Chapter 8
Tennessee tossed away his prison uniform, glad to be back in his old clothes. He and Sly made their way back to the hideout where everyone was waiting for him.
Once inside Clara ran up to Tennessee but to everyone's surprise she slapped him across the face.
"That was for scaring me! I almost thought I lost ya!" she snapped.
The grayish-brown raccoon smirked as he rubbed where Clara had slapped him: he was glad that the female raccoon was still her usual self. Getting down to business Bentley had everyone gather for a meeting so they could discuss the next plan. Tennessee told them how the former sheriff Wiley explained to him that the bank robbery took place even though he was already in jail. This left the male raccoon to suspect the new sheriff Toothpick was the one that stole the gold since he was at the bank before him.
Bentley tapped his chin in thought before opening up his laptop and searching the Interpol criminal data base for answers. It took a while but sure enough the green turtle was able to find a match. Toothpick was a two-bit gangster from the present day that loved two things, cowboys and gold. Interpol had almost caught the armadillo, but before they could he abruptly vanished. Now Sly and his gang knew where he was.
"I thought that armadillo was too sleazy looking to be a sheriff." Tennessee said with his arms crossed, upset that Toothpick managed to steal the gold and pin the crime on him.
"Sleazy or not he's got the entire town under his control. It's going to be tough to clear our names." Noir stated.
The outlaw raccoon tilted his hat up a bit with a smirk before replying "Since when has that been a problem for us? We managed to tick off one criminal that had the town wrapped around her finger, I'm sure we can handle ol' Toothpick just fine."
Noir and Strongheart both looked at each other, thinking about Tennessee's words. Finally they turned back toward the male raccoon and nodded their heads in agreement; they were willing to help Tennessee rid the town of the twisted armadillo. With their motives set the gang began putting a plan together.
"Okay, Tennessee, according to my calculations Toothpick has put your guns in his mine." Bentley explained, "He had the mine closed, claiming it was unsafe but that is where he houses his goods."
"Well it's just one gun now, I upgraded it, but you're right. I need my shooting iron back." Tennessee stated.
With that said they made a plan that Bentley would follow Toothpick to the mine and once there he would hack into the computer to open the door lock. Murray would helped open the mine door that way Tennessee could get inside to get his gun. Everyone knew their parts so they decided to put the plan in action. Bentley disguised himself in some extra clothes Noir had left over so no one would suspect the green turtle following Toothpick. Tennessee and Murray followed Bentley from a distance as the green turtle began following Toothpick; they made sure they weren't far enough to lose him but not close enough to be seen.
Sure enough Bentley reached the mine just as Toothpick had entered it. He wheeled up to the control panel, cracking his knuckles a bit.
"Time to open up a can of ha..." Bentley started, but just then he heard something coming up from behind him.
He turned around and screamed when he saw a giant scorpion coming for him; quickly the green turtle hid in his shell out of fear as he called for help.
Tennessee slid down of the train rails as fast as he could, managing to narrowly jump out of the way of an incoming train.
"Yeehaw! The cavalry's comin'!" the male raccoon yelled.
"Don't worry, Bentley! I got the 'bug spray' right here!" Murray yelled as he jumped into the seat of the turret gun.
The pink hippo didn't waste any second to start turning the crank on the turret gun, rapidly firing at the scorpions, killing them all as fast as he could. It didn't take long for Murray to kill the last scorpion, allowing Bentley to get out of his shell and start hacking the computer lock.
he turtle's fingers tapped the computer keys at top speeds as he hacked the computer. Finally the screen turned green and unlocked the door to the mine.
"Security, thy game is hacked!" Bentley said with a grin.
Murray quickly ran over to the mine door and using all of his strength he lifted it up enough for Tennessee to get inside.
"Awesome, Murray! Okay, Tennessee, you're up!" Bentley said.
"Shoot, I'll be in and out of there quicker than a hyperactive rattlesnake." Tennessee commented.
"Hey guys, this door's kinda... heavy!" Murray grunted as he struggled to hold up the door.
Knowing he had to move fast the male raccoon quickly rolled underneath the door, causing his hat to fall off. He swiped his hat from out from underneath the door just seconds before Murray ended up dropping the door closed. Tennessee put his hat back on before looking around at the mine, sure enough he saw the mine was filled with the gold that Toothpick had stolen from the bank. He continued looking around until finally he spotted his gun in a glass case. He ran up to case, smashing it open with his fist, and grabbed his gun.
"Uh huh! That's right! The Kid is back in business!" Tennessee smirked as he tilted down his hat.
He didn't waste any time as he used his gun to shoot open one of the vault doors, allowing him to gain deeper access to the mine. He ran through the mine as fast as he could, sliding on rails and shooting and guards that he managed to encounter. Finally he managed to make it to the final door and shot the locks open, allowing him to get out of the mine. Tennessee yelled in victory as he made his way back to the hideout, loving the feeling of having his hand tightly firm around his gun. Even though it was only a day that he had lost it, he just didn't feel complete without his gun. Making sure he wasn't seen he made his way back the hideout. Once he made it back and got inside, he was surprised to see that Sly and Bentley weren't there.
"Hey what happened to those two?" he asked as he sat down in a chair backwards, leaning down on the back of it.
"Bentley and Sly had headed for the saloon while ya got your gun. Bentley was planning to knock out the guards there with sarsaparilla while Sly helped plant a... I think he called it a bug, I don't know I just know it'll let us listen to Toothpick." Noir explained.
Tennessee looked around the room, noticing that a female raccoon was missing from the hideout as well.
Before he could say anything the male mouse told him "She went out to talk to Strongheart about ya. Honestly Tennessee the poor girl is starting to question whether ya truly love her or if that was the excitement from your activity ya'll did that night talking."
"Why is she thinking like that? Of course I love her, why would she think I would be lying?" Tennessee replied.
"Because ya had no answer when she had ya promise to marry her. It's amazing Tennessee, ya scare her to death with the thought of losing ya by making her promise to take care of your child just in case ya die, yet ya don't even think about marrying her. Ya know Tennessee ya ain't the only one that can be killed at any second, Clara can too. If ya don't do anything soon ya might end up losing her." Noir explained.
Tennessee opened his mouth to reply, but quickly shut it as he thought about Noir's words. It was true that he could lose her anytime, though the only reason he hadn't thought about marrying her is because the fear of Clockwerk still lingered in his mind. No one truly knew the fear he felt unless they had dealt with the near death experience he faced. He was scared if he married her that Clockwerk would try to harm her to get to him, just like he tried to do when he discovered she was pregnant with a Cooper. He was actually going to tell her that when he had promised her that he would give his answer after what became a failed heist. The male raccoon let out a deep sigh, deciding to ignore these thoughts for now. What was important at the moment was taking Toothpick down. His brown eyes glanced at the door way to see Sly and Bentley come in with a device he was not familiar with.
"Okay Toothpick's office has been successfully bugged. Before we make our next plan we'll listen in on him for tonight to see exactly what he's up to." Bentley explained.
"You know sometimes a listening bug can be a two way curse. I remember when we bugged Dimitri's office we ended up learning a lot of disturbing things about him while gaining knowledge of his plans." Sly commented.
"True, but it's a necessary sacrifice to learn about the criminals plans." Bentley replied, trying to forget those memories of having to listen in on Dimitri.
Tennessee lifted a brow in confusion, trying to figure out what the two were talking about. That night as Bentley listened in on Toothpick's conversation, having to listen to the armadillo obsess about his gold, complain about people complaining to him, complain about not having any Cuban lollipops, and outlaw whistling, Tennessee decided to have a little talk with Clara. He grinned a bit when he saw the female raccoon leaning on the railing of the balcony, staring up at the stars.
"Enjoying the view?" Tennessee asked as he leaned against the railing next to Clara.
"I guess." the female raccoon sighed sadly.
The male raccoon frowned at this, without a word he placed his black-gloved hand on Clara's shoulder.
"Clara, Noir told me about how you're feeling. I really do love you, I truly do, but if only you knew the reason why haven't considered marriage." Tennessee said.
Clara clenched her teeth in anger as she jerked her shoulder out from Tennessee's grip.
"Your words aren't enough anymore, Tennessee. I truly want to believe ya, but without proof I can't tell for sure. I love ya and even proven how much I love ya, yet ya have done nothing to prove it. I just want to know if you're not playing me like how Jeanette does with men." she said.
Tennessee was shocked by the female raccoon's words, though he said nothing as Clara walked back inside the hideout.
Unknown to him Sly had seen the entire thing. The scene that played out before him reminded him of when Carmelita confronted him when he was pulling that museum heist. The gray raccoon sighed as he looked down at the picture in his hand of him giving Carmelita a kiss on the cheek.
"She's probably wondering if I really love her just like Clara is wondering with Tennessee." Sly muttered sadly.
The next day everyone got an abrupt awakening by Toothpick yelling on the radio.
"What! Why are you leaving her with me?!" he exclaimed, "Sure I can get rid of her, but what if she gets loose?! I don't want to be the one she fires at! Alright fine I'll do the task but I better be getting some extra gold for this!"
"What is Toothpick talking about?" Tennessee asked.
"I don't know, but you better go check it out Tennessee." Bentley replied.
The grayish-brown raccoon nodded his head before dashing out of the hideout. He quickly made his way through town by rooftop until he spotted something. He pulled out his binocom and to his surprise he saw a female fox with blue hair and brown eyes, wearing a blue top that barely covered her chest, a blue skirt, brown boot, yellow gloves, a brown jacket, and a necklace with a star symbol on it. He watched as she struggled in the ropes she was tied up in as she snarled at the armadillo before her. Tennessee was surprised to find himself examining every detail of her body; he actually found her very attractive.
"Hmm, that's not good." Tennessee commented, "Looks like Toothpick rustled himself a pretty lady."
When Bentley saw the female fox on the screen he exclaimed "Sweet jumping jackrabbits! That's no lady, that's Carmelita! What is she doing here?"
"You know her?" the male raccoon asked in surprise.
"I'm afraid so! Something is very wrong here, Tennessee, but all quantum physics aside, we have to rescue her! Nobody can get there faster than you! I'll grab Sly and Murray and we'll meet you with the van. Just get going!" the turtle said as one on the longhorns picked up Carmelita and began carrying her away.
Tennessee quickly put away his binocom and chased after them, seeing the longhorn had carried Carmelita to a stagecoach.
"Phew, I'm only too happy to get rid of this one. Her tongue's sharp enough to cut leather!" Toothpick commented.
Carmelita struggled in her ropes as she snarled "Stinking cowards! Are you afraid to untie me and fight like men?! I swear when I get out of this..."
"No sense frettin' about that, little lady! Yes cry, cry. Tear yes. Just enjoy the ride!" he laughed as the longhorn threw Carmelita into the stagecoach.
The jackalope on top grabbed a hold of the reins and made the stagecoach take off. Tennessee examined the stagecoach's path seeing that it lead straight for a cliff. Toothpick was planning to have Carmelita killed. Wasting no time he quickly jumped on some nearby rails and slid down them, making his way to some rocks where he could destroy obstacles to avoid letting the stagecoach crash. The male raccoon kept repeating this process, unaware that a certain mechanical owl was watching him. Tennessee clenched his teeth as he saw the stagecoach near the cliff; he had to get Carmelita out of there now. The stagecoach tilted over the cliff, causing the jackalope to fall to his death.
Carmelita inhaled her breath sharply out of fear as she stared at the ground that was far down blow her, she was leaning out of the stagecoach window. She let out a scream as she felt herself began slipping but to her surprise two arms wrapped around her and she found herself held against a firm chest. Carmelita watched as her rescuer jumped off the stagecoach seconds before it fell off the cliff.
She turned her head to find herself staring at a grayish-brown raccoon who was smirking at her. At first she raised her eyes in surprise because the raccoon was similar to Sly, but then she grew angry because of that very same reason.
"Who are you?!" she snapped as Tennessee set her on the ground.
The male raccoon took off his hat and placed it on his chest before saying "Pleased to meet ya ma'am! Why I'm Tennessee Kid..."
Carmelita freed herself from her ropes and interrupted Tennessee by yelling "Don't yell me! You're Cooper, right? I knew it!"
The female fox grew even more angry at the fact the raccoon was a Cooper. She managed to piece together that she had been sent to the past so it made her angry that she was in the presence of the ancestor of the very raccoon that had betrayed her trust.
"Yes ma'am. Bentley told me..." he started as he put back on his hat.
"Stop calling me 'Ma'am'! The name's Inspector Fox!" she snapped.
Tennessee blinked in confusion because that was exactly how Wiley Fox was toward people, making him wonder if Carmelita was Wiley's descendant.
"If that's true then the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Gotta give her credit, she is pretty good looking." Tennessee thought.
"Wait, Bentley's here?" Carmelita asked, awakening Tennessee from his thoughts.
"Well looks like they're right behind us..." the grayish-brown raccoon said as he gestured to the trio behind them up on the hire platform.
Carmelita narrowed her eyes in anger when she saw Sly there. She grinded her teeth together, still feeling rage at the fact she had discovered that he was faking amnesia all along. She believed the reason he did it was to avoid getting arrested like she believed he deserved.
"Carmelita! I'm glad you're okay." Sly said out of relief.
"Why that conniving little..." she started, but to both her and Tennessee's shock, Toothpick appeared behind the Cooper gang with his gun aimed at them.
"Much obliged for helping hand, Inspector Fox!" Toothpick smirked as some longhorns aimed their guns at the Cooper gang and began leading them away, "Lemme run these bandidos to the prison and I'll be back for you all the lickety-split! Of course if you're still feelin' neighborly, you could just turn yourselves in!"
With that said Toothpick laughed as some more longhorns began dragging away the van. Carmelita snarled in anger, she felt nothing but burning hatred for that armadillo.
"As much as I like the idea of Sly in a cell, nobody kidnaps Inspector Carmelita Fox and gets away with it!" she snarled.
"I reckon that also includes tyin' her to a runaway stage?" Tennessee smirked.
The female fox spun around, placing her fist in front of the male raccoon's face as she said "Watch it! I'm in no mood for smart remarks! Now are you ready for another rescue mission, Tennessee?"
"Yes ma'am!" he started, but then corrected himself, "I mean, I surely am Inspector Fox!"
Carmelita grinned at this remark; she liked how Tennessee was acting like around her. He treated her with respect unlike Sly and she could tell he was a gentlemen toward woman. Taking a closer look at him she actually found him attractive like Sly, making her guess that maybe the good looks ran in the family.
Later that day Tennessee had led Carmelita back to the hideout where his gang would help put together a plan. Carmelita was shock that for the first time she was in a Cooper hideout. She knew that it wasn't Sly's hideout but the fact still shocked her.
Noir adjusted his glasses as he examined the female fox, confused on why she reminded him of Wiley Fox.
"I see ya rescued that lady ya mentioned, but where are the others?" the male mouse asked.
"Ol' Toothpick managed to sneak up on them and arrest them. Inspector Fox and I were hoping you could tell us the best way in the prison that doesn't involve getting arrested like in Bentley's plan." Tennessee replied as he laid his arm on Carmelita's shoulder.
Before Noir could speak they could hear the click of a gun. To their surprise Clara was standing there with her gun loaded and aimed at Tennessee.
Seeing this the male raccoon quickly removed his arm from the female fox's shoulder.
"Tennessee Kid Cooper! Ya no good lying, good for nothing outlaw!" Clara snarled as she forced Tennessee up against the wall.
"Now, Clara, I..." he started.
"Save it! I don't want to hear your excuses!" she snapped, jabbing her gun a bit at him, "I should have known ya were lying to me! Now ya just like chasing around women don't ya and I happened to fall for your act!"
"Clara, let me explain. I had just saved Inspector Fox here. I brought her back so we can save Sly and the others." Tennessee explained.
Clara bit her lip as tears streaked down her face; her heart ached in betrayal. When she saw how Tennessee was looking at Carmelita and the fact he had his arm on her made her lose it. Her finger pulled slightly on the trigger; she wanted to shoot Tennessee liked she wished she had done when she first met him. As she continued crying Strongheart managed to walk up to her and slowly take the gun away from Clara. The female raccoon remained rooted in her spot, more and more tears streaking down her face. Finally she dashed out of the room, wiping away her tears.
Carmelita was shocked by the sight she had seen. She turned toward Tennessee who had the look of regret and sadness in his eyes.
"You've really done it now Tennessee." he thought to himself sadly.