Interpol Headquarters, Lyon, France.
The phone rings at the empty desk that used to be Carmelita's. They wait for days ready to tape any conversation she may say, they wait to turn on the trace to find her location. This post would have many people checking in on it every hours for any ringing but today, that ringing is drowned out by all the other ringing on phones which have no people stationed at them. In fact, this entire floor is almost vacant; all the agents have gone on duty to follow the leads of the public. Heaps of tips have been coming in on Sly Cooper's location and they have been told to take every single one seriously. The day shift has yet to come in so the only person left in the building is Geoffrey. He was tasked with monitoring the phone to Carmelita's desk. They thought he would have the best chance to get her in since he had worked with her. He receives the call on the phone and turns on the tape and trace.
"Hello." He says in a calm voice, the rehearsed lines he is meant to say are in front of him to help him achieve the 45 seconds required for a successful trace.
"Turn off the trace now or I blow your head in when I see you." She threatens. She hears the click of the switch, indicating to her that the machine is off.
"Everyone's gone, they are everywhere looking for you." He warns.
"I know that, do you realise that?" She says, raising her voice to apply outrageous amounts of sarcasm.
"Sorry" He apologetically says, she scares him frequently. She is the stuff of nightmares, both to criminals on her radar and to those who work with her.
"Listen, you reinstate my Interpol credentials and be ready for me when I arrive." She explains.
"But, I'd have to go into the Directors office." He says, scared for what would happen when caught, life in prison doesn't sound attractive to him.
"I'm sure you can do it, or I will put you in prison for interfering with justice, you are talking to a wanted woman after all."
"I'll, I'll try." He stutters, succumbing to the task he must face. There shall be no margin for error. Failure equals prison time. Now that he thinks through the plan slowly. It can't be that hard, no one is in the office and the director is spending all his time down in the war rooms below. His office should be vacant. He slowly wanders through the empty hallways with paper strewn over the place from the night before. Not even the cleaners have done their job. He presses the button for the elevator and looks around, he sees no one coming after him. He feels slightly better with himself. The polished, stainless steel doors open to reveal the broad shoulders of the Director, who towers over him like a skyscraper around cardboard boxes. He is especially intimidating to him; just the sight of him freaks him out. Reluctantly, walks inside, trying not to reveal anything about the plan to him. He tries to look away from him and face the wall but the director doesn't like this, it is the mark of a coward.
"Look here." The director instructs him as he turns his arms to make this runt face him.
"Look at my face." He says, the sweaty beads just drain down his face from another night of bad leads and general failure to live up to his goal.
"Do you see a man that's done a good job?" He asks into his face. Geoffrey doesn't know what to say. There is no right answer in his mind. He decides to appease him.
"Yes sir!" He says. But his face is only met with a slap from the director. The director catches him to prevent him from falling from the force of the hand to the face. He wants Geoffrey to hear this.
"No! Because Sly Cooper is not in this building!" He shouts, venting his frustration. "Do you think that the sign of a good job is being drenched in your own sweat in these clothes for hours into the night only to emerge with nothing?!"
"Uh, no?" Geoffrey replies.
"That it the most piss-weak response I've ever heard from someone in this building. You disgrace not only me, but this great organisation!" He says. Geoffrey expects only certain death as the next thing to be out of the Director's mouth. His frantic tirade is only ended by the ping of the doors opening for the top floor.
"Well, best be on your way." The director says in a change in tone.
"Can I help you with your coat sir? He asks, how can he still offer to help this monster after what he just said?
"Sure, sure. Just put it in my office, I'm going to take a shower." The director announces. His office has been refitted, former chief Barkley's office was way too small for his tastes. This office has everything needed to live here. Bathroom, kitchen, a couch that turns into a bed and, most importantly, a desk with the compuer. Geoffrey puts the coat on the chair facing the computer on the desk. He waits until he hears the running water of the shower before he begins the most daring thing he has ever attempted. He opens up the computer and quickly loads up the necessary programs required to update officer's information. Being the director, this computer has access to all of the information at Interpol. Restoring the credentials is easy, he spends most of his time in front of a computer so he knows his way around an OS. That is done, so he is about to shut down the computer as it was but he is curious to know what is happening below. But that is cut short as he the Director finishes his shower earlier than expected. He must be in a hurry.
"Can you get on the phone and tell Caroline that I'll be up in 2 minutes?" He shouts out from the bathroom. Obediently, Geoffrey rings the personal assistant of the director and does as he asks of him. The director rushes out of the bathroom, still a bit wet from not having the time to dry himself up properly, he'll have time to get changed on the plane.
"Also, can you get the briefcase from inside the desk? It should be in the left compartment." He asks again. Once again, he follows his instructions. He takes out the heavily fortified briefcase and with all his puny strength, carries it to the director who is quickly buttoning up his shirt. The case has a strange symbol on the bottom, but he has no time to study it as he gives to the director whose muscles barely flex as he takes the load of the case. His rushing out of the door means that he doesn't notice that Geoffrey just remains in his office. Outside he can hear the sound of the helicopter taking off from the roof and then he sees the fast rotating blades tilt toward the airport. His destination is not what he is thinking about, but it's that weird symbol on the briefcase. He sits down in the comfy office chair and opens the drawers for a pencil and paper so he can picture his thoughts. The sketch he draws down doesn't resemble anything that he was thinking of. It looks like a scribble to him, frustrated he throws into the bin.
Instead, he decides to set up a screen share with his own computer so that he doesn't have to be in his office. It would only add more suspicion. That is done and he leaves the office as if he wasn't there. The stillness also freaks him out. It's never this quiet around here. He has the entire place to himself.
"I've done it." He says, replying back to Carmelita. This surprises her greatly but she isn't going to let him know that.
"Good. Where is the director now?" She asks.
"He just left in a helicopter. I think he's going to the airport." He explains.
"And where are his team of deputies?"
"No one is in here, you see. I've got the entire building to myself." He exclaims as he hears the echo bouncing off all the walls and roof.
"How?"
"Everyone is gone looking for that Sly Cooper thief. They have been told to follow all the tip offs seriously and no one has the time to come back. I'm here monitoring your phone but I guess I won't be doing that anymore."
"Just be ready when we arrive."
"Okay." He replies as he hangs up the phone and puts his feet up and reclines his seat with the entire floor to himself.
Penelope's Plane, 7:40am 28th July 2013.
Penelope ascends into the clouds and levels off, Otto has joined them in the cockpit. He wants to say something to her, but he can't say anything. He doesn't have the confidence to profess himself to her. He feels so inferior compared to Penelope. They way she just handles the plane with such force but with such delicacy is pleasing to his eyes, it makes him so happy inside. He knows he doesn't have much time left, so he goes all in.
"Penelope, I know that haven't been much to you, or that I have been too over the top. But since time is short, I must say this."
He takes a deep breath. The pressure builds as Penelope waits to hear what he has to say. But it is too much for him as he walks away as fast as possible from the cockpit. He can't face her for all the love that he professes to others. The embarrassment is way too much for him and he goes back to the safety of his plane. Penelope puts the plane in autopilot and goes down to see how Otto is holding up. She doesn't want him to return a nervous wreck. She doesn't say anything as she approaches in order to nurture the situation to her advantage.
"I won't bite." She says to Otto who is leaning with his head in his hands on the side of his plane.
"I'm not good enough." He says into his forearms. The muffled voice is only faintly detected by Penelope. She knows that he loves her very much. But her heart is not with him. Besides, they would produce genetically weak offspring if they chose so. The match itself is not ideal in other, more obvious circumstances. The first being the 100 year gap between their times. Secondly, the changes to the time space continuum would be almost too big to imagine. She can only offer him the ticket back home.
"Come on, we're ready to send you back." She says as she gives him a kiss on the cheek. This gives Otto all of the energy and will he needs to survive back in the first world war. Quickly he gets into the plane, ready to drive it into the time machine.
"I will never forget that!" he shouts as he turns the engine on. Penelope dials in the correct date and place into the time machine and the portal starts to spin up.
"Goodbye." She shouts at him over the propeller engine.
"Goodbye my love!" He shouts back as he enters the time machine. The plane is gone, he is gone.
That is done for her. She returns into the pilots seat, wondering about him. She can't really think of much else for a while, did she really have reciprocal feelings for him? She looks at Sly, whose cap has fallen of his head during the take-off. She reaches down and puts it back on his head. She smiles to herself; she turns the cap backwards and tries to imagine Sly like some sort of rapper. That only brings her back to the cruise to Blood bath bay. He was wearing a huge fur coat 3 sizes to big for him and a golden knuckleduster with the word 'swag' on it. Dark shades and sneakers are what completed his disguise. She doesn't think that Sly could pull off any lyrical miracles; he doesn't know much else apart from being a thief. Just like she doesn't know much else apart from planes, computers and remote controlled devices. Jokes, aside she sits back down into the jet for the next hour as they fly across the European continent for Lyon.