Chapter 5: Lots of Discovery
"What is this place?" Cami asked as Sam led her to an old broken down house.
"A place that no one goes to." Sam said as he sat down next to the basement window and kicked it in. The window popped out of its frame and crashed onto the floor below.
"Come on." Sam slid into the house throw the narrow window. Cami followed dubiously. She landed silently next to Sam and gasped. The room was stocked with sleeping bags, flashlights, and granola bars.
"Have you been planning for this or something?" Cami asked as Sam stuck the miraculously intact window back in its frame.
"No." Sam said quietly. "People think this place is haunted so no one is going to come in." Sam pulled out the sleeping bags and laid them down on the ground. He wasn't meeting Cami's eyes.
"Sammy." Cami used Sam's childhood nickname. She gave Sam a brown-eyed death stare. "How did you find this place and why did stock it full of provisions?"
Sam looked up at Cami. "A couple years ago I was dared to come in here for an hour. I came through the front door and I ended up falling through the floor down here. You remember when I had that long cut on my left leg? The one I told you not to tell Mom and Dad about?"
"I had to help you bandage it." Cami recalled.
"Yeah, well, after that I came back and put some provisions in here, in case I was dared to come in here again." Sam seemed to be telling a version of the truth.
"You're not telling me everything, Sam." Cami said lightly.
Sam sighed. "I just kept coming back here. I don't know why. I felt, I don't know, safe here."
"You fell safe in a place where you fell through the floor?" Cami asked skeptically.
"Yeah, I don't get it either." Sam shrugged and pulled out the flashlights. He sat down on one of the sleeping bags. "Let's see what that file says. By the way, how'd you get it?"
Cami sat down next to Sam and passed him the thick file to him. She shoved her and Sam's bags in the corner. "I talked to the people there, and it was creepy. None of them remembered anything at all! Loup believed that there had never been a fire escape on the station! He couldn't see the fallen fire escape even when I pointed it out. No one remembered anything! How's that possible? Oh, and I climbed through a ventilation shaft to get into Loup's office and steal the file." Cami added.
Sam was speechless. He opened his mouth and shut it like a fish a couple times. "No one remembered anything? You climbed through a vent?"
"Not that I could tell. If anyone does remember then they're not talking or acting like it." Cami shivered. "That was so creepy. Can we look at the file now?"
"Yeah. Here, you take half and I'll take half. It's a really big file." Sam passed the first half of the file to Cami and a flashlight. "Happy reading."
"You too." Cami said as she opened the file and flicked on the flashlight.
The part of the file Cami got talked about Sly's family, childhood, and first major heist. In essence it said:
Sly's father, Cami's and Sam's grandfather, was a thief too, so were the Coopers before him.
Cami sighed. Her father's letter had told the truth; they were descendants of thieves. Cami read the next part of Sly's childhood.
When Sly was eight years old, his parents were brutally murdered before his eyes and the family book, the Thievius Raccoonus, was stolen by the Fiendish Five: Sir Raleigh the frog, Gangsta Muggshot the bulldog, Mystic Mz. Ruby the crocodile, Demolitions Expert Panda King, and Clockwerk.
The last name sent a shiver down Cami's spine. She read on.
Her father was sent to Happy Camper Orphanage where he met two guys, a hippo called Murray and a turtle called Bentley, who joined Sly and became known as the Cooper Gang. The Cooper Gang had become the most notorious thief gang in the world. When Sly was eighteen, he and his friends stole a file from police headquarters (déjà vu) that held the information to track down the five people responsible for the murder of his parents.
Sly found Raleigh in the Welsh triangle. Raleigh was in prison for life, caught by Carmelita Fox. All that was found that could link Sly to Raleigh was a pile of calling cards that Sly left every time he stole. He had taken back Raleigh's section of the book.
Muggshot was found in Mesa City, USA. Carmelita had actually seen Sly there and chased him. She had been unable to catch him. Carmelita had caught Muggshot and he was given life imprisonment. All that had been found left from Sly were the calling cards. He had stolen back Muggshot's part of the Thievius Raccoonus.
Mz. Ruby had been found in the Haitian jungle. She had been making an army of the undead. It was the same, Carmelita Fox had arrested her and Sly Cooper had stolen back the Thievius Raccoonus.
Panda King was found in China where he was perfecting a firework technique that he named Flame Fu. Carmelita had seen Sly there and pursued him. Sly, once again, got away, easily. Panda King was arrested once again by Carmelita Fox and Sly had gotten away with the parts of the Thievius Raccoonus.
Clockwerk was a different story. He was a giant robotic owl who was hundreds of years old. He had kidnapped Carmelita and nearly gassed both her and Sly when he went to rescue her. Apparently, Clockwerk had been creating a giant Death Ray in the Krack Karov Volcano in Russia. A temporary alliance between Sly and Carmelita was made to combat Clockwerk. Sly, using Carmelita's jetpack, fought Clockwerk, while Carmelita shot holes into Clockwerk's armor. Together the two of them defeated Clockwerk who died in the volcano. Sly took Clockwerk's part of the Thievius Raccoonus.
Cami's half of the file ended suddenly. She looked between the pages until she found a sticky note. It was written in her mother's handwriting.
Ten-second head start for Ringtail, ended with a kiss and me handcuffed to a handrail.
That's all the note said.
Sam had taken the half of the file that contained the Clockwerk parts heists and something called the Cooper Vault. In essence it said:
Clockwerk was a giant robotic owl that had murdered Sly's parents and nearly killed Sly and Carmelita. Apparently, Clockwerk had survived his first battle with Sly two years before, but Clockwerk had survived in pieces. All of the Clockwerk parts had been on display in Cairo, Egypt. Inspector Carmelita Fox and Constable Neyla who had both been on stake out had found Sly and his gang in the museum. Carmelita had believed it was the Cooper Gang who had stolen the parts, but Neyla believed the Klaww Gang stole the parts. Sly had escaped after hearing what Neyla had said.
The first member of the Klaww Gang was Dimitri, a salamander and professional forger. He had run a Nightclub in downtown Paris. He had the Clockwerk Tail Feathers and was using them to print money. The Cooper Gang had stolen the Clockwerk Tail Feathers and Carmelita and Neyla arrested Dimitri. Carmelita suspected Neyla of helping the Cooper Gang steal the Tail Feathers. No one knows if Neyla did help the Cooper Gang.
The next of the Klaww Gang was Rajan, a tiger and an illegal spice seller. He hosted a lavish ball to show off the Clockwerk Wings. Carmelita, Neyla, and the Contessa (an Interpol Jailer) all attended the ball undercover. Jean Bison and Arpeggio, both Klaww Gang members, attended as well. Sly attended disguised in a 'penguin suit'. He danced with Neyla at the beginning of the ball. During the heist, he danced with Carmelita while his friends extracted the Clockwerk Wings from the palace ballroom. When the Wings were stolen, Carmelita blew her cover and started making arrests. Rajan was forced to flee his own party and he went into hiding in a long-forgotten temple deep in the jungle. Rajan's temple was the thriving center of his spice trade. There, he used the Clockwerk Heart to increase his spice production. Carmelita once again suspected Neyla of helping the Cooper Gang, but she had no proof. When Rajan decided to confront the Cooper Gang, he managed to hurt Sly badly. Murray the Hippo fought Rajan and beat him, taking the Clockwerk Heart from him. Neyla then came and arrested Sly, Murray, and Rajan. She also accused Carmelita of working with the Cooper Gang. Neyla's only proof was a picture of Carmelita dancing with Sly when the Clockwerk Wings were stolen. The Contessa arrested Carmelita.
Bentley was the only one left of the Cooper Gang who was free. He found out where Sly and Murray were being kept: in the Contessa's jail in Prague. Bentley busted Sly out first and with his and Sly's combined efforts they freed Murray. Later it was discovered that the Contessa was a secret member of the Klaww Gang and had hypnotized criminals that were in her jail by using illegal spice. The Contessa had the Clockwerk Eyes. Sly had stolen the Clockwerk Eyes from her and she was arrested by the, now Captain Neyla. Carmelita Fox also escaped with the Cooper Gang.
Sam picked up a handwritten note. He could tell his mother wrote it.
I was trapped in the Re-education Tower. Contessa tried to hypnotize me into taking the fall for her. Somehow the restraints on me fell off and I attacked Contessa with my shock pistol.
Jean Bison in Canada was the next Klaww Gang member. He had the Clockwerk Stomach and Lungs. Captain Neyla tried to prevent Sly Cooper from stealing the Clockwerk Parts. She was unsuccessful. The Cooper Gang made off with all of Jean Bison's Clockwerk parts. It was later discovered that Jean Bison had the Clockwerk Talons.
That part of the file abruptly ended. All that was left were some handwritten notes from his mother.
Arpeggio bought all the Clockwerk Parts from Bison. Rebuilt Clockwerk intending to gain immortality from the Clockwerk frame. Neyla was his protégé who betrayed him to get immortality for herself, named herself Clock-La. Sly and I worked together to take her down. She tried to kill Murray and Bentley, Sly stopped her and the three of them took out the Hate Chip from the Clockwerk frame. I smashed it and the Clockwerk parts aged before our very eyes. I informed the Cooper Gang they were under arrest Sly offered to come quietly in exchange for Bentley and Murray going free. I took the offer. My name was cleared and I got a promotion. Sly escaped after I went to see the pilot. He took my bottle I saved for the special occasion of his arrest. I came home to find his calling card and my bottle.
Another section of the file started.
In Italy, Sly Cooper appeared in Carmelita Fox's squad room. It was later discovered that Dimitri had escaped while all the cops were chasing Sly. Interpol suspected Don Octavio the lion was guilty of filling the canals of Venice with tar. Murray and Sly fought Octavio and defeated him. Carmelita arrested him but the Cooper Gang got away.
Interpol later received intelligence that the Cooper Gang was in the Australian Outback.
There were a couple photographs attached to the file. Sam laughed as he studied the four photos. The first one involved Sly giving bunny ears to a hippo that had pencils in his nose, a turtle in a wheelchair pulling his lips apart to reveal his teeth, and a purple koala looking very confused. The second photo had every guy (except the koala) flexing his muscles. The third photo involved Sly to have his hat off and offering a flower to the camera while the hippo and turtle made kissy noises in the background. The purple koala just looked confused. The last one was the best: Sly looking brain-dead, the hippo juggling, the turtle doing the stereotypical Egyptian dance, and the purple koala biting his lip with bug-eyes.
Sam took all the photos and stuffed them into his bag. He went back to reading.
The Cooper Gang was next found in Holland. They had entered a dog fighting Competition called ACES. Carmelita had pursued Sly, but she lost him when she saw Muggshot. She arrested Muggshot and took him off the jail.
The next sighting of the Cooper Gang was in China. He was trying to kidnap the bride of a marriage, the panda Jing King. Carmelita disguised herself as the bride and arrested who she thought was Sly Cooper but as soon as she made the arrest she discovered it was the chicken Tsao. It did not matter; Tsao did have a warrant for his arrest.
Then Sly Cooper fell of the grid. No one heard from him for a week, until Carmelita received a postcard from Sly Cooper. It turned out that he was in Blood Bath Bay.
The postcard was included. It showed a picture of Sly, the hippo, the turtle, and the purple koala with three others. There was a female mouse in overalls and glasses, a panda who looked similar to Jing King except he was male and older, and a salamander that looked oddly familiar.
Sam picked up the first the part of his half of the file. He looked through the names of his father's enemies. Dimitri, that was the name of the salamander in the picture. Sam was confused. His father was working with a former enemy? Regardless, Sam stuck the postcard in his bag with the pictures.
Sam looked at the next page hoping for an answer. There was another handwritten note from Carmelita.
On island, fighting mad scientist called Dr. M. His homemade monsters were trying to kill us all. Dr. M took a shot at me and Sly took it. He saved my life and he got amnesia. I told him he was a cop and he believed me. End of Sly's thieving career and start of our relationship.
Sam looked up at Cami who seemed to be done reading too.
"I got the beginning of the file, so why don't I start?" Cami suggested. Sam nodded and Cami explained what she read.
"Dad's letter told the truth, we are descendants of thieves. Although, he left out the bit that talked about him watching his parents die when he was eight." Sam looked shocked. "Yeah, he watched them get murdered by five people: Raleigh, Muggshot, Mz. Ruby, Panda King, and Clockwerk."
"Panda King? Did he look like this?" Sam pulled the postcard out of his bag and showed it to Cami.
"Yeah, why is he with Dad?" Cami asked, studying the postcard.
"Don't know. There's a lot that the file doesn't cover, but we do have a list of people that we need to find: Raleigh, Muggshot, Mz. Ruby, Panda King, Dimitri, Rajan, Contessa, Jean Bison, Arpeggio, Octavio, Tsao, and Dad's friends." Sam stated.
"Um, Sam, are you sure that we should see those guys? I mean, they were Dad's enemies and probably Mom's too. They probably would like to kill us." Cami said as she wrote the names down in her notebook. "Besides, some of them, if not all, are in jail. Do you want to have to sneak into a jail?"
"Actually, a couple are out and a couple are dead." Sam said looking at the file again. "Raleigh, Mz. Ruby, Muggshot, Octavio, and Tsao are all still in jail. Arpeggio is dead and Jean Bison is missing and assumed dead. Panda King, Dimitri, Rajan, Contessa, and Dad's friends are not in jail. The first four were released or escaped and Dad's friends, Bentley and Murray, were never in jail. Wait, I take that back, Murray was in jail for a little while with Dad, but Bentley busted them out." Sam said as Cami wrote down next to the people's names whether or not they were in jail.
"Okay. We need to find the people who are out of jail and see if they had any information on where Dad and Mom are or where Dad's friends are." Cami said as she wrote down more in her notebook. She looked up at Sam. "What do they look like? I didn't find any photographs of them."
Sam smiled and handed Cami the postcard and the four goofy photos. Cami began to laugh. Sam soon joined her. Cami was rolling on the ground from laughter and Sam was cracking up by just looking at her. Slowly, the laughter faded. Cami pulled herself up and smiled at Sam. The laughter had lightened the seriousness of the mood. A knot of tension that Cami had not noticed before was gone. Sam took the photos and put them back in his bag. The laughter had also made Cami and Sam notice how tired they were.
"Let's talk about this in the morning." Sam said when he saw Cami rubbing her eyes.
"You can read my mind." Cami joked. She was still rubbing her eyes. "'Night Sam."
"'Night Cami."