Chapter Text
It was a nice and breezy Tuesday afternoon in Paris. Not that Sly would know, as he was holed up in his and Carmelita's office in Interpol HQ. They had just got done with an investigation that ended with a successful arrest. They were now doing Sly's least favorite part of being on this side of the law, paperwork. He often thought about how much easier it would be if he could just sneak into the criminal’s base and steal their valuables and evidence that they had hidden away. But Sly had given up that part of his life in favor of the love of beautiful vixen that he is sharing an office and a pint-house flat with. As Sly watched his girlfriend do her part of the paperwork, he couldn't help but smile and remember the reason why he stopped being a thief. After a few minutes of staring, Sly got up, walked across the room, walked around her desk, and then stood behind his girlfriend. He then bent over and put his arms around Carmelita.
"What are you doing, Inspector Cooper?" said Carmelita in the sternest voice she could do as Sly put his chin on the top of her head.
"Oh, I was just bored and wanted to see how the most beautiful girl in the world was doing," Sly said in most innocent and flirty tone, "maybe you and I can head out early, get some take out, find a movie on Netflix, and spend the rest of the day cuddling. Maybe even a little more."
"As wonderful as that sounds, Sly," said Carmelita making Sly smile but quickly frown again when he realized a ’but’ was coming, "but I need to get done with all of this paperwork before I can go home. If you are done with all of your paperwork you can leave, get us some take out, and I will be home before you know it." She then gave him a kiss on the cheek. Sly would have tried to push the kiss into something more but there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," said Carmelita as Sly rushed back to his desk and sat down. In walked a young rookie detective. She was a snow leopard dressed in a blue bouse, a knee-length blue skirt, and black high-heeled shoes.
"Ex-ex-scuse me, s-s-sirs" said the snow leopard shyly, "b-b-but Inspector Armstrong would like to have a private word with Inspector Cooper."
"Thank you, Amelia," said Carmelita, getting back to her paperwork "I will stay here and get the paperwork done. You can go home and get things ready for tonight after you meet with Armstrong."
"Yes, ma'am," Sly said with an exaggerated salute causing Carmelita to roll her eyes and Amelia to try and hold back a giggle. As Sly walked down the hall to the chief’s office, he could not help but feel a little paranoid. The chief had never wanted to speak to him directly, usually he would talk to Carmelita about a new case or have both come in. The feeling of dread became even more prevalent as he noticed that Amelia and her partner, Arnold, a gorilla in a suit, were now following him down the hall. It should not have caused Sly's criminal instinct to kick in, Amelia and Arnold did work as assistants to the chief, but he was now looking for the quickest exit he could take if things go south. When he got to the office door, he looked behind him, Arnold was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Amelia on the other hand gave him a reassuring but nervous smile and wave. Sly had to admit that at least Amelia tried to get his nerves down.... didn't really help. Armstrong was a slightly greying White-tailed deer wearing a yellow button up shirt, suspenders, black pants, and black dress shoes. The Chief was sitting behind a large oak desk in a large comfy-looking chair. Armstrong took over the position left behind by Inspector Barkley, after he was finally able to retire. Armstrong was more of a softer touch than Barkley.
"Come in, Cooper, and pull up a chair," said the Chief gesturing to the chairs in front of the desk. Without a word, a very paranoid Sly sat down as calmly as possible, trying not to show how nervous he was.
"You wanted to see me," said Sly in a calm voice.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I wanted to talk to you about this," said Armstrong opening a drawer in his desk to pull out a rather large and thick file and flopped it down onto his desk. The file might as well have been a gun pointed right at him. He could see the name on the file, and it said the name: Cooper, Sly. If he had not shown how nervous he was before now, he was now terrified, and that was the reaction that Armstrong was looking for.
"Guessing by your reaction you know exactly what is in this file," said Armstrong in a stern voice.
"I-I-I can honestly say I have no idea what could be in it," said Sly trying to keep a calm and collected demeaner.
"You can drop the act now, Sly" said Armstrong leaning back in his chair, "I know that you still have your memories of your past and that you are just pretending so you can be with Carmelita. I must say you do have great taste in women."
"Thanks," said Sly smiling then realizing he should at least try and deny what Armstrong was saying "but I have to remind you that I have been Carmelita's partner for years. I have never been on the wrong side of the law."
"Is that your best lie or would you like a minute to think of a better one," said Armstrong in a sarcastic tone.
“Would you?” asked Sly in a jokey but nervous and borderline terrified tone, “but in all honesty I can’t really deny it. How did you figure it out?”
"Well, I am a veteran detective after all," said Armstrong with a smile, "I could tell that you were faking all the way back to the first party I attended after I took this position, the one we held at that museum. While yes, you didn't steal anything, you still gave the jewels on display the same look as you were giving to Carmelita. It was that spark in your eyes that gave you away."
"I must admit that those jewels were beautiful," said Sly turning on his charm, "but there was one jewel that kept me from stealing them."
"You mean Carmelita, right?" asked Armstrong.
"Yes," said Sly, "she is the main reason why I decided to quit being a thief. During the time me and the rest of the gang crossed paths with her, I slowly fell in love with her. At first it was just me having a little fun flirting with her as she chased me around the world, but then there was the incident with Nyla and Clockwork."
"You mean when your friend Bently was injured, right, but before we continue” said Armstrong while pressing a button on his desk, “Can you bring us a cup of tea, this conversation will be a while.”? A few minutes later, Amelia came in with a tray with two cups of tea on it. After handing Sly and Armstrong a cup, she offered them some sugar for their tea. Sly asked for two and Armstrong only took one. With her normal cheery wave, she left the two to continue their conversation.
"To answer your question, yes it was" Sly said in a sad tone "I let myself get captured to let him and Murry get away. While on the transport plane, me and her started to talk over a glass of wine."
"Glass of wine?" asked Armstrong confused opening the file "there was no mention of a glass of wine in the report."
"It was sort of off the record," said Sly taking another sip of his tea, "she said that she had a special wine that she would only open when she caught me. So, we started to drink and talk. We found that we have similar tastes in wine, we both loved classical music and some more modern music, and we both loved to read a good book to unwind. Of course, the conversation ended with me handcuffing her to her seat, giving her a quick kiss, and then jumping out of the plane with a parachute, the wine, and the keys to her handcuffs."
"Then what happened on the island," asked Armstrong.
"Before I continue," said Sly putting down his cup, "I have to ask. At the end of this talk, will you have me arrested on the spot."
"Interesting idea, but no," said Armstrong putting down his finished cup of tea, "You have my word that you will not be arrested for any of your crimes.... yet."
"Yet?" asked Sly with some concern.
"Well, it all depends on how well this conversation goes," said Armstrong.
"How well has the conversation been going," asked Sly.
"Very well, I must say," said Armstrong, "now why were you and your group trying to sneak onto that island."
"That is land is a very special place for me and my family," said Sly.
"And why is that?" asked Armstrong.
"On that island, there was a secret vault," said Sly, "that vault held the riches and treasures that the Cooper family had been hording for years. That is the main reason why Dr. M had made his base on that island, so he could break into the vault."
"How did he know about vault if the vault was supposed to be a secret?" asked Armstrong listening intently.
"He was a member of my father’s version of the Cooper gang. It was himself, my father, and Jack McSweeney," said Sly "they went around the world stealing things. Then one day, Dr. M decided he was tired of being seen as a sidekick to my father, betrayed the gang, then bought the island to break into the vault. Me and Bentley went around the world to find people to get into the vault before he did."
"Interesting," said Armstrong interested in what Sly was saying "Why was Carmelita on the island?"
"Well," said Sly thinking back, "she was in Venice at the same time me and Bentley were there. The criminal she had been chasing was going to have her assassinated, with the help of some corrupt local officers and explosives. Coupling the fact, we were already trying to take down said criminal to save a friend and my feelings for her we decided to help. After we saved her, she thought that I was up to no good and her sights were set back to me."
"So, she had no idea why you were traveling the world, nor did she know why you went to the island?" asked Armstrong.
"She had no idea," said Sly, "like a lot of our adventures she got involved with, she believed that we were just up to no good. Even though most of the time we were going after the same person."
"Two more questions," said Armstrong sitting up in his chair, "the first being, if Carmelita thought that you were in the wrong, why did she help you?"
"Maybe it was the fact that I saved her when we were in Africa" said Sly wondering the same thing, "or maybe it was because she didn't want to see me die. I am very grateful to her for saving me."
"Okay," said Armstrong standing up, "lastly, when you decided to fake amnesia and claim to remember being her partner and where you ever going to go back into thievery?"
"The amnesia thing was real for a few seconds, till I regained my senses,” said Sly, “but the partner part was all Carmalita.”
“Carmalita’s?” asked Armstrong, “How was it her idea?”
“She was there when I regained consciousness,” answered Sly, “I had asked her, ‘who she was’ and she answered by saying she was my partner, and we were both Interpol agents. I just decided to go with it.”
“As for returning to being a thief…” Sly stopped to think, “It would have to take something big for me to return but I just want to stay with Carmalita for now”.
"Then it is decided," said Armstrong as he slammed his hands on the desk as he stood up.
"What has been decided?" Sly asked the now excited Chief, "have you decided to have me arrested or worse."
"No, no, no" said Armstrong "but I am going to tell Carmalita what is going on."
"Oh," said Sly deflating, "so instead of going to prison, but you are giving me the death sentence."
"Ha-ha," Armstrong laughed, "No, in fact you dying would be a detriment to what I have planned."
"What do you have in mind?" asked Sly confused about what Armstrong was talking about.
"Well, we have some criminals on our most wanted list that we can't touch," said Armstrong, "mostly because even though we know they have broken the law, we don't have enough evidence on them to put the cuffs on, or they are too powerful for us to touch."
"You want me and Carmalita to try and find evidence against them?" asked Sly still confused.
"In a way," clarified Armstrong looking out the window, "I want you to team back up with your friends Bently and Murry and go after these criminals."
"Then where does Carmelita come in," asked Sly.
"Well," started Armstrong looking back toward Sly, "she, Amelia, and Arnold will be helping you out. Murry, Bently, Amelia, and Arnold will be working as rookie detectives under you and Carmalita. Not really a lie as Amelia and Arnold need more experience in the field, and it will give you all a chance to strategize on how to tackle each criminal or criminals."
"So, we will be both cops and robbers," said Sly now getting an understanding of what Armstrong was saying, "While doing legit police work with Carmelita, Amelia, and Arnold, I will also be breaking into places with Bently and Murry. Is that right?"
"More or less," said Armstrong before adding, "but I will give the order that if you need Carmalita, Amelia, or Arnold to aid in a break-in or aid in a set up a con."
"What happens if we succeed?" asked Sly.
"Then your criminal record will disappear," said Armstrong, "and any treasure you find while infiltrating a place and it is not evidence, we will look the other way, and you can keep it or sell it. It will just be off the record."
"Well," said Sly standing up and outstretching his hand, "I guess I really have no choice. I accept your offer."
"Good," said Armstrong shaking Sly's hand, "now you better get home and rest, you need to start getting everything set up in the morning."
"I also need to find some shock proof gear before Carmalita gets home," said Sly half joking.
"That would be for the best," Armstrong said with a grin.
With that Sly left the office and Armstrong alone. The Chief picked up Sly's folder and put it back in his desk and brought up five different folders. The photos on the folders included a baboon, a weasel, a rabbit, a flamingo, and the last folder had two pictures that both had question marks on them.
Armstrong picked up the last folder and said "Soon."