Chapter 19: Learning and a Valuable Discovery

A Week Later…

"Come on, Cam." Sam was balancing on a tightrope like a master. The Tennessee Kid Cooper Rail Walk was Sam's favorite technique.

Sam and Cami were in the Hazard Room, trying out various Cooper Family techniques they had read about in the Thievius Raccoonus. Sam and Cami were both quick learners, but some things came more easily to one of them than the other. Sam had master all of the rooftop running moves, like the Rail Walk and the Rail Slide from Tennessee Kid and the Spire Jump from Rioichi Cooper. Cami tended to be better at Slytunkhamen Invisibility Technique and Sally Cooper's Raccoon Roll with Kelle McCooper's modifications.

"Sammy, I don't think I can." Cami had pressed herself against the back wall. Sam was trying to get Cami to Rail Walk across the room. "It's too high."

"Just look at me, not the ground." Sam coaxed. "Come on, you won't fall."

"It doesn't help. I need a crazy amount of adrenaline to not notice the height." Cami squeezed her eyes shut. "Sorry."

"You are the first Cooper I have ever heard to have acrophobia." Penelope had come in to observe Sam and Cami's progress.

"Yeah, well, I'm not proud of it!" Cami spat. Her hands were shaking.

"Easy, Cami, I didn't mean it as an insult." Penelope said, gently.

"I know, I just, it is embarrassing." Cami sat down on the platform. Her eyes were still closed.

"Why are you acrophobic?" Penelope asked curiously.

"Maybe one day, I'll tell you. Sam, you're not allowed to tell her or anyone else here why, got it?" Cami opened her eyes long enough to give Sam a death stare.

"Fine, Cami." Cami shut her eyes again and Sam turned to Penelope. "Any luck picking up Dad's trail?"

Penelope shrugged. "Not much, but I'm making Bentley stop to sleep and eat right now. He's getting a little obsessed."

"We all are." Sam and Cami said in unison. Sam helped Cami down the platform. "Are you our trainer today?" Sam and Cami asked in unison.

Penelope looked back and forth between the twins. "The unison speaking is getting creepy, but yes, I'm your teacher for today."

The Cooper Gang, except Bentley, had all taken turns training Sam and Cami. Panda King and Murray helped Sam and Cami with a little combat practice, Dimitri had helped with a little water safety and coached the two of them in fashion, and Guru just watched them practice.

"So, what is on the schedule Penelope?" Sam asked, stretching.

"Holographic markers, reconnaissance photos and pick pocketing."

"What?" The unison speaking had returned.

Penelope laughed. "Bentley projects holographic markers of where you're supposed to go. I'm going to show you what they look like. Reconnaissance photos are some the most useful tools for a caper, and Sly used to have to pick pocket keys from guards all the time. You two should probably know how to do that."

Sam and Cami exchanged looks. "How do you intend to teach us that?"

Penelope tossed a reddish-orange binocular-like thing to Sam and an indigo binocular-like thing to Cami. "Those are binocucoms. I made them for each of you. They're a combination of a camera, binoculars, and a communicator. You receive your mission briefing through them and you can take recon photos with them."

"Cool." Unison speaking had refused to leave.

"I'll set up the Hazard Room and brief you two on how to do everything." Penelope left the Hazard Room and went to the control center.

Sam jumped up to one of the platforms and Cami hid in the shadow of it. They both pulled out the binocucoms and turned them on.

"Can you guys hear me?" Penelope asked.

"Loud and-" Sam started.

"Clear." Cami finished.

"I've modified these to work as a three-way communicators. Let's start the training." Penelope said mischievously.

Several Hours Later

Sam and Cami were now well versed in the use of binocucoms and the art of pick pocketing. They had become used to and almost comfortable with stealing from guards. Sam and Cami had modified, with Penelope's help, the two shock pistols to be similar to Tennessee Kid Cooper's pistols. They both had target practice every day and tried to improve their aim. Sam's was still better, however Cami excelled at hand-to-hand combat.

The week of being with the Cooper Gang was both the best and worst time for Sam and Cami. They were glad to be learning Cooper Family techniques, and being among people with fascinating stories about their parents, but when they were on their own they were constantly moving and that moving gave the illusion that they were moving forward. In the Cooper Gang, Bentley was at his computer crunching data sleeplessly to find Sly and Carmelita. Everyone else, except Penelope, could not help him in any way. They were all forced to wait.

"I FOUND THEM!" Bentley suddenly yelled into the quiet house.

Cami fell off the couch, Sam dropped a sandwich and plate, Murray caught Sam's sandwich, Penelope ran into the room, Panda King just managed to not accidently light his fireworks, Dimitri ripped his jacket, and Guru calmly got up and looked over Bentley's shoulder.

"What?" Everyone said in unison.

"You found Dad?" Cami asked getting herself off the floor.

"You found Mom?" Sam said, jumping over Murray who started to eat Sam's sandwich.

"Yeah, I did." Bentley had bags under his eyes and he really needed to shave. He had hardly taken a break in the week he had been searching except for the times Penelope made him, and even then he tried to work.

"How?" Murray said with a mouthful of sandwich.

"Well, I had to use a remote control spy camera and get into your house to get a look at the crime scene. I found small traces of Voo Doo magic and I found the same kind of Voo Doo magic in the police station. It was all a matter of tracing it and the people who have that ability and who has access to those people." Bentley explained. "It was simple." He bragged.

"What do you mean 'Voo Doo'? As in magic?" Sam asked, rather skeptically.

Bentley raised an eyebrow. "We've faced a crocodile lady who could use necromancy, a black widow tried to break into your mother's mind with a part-magic and part-machine device, I have made a bomb out of magic, and Penelope has been attacked by a stone dragon that came to life. Magic exists, despite what anyone have told you."

"Told you!" Cami punched Sam's arm.

"Ow! When?" Sam asked exasperated.

"When we were seven. You said magic didn't exist and I said it did and then you punched me and so REVENGE!" Cami laughed.

Sam just looked confused. "You remember that? And why are you in such a good mood?"

"Bentley just said he found Mom and Dad! How can you not be happy?" Cami hugged Sam.

"Sorry to kill your good mood, Cami, but I have bad news." Bentley wheeled over to the two of them. Cami let go of Sam and her smile disappeared.

"How bad is it?" Penelope asked, seriously. "Who are we up against?"

"I have no idea who we are up against, but I do know where we are heading: A blimp that is flying over the Arctic Circle. Pack it up gang, we're on our way North." Bentley ordered. "Sam, Cami, I have one more thing to give you guys."

He wheeled himself to the other side of the hideout. Bentley unlocked a long drawer and pulled out a cane that bore a resemblance to a question mark. He turned around and held it out.

"This is the last Cooper family heirloom we have. It is the Cooper Cane. I have modified it so that it cane split into two smaller canes. Sly used it to climb vertical sheets of ice in Canada, but I think it could work dividing it between the two of you."

Bentley separated the cane into two mini canes and tossed one to Sam and one to Cami. Cami and Sam looked at each other and pulled out the modified shock pistols. They smiled and Cami tossed her shock pistol to Sam and Sam tossed his mini cane to Cami.

"Are you sure?" Murray asked perplexed.

"Yeah." They answered.

Sam strapped the other holster to his side and pulled out his dual shock pistols. Cami hung one mini cane on each hip. Now they were ready.