"It's a little funny…"

"What is?"

"…sorry, inside joke."

"Tell me."

"Fine. Why does a assassin belong in a casino?"

"Because they both gamble?"

"…yeah?"

I groaned yet again as Bentley tried and failed once again to make friendly talk. As if the trip-lasers and the bloodhounds with the tommy guns weren't bad enough.

Mesa City wasn't as hard as Bentley made it out to be. While security detail went up due to the demise of Sir Raleigh, I found a shortcut that got me in front of Muggshot's base of operations, a casino called the Boneyard. If I wanted to find Muggshot without Bentley's help, I would have just turned my head to the left slightly and look at the building decorated with nothing but dog appeal.

And yet, I had to be at least a week ahead of the police. Go figure.

I had to wait a week before coming here. I had two reasons as to why. The first was that Muggshot was holding a party in two days. I got here to scope the place out and decide on the best plan on getting my target. Muggshot was all muscle; some say he could block bullets by flexing. That, and the general idea of security outside meant the place inside would be a fort.

Second reason was that Bentley had to set up. Thank god Muggshot had parties thrice a week.

"So, got a plan yet?" Asked Bentley.

"And here I thought you were the brains." I grumbled back.

"Well, you're the master here." He snarked back. "I'm working on some bombs. Need any?"

"Depends." I spoke as I practiced Roichi's technique of the spiral jump. Thankfully Muggshot's territory had plenty of tiny platforms. "If the security is too tight, it would just be easier to blow up the entire floor above Muggshot and bury him."

"But…" Bentley started to stutter. "What about the other people in the building?"

"If Muggshot had any brain power, he would play with the rich and famous…possibly people he worked with before. Owner's table. Take out the general and his soldiers in a swift blow."

"But if he doesn't? What if he mostly mingles with the innocents?"

"Then I'll kill him in the middle of the crowd. I've done so before."

"Okay, good. What if there isn't a crowd thick enough to hide in?"

"Smoke bomb."

"But what if someone chokes?"

I groaned. "Okay, what's the problem?"

"I'm looking at all the possible variables." Bentley defended. "If you're planning on killing one of America's most successful business dog, you're going to have think ahead for everything."

"Then think ahead and make a smoke bomb that doesn't cause people to choke." I shot back. I lowered the volume on the earpiece in order to focus on a tricky jump across some power lines. At the end of the line, the last pole gave a great view of the casino and the security outside. While spread out thin, there didn't seem to a nonviolent route inside. If I killed anyone, it's over. Muggshot would call off the party until further notice, and Fort Knox would look unguarded compared to what Muggshot would do.

Then, some neon lights started to flick. Funny, the outside of the place looked clean. And then the light started to explode. Some guards took cover, while others left their posts to see the happening. I took this opportunity to swiftly enter through the service entrance.

"Enjoyed the light show?" Asked Bentley.

"…I got cameras."

"Sending loop." Bentley sighed. Guessed he wanted congratulations to overloading the lights. As the cameras flickered, I calmly walked to the door that led to the front desk, remembering the location of the cameras for later. The security inside almost didn't exist as only two guards were around, and they were getting a smoke in a corner underneath the stairs.

The place looked like any ordinary casino. Glaring lights, overbearing decorations, annoying sounds. Expect at near torturous levels. The lights were like spotlights and were aimed like something out of a police interrogation, the decorations were all dog and western stereotypes, and the sounds were coming from everywhere at once. A thought came into my mind to kill the people responsible for this first. But no, Muggshot would just hire new people. Cut off the cobra's head.

"Can you imagine all the loot in this place?" Bentley sounded excited.

"All of it is worthless to us." I replied. "Muggshot probably placed his stamp all over his money and stealing it will only cause unnecessary problems."

"But come on!" Now he sounded annoyed. Why? "If we're going to track down the Fiendish Five, we're going to need money! Money for traveling expenses, equipment, upkeep, food…you know…the important stuff!"

"I'm not a thief." I growled back.

"You're no gentlemen yourself."

"…what."

"What?"

"Let me put this straight." Bentley had just hit a rather sensitive button. "Gentleman thieves are amateurs. Any monkey with a toothpick could steal a gem. It takes skill to take a life and escape without leaving evidence. People fight back, even if you come up behind them without being detected."

"Err…Sly?"

"Thieves are smug. Over-confident. Boastful about the crime they commit. No wonder they get caught all the time."

"…aren't you supposed to be watching for guards?"

"Fine."

There was nothing but radio silence until I returned back to the shack that Bentley had set up. On the outside, one would wonder how the thing staid up. Inside, the place had walls that could block explosives. I don't know how the little green nerd pulled it off, but the place fitted my needs perfectly. Out of the way, protective, supplies, and had enough room. I liked being in small places. Felt natural.

"Got a plan?" Bentley asked without emotion. He must be a fan of thieves. Real shame for him to learn the truth.

"Simple." I rolled out a floor plan I 'found'. "You…that means you…will go to party and cheat your way to the dealer's table. Bentley, you will need to take a fall and let everyone know you're cheating."

"I just saw at least ten flaws with that plan."

"Hush." I pointed to the penthouse. "With the guards distracted, I will sneak in and wait for Muggshot. I'll rig the room with fake explosives, remove all security measures and get him to reveal the location of the Codex pages…and then I'll kill him in the cruelest way possible."

"What about me?" Bentley stuttered out.

"Be charming. Hand over the cheating device, and promise them something."

"What cheating device?"

"Invent one." I spread my arms out. "You made this. Surely a probability device or a machine that hacks a slot machine to 'even the odds' is nothing for you to sweat over."

"Okay…" He opened a toolbox and pulled out a screwdriver and a hammer. As he headed over to his workbench, he continued to talk. "…but where are you going to be while I'm risking my green neck as a simple distraction?"

"Folding into the crowd." I sighed before flopping onto the bed, hopping to get a little catnap before the big event. Yet, Bentley continued to bark like a dog. Wish I could put him down.

"Tell me about one of your ancestors."

"…I can arrange a meeting with them if you interrupt my sleep again."

"Okay, okay! Geez."

I grumbled as I closed my eyes. As I tried to dive into the darkness, I found myself being pulled back into the light.

"…ever heard of Tennessee Kid Cooper?" I asked, my eyes still closed.

"Famous outlaw killer?"

"Indeed. While a outlaw murderer himself, it also his title. The old west had a lot of criminals, but the worst were the ones who claimed to uphold the law. Dark stars shadowed the land, and Tennessee took up freelance to make it a better place. He would expose the corrupted right before he would lay them down to rest with their arms crossed, badge on their chest, and a bullet in the brain."

"How many did he kill?"

"…near a hundred. Eventually, after having a family, he set out for his last job. A train was carrying thirty-seven crooked lawmen to the east on protection from the Avenging Reaper. These were the last bunch of guys that Tennessee had on his list."

"Wait…" Bentley tapped the side of his head. "…that ended with a explosion and over sixty bodies, right?"

"Yeah…The Sunset Villa Express disaster. The closest a Cooper has gotten to public attention. Even then, they couldn't identify any bodies, so Tennessee could have ditched the train after placing the bomb and started a business selling snake oil."

"B-but…" Bentley again stuttered. He's going to have to lose it if he wants to follow me. "….there were federal cops on the train! And the people just running the train! He killed innocents doing their jobs!"

"Innocents?" I growled. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Right, Trekkie?" Bentley took the attack as super-effective. "There more murderers and thieves on that train than decent folks. And those cops could have been crooked too. Probably were taking bribes as the bomb went over. And the people on the train could have been the same too. In the end, a assassin must take the best route to take out the garbage."

"That's reckless!" Bentley cried out. "You don't know that! You don't know if they family waiting for them! Or really anything! How many lives has the Coopers ruined? By taking the direct route of just killing, you risk everything!"

I must have chuckled at the point, as Bentley didn't talk until later the night. I remember saying, "Then I guess your joke makes sense now."

Bentley went in first. I would wait fifteen minutes before mingling with the crowd and keeping a watchful eye on security. If all went well, this would only take two hours.

I could feel my blood pumping. I almost started to sweat a bit; a little from the heat and the rest from the excitement of it all. Raleigh might have had a fortress packed with guards and defenses, but this would be my first real challenge. Licking my chops, I continued to monitor the area in front of me, while I should have been looking around me for any guards.

Zuup

The distinct sound of a shock pistol powering up; right next to the back of my head.

"Make one false move and you'll light up like a Christmas Tree!" Came the order from the person holding the pistol. I stood up slowly, hands in the air. As I turned to my captor, my mind recognized the voice. As soon I made a 180, I made eye contact with a familiar face.

"Gotcha!" Carmelita burst out laughing. While clutching her side, she turned the shock pistol off. With the threat removed, I too started to laugh.

"Inspector!" I cried out, hugging my adopted-sister under my society-friendly 'Fox' persona. "What brings this far out west?"

"Well, two things, but let's go inside." She played with her collar. "I'm burning up."

Opening the door, I was surprised to see the entire casino to be filled with literally hundreds of people. From the rich to the lucky, anybody with any name was here to mingle, gamble and ramble. While I heard some snide remarks about my dollar-store suit, I heard much more about Carmelita's white dress. My sister always attracted people. From the handsome to the ugly, the sane to the deranged. She would brush them off with her hand or the butt of her handy pistol.

…while I admit I have feelings for my adopted sister, I had a lot to do first become considering continuing the Cooper legacy. One of the last things I had to was find a decent excuse.

As I swiped two glasses with sparkling white wine and handed one to Carmelita, she started on her reason being here. "First thing. Sir Raleigh's murder has set off a lot of alarms. In particular, this place rang the loudest. Muggshot is preparing to turn state witness in exchange for protection and lessened punishment."

Something burned up in my gut, and it wasn't the lousy wine. Second target, and he was taking the coward's way out. While I could take credit for suicide, the police would place Muggshot way out of my reach. I wasn't planning on dying until the Fiendish Five were thrown into hell.

"You okay?" Asked Carmelita. She always had a way with understanding faces.

"Bad wine." I dumped the rest into a potted plant before placing the empty glass onto a tray. "And that second thing?"

"…the second thing…" She started, before trailing off. She looked around before leading me to a less crowded corner by my arm. "…the second thing…I'm really not supposed to be here. I came here to find the Grey Sickle."

"The…Grey Sickle?" I asked, my 'Fox' persona being as confused as my 'Cooper' persona.

"You haven't seen the news…or read any reports?" She hissed. 'Fox' tended to be a bit lazy, and Carmelita tended to bug 'Fox' about paperwork. Sure, she hated it too, but she did it no matter what. I had the excuse of covering my tracks.

"You know me." I put on a dickish smile. It hurt my face doing it. She groaned, before reaching into her purse and pulling out a photo. She handed me it, and I took a good look at it.

My god, I thought. It's me! The photo thankfully shadowed me out, but I could tell by the shape of the figure and my scythe. By the looks, the photo was taken back at Raleigh's hideout.

"One of the security cameras was able to catch Raleigh's killer, barely. Since then, we connected him to various other murders of other criminals. The press named him 'The Grey Sickle' because of the one recurring element found in witness' testimonies. Interpol made it his official file name, and they sent me to take him down."

"I guess Interpol is getting jealous." I cracked.

"Jealous?" She spat out. "Sly, this man has been confirmed responsible for over twenty murders. And we have evidence pointing to him as the killer in over fifty cases. He's a psychopath. Who knows when he cracks and starts to kill out of pattern?"

"Hey, you're the one who expressed disgust of not nabbing every single criminal." I reminded her of her oath.

"But murder is not the answer." She groaned. "All it does is cause more problems for all involved. I seen cases like this before, and let me tell you, revenge can go a long way."

"Indeed." I muttered underneath my breath. She thankfully didn't hear that as she continued.

"Anyway, now that I have divulged top secret secrets, now tell me what brings you here." She asked, as returned to the main crowd.

"Three month vacation." I replied. "Mom and dad didn't tell you?"

"They told me that you borrowed a hundred thousand for some reason. Going on a world cruise?"

"In a way. I go wherever I feel like going." I put on that damn smile again. "Oh, and the hundred thousand hasn't been touched. So far, I've been living on my own hard-earned money."

"If that's supposed to be a burn…"

"Remind me, did that Barbie actually have a real diamond necklace?"

"No!" She laughed out. "Remember? After my two months grounding, I accidently dropped the damn thing and the 'diamond' broke into a million pieces!" She barely could say anything without laughing.

"And then mom re-grounded you for another week!" I said, following suite. While not funny to me, I had learned to realistically fake laughter from a young age.

"Oh yes…and then…" She stopped laughing for a minute to collect her thoughts. "…you blew it up!"

"I was sick of the voice!" No kidding there. The doll repeated the same ten phrases over and over. I blew it up with extreme prejudice.

"Mom grounded you for a week, but dad still snuck you her delicious chocolate cake during the night." Her silly smile faded as some unpleasant ideas came up. "They liked you more, huh?"

"They felt sorry for me." I grumbled out, something that would be said by either 'Fox' or 'Cooper'. They really did. It didn't take much to get that hundred thousand. "Sure, they never neglected you…"

She bit her lip. "…yeah." The conservation trailed off, but thankfully something else came up.

"I didn't cheat!"

Two massive Dobermen came down the stairs, easily carrying the struggling Bentley. He continued to proclaim his innocence. "I didn't cheat, I just changed the rules of the game!"

"Gee, I ever heard that before." The Doberman on the right groaned.

"Looks like my fun ends here." Carmelita sighed. "You going to be okay?"

"Yeah, sure." I replied. "Don't get shot."

"Trust me, I'm immune to spit." She got out as she pushed through the crowd.

Showtime.

As I predicted, I would need a breathing Muggshot to get the Codex pages. A simple examination of the room showed the only place I couldn't reach without alerting anyone: a bookshelf safe with the combination of a ocular lock and a thumbprint handle. About a year ago, me and Carmelita had a case involving the same kind of safe, with the owner being our victim. As part of the instructions, two people were recommended to be the safe openers. Muggshot would be one, and I had not time to find the second guy, if there was a second to begin with.

I ditched my penguin suit in a garbage disposal, so I could cool down with my assassin's gear. The fake bombs were planted, any forms of security were disabled, and I was alone in the dark, waiting to take my second step.

My mind began to wander to Bentley and Carmelita. Hopefully, Carmelita wouldn't pressure him into revealing my true identity. Only he knew. And I didn't want anyone else on my secret. Especially not Carmelita. To her, the world had only two colors. And she saw people as one or the other. She saw herself as a blinding white, and her casefiles were all painted pitch black.

As I started to imagine her as a angel, the door creaked open. I quickly deepened myself into the shadows.

"Yeah, yeah." Came the deep accent of my target. "Make sure he understands the entire message. Oh, and contact Henry. He could use that gizmo." He grumbled as he slammed the door shut. "Kids. I swear…" He trailed over into mumbling, before throwing off his stolen grey jacket and jumping into his throne. I gave him a moment to place his legs on his desk, light up a Cuban cigar before approaching him.

"Enjoy your smoke." I rasped as I placed my scythe up to his meaty throat.

"What the hel-"

"And don't bother doing anything." I chuckled a bit to deliver the next bit more effectively. "I dissembled your guns, took out your cameras and silent alarms…and if you think about attacking me…" I pointed to one of the bombs placed on a pillar. "I do have a parachute."

"Why…"

"Oh, I threw out your biscuits. I'm not a big fan of cheddar."

"Bastard!" He growled before talking through gritted teeth. "I take it you want something more valuable than just money."

"Safe." I placed the scythe closer to his Adam's apple. "Now."

"Well okay." He replied in a mocking voice before walking up to the safe in stride. As he opened the safe, he started to hum. If he's trying to unnerve me, it not's working. With a kind smile, he opened the safe, revealing my prize of the Codex pages.

"Well, that makes sense." He chuckled as I snatched the pages. "You're the Cooper kid, right? Killed your daddy?" He pointed at me. "Yeah…and what do you know? I told them it would come back and bite us in the ass, and now…" He sighed. "…let me guess. The bombs aren't real, and you're going to kill me as part of your revenge."

"On the head." I said as I placed the scythe on his neck, ready for the kill.

"So…Ms. Ruby is next, huh?" He again talked like this was a everyday thing.

"And here I thought were just the muscle of the Fiendish Five."

"Yeah, yeah." He groaned, pushing the scythe away with one hand. I couldn't move back. "Hey, everybody. Look at Muggshot. He's all muscle, and no brains. Kid, if I gained…half of a penny for every time my intelligence got insulted, I would break the world's economy."

He continued. "Raleigh is a engineer capable of building giant robots, Ruby can raise the dead to enslave a country, the Panda King could blow up Fort Knox times 10, and Clockwerk is capable of stealing the United Nations, you might ask…where does that leave me, Muggshot? Simple. I'm the eyes. I paid attention to things you might miss and catch onto things that a sharpen mind overlooks. Plus…" He put on a smug smile. "I can take any sort of punishment you can inflict on me."

"I will kill you." I growled. "No matter how fast you think."

"You underestimate me. I don't need to think. I already did."

And with a snap of fingers, lights blinded me while the sound of locking and loading of guns all happened at once.

"Release your weapon and assume the position or we will fire." Carmelita's voice came over a loudspeaker. Hopefully the lights would hide my identity.

Muggshot laughed. "Go ahead!" He yelled out as he released hold of my scythe. "Your gamble! Kill me and get caught, or figure out how to escape!" The whirring sound of a helicopter came from behind me. "Oops! Too late!" Muggshot laughed again.

"Today is your lucky day." I grumbled.

"Indeed." He lowered his voice. "I had a good run, and this was my last call. Thirty years of maximum security, with the chance of parole and lower sentencing for good behavior is my prize. You might get life if you're lucky." He patted me on the head, knowing I couldn't fight back without getting shot. "And even if you do escape and move on to the next target…" He chuckled before continuing. "…Ms. Ruby will have the actual Grim Reaper waiting for you, you Halloween reject."

I remained adamant. "Mugghsot." I spoke.

"Yeah?"

"So…your talents are resistance and perception, right?"

"And strength."

I cracked a small smile. "Let's test it out."

While writing this, I made sure not to mention my backup plan. The one real bomb.

It exploded right in Muggshot's face, and blowing out the windows for the top three floors. As soon as it went off, I dived through the window opposite of the copter and quickly swung into the next floor window. As soon I heard the order of 'HE'S ON THE NEXT FLOOR!' I dived back through the window and opened my chute, floating down and away from all the chaos coming from the top floor.

"What happened?" Bentley asked as he started to remove glass my head.

"Muggshot saw us coming and called the police." I grunted as he removed a rather large chunk near my ear. "The worst part of it…"

"Outside of blowing up the top floor of a national known casino, filled with police and nearly got arrested?"

"He lived." I said all livid. "He's scarred, but that's not good enough for me." I got up and smashed my fist into the side of the hut. "Now he's under 24/7 watch. I have to…" I breathed in heavily. "…let up on him for a while."

"You sound like you failed completely." Bentley showed the recovered pages of the Codex.

"Those are secondary!" I swiped the pages out of his hands. "Killing the ones who wronged the clan are the most important!"

"I can't argue with you." Bentley groaned. "Next stop, Haiti."

"Ms. Ruby lives in a swamp, huh?" I guessed. "I could use a break from sneaking around urban environments." I yawned. Today was more tiring I thought. "I'm going to turn in. Wake me only in a emergency, like if the police find us."

"Don't worry, I got cameras." Bentley muttered before turning around to watch the monitors. At least he was getting more focused on the mission than on morality. As I took the pages to bed, I looked them over. Apparently, Tennessee could have been in the circus with his tightrope running and rail slide. I didn't know those would prove useful in surviving the swamp. Before I tucked in for the night, I chuckled a bit.

"What's so funny?" Asked Bentley from the other room.

"I was wrong about something." I replied as I threw my equipment into the corner.

"Thank god. What did you learn?"

"Tennessee sold lumber."