I have received some incredible advice from a fellow author and it encouraged me to keep going after I was losing hope in my abilities to keep you guys interested in this thing. Thank you so much Deags for all your guidance.

I've been altering earlier chapters, mainly fixing errors. (I cringe at the way I used to write a couple of months ago). But I also added some dialogue in the earlier chapters. Gives you a reason to read it again if you feel up to it. I needed to address some things that I sloppily left out. One of them I could slap myself for.

Also, Stephen: your first review had me blushing I must say. That was definitely the kit making its presence known and strictly that. Nothing else. And I'm sorry for killing Tony. He stays alive in his own story.

Cheesebread222: Commenting on said story…yea I really didn't think that through fully, sorry about that. I'll fix it. And I don't really know where that story is headed to be honest. I'm so great at planning things out, aren't I? I promise to make it exciting however after figuring out how to tie Sly and the gang into the plot.

I tried to make this chapter sort of comical, and I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 18 A Ransacking We Will Go

Out on the deck of the tropical Safe House, Bentley was staring out at the distant horizon. He was studying the faint sunrise that was barely peaking over the water's edge. He'd always been an early bird of sorts, and he hadn't been able to sleep much last night anyways, reflecting over the events of the heist the evening before.

It certainly hadn't gone the way he and the gang planned. And though nothing seriously went wrong and no one got into any real trouble, he still couldn't help but feel responsible. Things were supposed to go much more smoothly, and as the team's genius and main strategist, he was always extra hard on himself, especially after the alarm override.

He had been quite worried about his friends. As fun as this lifestyle was, it was always frightening when stealing from daunting criminals. There were days he couldn't say he knew his comrades would return from the field safely.

But most of all, nowadays, he worried about Penelope.

Being in love was something the book smart turtle was still getting used to. He'd heard the cliché time and time again, but he couldn't deny the truth behind it: love does change everything. It changed the way he viewed life, the way he viewed himself and others. It added extra purpose to his life. He always thought that all he would ever need were his two best buds, his personal computer, and his interface programming hardware.

Then he met the lavender mouse, and he realized there had been something missing all his life.

Being in love was great. But it was also terrifying. Not in the way others explain it to be. It was terrifying to Bentley, because now, he feared losing the life of someone near and dear. Not to say he didn't care greatly for the well-being of the other gang members. But having to consider losing the one you love is on a whole other level of fear.

Not only that, but now Bentley found himself experiencing self-doubt often as well. He wanted to be everything Penelope was looking for in a mate, and he wasn't sure he could be.

One reason for that being the chair he was bound to.

Before he developed feelings for the brainy mouse, he'd never felt insecure about being in a wheelchair. It was just a way of life. And Penelope never made him feel awkward about his handicap; quite the contrary. If anyone made Bentley feel special in any way, it was her.

The thought always tugged at him, however, of not being the man she deserved. She deserved to be happy. She deserved to be with someone she could take long walks with on the beach. Deserved a husband who could share a first dance with her at their wedding. And her kids, when she decided she wanted kids, deserved an able father who wasn't always stationary.

A father like Sly would soon be. Bentley knew he'd never get to enjoy running around and playing sports with his own children. If he got to have any.

At times he also couldn't help but feel awkward due to the fact that he was a reptile and Penelope was a mammal. He often wondered if she preferred the tender touch of warm fur to the harsh texture of cold scales. Yes, they had lots in common. Their personalities meshed nicely, and they were on each other's intellectual level, sure. That counted for something…didn't it?

He wanted to have what Sly and Carmelita had so badly. And he wanted to be able to do what his friend had done, and effortlessly propose to the girl he loved so much without a doubt in his mind that she would say yes.

He couldn't say he was at that point yet.

He took a deep inhale of the salty air blowing in from the ocean. He knew he was being hard on himself once again, but he couldn't shake the slight feeling of inadequacy.

Unexpectedly, his sight was blocked by two small hands. "Guess who?" came her voice in a sing-song tone.

Bentley smiled. "I'm stumped," he answered.

She giggled and removed her hands, walking in front of him. "A smart guy like you giving up that easily?"

He chuckled as he pushed his glasses up against his eyes. "Well that's better. Now I can see you. You always look so pretty, even after just waking up."

She blushed. The thin mouse pushed a few of her golden bangs back, and they fell to either side of her face. "Thank you," she said, leaning in to give him a peck on the lips. She broke away, a little sooner than Bentley had wanted, and rested both her hands on one of his as they watched the sun slowly rise into the purplish-blue sky in the early morning.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" she asked.

His serious frown appeared again. "I got a little sleep," he answered. "Not much though."

"Was my snoring keeping you up?" Penelope asked, embarrassed.

He smiled. "No dear. You don't snore."

She snorted. "Ooohkay. Someone's a little on the deaf side."

They both laughed before Bentley's face turned serious once more. "I was just thinking about…things," Bentley spoke uncomfortably.

"That sounds intriguing," the mouse quipped playfully.

The turtle remained serious, nervously twiddling his thumbs.

She put a hand on his shoulder. "What's on your mind Bent?" she asked softly.

He looked up at the attractive mouse standing next to him. Her long blonde locks flowed in the gusts of wind.

"Penelope," he began tentatively. "I…I've been wondering lately…"

"About?" she prompted after he didn't say anything for a long moment.

He looked down at his feet. It was difficult for him to verbally express how he felt. He thought it pretty funny. He could rewire complex circuitry, hack into basically any security system, no matter how convoluted and locked up with passwords and codes it was, and was even building a time machine. And yet he found himself at a loss for words around his love. "Wondering about where I stand with you. Relationship-wise."

She gave him a confused smile. "Why would you be wondering about that hon? I love you, and you know that."

"And I love you too," he said in a quiet voice. "And sometimes I feel like you deserve so much better than me."

Her eyebrows shot up in shock. "What in the world do you mean by that?"

He looked up at her sadly. "Penelope, you're an incredible girl. And you should be with whoever you want to be with."

"I am," she replied sincerely.

"But…but I can never give you what any normal guy can."

"Who said I wanted normal?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips. "You're better than normal; you're extraordinary Bentley. And if you're referring to being in a wheelchair, you should know good and well that I don't even consider that an issue."

"I know," he answered, still sounding glum. "But what does a beautiful mouse like you see in a…reptile like me?"

She smiled and put her arms around him, lifting him up out of his chair. As she hugged him to her, her hands rested on the back of his shell, and he realized his feet never touched the ground. Penelope was holding him up.

Face to face, they looked at one another through the thick glasses they both wore. "To answer your question," she said. "I see an incredible guy. One who's so gifted with knowledge and mental aptitude and capacity that it surpasses others' understanding. I see a skilled and loyal member of the Cooper Gang, who would go absolutely any distance for his friends. And I see a guy who'd make a stupendous husband and father one day."

His cheeks turned red at her words. Which was always interesting to the mouse. Whenever the turtle's green cheeks blushed red, it reminded her of Christmas. He looked down at the wooden deck floor. The mouse was still holding him in her arms. He sighed. "Penelope, this isn't how it should be. I'm the one who should be carrying you. Not the other way around."

She touched her nose to his and smiled. "I don't care. Who says we have to go about things the way everyone else does? It's ok to let me be the one to hold you."

He smiled warmly. "You know, I never knew life could be so richly fulfilling, until you showed up."

Her smile turned into a bright grin. "Ditto. I love ya Bentley."

He tried to say "I love you" back, but it was muffled as her lips pressed against his.

Bentley was so thankful it was still early. No one would be awake for quite some time, so they wouldn't have their sweet moment interrupted and be forced to feel embarrassed. It was a kiss of bliss.

After lunch that day, the gang gathered together in the main living room and went over their plans to break into the beach house on the guarded private island.

The gang members were all a little more at ease about this ransacking. It would be a lot like other jobs they'd pulled off. Unlike the night before where everyone's life was in danger, this would be slightly easier for everyone. Just the occasional guard to be on the lookout for.

"Ok," Bentley initiated the conversation. "This is basically how we're gonna go about phase two of our little operation here in Taormina. Pay close attention. I have made careful observations about the island's surroundings. As I've previously informed you all, Alfonso's beach house is surrounded with waters that contain various types of sharks and killer whales. He keeps all his sailboats, jet skis, speedboats, etcetera…ported at the secure dock on his island. The only way to get to the premises is across the extensive drawbridge that connects Alfonso's island to the mainland. So Dimitri, it'll be your job to swim across the one mile wide gap to reach the shore and activate the drawbridge so Sly, Murray, and Penelope can get across. You'll have to use your harpoon gun, as the sharks and killer whales are trained to attack any being that they detect in the waters near the island."

Dimitri gave an arrogant look and waved a clawed hand at him. "Ain't no thang man. You know I got dis."

Bentley nodded. "Ok, once everyone has reached the island grounds, Penelope will take out the elaborate surveillance system. I would convey to you guys how she's gonna do that but one: she's already clear on the objective and how to execute the deactivation and two: it would be much too difficult for you all to understand and would cause Sly to ask too many dumb questions that I don't have the patience to answer."

Promptly, Sly glared and chucked a pillow from the couch he was sitting on straight at the turtle's head, causing Bentley to throw his hands over his face in response to the open fire.

How dare he ridicule the poor coon for his lack of higher level thought processing.

The other members laughed aloud.

"Well I'm just saying!" Bentley stated defensively. "Anyways, while she and I are working on taking out the cameras and sensors around the mansion, she will need some protection. And since Sly is gonna need serious cover while he heads up to Alfonso's communication tower and takes it out after retrieving the file from his office computer, Murray, you'll be accompanying him."

"You got it," the hippo replied. He fist bumped Sly.

"You and me pal," the master thief said excitedly to his robust friend.

"Side by side!" shouted the boisterous hippo.

"Alright alright," Bentley said, getting everyone's attention once more. "Focus! Now, since Murray will be with Sly, Dimitri, you will have to stay with Penelope and protect her while she is working her technological magic."

The iguana grinned and rubbed his hands together. "Play knight in shining armor to help the defenseless mousy babe. Greasy sweet!"

Sly held one finger up and smiled. "No kissing, you two," he ordered sarcastically.

It was now Penelope's turn to blush and glare at the raccoon, who stifled a laugh. Or at least attempted to, ultimately failing after seeing the look on the embarrassed and miffed mouse's face.

Bentley thought nothing of Dimitri's supposed affection he gave his girlfriend, as she didn't exactly return the feelings. Besides, it was Dimitri. None of them actually took him seriously.

But Penelope found his playful instances of coming onto her increasingly irritating. Maybe he wouldn't try anything now that she and Bentley were an item.

"That just leaves our final partner in crime." The turtle looked to the vixen sitting next to Sly on the couch.

"Ooh I'll bet my job is the most dangerous of all!" Carmelita jested.

Sly smirked, mussing her hair lightly.

Bentley chuckled. "If you consider helping me monitor the heist from the sports car, then yes, you're absolutely correct Carmelita," he answered lightheartedly.

Carmelita smiled. "You gonna let me try out some of your equipment…Bentley?" she asked, a seductive tone faint in her voice.

Bentley laughed nervously. For whatever reason, he always got flustered around that fox, and she ate it up. "W-w-we can find some sort of t-task for you to do, Carmelita. I-it's always helpful to h-have another set of eyes keeping watch."

The vixen pursed her lips. "I do miss actually being helpful," she said. "I'm sick of being a burden." This caused Sly to hug her close, reminding her that she wasn't a burden to him.

"Hmm…" Penelope mused. "You know Carm, while you may have had to turn in your shock pistol, weaponry that contains electric shock is indeed your specialty. That's…something none of us can deny."

Carmelita smiled sheepishly, remembering all the times she'd shot at all the members of her new family of sorts with that pistol.

Penelope looked to her turtle boyfriend. "Perhaps Bentley and I can construct a weapon for you that's more appropriate for a thief to use, while still being something you're used to using…"

After mulling it over for a quick moment, Bentley nodded. "That's a fine idea."

Carmelita's tail weaved behind her and her ears perked. "Now that would be perfect," she agreed.

Sly put a hand to his chin. "Hmm…smart thinking Penelope."

She smiled at his approval, though she was still a little put off about his previous remark.

"Indeed," said Bentley. "We can begin constructing a sort of prototype after we finish this job."

"Great!" Carmelita chirped cheerfully.

"Until then, I'm afraid you're stuck with me," the turtle stated with a slight shrug.

The vixen chuckled. "Yes sir."

Early the next morning, the gang arrived at the dock of the mainland. Being that it was 2 AM, it was still technically night time to all of them.

Dimitri parked the getaway car in an obscure parking spot in the shadows. He stepped out of the car sporting his macho swimsuit. He popped the trunk to retrieve his diving gear.

Penelope and Murray jumped out next. The mouse began tapping buttons on her portable security shutdown hacking device while Murray pulled his gloves tight over his large hands in anticipation.

Sly leaped out to join them but then quickly spun around. "Almost forgot!" he exclaimed.

The two remaining members in the car looked to him with puzzled expressions. Forgot what? He was already gripping his cane.

The raccoon crawled into the backseat and kissed a shocked Carmelita. He then closed his eyes and nuzzled her in a dramatic fashion. "If I don't come back from this…tell my son I love him."

She rolled her eyes and shoved him off. "Oh just get going Sly!" She shook her head, making a mental note to smack him if he called the unborn kit a boy one more time.

He grinned and jumped back out, darting away to join the others on the dock.

Dimitri clicked his waterproof earpiece on so he could test it out. The others tested their earpieces out as well. When everyone had given Bentley a 'thumbs up' signal, they turned and headed down the dock.

Dimitri walked awkwardly with the flippers now on his feet. "Alright home slices, I'll take care of these bad boys with fins and open up this neat little bridge, no sweat."

"That's the plan," Sly said matter-of-factly with a nod.

Without another word, the iguana put the re-breather to his mouth and dove into the murky ocean water below.

The iguana swam skillfully through the waters surrounding the small island.

At first it was just a leisurely swim for him, and then he heard the faint noise of another being in the deep. He spun around to see a ferocious shark swimming rapidly in his direction.

Dimitri held up his weapon. "Come at me, shark boy!" he shouted before launching the harpoon.

As if the shark sent out a distress call, more sharks and killer whales appeared from behind vibrant reefs.

As they circled the iguana, Dimitri let out a battle cry and began taking care of business.

After battling a few more of those bad boys with fins, he safely made his way to the section of the dock that connected with the drawbridge when it was down. He climbed onto it and made his way to the drawbridge control tower.

Once inside, he strolled over and glanced at the controls, finally finding and pushing the button that lowered the two sections of the enormous drawbridge.

The loud noise of the mechanism caused the guard beagle on the night shift to awake from snoozing on the job. Before he had any idea what was going on, Dimitri swiftly kicked the dog in the back of the head, and he slumped to the metal floor below.

"Nighty night brosky," said Dimitri with a grin before exiting the tower.

Back on the beach, Dimitri met up with the other three as they were just stepping off the drawbridge.

"Nice work," complimented Sly as he folded his arms across his chest.

Dimitri shrugged. "I gots the smoove moves, man! You know this!"

Sly smirked. "Alright, you guys hang tight. I'm gonna go find a way inside and then you all can join me in this fun little escapade. Just stay hidden until Bentley gives you the all clear."

They nodded as the raccoon took off to assess his break-in plan. Without thinking, he ran up to a nearby palm tree and inched up the trunk to the top. He pulled out his trusty binocucom and used it to get a closer look.

"Ok, Sly," came the nasally voice in his earpiece. "I think your best bet would be to-"

"Scale that wall over there, sneak across that balcony railing up there, and ledge sneak to that open window on the second story?"

There was a short pause before the turtle spoke. "You just have to interrupt me when I'm helping you strategize, don't you?"

Sly smiled as he leaped to the soft sand below and sprinted to the decorative coquina brick wall surrounding the gargantuan beach house. He climbed over it and approached the outer wall of the house. "I'm sorry buddy. You know how easily I lose interest. Besides, if you keep talking, I might be forced to ask you dumb questions."

Bentley scoffed. "Oh hardy-har! Just please be careful and stay out of sight of those sketchy guards Alfonso hired."

"What is this, a preliminary speech you're gonna give me all the time now? Relax pal, I got this." Along the large wall there hung a thick vine. Sly bit down on his cane and used his hands and athletic stealth to inch up to the second story. Once he was in leaping distance of the small balcony railing, the coon launched himself off of the vine and landed on the metal railing. He jumped to the section separating the current balcony from the next one by sneaking along the ledge.

When he reached the open window he looked up to notice a small spherical camera up near the jutted roofing.

"Hey Bent, did you take out those cameras?" Sly asked.

Sly heard tapping of fingers on a keyboard as Bentley responded. "I'm working on it. If worse comes to worst, you'll be spotted and Murray will help you out. You gotta let him and the others in first though."

"On it," replied Sly, leaping through the open window.

Once he'd made his way to the front door and unlocked it, he let his friends casually walk in through the front, though they were all wary of the guards most likely in the area.

"Alright," Penelope said in a hushed voice. "Bentley already showed me the layout of this house, and I know exactly where the surveillance system room is. You two stay here until I take it out. Either Bentley or I will notify you when you're clear to head upstairs and enter his office."

Sly and Murray nodded.

Penelope grudgingly looked over to Dimitri. "Come with me, I'll need your…assistance."

Dimitri grinned. "That what you wanna call it, my lovely love?" He chuckled and gripped the crude harpoon gun. "I'm so down."

Penelope groaned and ran in the direction of the control room. "Please don't call me that."

"Aw, the beautiful babe is modest. Dimitri likes," the iguana informed her.

Penelope shot him a glare as they headed down a winding hallway. "Need I remind you that I'm in a full blown relationship with your fellow gang member, Bentley?"

Dimitri shrugged. "Turtle dude ain't here right now. Only ones here is you and me." He winked.

The female mouse made a noise of pure disgust. "Don't think that makes a bit of difference, Dimitri. You really need to stay focused."

He was focused. Focused on the newfound mammalian curves that Penelope had. She'd matured somewhat biologically in the past few years and it showed. As did her new stealthy outfits she wore on heists. Though she still wore glasses and her blonde hair was a bit unkempt, a ladies man like Dimitri was nonetheless very impressed.

"I like the new tight clothes you're wearin'. You got the sex appeal going on. Just like me."

He was referring to the tight black pants and tank top that hugged her slender torso. She always preferred to wear black when out in the field.

Penelope blushed furiously. She stopped where she stood and shoved a finger in the iguana's face. "Let's get one thing straight," she hissed. "I am in no way attracted to you Dimitri. Just because I like reptiles doesn't mean I find your arrogance or flattery appealing. Bentley is the only guy for me and I'd appreciate if you'd respect that and stop calling me babe, got it?"

Dimitri simply laughed, not fazed in any way by her abrupt frustration. "Hey now, I'm just complimenting your wicked style. You got it goin on, mousy mechanic."

She rolled her eyes, realizing that it would be a losing battle to order him to keep his distance. "Whatever," she sighed in surrender. "Just…keep me safe while I shut down the surveillance." She opened the door with the sign that read: "Surveillance room". Once opened, they were greeted by two members of the night shift staff.

Dimitri grinned, holding up his harpoon gun. "Word."

Meanwhile, Sly and Murray were playing a comical two-person version of red rover down in the foyer. Sly was growing very bored with Penelope taking her sweet time to thoroughly shut down the security sensors and cameras around the immense mansion. So they made a game to pass the time.

Sly would utter a procyonid growl or clicking noise, getting the attention of a few guards who would come running each time. Then he and his hippo friend would duck and hide behind the fancy foyer furniture that adorned the vast room.

They tried to keep from laughing as Sly hid in large pottery pieces and Murray concealed himself behind bigger pieces of furniture. The bumbling guard would run up and scan the room with his flashlight. Each time he grew more agitated at failing to find the makers of the odd noises. Then he would continue on his rounds, scratching his head and wondering if he was hearing things.

"If you two are quite done," said Bentley. "It's time we got serious. With my outside sourcing help of course, Penelope has shut down the surveillance system. So get up there and get that file!"

Looking around to make sure the coast was clear, Sly scrambled out of the giant pot. "Aye aye, captain," said Sly.

Murray stepped out from behind a burgundy leather chair.

"Let's get a move on pal," Sly ordered, becoming focused again as they headed up the grand staircase at the end of the hall just ahead.

Murray nodded in agreement.

The smooth criminal and his brawler friend crept up two flights of stairs to the third floor and crept through the many winding hallways. Sly was still on edge about all those cameras lining the walls, not that he would ever let on that he was.

Soon, a few of the sharper guards had caught sight of the two and began barreling down the halls after them. It was odd to see so many guards in someone's home. This Alfonso guy was apparently hiding more than anyone else was aware of. Murray slammed his fists together and flared his nostrils as he threw swift powerful punches at the group he was now faced with.

While Murray was taking care of the guards, Sly entered Alfonso's office. It was void of anyone, which was strangely eerie. Sly's mind drifted once again to the explosion on the casino rooftop. He wondered how many members of the canine mobster team had actually survived. And if they did, where were they all now?

Sly's attention snapped back to the task at hand as he noticed the sleek white laptop in the center of the coyote's desk.

He walked over to it and put a hand to his mouth in perplexity. It was just simple file retrieval and electronic transmission, but Sly and technology…well frankly, the two didn't mix.

"Yea Bentley…I'm not really sure about this."

"What a surprise," snorted Bentley. "Just examine the file names until you come across one that resembles a mafia operation title."

Sly sighed and tapped away, searching for the desired file. Murray joined him, looking rather winded after facing and knocking out so many guards.

Sly gave Murray a sideways smile. "Impressive takedown, just like always my friend."

Murray wiped the sweat from his brow. "Outnumbered, but still unbeatable!"

Sly chuckled as his eyes scanned the programs. "Aha!" he finally said, clicking on the file that read: Covert Ops. He clicked on it but was immediately prompted for a password.

"Shoot!" He pressed a finger to his earpiece. "Bentley this thing is locked down with a password. I can't get in."

"Mmm…Alfonso is proactive in his efforts," noted Bentley. "I should've expected password protection. No matter. I'll figure out how to get some kind of backwards entry into the motherboard and access it. Just grab the computer and get going."

Sly nodded, picking up the small laptop and placing it in his backpack. In turn, he pulled out one of his calling cards and placed it on the desk.

They were about to make their exit when Sly spied a small lock on one of the drawers of Alfonso's desk. As a devious smile played on his lips he knew he couldn't pass up breaking into it to get whatever was inside. He slipped a lock pick instrument out of his pouch and began working at the lock.

"What's he got in there?" Murray asked.

"I don't know," Sly said slowly. "But we're about to find out." He finally picked the lock free and opened the drawer, and was shocked to see nothing there.

Strange, he thought. Why lock an empty drawer?

Any normal thief would ignore the empty space and leave, but a master thief like Sly was intensely curious. He ran one hand over the bottom of the drawer. Narrowing his eyes, he gently beat on it using his fist.

It felt hollow.

He used the sharp instrument in his hand to pry open the thin board that had acted as a false bottom to reveal an extra compartment.

It held some sort of large jeweled relic.

This was tempting and fascinating all at once. His eyes wide with wonder, his greedy thieving hands gripped the object and he examined it carefully before stowing it away in his backpack.

He then turned to Murray. "I'm taking this to Bentley. Maybe he can make sense of it. Now, let's head out pal."

"You're not headed anywhere, Sly Cooper," snarled a voice with a thick Italian accent.

Sly and Murray whirled around to see some sort of formidable group with what appeared to be…shock pistols?

Sly grinned. "Ah, I see that those lovely shocking weapons are becoming an international thing," the thief replied, twirling his cane nonchalantly like a baton. "And I see my reputation precedes me. I'm assuming you work for De Luca?"

Instead of a verbal response, the lead meerkat and his team aimed the pistols straight ahead at the raccoon and hippo. "Return the relic, or you'll be sorry," the meerkat hissed, glaring and baring his teeth.

"Oh but I am sorry," said Sly, putting a hand to his chest. "Sorry I can't stick around longer. Murray?"

The hippo confronted his next group of adversaries as Sly ran across the room, dodging pistol blasts along the way.

"Steer clear of those blasts, Murray," Sly called across the room.

"Yea I got it!" grunted the hippo as he began to swing his mighty fists.

Sly began to step back, watching the vicious thugs all the while, who were snarling and fighting against Murray. As they fought, their eyes shot to Sly like daggers of pure hatred. If only they weren't blocked by that hippo who was acting as a dangerous obstacle…

The raccoon bowed and then crouched low, his eyes darting side to side instinctively as he backed up against the window frame. He then swung a leg over the side and looked back at Murray and the tussling thugs.

He waved and had a suave smile on his lips. "Gentleman…you will always remember this as the day you almost caught…master thief, Sly Cooper."

As he escaped the group of Italian enemies, he had no idea that trouble was ensuing elsewhere during the mission.

Bentley sat once again with Carmelita inside the car, both listening attentively as the heist unfolded.

"Bentley! I need help!" shrieked Penelope's frightened voice.

The concerned turtle frowned. "What's going on Penelope? Did you and Dimitri run into some difficulty?"

The mouse was breathing heavily. "You could say that. I'm kind of being chased by guards!"

Bentley's eyes popped wide, and Carmelita gasped softly.

"What? What about Dimitri? He's supposed to be providing cover for you!"

Penelope screamed once, and Bentley heard the firing of some kind of weapon.

"He already got captured!" Penelope shouted. "And I'm next! Bentley if they catch up to me, I'm doomed!"

Bentley immediately patched Murray in. "Murray! What's your status?" he asked frantically. "I need you to go find Penelope. Dimitri's apparently been captured and she's being pursued as we speak!"

Strange growls were heard as well as more weapons firing. "I'm kinda busy right now!" Murray told him, concentrating on the fight. "Sly is making his way back to the car and I'm surrounded by a bunch of thugs." He grunted. "Agh! I can't go anywhere til I fight 'em off!"

"That's what you think buddy," barked a stranger's voice. "You aren't fighting anyone off." The sound of a transmitter clicking on was heard. "Yea this is Griffin. Looks like we got a certain international thief and his team on our hands. He nabbed the boss's artifact. We cannot let him get away with that thing, you hear me? You guys better get over here, and fast." A loud yelp was heard followed by a body being slammed against the floor.

Bentley put his hands on either side of his head in panic. Now what was he supposed to do?

Carmelita had a look of determination in her eyes. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "No one messes with Penelope," she growled, jumping out of the car.

Bentley's head snapped up to see the vixen running for the dock.

"NO Carmelita!" he yelled, waving his hands. "Sly said you had to stay here!"

Carmelita looked over her shoulder. "I know what Sly said!" she yelled back. "But Penelope's in danger Bentley! It's my turn to help out." Without another word she darted up to the drawbridge and dashed across it to the island.

The overwhelmed turtle buried his face in his hands and groaned. "Sly is gonna kill me if she gets hurt…"

Uh oh, guess Carmelita doesn't always follow orders. Wondering if you spotted that slightly altered Pirates of the Caribbean line also.

Ok so it wasn't technically a full blown ransacking. I still wanted to use the chapter title.

And I apologize for the wait, but this heist took so much planning. And the chase continues…