Second chapter already? What?

Allow me to explain. When I started writing this story, I didn't have a account. I didn't create one until after I finished the first chapter. Well, I didn't know that I had to wait two days before I start posting stories. So I started writing the second chapter while I waited for the two days to be over. Let me tell you right now, I won't be posting a chapter a day. In fact, this might be the only time you see me post two chapters in two days. As I said before, I want to take my time on this story. I don't want it to be rushed.

Anyways, enough chit-chat! On with the story!

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Chapter 2: Old Friends

Sly stared up at the ceiling, lying in his bed. His ears twitched at the sound of each passing car outside of the apartment. No matter what he did, he just couldn't fall asleep. It didn't matter what position he was in, he just couldn't get comfortable. He looked over at his digital clock that lay on top of his nightstand.

"Two thirty seven," he muttered to himself. "Damn it. I just wanna sleep so it will be morning." He turned over on his bed so he lay face down. He knew why he couldn't sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about everything that was going on. His mind switched back and forth between thoughts of Carmelita and thoughts of his friends. Sly rubbed his eyes. He was tired, and he knew it, but there was no way he would be able to sleep now. He sat up in his bed and stared at the window in his room. The view from the window was quite good. You could see many of the buildings throughout Paris through it. He sighed, and started to pull himself out of bed. He quickly threw on his clothes he had been wearing before and headed towards the living room. He sat down on the couch and spread his arms out on the back of it.

His mind was torn. He felt that he had to make a choice; friendship or love? Of course, he knew he would never be able to leave Carmelita for any reason, but the fact that he hadn't seen his old gang for over a year was still painfully obvious. Why couldn't there be a way for him to have them both?

As far as Sly knew, Bentley and Penelope were the only ones who were still in Paris, thus being the only ones that Sly felt he had a chance of seeing once more. Still, he had tried everything to get in contact with them. He searched all of their old hideouts, only to find them all empty. He had tried to look up Bentley's criminal file to get some clues as to where he might be hiding out, but his efforts were fruitless. It was like he had been presented with a case that he couldn't solve. Hell he even tried to contact him through his binocucom, but it seemed that Bentley had either changed frequencies or got rid of it completely. He could never get a hold of him.

Sly looked over at his duffel bag that held all of his stuff for work. It was sitting half open on the coffee table. He could see his binocucom on top of his work clothes. It was a dumb idea, and he knew it wouldn't work before he even tried it. Still, he was desperate. He grabbed his binocucom out of the bag and tried to tap into Bentley's old frequency. He brought the device up to his face.

"Bentley?"

No one was on the receiving end. Sly had expected this, but it didn't make things any easier. Disappointed, he started to pull the device away from his face. He stopped as he went for his duffel bag. He had noticed something outside of the glass door to the balcony. Sly stood up and headed towards the balcony door, binocucom in hand. He looked through the glass, only to find that it wasn't there anymore. Maybe he had imagined it? Sly looked at the binocucom. Suddenly his eyes widened.

"Could that have been the..." Sly thought. He stopped abruptly and quickly brought the binocucom back to his face. "There!" Sly muttered, excitedly. Out in the distance, in the city of Paris, there was a yellow line that went from the buildings to the sky. He quickly opened the door and looked up in the sky to find the top of the yellow line. There it was. At the end of the yellow line was a large "S." For "safe house."

"I must be dreaming," Sly said to himself. He shoved the binocucom in his pocket and looked for a way down on the balcony. He didn't want to go through the front door, for he feared that Carmelita might wake up. Sly took a quick look back into the house and then closed the door. He walked over to the edge of the balcony, where his way down was. A streetlight close to the balcony he was on. He jumped off the balcony and grabbed onto it. He slid down the pole, looking out for anyone who might be watching. When he reached the ground, he pulled out the binocucom again and searched for the waypoint. As soon as he found it, he dashed in the direction of it. He was then very grateful that he wasn't able to sleep that night.

When Sly finally reached the building, he gave it a quick look over. It was much nicer than the old safe houses he used in his old days. It seemed that the Cooper Vault had been keeping Bentley and Penelope quite well. The house was one story, but it was fairly big. Sly walked up to the door and was about to knock, when he suddenly realized.

"Oh yeah. It's almost three in the morning." He couldn't believe he didn't think this over when he left. He was too excited at the fact that he knew where Bentley was to think that he just might be asleep. Sly contemplated going back to his apartment, but decided against it. He was here now, and he'll be damned if he was going to turn back after getting this close to seeing his friends again. He knocked loudly on the door. A smile grew on his lips as he saw a light turn on within the house. The door opened to reveal a turtle in a wheelchair, with a shocked expression on his face.

"S...Sly?" His voice was quiet and nasally. Sly grinned at his life long pal.

"Long time no see Bentley," Sly said happily. "Sorry to wake you. I just couldn't wait until another time." Bentley shook his head and chuckled.

"How did you find us?"

"I don't know." Sly brought out his binocucom and showed it to Bentley. "How did I find you Bentley?" Sly grinned. Bentley looked at the device with a confused look on his face. Suddenly, he laughed.

"I get it. When we moved into this safe house I sent the GPS coordinates to Penelope's binocucom as well as mine. I must have also sent it to yours by accident. Old habit I guess. I just can't believe that you still have that thing. I heard about how Interpol started using binocucoms after they studied yours, but I thought that they would have given you a new one."

"Yeah, well, they didn't. And I'm glad they didn't, otherwise I never would have found you." Sly grinned at Bentley again. "It's really good to see you buddy."

"Likewise." Bentley smiled at Sly. "Though I would have preferred you came during the day. Still, I'll take what I get. Come on inside."

"Thanks." Sly walked inside and was greeted by the many items in the safe house. Many of them consisted of the things that they had stolen over the years. Sly guessed that Bentley had kept them as souvenirs. He spotted a jar labeled "cookies" sitting on a table. A reminder of their very first heist at Happy Campers Orphanage. There were many other objects that Sly could vividly remember stealing. One of which was a case file with Sly's picture on it.

They walked over to the living room. There was a couch and two armchairs. Across from the couch was a coffee table with many books sitting underneath it. There was a wide screen television as well that was hooked up to a stereo system and a DVD player. Sly sat down on one of the armchairs and watched Bentley go into the kitchen.

"You want anything to drink?" Bentley called out.

"Yeah. Whatever you get is fine."

Bentley came back with two canned sodas. He handed one to Sly and opened the other one. "So..." he said as he sipped at his soda.

"So...?"

"Well, first off how in the hell did you become a cop? I always thought that Carmelita was dead set on throwing you in jail."

Sly sighed and looked down. "I'll tell you, but you won't like it."

"What do you mean?" Before Sly could start, a tired female voice called out from somewhere in the house.

"Bentley who are you talking to?" It was Penelope, apparently trying to sleep.

"Sly's here."

"WHAT?! Sly's here?!" The next thing Sly heard was a door opening, and fast footsteps. He saw Penelope dash into the living room. Before he could say hello, she ran up to Sly and nearly tackled him. "Wow! You're really here! I can't believe it!"

"Heh... It's good to see you too Penelope," Sly told her. She let go of him and sat down on the couch next to Bentley.

"Wow! How did you find this place?"

"Well, Bentley accidentally sent the GPS coordinates of this safe house to my binocucom," Sly explained with a grin on his face.

"Of course," she said with a sigh. She turned to Bentley. "You need to be more careful Bentley. What if another cop had Sly's binocucom? We would have been in big trouble."

Bentley took a sip from his soda and shook his head. "I know. It was a mistake, but do you regret it?"

Penelope smiled at Bentley. "No, I guess not. So Sly. What's it like being a cop rather than a thief?" she asked.

"Well, it's different that's for sure. It's not too bad though. Sometimes I find it weird knowing that I'm working with the police rather than running from them."

She looked at him and smiled. "So how exactly did you end up being a cop anyways? I mean, we have no idea what happened to you back on that island. Tell us."

Sly looked down again. He was ashamed of what had happened on the island for a couple of reasons. One, he deserted his friends. Two, he had lied about something that should not be lied about. Still, he knew he had to tell them. He took a swig of his soda before he began.

"Well, after I got into the Inner Sanctum of the Cooper Vault, Dr. M showed up with the sole intention of killing me. We fought, and I won. He still wasn't beaten though. Before I could finish the fight, Carmelita suddenly showed up. Dr. M noticed how I was flirting with her and... Well... He knew he was beaten, but he told me that he would make me suffer. He aimed his... laser thing... at her." Sly paused to take a sip of his soda. "I couldn't stand the thought of her getting killed, so I did the only thing I could think of. I ran in front of her before she could get hit. I took the bullet instead. When I was hit, I was thrown high up in the air and landed on some ledge on the wall of the Inner Sanctum." He took another sip of his soda. Bentley and Penelope had their jaws wide open. "How in the world did he survive that?" they both thought simultaneously.

"I blacked out. When I came to, there was Carmelita, kneeling over me. I could have sworn I saw her tearing up, and I couldn't understand why at the moment. In fact, I couldn't really understand anything. For some reason, I couldn't remember who she was. I didn't have amnesia, but I still was confused. I asked her who she was, and then I asked who I was. She told me that I was Constable Cooper, her partner at Interpol." Sly looked up at his friends. Their faces wore a look of shock and disbelief.

"Why did she say that?" Bentley asked.

"Not sure. Maybe she just wanted to keep me from going back to being a thief. Maybe it was something more. I dunno. Anyways, when she told me that, everything came back to me. I then realized what she had just done. She had given me a chance. A chance to finally cut the crap and be with her. I never truly realized until I was almost killed by that... thing, but I love her. I didn't think that I would get another chance, so I took it. I've been faking amnesia ever since that day, and I don't regret it. I love her, and she loves me." Sly took another sip of his soda, avoiding the gaze of his friends.

"You faked amnesia? How were you able to pull that off without arousing suspicion from anyone?" Bentley asked.

Sly smiled. "Come on buddy, look who you're talking to! I am, er, was, a master thief after all." Bentley nodded.

"Well, how long do you think you can keep this up Sly? Someone is bound to find out eventually. All it takes is one slip of the tongue and your back on your feet, running from the police instead of with them."

Sly nodded. "I know but... I don't want anything bad to happen with Carmelita. I'm afraid she might throw me in jail if I try to tell her, and that would be the end of our relationship. I feel really guilty about what I did, but how am I supposed to confess that I've been lying to her for over a year?"

Bentley thought for a moment. "Good point, but it will be worse if she finds out the hard way." Sly sighed at that.

"Just tell her you love her," Penelope suddenly said. "Tell her that you did it for her. That is the truth isn't it?" Sly nodded. "Well then let her know that! I think what you did was really sweet, even if it was a horrible lie."

Sly chuckled. "Thanks Penelope. You sure know how to cheer a guy up."

"Anytime!"

Bentley shook his head. "Look you have to tell her soon. Before she finds out and arrests you."

"I'll tell her tomorrow... err today. We're taking the day off of work so we can spend time together. I'll butter her up before I tell her and hopefully she won't fry my ass."

"Good."

Sly looked up at Bentley and Penelope. "So, my turn. What have you two been up to? What has the rest of the gang been doing? How's Murray? Do you still keep in contact with him? Any chance of him coming to Paris? I miss him."

Bentley chuckled. "Whoa slow down Sly. Murray's fine. He's been racing the van in Florida. He's pretty damn good at it too. He's hoping to go pro someday. And yes, I still keep in regular contact with him. If you want I can tell him to come up on Saturday. I'm sure he'll come once I tell him that you'll be here as well."

"Make it Sunday. Carmelita and I have Sundays off. Hell I might even be able to convince her to come with me, depending on how my little talk with her goes."

"She won't try to arrest us will she?" Penelope asked with a worried tone. Sly shook his head.

"No. You guys have been under the radar since I left the gang. I doubt she'd try to jail you guys since you seem to have given up thievery. Which reminds me, what exactly have you been doing for the past year?"

"Believe it or not, we were able to find some honest jobs," Bentley said with a smile.

"No kidding?"

Nope. I got a job as a computer technician, and Penelope works in a toy factory, making all kinds of RC toys for kids."

"You two making a good amount of money then?"

"Honestly, we don't even need the jobs thanks to your family vault," Penelope informed Sly. "We just wanted to do something other than sit around all day doing nothing. So we decided to go out and do what we love. Anything that we can't pay for with our jobs alone we use the fortune. I hope you don't mind. We've barely even spent a fraction of it anyways. There's gotta be trillions of dollars in there. You do realize that you're probably the richest man on earth right?"

"Heh, well I certainly don't plan on spending it all in one place. Hell I don't even think that's possible. And no, I don't mind at all. There's far too much money in there for one person alone." Sly paused to take a sip from his soda. "What about the rest of the gang? How are they doing?"

Bentley thought for a second before he answered. "Well, the Panda King went back to China to live close to his daughter. Dimitri bought himself a boat. I got a postcard from him a while back. The Guru is hiding out somewhere in New York."

"Glad to hear they're all doing okay," Sly said with a smile on his face. He looked down at his watch, which now read 3:11AM. "Well, I'll get out of your hair now. I gotta get some sleep so I'm not tired for tomorrow." He finished the last of his soda and walked over to the trash can in the kitchen to dispose of the empty can. He headed back towards Bentley and Penelope. "It was really good seeing you two again. I've missed you guys terribly."

"Same to you buddy," Bentley told him as Sly gave him a pat on the back. "Keep in touch. And I'll see you Sunday yeah?"

"Of course." He turned towards Penelope. "See ya later Penelope!"

She stood up and gave Sly a hug. "Make sure you visit us regularly! Don't become a stranger, again."

"I'll try. See you guys on Sunday."

Sly headed out the door and back towards the apartment. He hoped that Carmelita did not wake up. He was relieved when he saw the lights of his apartment out. As he climbed up the street light outside of his apartment, he started thinking about what he would do tomorrow. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. He smiled.

"If things go well tomorrow," Sly muttered to himself, as he jumped off the street light and onto his balcony, "I'll be the happiest I've ever been in my life. And hopefully she will be too."

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Well, Sly found Bentley and Penelope! And hopefully he'll see Murray soon too! But what exactly was he thinking as he climbed the streetlight? What was the idea that he suddenly had? I'll not say! (I'm so evil!)

So, the second chapter is finished! Wow, and it was a long one too! And I typed it all in one sitting! Wowee! What's wrong with me? I dunno!

Reviews are always appreciated! Remember, I'm new to this whole fan fiction thing, so I want criticism! Whether it be good or bad! Anything that will help me with my writing. I don't believe that this will be my last fan fiction. I mean, after all, it's my first. And I'm really enjoying writing this story. Maybe one day I'll write another fic on something else, but for now I just want to focus on this one. I'm not going to ever work on a different story while a separate one remains unfinished! Unless of course, I decide to scrap it!

Anyways, stay tuned for the next chapter! It might be a short one, but then again, it might be a long one! I dunno! I guess we'll have to just wait and see.

Until next chapter folks!

-eaglefan101