Chapter 17: Caught
Sam
Sam was pacing the length of the train car and it was no small feat with multiple cargo boxes obstructing his path and a moving train thrown in for good measure. Sam was on edge and unable to settle down. He wanted to get off this train and start moving. Moving at least gave Sam on outlet for his paranoia.
"Come on, you stupid machine! Get there faster." Sam muttered angrily at the train. Then the train started to slow. Sam was unsure whether to be happy that the train was slowing to stop at the destination or annoyed at the fact that he had told the train to go faster and now it was slowing.
Sam peaked out through the door at the landscape and saw that the train was pulling into a station. He waited far too long on the train. Now he had to sneak past security cameras, security guards and just the general populace. Sam growled at his stupidity and shut the door. He looked around at the cargo. He had checked their contents out of sheer boredom and knew that none of them would be useful. He listened intently for any sounds of someone getting close to the car and made a split second decision. Sam crouched under behind a cargo box and waited. Soon enough one lynx man walked in and began picking up a heavy crate. Sam waited until his back was turned and then slowly made his way to the door. He quickly looked around at the station. Then Sam heard something that made his blood freeze in his veins.
"Hey! You!" Sam jerked his head around to see a rabbit woman jogging towards him.
Sam took off running in the opposite direction. He dodged through more employees who tried to grab him and around containers. Sam did pretty well keeping out of everyone's grip, until he wacked his right leg against a container and fell on his face.
"Crud, crud, crud, crud." Sam muttered and tried to push himself up. "Ah." Sam's right leg couldn't hold his weight.
"Get up." Someone pulled Sam roughly to his feet. Sam fell down again. Two sets of hands pulled Sam up and one supported him. The rabbit woman from earlier kept Sam upright and also retained a tight grip on Sam's arm. She needn't have bothered; Sam couldn't so much have run a foot, much less get away.
The lynx man from earlier spoke to Sam: "What are you doing here?" Sam said nothing.
"Where are you from? Are you a runaway?" The lynx man asked. Sam just looked at him defiantly.
"Just call the cops, Mario." The rabbit woman said.
"Of course." The lynx called Mario walked over to a nearby staff room. The rabbit woman helped Sam inside. There was a couch that Sam limped over to as the rabbit woman locked the door and the lynx man picked up the phone.
"Hello, I'd like to report the finding of a runaway." Mario said into the phone. "He's about sixteen and he refuses to talk."
Sam paid him no mind and rolled up the leg of his pants to inspect his leg. A big blotchy bruise ran from the middle of his calf and over his knee. He gently poked it and winced.
"Yeah, at the train station." Mario said. "Alright, yeah, we'll be right outside. Thank-you. Good-bye." He hung up the phone and turned to Sam. "The cops will pick you up in five minutes."
Sam swallowed and didn't make eye contact. He rolled down his pant leg instead. Sam was careful to not show any emotion when he looked at Mario.
"My name is Alessa. What's yours?" The rabbit woman asked kindly.
When Sam didn't answer, she spoke again. "Can you talk?" Sam glared at her.
"How's your leg?" She asked unexpectedly. "Can you walk?" Sam looked away.
"Come on." Alessa said as she walked over next to Sam. "I'll help you to the entrance." Alessa pulled Sam off the couch and held on tightly to his right side, both helping him stay upright and keeping him from running away.
Sam was marched across the station with Alessa on his right and Mario on his left. The entire time, Sam tried to think of a method of escape, but his leg hurt too much for him to run fast or far. Alessa maintained a tight grip upon Sam's right arm until the cop car showed up. A tall, scary-looking bear stepped out of the vehicle and walked over to the threesome.
"You called about a runaway?" The bear-cop was looking Sam up and down.
"Yes. Here he is." Mario said unnecessarily.
"Yeah. Get in the car, kid." The bear-cop ordered. Sam glared at the cop. Alessa semi-dragged Sam to the cop car and Sam resentfully got in.
Sam felt a sudden wave of homesickness and grief. He had been in his mother's and father's police cars a million times before this. It was so familiar and yet so different. Sam swallowed a lump in his throat.
The bear-cop was having a conversation with Mario and Alessa. Sam knew it was useless, but he tugged at the door on the opposite side. It was locked and could only be opened from the outside. Sam put his legs up and sighed. It was going to be hard to get out of this.
So, Cami, what would you say if I told you the cops caught up to me? Sam thought.
Cami
Sneaking out of the hotel proved to be easier than sneaking in. Cami just used the exit in the kitchen. She read the address the mouse lady –Penelope had given her. Cami read it and then looked at a couple street signs. She smiled to herself and took off walking down the street.
Cami kept to alleyways and side streets. She was careful to check for any pursuers. She found the address with ease, but was surprised to find a normal-looking house. Cami entered through the back door. Bentley had told Cami that the gang would be at the house in twenty minutes, so Cami barred the back door and crouched behind the sofa with her shock pistol. She didn't feel safe in a house like this. It was too much like her house. She kept seeing images of her house ransacked. Cami's hands shook as she gripped her father's shock pistol. She swallowed with difficulty as she fought back tears.
"So, Sammy, what are you doing?" Cami murmured to herself to try to keep calm. She stared at the shock pistol as she spoke. "I hope you're doing okay. I found Dad's friends and you wouldn't believe them. It's hard to imagine Dad as a thief, but these guys consider him family, and me too." Cami relaxed her grip on the shock pistol. "I don't know how I feel about that, but they're going to help us find Mom and Dad."
Cami was quiet for a long time, just staring at the shock pistol and listening to the sounds around her. The sound of footsteps made Cami tense up and aim her pistol at the door. She was dead quiet and watched the door open.
"Whoa, Cami, what are you doing?" Bentley said as he and Penelope froze in the doorway. Murray, Guru, and Panda King were standing behind them.
Cami stood up and stuck the shock pistol back in the holster. "I am really paranoid. Where's Dimitri?"
The gang entered while glancing at Cami uncomfortably. "Dimitri is coming as soon as he can ditch the paparazzi and crazy fans. Did you barricade the back door?" Bentley looked over Cami's shoulder at the door that now had a chair wedged beneath the doorknob.
"Yes." Cami said. She removed the chair and placed it back where she found it.
"I'm going to hack into Interpol and gather all the data I can. What is your brother's name again?" Bentley asked.
"Samuel Fox. He takes after Mom." Cami said. She sat down on the sofa. "Please find him." Cami's voice cracked. She swallowed and tried not to cry.
"Are you okay?" Penelope asked, almost motherly.
Cami nodded, but didn't meet her eyes. "Can I use your shower? And get some clean clothes?"
"Yeah, of course. Follow me." Penelope led Cami up to a bathroom and gave her a pile of clothes. Penelope left without a word and Cami was left alone. She pulled her clothes off and stepped into the shower. The hot water relaxed Cami's tense body. She washed the dirt and grime that had accumulated in her fur off.
"I missed showers so much." Cami moaned. "The best luxury in existence."
Cami washed her fur and hair with shampoo she had found in the bathroom. She walked out of the shower lemon-scented and dried off. She put on the clothes Penelope had left. The clothes were a little big, but they would work. She was wearing an indigo shirt and black stretchy pants. She let her wet hair lie against her back unbound.
Cami made her way downstairs and found Bentley and Penelope working at a computer with multiple screens, Murray eating a sandwich, Panda King crafting more fireworks, Dimitri watching TV, and Guru meditating on the couch. Cami walked over to Bentley.
"Any luck?" She asked hopefully.
"None so far. Any idea where he might be heading?" Penelope asked. Bentley seemed too engrossed in his work to speak.
Cami shrugged. "He should be coming here. We have been tracking down Dad's old enemies, seeing if they knew anything. We've met Rajan and the Contessa. We were heading here to meet with Dimitri."
"Wait, really? What happened?" Bentley finally pulled himself out of his work. "How did you find Dimitri?"
Cami could tell everyone was listening. "Dimitri is an international celebrity; people blog about him all the time. It wasn't hard. Rajan had absolutely no idea who I was. The Contessa on the other hand recognized me. She said she wanted nothing to do with it and told us to leave. We were separated when we were trying to get here."
Guru spoke in his strange language. You are most definitely Sly's daughter.
Cami looked at her feet, not knowing what to say. "How long until you find something?" She asked.
"I don't know. We'll need time." Bentley returned to his work. Penelope turned to help him.
Cami sat down at the kitchen table next to Murray. She didn't know what to do.
"Where did you get that shock pistol?" Murray had finished his sandwich and was making another.
Cami looked down at the shock pistol at her side. "It's Dad's. Sam has Mom's."
"Sly used a shock pistol?" Murray asked. He had made two sandwiches in a shockingly short amount of time.
"Yeah. He used something different in his thieving days?" Cami asked.
Murray came back to the table with the two sandwiches. He placed one of the sandwiches in front of Cami. "Only The Murray can make the best sandwiches, and yeah, Sly used a cane."
"Thanks." Cami took a bite out of the sandwich and then realized how hungry she was. She eagerly took another bite. "The Murray does make the best sandwiches." Cami agreed.
"Oh, yeah!" Murray ate his sandwich. "And don't you forget it!"
Slowly Cami began to relax. Murray was by far the most talkative. Bentley and Penelope were too engrossed in their work, the Guru and Panda King did not seem to be very willing to speak, and Dimitri didn't seem to know how to talk to a kid.
"Whoa! Got something!" Bentley and Penelope said in unison.
"What?" Cami was looking over their shoulders a second later. "Did you find Sammy? Where is he?"
"He's in a police car four miles from here." Bentley said. He turned around his wheelchair around to face everyone. "I have to ask: who's in? Who's going to help get find Sly?"
"I am." Cami said at once. "I have been since this fiasco started."
"Sly's my brother. I'm in." Murray cracked his knuckles.
"Of course, I'm in." Penelope smiled at Bentley.
Guru spoke: As long as it keeps me away from those apprentices.
"I see a daughter trying to save her father. I cannot help but remember how Cooper helped me save my Jing King. I shall help." Panda King nodded.
Dimitri sighed. "Bros, Dimitri now super celeb stuff! You got the Diver Dimitri's help as long as it don't interfere with my mega career."
"Good. Let's go." Bentley ordered.
Sly and Carmelita
Sly and Carmelita had been moved to cells opposite one another. They each had received medical attention for their wounds, but neither of them had learned anything about their captor. They had tried to escape twelve times, but they had not been successful in any way. These new cells had proved to be escape-proof.
"What do you think Cami and Sam are doing right now?" Carmelita asked in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Sly rubbed the back of head uncomfortably. He hadn't told Carmelita about the note to Sam and Cami or about the fact that he didn't have amnesia. He wondered if he should.
"I don't know." Sly said truthfully.
Carmelita cocked her head. "I know that tone. Sly? What did you do?"
Sly swallowed. "I almost expected something like this to happen so I wrote a note to both of them and, well, I never really lost my memory." There, Sly had said it. He searched Carmelita's face for betrayal and anger, but found instead amusement.
"Sly, I've known that for roughly twenty years." Carmelita said quietly.
"Wait, what? How?" Sly asked flabbergasted.
Carmelita laughed. "We were at a party and you couldn't tear your eyes away from a painting. I watched your fingers twitch and you were subconsciously reaching for it a couple times."
"That hardly proof." Sly said skeptically.
Carmelita shrugged. "I also hear you talk in your sleep about your thieving days. You have amazingly vivid and specific dreams."
Sly laughed. "Bentley used to record me as I sleep talked, and then play it back for me in the morning. Why didn't you turn me in after you learned I was faking my amnesia?"
"You saved my life at Dr. M's fortress and you haven't stolen a thing in the last twenty years. You did that all for me, and at some level I knew I was in love with you." Carmelita said sincerely. "Wait, you said something about a note. What did it say?"
Sly swallowed. "I told them about the Cooper line and legacy."
Carmelita's joking demeanor disappeared. "You're teaching my kids to be thieves?" She asked angrily.
"No. I told them of the Cooper line, it is their choice whether to become a thief or not." Sly said firmly. "One day, they will have to make that choice."
"I will not allow it!" Carmelita said forcefully.
"We can't choose their lives for them, Carmelita." Sly said gently.
Carmelita sighed. "No, we can't, but they will chose after they turn eighteen, when they're legally adults."
"Agreed." Sly nodded. "I told them to find Bentley and Murray. They will help and protect them."
"What? Why?"
"They're my brothers, Carmelita. I trust them. Besides," Sly looked Carmelita straight in the eye when he said this, "if anyone can break us out of this, it's them. Bentley broke me out of the Contessa's prison by himself, and all three of us broke you out."
"Really?" Carmelita asked, taken aback. "You did that?"
"Of course." Sly smirked. "Who else?"
Carmelita smiled weakly. "Any ideas on escape number 13?"
"The unlucky 13." Sly remarked. "No, I don't." He said reluctantly. "I'm beginning to doubt we'll ever get out of here."
"Me too." Carmelita sighed.