Murray was the key factor of this particular part of the operation, so he went out into the field first. He walked confidently through the streets of the village, making a bee line for the military base. The guards all watched as he marched, but paid him no mind, assuming he was there to join the army. As he approached the main gate, two of the hippo guards blocked his path.
``Halt!'' they ordered. ``State your name and your intention with this base.''
Murray gave a deep bow as he spoke.
``I am but a humble recruit, here to offer my strength to aid your cause.'' He told them, though his voice was far from humble.
The two hippo guards looked Murray up and down, as if examining his worth as a soldier.
``You don't look like a soldier.'' One of the guards told him.
``Oh, let him try.'' The other insisted. ``The General's been riding us to gather recruits. Maybe letting this chump try out will get her off our backs.''
The first guard relented and the gates opened, allowing Murray inside. Barely concealing the large grin on his face, Murray made his way into the compound.
``So far so good big guy.'' Sly told him. ``Just play it cool, and find a way to break that grate.''
``No worries.'' Murray announced. ``I got this.''
Near the training grounds that Sly and Sandra had spotted earlier, Murray could see the General marching about, barking orders at her men.
``MOVE IT MAGGOTS!'' She ordered to a group of hyenas doing practice matches. ``YOU CALL THAT FIGHTING?! MY BABY BROTHER COULD FIGHT HARDER THAN YOU LOT, GOD REST HIS SOUL!''
Murray approached the lioness and she paused mid rant. Her mechanical eye seemed to bore into him, reminding Murray of his unpleasant experience at the hands of the Contessa. He suppressed a shiver as she faced him, surprisingly meeting the big guy eye to eye.
``Who the heck are you?'' she demanded.
``I am here to offer myself as a new recruit for your army.'' He told her, straightening as he did.
She snorted in contempt, pacing around him.
``I have many hippos in my army already, and they are only good for guard duty.'' She informed him. ``What makes you different?''
``I am no ordinary hippo.'' Murray declared, punching his hand with his fist. ``I once bested 50 hardened criminals with not but my bare hands.''
The General seemed slightly impressed by that and gave a small nod.
``Alright, but those were criminals.'' She told him. ``Let's see how you do against 50 of my best men. If you can defeat them, then maybe I will believe you are no ordinary hippo.''
``Go for it Murray.'' Bentley told him. ``You could use the brawl as an excuse to destroy that grate. Just throw enough soldiers at it and it should bust right open.''
``Bring it on!'' Murray shouted.
The General took a step back, an evil smirk on her face. Picking up a whistle hanging around her neck, she blew it loudly. Almost immediately, Murray found himself surrounded by a large group of hyenas. They all laughed at him the way hyenas do, then launched at him. Murray let them come, then swung his fist. He sent one flying right into another, knocking them both out.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the two of them by their tails and swung them over his head and sending them flying towards the grate. It dented on impact with the first soldier, and then even more so with the send. It was gonna take a few more projectiles to destroy the grate, but luckily, Murray still had 48 more soldiers to pummel.
One of the hyenas jumped onto Murray's back, attempting to sink his teeth into the hippo's shoulder, but Murray grabbed his muzzle before he could. This one he swung around like a baseball bat, knocking away soldiers left and right. He took out another 7 soldiers before sending his makeshift bat flying towards the grate. It still refused to break.
``10 down, 40 to go!'' Murray declared.
The hyenas were starting to get smart. Rather than come at him one at a time, a group of 6 of them tackled him to the ground. They managed to pin him for about 15 seconds before Murray sent them all flying in various directions. Another 4 came up, two of them grabbing Murray's left arm while the other two grabbed his right. He just smirked, then threw his arms together, bashing their skulls together.
``That's 20.'' He chuckled.
Off to the side, he could still see the grate holding up, and he knew he needed to get it to break. Grabbing another hyena, he began bashing about nine of the others with him, then tossed him at the grate. It buckled even more, and yet it was STILL holding.
``Oi, tha thing is sturdy.'' Benjy commented.
``Still, it's starting to bust.'' Marcus added. ``Just keep knocking those brutes down Murray. You've already bested 30 of them.''
Murray cracked his knuckles, then faced his remaining opponents. They all converged on him, all twenty of them, and he jumped into the air. He spun slightly, them got into his Thunder Flop stance.
``INCOMING!!'' He shouted.
He easily flattened about five hyenas who weren't able to scatter fast enough. The remaining fifteen were now starting to show signs of fear, but Murray wouldn't back down. He grabbed one by the face, tossing him towards the grate, the grabbed another and slammed him into a nearby post. It shattered on impact, giving Murray a great idea. He picked up the shattered post and heaved it like a bat.
``BATTER UP!!'' he declared.
He swung the post and struck the remaining 13 hyenas. He released his makeshift bat and sent it flying right into the grate. The combined weight of the 13 hyenas and the shattered post. Finally caused the grate to snap, opening the tunnel.
``50!'' Murray shouted. ``And I didn't even break a sweat!''
``Great job big guy.'' Sandra congratulated him. ``Knew you could do it.''
A slow clap drew Murray's attention and he turned to see the General. She had this malicious smirk on her face as she approached Murray.
``It appears my men need more training.'' She said. ``And that I've found myself a new recruit for my army. What's your name?''
``I am known as `The Murray'.'' He introduced.
``Well then, welcome to the South African army, Sergeant Murray.'' Harleen told him.
Several of the hyenas that Murray had beaten were picking themselves up off the ground and weren't exactly happy about Murray's rank.
``General, with all due respect, he's a new recruit.'' One spoke up. ``He should be starting out with the rank of Private.''
Harleen turned to the hyena that spoke, her gaze anything but kind.
``Are you questioning my decision, Corporal Fang?'' she demanded.
``N-no ma'am...'' The Corporal stammered. ``It's just-''
``Question me again, and perhaps I'll start to question why I named you Corporal when you and an entire platoon of soldiers can be taken out by a single opponent.'' Harleen snapped.
The hyena gulped and wisely held his tongue after that. Harleen gave a nod, then turned towards Murray once more.
``Corporal Fang will show you to the barracks, where you can set yourself up a bunk and get your uniform.'' She informed him.
Murray gave a salute as she walked away. The Corporal begrudgingly did as he was told and led Murray away.
...
With Murray successfully on the inside and the path into the base now open, it was Benjy's turn to shine. The koala slunk through the village, approaching the water pipe.
``We good mate?'' he asked as he prepared to enter the pipe.
``You're good to go Benjy.'' Murray replied. ``The soldiers didn't even notice the grate so there shouldn't be a problem.''
``Thanks mate.'' Benjy told him. ``I'm goin' in.''
He crawled into the pipe, following it all the way up to the entrance. He poked his head out, looking around to make sure nobody spotted him. Luckily, most of the soldiers had been taken out during Murray's `initiation' and the rest were either watching the perimeter or asleep. With the path clear, Benjy made his way across the compound, avoiding the security spotlights and dodging the occasional sleeping guard (he also swiped a couple wallets and some small African trinkets to sell on Thiefnet later). He eventually made it to the CCU tower, cracking his knuckles in anticipation.
``De terminals at de top of de tower.'' He muttered to himself. ``Time fer a little climbin' action.''
``Just be careful.'' Bentley told him. ``If our calculations are correct, then The General has most likely rigged the tower with various security systems, so keep an eye out for those.''
``Will do.'' Benjy told him. ``Ya just stand by fer when I git te de terminal. If de Generals outside security is dis tight, den de firewalls might be even tighta. It may take de two of us ta crack it.''
``Don't worry.'' Bentley told him. ``I think two genii like ourselves can handle it.''
Benjy nodded, then turned back towards the tower. Without further hesitation he jumped up, hooking onto the side of the tower and beginning his ascent. As Bentley had predicted, there were some laser grids set up to make the path a bit difficult and Benjy had to shimmy to the right to be able to go up again. Once more, his path was blocked and he shimmied to the left this time.
The pattern was seemingly random; up, right, up, left, up, left, down, left, up, up, right, up, until finally he reached the top of the tower and got access to the maintenance terminal. Benjy pulled himself in front of the terminal, then placed Bentley's grapple cam (which he'd been carrying in a small backpack) on top of the terminal.
``Ya ready?'' he asked, his fingers hovering over the terminal keyboard.
``Let's do this.'' Bentley replied.
The two immediately began hacking away at the CCU's security system, sending their avatars into the system. Bentley's avatar, Spex_Guy, looked like him, but was incredibly buff, wearing shades, a red bandana, a jetpack, and carrying dual shock pistols. Benjy's, Koala_Kid324, also looked like him, but his was also more buff and wearing a karate uniform complete with a black belt and karate headband. Rather than carrying a weapon, the avatar shot balls of energy out of its palms.
``Nice avatar.'' Bentley commented.
``Ditto mate.'' Benjy replied.
As with back in Paris, the firewalls instantly went up and tried to get rid of the digital intruders, but the two were just too good. The cyber avatars shot at the bits of firewall, utterly destroying the code.
``Ya got some Trojans on yer tail Bentley.'' Benjy warned.
``I see them.'' Bentley replied
Spex_Guy turned and quickly destroyed the Trojans as Koala_Kid324 came and covered his back. Protective measures activated to try and drive out the avatars, converging on them in swarms. Remaining back to back, the two began destroying the attackers while slowly making their way towards the main circuit.
``We must be gittin close.'' Benjy commented. ``De security's gittin tougha.''
``I hear you on that one.'' Bentley replied. ``Whatever Harleen Shyre's planning, she definitely doesn't want anybody finding out.''
``Well den, she shouldn't `ave messed wit de Cooper Gang.'' Benjy quipped.
The two continued their way deeper into the mainframe until they final confronted the central hub for the security system. Benjy whistled at the sight.
``Looks like she's got de Vista Online Security System.'' He announced. ``One a de best hack proof systems out dere.''
``How long should it take?'' Bentley asked.
``Five minutes, tops.'' Benjy replied.
The two avatars jumped at the central hub, blasting the ever living daylights out of it. As expected, it attempted to fire back, but the superior hacking skills of the two genii was too much for the system to handle, and just like Benjy predicted, it went down after about 5 minutes. The two avatars watched the remains of the security dissolve into 1's and 0's, high fiving each other.
``Great job, Spex_Guy.'' Benjy said.
``You two, Koala_Kid324.'' Bentley replied.
With the way open, the two of them quickly dove into the system, searching for any information that could tell them what Harleen was planning to do with her massive stockpile of weapons and oversized army.
``I managed to find the schedule for the different convoys.'' Bentley announced. ``How about you?''
Benjy was silent for a good minute, staring at his screen in utter shock.
``Bloody oath...'' he muttered.
``What's wrong?'' Bentley asked. ``What did you-?''
His question trailed off as he found the documents Benjy was look at and he had to clean his glasses to make sure he was reading it correctly.
``Merciful hades...'' He muttered.
``We... Ar in deep Barney.'' Benjy said with a terrified stutter.
...
Benjy and Bentley got together the second the former returned to the safe house. The two of them began muttering amongst themselves as Sly, Sandra, Carmelita, and Marcus all watched.
``I have never seen Bentley so serious.'' Carmelita muttered. ``Not since 1301.''
``I have.'' Sly told her. ``It was after Captain LeFwee snatched Penelope.''
``Who?'' Carmelita asked.
``Pirate from Blood Bath Bay.'' Sly explained. ``You never showed up, but I sent you a postcard.''
``I was busy gathering my men for the Kaine Island assault.'' Carmelita explained.
Marcus and Sandra looked over at Benjy with concerned looks as well. Eventually, Sandra walked over and tapped the koala on the head.
``Hey brainiacs.'' She said. ``Mind telling us what's so scary?''
The two of them looked up, worry etched into every feature of their faces.
``Harleen's not planning a war.'' Bentley explained. ``She's planning a massacre.''
Everyone's eyes widened.
``WHAT?!'' They all exclaimed.
``Take a gander.'' Benjy told them, turning his computer terminal towards them.
You didn't have to be a genius to read Harleen's plans. There were clear maps of the different oil fields scattered across South Africa, little notes marking down guard details, work schedules, and best points of entry. There was also a detailed plan written out, with different outcomes for different events noted to the side. One look at the plan and there was no doubt what she was planning.
``She's gonna attack the oil field.'' Marcus whispered.
``And blow them sky high.'' Sly added.
``That'll kill dozens, no, hundreds of innocent people.'' Sandra calculated.
``Dios Mio...'' Carmelita swore.
Turning his computer back around, Benjy did some quick typing.
``We ain't got much time.'' He explained. ``She's almost got everything she needs for da big score. If we wanna stop `er, we needa act fast.''
``Carmelita.'' Bentley interjected. ``You and Marcus need to go destroy that bridge into the compound. If we can cut off their supplies now, we may have bought ourselves some more time to act.''
Carmelita stood up and grabbed her shock pistol.
``Marcus, get that RV of yours in gear.'' She commanded. ``We need to take out that bridge.''
Marcus didn't even hesitate, standing up and making his way out to the barn with Carmelita right behind him. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Sly found himself smiling.
``Good ole Carmelita.'' He remarked. ``Always there when you need her.''
``Glad she on our side for this go around.'' Bentley replied. ``I doubt we'd be able to do this without her.''
``Aye...'' Benjy added. ``We've teamed up wit Garret every now an' den. Always come out on top. Den he tries ta arrest us.''
``Something tells me it will be different this time.'' Sandra interjected. ``At least, with that last bit.''
Sly looked over at Sandra with a raised eyebrow.
``Oh?'' he asked. ``What makes you say that?''
Sandra simply kicked up her legs and pulled her hat down over her eyes.
``Call it a woman's intuition.'' She answered vaguely.
...
It was difficult to keep the RV hidden while driving through the farmland of Shakakane, but somehow, Marcus managed it. They were driving away from the compound towards the edge of the small town where the canal was. It was an incredibly deep canal that circled the village, most likely created by Harleen as both a way to get water into the base, as well as an extra layer of security. There was a single bridge into the village, and thus, into the compound via truck. Upon reaching the canal, Marcus switched the RV into flight mode and took them down.
``Alright Carmelita.'' Marcus announced. ``We're almost into position. You'll have to man the turret.''
Carmelita had been expecting to use her shock pistol to take out the bridge. The last thing she expected was to have access to a turret.
``This thing has a turret?'' she asked.
``Otto von Cooper's design, with a few Bentley and Benjy tweaks.'' Marcus explained.
He hit a green button with a triangle on it and the center table of the RV suddenly transformed into a platform. Carmelita stepped onto it and was slowly risen up through the skylight. As she came through, a large turret appeared in front of her.
``Impressive.'' She muttered, taking a seat in front of the turret.
``The left analog stick controls the turret.'' Marcus explained. ``The right one controls the zoom lens of the sight. Just hit the red buttons to fire, but be careful. The gun can overheat, so fire in short bursts.''
``You're kidding.'' Carmelita groaned. ``Just once I'd like to be able to continuously fire a turret without having to deal with overheating.''
``You can take that up with Benjy later.'' Marcus informed her. ``Right now, that bridge needs to go down.''
There was a distant rumbling noise and Carmelita immediately turned the turret towards the noise, seeing if she could see what the source of the noise was through the zoom lens. Down the road a ways, she could make out a new convoy of trucks, obviously laden with supplies, coming towards the bridge.
``Perfect.'' Carmelita mused. ``If I take out the bridge while the convoy drives across it, Harleen will believe it was the combined weights of the trucks that caused it to crumble.''
Taking aim at the supports of the bridge, Carmelita began her assault. The first support took about five shots for it to finally crack. However, when it fell, an automated defense system activated. Large missile launchers appeared from hidden decks in the rock.
``Uh-oh.'' Marcus gulped. ``We got trouble.''
``You're telling me.'' Carmelita muttered.
Aiming quickly, Carmelita shot the missile right out of the sky, seconds before it struck. She then turned back to the bridge, shooting at the second support. By now, one of the large trucks was driving across the bridge. Time was running out. The second support gave out, just barely in time for Carmelita to take out about three missiles trying to shoot them down.
``One more support beam and Harleen will be scrounging for her supplied at the bottom of the canal.'' Carmelita said with a smirk.
A missile nearly blindsided her, forcing her to return her attention to the task at hand. She shot another set of missiles out of the air, then jammed her fingers down on the trigger buttons to destroy the third and final support.
There was a mighty rumbling noise as the bridge gave way, cracking and splintering underneath the unsupported weight of the convoy. With a mighty crash, the bridge split, sending the remains, as well as the entire convoy, crashing down into the canal. The destruction of the bridge also took down the automated missile launchers, another bonus.
``Nice shooting Carmelita.'' Sly told her. ``I guess all those years of shooting at me really paid off.''
``What did I say about getting a swell head ring-tail?'' Carmelita playfully shot back.
Off in the distance, an alarm began blaring. Looking in the direction of the alarm, both Carmelita and Marcus could make out spotlights and the sound of men marching towards their position.
``Time to punch it, Marcus.'' Sandra called. ``Harleen and her troops are on their way.''
Marcus quickly lowered the turret, allowing Carmelita to climb back into the RV and into the passenger seat. The RV disappeared just as Harleen and her men arrived at the cliff side. They all stood in absolute shock, staring down at the wreckage of the bridge and the convoy.
``What happened here?!'' Harleen demanded.
The soldiers, including Murray (now dressed in a camo shirt with a tan scarf and an army cap on top of his mask) all looked down at the wreckage.
``The bridge appears to have given way, General.'' One of the soldiers suggested. ``I guess with all the convoys you've been demanding, the bridge couldn't handle all the constant weight.''
Harleen wasn't convinced. Her mechanical eye seemed to examine the bridge in great detail, an action that set Murray on edge. Acting fast, he stepped forward.
``If I may, General.'' He said. ``Perhaps we should attempt to salvage what supplied we can from the wreckage.''
Harleen looked over at him, a strange glint in her normal eye. After a minute, she gave a nod.
``An excellent idea.'' She replied. ``Men, get the climbing equipment. We're going down.''
...
When Carmelita and Marcus returned to the safe house, Benjy and Bentley quickly got down to business. Sly and Sandra were waiting in the wings, ready for their turn out on the field, and Bentley and Benjy were more than ready to send them.
``Alright Sandy,'' Benjy announced. ``Now's ya best chance ta bug Harleen's office.''
``According to Murray, most of the soldiers are down in the canal, along with the General herself.'' Bentley explained. ``This may be your one opening to get into Harleen's office undetected.''
``Leave it to us, guys.'' Sly assured them.
Sandra checked the piston on her cane, grinning when it worked smoothly, then turned back to Benjy and Bentley.
``You got the bug for us?'' she asked.
One of Bentley's mechanical hands quickly produced a rolled up piece of paper. Having been with Bentley since childhood, Sly quickly recognized it as one of his forged drawings.
``Harleen has a large drawing of Africa hanging above her desk.'' Bentley informed him. ``Replace that one with this one, and we'll have our ear on the inside.''
Sly took the drawing, slipping it into his backpack as Sandra opened the window for him.
``Let's get moving.'' She told him. ``This war monger won't thwart herself.''
Sly and Sandra shared a small grin, then they both dove out the window.
...
Slipping through the tunnel once more, the two Coopers were pleased to see that, like Murray had promised, most of the soldiers were gone. However, a few were still milling about and there were a pair of them in front of each building.
``Looks like the direct approach is out of the question.'' Sandra remarked.
``Never was one for the easy route.'' Sly quipped.
``Yet another thing I inherited.'' Sandra replied, pointing. ``That building over there should be the General's private office/barracks.''
Sly pulled out his binoc-u-cam and turned it towards the building Sandra was pointing at, a large building with a second story that had what appeared to be a balcony allowing for full view of the compound.
``I think you're right.'' Sly told her. ``And I think I found our point of entry.''
Sandra pulled out her binoc-u-cam and took a look.
``Balcony looks like our best bet.'' She surmised. ``But how to get over there...''
``The only way a thief knows how.'' Sly told her.
The two of them smirked, then spoke at the same time.
``Rooftops.''
There was a building next to the drain with a pipe perfect for climbing. Taking their canes in their mouths, they began climbing up the roof, jumping when they reached the top and taking their canes in hand once more. They ran across the rooftops as silently as possible, dodging spotlights and any soldier who may have been smart enough to look up (luckily, they weren't). Soon, they were close to the General's office and Sandra readied her cane.
``Ready for another ride on Air Cooper?'' she asked.
Sly just smiled, taking hold of her cane.
``Ready for lift-off.'' He smirked.
Sandra thumbed the circle button and they shot up. Once they were high enough, Sly pulled out his paraglider, one hand still holding tight to Sandra's cane as well as his own. They landed right on the railing of the balcony, just as planned. Of course, the door was locked, which was not part of the plan.
``We need the key...'' Sly muttered.
``No we don't.'' Sandra replied. ``Just watch.''
She pulled her hat off and reached inside, pulling out a lock picking kit. She bent down and began working away at the lock.
``Why go through the work of picking the lock when you can pickpocket the key?'' Sly asked.
``Why go through the work of pickpocketing the key when you can pick the lock?'' Sandra countered.
There was a barely audible click as Sandra grinned.
``I'm in.'' she said.
She stowed her lock picks away in her hat once more, then slowly opened the door. Almost immediately, the two thieves were greeted by an entire array of floor sensors and deadly lasers.
``Yikes.'' The two of them hissed.
Sly then tapped Sandra on the shoulder, gesturing up with his cane. There were visible rafters holding the roof up, perfect for traversing. He laced his fingers together, hunching down so Sandra could step on his hand. He sent her flying up, where she hooked onto the rafters with her cane. Once she was fully on the thick rafter, she lowered her cane so Sly could hook on and get pulled up.
``This appears to be her personal quarters.'' Sandra whispered, looking around at the sparse living arrangement.
``Then her office must be downstairs.'' Sly hypothesized.
Across the room, they could vaguely make out the path downstairs, slightly illuminated by the light of the lasers. Walking as quickly, and as carefully, as they could, the two Coopers made their way across the room via rafters. As they walked, Sandra's foot landed a bit too close to the edge and she slipped.
``YIPE!!'' she squealed.
Seconds before she could fall, Sly's cane snagged one of the belt loops on her pants, saving her from plummeting to a fiery doom. He pulled her back to the safety of the rafters, where she breathed a sigh of relief.
``Too close...'' Sandra muttered.
``Agreed.'' Sly muttered back. ``Let's try and be a bit more careful.''
Now moving at a bit of a slower pace, they finally made it to the rafter just above the stairwell. Looking down, they were slightly surprised to see the steps rigged with lasers too. These ones, however, only protected every other step, and switched steps every five seconds.
``Okay, now she's just being paranoid.'' Sandra whispered.
``Means more fun for us.'' Sly said with a smirk.
Sandra and Sly shared a grin, then looked down at the stairs. There were 15 of them, and even from their angle, they could see more lasers across the bottom floor. Luckily, there appeared to be a platform with General Shyre's desk within jumping distance.
``We'll need to time this just right if we're gonna do this.'' Sly commented.
``Then let's do this.''
The steps switched, clearing the top step. The two Coopers quickly jumped down onto it. They jumped to the third step, then the fifth.
``Switch!'' Sly hissed
They jumped to the sixth step just as the lasers switched. The eighth and tenth steps were just in reach before the next five seconds were up.
``Switch!'' Sandra hissed.
They made it to the eleventh step, then thirteenth, and finally, the fifteenth. They looked at each other, then held hands.
``Jump!'' The both shouted.
They jumped for the platform the lasers activated on the step. They landed right on the edge, Sandra diving forward to maintain balance while Sly ended up waving his arms trying to keep his. Sandra quickly aided him, her cane snagging him across the waist and pulling him to safety. Sly steadied himself, looking down at the lasers, then over at the stairs.
``Is it just me, or are we having way too many close calls on this mission?'' he questioned.
``Harleen's paranoid and it's making our job harder.'' Sandra replied. ``It only makes sense that it would make our job harder.''
They then focused back on the mission and were happy to see the picture they needed hanging right next to them. Sly took down the frame and removed the original drawing as Sandra pulled the bugged forgery out of her bag and replaced it.
``I wonder how much this drawing will go for on Thiefnet.'' Sandra mused as she took the original drawing from Sly. ``A couple hundred coin?''
Sly didn't answer her question, his gaze fixated on a large safe just on the other end of the room, also on a raised platform safe from the lasers. Sandra turned and stood next to him.
``You know...'' she muttered. ``We are on a bit of a time crunch.''
``And we are trying to keep our actions from being noticed.'' Sly added.
``Not to mention the fact that Harleen and her men are due back any minute now.'' Sandra finished.
The two thieves looked at each other, then they both grinned. Taking a few steps back, they jumped towards the safe, landing safely on the other platform. Sandra went for the safe while Sly examined a pin pad that was over by the door.
``Hey Bentley, see if you can figure out what this pin pad does.'' Sly requested.
``Benjy, you get me a combo for this safe.'' Sandra added.
``On it!'' The two genii replied.
In the back ground, Sly and Sandra could hear the furious typing as Benjy and Bentley completed their various tasks. Benjy finished his first.
``Alright.'' he finally said. ``I think I go' it. De combo o' de safe should be 7-3-6.''
Sandra quickly inputted the combo and opened the safe. Inside was a large amount of coin, not to mention a few small African treasures, but most importantly, hard copies of the blueprints of the entire base.
``Gold mine!'' Sandra cheered, then clapped a hand over her mouth. She spoke again in a whisper. ``I mean... Gold mine.''
Bentley finished his part and spoke.
``You're in luck Sly.'' He announced. ``According to the system, it's the pad for the laser system. From here, I should be able to provide you with the code that will deactivate the lasers so you guys can get out of there.''
``Question is, can you turn them back on?'' Sly asked. ``We can't let Harleen know we've been here.''
``Says the thief who is helping his fellow thief empty out the contents of a secure vault.'' Bentley deadpanned.
Sandra and Sly, who were in the process of shoveling as much loot as they could into backpacks and satchel bags, didn't bother to defend themselves. With a sigh, Bentley continued.
``I can rig the system to shut down the lasers only temporarily.'' He explained. ``You'll only have about a 30 second window, so once I give you the code, input it fast, then run like crazy.''
``Lay it on me.'' Sly said, closing his backpack.
``The code is 5-4-5.'' Bentley announced.
Sandra finished loading the last of the loot, slipping one of her markers out of her pocket and placing it in the empty safe. She closed it, then turned to Sly, giving him a nod. Sly inputted the code, and almost immediately, the lasers deactivated. The thieves bolted, taking the stairs 2 at a time, then running for the balcony door. They dove through it and shut the door mere seconds before the lasers came on.
``We did it.'' They said with a smile, then clasping each other's hands in celebration.
``Great job!'' Marcus announced. ``Now you guys get back here. It's almost dawn and we're gonna need all of us bright eyed and bushy tailed for tomorrow.''
``Right.'' Sandra replied. ``On our way.''
She turned to Sly and smirked.
``Not bad for our first field mission together.'' She remarked.
``What about the job back in Paris?'' Sly asked.
``That was reconnaissance. This was different, and much for fun.'' Sandra replied.
Sly chuckled in agreement and the two made their way back to the safe house for some much needed rest.
