A/N: Thanks to everyone who has been reading this story, so far. As of today, I broke TEN THOUSAND hits and I appreciate it very much. More people have this story alerted than any of my other stories, at a total of 16! THANK you! There are only a few chapters left, as I'm beginning to wrap this story up. It's gone on way longer than I intended! I usually go into sequels by now but I got a little silly in the middle and reset time so of course it's going to take time to get through it… all the characters have another week's worth of stuff to accomplish! It's been a wild ride so far and I'm glad that I have readers who stuck through the story, even though it was so WEIRD for a while there.

Also, this story has more reviews than any other story I've written! You guys have shown me reader-reviewer love so much and I'm grateful for it! I'm grateful for those who asked me to write a Sly Cooper story because now I can call most all of you friends and it introduced me to a wonderfully fun character, story and game. For those of you who got into the game because of this story… like you, Destructor… I'm glad you like it as much as I do! Sorry this storyline was so darn convoluted; I know I was really out there for a while, lol. All right, back to chapter twenty-seven! We're going back to the roots of this story by following Carmelita; it's her story, after all. It always was! In chapter 28, she'll be going all-out Commando…!

Chapter -27-

Recovery

The hazy confusion was indescribable. It was a true struggle for Carmelita Fox and Sly Cooper did his best to keep her body hydrated, using the bottled water that was stocked up in his temporary 'cell'. This hydration treatment lasted on and off for several hours but when her body finally began to come down from the intense high, she rolled her head to the side and vomited hard. Bile and spring water covered the nearby wall, her clothing and matted the fur of her arms.

She had an incredible fever and her pupils didn't respond to light when he eased her eyelids open. It wasn't farfetched to say that she was nearly on her deathbed. Every so often, Sly had to sit her up so that she could throw up between her knees. He would then lay her back to rest for a few moments, only to have to repeat the cycle a short time later. She'd never felt so vulnerable before and no other person had ever seen her in this way.

It was true, she was lucky to have the raccoon's help; had he not been so completely in love with her and been so completely willing to work diligently to restore her health, she would have surly died from a fatal drug overdose or from choking on bile in her unconscious state. She was such a beautiful woman; it was sad that she had been demoted to such a wasted wreck. Cooper had to stifle tears but it still tore at his heart to see her like this.

Carmelita's harsh retching lasted another two hours, on and off. Sly had to keep a sharp eye on her, waiting for her to begin convulsing before sitting her up so she wouldn't choke in her sleep. After finally beginning to taper off, she began to seem a bit more stable. Cooper ripped the sleeves from his shirt and used them as bathing rags. He soaked them in a fresh bottle of spring water and began to rinse her fur of the horrid smelling bile. He had to remove her blouse and put it in the corner, leaving her clad in an undergarment. He thought to use the dusty thin blanket in the corner for her pride and covered her torso with it.

Sly wasn't sure if Karla left the blanket there for him or if it had some more substantial history. It didn't matter; Sly did what he could do to clean her up, starting with her arms, shoulder and face; he kept the blanket over her chest to keep her bundled up but continued sponging her down with the water to try and break her fever and clean her up. He wasn't sure how long the bottled water had been stocked up in this room but now he was grateful for it. His blue shirt now resembled a sleeveless vest at first glance, from having ripped off the sleeves to use as rags.

Karla and Slick were not in the general area. Nathanial Carrington sat on the coffee table, out in the living room, working on a crossword puzzle in the newspaper. He was in a foul mood already, from having to lower his standards from powerful, esoteric assassin to the likes of being a babysitter. It infuriated him but he didn't dare go against Sire's wishes in the matter.

Sly turned his attention back to Carmelita, drawing her head into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her upper body to try and keep her calm. She was shivering almost violently between having a fever and now having damp fur, not to mention the fact that she was crashing hard from the overdose high. Her body was in a mild state of shock, which is what caused her temperature to spike up so high.

Cooper leaned forward, touching his nose to her own. Hers was dry and warm, an indication of her growing temperature. She was clammy, covered in a cold-sweat, which added to the general discomfort she was experiencing but he had nothing with which to dry her fur other than himself and the blanket he was using to keep her warm.

Ultimately, Sly began to simply use the palms of his paws. He created friction, rubbing his palms up and down over her arms to dry her matted fur. He then re-wrapped the old blanket around her chest, making sure she was bundled up as well as he could manage. Her muzzle parted slightly, displaying a filmy paste on her lips. "…cold," She muttered quietly. It was a heart-wrenching sob on Cooper's ears.

"I'm here for you," he replied, holding her firmly to offer his own body heat. "We're going to be okay, just pull through this, please?" He was honestly scared for her. At this moment, they were no longer cops or robbers. At this moment, it was just a Gray-furred raccoon and a sandy-hued vixen with a milky section running from her neck to her thighs and covering the bottom of her tail. Right here and right now, it was just a sick woman and a man who loved her unconditionally, in sickness and in health… for richer or for poorer.

Whether she loved him back or not, it didn't matter. Her stammering tongue struggled to call his name. "S…Sly?" Asked the suspended Inspector, her teeth chattering softly from the chill that haunted her all the way down to her very core.

"Yes?" His voice was a boon on her soul, for some reason. In her weakened state, it was exactly what she needed and she couldn't be sure as to the reason why.

"Th-this stays between us." Her reply was simple but after a short pause, she added, "I f-feel vulnerable and y-you know how self assertive I am and… and… I'm s-so co-cold; freezing, r-really. My stomach hurts." She was never one to complain and yet the words just tumbled out of her mouth. She was too ill to care or be surprised by her actions; she was recovering from the most intense downward spiral she'd ever experienced in her life.

Sly, in a soft voice, told her, "You threw up to the point where you were dry heaving, earlier. I tried giving you water but you couldn't keep anything down. I think you're dehydrated; you've got a bit of a fever."

Carmelita pried her heavy eyelids open, gazing up at him with glazed hues of the richest mocha. She was his brown-eyed girl as far as he was concerned. Her lower lip trembled but she forced the words out, anyhow. "Remember when you stayed with me in the Australian Outback, all n-n-night long? You j-just stayed near, when I was unconscious instead of abandoning me. You always see me when I'm at my most defenseless and exposed, Ringtail. Remember the gas chamber in Russia? There are too many times to count."

"You did the same for me," Sly reminded her. "Doctor M. had me twice and both times I wondered if I would die." He didn't mention that she was the only person on his mind both of those times; that could be brought up, later. "You were my guardian angel; I was the damsel in distress, both of those times."

"I can't be in distress all the time, Sly. To make this thing work, it has to be your turn once in a while, you know? Her lips quivered from the shivering but it was reduced greatly now that his arms were around her and yet she gave no real thought about the situation, in consideration that her mind was still cloudy. "We're not an item anymore," She reminded him. "I mean it… honestly."

"Do you trust me?" He asked.

A slight frown marred her matted furry features. "…Maybe." She was in far too awkward of a situation to say 'no' but at the same time, he only betrayed her trust twice. The first time, he handcuffed her during a kiss at the top of Krakov Volcano, on a catwalk railing after they defeated Clockwerk. The second time, he turned himself in only to escape and make her look like an idiot to her superiors. Her eyes fluttered shut again.

Of course, he knew she was a capable woman and both times, she wasn't in any real trouble. He also knew that those stunts were employed to keep her preoccupied just long enough for him to escape without being trailed. Cooper grinned inwardly, looking to keep her spirits up. "I had a great idea on how to combat the evil offspring of Slick and Karla," he told her.

"Oh?" Carmelita opened a single eye, looking up at him lazily.

Sly happily announced, "We have a child of our own to take the kid out."

"You're so… Stupid." She gave a wan smile.

"Hey!" Sly mockingly snapped. "What did I tell you about calling me by my middle name?" He joked, trying to bring a smile back to her face. The light flirting worked and the change in attitude helped her struggle through this intensely sick moment. She gave him a reassuring smile even though her fur stood on end with goosebumps and even though she was still damp and cold. Finally, Sly took his own shirt off and placed it over her torso and the blanket. "I want you to put this on; you need it more than I do. Don't say 'no', Carmelita."

"All… all right, I…" She trailed off, trying not to be shy about the situation. It wasn't like her but right now she was in a vulnerable position and shouting at him wouldn't solve anything. After all, he'd just saved her life and given her the very shirt off of his back, minus the sleeves. He helped her to sit up then knelt behind her, pulling the shirt down over her head for her. Carmelita lifted her arms, putting her paws through the sleeveless holes and he pulled it down, snug, over her torso from behind her. This afforded her with the privacy she preferred, even though they had lived together for a short time in the past, a little over a year ago. He didn't look down, over her shoulder, but instead, he kept his eyes averted while helping her with the shirt.

"How're you feeling?" Sly's warm breath was practically whispered directly into her ear; his chest was flush against her back and the proximity gave her the shivers.

"Rotten," She replied. "I'm humiliated beyond belief. I feel… desecrated. Those two are going to pay."

Sly nodded to her words then simply replied with, "I need for you to hold it together."

"I'll be fine," She returned, looking down at the sleeveless blue shirt that normally belonged to the scoundrel who secretly stole her heart. She wanted to be angry about it for some reason but it just didn't happen. His shirt was a little tight in the front, around her bust, but the shoulders felt comfortable and the collar was fairly formfitting without being an annoyance. After all, it did belong to a thief who needed clothing that doesn't catch on miscellaneous objects.

The lay of the shirt was designed to be clingy in the front so that he didn't have any slack and so it gave her a fairly busty appearance. Sly tried his best to keep his gaze on her eyes and did so by crawling around to face her. How could she trust him if he couldn't control his eyes? He kept those plain brown orbs locked to her own gaze then offered a smile.

The raccoon stood up, stretched and picked the dusty blanket up from the floor. "Despite whoever is first on your list, we still have to escape and tackle The Reaper. He's supposed to be the 'perfect' assassin. I don't know what his powers entail but I really don't care to find out."

"Leave him to me," She said, sitting up slowly. She was dizzy and due to the physical trauma and coupled with the massive overdose in painkillers, Carmelita was not at the top of her game right now. Sly had no problem picking the gate lock for her but the problem was a burley badger in the living room. Without his cane, he was little or no match for someone known as a 'perfect assassin', at least not as far as he was concerned.

"Are you sure?" He asked, whispering his inquiry.

Carmelita glared at him, her eyes still dilated beyond what should have been normal. "I've got this, mind your own business, Ringtail." Sly nodded, putting his paws up defensively. She smirked and added, "The one time I'm without my gun and you finally put your paws up." She then hobbled to the bars and shouted, "Hey, DOOFUS! Get over here; I've got to read you your rights."

Reaper casually placed the newspaper and his pencil on the coffee table then stood up. He approached the cell and folded his arms, gazing over the bare-chested raccoon and Carmelita, who was covered in spring water, sopping wet save for the shirt that came from Cooper. The sleeves were missing and the blanket lay on the floor. His eyes flitted over them both then returned to her with a wordless smirk.

"Look, I'm a little sick," She said, leaning in to the bars. "And you've got me locked up with a criminal. C'mere, I need to tell you something I don't want him to hear," she said. The badger narrowed his eyes then leaned in closer to the bars, perking his ears just a bit.

Carmelita reached between the bars, wrapped both of her paws around his collar and pulled him towards her then launched her body forward, head butting the assassin with all of her might. The connection was so incredibly hard that it drew blood from a fresh cut just above her left eyebrow. Reaper teetered back, crashing backwards upon the floor. His nose was immediately broken and two of his front teeth rolled across the tile floor and into the adjacent kitchenette. Carmelita turned back to Sly, a satisfied look painted on her muzzle. "If this story ever turns into a rumor, I don't want to hear anything about an overdose on painkillers before the head butt happens. Understand?"

"Good stuff huh?" Sly asked.

"I hardly felt a thing," She replied, lifting a paw to the gate. "Pick the lock." She then folded her arms and waited. She was still shivering but the adrenaline was helping her blood to flush out the chemicals, little by little.

Cooper frowned. "This is going to sound weird, but I need a piece of metal to insert into the lock."

"We don't have a piece of metal," She grumbled. "I thought you said you could open it."

"I can… and we do have a piece of metal," Sly told her. "But I have to ask your permission before using it."

"You've got it, open the lock!" Carmelita muttered. It was obvious that she was still sick to her stomach.

Sly braced himself for imminent shouting and quietly told her, "The wire is the support in your bra, Carmelita."

She balled her fists up and turned away from him, facing the window for a moment. After a few seconds to deliberate on the subject, she reached her paws up underneath the shirt he'd given her, and used a claw to tear the fabric of her undergarment. It took a moment to pull out a piece of metal but was then handed over to him. "Again, I'll remind you that this stays between us. Understand?"

"You still don't trust me," He reminded her, taking the metal wire into his paws. He immediately bent it to meet the demand of his needs. The metal wire was placed into the lock and after a few seconds, the tumbler rolled to the side and the gate squeaked ajar. "Viola!"

"You're right," She said, snatching the wire back from the lock and looking over the bent, useless piece of metal wiring. "I hope you realize just how uncomfortable this is going to be; be glad I wasn't wearing a sports bra, you ass."

Cooper smiled a bit, easing the metallic gate open with one paw and motioning with his other for her to step through. "I don't see how racial slanders towards donkeys are going to solve anything," Sly joked in reply.

"Stay put," She said, stepping through the cell. She then turned about, slamming the gate shut and locking him in. "I doubt you have any other undergarment in there to use so I'm going to assume you're stuck in there. I'll come back for you when I say it's clear. I don't need you getting in the way; I can't rescue you if something happens and I'm not stopping until Karla and Slick are both dead. Don't worry about Reaper, here; I'm taking him with me so he can't get in my way, either."

Sly's eyes widened. She was doing to him what he'd done to her in the past, above the Volcano and in the Helicopter. "Are you kidding me? Let me out so I can get back to stopping Sire and Steven from building Clockwerk!"

"We're not a team, Sly," Carmelita snapped at him. "I'm grateful that you saved my life yet again," She said, adding, "But right now, I have to do what I have to do to stop this thing. It's going to get a little messy and I don't need you getting in my way. You being in love with me is not going to sway my decision to keep you locked up. You stole from Interpol, you lied to me and you know the rules."

"Carmelita…!" Sly was incredulous. Of course he knew he could get back out of the cell but it would be much harder without any tools. She shook her head and held her paw out then turned for the nearest bathroom. It was off to the side and the door was wide open. The vixen bolted into the small room; she dropped to her knees, placed her paws firmly around the bowl and opened her muzzle, clinching her eyes shut… Fighting her enemies alone was going to be harder than she originally thought. …Especially if she couldn't stop throwing up. Now that the adrenaline rush had ended, her body was quick to remind her that she was still sick.

Cooper sat in the cell, reaching into his pocket to pull out some things he'd recently acquired. One of the things was a pendant that belonged to Sire. The other object was something he didn't necessarily understand… It was a string of beautiful pearls that he'd gotten from the future Carmelita's pocket. He wasn't sure why she had them but they reminded him that the love of his life was not immortal and that he would need to keep her out of trouble to keep her alive.

The Pearls (A/N: chapter 18!) were oddly heavier than normal pearls and he'd not taken them out of his pocket since he'd acquired them yesterday. He'd not told anyone about them and had no idea what the future Carmelita would be doing with heavy pearls like this. He glanced back up, hearing the retching in the bathroom finally conclude. "Are you all right?"

"I'm sick," She grumbled in reply. After a moment, Carmelita returned to Reaper's fallen body and she took his legs in her paws. "I've got to take him out of here; he'll kill you if he wakes up. I'm going to go and find Slick and Karla. You won't be seeing them ever again, I promise."

Sly frowned; for once, she had him in a jail cell and was actually going to inconvenience him. "I see, which means that this should technically be the safest place for me, in your mind."

Carmelita, despite being sick, nodded emphatically. "You've got it. Behind bars, right where you belong," She said with a smirk.

"Carmelita," He said, reaching through the bars for her paws. She glanced down where his palms touched her wrists but he kept his eyes forward, on her. Part of her knew he'd eventually escape with no guards around to monitor him. A metallic click sound was heard, causing his ears to flicker. His eyes panned downwards, raking over her body until he saw where his paws met hers, through the bars. His eyes widened, seeing that she'd handcuffed his paws together, so that he couldn't move away from the bars anymore.

"Escape that Houdini."

"Carmelita, listen. Just this once," Cooper replied to her mild gloating, "You've got to let me go. I can't explain now, but it has to happen," he said in a pleading voice. He had friends that were at risk, out in the field. Who was going to keep them alive?

"Are you serious? I have you," she exclaimed. "Last time I brought you in, you got away. This time, I'm not removing those cuffs until your court date," She explained with an air of satisfaction.

"Carmelita Montoya," Sly said, the way her father would say when she strayed from her truest duties. Her bottom lip quivered. How could he be so commanding? How could she love him? How could she love him! Sly continued, "As much as I would hate to stand you up on a 'date,'" retorted the raccoon.

"Forget it," interrupted the vixen; officer of the law, not to be forgotten even in a moment that was nearly dream-like. "If I let you go, I'll never get this chance again," Miss Fox groused, lifting her narrowed gaze up to him. Those brilliant oculars were squinted and yet behind lush lashes, her eyes were still dilated, taking in every action he could think to make, to keep him from living up to his first name.

Sly took a deep breath. "I thought you said we had to tackle Clockwerk together."

Carmelita smirked, dropping her left paw to her gut to cradle the pain in her stomach. "And now I'll know right where to find you when it's time to tackle Clockwerk."

"I'm sorry I never said 'I love you' when we dated," he said. His words threw her off balance and suddenly she realized that this all felt familiar. Her eyes widened in realization that part of this conversation was from her first nightmare about him. She handcuffed him, gloated, then he made the flirty little comment about standing her up for a date, in regards to her statement about releasing him the day of his 'court date.' The sudden shock that covered her face left Sly to think it was because he finally said he loved her.

"Cooper, I…" She trailed off, backing away a few steps. "I… You…" She just leered at him for a moment. If she left him here, he might die. She wasn't sure how, but if her dream came true, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. She was nearly in shock that their conversation was a recital of part of her initial nightmare. She nearly flinched from the sensation of being punched in the solar plexus. Finally she handed him the metal wire and said, "Wait until I'm gone. If you're surrounded, don't fight; run. I just don't want Slick or Karla to kill you. I was going to leave you in here, so you're safe but… I suddenly had this eerie feeling that leaving you trapped might be worse. Stay put until I'm gone. Don't follow me." Without a word, she picked up Sly's Binocucom from the living room table and left her own in its place.

She turned and headed for the door. Sly watched her drag Reaper out by his shoes then, when she made it to the door, shouted, "Hey, Gorgeous! I love you!" He grinned inwardly then whispered, "She just couldn't resist my charm." He was pleased with himself, holding the wire in his paws, using it to work on the handcuff lock, first. "Aren't you the luckiest little piece of metal on the planet?" He joked in reference to how close the wire piece was to her breast, before she had removed it from the undergarment.

A flat run. Carmelita ran through the snow to try and regain her adrenaline rush because it kept her from feeling sick. She wasn't in her right mind, rushing up the square towards the yellow marker that showed up in Sly's Binocucom. It showed the location of Bentley's safe-house, where she could probably pick up some equipment and a coat. She left The Reaper inside of a recycling dumpster with handcuffs, her last set, to keep the lid from being opened. Should he use his power of lightning, he would set the entire dumpster on fire from being stuffed in a mountain of paper. Then he would have a fiery death and she wouldn't care. Not that she knew what his powers were, like her future-half did, but she figured he'd stay in the recycling dumpster in the nearby alley for quite some time if she was lucky.

The intense cold caused the damp fur on her arms and shoulders to slick over in a white powdery layer of frosting. She pressed on with the willpower of a Marine. The snow was blinding, like iced pitchforks that screamed from a black sky. At just a few hours before sunrise, the sky was absolutely black and the foggy cover which hung just above the city's skyline was a rolling dark gray, reflected and dimly illuminated by street lights that lined the roadways.

She raced towards that holographic yellow beacon, squinting her eyes as plump flakes of snowfall collected in her eyelashes and on her fur. Midnight tendrils of the deepest cobalt flowed out behind her and the thick, furry brush of her tail flowed behind her. Both needed desperately to be brushed down; she was a sore sight for any eyes. Carmelita knew the bank was her target; what else could bring Karla and Slick out of their hiding places faster than a direct assault? For now, she needed gear and the safe house was her best bet.

Once she arrived at the safe house, she let herself inside the darkened building and shut the door behind herself. Her pupils were still dilated which helped her see in the dark almost immediately. The small building was actually an empty corner store that was up for rent. The rent sign was lying on the floor, next to the window it belonged in.

Carmelita sniffed the air then nodded decisively. Bentley, Penelope and Murray were all present. She could smell dry blood and it wasn't her own. She reached her paw out, sliding it along the wall near the door, trying to fight a light switch. The lights flipped on at the end of the room and Penelope sat in a chair with tired, squinted eyes boring directly into the suspended Inspector.

"What are you doing here?" Penelope asked quietly, trying not to wake Bentley or the injured Murray. They were on cots at the far side of the room. Murray had a black eye and various cuts and bruises could be seen on his arms and face. She didn't yet know that he had two broken ribs from the fight with Karla but he looked pretty wasted; she felt the way he looked.

Carmelita decided to be blunt. "We have to stop Slick Cooper and Karla Chintzy. If we don't, they'll kill Sly and then the rest of us."

"I thought Bentley helped you break into the bank and rescue Sly," Penelope said. "And that's cool of you, but it doesn't make us trust you; you're a cop and you're notorious for being by the book."

"Yes, yes," Carmelita muttered, "I'm a freakin' textbook for Halloween or whatever. I'm going to mount a full-on assault on the Bank, alone. I'm going to go in there, destroy everything I see and burn the building to the ground. I need to commandeer your group as temporary deputies because I'm going to need help leveling this place. You don't understand, mouse. Sly will die if we don't change history. I've dreamt of his murder over and over and I need to begin a preemptive strike to ensure that he lives. I need gear, a coat, and a dweeb's brain."

"A dweeb's brain, huh?" Penelope said, her expression becoming a thin line of pursed lips, glaring at the cop. "Bentley and I, together, could give NASA a run for their money, how's that?"

Fox nodded slightly. "Perfectly fine, I'll need an advantage. Do you even know what we're up against?"

Penelope frowned, remembering her experience with Karla last night. "From what I've seen already, people who have strange powers; you're going to get your tail handed to you, going in there alone."

"No," Carmelita said, shaking her head slowly. "Everyone will get their tail handed to them if we all went in. I'm doing this to keep everyone else alive. It's complicated but it's my duty. I'll need to have an advantage that puts me on par with the rest of them."

"From what I can tell," Penelope mused, putting her paw to her chin, "Most of their powers are used on what they can see. That Karla Chintzy lady was powerless when the shadow-guy wrapped her up. Once her eyes were covered, she was helpless. Maybe if we can find a way to make everyone blind except for you… then you would be at an advantage."

"That… could work," Carmelita noted aloud. "But how do we manage that?"

"To completely black out the entire bank," Penelope said, a grin starting to form on her mouse-ish face. "We don't even want these suckers to have flashlights."

"So…?" The vixen scrunched her nose, trying to see what Penelope was beginning to grin about.

"Hold on," Penelope said, putting a paw up. "I want to see, aw heck, he's asleep; I was going to wake Bentley up and see if he'd come to the same conclusion as me but… I'm sure he would. Anyway, my idea was," She paused for a dramatic effect. Carmelita crossed her eyes in frustration. The adrenaline was starting to wear off from running in the cold and she was starting to thaw out in the building, which meant her nausea was beginning to return. Penelope then cleared her throat and said, "An electromagnetic pulse to render their equipment and the entire building… useless. Then, we send you in with Night Vision Goggles. But not just any NVG's… I have a pair that you can change the settings to see thermal, x-ray, infrared, phosphorescent night vision, and …" She just stopped abruptly and shrugged.

"And what?" Carmelita asked, glancing around the dimly illuminated room for a place to sit down. Finally, she settled on the floor.

"Well, they're under development but," Penelope shrugged then simply said, "Energy. I thought it would be really cool to see ghosts or other things like that but, yeah, energy patterns. It would probably be useless in that building after we hit it with an EMP, though. I mean, you'd see people as orange blobs but, that's about it. They're the only pair I have but they're pretty tough."

"They're going to get dogged on this mission," Carmelita replied flatly. "'Pretty tough' is okay but I really do not feel comfortable if I'm the one field testing them."

"You got a better idea?" Penelope rebutted, putting her paws on her hips, sitting in the chair between the two cots.

Carmelita lowered her eyes to the floor with a sigh; her pupils never shrank, even thought the lights had been on for a few minutes, now. "No." Her reply was concise and it was all she could offer. She glanced back up at the mouse then said, "I've never really worked with thieves before. So help me, if you people backstab me, you'll wish this whole situation ends in jail. Not a threat, just a fact."

"Another bad guy, trying to take over the world?" Penelope scoffed.

Carmelita face-faulted. "Well, when you put it that way, it does sound kinda stupid but The two super naturals you saw fighting; the girl with the teleportation and mental movement trick… and the guy with the shadows that you'd mentioned seeing… they're only the tip of the iceberg. Clockwerk is being reconstructed to become the future host body for something the leader is trying to resurrect. The leader-guy is attempting to confuse the rest of the world by calling himself SG1 of Interpol. My doppelganger from the future filled him in on what's going on, so he did some spying. Turns out it's worse than we could have realized. Donovan found out that this guy, calling himself The Sire, is trying to resurrect the damn Devil and stick it into Clockwerk's metal body. I… It's over my head. The guy is insane and was lucky enough to be gifted with the abilities to accomplish this entire thing. Sly told me that the fight between him and that guy is extremely personal… so I plan to wipe out everyone except for this 'Sire' guy.

"The freak took my job away but," Carmelita lowered her eyes again. "Somehow, I think if I kill the Secretariat General of Interpol, I won't get my job back. So, I'll let Sly do it… but everyone else belongs to me." She looked back up with a frown but Penelope suddenly became interested in something else all together. The mouse slid off of her chair and approached where Carmelita was sitting on the floor. She then reached down with her left paw, cupping beneath Inspector Fox's jaw. The ex-cop jerked her head away at first but Penelope gave her a sharp look, reaching to cup her jaw a second time.

This time, Carmelita reluctantly allowed it to happen. Penelope reached her right paw down and pushed it against the bottom of Carmelita's eyebrow, pushing up to get a good look at the fox's eyes in the light. "Are you… stoned?" The mouse asked, furrowing her own brows.

"It's a long story, a very humiliating one," Carmelita said with a sigh. "Just between us girls, Slick attacked me in the hospital and used my painkillers against me. I've spent all night in a coma, throwing up until I felt beyond dead. There's nothing left; I'm raw inside."

"I'm… I'm sorry, that sounds rough," Penelope said, backing up with a frown. She walked back to her seat then motioned to Murray. "He's struggling with two broken ribs. I don't know what kind of cover he'll be for you."

Carmelita placed her paws on her hips, trying to change the subject back to the initial topic. "Aren't you the girl that steals computer hardware around Europe using remote control toys?"

"Uh," The mouse gave a loose, innocent looking smile. "I've heard of her."

"Does every thief have to be a liar too?" Carmelita snapped. She stood up, glanced around and asked, "Where's your bathroom?" Penelope lifted a paw and pointed to the small room off to the side. Carmelita went across the small room, stepped into the bathroom and shut the door besides her. Almost immediately, Penelope shuttered over noises of dry heaving. The mouse looked queasy for a second but put up a bit of mental fortitude, blocking out any mental images.

Carmelita returned a few moments later, looking as weary as ever. "We can't strike tonight; the sun will be up soon. There are a lot of windows on that building," She added, shaking her head.

Bentley sat up in bed, rubbing at his eyes. He reached for his glasses, mumbling that he knew that 'familiar' voice. Glancing up at Carmelita, he was instantly startled but after seeing how rough she looked, he simply said, "Wh-what happened to you? Where's Sly?"

"Sly is around," Carmelita replied. "I've come to do him a favor: protect his friends. It was his greatest concern. I need your help in bringing their hideout to the ground. Your lil' girlfriend, here, suggested that we strike the building with an Electromagnetic Pulse then I can go in at dusk with night vision and wipe them out."

"By yourself?" Bentley quipped. "That's suicide. Why not take Sly with you – and don't give me that crap about not being able to work with thieves."

The vulpine lowered her gaze. "I'm trying to do this before he can do it himself," She grumbled. "He can have the leader, I get the rest. It's only fair. We'll start in the evening so everyone needs to get some sleep. Especially me. I want to be well rested tomorrow, when I go and stomp everyone's butt. What was your name again?" She asked, directing the question to the mouse.

"Penelope."

"Right," Carmelita said with a nod. "Penelope can use her remote control toys to help me level that place. We'll use a disposable one to set off the EMP, then another can go in with me to provide support and perform menial tasks to ensure success. You'll guide me," She said, turning her gaze back to Bentley. "And Murray will be in position, when I'm done, to drive into the building, through the lobby, and pick me up. We'll take out the main support pillars then hurry out, while the building begins to collapse. How's that?"

"Good," Bentley said, sitting up more and reaching for his bowtie on the nightstand besides the cot. "But Penelope's RC Chopper was destroyed, the extra parts were in the van, which is also destroyed and we need to locate a place to steal the equipment necessary for making this EMP Burst."

"It's not stealing," Carmelita muttered. "It's commandeering and acquisitioning the gear for official police business. You're all deputies, temporarily."

"You're suspended," Bentley simply blurted out.

"So," Penelope said, putting her paws back on her hips. "What was that about all thieves being liars? Suspended cops can't have deputies, Miss Fox."

"I was suspended by the bad guy!" Carmelita snapped. "It doesn't mean anything to me. As far as I'm concerned, I'm still a cop and not wearing my badge is just a formality!"

"Fine, fine," Penelope replied, shaking her head with a sigh. "We'll do what we do, you do what you do and we'll sink this badboy at sundown. You look like hell; go take a shower and get some sleep. We'll get up and acquire a van, some gear, an extra coat for you and everything else you'll need. But I have one condition."

"Yeah?" Carmelita folded her arms.

"We work together as a team," She said. "That means Sly, too. Also, we're going to need explosives if we want to flatten that bank. We've got a guy who can help with that, but we're going to have to get moving right away if we want to get him here by sundown. He'll be flying in from China. Also, you can't go arresting us when this is all over with."

Carmelita sighed and nodded slowly. She couldn't believe she was getting into this huge mess over Sly freakin' Cooper. But if she didn't, she would never get her job back. She would never get reinstated and that was her problem. "Fine," said the ex-Inspector. "Go re-assemble your little 'gang' and let's finish this. But they'd do well to learn real fast that Clockwerk is twice as dangerous as Doctor M. I hope they know what they're getting themselves into. We start at dusk."

A/N: This seems like a good place to post; I'm now working on Chapter 28: "Commando". It's going to be action packed from start to finish. It's going to involve the whole dang gang and it's going to take everybody working together to stop Reaper, Karla, Slick, the clone of Steven and The Sire. An all-out attack will be necessary to bring down the bad guys. Okay, the reviews are in for chapter 26 and it looks like Carmelita's first target will be Karla Chintzy! I hope everyone psyches up for this next chapter because this Femme Fatale is going to rock the house.

I was going to go right into that in THIS chapter but it would have been waayy too long. Thanks for reading… I hope everyone is ready for some serious action next chapter. And for all you ladies out there, don't worry… I have a little bit of mushy stuff planned, too! I can't guarantee that this story will end with a wedding but I promise you'll see another moment between Sly and Carmelita before the end of the story. I'll probably end it at Chapter 30; this story has gone on for way too long, ANYhow! That's what sequels are for, dang it! I just didn't have anything planned for this story from the beginning and that's why I got carried away with it! Now I sorta have a little bit of a plan on how to finish this thing so expect it to be wrapped up in just three more chapters. 28 will be your high action one, 29 will be a continuation from some sort of cliffhanger that I'll come up with in 28, and 30 will tie up all the lose ends and finish the story.

I don't think I've ever written so many chapters for a story before, lol. I'm already at about two hundred thousand words for this story. That's a dang novel, yo! Anyway, thanks for reading! Chapter 28 will be up by Monday the 30th, at latest

:D

-kit