Hey! This one wasn't late! Yay! I planned for this chapter to be longer, but it's a lot shorter than I had planned. Oh well.

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Chapter 6: Visitors of the Night

A figure walked onto the edge of the roof, holding a cigarette in his hand. He looked out to the building in front of him. Unlike the thugs he brought with him, he wasn't nervous in the least. Still, this operation had to go well. He took a drag off of the cigarette and turned around to the thugs.

"Okay, listen up," he began. "It's almost time to strike. You all know what you must do. I've said it before, but let me emphasize this. Do NOT kill the woman. Let her escape. We are not here for her, we are here for Cooper. Understand?" The group nodded in unison. "Everything must go well tonight. I don't expect that we'll find Cooper's cane, but if you happen to see it, grab it. Hell, if we're lucky we won't even have to do anything that's too illegal." He chuckled to himself and turned back to the building. He looked at the second floor window closest to the street. There was no light coming from it, signifying that his targets were asleep. He looked out onto the empty street to make sure there were no cars coming.

"Let's go."

He did a leap off of the roof and rolled as he landed onto the soft grass. The rest of the group did the same, though not as gracefully as the mysterious man. As he walked towards the building, he passed through the streetlight revealing his features. It was Phillip Marakov. He was a white tiger, standing at almost six feet tall. There weren't any significant details about his face, save for a scar that went from the top of his right eyebrow all the way down to his mouth, skipping over his eye.

He crossed the street, with his band of thugs following closely behind, all with AK-47s strapped to their backs. If things went well, they wouldn't even need them. They followed their boss to the front of the apartment complex and headed up the stairs. They quickly ran to room 211 and waited. Marakov searched his pocket and pulled out a lock pick. He slid the device into the keyhole of the doorknob. The door was open in mere seconds. He slowly headed inside and beckoned his guards into the room. He held his Desert Eagle out in front of him. He wasn't going to use it to kill, but to intimidate. Any unnecessary deaths could screw everything up. Marakov led the group over to a closed door. He opened it slowly and looked inside the room. There he was. Sly Cooper. His target. He backed out of the room and closed the door a bit. He signaled for the group to come closer. He leaned into them.

"You two," he whispered, pointing towards two short guards, all dressed in black and wearing masks. "Search the house for the cane. I doubt you'll find it, but look anyways. The rest of you come with me. Let's do this." The thugs nodded.

Slowly, Marakov walked over to the door to Cooper's room and pushed it open. He holstered his gun as he quietly walked inside and signaled for his group to follow. One of the thugs broke off from the group and walked over to the side of the bed that Sly was sleeping on. He pulled out a syringe from his bag that he was carrying and primed it. As he came closer with the needle, he was unaware that the raccoon was wide awake. Without any warning, Sly jumped up out of bed and punched the thug in the face. He landed with a loud thud, which woke Carmelita up.

"Carmelita! We got company! Get your shock gun!" The shout echoed through the house and alerted the two other guards that the target was awake. They quickly rushed into the room to help.

Marakov cursed to himself. He ran up to Sly and tried to punch him in the gut, but the raccoon was too fast for him. Just as he went for the strike, Sly side stepped and threw Marakov to the ground. He grunted in pain. Just as Sly watched Marakov fall, another thug went straight towards him, but Sly wasn't ready for him. He took a fist right into the jaw. He countered with a kick to the stomach. The thug doubled over in pain. Sly grinned in satisfaction.

"That's really all you guys got? I'm almost disappointed."

Meanwhile, Carmelita was having trouble getting to her shock gun. She was currently fighting off three thugs, and there was no way she would be able to get over to the gun without a fight. She did a quick roundhouse kick into the face of a guard near her. He fell, only to get back up and re-join the fight. She went for a punch into another thug's jaw, but it was easily blocked. The thug grabbed her arm and threw her to the ground. She quickly jumped up off the floor and ran towards her dresser, where she kept her shock gun. She was able to grab it out of the top drawer before a thug slammed his arm into her back. She staggered and turned to aim at the thug. Just as she was about to pull the trigger, the thug pulled out a handgun and aimed at her face.

"NO!" Sly and Marakov both shouted. Sly looked at him in confusion. The tiger quickly pulled out his gun and shot the thug aiming at Carmelita in the head. He dropped quickly. Carmelita and Sly both wondered what had just happened, but they couldn't dwell on it now. One of the thugs may be dead, but there were still plenty more to take care of.

Carmelita was able to shoot one thug until one of the thugs shot the pistol out of her hands. She watched the gun fall onto the floor, destroyed. She suddenly went into a rage. That was her first and only Shock Pistol, and now it was gone. It wouldn't work again. She charged after the thug holding the weapon that destroyed her own, disregarding the fact that he could kill her with one pull of the trigger, and tackled him to the ground. She had him pinned down, belting him in the face repeatedly. She got off of the unconscious guard as she noticed one more guard who was going for her. She dodged his punch and kicked him between his legs. A cheap blow, maybe, but it was amusing watching the man writhe in pain on the ground. She smiled.

Sly wasn't doing as well though. He couldn't keep up with the four thugs currently attacking him. He took blow after blow. The raccoon was having trouble seeing straight. He couldn't take much more of this. If only he had his cane, he could take these guys on no problem. He stole a quick glance over to Carmelita to see how she was holding up. She was fighting... one thug? It seemed as though they were more concerned with him rather than with Carmelita. But why? As Sly thought this, he took a large fist to the face and fell onto the ground. The thugs around him quickly pinned him down as the white tiger went up to Sly with the syringe from earlier. Sly's eyes widened. Carmelita punched out the thug she was fighting and ran over to Sly. She stopped dead in her tracks as three thugs pulled their AK47s out and aimed at her.

"Carmelita..." The weakness in Sly's voice scared Carmelita. "Get out of here... run."

"No! Sly!"

"I'd do what he says Miss Fox." The tiger said. "After all, it'd be a shame to shoot such a pretty face."

"Shut the hell up! Who the hell are you and what do you want with Sly?"

The tiger chuckled. He then took the syringe and poked the needle into Sly's arm. He winced in pain. Carmelita watched in horror as the tiger injected the substance into Sly's bloodstream. The drug hit him fast. Already he felt woozy. He fought to stay conscious, but it was all in vain. Sly's eyes closed as he lost consciousness.

"NO! SLY!"

"Don't worry silly girl," the tiger said. "This won't kill him. Now why don't you follow his advice and get the hell out of here before we paint the wall behind you with your brains."

Carmelita hesitated. Was she really going to let these bastards just take Sly? Was she really going to leave him? As she eyed the AK-47s that were aimed at her, she realized that she had no choice. She headed out of the bedroom door, grabbed her duffel bag filled with clothes and her binocucom, and headed out of the apartment.

"Hmph," Marakov grunted. "Not as smooth as I would have liked, but we got the job done. Let's get out of here. The cops are sure to be closing in any minute." The thugs nodded.

"Sir, what about Roy?" Marakov looked down at the corpse that he had shot.

"Grab the body." He looked out the window to see a red convertible race down the street. She was gone. "Let's go."

He lifted Sly over his shoulder and headed out the door. He knew the cane wasn't here. Still, it wouldn't be long until he had it. Hopefully.

--

Carmelita's tears grew with each passing mile. She couldn't believe what had just happened. Someone had Sly. Someone who most likely wished to do him harm. Someone who would probably kill him.

And she did nothing to stop them.

She sobbed harder as she realized that there would be no way to figure out who took him. Sure, Interpol could search her apartment for clues, but she figured that all that was there was blood of one of the thugs. It was possible that they had left fur somewhere in the house, but it was useless until they could find a suspect with a match. Not only that, but what was the motive? What did they want with Sly? And above all, why did they let her escape? She couldn't think. She was tired and in pain. She couldn't stop crying over what happened.

Where should she go? She couldn't go back to her apartment. Not now. That would not only put her in danger, but she couldn't stand the fact that it was the same place where Sly was taken. If not the apartment, then where? She looked over to her duffel bag on the passenger's seat of her car. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head.

She pulled over and parked her car. She unzipped the bag and grabbed the binocucom out. She opened the door and got out of the car. She pulled the device up to her face and looked around. And then, there it was. The waypoint for the safe house. She had Bentley send her the coordinates when she visited the Cooper Gang. They would surely be asleep, but where else could she go? Her parents were in Spain along with her sister. Not only that, but she felt that if anyone could help her rescue Sly, it was the Cooper Gang.

She made up her mind. She got back into her car and sped off.

--

Bentley woke to a knocking sound on the front door. He looked at the clock and groaned. It was almost four in the morning. Who the hell would be visiting him at this hour? He sat up in bed and lifted himself onto his wheelchair. He slid on his glasses and headed to the door. He peaked through the eyehole and was surprised to see a distressed looking Inspector Fox. She almost looked like she had been crying. He opened the door.

"Carmelita? What are you doing here at this hour?"

"Bentley," she pleaded. "You gotta let me in. Please. I need your help." The turtle rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"With what?" Carmelita's tears welled up again. She couldn't bring herself to say it. It would only make her feel worse. Bentley noticed the tears in her eye.

"Carmelita?"

"Someone... someone took... him. Took Sly." And then, Carmelita broke down. She sobbed on the turtle's shoulder. Bentley, not knowing what to do, merely patted Carmelita on the back.

"Someone took him? As in kidnapped him?" Carmelita nodded. Bentley led the Inspector inside his house and sat her down on the armchair in the living room. "What happened Carmelita? Who took Sly?" Carmelita shook her head.

"I... I don't know. I mean, Sly woke me up and I saw that there were tons of thugs in our apartment. We tried to fight them off, but it was too much for Sly. Most of the thugs were focused on him. They... they injected him with something and he lost consciousness. They let me escape though. I don't know why. I guess they only needed Sly, but I have no idea what for." Carmelita's sobbing ceased, but the tears kept flowing.

"There's no way of knowing who took him?" Bentley asked.

"Most of them were wearing masks. Those who weren't... well... I couldn't make out their faces. It was too dark."

"What about someone you know? Does anyone have some sort of grudge against him?"

"Not that I know of." Bentley sighed. It was never that easy. Suddenly, Carmelita felt a vibration in her front pocket. Her cell phone. She brought it out and read the caller ID. It was the Chief.

"Fox here."

"Carmelita, someone at the apartment complex you live at called about a disturbance. They say they heard gunshots coming from your apartment room. There are officers on the scene now, and there's nothing there but a large puddle of blood, as well as a few other blood splatters. What happened?"

"Sly and I were attacked in our sleep."

"What?! Attacked? Are you okay?"

"...No."

"What do you mean no?"

"They... they took Sly." There was silence on the other end for a few seconds

"Oh shit."

"It seemed as though they needed something from him. They made sure to keep both of us alive." She shuddered at the thought of the dead thug.

"Did you see who attacked you?"

"No. Most of them wore masks. Besides, it was too dark to see anyone's face."

"Damn it." Carmelita sat in silence. She didn't know what to say. Besides, she was too choked up at the moment to talk. "Carmelita, I don't want you coming to work today."

"No. I'm coming in. I want to see the report on the investigation."

"Carmelita. I can't even imagine what you're feeling right now, but I insist that you don't come in today."

"I'm sorry sir, but I can't do that." The Chief sighed.

"Fine. Where are you right now?" Carmelita hesitated.

"I can't tell you sir."

"...I understand. We'll have a report for you when you come in."

"Good. I'll see you later then."

"Okay. And Carmelita?"

"Yes sir?

"...I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too." Carmelita slapped her cell phone shut and groaned. She was hurting, physically as well as emotionally. Not to mention that she was dead tired.

"I imagine you'd like to sleep," Bentley commented. "You can stay here as long as you like. I have a spare bedroom."

"...Thanks Bentley." Bentley led her to a small bedroom. Before leaving her be, he gave her a reassuring smile.

"Hey! Don't worry! This isn't the first time I've had to save Sly's ass." Carmelita actually managed a small laugh.

"I'm going to bed. Maybe some sleep will clear my head."

"Okay. Good night Carmelita."

"Night Bentley."

She headed over to the bed and lie down. She was too tired to even pull the covers over her. She merely lay there, wondering where Sly was and if he was okay. She was overwhelmed with worry for her future husband. She prayed that he was okay, wherever he was. In the middle of her thoughts, her fatigue finally overcame her and she fell asleep.

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So, we finally got a taste of the first bit of action in this story. Hopefully it won't be the last!

So it's totally almost the weekend! Yay! That means I'll have all the time in the world to write chapter 7! One more thing. As you know, I have the basic outline of this story already in mind, and I've already got ideas for a sequel. Will it happen? Who knows. I'm hoping it will, because I really like the idea I have for it. Should I do it? You tell me!

Until next chapter folks!

-eaglefan101