Not my flashiest title, but I think it works! This is the last of the chapters I had…
Semi-ready before my long ass hiatus. I hope you guys enjoy- as I shake the dust off these
old hands of mine
Disclaimer: Ya know the drill, this is a fan work, Sly Cooper and Co. are the intellectual
property of Sucker Punch and official property of Sanzaru
Chapter 33: Evening Prep
This… wasn't exactly how Neyla expected her night to go down. Ambushed by a presumably
psychotic assassin, only now to be in the company… and potential custody… of Her Majesty's
Secret Service. Just… bloody brilliant.
"Just talk? You're not going to arrest me?" Neyla inquired, obviously quite skeptical of the
Agent. Post mortem aside she was, by multiple accounts, still a wanted international criminal.
But to her surprise the Lynx shook his head as he had a seat on a nearby bench setting his lantern
down for a stable light.
"Rest assured, unlike my partner, I'm more curious than anything… such as to how you're able to
be in two places at once." He added as Neyla cocked an eyebrow at him. That… was definitely
more questions to add to the list for her. But so far he wasn't hauling her off and as long as the
status quo didn't change… she'd play his game. As such she sat next to him with a soft sigh, a
neutral look upon his face making him near unreadable. Damn… at one point that was her
specialty.
"Alright Agent Hartman…" Neyla started before he raised his hand and stopped her.
"Please, Sebastian. There's no need to be particularly formal at the moment." He spoke as she let
off a sigh and nodding to him she continued.
"...Sebastian, let's… start from the beginning… your partner wouldn't happen to be…" she began
speaking with a certain air of caution about her. She saw what he was capable of and if he turned
she'd be at a relative disadvantage.
"Yes. My partner is one Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox, of Interpol. After your re-emergence
and her continued failure to capture your friends, I was dispatched to come and assist. You are an
international criminal after all." He spoke as Neyla nodded to him. It made a fair bit of sense that
Interpol wanted to bring in some fresh talent to bring them in… which only deepened her
nagging paranoia. What if he was just keeping her busy while Carmelita was closing in to
surround her?
"Which begs the question… how can I trust you?" She asked as the Lynx chuckled. He figured it
was a matter of time before she addressed the proverbial elephant. Not that he minded, he had
nothing particular to hide.
"I can't provide any immediate means of trust, but I can later tonight… I suspect our colleagues
might start to get worried." He spoke standing back up. "I do have a copy of Inspector Foxs'
notes from the Venice encounter, I can provide those to you later tonight… maybe it can help
you." He added as Neyla tilted her head. Once again it was hard getting a read on him, but yet…
sighing softly she looked to him following the reasoning of that tried and true proverbial phrase
of better to ask for forgiveness than permission.
"Bentleys going to kill me… alright. Name a time and place and we'll try and make it there." She
said as the suave dressed man nodded helping her back to her feet. "I do owe you one after all."
"Excellent. How about back here, an hour or so from now? From what I've seen it's the last place
the guards check." He spoke as he adjusted his clothes and opened his umbrella. "Lovely weather
for a stroll, can I escort you back to your friends?" He asked earning a shake from Neylas head
as she picked up her hood, a chuckle escaping his lips. "I understand. Until next time Ms.
Neyla." He spoke as he offered a curt bow before heading off.
"A curiosity huh…" Neyla spoke to herself. He dropped a lot of questions that seemed to really
complicate things. Not that things weren't complicated already… but this encounter was sure to
make Bentley happy.
"You ran into who?!" and by 'make him happy' she, of course, knew it would upset him. News
of her meeting with Sebastian, naturally put the gang of thieves on edge. Carmelita was one thing
but Agent Hartman was a different ball of wax. Not that Sly had anything against him. He did
help Neyla out of a bind after all.
"Bentley, I think we should try and calm down. Think about it, if he wasn't true to his word I'm
pretty sure Carmelita would've shot our door down by now." Sly spoke up, having fully
understood the good Inspectors tendency to jump at any opportunity to take them into custody.
Though he had his own worries over the additional law enforcement, it was enough that he at the
very least kept Neyla from winding up in the local obituary.
Sighing softly Bentley fumed for a moment before Murray finally let go of him. "Yeah, I…
suppose you're right." He spoke as he took a breath as he retrieved a notepad from his belt. He
was able to get a look at the Roster and was able to jot down what they needed. It would help
him to talk strategy.
"We'll keep an eye on this… Agent Hartman then." he spoke as he recomposed himself, cleaning
his glasses of the fog it had accumulated from his little outburst. From his vest he produced a
notepad of which he had managed to jot down the contents of the Flight Roster for their use.
Prior to his meltdown he had set up his projector to which he was ready to relay their next plan
of attack with some alterations after Neylas announcement.
"Now, according to the ACES flight line up, our team is slated to face off against Team Iceland
and Team Belgium in the semi final round tomorrow." he spoke as he soon brought up a picture
of Sly and Neylas planes. "As you all know, we only got two planes, while our opponents will be
flying fifteen a piece, making this a very very narrow chance for victory." he spoke as Neyla
looked to Sly. The both of them were excellent pilots but those were rough odds.
"Knowing you Bentley… I imagine you have a solution?" Neyla asked as he nodded to her.
"An excellent question Neyla, and the answer is quite simple: pinning the two teams against each
other." he spoke as he brought up a map of the town on the next slide, producing a marker to help
make his point. "Here's what we'll have to do. First, Sly and Murray will move underneath the
sewers beneath town to gain access to an air vent into Team Iceland's hotel room, steal one of
their trademarked Viking helmets,then head into Team Belgiums Hangar..." he spoke as he drew
out a series of dots dashes and lines indicating their path. "...Vandalize one of their aircraft, then
plant the helmet to frame Team Iceland for the crime." he spoke much to the gang's surprise.
This was especially intricate, even for Bentley. With each operation Neyla had accompanied
them on she continued to see more and more how the gang always made it out in the end. This
turtle was a bonafide virtuoso of strategic planning.
"Next up, Murray and I will work on stealing one of the Belgians monogrammed handkerchiefs-" Then an image of a truck which Bentley drew a multitude of arrows towards it.
"While they Guru breaks into the truck containing Icelands lucky Ice Sculpture. Sly steals the
art- and plants the Handkerchief-"
"Implying Belgium for the crime- I get it. Done right, then we're framing them both for crimes
they didn't commit-" Neyla spoke as she put her fist into her hand to emphasize her point.
"Effectively pitting them against eachother. It's brilliant Bentley" it was a devious plot- she was
incredibly impressed with the turtle.
"I appreciate your understanding Neyla- it's a lot to do- especially since the semi-final starts in
the morning. But this is the only chance we have to even the odds. That said-" He spoke as he
looked to Neyla. "I'll be accompanying you when you go to see Agent Hartman again after I
finish up with Murray." Neyla would look to him with a curious expression on her face. "Yes, it
can be a bit… risky since I'm our tactician- but this is a new player, and I'm not chancing anyone
going to him alone until I have more intelligence." after he finished, Neyla, would nod her
understanding to him. Though she had earned his trust quite some time ago- she appreciated his
willingness to look out for her.
"Thank you, Bentley, that means a lot. But wait- what's stopping other teams from sabotaging
us?" That was true- just because the Baron land down the law, from how the other pilots jeered
him, it meant that others may do the same.
"You may be more right than you know, Penelope, contacted me before you arrived. She's been
hearing a rumor that a team may make a move on our planes. Luckily I've been gearing up for
that possibility, with a defense grid." He spoke as with a sense of pride, he lightly puffed his
chest. "It needs some finishing touches- but I can handle that after the meeting, with Murrays
help of course." Murray would put his Fists together, and grin.
"With us on the job- our planes will be safe as babies in their crib!" Murray spoke up, in the way
he always knew how. "I can head there after me and Sly finish framing Iceland." With that- it
sounded like everything was set.
"Then gear up everyone. We've got work to do." With that last word from the Bentley, the gang
prepared themselves.
"Pleasure doing business with youse" Muggshot had just finished paying off a considerable force
of the Barons men. Having participated in this competition for a few years now, the former crime
lord had a man or two on the inside. It was this inside man that told him, that one of his
opponents this year- was in fact a certain ring-tailed menace. The bulldogs memory was long,
and he had not forgotten the humiliation Sly had brought upon him years ago in Mesa City. As a
gangster- he respected the eye for an eye, but it went both ways. It was time for payback.
"You've been busy- haven't you?" Spoke a synthesized voice as Muggshot turned, to be face to
mask with Chrona. He chuckled softly as he looked to her.
"Maybeh, what's it to ya Shorty?" he asked as he looked at the smaller masked woman before
him. "I'm just makin' a few friends is all-"
"By paying them off? I know a bribe when I see one." She had been around for a nightly ride, to
keep her wings trained when she stumbled upon his little business meeting. All she earned was
an arrogant chuckle from the muscle bound dog.
"So what? Ya gonna turn me in tha Baron? It'd be yer word against mine. Sides' I got some beef
to take care of-"
"Would it happen to be with Team Cooper?" When she was assigned as Carmelitas partner, she
had boned up on as much of Slys history as possible. She knew well what went down in Mesa
City. "As one who has an axe to grind with them- perhaps we can help each other?" Muggshot
would look to her, and after a minute or two- he let off a loud laugh.
"I don't know what you have gainst Cooper, and I appreciate yer offer- but trust me- I have
enough power to deal with em now. An' no offense- but I'm not too big on takin' help from a
lady." He spoke as he stared at Chrona. "So wit' all respect- take a hike. I got this." He gazed at
the shape of those wings on her back. There was something… familiar about them, but he
couldn't put a finger on it. With a soft exhale- Chrona chuckled.
"You're stupider than I thought. Don't say I didn't try to help you… I'll be around then."
Spreading her wings- Chrona took off into the night sky as she left him to his games. This should
be interesting to say the least.
Back in their safe house- Sebastian had stepped back in from his walk. He had come to retrieve
the data he had promised. He was half-expecting to find Carmelita up and about, but he came to
find the exact opposite. His partner was passed out at her desk- a half finished bottle of wine
close by.
"Poor girl…" it was obvious to him she was coping with something. What it was- he wasn't
exactly sure. But he had a fair guess if the whispers at Interpol were anything to go by. Chief
among them that her failure to capture Sly, may have had an intimate element to it. That she had
feelings for him that clouded her mind.
But was she coping with the rumors… or something far more devastating. This wasn't the first
time he had found her like this- and as much as he wanted to help her, she was ironclad in her
work. Too busy for him to pry… but he could help in other capacities. He would scoop up the
slumbering Inspector- and carry her to her bed, tucking her in.
"Why… her…?" He heard her mumble in her sleep. Heartbreaking to him- he saw her grasp her
covers tightly around herself. She was definitely hurting bad- on the inside. Which was hard to
see in a woman so famously strong. He checked his watch- and would softly exhale. 'There will
be time to help her… for now, I need to get going.'
He went to his belongings, and retrieved his copy of Carmelitas notes - At least of the assassin
she encountered in Venice. This was a calculated gamble he was taking, a chance to hear both
sides of the story- if only from the distance. And since Carmelita wasn't very willing to do that
outright- he'd have to roll the dice for her as a neutral party, of sorts.
"Sleep tight Carmelita… I'll be back soon." He whispered as he grabbed his umbrella and headed
back out.
Thank you for reading! I'm still shaking the rust off but I'm grateful that there's still
readers. Especially my friend Titan King, seriously mate, thanks for not giving up on me.
See y'all soon!(hopefully)