kind of silly. Bentley, getting message from Sly that Carmelita was on edge, softened instantly.
'That's alright Carmen,' he said graciously, pushing his glasses further up his nose. 'I guess you're nervous about your first heist, right?'
Carmelita gave a wan smile in reply. 'I thought so.' the turtle nodded, and then continued. 'But anyway, on with the briefing. Sly, since you got us some recon photos the other day, we've already got an access point, the guy we're looking for, as well as the vial and its whereabouts. A great start for the heist.'
'I try.' Sly said, grinning and rubbing his knuckles on his shirt. Bentley rolled his eyes, and kept talking.
'Yeah, thanks for your modesty Sly. Anyway, here's what'll happen. Sly, you and Carmen will go to the access point, Sly will go in, Carmen, you'll stay outside for the escape, Murray, you'll stay in the van for the getaway, and I will too, but I'll be the technical support. The rest will happen shortly, so let's start!'
The back doors were opened, and half of the gang jumped out. Bentley wished them luck, and shut the doors. Sly looked over at the nervous fox, who, if she could, would have paled visibly. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and smiled at her.
'Don't worry Carmen,' he soothed. 'We'll be in and out and gone. Now, let's go, before Bentley realises we haven't moved.'
Sly headed towards the nearest building, with the distracted fox following behind. Getting slightly frustrated, Sly turned and grabbed Carmelita's shoulders. Shocked, she looked up at him with confusion, and more than a little worry. He shook her roughly, at the same time saying, 'Snap. Out. Of. It. Carmen!'
Surprised, but fully awake now, Carmelita shook his hands off her. 'Okay, okay, I get the picture!' Satisfied at this reaction, Sly motioned towards the building they had come to stand beside.
'We'll climb up here for a better viewpoint,' he explained. 'and if I'm right, we should be able to access the main building from here.' And with that, Sly quickly scaled a nearby drainpipe. Looking down from the roof, he grinned at Carmelita.
'C'mon Carmen!' he challenged. 'Get up here all ready!' And he smiled, crossing his arms to see what she would do.
Carmelita wasn't that impressed by his athletic skills, after seeing him show off so many times before. She knew she could get up there on her own terms. Looking around, she spied a pile of boxes. They were only small, so she couldn't climb them to the building's roof, but she could use that small stack for a different purpose…
Stepping back for a run up, she prepared herself to sprint towards the boxes. Sly looked curiously at the young fox still in the alleyway. Carmelita ignored him momentarily, and concentrated on what she was about to do.
Suddenly, she raced towards them. Sprinting, she reached the boxes at full speed and leapt off them in an amazing double jump that sent her to the roof easily. Somersaulting, she landed on her feet on the flat cement roof. She looked over at Sly, grinning when she saw his jaw open at her leap. 'Thought I was stuck, did you Ri-'
She clamped her mouth shut as she almost gave herself away. Damn it! she thought, almost blew my cover again!
But she found that her heart didn't mind if Sly knew who she was.
She frowned, pushing those thoughts away from her. She would have plenty of time to think when she was by herself. Sly had an odd look on his face, and Carmelita was worried he might figure out who she was. She held her breath as Sly opened his mouth to speak.
'Impressive, Carmen.' he said, and Carmelita let out a breath, her body relaxing and the adrenaline leaving her system. She smiled at him gratefully, and he returned it. Her heart grew warm at the simple act, but try as she might, she couldn't ignore it.
Bentley's muffled voice came from Sly's leg pouch. 'Sly! Come on, are you almost there yet!'
A look of worry fleeted across Sly's face, but he smiled and pulled out his binocucom, replying. 'We're almost at the entrance point, Bent.'
A shrill sound came from Sly's binocucom. Apparently, this wasn't part of the plan. But Carmelita didn't worry about Sly and Bentley's conversation; she was more interested in the binoculars that Sly was speaking into. Moments ago, she would have thought he was a little troubled upstairs for speaking to a pair of binoculars, but she was very surprised (and a little alarmed) when they talked back. She watched, dumbfounded, as their conversation rallied on between Sly and this odd piece of technology. Sly caught her gaze, and said. 'Hey Bentley, you mind if you explain to Carmen what this is, so his jaw will return to normal position? Good.' He called over to Carmelita, taking his eyes away from the piece. 'Hey Carmen! Bentley wants to talk to you.'
Carmelita looked dubiously at him, her mouth having closed when she heard Sly mention it. 'You want me to talk to a pair of binoculars?' she asked sarcastically. Sly nodded, another grin emerging on his face.
'It sounds silly, I know, but give it a shot.' He urged, passing her the device. She took it reluctantly, and looked into the eyepiece. Bentley stared back at her.
'Ah! Dios!' she yelled, dropping the gadget like it was a hot coal. Sly managed to catch it, while Carmelita was staring at it in astonishment. Sly gave her a small smile, reassuring the startled fox.
'Don't worry, Carmen, its Bentley's new technology. But we don't have time now, so I'll explain it later.' he said, and then turned back to the binocucom, finishing a rushed conversation with Bentley, then shoved it back in his leg pouch.
'Alright, enough fooling around,' he said in a serious tone. 'We've got to get to that entrance.' He looked briefly around, spotted what he wanted, and walked over to another side of the roof. He beckoned for Carmelita to come over, and together they looked at a wire leading into the dark Paris night.
'Alright Carmen,' he said calmly. 'we're going to walk across this to get to the other building.' Sly gave Carmelita a small smile, and held out his hand. Carmelita looked into those chocolate eyes again, and her heart told her she could trust Sly no matter what. Even if she (or her conscience, really) didn't want to.
Sly stood on the edge of the rooftop, the moon showing the gleam of his eyes, and the gentle smile on his face. And Carmelita found that she, not her heart, not her conscience, but she, could trust him completely. She put her hand in his, which closed firmly around her own. She looked up at him and gave him one of her most brilliant smiles (not intentionally, of course).
'Hold on,' he said, and began walking on the thin wire with amazing skill, slowly pulling Carmelita behind him. 'Oh,' he added. 'and don't look down.'
Carmelita instantly snapped her eyes up from their slow descent to the wire and beyond. Sly smiled to himself as he felt Carmelita stiffen. How did he know that would happen? he thought jokingly. But he kept a hold of her hand and led her safely to the other rooftop. They jumped down from the wire, and Carmelita quickly let go of Sly's hand.
'What?' he joked. 'Think I have cooties or something?'
Carmelita pretended to agree, nodding her head and wiping her hand on her pants. 'Yuck, Cooper germs!' she said, and then contradicted herself by laughing. Then Bentley's voice came again from Sly's leg pouch.
'Hurry up you guys, stop mucking around and let's move!' the shrill voice yelled.
'Okay okay,' Sly whispered quietly, then added to himself. 'No need to bust your shell.'
'I heard that!' Bentley said, and Carmelita had to work hard to stop her giggling. She had bent over double and clamped her hand over her mouth. Sly smiled, then became serious, and walked over to a dilapidated opening in the slanting roof. Carmelita stood straight, and watched him ease the covering off the gap, placing it beside him. He turned back to her.
'You wait here, Carmen. I'll go in, get the vial and get out. You'll escape with me in case I need a double.' He explained, looking at Carmelita with an unhidden concern in his eyes and voice. Carmelita sobered, and she nodded briefly. He looked at her quickly, that odd glint in his eyes again, and then he slipped into the gap and disappeared into the darkness.
Carmelita stared after him, listening as he began talking with the brains of the Cooper gang. 'So Bentley, where do I go from here?'
The question seemed to ring true for Carmelita as well.
She sat down besides the opening, her legs stretched out in front of her. She leant back on her arms and looked across the skyline. She deliberately tried not to think about how she felt about a certain raccoon. She dusted the terracotta tiles beneath her fingers, but her thoughts crept in just the same.
He really is very nice to you, her heart began softly.
No, her cop side demanded, but there wasn't the force behind it that there used to be.
Her heart continued anyway. Why shouldn't you return his kindness? it questioned.
It's wrong, her cop side insisted, but doubts had settled in it too, as it asked quietly, isn't it?
Maybe not, her heart replied mysteriously, after all, following your logic has got you stuck in a job where no one respects you, and you're worked like a slave for nothing. Perhaps you should try listening to your heart, it suggested.
I can't, her cop side whispered, I couldn't, could I?
Just accept the fact that you like Sly, her heart pushed. But she was still unsure, biting her lower lip in thought. She ran her hand through her short hair. Suddenly feeling a little mischievous (and trying to take her mind off the pressing topic she found herself in), she looked around the deserted streets, then slipped her wig off her head, and used both hands to free her long hair from the confines it had been in for the last couple of days. She sighed, and the soft breeze flowed through her locks as she loosened it with her fingers. Feeling utterly relaxed, she ran her fingers through her dearly missed curls, lifting it from her head to bring air to underneath the weight of her hair.
A noise came from the opening, and Sly crawled rapidly out of the gap. Carmelita gasped, and ran around the roof to another side, before hurriedly jamming the wig back over her hair.
She had just adjusted it when Sly called out. 'Carmen? Carmen!' she stepped back into view, and before she could mention her reason or excuse for hiding, Sly roughly grabbed her wrist, and pulled her to the corner of the roof. 'Come on, buddy,' he said, his quickness giving away his nerves. 'time for the quick escape, right?'
Carmelita nodded, and Sly gave her a quick smile before stepping out onto the wire that had led them there, and with Carmelita holding onto his hand once more, the two sped across the line to the flat rooftop they began on. Sirens whirred, their lights shining upon the walls of the building, and illuminating the alleyway.
Which was deserted.
Carmelita looked down and noticed. 'They abandoned us?' she almost squealed in an unusual case of fright. Sly motioned for her to follow him, explaining along the way to another rooftop.
'No, I told Murray to get them outta there,' he said quickly. 'The cops turned up just as I was leaving, and I didn't want them to be caught. Plus,' he added, grinning. 'You and me are more than a match for almost any police that try to catch us, right?'
Sly had that glint in his eyes again, and Carmelita tried to find a sign that he knew who she was, but she couldn't tell, and he said quickly. 'Keep your eyes on the path ahead, Carmen.' And she supposed that would have to do for now.
They stopped after they had gotten a few rooftops distance between themselves and the police cars. But there were some officers who wouldn't give up.
Sly looked down at them, sizing them up. 'Well,' he said. 'She's no Carmelita, but there is a cop down there that you can lead astray while I go and get the guys. Go along the path we've been going on, and we'll meet up with you soon. Have you got that cane I gave you?'
And Carmelita realized she had left it on the rooftop when she had sat down to wait for Sly. She cringed as she imagined the lecture he'd give her. 'Don't worry,' he said, grinning as he pulled it out from behind his back. 'We all forget some things.'
He handed her the wooden imitation and dashed off in the direction of the other Cooper gang members. She turned to where the cop, probably a fellow officer, was, and prepared to lead them on a wild goose chase.
The officer yelled from the road. 'Halt! You're under arrest Cooper!'
Carmelita grinned, looking down at the dark blob in the distance. So, she thought, they think I'm Sly do they? Let's see how far they're willing to take that.
And she ran off into the night.
A/N: I know, it's only half a heist, but if I kept going it might be this massive block of writing, so I split it up. So the next one is like the chase and afterwards. And I still can't read over these, so tell me if I've screwed up somewhere. Thanks!