Chapter Two: Armies Everywhere

No one was expecting this at such a late time. No one was prepared. No one knew that their night shift would be more challenging than normal. No one knew that they would start on a huge project.

Everyone knew who broke the Interpol's Paris Headquarter doors. Everyone knows when this happens, something bad happened. Something or someone seriously flipped her table of sanity. Just by busting through the doors it tells these officers so much; something huge happened, they should act immediately, and of course they should prepare for constant, long-term aggressive commands. This is the Inspector Carmelita Fox they knew for years, and damn was she good at her job.

Widened eyes follow the fox dashing through the room with a badger's arm tightly gripped in her fist, a raccoon shown as Constable Cooper clings to her side, and a tiger jogging behind them. Carmelita came back early from her maternity lead. It's something she would do, but people notice that there's a serious reason for this. No one dared to speak until Carmelita gave her orders. Like always. Finally realizing there were people with her she continues to march into a different hallway and throws her free arm in the air. "I don't care what any of you are doing! In the meeting room, now! Get Barkley!" Her demanding voice made everyone shiver out of their seats.

Sly and Carmelita charged without eye contact with anyone. Officers in other rooms would say:

"Welcome back Inspector!"

"Back already? It's a little late... but early. Wait what?"

"Nice to see you again Constable Cooper!"

"Congratulations with the baby!"

"What are you three doing here? And why are you with that boy?"

"Bonjour- oh... are you okay?"

Carmelita, Sly and Aaron didn't reply to anyone. They had one goal, and they stuck to it. Well, Aaron was forced into it. Rachel stayed behind to explain and notify everyone on her walkie-talkie. Only moments later did every unit in the building swarm into the meeting room to join the hard-faced couple. Questions saturated the air but once Barkley stomped inside all the whispers grew silent. "Fox! What is the meaning of this?! I was getting ready to retire for the night and you call the entire facility in here! Since when did you have the authority to-"

"For crying out loud would you shut up and let me explain Inspector?!"

Carmelita was in charge. Not Barkley, not the petrified faces, just Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox. People were even more surprised that what she said actually shut up the head badger. They all listened carefully. "This very night my son was kidnapped!"

Reactions were expected; the gasping, whispers, glances, and aspects dropped. This explains her lavish behavior and Cooper's stone face. When Carmelita spoke, she had no weakness in her tone therefore everyone knew she had a plan. "He was kidnapped and I know who took him."

"Is it that guy?" an officer asked, watching the badger's arm lose blood circulation.

Carmelita's smile makes everyone in the room horrified. It gave an enduring chill to their bones. This certain smile would only be made from a dangerous and mentally unstable person. "Close," her warm voice glides with the air. "This is the son of the accused. But the accused isn't just a random boot licker on the streets, we would know. This is the son of ProfessorMagus M. Vex, whom I'm sure we all know well."

An uprising of whispers rive the room once again as Barkley's posture straightens out. His expression matched the other officers'. "I thought you three dealt with the badger issue -what was it- ten months ago! Didn't you three find his refuge and deal with the issue? How can you be sure this is an act of Vex? Unless you failed to do your job before…"

The room was silent again; how bipolar. Times like these always made Carmelita build a wall of grudge to part her from Barkley. He would always say stuff like this with the one job she could never succeed in: capturing the Cooper Gang. As much support he gives Carmelita in the office, nothing was enough from her. A case as long as the Cooper Gang still stands, and Barkley will never let Carmelita forget. But now he dares to point out the failure of ending the case with the man who kidnaps her son? He dares at the most erroneous time and the parents sneer at Barkley. Even Sly is sick with the perfectionist.

"According to Aaron Vex," Carmelita throws the young man in front of her. "His father survived the explosion we caused in his lair. Not only that, but he studied his father for the past ten months. Aaron is willing to go against his father and help us. He knows more than any of you, so I wouldn't be pointing out my failures in your oblivious position, James."

A shade of pink colors his cheekbones and the room was cold silent until a man clears his throat. "How come he didn't notify us before? Why did he wait that long? It sounds a little suspicious to me, that's all."

An exhausted sigh echoes in the room. All attention focuses on him. "Look, you can accuse me of anything you want." His tone was more bored than anxious. "I don't care. Inspector Fox, Constable Cooper, and Officer Burns already heard my story and believe me. I earned at least some of their trust by helping them arrest my father; though it did fail due to the collapse. If these people are as good in their jobs as you think, then it would be foolish of you to think they are gullible. I am not like my father. He's too deep in a trance with my mother's death and most importantly, his ancestry line of thievery. For years he's urged me to follow his steps and I always obeyed his say... until now.

"After the collapse I saw my father rise from the debris. He wasn't my father at that point. Heavily injured and more lust of power. It's as if his light switch of sanity and potential switched to complete insanity and life-risking goal. This man is not the same Professor Vex you dealt with years before.

"I never crossed paths with him after the collapse and I don't plan on it. As much as I followed him around, all those ten months, I never heard him speak a word of me. He doesn't care about me, or love, or money, or thievery or anything that were once important to him anymore... his mind is set on one thing and one thing only.

"Revenge. Revenge with those who did this to him. Revenge on Fox and Cooper. How did he do that? Kidnap their child. I've overhead few of his plans and with every meeting it hooked me in to hear more. I didn't even think of reporting to any form or law enforcement until I really knew what he was up to. To add, I was clueless on where I belonged. All my life I have been with him yet never wanted to but... things changed, and I needed to leave. Over the months he has built an army, or perhaps a group of well-trained assassins and thieves that were once jailed."

Whispers spread like wildfire, and Aaron finally noticed how everyone leaned in to hear his story. While whispers of "So that explains it," "That's the reasoning of the jailbreaks," "So he must be saying the truth," "It fits in like puzzle pieces; the boy must be speaking no lies," Aaron glances at Barkley whom stares at him with busy eyes.

"I didn't know he was to kidnap the baby until they were packing up in a helicopter and planned to report to Paris for their operation the day before. That gave me time to get here. That felt like the right thing to do. I wanted my father stopped. He's too far in a hateful stage to get back to normal, even if he were to succeed in his plans. Carmelita, Seth, Scott, my father and I do not deserve to live like this. So I'm willing to help in any way possible, for I know my father and his plans better than any of you. I want this all to end so these two will have their child back, Scott will live a normal life again, my father will be prevented from further destruction, and I would live my own life."

Officers nodded in approval. They accept Aaron. All of it sounded convincing, true, and experts couldn't find one trace of falsehood in his face, voice or body posture. Barkley knew it too. Barkley looks longer at Aaron before focusing his eyes on his three employees and finishes with an outbreath. "Alright, you heard the boy. All of you except you four, I want you to leave and contact every prison and police headquarter. Make sure every prisoner is locked up tight and spread the gen on what you heard. Vex is back and is not only a thief, but a possible world-threatening danger. Report any jail break immediately and send patrol there. Send the best men we've got. Call investigators and detectives to search the jails whom were recently getaways have occurred. This is a big project, and this is enough work for the most of you to do now. Get to it!"

Mixes of genders and species of animals rush out of the meeting room, only leaving Barkley with the four watching him intently. "What are your plans, Miss Fox?"

She clears her throat and fixes her posture. "After this meeting I was to contact with my best mercenaries, as always when big things like his happens."

"And you Mr. Cooper?"

"I will also report to my normal group of mercenaries and, if I could..." Sly looks at Aaron and then his fiancée while pondering in the process. "Could I possibly bring Mr. Vex with me? I could keep a close eye on him while Carmelita is busy."

James Barkley sighed and nodded once again. "Yes. I believe the both of you squeezed enough information from him for now. Miss Burns, I give you permission to work with either of them after you made sure every officer have done their job. Get to that now please."

"Yes sir," she said before leaving the meeting room. It's down to three.

"Seth and Carmelita... I am sorry for what you two went through on this cold night. I have misjudged you; both of you. No one deserves this to happen to them." Inside the fox she can feel an unstable tremble in her chest. It would climb from her chest to her throat, causing her throat to feel congested and raw. Her courage to stay strong was only weakening. Oh how she misses Scott right now, and she can only hope that until she finds her son, her son would be safe and healthy... and alive.

Noticing that she would need to explain everything again to her mercenaries she ignored the vexation and focused on what Barkley was saying. "However, with the great effort you put in any job I know you two would excel and never fail with this investigation. I know you two will stop at nothing to not only bring your child back to safety, but put Magus where he belongs. This time I won't say, 'Do not fail me' but instead, don't fail yourselves. Call me whenever you need specific help from my experienced field. Complete this task and not only will you be personally rewarded but I shall reward you and Miss Burns as well. All my hope goes into you guys."

Sly's left hand grabs Carmelita's right hand and squeezes hers tight. Carmelita responds back with a harder squeeze. "Thank you Inspector Barkley. I..." She pauses to look at Sly. "We need it most."

The older, brown and gray furred badger looks at the younger, black furred one. He looks at Arron with serious round eyes. "I will tell you one thing boy. These two are by far the two out of the three best people I have worked with in my entire like. By the looks of me, I ain't young. The other best person that I worked with was that woman's father." Barkley points at Carmelita. "I've had a lot of great memories with her father, and I don't want your father messing with Mr. Fox's family. If he was here right now, he would never be as calm with you as these two are. You must help them to the best of your ability, for they are great people. I know you are too. Do this and I can get you what you please while erasing all your contaminated history with your father. Do not fail them Aaron."

"I will help them in any way I can. I owe them at least that much."

Barkley backs a way to get a better view of the three. They watch him calmly and attentively, waiting for him to say his last words to them as a whole. "Now go. I believe you have work to do. Carmelita Fox and..." Barkley looks carefully at Sly and smirks. "Sly Cooper," Everything on Carmelita's face shocked wide open, gasping hard as Sly's eyebrows leaped away from his eyes. Barkley strolls towards the door and looks at the couple. "Do what you two do best. Things always get done quicker and better that way from my years of observations."

He opens the door and winks at the dismayed faces. "Good luck."

The Inspector departs calmly, leaving Carmelita and Sly to look at each other in perplexity before proceeding with their plans.

"Alright Bentley, what do you got?"

This is the first time Sly talked since the meeting with Barkley. The turtle watches Aaron follow Sly in the hideout and exhales in relief. "Oh thank goodness! Aaron, I need to ask you one very important detail!"

Aaron steps closer to the turtle, only to realize that a little raccoon is sitting right next to Bentley. She looks at him with dagger eyes, causing him to mentally gasp in such beauty and awe. Bentley's question interrupted this tense stare between the two. "So, I'm guessing most of the meetings your father had been held in the remains of his lab?"

"Correct. I don't know if he was planning on going there anymore but-"

"Doesn't matter! I might find clues on where they are headed. Thank you Aaron. Now, do you have any idea on where their stop is?"

"I would've told you if I knew. So no, however my father has made multiple ground areas around the world. That I know. With specifics on exactly where I'm afraid I'm not very useful with."

Bentley proceeds typing in his laptop and Sly walks closer. The raccoon notices the abnormally quiet hippo in the background but focuses on Bentley. It may be early morning right now but the thought of his son gone forces him awake. Every second not used is a second wasted in his mind. "What's the plan Bentley?"

Bentley stops typing and glances up to the serious raccoon. "Well isn't it obvious? I think we should go to Britain again and find any possible clues on Vex's plans. We need something. We have police on our side without any but two knowing-"

"Three."

"Wh-What? There's Carmelita, Rachel... Who am I missing?"

"Barkley."

Isabella and Bentley almost fly out of their chairs. "Barkley?! THE head Inspector of Paris Interpol Headquarters! James Barkley?!"

"Yes."

Isabella and Bentley shot glances at each other, and Isabella can make out how pale he is. They must be more confused on how calm Sly is right now. She asks Bentley's question. "Did you tell him?!"

"No. At first I thought Rachel did but he said "years of observation" so that must mean he's really smart and found out himself. Or my secret was plainly obvious."

"Perhaps both, since no one else caught onto it and considering you are a raccoon, your last name is Cooper, and the best Interpol officer can't keep the Cooper Gang in jail for a long time probably told him something was up. Did he make any comments about you being Sly Cooper?"

Sly gave up on standing and sat with his sister and friend. "Besides that doing what I do best with Carmelita at my side gets things done, no. Nothing about putting me behind bars. Yet."

"Yet." Bentley and Isabella call out in unison.

"We can talk about the rest of this later. Barkley isn't the only thing I am curious about."

Bentley's face drops and nods in agreement. "I understand... Well as I was saying, police is obviously on our side and in case Vex is at Britain, there will be a fight. If Aaron says is true, that his father developed an army, then we need one too. No matter how invincible we feel, we got pretty close to losing last time -I don't think I should explain those scars on your face and back Sly- so we need more fighters with us. Aaron, do you know how many people your father has collected?"

Aaron began to sit down between Sly and Isabella, but the looks of Sly convinced him to stand back up and away from her. "A couple hundred at the least. But most of them were useful for out in the field. Like patrol guards, body guards, and a selected few to converse with him with plans during meetings. I can only go that far."

Bentley only smiles at him. "Oh, that we can handle. We've gone through way more than that. With my brains, Murray's brawn, and Sly's agility those couple hundred guards is like cutting warm butter with a hot butter knife. Not to mention we'll have your intelligence on the situation and Isabella's special musical talent. But we need more, since we don't exactly know we are expecting. We need an army too or perhaps a band of thieves; highly classed thieves that work well with us with their unique talents."

Murray jolts close to the table. "Wait! You don't mean-"

"Oh yeah." The turtle smirks. "There's no time to waste. We need a better force against Vex, and we need one fast. This will be like old times brother."

As Murray squeals, Sly leans closer to Bentley. He spoke without any emotion or having any facial expression changed. "Good. Call them."