~Sly, 6 months later

"Get back here, Ringtail!" Carmelita cried after me.

I darted across the rooftops enjoying every moment of our cat-and-mouse play. Half a year had come and gone in the blink of an eye. And no word from Annika…

Funny how she always came back into my mind at the worst times. Since she left, Kaylita stayed at Interpol and did shift-work all day. She refused to go out and do crime control with her sister. I've only went to see Kaylita in her office once or twice. When I would ask her if she's heard from Annika, her answer would be the same.

"No Cooper, I haven't heard from her. Now leave before I decide to arrest you."

Of course, she never made a move to arrest me. And she seemed even less interested that I was even there. She really missed Annika a lot. I guess, in some part of me, so did I…

I ran into an alley to get away from Carmelita. She was quickly deterred with my sudden disappearance and went back to base. I took my prize and went back to the hideout.

"Welcome back, Sly," Bentley greeted as I walked in. "Another successful heist."

"As always," I said. "Anything new on Thiefnet?"

"Actually… There's something on here about a new thief somewhere in France pulling quite a few big jobs on their own. He's becoming very famous."

I scoffed. "We'll see how well he does in Paris."

Just as I had said that, we heard the sirens go across town again. Bentley and I stepped out of the hideout to see what was going down. Sure enough, there was a shadow of a person hopping across the rooftops. Bentley and I exchanged glances.

"I'll do a little recon and let you know what's going on."

Bentley nodded then I went after the newcomer. It didn't take me long to catch up to him. He went into hiding in an enormous tree in the park. I followed him and hopped inside the foliage onto the branch beside him. Instead of a man like we had guessed, sitting on the branch was a woman wearing a mask and holding a police file.

I was shocked.

She stared at me intently. "May I help you?"

I shook my head to get rid of the shock. "Who are you? And why do you have a police file?"

"Because it's mine," she replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "This thief thing is a lot harder than I thought it would be…"

That last bit surprised me. "You mean… You just started?"

She shrugged. "Sort of. I've been training myself for the last few months. How ridiculous it is…"

"What are you talking about?" I asked her.

She looked up at me. Something about her was so familiar…

"I don't mean to ramble," she said softly. She got to her feet and smiled. "It was great seeing you again, Sly Cooper." She ran off at that.

I was in complete surprise. She knew who I was. Seeing me again? Have she and I met before?

~Annika

I arrived home later than I thought I would. As soon as I stepped through the door, I grabbed my mother's diary and sifted through it.

"~~/~~/~~

I ran into Cooper again tonight. I'm not sure what to think of him and his gang. McSweeney seemed nice enough. As for M… He gives me a bad feeling every time I meet him. Nevertheless, tonight's encounter was actually quite interesting. Bill tells me that I shouldn't get involved with Cooper. Of course, Bill is only trying to protect me. It is only natural that he would try to keep me from him.

In any case, Cooper had asked me tonight if I was involved with anyone. I only told him that I was involved with my work. He laughed then asked me about Bill. When I told him that Bill was my bodyguard, he admitted that he was surprised that I hadn't found someone. I could only laugh at that. He was being ludicrous. What a dumb thing to say and yet… I couldn't help but agree. Who was being dumb now? Somehow, I was developing feelings for the competition. How absurd… Bill is going to murder me when he finds out…"

My poor mother… Falling for the enemy at the worst time… I took off my mask and took the holder out of my hair. My first heist in Paris was a success. I was back in Carm's and Sly's territory once more. Seeing Sly was quite a surprise. Although, I was glad to see him.

I grabbed the police file and thumbed through the pages. They didn't have a clear picture of me and I recognized the handwriting as Kaylita's. I turned a few pages then noticed a picture of another female thief and a profile…

Name: Crimson Reeves

Gender: Female

Alias: Crim Reeves

Occupation: Master Thief

Known Relatives: Daughter-Scarlett Reeves, Accomplice-Bill Hastings

CONNECTION?

Kaylita had figured it out. Of course, she didn't know that I was Crim Reeves' daughter but, she did discover that this 'new' phantom thief was connected to my late mother. I was impressed. Kaylita has way too much time on her hands now that she does desk work all the time. I felt for her…

Ever since I 'left' Paris to go back to the states, Kaylita became very depressed. I had dropped by her window a few days ago. I was heartbroken to see her that way. She looked so defeated. As for Carmelita, she seemed her usual self. Of course, looks are deceiving…

I put the file and my mother's diary away in a drawer along with my outfit and mask. I changed into a long sleeved, flannel shirt and shorts. Then, I heard a tapping on my window. I walked into the room to find Sly Cooper picking the latch of my window. He opened it and stepped inside my apartment.

"I see that you still like to try to sneak into my apartment," I said.

Sly smiled. "I thought that you might be back. How have you been?"

"I've been well. And yourself?"

"Same as always." He made himself at home in my big chair. "I got to meet a new thief tonight."

"Did you now?" I asked, playing it off as if I didn't know what he was talking about. "And?"

"She's a woman and she's all over Thiefnet. Apparently, she's been pulling heists on her own everywhere in France. It's insane."

"A woman? Doing all that on her own? I'm amazed."

He shot me a dirty look. "How can you be amazed at that?"

"How can you not be? Suddenly a lady thief shows up out of nowhere and is already well known by Interpol as well as other fellow thieves such as yourself, it's quite a feat. Besides, I'm sure Carmelita is going to have quite a blast trying to catch this one. As long as Carm has her sights set on this new thief, you have free reign."

"But what's the fun in that? The best part is the thrill of the chase. Don't you agree?"

I shrugged. "So, did you get to talk to her?"

He nodded. "A little. Not enough to get her name though. She made it seem like I had met her before…" He looked up at me. "And she managed to steal her police file. How she managed to do that, I have no idea. Especially with Kaylita in the office 24/7."

"You seem quite interested in her."

He got up from the chair. "Give me a break Annika. I really just want to know who she is and why she's here."

I looked over at the drawer with my things then back to him. "Cooper, if I told you why I think she's here, will you cut her some slack?"

This caught his attention. "I'm listening."

I cleared my throat and moved to the window seat. "You see, I believe it has something to do with the recent jailbreak of Archimedes."

"Archimedes?" Sly asked. "Who is Archimedes?"

"His arrest was what brought me to Interpol. At least, it was because I was the one who arrested him that Carmelita was so inclined to contact me. He had been involved with several organizations that we had managed to bust in the states, including the shipping of illegal spices and other such dealings. He had also bribed a sanction of the Mafia to cover his tracks. Of course, even with that sort of leverage, he had no escape. In the end, we caught him and he was put in jail where he belonged."

"And yet, he's somehow managed to escape," Sly said.

"Unfortunately, yes. I believe he's linked to our new thief. This is why he made it a priority to get out. Why he chose now of all times, I couldn't even fathom."

"Why are you telling me this, Annika?"

I looked over to him. "Because you're being framed, Sly. Someone is using your name to pull big time crimes that even you're not dumb enough to pull on your own. You have become top priority in the states and, I'm sure any day now, that information will be getting to Kaylita and Carmelita. As soon as that happens, even you won't be able to escape."

He went silent, trying to absorb all that I had told him.

"Why didn't we know about this?" He asked.

"The police and Interpol are trying to keep it on the down-low. You and Bentley wouldn't be able to hear about it on your website because no one knows. At least, not yet. I'm sure one of your thieving friends will hear about it sooner or later but, as of now, nobody knows."

"How did you find out?"

"One of my co-workers in New York, Murph, had called me. As soon as I knew, I came here."

He sat for a moment then, a realization hit him. "You came to warn me. That's why you're here, isn't it?"

I nodded solemnly. "Yes. With Archimedes loose, Carmelita and Kaylita are in danger. I alone know his potential, of what he's capable of. If he decides to come here, which he will, he will grant no mercy. Period."

Sly looked up at me. "You're in danger too if that's the case." He got up from my chair and slipped his hand in mine. "You can't stay."

I gently pulled my hand away from him and turned away. "I have to pick up the mess I made… I won't let anyone else pay for what I've let loose…"

"Annika…"

I turned back to him. "No Sly… I have to do this. To save my friends…"

He seemed to understand then made his way back to the window. "Well… Now I have to work to clear my name. I'll see you around, Annika." He leapt out into the night.

After he was gone, I went to the drawer and pulled out my mask. "Yes you will. But not as Annika…"