(A/N: Alright, due to inspiration, and loss of my Xbox 360, plus my dedication to finishing this great saga, I have revived this fic once more!)

Sly Cooper: Armed and Dangerous

The Rio Panuco

2:07 am

Day 3 on the Rio Panuco

Dawn. Or, at least, what could be seen of it through the early morning mists. The Orca slid silently through the water, engines on low power, the sound choked by the mist. On deck, a light tried to poke through the gloom, but could barely be seen by its owner. Dimitri was smoking once again, leaning against the rail, MP5 slung across his back. He was standing watch, ready to alert the ship should anything try and attack them. Ever since the helicopter, Marty had become more vigilant in keeping the ship secure. Every two hours or so, a new person would stand watch with nearly all the heavy weaponry possible on deck. Marty had made sure to teach everything he knew about the Minimis and the RPG to everyone aboard.

Now, however, the river was still, the only sound being the water lapping at the sides of the ship. Dimitri glanced down at his cigarette, contemplating its length, before deciding on taking another puff and simply throwing it over the railing, into the water. It hit the surface and instantly went out, the end giving one last defiant puff.

Something caught Dimitri's ears, and his head came up slowly, viewing the misty skies, trying with his entire ability to place the familiar chopping noise drifting through to him.

And then, suddenly, it clicked.

"You're sure they were helicopters?" Marty questioned as he scanned the skies. Dimitri was at his shoulder, pointing in the direction he'd heard the sound from, remarking "Yo, bro, if'n dem wasn't choppers, ye can go 'head an' pop a move in my noggin, peace?"

Marty turned and frowned at the lizard, briefly, before saying "Dude, why can't you speak regular English? Never mind, look, stay alert up here. Grab an RPG and-"

Marty never finished his statement, however, as a break in the mist revealed a shadowy clump of large shapes barreling down the river overhead, spotlights raking the water.

"Get down!" he snarled, falling to the deck with Dimitri on his heels. The shapes flashed overhead, and for a moment, against all odds, Marty thought the wideness of the river would save them. But then fate defied him, and a single searchlight went straight over the Orca, lighting her up like a flare. It lingered for a second, then slipped off as the pack of helicopters pulled away, heading to the north.

Marty stood, frowning, before asking Dimitri "You wouldn't have also caught the symbol on the bottom of that chopper, would you?"

The iguana's face was stuck in a grimace as he replied "Yah, bro…Interpol."

The Boneyard Casino, Mexico City

2:56 am

Before the four even had time to turn around, more soldiers filed into the casino, these ones in green and packing more conventional weapons, such as AKs and Uzis. A third wave followed, consisting of Muggshot's crew in black as well, armed to the teeth with pistols and shotguns. Within seconds, the entire casino had been filled with an army that had, for lack of a better phrase, come out of nowhere. Without any other choice, the group was forced to fall back, firing blind shots back at the wave of gangsters and thugs coming at them as they were pressed towards the windows. The Boneyard's main casino sat at the edge of a ravine, which ran around half the city, and the windows that the four were currently rushing for dropped out into it. It would, or course, provide the most opportunistic escape in the history of the Cooper Gang. The thugs would think them splattered on the ground below, and they could simply slip back up to Muggshot.

They kept at it, firing a few rounds, then backing up some through the Boneyard, behind slot machines, bars and columns. Sly was relying on the fact that these new soldiers would probably not try to flank them, would try to concentrate all their firepower from a single direction to drive them out that window.

Sly let of a burst of bullets from his Uzi before yelling at Mikhail "Who the hell are these guys? The ones in green?"

Mikhail let off a few rounds before yelling back "They're from Katurskay's gang, ex-Soviet men. Looks like we have a three way alliance going around the world."

Mikhail was interrupted by a bullet chipping off a piece of plaster from the column he was behind, and the panther dropped to the floor, spitting lead back from his pistols towards the soldiers. Julio quickly moved over and joined him, tossing his sombrero into the air to block his movements. While the AKs and Uzis tore up the hat, Julio ducked low, avoiding the bullets that chewed a path after him. It was too late for the soldiers to correct their aim, however, and Julio made it to the column alongside Mikhail, letting off burst after burst from his AK. A blast and a crash behind them told that Murray had blown out the back window to make way for their escape with his Spas before turning back to rejoin the firefight. By now, the soldiers realized what their plan was, and desperately began charging the group in a suicide attempt to stop them, only to be met by wall after wall of lead. The gangsters in black, their loyalties only fed by money, quickly decided they would be better off running, and deserted the soldiers in green. A Russian Grizzly bear swiftly ducked behind a toppled blackjack table, raising his M1014 shotgun over the edge and emptying the ten round magazine in seconds with the semi-automatic weapon, plastering the gang's hiding place with lead pellets.

Julio went down with a ripped shoulder, yelling "Dammit! I'm clipped!" Swiftly, Mikhail gripped the boy under the shoulder, hefting him up to his feet while providing cover fire in two different directions until his pistols clicked empty. Ducking behind a bar, Mikhail handed a third pistol to Julio, reloading the ones he already had, and the two of them laid down fire into the Russians. Sly and Murray quickly joined them, forcing the Russians into a narrow corridor between the columns and wreckage, making them easy targets from that direction. However, ex-military that they were, they quickly flanked around from the left and right, forcing the group to spread their fire to all directions. Quickly, the Russians began gaining ground once more, moving up to the wreckage that the gang had been using only moments before. Whereas before, when fighting across the open space of the main casino floor through the splintered wreck of the blackjack tables, these hallways, packed with slot machines and video poker stands, gave them more cover, and they began to put their training to good use. A round tore through Murray's ear from an AK, and the hippo roared in frustration, blasting the Russian Roe Deer who had fired the guilty shot in the chest.

"We can't keep going like this! Through the window!" yelled Sly, releasing an ill-aimed burst from his Uzis before leaping for the large, shattered window, only to come up short, gawking in panic. The others turned, staring, their own jaws dropping as they gazed at the flying machines that were suddenly casting their spotlights down at them.

"Aw…you gotta be kidding me!" yelled Sly as he quickly dashed to the side, managing to clear the space before the six Huey helicopters opened up with their M197s ripping through the casino without mercy.

Muggshot's men didn't even aim, simply fired for all they were worth, shredding large caliber, high-velocity rounds through anything in sight. The Russians happened to fall in that list, and were cut down in droves. The gang barely managed to move out of the way, cutting through the Russians who were emerging down a side hallway, luckily managing to find a flight of stairs to escape up on. The Hueys didn't even spot them, so focused were they on shredding the hallways. As the gang dashed through the upper hallways, dragging Julio with them, they heard the gunfire change direction, and Sly pulled the group off into a side hallway, up onto the casino's second floor. This floor made a doughnut ring over the one below, and was lined with only slot machines around the edge. Several other hallways branched off, but Sly was looking for an elevator, which he spotted on the other side of the doughnut.

Judging by the green light, it was still in operation.

"C'mon, let's go," he muttered, scanning the area with his Uzis.

So far, this level was clear, but that could change at any second. However, after seeing no movement, Sly tipped his head forward, and the group moved in, weapons at the ready. However, when they were halfway to the elevator, the roar below of the helicopters, which had died down to a hum, suddenly kicked back up.

Sly peered over the railing, only to pull back, yelling "Holy shit! Hit the floor!"

One of the helicopters had coasted through the shattered window, hovering in the main casino level before coming up to their floor, rotating to face them. Though it was painted black, it wasn't one of Muggshot's Hueys. Instead, they were facing a Taloreso mercenary piloted McDonnell-Douglas attack helicopter, loaded with .50 caliber machine guns and rocket launchers.

Sly pulled his head up, sticking his middle finger up at the attack chopper and yelling "What the hell is this, a freakin' video game?"

His rhetorical question unanswered, Sly dashed towards the elevator, blasting away at the helicopter as it opened up with the .50's, chewing up a path of large bullet holes behind him. However, the pilot had forgotten about the others, and swiftly had to turn around and deal with the other three, who had already split up and started moving around.

"Sly! Get to the elevator! We'll hold this guy off! Get to Muggshot while his men are all coming down here!" yelled Murray, who unloaded a 12-gauge round into the helicopter's bubble windshield. The pilot responded by launching an ill-aimed rocket at the hippo, sending it soaring over his head and into the wall. Sly hesitated by the elevator, yelling "Are you sure?" over the gunfire. "Dude, just go! We got your back here! We'll slip out and get a car secured! Go!" yelled Julio as he emptied his magazine of 9mm rounds into the helicopter. Drawn between four targets, and now having a bullet ridden windshield, the pilot didn't know who to target or where anything was. Instead, he settled for a new method, and rotated on the spot, blind firing everything. Sly ducked as .50 caliber rounds punched the air above him. Fortunately, that was all he had, as he'd already fired all of his rockets.

As the other three emptied rounds into the sitting duck, Sly finally yelled "Pull back if he's too much for you!" and slammed the button on the elevator door.

The Rio Panuco

3:14 am

Day 3 on the Rio Panuco

The watches had changed, and now Marty stood at the bow of the Orca, Minimi in hand, pondering on the Interpol choppers from earlier. They were headed north, undoubtedly towards Mexico City. His knowledge of vehicles wasn't as good as his knowledge of firearms, but he had been able to identify the chopper that had flown over as a Sea King, which were strictly transport and rescue helicopters. Obviously, Interpol was moving a lot of men and guns north. Had Sly done something to get their attention? The local police hadn't been spotted since the shootout at the docks, so maybe they'd called in for some heavier firepower from their mother organization. As Marty continued to watch the river, his mind began to wander again. It had been constantly like this ever since his revelation. He longed to find Caroline again, one of the few chinks in his iron hard mentality, find her and discover more about her.

Quickly, he snapped his head back around, trying to stay focused on the edges of the river. He could not afford any distractions right now.

The Boneyard Casino, Mexico City

3:24 am

On the High Security Floor

Sly ran his fingers over another body on the ground, coming across yet another clip of ammunition. Tucking it into his rapidly filling jacket pockets, he stood and examined the security station he'd just blasted through. Since Muggshot had sent nearly all of his men to the helicopters, this normally packed floor had been manned by only five men, and a few bursts of 9mm Uzi fire had done the job of clearing the area almost immediately. However, a quick examination of the area had yielded many gifts, such as several 92FS pistols, an M3 shotgun and an AK47, plus ammunition for the whole lot.

Now a walking armory, Sly glanced over at the large elevator that went all the way to the penthouse. Somewhere behind it, Muggshot was hiding. He would finally be able to able to gain vengeance for his parents' deaths. For a second, he hesitated, wondering if, perhaps, killing Muggshot really wasn't the way to go. Surely he could find a much more non-lethal way to punish Muggshot…again.

Quickly, Sly scrapped that idea.

With a flick of the wrist, he punched the elevator button, a look of complete malice on his face.

(Check out the dramatic final showdown in the next chapter, coming right up!)