Chapter 4- Breaking the news

The cold stone of the walls glistened softly in the pale light given off by a lone desk lamp. A chair behind the rough, aged station was hewn from the very rock it sat upon. Lined with the furs of several long dead beasts, it sat silently, and though it lacked eyes, it watched everyone that passed in and out of the room. On it sat the very picture of madness. From head to toe, he truly was a perfect specimen of a long bygone era. His sharp, black tipped ears, one of which was pierced with a small golden hoop, lay down flush with his skull, twitching slightly as they picked up every noise that filtered into the room. A long scar ran from the base of his left ear, through his hard, grey eye, and down to the corner of his mouth. Two six inch teeth, one on either side of his muzzle, shone dangerously. His chest lead to arms that had been sculpted over the course of hundreds of years, plates made out of a strange metal were bolted to his forearms, with swirling designs etched into them. His claws, razor sharp and battle proven, clacked restlessly on the surface of the stone table. A low, menacing growl issued from his lips.

"Number 2, please step forwards," he growled coldly.

A lithe cheetah, who had been standing in the shadows and trying to make himself as small as possible, stepped nervously forwards. "Yes sir?" he replied softly.

"Tell me, what was your mission," came the voice from the menacing figure, seated on his ghastly throne.

"To make sure that Sly Cooper was killed, sir."

"And did you complete your mission?" The saber tooth tiger's claws scraped icily across the stone beneath them.

"0 ordered me to send in numbers one and twelve," the cheetah answered, avoiding the gaze of his leader.

"What Arcella told you to do is of no concern to me, you did not complete your mission, and that does not sit well with me at all, oh no. It is not the fact that Mister Cooper still breathes that irks me, it is the fact that you failed me. I just wanted him out of the way so he wouldn't GET in the way. When he killed the bird, he robbed me of my revenge for his own. I WILL be rid of him in due time, but it will not make the mistake of letting an incompetent fool, such as yourself, have any part of it. You may be the fastest son of a bitch I have ever seen, but you have proven yourself unworthy of a position higher than the one that you currently posses," The tiger rose slowly, placing his hands behind his back. "You may go, but you will be punished for failing me." He narrowed his eyes, and then flicked them towards the door.

Bowing quickly, number 2 turned and made his way to the door. Opening it quickly, he exited.

"ARCELLA!" came the angry growl from the tiger, standing motionless next to his desk.

A grey wolf strode into the room, a long, black trench coat swirling behind her. "Yes master?"

"Come closer, please."

Arcella stepped closer, but reeled back in pain as razor sharp claws rent her face. The tiger dug his claws into her shoulder, and then forced her to her knees. Hitting the ground with a thud, she remained silent as his claws dug ever deeper into her shoulder causing blood to start staining the top of her coat.

"You interfered."

"Yes."

"Why." The tiger's voice was that of wet silk gliding over a cool slate.

"It was a test for Aero. You put me in control of your security force several years ago, so I decided it was time to take a few matters into my own hands. Number Law dictates that lower ranks must consider orders from a higher, but they are not required to accept. Aero knew that sending in our 2 most, how do I say, flamboyant, operatives, was a bad idea. 3 would have been a better choice, perhaps even 7. Aero knew this, but he could not bring himself to disobey me." Reaching up to her shoulder, she unlatched the icy claws from her flesh and set them aside. "I agree with what you said to him, he is not ready to be put into a higher position of power," she said, speaking confidently.

"Very well," replied her master. "Every time I begin to doubt you, you prove to me that you are worthy to be my second in command.'

"I will be loyal to you until the end, sir. And besides, you are the only one that can obtain my meds."

The tiger grinned at hearing this. Arcella was considered mentally unstable, and was only kept sane by ingesting several doses of a rather rare medication every day. Costing 2.5 million dollars a vial, it was something that would have been impossible to obtain had she not allied herself with him. "Go from me, and send 7 to go to the Cooper residence. Tell him to stay low; we don't want another failure, planned or otherwise.

She nodded a quick goodbye and, flexing her shoulder, left him standing alone in the dim room. He placed his hands back behind him and began to pace back and forth. Arcella never ceased to surprise him, and he like that about her. He would have to keep an eye on her though, he thought to himself. Much like the others in his private force, she lived up to her reputation, hers being a brilliant strategist and leader. The latter of which tended to get her into trouble with him. She was loyal, oh yes, but he would have to do something to make sure that her allegiance stayed true. Letting his mind wander around, he stepped over to his chair and seated himself, the furs making a slight rustling noise as his weight was put upon them. Slouching down, he placed his hand against his chin in deep thought. Sly was beginning to become a bigger problem than he expected. 2 missions so far have failed to get rid of him, but he wouldn't let that happen a third time. He would just have to get the key himself, he thought to himself with a slight smile. Reaching over to a drawer in the corner of his desk, he pulled out an old leather bound tome. Blowing the dust off of the cover, gilded letters shone dimly. 'Anette Cooper' was pressed into the bottom of the ancient volume. Opening it carefully up, he flipped to a torn page that held half of a map of what looked to be the arctic circle. Running his fingers down the page, he whispered to himself. "You can't hide your treasure from me forever, Anette."

Meanwhile at the safe house…

"THEY WHAT?" yelled a tired, confused Carmelita.

Sly chuckled nervously, "they, uh, blame you for the fire and have put out a warrant for your arrest. Apparently they think you are quite the psycho."

Carmelita tried to run forwards to see what was on the TV, but stumbled and fell. Sly leapt up from the couch and stuck out his arms, catching her before she hit the ground.

"Thanks," she muttered. With much effort, she stood back up, and carefully made her way over. Penelope used the DVR to rewind the news broadcast, and showed it her.

"How could they blame me?" She said angrily. "I work harder than anyone else there and have dedicated my entire life to bringing criminals down, and now they think I just snapped and did this?" She slumped down onto the couch with a frumpy expression on her face. She looked nervously at the Sly, and then to Penelope. "You guys don't believe that, do you?"

"Not at all, Ms Fox," replied the mouse. "We've had enough dealings with you in the past to know that you aren't crazy."

"As soon as we are all sure that your injuries have healed, we will let you go, as you wished. But are you sure that you would want to be thrown in jail for something that you didn't do?" asked Sly.

Carmelita thought hard on this. She had been caught between a rock and a hard place. She despised the thought of staying with a bunch of thieves, but prison didn't exactly sound any better. She could try and convince the authorities that she didn't do it, but since they claimed that she was mentally unstable, they would be hard pressed to listen to her. She threw her arms up in the air, as if giving up, and then closed her eyes.

"You ok?" asked a concerned Sly.

She opened only one eye, and then glared at him. Getting the message, Sly looked away. She was in one of her world famous moods.

Standing up, Sly clapped his hands together once, interlocking them. "Well, even though I've only been up for a couple of hours, I'm going back to bed." Walking with a limp, he made his way over to the stairs and began to ascend them. Bentley wheeled in just as Sly exited, and wished him a good rest.

"Ms Fox, I suspect that you are tired after your whole ordeal this morning, would you like to pick a room to stay in? This is an old apartment building, after all, it's not like we are short of rooms."

Opening her eyes, she realized just how tired she was. Letting Penelope help her up, she began to walk over to the stairs. "I've done a lot of crap to you guys over the years," she said. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"We aren't your average street gang, Ms Fox," yawned Penelope. "You may only see us as criminals, but we have helped take a lot of dangerous guys off the streets." She stretched and then lay back in the couch.

Carmelita frowned when she realized what she was saying was true. She had been at the Cooper gang's throats for years now, treating them all like they were the worst people in the world. But, as she thought about it, she realized that maybe criminals weren't all black and white. There were the odd gray areas, like the Cooper gang, as well. She paused as she made it to the base of the stairs. "Hey, Bentley? That is your name right?" The turtle nodded. "Is there anything to eat? I haven't had anything to eat for several hours…"

Bentley shrugged. "We have been meaning to go out and get something for quite some time now, so we're a little low on food at the moment." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "We had a bit of cereal, but we kind of pushed it off the table that we set you on…"

Sighing, Carmelita began to carefully make her way up the stairs. Bentley called out to her when she was halfway. "Try not to wake Murray up, ok? He might, well, freak out if he sees you." She nodded her understanding and then continued to make her way up the stairs to the room. Panting after the first flight, she thought to herself that they really should have put an elevator in this old place.

Finally making it to the third floor, where the majority of the good rooms were, she began to make her way down the hallway. She tiptoed past a room with a large 'M' painted on the door, and then continued on her way. Checking a door, she found it locked. "Perfect," she sighed to herself. Looking behind her, she saw a room with one of Sly's calling cards tacked to the door. Seeing that the door was open slightly, letting her curiosity get the better of her, she quietly opened it and walked inside. She drew in a quick breath when she saw what was in it.

Sly was in the process of taking his shirt off to get into bed, but turned around in surprise when he heard her. Carmelita appeared stunned. "Hi?" said sly in a confused voice.

Shaking her head, Carmelita looked at the floor, her cheeks turning a light shade of red. "Sorry, I'll be going."

"No, its fine. Is there something you need?" he said, now holding his still slightly wet shirt in his hands. Tossing it in an arc, it landed neatly in a little basket by the door.

Carmelita looked up at him. He wasn't brawny, but he certainly had some definition to him. Had he not been so lithe he may have been a little intimidating. Shaking her head once again to clear it, she cleared her throat. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Letting out a soft laugh, Sly sat down on his bed. Reaching down, he patted a spot next to him, beckoning for Carmelita to come.

Without even realizing what she was doing, she made her way over to him, being careful not to put too much pressure on her aching leg. She sat down next to him silently.

"This is the first time we have been alone in months," said Sly, almost dreamily. "The last time was out on that park bench…" he trailed off, trying to keep a cool disposition.

"Yeah," replied the vixen softly. "You lied to me, and that really hurt…"

"I told you out on that park bench that I didn't lie, I was just too happy to tell you the truth. Constable Cooper was a reality, as was how I felt, and still feel, about you."

"You know that it won't be that easy, right?" She said. Sly gave her a look of confusion. "For me to be able to trust you again, it will take some time. I actually don't even know what I am doing here right now," she snorted. "Here I am, in your room, talking like nothing ever happened. You are a criminal, Sly, and that's not exactly something that I will just get used to."

"I'm a thief, Carmelita, not a criminal."

"Do you really think there is a difference?" She asked grumpily.

"Yes, I do. Do you really think that there isn't a difference?" He replied. "I only steal what has been stolen, and never from ordinary people. The rest of the gang calls me a modern day Robin Hood." He laughed at that. "Robin hood, one of the greatest thieves of all time."

"And the news calls ME crazy," Carmelita wittily replied.

Sly once again laughed, and then placed his hand on top of Carmelita's. Much to his surprise, and delight, she didn't withdraw it this time.

Carmelita's mind was racing. She really wanted to give him another chance, remembering everything that they did when Sly worked at Interpol by her side. Then again, she thought, what chance would a thief and a cop have? It was almost like some bad movie. She came back to reality when Sly shifted his hand slightly on top of hers. "I really want to give you another chance… But how could I trust you? I know you said it wasn't a lie, but it certainly wasn't the truth, either. You deceived me for 6 months, Sly, and it will take time for me to fully trust you again."

Sly looked down at the floor, realizing the truth in what she had said. "I only did it because I was so happy with you, Carmelita. I told you that one Sunday because I didn't feel right keeping a secret from you. You may have left me that day, but a night hasn't passed since that I haven't thought of you." He reached down and adjusted the bandage that was around his midriff, rubbing it with a soft sigh. Without Carmelita noticing, he moved slightly closer to her on the bed so that their shoulders were brushing. "It may be under some very odd circumstances, but I am glad that you are here." Carmelita gave him a quizzical look. "I'm a hopeless romantic that never gets to see a happy ending, but this is the closest I've ever come to one," he said softly. He then looked her directly in the eyes. "And it is all thanks to you that I have come so far, that I have been so happy…"

His eyes had a far off look to them that Carmelita had never before seen in someone. She knew that he had lead a hard life, but was he really this soft? Or was it just another one of his lies. As if on cue, Sly spoke up.

"Never again will I lie to you, even in the slightest bit."

Carmelita looked down at the floor. "Do you remember how we used to joke about loving eachother?"

Sly remembered it perfectly. He and Carmelita used to joke all the time that they were partners not only in law enforcement, but love as well. He knew that they both were just joking at the time, but he always tucked away a little truth of it in his heart. She may have not meant anything by it, but that wasn't the case with him. "I love you," he said, still with a dreamy expression in his eyes.

Carmelita gave him a look of pure confusion.

"Three simple words with an all but simple meaning," he continued. "We used to joke about it, but I don't want it to be a joke anymore… We may have only been together for a couple hours now, but if you would, I would be very grateful if you were to give me a chance to show how I really feel about you." Sly gently placed a hand on her chin, and then turned her head so that they were looking into each other's eyes. Leaning in slowly, he placed his muzzle only a hairsbreadth away from hers.

Carmelita had no idea at all what to do. She didn't want to rush into a relationship, but they had spent a long time together before, and it seemed to be a work of fate that they had met up now. It was a bit of an overreaction to him telling the truth, she told herself, for her to just leave him like that. That was all in the past though; all that mattered was the here and now. Her heart was torn for only a second, but only just. She did not back away from the masculine figure that had placed his lips so close to hers, but she did not move forwards, either.

Without further hesitation, Sly gently pressed his lips to hers, and they met in a kiss that caused both of their hearts to race wildly. The kiss started off slowly, with them meshing their lips together in perfect harmony. Carmelita inhaled deeply, reveling in the scent of Sly being so close to her, closer than any man had been before. She placed her arms around Sly's neck and drew herself closer into the kiss, pressing her body flush with his. Sly placed one of his hands on the small of her back, drawing her in. Their bodies moving together as the kiss intensified. Sly gently parted his lips, and ran his soft tongue at the front of Carmelita's lips, vying for entry. After a few seconds, she parted hers with a sigh of contentment and allowed his velveteen tip to begin a dance with hers. The 2 warm figures danced together in sync, not too rough, but not too soft. Slowly, Sly began to lie back on the bed, drawing Carmelita down with him. Carmelita reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, surprised at the softness of it.

Carmelita's heart was pounding; never before had she engaged in a kiss of this magnitude. It was perfect. Absolutely everything about it was perfect, and she realized this more and more as she thought about it; Sly had saved her life, and now he was expressing how he truly felt about her in a way that words never could manage. She had had guys say that they loved her in the past, but their actions never expressed what they said. This, however, was incredible. She was feeling things that she had never experienced before in the past; for the first time in her life, she was in love.

Reluctantly, Sly broke the kiss; gently sucking on her lower lip as he pulled away. Carmelita was left breathless, and managed only to stare him deeply in the eyes. Sly leaned in once more, placing one last quick kiss on her lips.

"Bentley sent me up here to find a room to sleep in," she said softly, still mesmerized by the kiss that had ended only moments before. "Could you, um, unlock the room next to this one?"

"We are both really tired," he said, a small smile on his features. "You could always sleep in here for today, and we just worry about setting up your room as soon as we are rested."

This caught Carmelita off guard, causing her to adopt an odd look on her face. Sly chuckled when he saw it, causing her to blush. "Are you sure?" She asked.

"Of course," replied Sly. "This is a pretty big bed, after all, and it would be nice to have someone to share it with, even if only for one night. You wouldn't mind, would you?" Sly did realize that this was a little quick to be asking someone to share a bed with him, but he didn't care, all that mattered to him was that he was with the person that he cared more about than anyone else in the world.

Carmelita let her cheeks to go back to a normal shade, and then adopted a look of deep thought. She had never shared a bed with anyone in her life, and she didn't fully trust Sly yet, but, what the heck, she thought. It's only sleeping, right? She didn't reply to Sly with words, but nestled her head down against his chest, closing her eyes. She yawned, and then nuzzled deeper into Sly's embrace, letting his warmth and the gentle rhythm of his heartbeat lull her into the world of sleep. Sly gave a sigh of contentment before closing his eyes to join his love in a much needed rest.

A/N

Wow was this chapter a load of fun to write. So what did you guys think? Has their relationship moved just a little bit too quickly, or was Sly's timing with the kiss perfect? Let me know, because I seriously can't figure it out :P The whole overarching plot of the story was hinted at in the beginning of this chapter, can you figure out what it is? The next chapter may take a couple of days to go up, because I have finals coming up and a HUGE art project due in just a few days, so if anyone is out there reading this, all I can ask is that you are patient. Good things come to those who wait, they always say

-Jake