The Cooper X Gang
By Mutitoon90
Chapter Two: The New Cooper Gang, Part Two
San Francisco, California, 2:46a.m.
As Rad turned from the door, he saw the house's interior. The entrance hall was decorated with bright and shining colors. The room had a red-orange color with a small hint of blue. There were white twin staircases that looked as though they came out of a romance movie. It had a red carpet that covered the middle of the stairs. The gold bars, that followed the staircases, appeared to be freshly polished. Pictures of landscapes and flowers softened the atmosphere of the room.
Rad, awestricken by the size of the entrance hall, was staring at the room when Sam shook him.
"Wake up, ringtail." Sam said as she gave Rad a shake at the shoulder.
Waking from his trance, Rad said, "Huh? Sorry, I guess I was distracted."
"Don't worry," Sam said calmly, "most people turn into idiots when they see the place."
Rad just shrugged his shoulders. He had never been in a house as extravagant as the one he was in at the time. He also knew that Sam is probably telling the truth about the house.
"Okay," Mar announced, "let's go to the den. Newcomers, follow me."
The group followed Mar as they made their way to the den. They saw more of the house as it's shining colors and bright hues caught the visitors' eyes.
After a few minutes, the group arrived at the den. The room was unlike most of the other rooms. It had a feel of country welcome which was the extravagance of the entrance hall. The room was divided by two colors. On the top half of the room, the color was forest green. The other color was beige. A strip of homey decorations separated the colors from each other.
"It's like being at home." Belle commented as she looked around the room.
"Why, thank you." Mar responded with a host-like manner.
Sam looked away for a second, "Yeah, like home." The cat sadly thought.
"Sam, are you all right?" Rad and Mar said in unison.
Sam looked up to see the gang looking at her. She shook her head sideways, as she said, "No, it's nothin'."
Rad looked at her. "Something's not right." He thought as he saw Sam staring out of a window.
"Okay, close all windows and cover them with the curtains, 'cause we have a meeting to start." Justin announced to everyone in the room.
After the windows were closed and covered, the gang sat down to discuss what was going to happen next. Rad was on the back of a green chair as he would be like on a rope while doing a Rail walk, a move created by Tennessee Kid Cooper. He was between Sam and Luna. Sam sat in the beige chair left of the green chair. Luna sat on the left side of a white couch, while Justin sat on the right side. To Sam's left, Mar sat on a small, beige stool. Belle sat on a small, green chair, between Justin and Mar.
"Rad," Mar said, angry at the raccoon for being where the young thief was at, "sit on the chair, not on it's back."
Rad jumped off the back of the chair, landed on the floor, and sat down in the chair just like the others. "Better?" Rad asked snob-like to Mar.
"Much." Mar answered.
Sam, becoming angry at the boys' arguing, asked, "Can we start the meeting now?"
Rad and Mar looked at an upset Sam.
"Sure, Sam." Rad said, "Let's get started."
"Yeah, Let's go." Mar agreed.
Luna shook her head, "Losing their heads over a girl, how lame." She thought before she looked at Justin. Then, she thought, "Well, not that lame."
Sam, although not very good in conversions, can read people's faces very well. She saw Luna's face from disgust from the boys' disagreement to bashfulness from seeing Justin. "Oh, brother. Luna just contradicted herself again." She thought as she shook her own head.
"Meeting now underway." Justin said.
"Do you know what means?" Mar said curiously.
"It means the meeting has started, I guess." Justin honestly answered.
"Okay." Mar said calmly.
Rad stood up to announce his gang's proposal. "Okay, my friends and I are looking for people with enough potential to join our gang. And by the look of things from that heist, I'm more that convinced. You guys should join the gang."
Sam, Mar, and Luna looked at Rad as if he was crazy. Sam stood up and said, "Let us consult with each other first."
Sam left the circle, followed by Mar and Luna. The trio talked quietly among themselves, so the others could not hear them. Rad could only hear small parts of the conversation. He heard Mar's objections, Luna's possibilities of capture, and Sam's reasons to join or not. After a few minutes, Sam turned to the others.
"Okay," Sam announced, "my group has few problems to work out with your group. But, we're willing to join if you answer a few questions.
"Okay, go." Rad said in confidence.
"One: Are you guys real thieves?"
"Yes, we are." Rad said coolly.
"Okay," Mar spoke, "whom do you steal from?"
"From criminal masterminds and high security places." Rad answered smoothly.
"Good answer." Luna said honestly, "But is it true that the Cooper family have been thieves since ancient times?"
"Yes." Belle answered.
"One last question and we'll decide." Sam said, "Why do you guys think of us as the perfect candidates?"
Rad smiled and said, "A cat with the skills of a thief and a pyrotechnical genius," as he pointed at Sam, "a rat with telekinesis powers," then pointed at Mar, "and a wolf that is a diver and a driver," then pointed to Luna, "a team like that is hard to come by."
"That," Belle added. "and at least two out of three of you have a relation of some kind to an ex-member of the last Cooper Gang."
"She's right." Luna confirmed, "My dad was the Cooper Gang's frogman for at least two missions. He was also an informant for a mission."
"I knew the Guru." Mar said, "He taught me the Dreamtime skills I know."
Sam kept quiet. Rad saw that Sam was went out. "Hey, Sam."
Sam looked up and asked, "What?"
"You're still a part of the team, no matter what is or isn't" Rad said as he grinned a Cooper grin.
Sam felt a little better for what Rad told her, but it did not stop her from feeling left out because she had no parents.
Rad got concerned. "It looks like that pep talk didn't work very well."
"Ha! Maybe because you wanted her for her body?" Mar said smugly.
WHACK!
The group was in shock, including Mar. Sam had hit Mar on the head!
"Ow! Why did you do that?!" Mar exclaimed in pain while rubbing his head.
"Mar, I don't need or have to explain myself," The fiery feline said in a cold anger, "but accusing someone of something so horrible is just rude." Sam calmed down before continuing, "At least have some proof before exploiting them."
Mar was angry, but not enough to understand Sam's point. He was trying defended her as he did when the thugs chased her.
Rad putted his hand on Mar's shoulder. Mar did not look back to see who it was. Rad knew why Mar was rude towards him. "I know about what you did for Sam five years ago." Rad said. Mar was surprised. Before Mar said anything, Rad continued, "Sam told me."
Then, Mar remembered the ride to his house. Rad asked about the team and Sam was telling the truth.
"I'm sorry," Mar said in a small voice, "I was trying to defended my friend."
"Hey," Rad said, trying to get Mar's attention, "in the Cooper Gang, being a team is the most important thing."
"Yeah," Justin said, "you wouldn't believe how many times Rad and Belle had to save my hide."
"Thanks to his own big mouth." Added Belle.
"You bragged to a gang of thugs one time, and you're branded for life." Justin said, feeling insulted.
The others laughed with a good strong feeling, even Sam.
"So," Rad asked, "you guys in?"
Sam, Mar, and Luna looked at each other, then to Rad and said, "You bet."
Rad smiled, "Well, that's settled. But now, we need a base to stay for in-between heists."
"And this place is perfect." Mar added.
Sam looked confused by the arrangement. "Does that mean that Luna and I have to give up our apartment?" She asked.
Rad walked to Sam, and said, "You can, but that's between you and Luna." And with that, he placed his hand, and he kissed Sam on the cheek.
"That was for earlier." Rad said while Sam blushed so much that her brown fur had a noticeable hue of red.
Mar was also turning red, but it was out of anger. Justin placed his hand onto Mar's shoulder. "Chill, dude. It's out of respect." He said.
Justin and Belle just shook their heads at Rad's actions to Sam. Rad was known as a ladies man, but to draw attention to himself and away the others in the middle of a heist. But, something was not like the heists when it came to Sam.
Sam broke away from Rad's small embrace. "Hold up, ringtail. We just met yesterday."
Rad laughed at the comment with his hands crossed over his chest. He knew that Sam did like him and how hard that she is trying to hide it.
"Okay, we're in agreement that we are now a team" Belle said.
The others agreed with a chorus of 'yes.'
Luna had a question, "Should we have a name for the gang?"
Rad gave a smirk and said, "I'm glad that someone asked."
Rad reached into his red backpack and pulled out a piece of paper. Luna took the piece out of his hand. "'The Cooper X Gang' is the best you can come up with?"
"Well," Rad said hesitantly, "yeah."
A moment of silence came went before Luna said, "Well, I like it."
The others agreed with her. "Well, it's not that original, but it's better than just 'The Cooper Gang.'" Sam said.
"Yeah." Justin confirmed.
"Then, it's settled." Mar announced.
"Bad guys, beware. The Cooper X Gang is now in business!" Justin shouted out in pure excitement.
The others, including Sam, laughed at how he yelled out loud.
But, none of them knew that when they became the Cooper X Gang, they started a journey that none of them could have thought.
End of Chapter 2