Hey all, lightheart77 here with chapter 17. Well, with the beginning of this chapter, we're going on the other side of thieving: the law; then of course we have to go back to the thieving. I think that does enough justice as a hint. You are all smart people and have probably figured it out… for those who haven't… then I guess, read on to find out, lol.
But I am terribly sorry for the long, long, long, long (about another million 'long's) wait. School and editing has prevented me to type. The chapter was completely written but I haven't had the time to type it :P
But this is why this chapter will be incredibly long to make up for such a long wait. So, many things are going to happen, many, many things. And again, to find out what is gonna happen, ya need to read about it!
Chapter 17: Let Down
Marsh was in his office back home. After the major heard about his encounter with Alexa, he had made the decision to send the fox back. Though Marsh argued and pleaded to help with the case in India, the major's words were final. So, there Marsh sat, stewing in regret.
He sighed and looked to ceiling with a frown and groaned, "I was so close… I could have gotten her home but I…" he ran his hands through his hair, "I was so stupid…"
There was a moment of silence before he heard his phone ring. He let out another sigh and picked it up, "Captain William Marsh."
"Hey Marsh, how are you doing?" Miller asked.
Marsh let out a breath of frustration through his teeth and said, "What do you think? I got sent back home, you can't tell me any kind of progress, and I'm stuck here with nothing to do. Do you really want to know how I'm doing?"
"Sorry I asked…"
Marsh sighed again, "I'm sorry. I've just been a little bitter."
"Really? I didn't notice," Miller stated with thick sarcasm.
"Well, you would be too if you were in my situation. I mean, I feel so… so…"
"Helpless?"
"No… useless…" Marsh muttered.
"Ah, come on. Don't worry about it, okay. Things will get better. If it makes you feel any better," there was a pause from the other end as Miller looked around to make sure no one would hear him talking, "Alexa isn't here."
"What?" Marsh questioned getting to his feet. "But how? We had people all over the borders and in the airports."
"They're masters of disguises, I guess. But we got word of a girl looking like her in Paris. She came in on the flight this morning but she was alone… It's possible that she could be there with you."
"But why would she come back to Paris?" Marsh thought aloud as he sat back down in his chair. "She wouldn't come back so easily. She's too stubborn for that…"
"Maybe she's looking for someone or something?" Miller questioned, throwing out an idea.
"But if so… who… or what?" countered Marsh. There was a knock on his door and he gave an annoyed sigh. People have been bugging him all day because of the fact that he had to come home this early compared to the others; not only that, but he kept getting the questions of why. "Listen, Miller, I have to go. Someone else has to come and bother me on my day back."
"Alright. Good luck, and don't let it get to you. Think of this way: if Alexa really is in Paris, you might get some excitement."
"'Might' is the key word, Miller. We'll have to see. Later," and then he hung up, and turned away from the door. He really didn't feel like looking at another passerby that will ask him another question. "Come in."
"Marsh?" came the one voice he didn't want to hear today.
He turned around and saw Sly Cooper at the door. "M-Mr. Cooper," Marsh stuttered in shock.
"Hello Marsh. I've heard rumors that you were back." He sat down in the seat in front of the young fox's desk and looked up to him with a stern but soft understanding expression, "Any word about her?"
"I…" he gave a sigh in defeat and looked to the ground, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Cooper. I had Alexa in hand. I could have taken her home but then… I lost her so easily. If that guy hadn't have come in like that, I probably wouldn't have lost her."
"Guy? Most likely Ken. He would do something like that to protect his best friend," Sly stated.
"You mean that wolf? No sir. It wasn't Ken. The guy I'm talking about was a raccoon," Marsh explained.
"What?" Sly said in shock. "But who could that be…?"
"You mean you don't know. He seemed to be close to her…"
"Maybe he's the one who's causing all of this trouble. In the letter she left, she had said that there was someone after her and she didn't want to have us endangered… perhaps the trouble has followed her now."
"I'll say… I think the guy was pretending to be her date at the party," Marsh grumbled.
"Date? Oh, something must be up. Alexa has always been determined not to go on a date with another guy until she gets out of high school," Sly laughed but then gave a sigh. "I hope she hasn't gotten into any other trouble."
"I hope so too," Marsh agreed mournfully. He looked over to Sly and asked, "Mr. Cooper, do you have any idea of where Alexa would go if she came back to Paris?"
Sly cocked his head curiously, "Did you get word of her coming here?"
"It's a hunch. My friend back in India says that someone who looks like her got on a plane to here. The thing is, she was alone," he explained.
Sly thought for a second and then smiled, "That clever little sneak."
"Excuse me?" Marsh questioned.
"My daughter did read the Thievius Raccoonus. In my first entries, my gang and I had to go overseas, therefore was had to take a plane. We didn't have much money, so I snuck on the plane while Murray and Bentley hid in the van. It's very possible that Alexa and her gang did that too."
"So they really could be in Paris!" Marsh exclaimed in realization.
"Yes… and I have an idea of where," Sly grinned, as he got up and went to the door. But he stopped and looked back to Marsh, "You coming?"
"I would love to sir," Marsh stated, but frowned, "I can't though. I got stuck here by my major."
"Hmm… seeing as I'm of a higher command, ahem," he cleared his throat and turned his tone to stern, "Captain Marsh, you will accompany me to see if we may find my daughter and progress in this case. Do I make myself clear?"
Marsh smiled, but got to his feet and saluted all the same. "Yes, sir."
Sly grinned and said, "Then let's head out."
Alexa was running along some power lines, looking for one of the fastest ways to get to the museum. They are so going to kill me! She thought as she panted with every couple strides. She then pulled out her binoc-u-com, getting ready for the worse, "Jamie?"
"Where are you! You know that's about five till nine!" Jamie yelled over the receiver.
Alexa had to hold the binoc-u-com away from her ear for a moment so that she wouldn't get overwhelmed by the screech her friend had made. She put it back to her ear and replied, "I know. I'm almost there. There's no need for yelling."
Jamie sighed, "Sorry. You had me in a panic…"
"I'll tell you everything that happened later to make up for it," Alexa stated.
"Deal," Jamie chuckled. "Now, listen. You need to enter through the roof of the building; that's the entrance that your dad always took. From there, I'll guide you to his office. He stays there till ten, so he should still be there."
"Got it," she acknowledged. She then put her binoc-u-com back in her bag and placed her earpiece in and headed over to the building. She then hopped from the power line she was on to one of the nearby roofs. She then ran over to the side of the building and jumped over to the drainage pipe and hooking her cane to it. She began to climb up the pipe so to reach the roof. As soon as she reached the top, she looked around and put her hand to her ear piece, "Jamie, what exactly am I looking for?"
"There should be an air vent on the west side of the museum. It says here in the Thievius Raccoonus that your father left his mark by the opening. Apparently, it drove your mother insane because she saw it there but there was no connection between your dad and the museum 'business' wise."
Alexa chuckled and said, "Yeah, well, that's my mom for you." She looked around for a second until she finally came across the air vent with her father's old symbol etched into the side. But then she noticed a lock on the air vent. "I see they didn't believe my dad was coming back to do business," she muttered examining the lock.
"Whacha mean?" Jamie asked.
"They have a tech lock on here," she replied taking out her lock picking kit.
"Seriously? You need some help?"
Alexa worked at the lock to the point where the sliding panel revealed the code pad. She then easily hacked the lock code and the thing fell to the ground. "Naw, I got it covered," she grinned removing the vent cover. "Heading down the vent." With that she jumped in and slid down the air vent, landing on the edges on the of the other vent cover.
"Phew," she sighed in relief of not causing much noise. She then put the two pieces of her cane together and fit the tip on the outside so to unscrew the cover. She fell to the ground, grabbing the cover before it could alert anyone to her presence. "Now what, Jamie?" she questioned, putting the cover to the side.
"Alright, give me a second." Alexa heard crumples in her ear as Jamie looked at the blue prints, "From your position, the office will be easy enough to find. You go straight then left, then right, then go straight again until you find a blue door with the guy's name on it."
"Right," Alexa sighed, "not complicated at all…" She walked down the halls, being sure not to trip any alarms, following Jamie's directions. "Um, Jamie… are you sure you gave me the right directions?"
"Yeah. Why?" the fox inquired over Alexa's ear piece.
"Because I've hit a dead end."
"What? That's impossible. I'm looking at the map right now and those directions should have landed you right in front of that office."
"Let me see," Alexa heard Ken in the background. There then was a sigh over the speaker and crumpling of the map.
Alexa asked, restraining the shock in her voice, "Jamie… please, tell me you didn't have the map upside down."
"Hehe… sorry," Jamie chuckled nervously.
"Don't worry about it," Alexa mumbled, shaking her head, "just redirect me from here."
"Okay, so where exactly are you now?" Jamie inquired embarrassedly.
"Um…" she looked to the doors nearby and read the name plates, "looks like I'm by the trade headquarters."
"Oh, you're not that off course. Now, just go back some then take a right, then a left, then another left, then head straight down and you'll be there in no time," the fox said with confidence.
"Are you sure?" Alexa questioned, starting to walk the way she was instructed.
"Pretty sure," she heard Ken's voice come back over the speaker. "The map's the right way this time."
"Again, sorry," Jamie called.
"Again, don't worry about it. We have plenty of ti—" but she broke off in mid word, sensing someone else in the room. She gripped her cane tighter and held it behind her just in time to block an attack. "You know, striking someone from behind is considered foul play," she stated as she pulled her cane upward, hooking it to her attacker's weapon, "so why don't you face me." She used all of her strength and pulled her attacker over her head and had him land right in front of her.
Her attacker landed on his feet and turned to her and it turned out that he was a… child.
He was about thirteen year old snow leopard with short white hair. He wore all black robes and was bare footed with only a wooden fighting staff in his hand. Not only that, but he had to have been a foot shorter than Alexa.
This is new. I'm fighting someone I could pick up off the ground… Well, let's see if I can talk my way out of this… "Kay, now. Wait a sec," she said.
But her attacker lunged at her again but she easily blocked his attack. Not a very experienced fighter…
"Alexa! What's going on?" Jamie's worried voice came over her ear piece.
"Give me a sec," she muttered, blocking other attacks. "Listen!" she shouted, hitting him in the gut with bottom of her cane knocking the wind out of him. She jumped back so she could get some words out, "You got it all wrong."
"Really?" he coughed. "So you're not a thief?"
"Well, not exactly… but you see—"
"Enough!" he cried. "You are to leave this museum now or—"
"Hideaki, will you calm down," a voice bellowed.
They both looked over to see an old tortuous hobbling over with a cane in his hand. He walked toward the boy and grumbled, "My boy, you need to be more patient. This is no ordinary thief." He stopped next to the boy and looked over to Alexa smiling, "It's been a while, Mr. Cooper."
Both Alexa and Hideaki had shocked faces.
Okay, something's wrong with that guy's eyes, Alexa thought as her jaw dropped. No way do I have a guy's body…
"Um… Master… put your glasses on," Hideaki mumbled.
"Hmm… Oh yes. I always seem to forget to put these confounded bifocals on…" he rummaged in his pocket and pull out a pair of thick rimmed glasses. He put them on, making his eyes seem to blow up in size, and then they went wide with realization, "Oh my. Terribly sorry, Miss. I hope I didn't offend you. I can hardly see anything without my glasses."
"It's… alright. But you did get one thing right," she grinned, shouldering her cane, "I am a Cooper."
"Yes. That I could at least see by that cane of yours," he grinned. But he then frowned, turning to the snow leopard. "The very cane I told you to watch for," he grumbled, hitting Hideaki's calves with the cane.
"Ow…" Hideaki grumbled rubbing the back of his legs.
"Now, apologize," the tortuous ordered.
He sighed, and bowed his head low. "Sorry."
"No worries," Alexa smiled shyly. "No one got hurt, so everything's good."
"Ahem, now Miss Cooper," the tortuous interrupted, "If you're here, I would think that you are here for business and that you already know who I am."
"Of course. You're Ezio Tancredi. I've heard much about you through my father's entries in the Thievius Raccoonus."
Ezio smiled, "Yes, I'm sure. But the Cooper line has been doing business with this museum for quite some time, so I'm sure that you could find more entries about this place." He cleared his throat, "Enough about that though. What can we do for you, my dear?"
Hideaki yawned and said, "You can deal with this yourself, gramps. I'm going back to sleep since this is a false alarm." He was about to leave but Ezio whacked the boy on the head. "Ow! Why you—"
"Show some respect! This will be your first discussion with a thief that is on our side," he stated with his raspy old voice, whacking him again. "So, pay attention!"
"Alright, you old geezer! Jeez," Hideaki grumbled.
"Um… um…" Alexa tried to find the words to stop the fighting but part of her actually wanted to see how it might turn out. It was becoming entertaining.
"I apologize for Hideaki. He had become my apprentice for only a few months now and he still hasn't learned how to greet guests properly."
"Well, if you'd stop hitting me, maybe I'd be able to learn, you old windbag," he retorted, only to get hit again. "Ow! Grr…"
"Now, my dear, what is it that you have for us?" Ezio questioned.
"Oh, it's this huge, flawless ruby," Alexa said, trying to get the information out before another fight broke out. "I figured it would go nice in your gem collection."
"Yes, it probably would," Ezio laughed. "You can tell your friends to come in now. I let down the security after hearing the commotion."
Alexa nodded putting her hand to her ear piece, "You got that Jamie?"
"Yep, we'll be right in." She could hear the relief in the fox's voice that her friend was okay and not in any more danger.
It was a couple minutes later that Ken and Jamie came into view with Ken carrying the case with the ruby inside. He gently put the box down while Jamie unbolted it and took off the top.
Ezio looked in. "Oh my," he stated adjusting his glasses. "My, my, my… this is very nice, and in such good condition as well." He addressed Hideaki, "My boy, what do you think this is worth?"
The snow leopard looked at the jewel and shrugged, "I don't know… a lot, I guess…" Another whack sounded through the museum. "Ow!"
"Take this seriously, boy! Now, how much do you think this is worth?" he questioned again.
"Well… maybe, two point five million," he replied thoughtfully.
Ezio nodded in agreement, "Perhaps even more than that…"
"Yes!" Ken and Jamie shouted, high-fiving each other with a grin.
"Can you afford it?" Alexa asked, quieting the other two as she leaned against her cane.
Ezio sighed, "I'm afraid not. Business has been very slow since your father's day. The items we obtained from the Coopers would always be the best propaganda for this place. But since the flow of items hasn't been coming…" He gave another sorrowful sigh and then asked curiously, "What did your father end up doing since he's been married?"
"Law enforcement."
"Ah, switched sides I see. I'm sure that officer who was always after him wasn't very happy about that…" Ezio stated.
"Oh… then you remember her?"Alexa inquired nervously, fidgeting with her hat.
"Of course. What a vicious woman," he said in distain. "That woman was bothering me constantly whenever your father had sent me a new item. Whatever happened to her anyway… do you know?"
"Uh, well… actually…" she chuckled nervously, "She's my mom."
"Oh," Ezio stated but then realized, "Oh! …Your father has very weird taste in women."
"Hehe… back to the deal. What could you afford?"
"Oh, with how things have been progressing… perhaps the best we could do at the moment is somewhere around… eight thousand."
"I see…" she nodded, "we'll take it."
Ken's and Jamie's jaws dropped as they turned to Alexa, "What?"
Jamie grabbed Alexa's forearm, "Excuse us for just one moment." She dragged her friend to the side with Ken right behind her. "Are you insane! That isn't even half!"
Alexa shook her head, "You don't get it do you? Gosh, and I thought you were the smart one."
"Wha—"
"Think about it, Jamie. There's no way they could afford that thing for what it's really worth. We're just starting out and eight thousand is enough."
Ken nodded, "I think you're right. We could do this."
Jamie sighed, "And I guess this could be a benefit to us. We'll be on Ezio's good side. He has a lot of connections we could use."
Alexa smiled, "Then it's settled!" She turned back to Ezio and Hideaki, "We'll be taking eight thousand."
"Really?" Ezio asked with shock written on his face. "Are you certain? This item is worth much more than that…"
"I'm sure. We may be just starting out but we don't need much right now. We'll be just fine with that," she grinned.
Ezio took the half-vixen's hand with one of the happiest grins, "Thank you my dear."
"It's no problem," she said as her smile seemed to grow. "If we could just get the money to our account, we'll take the ruby over to the exhibit."
Ken laughed, "Where's this 'we' coming from? I'm doing all of the heavy lifting."
"Shh!" Jamie and Alexa mumbled.
"Come Miss Cooper," Ezio nodded with a chuckle. "You must tell me your new account and Hideaki will help your friend get the gem to the correct exhibit."
"Of course, Hideaki will," the boy grumbled with a sigh. "Come on you big palooka. It's this way."
Ken lifted the gem onto his shoulder, saying with a smile, "Alright, small fry."
The boy glared at the wolf, "Grr, just come on." He led Ken around the corner away to the exhibit.
Ezio gave another sigh, "I must, again, apologize for Hideaki's attitude."
"No worries," Alexa dismissed. "I remember myself at that age. I had a bit of an attitude as well."
Jamie giggled, "You were a pain in the ass sometimes."
Alexa merely stuck out her tongue.
"Don't worry about the account though, Mr. Ezio," Jamie continued. "I've already loaded the account to your system with a safety measure for just in case," she grinned with a wink.
"Haha, thank you, Miss Jamie."
"Uh… how did you know my name?" Jamie inquired.
He laughed, "I'm very plugged into the news now-a-days. And you three are all over town. I'm sure your parents are all very worried."
"Yes, well…" Alexa's sentence was cut off as her ears perked up at a sound. "Jamie, do you hear that?"
Jamie's ears also perked up, "It sounds like… sirens…"
Ken and Hideaki ran back with grim looks.
"Yeah, we have a problem," Hideaki stated.
"Cops are coming!" Ken said, getting to the point.
Alexa swore underneath her breath, "We need to get out of here. Now."
"Finally, some excitement!" said Ezio with a huge smile. He turned to Hideaki, "Take Ms. Cooper out the secret passage way and I shall take these two."
Hideaki nodded and was already starting to get going, "This way."
"Hey, wait up!" she called, twirling her cane so that to would go into two pieces so that she could put it in her belt rings. She then began to run after the boy but turned back once to say, "You guys be careful."
"You too!" her friends replied, going in the opposite direction with Ezio.
Alexa followed Hideaki, hall after hall until they were on the other side of the museum and the boy stopped. A huge painting stared at the two of them and Alexa looked over to him with a quizzed expression. He then put his hand next to the painting and a stream of light went underneath it like a scanner. The painting slid aside and he got out of the way, "Here's the way. Now get going."
"Thank you, Hideaki." She was about go through but…
"Um!" Hideaki let out, seemingly hesitant about what he wanted to say.
Alexa looked back just the same, "Yes?"
"I, uh… wanted to say thanks…"
"Why?" Alexa cocked her head to the side in curiosity.
"The old man hasn't been feeling well since business has been bad… But when he heard that you guys were out in the open like your dad in the old days, he was overjoyed. He knew you were coming and expected it to be soon… You're helping him out by doing this, especially by taking that lower price. So… thanks…" he seemed a little embarrassed.
Alexa laughed and replied, "That's so cute! You care about your master."
He became flabbergasted. "I'm not cute!"
"Sorry," Alexa giggled, ruffling the boy's hair. "Just show more of that side, okay. Ezio knows what he's doing."
"Ah, I know," he agreed, put his hair back the way it was. "It's just more fun to be how I am."
Alexa couldn't help but laugh again, "Alright then." But she soon stopped laughing as she heard the sirens becoming louder. "I better get going. But before I do…" she grabbed a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Hideaki. "Please give this to Ezio. Tell him that if he sees my mom or dad, to give this to them."
He nodded taking the paper in his hand, "I can do that."
Alexa smiled, "Thank you." The sound of sirens pierced the air and she began to run, shouting, "Later," with the door closed behind her.
She ran deeper into this new hall and as it got darker she slowed. She'd rather not run into the door. Before she knew it, she sensed the dead end and felt a doorknob. She opened the door to the outside and found herself in an alleyway. She closed the door and noticed that it was seamless. No wonder dad could get out without someone knowing.
Her thoughts were interrupted by voices coming near her position. She looked around and noticed the fire escape just a few feet away. She was able to jump up and grab it and headed up just before some cops rushed underneath her. She gave a sigh of relief and kept climbing to the top.
Hopefully they haven't gone to the roof yet. Though… if my family tipped them off then—
She reached the top, and there stood in front of her was, "Dad."
"Hey, Ally," her father said with a gloomy smile. "How are things?"
"Pretty good," she replied as if she wasn't taking into account the situation. "I haven't done anything you wouldn't, I suppose," she grinned.
Sly merely frowned, "Ally, you need to come home. We can work this out together."
"Didn't you read my letter?" she asked, chuckling sadly. "I'm not going back until things are settled."
"Ally!" he growled, frustrated from his daughter's answer. "At least tell me what's going on. Maybe then we can help each other."
"I'm sorry, dad. I just can't…" she gave the same melancholy smile as she started to back away from him but she then felt arms wrap around her. She was in shock that she didn't see something like this coming but then she heard a voice.
"Please…"
Marsh! she thought in surprise.
"Alexa… I'm sorry for what I did since it was unexpected for you but… I would do it again," Marsh mumbled in her ear with a soft warm voice, his grip just as gentle as his voice. "Ally… you need to come back… for your family and your friend's family. I would also like it if you'd come back… with me."
Alexa's eyes began to water and tears began to flow down her cheeks. I was right… I was hurting them… but I have to keeping going… "I'm s-sorry," she stuttered, wiping her tears away, regaining her composure. "I just… can't!" she ducked underneath Marsh's arms and swept her leg under his own, causing him to fall on his butt.
Alexa was quick to recover. She began to run as fast as she could.
"Alexa!" her father yelled but she didn't stop and she didn't even look back. "Damn it… I wish it didn't have to come to this." He pulled out a binoc-u-com and called, "Go! She's making a run for it!"
Alexa was still running, jumping from roof to roof. I have to get out of here!
But then her ears perked up and she froze, ducking. She looked up and saw a sleeping dart wedged in one of the roof's antennas. She looked to where the sound came from and saw her god father, Bentley… aiming with more sleep darts at her.
"Oh crap!" she shouted, running again, hearing more darts wiz by. Damn! Dad has Bent here? Who else! Then the worse happened. She heard something falling from the sky. She swerved and then saw a mist of sleeping dust. Her ears perked up and heard revolving blades… a helicopter…
Pen is here too… with sleep bombs! Well, that's just perfect! They really are determined, she thought, putting her shirt over her mouth so she wouldn't be able to breathe in the sleeping gas. She pulled out the two pieces of her cane and put them together seeing a clothes line ahead that she could use to her advantage. She used the tip of her cane to get the line clipped and then she grabbed hold with her hand, sliding down to the street.
Well, at least I've somewhat escape this situation… now if I can just get a pick up, I'll be home free, she thought as she continued to run putting her hand to her ear piece. "Guys!" she shouted, her voice revealing some panic. "I need a pick up!"
"Yeah, here's the thing," Jamie's voice didn't scream the confidence that Alexa wanted to hear, "you're going the wrong way."
"Of course I am. That just makes this night even better!" she muttered. "Intersect me. I'm coming back around." She made a quick turn about and started heading the other way down the road. Unfortunately, right in front of her, a black police van pulled up, blocking her path. And out came her other god father, Murray.
"Come on, Alexa. Why don't you come home?"
"Uncle Murray… I can't," she said the umpteenth time.
"Okay, other question," he said with his voice becoming more serious. "But why…? Why my van?" he complained.
Alexa looked down embarrassed. Of course Murray would ask about his van. "It was needed…" she replied.
"Well, you're not getting past me," he stood up straighter and crossed his arms determined.
"Then…" she began backing up, "I'll just have to go this way," she turned and saw that her night wasn't getting better. Standing in front of her was the Panda King.
"That, I'm afraid, you cannot do," the bear spoke, being intimidating.
Oh, crap! Alexa backed away from Panda King going between him and Murray. "H-hey, PK. What's up?" she asked nervously.
"It's time to return home, Ms. Alexa. The game is up," he stated, with a frown.
What am I going to do? She was out of options, nowhere else to go. I'll need a miracle…
In the distance, she heard a rev of what sounded like a motorcycle. What was that? She looked over the Panda King and saw a light coming closer that was connected to the familiar bike. Chase!
He swerved in pass Panda King, shocking both strong men, and came to a quick stop, holding out his hand. "Get on!"
Alexa gave a quick grin and grabbed hold of his hand, hopping onto the bike. As soon as he felt her arms around him, he went off, going around Murray.
"Hang on!" Chase yelled.
"Like I'd let go!" she retorted, with laughter as his replied.
They drove down the road and passed by Sly and Marsh as they were coming to see Murray and the Panda King. Sly stared in awe as he saw his daughter cling to this stranger. "Who the hell is that!"
"That would be the guy I was talking about," Marsh explained.
"Huh… you're right. Something is strange here. Maybe an old friend can explain some things to us," Sly thought aloud, calling to the other two, "Murray, Panda King, let's head back to the museum. We have some information to get."
I can't believe Jamie decided to meet outside of Paris… Alexa thought angrily, since she still had her arms around Chase (but still kind of happy/embarrassed by it). Well, I guess it makes sense. Once outside Paris, we'll be somewhat safe. At least the sirens from the police have faded.
Her breathing has gone back to normal, Chased sighed in relief. Not only that, but her grip has loosen. She must have relaxed since we crossed city lines… at this rate, we should be about a few minutes to the meeting point. But I can't exactly blame her for the panic attack earlier, he chuckled to himself. All of those moves I had to make to avoid the cops and people in the way were pretty insane. She held on pretty tightly too, he smiled.
Soon, they reached the rendezvous and Chase slowed to a stop. "You okay?" he asked, taking off his helmet.
"Somewhat," she replied, getting off with a wobble.
"Sorry about that," he said with a sheepish grin. "I couldn't do much about the bumpy ride."
She shook her head, "It's not that… Gawd, I have a headache…" she mumbled unhappily, holding her head in her hands.
"What's wrong?" his voice was full of worry and he stood up besides her, leaving his helmet on his bike. He put a hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off.
"I just saw my father and his old gang tonight… my family and friends… I'm hurting them and now, there doesn't seem to be anyone trying to hurt me…" she looked to Chase with tears starting to form in her eyes. "Who are you?"
"Alexa… I, uh…"
"Why are you doing this? Why did you try to take the Thievius Raccoonus from me and then you join us? You… you even…" You even had me fall for you… "Who is the threat I face now?"
He looked away from her eyes in conflict but decided that he would tell her the truth, to an extent, "I'm buying you time… My father… is the problem. I am only the messenger, if you could call me that. I never wanted to do this." He met her gaze again with a frown, "Believe me, I never wanted to do this. The life that I have… I'd give anything for it to be different… for it to be normal."
The van pulled up near them and Chase got on his bike, putting his helmet back on. "Think about our next job. I'll be in touch." With that, he rode off, leaving Alexa stunned.
She stared after him, confused, "'Buying time'… What does he mean by 'buying time'?"
Ken honked the van horn while Jamie called out the window, "Alexa? You alright?"
"Yeah, I'm coming…" she went to her friends in the van and they headed out.
Chase kept going into the new city till he reached an old motel. He didn't care which one; he was too tired, hungry, and started to have a headache himself. He parked in the unpaved parking lot, locking up his bike, and took his helmet and his stashed bag so he could go get a room.
After paying the clerk, he headed up stairs to his room, closing the door behind him. He gave a sigh, tossing his bag and helmet into a corner of the room and collapsed on the bed. So… tired… he yawned, confirming his thought. Well, it has been… a long… day… His eyes drifted closed and he fell asleep.
It was an hour later when the door knob began to move and the lock tumbled. The door opened and the same white wolf, who had been watching over Alexa, came in the doorframe. He looked over to the sleeping Chase and smiled. He closed the door quietly and began to walk over to the teen, getting closer and closer with his arms out in front of him to act, until…
"Don't even think about it, Ryu, or I swear to god, I'll kill you," Chase muttered.
The wolf looked shocked but laughed, "How'd you know it was me?"
Chase yawned, "In this room, your lock picking was as loud as a piano dropping." He stretched and sat up looking to his old friend, "That and I recognized your footing; proves I've been around you too long, 'Master'," he grinned.
"I see. Though, I don't believe you would ever call me Master since you hardly tried to listen to me before." Ryu smiled as Chase stuck his tongue childishly.
"So, what's up?" the raccoon questioned, "Here to check up on me?"
"Chase," he sighed, "I've seen and heard everything dealing with you and Alexa."
Chase's body stiffened, "How long have you been watching?"
"Since India."
"Oh…" he replied, almost embarrassed.
"Chase, this is serious. You do realize that father wants results and you can't get them when you're falling in love with your target."
"I know that but it's hard not to fall for her."
Ryu sighed, "Yes. I can see how hard it is for you. Two years ago, I thought it was just a little crush for you but now… you care about her… so much that you would give your life for hers."
Chase chuckled, "Gosh, you really were watching."
"Chase—" he said sadly.
"I know. And have known, Ryu. If I do plan on going through with this mission, I'm going to hurt myself in the process, whether it's my heart or my body."
Ryu sighed again, and shook his head at the boy. He shouldn't be thinking like this…
"How is he?" Chase asked.
"He's fine… for now. Father is starting to get more impatient again though. I don't know how long it will last," Ryu looked over to the boy, waiting for his reaction.
"What about… Mother…" he questioned in distain.
"She's trying to calm him down. She's… interested in the 'game' you're playing."
"'Game'?" he said angrily. "She thinks it's a 'game'?"
"Better that than her being impatient. She would kill Chris…" his voice drifted off as he realized the pained expression his words caused on the teen's face.
"I know…" Chase croaked.
"It will at least buy you some time."
"Funny, that's what I told Alexa…"
The wolf put a hand on Chase's shoulder, "I'm sure things will be just fine. You'll see."
"I hope so. I really, really hope so…"
Whoo… finally, it's done! Thanks much to everyone who waited this long for this chapter. I hope it was as good as everyone hoped, so please review and thank you :) and I hope to be getting the next chapter up as soon as possible (again, school always presents a problem :P).
Not only that, but we have a new character! We have Mother to deal with, along with Father. Now, I want people to guess. I'm interested in hearing the ideas that you readers have on Mother. So, in your reviews, leave a comment on that if you want :D