Darn it all Razor! You're good. I curtsey to your remarkable talent.

Big thanks again to all my wonderful reviewers for giving me real encouragement. I love you all even though none of us have ever actually met. :)

Let's see if the rest of you guessed right on who the mysterious visitor is…

Chapter 16 Where Have You Been?

At first the friends were frightened by the loud knock at the door of their hideout. No one was supposed to know about the Cooper Gang's current whereabouts.

But then they recognized the voice behind the pounding of the Safe House entrance.

"Open up, Racoonus Doodus and bros!"

Sly smiled and opened the door to see none other than his intriguingly-dressed iguana friend. He hadn't changed one bit.

The reptile grinned, a friendly gleam playing in his eyes. "Hey there Cracker-box," he greeted Sly.

"What's up Dimitri? It's been a while." Sly replied, opening the door further. "Come on in."

The slouching iguana strolled into the house and was greeted by the other members.

"Hey there Dimitri!" Bentley said, waving.

"Good to see ya!" Murray added amiably.

"Hi," Penelope waved, but not as enthusiastically.

Dimitri acknowledged each of them with a nod. "Turtle bro, main man Murray, pretty mousy." He smiled and winked at her.

"Ugh." She rolled her eyes, pressing two fingers against the bridge of her nose. "Not this again," she said quietly to herself.

Sly crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. "So, Dimitri, I'm guessing Bentley tipped you off about the location of our new Safe House?"

Bentley spoke up. "Yes, we were communicating via webcam, and he said he was coming back to Paris since he had completed his excursions after taking a break from skin-diving. And I told him we wouldn't be there since we'd be in Sicily."

Sly nodded. "Cool. So where all did you go during your travels Dimitri?"

The iguana slicked his hair back. "I went to places all over and under the map, bro," he said, making a meandering gesture with one hand. "I saw solid mountains, crazy jungles, then I come here and see sweet blue waters and palm trees. And beautiful ladies that were all over me man! And I bought new suit. You like?" He spun to show his friends the apparel with the oversized popped collar and outrageous colors splattered about on the material, which made it look as if an eighties music video had vomited all over it.

Sly grinned a cheeky grin. "Your suit still sucks, Dimitri."

The others all burst into laughter.

Dimitri ignored the comment he knew he wouldn't be able to make a greasy sweet comeback to, and instead sauntered into the living room. "Hmm," he said as he looked around. "Well Cracker-box, only one I see missing is pretty cop lady. Did she chase you here across the ocean?"

"About that…" Sly began.

Just then, Carmelita, who had left to change into a more comfortable ensemble consisting of sweatpants and a T-shirt, entered from her bedroom. "Did I hear someone kno-"

At that moment, Carmelita and Dimitri noticed each other.

Dimitri immediately pointed at her and screeched in horror. "Gah! Pretty cop lady! What happened to you? Your smokin' hot body is all out of whack and junk!"

Sly's lips became a thin line, his ears flattening against his head as he waited for Carmelita's temper to flare violently again at Dimitri's incredibly blunt question.

She surprised him once again by giggling. "Nice to see you too, Dimitri," she said. "And I'm not a cop anymore, just so you know."

"No?" he asked in shock.

With a smile, she shook her head. "Nope, I'm a thief now too." She held her right hand up. "Swear."

He put a hand to his chin, the superfluous jewelry shining on his long scaly fingers. "Solid," he finally said, "but that still does not explain the round body shape."

She chuckled and jerked a thumb in Sly's direction. "Your raccoon friend knocked me up."

Dimitri turned to Sly with a mystified and slightly disturbed look about his features, having never heard the expression before. "What is this about knocking on your woman? You hitting her? So very uncool man!"

Sly laughed and shook his head, waving his hands back and forth. "No, no Dimitri. She means she has a baby on the way." He placed a hand on his own chest. "My baby to be exact."

Dimitri then threw an arm around his comrade. "Oh! My congrats, bro," Dimitri said to him. He then high-fived the proud raccoon.

"Aw thanks," Sly said, displaying his characteristically smug grin.

Carmelita relaxed back onto the couch, ignoring their implication of her being impregnated as some fulfillment of masculine pride. "Hey didn't you guys have two other members in your gang?" she asked.

"Yea, the guru and the Panda King," Murray answered.

"Yeah," said the vixen thoughtfully. "Whatever happened to them?"

"The Panda King is back in China," Bentley answered. "Which is fine with me! I never could completely trust him, even if he is technically a member." He shook his head. "Pyro-maniac. Maniac without a doubt."

Murray shot the turtle a disapproving glance, clearly in disagreement to Bentley's words. "And last we heard, the guru went to New York to escape unwanted publicity from his new dream time students," said the hippo.

Bentley began to pull up some files on his computer. "After some difficulty, I've been able to contact the guru from his hideout in New York. He says he can't come to Taormina to meet up with us because he's still laying low for a while. But he gives everyone his regards. And he gives Sly and Carmelita his felicitations on the newest future addition to the gang."

"Aww," Carmelita assented with a smile.

Just then, Sly leaped over the top of the couch, landing next to her. She jumped in fright and screamed out as her heart raced.

"Ringtail!" she growled.

He slid onto his stomach, resting his hands on either side of his face, grinning. "Yeeeess dear?" he asked innocently.

"Can't you sit on the couch in a normal way?" she asked. "Like everyone else?"

"Mmm, no," he replied with a shrug. "I like to be different. Just look at my lifestyle choice."

She huffed with a smile. She then began to run her hand through his tousled head fur, and he arched his back in delight.

"So," Dimitri said, "Turtle dude, Bentley, told me you dudes are planning some smoove thieving, yes?"

"Yep," Sly said. "In a couple weeks, we're gonna shut down Alfonso De Luca's illegal casino operations and ransack his beach house."

Dimitri sat down in a recliner, crossing his spindly legs and clasping his hands together. "I'm down home slice. What do I do?"

"Well," said Sly, his eyes partially closed. He was beginning to fall asleep as Carmelita ran her fingers through the fur on his head. The only other sound to come out of his smiling mouth was, "Mmmmmm…"

He never finished so Bentley answered for him. "Alfonso's ostentatious place of residence is located on its own small island that's uncharted on a map, and the nearby waters are filled with guard sharks and killer whales, so your underwater skills with aid us immensely. And we could use a more efficient form of travel than our feet. Or in my case, my wheelchair. How'd you get here?"

"My stylin' British sports car," Dimitri answered pompously.

Sly grimaced, but his eyes remained shut. "The ugly one that's purple and puke green?"

"Hey!" Dimitri said in an offended tone. "It's nice car! You just can't appreciate good quality of my sweet ride."

"Mmm…you might be right," Sly mumbled, almost totally under the control of the vixen seductress who was scratching the back of his ears.

"It's a perfectly adequate form of transportation, Dimitri," Bentley said. "It'll make a superb getaway car, given the acceleration power it can create."

"Must be so fun to drive!" Murray said aloud.

Dimitri shrugged with a smile, flashing a gold tooth. "Yea, it's pretty rad, main man Murray. You can take it out for a spin one day."

"That would be so awesome!" the hippo exclaimed animatedly. Despite his enthusiasm, Murray could feel his eyelids getting heavy on his weary eyes.

Bentley looked over to the couple on the couch. They were both on the verge of snoring. And Penelope and Murray looked equally tired as they rested their elbows on the table.

"We still have some arrangements to take care of, but we should be able to carry it out in a couple weeks or so. Right now though I think it's about time we all got some rest. We've had a long day."

"Hmm," Dmitri said, glancing to the members who were nodding off. "And where do I sleep?" he leaned over to Penelope with a grin. "Can I bunk with smart and pretty mouse?"

Penelope crossed her arms and stared at the egotistical reptile. "Don't even think about it, lizard boy. There are plenty of rooms. You can have your own."

Carmelita awoke the next morning on a fluffy queen sized bed. Her eyebrows knitted together in puzzlement. Weird, she thought. I could've sworn I fell asleep on the couch…

The rays of sunlight shone through the window, decorating the room with a radiant morning glow.

She arched her back and stretched. That's when the vixen finally noticed the pair of gray arms wrapped around her rib cage, hugging her from the side. She figured he must've carried her to bed.

She moved slightly and the coon stirred. His eyelids fluttered open and he looked at his beauty with a drowsy smile. "Good morning," he said with a yawn.

She struggled to shift her weight as she turned over on her side to face him. She sleepily propped her head up with one arm. "It's always a good morning when I get to wake up next to you," she murmured back.

He smiled and put his forehead to hers. "My sentiments exactly, Carmelita Cooper."

She scoffed lightly. "You get a real kick outta calling me that, don't you?"

He closed his eyes as he rested his head on her shoulder. "Yes I do. I feel like I pulled off the ultimate theft job."

"No, I did that," she corrected him. "I stole your name."

He took her hands and began to trace circles on them. "You're right…" he said thoughtfully with a smile. "I guess we can consider that your very first robbery."

She smirked but said nothing.

They lay in silence for a few minutes, the only sounds to be heard were the roaring waves on the beach outside and the sparse caws of seagulls.

Sly began to gently play with a strand of her cobalt hair. His thoughts were troubling him once again, and Carmelita could easily pick up on it.

"What's wrong hon?" she asked him.

He bit his lip, continuing to twirl the lock in his fingers as a wave of anxiety surged through him. He finally spoke up. "Carm…we need to talk."

"Oh?" she asked, listening attentively. "What about?"

He swallowed hard. "Well…about what happened like eight or nine months ago."

She gave him a confused look and her ears twitched. "Uh…you wanna talk about our crazy sex night?"

He snickered lightly. "No, not that." Then his expression melted back into a somber one. "I meant…the whole night…you know…when you caught me."

"Oh…" she said quietly, her expression turning serious.

He looked at her uneasily. "I just…thought we should talk about it?"

She stared off into space before nodding. She pushed the frizzy hair out of her face. "Well…alright. Um…where did you wanna start?"

"Had you just found out about the baby?"

She was silent for a moment. "Yes," she finally said, looking down. "The week before, I'd gone to the doctor. I was waiting for the right moment. I was going to tell you that night when I got off work, and make it really special…"

Did he ever feel like a heartless jerk after hearing that. "Carm, I'm so sorry…" He took a deep exhale before continuing. "I'm sorry that I went behind your back and started stealing again. That night was the first night since I'd…faked amnesia that I had stolen at all though. And…I never meant to hurt you like that. Especially when you'd just found out you were having our kit. I…" His voice was strained, as it was a difficult matter to bring up. They had both sort of chosen to pretend like it had never happened, but Sly knew they couldn't do that forever. The guilt was constricting him, feeling somewhat similar to being in the painful clutches of the monster on Kaine Island.

She put a hand to his face compassionately. "Sly…it's ok," she assured him. "The whole thing was partly my fault. I mean, I took advantage of the whole supposed memory loss situation, sure. At times I really felt like I was kidding myself. But I just wanted to be with you so badly. Still, when you worked with me, I could tell your heart wasn't in it. You hated being an officer-"

"But don't you dare think I hated it because of you," he cut her off. "You're the whole reason I did it Carm. I just want you to know that. Because I wanted to be with you just as badly."

"I do know that," she said, taking his hands. "It broke my heart to see you turn your back on your family lineage just to be with me. It was amazing, and so admirable, but I could see what it was doing to you. It was tearing you apart. You're a thief, not a Constable."

His brown eyes burned into hers, just like they did on that awful night eight months ago. "That may be, but…the point is you caught me. On a heist. While I was supposed to be working for Interpol. I just feel like I betrayed you in the worst way. And I apologize from the bottom of my heart." He spoke with grave sincerity and stared up at her with a melancholy look in his eyes. "Can you ever forgive me?"

She smiled gently and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Already done, babe. A long time ago. We're way past all that."

He smiled back faintly, finally breaking free of the grasp of guilt. "It's still hard for me to believe," he stared at her, slowly shaking his head in disbelief. "You put down your badge and pistol, just like that, and haven't looked back once."

"That's because I'm strong enough to handle altering my life drastically," she quipped.

He smirked and ran a hand through her divine blue locks. He couldn't argue there. "You've changed so much Carm. I mean, you don't view my way of life as wrong anymore. You've given up being an Inspector to run around with a bunch of crooks, the kind of people you've hated your whole life. Just to be with me."

She chuckled. "Not just you." She took his hands once more and placed them on her round stomach. "I would do anything for my own family," she whispered.

He shocked the expectant fox by pinning her against the mattress with his strong arms, being mindful of her belly, and mashed his lips against hers. When he released her, he looked down at her and said, "I love you, Carmelita Montoya Cooper. In a way I can't begin to describe."

She gave him a playful grin as she lay beneath him on the sheets. "God I hope so Ringtail! You've put me through enough lately that I'd be pretty suspicious if you didn't!"

A grin appeared on his muzzle, his eyes bright and jovial once more, and his bushy tail whipped around cheerfully. "You're supposed to say it back."

She rolled her eyes but giggled. She placed a fingertip on his nose. "I love you, Sly Cooper. More than you'll ever know. And I hope all my life decisions have helped you see that. You've been a wonderful husband this past week. The best husband ever in fact."

He ran his nose along her forehead and looked down at her. "I promise to be the best dad ever too," he said, leaning down to place a warm kiss on the top of her tummy.

"I know you will be, mi amore" she murmured as he crawled back up to cuddle her.

Suddenly an obnoxious knocking came at their bedroom door.

"Hey Cracker-box!" Dimitri called. "Man, you coming to breakfast or you and cop lady turned thief too busy foolin' around in the blankets?"

The couple laughed.

"Be right there, Dimitri," Sly replied before looking back to his wife. "Boy have I missed having our most courteous houseguest around."

Within the next two weeks, a lot was taken care of. Bentley and Penelope had made some crucial findings regarding development for the time machine. There were just missing a major component: a power source. It was going to take an inordinate amount of power to run the time machine's gyrostrensic capacitor. Where they were going to find something with enough raw energy to activate it, the gang had no idea.

Sly and Murray had been visiting the casino to check the area out and help the gang study up on the security system at De Luca's beach house.

And Dimitri spent his time enjoying the female population of wonderful Taormina and spent lots of time lounging on the beach. When the time came, he would be helpful and contribute though. He had brought the getaway car after all.

When Sly wasn't out getting a feel for the casino or beach house and assessing all the paths he could take to break in, he spent his time with Carmelita.

Shocker.

One day the couple decided to venture out in the city and do a bit of shopping, after a little pickpocketing session of course. From a table of an outdoor section of a restaurant, protected by the shade of a large decorative umbrella Carmelita watched on in amazement as the stealthy raccoon pickpocketed a few rich elitists around town for a little extra cash. Which was fair; the stingy locals had plenty to spare. The fox giggled softly as she secretly observed the master thief creep up quietly behind them and surreptitiously swipe coins straight out of their back pockets with the hooked end of his handy cane, while the Italian snobs walked on, totally oblivious.

When he was satisfied, he returned to the table where Carmelita sat. She softly clapped her hands and smiled. "Bravo. That was quite fun to watch," she said, sounding impressed.

He bowed dramatically and sat down beside her. With a smug look, he slid the gold coins into the pouch around his leg and then reached for her hands. He subtly gestured with his head to the crowd of unaware elitists. "Wanna give it a try?" he asked.

Her eyebrows raised in shock. "Me?" She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Pickpocketing?"

His slightly disheveled head fur blew in the breeze as he shrugged, the charismatic smile never leaving his features. "Sure. It's pretty fun."

"Yea, if you're good at it," she said with a laugh.

He twirled his cane using one hand. "It takes practice, my love. You have to start small."

She shrugged, unsure. She was still getting used to being a thief. It felt so funny now. Living life after making a complete 180. All for the guy she loved. And their kit of course. It's crazy what lengths a girl truly will go to when her own little family is in the balance. Her mind wandered to memories of being an Inspector at Interpol. Back then she never had to worry about being a sneak. Now, it was a totally different story. Like Sly had once told her, it had to become a way of life for her. And it would be. She just had to…start small, like he advised.

Sly noticed the contemplative vixen eyeing his cane and he grinned. "You know," he said as he gripped the heirloom in one gloved hand, "this thing has been in my family for generations, but I suppose you'll need your own weapon as well."

She looked at him, her eyes bright. "Think I could have my very own cane? Or something close?"

He smiled at her with that ever-present adoring look in his deep brown eyes. "Carm, that sounds pretty perfect to me."

She leaned back in the wooden chair and placed a hand under her chin, resting her elbow on the armrest. "Sly and Carmelita Cooper. The incredible master thief and his foxy sidekick. And his notorious gang of robbers. Has a nice ring to it."

He chuckled softly before tossing the cane up in the air and catching it. "Indeed it does. A beautiful ring. And we can't forget about Sly Junior."

Carmelita burst into a giggle fit. "Ok. If it does happen to be a boy we are not calling him Sly Junior. No way."

He comically poked his lower lip out. "Aww c'mon."

She shook her head, smiling. "Nuh-uh. No dice, Ringtail."

He leaned in and scrunched his nose in disapproval. "Like you wouldn't wanna name it Carmella or Carmen if it was a girl."

Another small giggle escaped her lips. "Absolutely not. That actually sounds almost conceited to me."

"But you are conceited," he replied lightheartedly.

A smirk appeared on her crimson lips. "If I am at all, I learned it from you, my dear husband."

He sucked his teeth and put a hand over his heart. "Ouch. Got me there, my darling wife."

She winked at him before leaning in to kiss him. "We probably should start thinking of names soon, though."

"I've got a few in mind," he said as he stood up.

"Really?" she asked. "You plan on consulting me about those names you have in mind?"

He pursed his lips before that mischievous grin returned. "Maybe…I just might tell you a few of them, after we take our well-deserved shopping spree."

She snorted as he helped her up and put an arm around her. "Oh sure," she said. "You worked really hard for those coins."

"You bet I did," he quipped. "It takes talent and skill to pickpocket like that."

"I'll bet," Carmelita said sarcastically. "You must be worn slam out. My poor hubby!"

He put a hand against his forehead melodramatically. "I'll manage," he sighed as they headed down the sidewalk to an upscale clothing store.

Since they weren't sure how long they would be in Italy, what with that vicious beast was out plundering for them, they had begun to prepare a temporary nursery in the new Safe House. It was very simple, but they'd fix it up more when they found out the gender. Sly wanted to know so badly, and Carmelita did as well, but she wanted to be surprised when it was born. She knew she was old-fashioned but she didn't care. It was what she wanted.

So they bought a few things that either a girl or boy would love to have. Namely, a little teddy bear that they put in the small crib. And Carmelita did a little clothing shopping herself with that hard-earned money of Sly's.

With Bentley and Penelope working on the time machine, and Sly and Carmelita making preparations for their bundle of joy, eventually Murray began to feel like a fifth wheel. He grew quite tired of seeing the two couples in the house spending so much time together and being so affectionate with each other. He would never admit it, but some days he found himself, well, a tad jealous. Granted, they weren't obnoxious about it; they kept to themselves. And of course Dimitri was there. Sometimes Murray couldn't quite piece together everything the guy was saying, but he was fun to converse with.

Nonetheless, Murray felt left out. So one day he decided to go out for a walk in the beautiful and historical city of Taormina. Not to sightsee, but to clear his head.

He sighed as he kicked a rock down the sidewalk, looking up at all the tropical buildings that seemed to be stacked upon each other like Lego pieces. He listened to the festive music of a guitar, played by a jolly bull. Energetic tourists ran about, laughing and snapping pictures of landmarks, or posing for the photos themselves.

The hippo was lost in his troubling thoughts once again as he looked around at all the vibrant colors and smelled the exotic foods.

Once it was just the three of them, a tight trio of best friends. And now it was all in different sections, so to speak. Not to say he didn't enjoy the company of the females in the gang. Penelope was always sweet, and Carmelita was a delight when her hormones weren't dominating her volatile emotions.

Murray would always be there for his buds, for the whole gang, no matter what. Through thick and thin.

But he just couldn't help but feel-

"Murray?"

At that moment, he was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard the familiar voice calling his name. He looked in the direction of the gentle, timid voice.

He stared wide-eyed at who he saw. "Tabby?"

The warthog girl smiled and waved. Two other warthogs were accompanying her. They were on the other side of the street. An older female warthog was snapping pictures, and Murray guessed that was her mother.

He glanced from side to side to make sure no cars were coming, and ran over to greet her.

"What are you doing here?" they asked in unison. Then they awkwardly started to answer and stopped when they realized the other was trying to reply.

Tabby smiled nervously, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her pointy left ear. She was certainly a voluptuous warthog. Not big necessarily, but not curvy either. Somewhere in between the two.

But that's actually what caught Murray's eye in the first place.

"So I guess you're vacationing in Taormina too, huh?" she asked, still looking pleasantly surprised.

Murray rubbed a hand over his neck. "Uh, yea I guess you could say that."

"Tabitha," the older female warthog called. "Who's that? He a friend of yours?"

"Yes ma'am," Tabby said politely. Even though she seemed she could be in her early 20s, she was still well-mannered. Tabby gestured to Murray. "This is Murray. He was a part of that team I was telling you about. The ones that saved us during the stickup on the train."

"Oh, so that's the guy?" called a rough voice. A warthog that nearly matched Murray in stature approached the three. "Well, thank you son." He rested his hands on Tabby's shoulders. "That was incredibly brave and really took guts. Standing up to dangerous thieves. We're very grateful to you for looking out for our Tabby."

"Oh, it was no problem sir," said Murray. He was not about to point out that he himself was a thief. He cleared his throat, and tried to act presentable. "We had to do something. Um, I'm assuming that these are your parents, Tabby?"

She put her arms around them. "Adoptive parents actually. They live here in Taormina, and I go to college back in the states, which is why they weren't traveling with me. I'm an orphan. But as far as I'm concerned, they're just as wonderful as real parents."

They hugged her lovingly.

Murray's eyebrows shot up. "You're an orphan? No way!" He placed his hands on his chest in a self-gesturing manner. "Me too!"

"Really?" Tabby exclaimed. She placed her hands behind her back shyly as her eyes lit up. "Wow," she said. "Guess we have something in common." She smiled warmly.

Murray smiled back.

Tabby's adoptive father glanced at the relic of a watch on his wrist. "Well, we really need to be on our way. Rodriquez is expecting us for lunch soon."

Tabby clasped her hands together. "Yes sir. It was really nice seeing you again Murray."

"You too," he managed to say. The way the sunlight hit her wispy brown hair, the way the wind blew her light tawny fur, made Murray feel slightly mesmerized.

"Well, bye," she said after another awkward moment, turning to catch up with her parents.

Maybe she was more than just cute and sweet. She was pretty. Really pretty.

And she was leaving!

"Wait," Murray called, holding a hand up.

She stopped and turned toward him once more. "Yes?"

Come on Murray! The hippo said to himself. It's now or never!

"Uh, do you think, maybe, you'd like to, uh, go get lunch, ya know, while we're both here?"

She grinned. "That sounds perfect. Wanna say the Pizzeria Porta Messina on Thursday, around noon?"

"That sounds awesome! I love pizza!"

She giggled, pushing her brunette bangs away from her face in a flirtatious manner. "Me too! Well I'll see ya then, Murray." And with that, she turned and sprinted down the sidewalk to catch up to the other warthogs.

"Bye Tabby," he waved, even though her back was now to him.

Murray couldn't really put a word to what he was feeling at the moment, but whatever he was feeling, he liked it! And he was really looking forward to having lunch with her.

Come later that month, the gang was finally ready. Everything was in place. It was time to steal back from the daunting coyote, along with taking down his Alaskan malamute and pinscher thugs, and put an end to his criminal operations permanently!

As the gang loaded up in Dimitri's hideous but surprisingly spacious sports car late one night, they all went over their plans once more.

With Dmitri driving and Sly in the passenger seat, the rest of the team huddled together in the back.

"Ok," Bentley said as he began to set up equipment he would use to look and listen out with during the heist. "Let's go over everything one more time, just so you all are clear on your objectives."

Carmelita didn't comment on that.

"Now Sly," Bentley continued, "you got those sleep darts and smoke bombs I gave you, right?"

Sly reached into his red pouch and pulled out a bomb, tossing it in the air and catching it in his palm. "Right here, pal."

"H-hey, careful with those!" Bentley scolded, his voice making a slight stutter brought on by his anxiety that tended to flare at times like this. "I-it could knock us all out for who knows how long!" He adjusted his glasses and turned to Murray. "Murray, you're clear on what you have to do?"

Murray nodded. "Yep. Go where you tell me to, stay outta sight, and if anyone spots me, I body slam 'em!"

The turtle started hooking up wires and devices to different ports on the intricate electronic pieces and tested them out. "Precisely. Now, Penelope is going to accompany you and help you disable the high-tech security points around the casino, if you get into a bind."

Murray and Penelope high-fived. "We got this," said Penelope.

"Dimitri," Bentley continued, "you're going to create a distraction on the dance floor so Sly can make his way to the heavily guarded back rooms of the casino, where De Luca keeps his stash, and where he runs his secretly criminal empire."

The iguana at the wheel flipped a thumb up to Bentley. "No sweat, home slice."

"And Carmelita…" He looked over to the vixen sitting next to him, who had her arms crossed and was looking quite disappointed.

"I know I know," she mumbled. "Unless something goes wrong, I have to stay here to 'assist' you."

"Right."

Sly turned to smile at her. "C'mon Carm, it'll be fun. You get to watch everything unfold, like some kind of epic theft film! And here at mission control, you get to see how all of Bentley's cool spy equipment works."

Carmelita stared through the window at the dark black sky. She watched the raindrops splat and dribble against the glass, looked up at the thick angry rainclouds. Lightning flashed from above, lighting up the dismal skies of Taormina for a split second. "Yeah…fun."

He turned his view back to vivid night life ahead. As he stared out the windshield, he couldn't help but feel bad about going back on their deal, and he hated seeing her disappointed, especially since this would technically be her very first heist and she didn't get to do anything but watch.

But at this point, he cared too much to consider the possibility of risking not one life, but two. There was just too much at stake. When Carmelita's body returned to normal and she had more time to train and perfect her skills, then she could assist the gang in a way she much more preferred. Until then she would have to stay put and stay out of trouble.

Dimitri finally pulled the getaway car into a parking spot of a nearby restaurant. The four each flung their doors open, jumping out quickly. They made sure to sync all their communication transmitters up. Sly gripped his cane in one hand and adjusted his hat with the other. A rush of excitement surged through him like an electric current as he and the other members stared up at the gargantuan grand casino ahead.

The four put their hands together and lifted them to the sky.

"Let's get to it gang!" Sly said.

And with that, everyone darted to their specific job locations.

As Bentley began typing away on his keyboard, hacking into the casino's security system, Carmelita stared out the window and watched the four disperse.

"Be careful, you guys," she whispered.

Oh. Man. I had so much fun coming up with Dimitri's dialogue. Not sure if I got it perfectly, but even if it isn't right on, it's still pretty funny.

I should've just named this chapter: Fluff, Fluff, and more fluff. So, next chapter we cut the flirty chit-chat and get down to business. We actually see the gang go on this heist instead of talking about it. Say whaaaat!

A little danger, a little action, a little ledge sneaking, a little chase scene…

You picking up on what I'm throwin down? Peace out!