Sly got Sandra back to the safe house as quickly as he could, kicking the doors of the hospital open.
``BENTLEY!!'' He screamed.
The turtle rolled over to the two raccoons, quickly looking Sandra up and down. She was barely conscious, shivering from the cold, and her face was redder than normal. Everybody else gathered around, all of their faces etched with worry.
``Get her onto one of the cots and out of those wet clothes.'' Bentley told him. ``Carmelita, you go and find as many blankets as you can. Marcus, Murray, you two get at least two of those space heaters on her. Benjy, find me some diphenhydramine and some pseudoephedrine.''
Everyone quickly scattered, eager to help Sandra. Sly got her onto a cot, pulling her wet coat off of her, as well as her shoes and socks. Marcus and Murray grabbed two of the space heaters and aimed them directly at Sandra as Carmelita arrived with an armful of blankets. Everyone grabbed one, draping them over Sandra. Her shivering was slowly beginning to die down as Benjy returned with the two medicines.
``Luckily, dis place still had some.'' He said to himself. ``De looters didn't git it all.''
Bentley nodded, then took the two medicines. He crushed up the pills and mixed them into a glass of water, rolling over to Sandra.
``Sly, lift her head.'' He requested.
He did so and Bentley slowly poured the medicine into her mouth. She drank it quickly, then finally lost the battle with consciousness. Her eyes fluttered shut and Sly set her back down.
``She gonna be alright?'' Carmelita asked as she tucked the blankets around Sandra.
``The combination of the cold, stress, the beating from Boris, and jumping out that window took its toll.'' Bentley explained. ``She needs to rest for a bit, and stay warm.''
Sly looked down at Sandra, gently caressing her hair.
``Don't worry Sandra.'' He whispered. ``You just rest. We'll save Garrett for you.''
Carmelita also looked down at Sandra, thinking back to how Sandra had been running from Inspector Garrett one minute, then scared for his life the next. Was that how Sly was with her? She had remembered many instances where he had run from her, and many more where he had come to her rescue.
She found herself snorting slightly. Sandra truly was Sly's descendant.
The gang left Sandra alone to sleep, returning to the job at hand. Though Boris had destroyed Sandra's binoc-u-cam, Bentley and Benjy had managed to download the photos and footage before he crushed it.
``Alright guys.'' Bentley began. ``I don't think I need to tell you that this job isn't gonna be easy. We've got highly trained, and extremely vigilant guards patrolling the area, we've lost the element of surprise, and on top of taking down Boris, we're also gonna need to rescue Garrett BEFORE the auction.''
``Before we do anything, we're gonna need a copy of da guest list fer de auction.'' Benjy explained. ``Te git it, Bentley and I are gonna need ta hack inna Boris' CCU. While goin' ovah de footage, we spotted it right inna middle of de oil rig.''
``It's under heavy guard, and even with my bombs, Benjy and I won't stand a chance.'' Bentley added. ``So that means Marcus, you and Murray will have to clear the way for us. That will give us access to the CCU, where we can find all the information we need.''
Murray punched his palm, looking at Marcus with a smile.
``Just leave it to us Bentley.'' Murray declared.
Marcus also smiled, cracking his knuckles.
``We'll have those timber wolves howling for mercy and those walruses blubbering uncle when we're done with them.'' He declared.
``We'll need someone on de inside ta help us figure out de layout of de area.'' Benjy went on. ``Boris knows ar' faces well, so dat leaves de New Cooper Gang out. If he saw Sly, den odds are he'll know about Bentley and Murray.''
``That leaves me then.'' Carmelita surmised.
``Yep.'' Bentley replied. ``Out of all of us, you'll be the last person he'll think to be looking for.''
``Once yer in, you'll hafta get the layout of wherevah it is Boris is keepin' Garrett, as well as de best way ta git ta him and what we'll need ta do it.'' Benjy tacked on.
``Well then, there's no time to lose.'' Sly announced. ``Marcus, Murray, make us proud.''
The two muscles of the group stood up and quickly made their way out of the hideout.
...
The two of them trekked through the snow, making a beeline for the large metal tower just visible through the ever falling snow. Murray held an arm in front of his face to try and block out the wind.
``Man.'' he groaned. ``I don't remember the snow ever being this bad. And I've been in the Ice Age!''
``Severe climate change.'' Marcus replied. ``At least, that's what Benjy's always saying. Don't tell him, but sometimes I can only make out a fraction of what he's saying.''
Murray smiled widely.
``It's the same with me and Bentley.'' he let out. ``I sometimes fall asleep during his slide shows.''
They continued their idle conversation as they walked deeper and deeper into the compound. Since neither of them were exactly masters of stealth, the timber wolves and Walruses quickly caught on to their activities.
``Freeze!'' Shouted one of the wolves as they pointed their rifles at them.
Marcus and Murray stopped for a moment, meeting the gaze of the oncoming enemies. They shared a smirk as Murray let out a shout.
``No thanks!'' Murray called out, ``I like being warm.''
Marcus quickly covered his snout with his claw, attempting not to laugh by stifling his giggle. The timber wolf snarled as he looked down at them.
``What's your business here?'' The wolf asked, his eye already staring down the scope of the rifle.
``We're here to pound your skulls in for hurting our friend!'' Murray exclaimed, pounding his palm with his fist.
``Nobody hurts Sandra and gets away with it!'' Marcus added.
The two charged forward with their fists and claws raised. The wolves howled, aiming their weapon directly at the two massive opponents. Many bullets grazed the two, but they were undeterred. They swiped the guns from the hands of their opponents, bending them like they were made of putty. The wolves whimpered in fear, and their wines were quickly turned to groans of pain as the brawns of the Cooper Gangs made short work of their ranks.
``You fight awesome, Marcus!'' Murray praised, raising his fist for a fist bump.
``Same to you, Murray.'' Marcus replied, returning the fist bump.
Approaching the CCU tower, the two of them could see many more thugs guarding the thing. More than that, there also seemed to be an electrical fence running around them.
``Damn.'' Marcus snarled. ``The tower's protected.''
``Yeah.'' Murray agreed. ``And those thugs are all hiding behind the fence!''
Their earpieces squawked as Bentley came on the line.
``I guess Boris is a bit more security-conscious then Harleen was.'' He surmised. ``If we're gonna get to that tower, the fence needs to come down.''
``Ya boys see dat control room up ta ya left?'' Benjy asked.
Marcus and Murray both looked up at the control room. They could see a few silhouettes of guards milling about inside. The two of them shared a glance and smiled.
``Are you thinking what I'm thinking?'' Marcus asked.
``Oh yeah!!'' Murray exclaimed. ``Time to break some stuff!''
Without another word, they jogged towards the control room, taking the stairs about two at a time. When they reached the door, Marcus flexed his claws and shoved them deep in the metal. With a powerful swipe, he took out the hinges and yanked the door free of the frame.
``Special delivery!'' Marcus shouted.
``Who ordered the knuckle sandwich?!'' Murray exclaimed.
The wolves and walruses all jumped in surprised, aiming their weapons. Unfortunately, they were a second too late. Marcus brought the door up as a shield, the bullets ricocheting off the metal and shattering the surrounding glass. Once the hail of bullets ceased, Marcus heaved the door at the thugs, knocking many of them out the now broken windows. Those that didn't fall to the floor found themselves hoisted into the air by Murray.
``Hey Bentley!'' he called. ``What should I smash first?''
Back in the safe house, Bentley couldn't help but smile. Murray was gonna have a field day with this mission.
``Everything.''
Murray grinned widely, bringing his captured wolf down hard on the console. Marcus joined in, grabbing a walrus by his tail fin and using him as a bat. Sparks flew as bits of machinery went everywhere. Within a few minutes, there wasn't a single piece of functional equipment in the control room.
``That felt great!'' Murray screamed.
Marcus peered through the broken window at the remaining guards. The timber wolves were surrounding the control room like their savage ancestors.
``It ain't over yet.'' Marcus replied. ``Got energy left for one more fight?''
``The Murray has more energy than the Energizer Bunny!'' the hippo announced.
Marcus raised an eyebrow, not getting the outdated reference. Luckily, he understood the basis of what Murray was saying.
``Then let's go kick some tail.'' He declared.
They jumped out the broken windows, Murray thunder flopping on a group of hapless thugs while Marcus pounced on them with his lethal claws. The timber wolves abandoned their guns, realizing the ineffectiveness of the firearms, and resorted to more hands on methods for fighting these two. The wolves launched themselves forward, sinking their teeth into the arms, shoulders, and legs of both Marcus and Murray, only to be violently thrown aside by their unrivaled strength.
The walruses came in to try and aid their comrades. They took a page out of Murray's book, flopping down upon the two using their massive size to aid them. While it did knock them down, it didn't stop them. If anything, the walruses only succeeded in angering Murray.
``Hey!'' he hollered. ``They stole my move!''
Marcus could sense the anger rising in the hippo and took a step back. Murray clapped his hands together. His gloves seemed to burst into flames, much to the terror of the walruses.
``Eat fire fists you move stealing walruses!!'' he shouted.
Before the two unfortunate mammals could react, two flaming gloves began to pound their faces in. Marcus watched, whistling in appreciation.
``Glad that he's on my side.'' He let out.
Marcus turned his attention back to the battle, grabbing a walrus and using them as a weapon. With Murray's Fire Fists and Marcus' Walrus Slam, the remaining goons were reduced to moaning piles of unconscious bodies.
``This tower belongs to the Cooper Gangs!'' Murray declared, beating his chest proudly.
``The way's clear guys!'' Marcus called, two fingers on his comm link. ``Benjy, Bentley, you're up.''
...
Bentley's wheelchair tore through the snow as his boosters carried him towards the CCU tower. Benjy clung to the side of the chair, unable to walk in the snow since it completely engulfed him.
``Dis chair a yers really is somin' else.'' Benjy complimented.
``It's got to be.'' Bentley replied. ``I'm not gonna let something like full lower body paralysis keep me from helping my friends.''
``Well, have you thought about prosthetics?'' The koala asked. ``In dis time, we got doctahs dat cin fix ya up and have ya walkin' like nevah before.''
``It's a nice thought, but I can't exactly go to the nearest doctor and tell them `hey I lost my legs a hundred and twenty years ago. Can you please fix them?''' Bentley pointed out.
Benjy shrugged realizing that there was indeed a flaw to his plan.
``It was worth a shot.'' Benjy replied.
Without another word, the two made their way up to the CCU tower, Bentley hitting his boosters to send them to the top. There was a platform for them to land on, right in front of the terminal.
``Ready Benjy?''
``Ready Bentley.''
The two dove into the system hacking away at Boris's security. It was not as sophisticated as Harleen's, but it was still pretty tight. The two avatars began blasting away at the firewalls reducing them to little more than ones and zeros. A few Trojans attempted to halt their process, but a combination of Bentley's blasts and Benjy's moves had them swimming with the proverbial fishes. Unfortunately, where one fell, two came to take their place.
``This ain't gonna be easy.'' Benjy quipped.
``But we gotta try.'' Bentley replied.
They continue their efforts to take down the security and begin to slowly make their way towards the mainframe of the computer system. It was getting a little bit difficult and they found themselves back to back on multiple occasions. However with a little teamwork they managed to get themselves out of the line of fire before they were reduced to little more than code. Unfortunately, they quickly ran into a snag.
``Looks like Boris set up an elaborate password system.'' Bentley examined.
``What ar we gonna do?'' Benjy asked.
``What do you think?'' Bentley replied, cracking his knuckles. ``We're gonna crack his passcode.''
It didn't take long to crack the passcode, which turned out to be #1RussianStud, a fact that got the two genii laughing.
``That's even worse than Sandra's password.'' Bentley chuckled.
After stifling their amusement, the two continued their search and eventually found what they were looking for. They managed to get a copy of the invitation to Boris's auction, as well as a list of all of those attending this `prestigious event.'
``We good Benjy?''
``Yeah, we're good Bentley.''
``Then let's get out of here.'' Bentley insisted. ``I don't want to be out in this cold any longer than I have to be. I can already feel this snow seeping into my shell.''
With their job done Marcus and Murray scooped up the two genii, making their way back to The Hideout.
...
Once they were back within the safe walls of the hospital, Benjy got to work examining the guest list, trying to figure out who would be the best to impersonate. Bentley went to go and check on Sandra, who was still unconscious. Thankfully the red raccoon was starting to look a lot better and her fever has died down considerably.
``How's she doing?'' Sly asked, approaching the turtle.
``Better than she was before.'' Bentley replied. ``With any luck, she'll wake up soon.''
Carmelita approached slowly, looking down at Sandra with a mixture of relief and care.
``That's good to hear.'' Carmelita chimed in.
As she looked down at Sandra, she felt a strange attachment to the red raccoon. If she had to put it in words, she would describe it as almost motherly. Something inside her wanted to pick her up and hold her until everything went away. Carmelita looked up, catching Sly's eye. He was surprised by the amount of worry in the ringtail's face, but was even more thrown by the amount of self-loathing she saw. It was a look she knew all too well, having worn it just about every time Sly slipped through her grasp back before they became- whatever it was that they were.
``She'll pull through, Sly.'' She told him, gently taking and squeezing his paw.
``I should have gone in there with her.'' he replied. ``I should have gone in with her, and pulled her out of there before Boris could grab her.''
Bentley looked up at his friend, shaking his head.
``You know as well as I do that even if you had followed her, the result would be the same.'' She insisted.
Sly still wasn't swayed. All he could see was Sandra cowering in fear behind that small building, and her beaten form sprawled in the snow.
``She was too close to this.'' he muttered. ``She wasn't thinking straight, and she didn't get out of there when she should have.''
Bentley snorted.
``Like you haven't done something like that before.'' He quipped.
Sly looked over at Bentley as the turtle began counting on his fingers.
``The Krack-Karov Volcano, Prague, Arpeggio's airship, Kaine Island, and don't even get me started on Le Paradox.'' He listed off.
Carmelita took Sly's shoulder.
``Face it Sly.'' she told him. ``She's your descendant through and through. When someone she cares about is in danger, most rational thought goes out the window.''
``And your worrying about her is only proving our point.'' Bentley added.
Sly had to admit, they had a point. And he also had to admit that Sandra was a Cooper, and she would pull through.
``You're right.'' he said after a minute. ``Besides, I'm not gonna be much use to anyone if I mope about here, now am I?''
Carmelita smiled, happy to have pulled Sly out of his funk.
``Oi mates!'' Benjy called out, drawing everyone's attention. ``Ya might wanna take ah gander at dis.''
Turning away from Sandra, the group gathered around Benjy and his terminal.
``I've bin going through de list, an' I ain't likin' wha I'm seein'.'' he explained. ``Lots o' nasty blighters bin invited te de auction, and all of dem hava beef aginst ar good friend Garrett.''
He brought up several different files on many different criminals. Even if the names did not ring any bells to the original Cooper Gang, the rap sheets spoke volumes. Each criminal had a list of offenses that would get them locked away for life, ranging from smuggling, to armed theft, and even murder and kidnapping.
``Sandra wasn't kidding when she said crime got worse with time.'' Sly remarked. ``With these many criminals free, it's as if INTERPOL isn't even trying to catch them.''
Carmelita's fist clenched, her knuckles cracking audibly at the thought.
``Doesn't matter what INTERPOL is or isn't doing.'' Marcus interjected. ``What matters is what we're gonna do.''
``Right.'' Benjy agreed. ``Luckily, I found de perfect disguise fer Carmelita amongst de guests.''
He brought of a single file, making it full screen. It displayed a picture of a beautiful grey fox. She was dressed in a black martial artists outfit with dark grey boots and gloves. In her hand, she held a porcelain mask that seemed to fit perfectly over her face. She had long, straight black hair that was tied up in a bun.
``Dis here be Kitagawa Moa, bettah known as Kitsune.'' He introduced.
Skimming through the file, Sly let out a whistle.
``Master martial artist, skilled spy and assassin, wanted practically all over.'' He summarized. ``Sounds dangerous.''
``She is, Sly.'' Bentley replied. ``According to this, she was sent after Garrett a few years ago. He managed to escape her and even got her arrested.''
``I remember that!'' Marcus exclaimed. ``We were stealing the Japanese Emperor Robes from the Palace Museum.''
``Aye.'' Benjy agreed. ``Sandy and Garrett's first team up. Apparently, Kitsune's harbored a grudge against de two of dem since.''
``Makes sense.'' Murray nodded. ``If someone made a fool out of `The Murray', I would not stop until they felt my righteous fury!''
``An apt description, Murray.'' Benjy agreed. ``Cause dat's exactly what she swore ta do afta escapin' from de slammah.''
Carmelita examined the picture closely. She and Kitsune were similar in height and build, and with the mask, covering up her red fur shouldn't be a problem.
``It may take me a moment to make a convincing Japanese accent, but I think I can pull it off.'' She promised.
Bentley grinned, then pulled up the map of the area.
``According to the invitation, the guests will be landing in a small airfield not far from here.'' He went on. ``If we can intercept Kitsune before Boris' goons get to her, then we can have Carmelita take her place. I'll hack into the air tower's communication feed and have Kitsune land on the helipad on the outskirts of town. We'll have to incapacitate her so she doesn't interfere with our plans.''
``Leave that to me.'' Carmelita promised. ``I've got her.''
Pulling her woolen cap over her ears, Carmelita made her way out into the snow.
...
Carmelita hid in the musty hanger bay, watching as Kitsune's helicopter descended from the sky. Through her binoc-u-cam, she could make out the single pilot, plus the copter's two passengers. When the door opened, Kitsune stepped out, wearing what looked like an expensive Japanese overcoat. Following behind her was a tanuki in a tuxedo.
``Bentley, you never mentioned Kitsune had a date.'' Carmelita hissed.
``Gimme a sec.'' The turtle replied.
The binoc-u-cam focused on the tanuki as a facial recognition software was activated.
``It would seem that her plus one is Kitagawa Kado, her husband, and leader of the Yakuza of this time period.'' Bentley reported.
``E's about as bad as 'is wife.'' Benjy added. ``And if 'e's 'ere, den were in deep Barney.''
``Guess you'll be needing me after all Carmelita.'' Sly playfully interjected. ``I'll have to dust off my tux though. We haven't had a date since my Constable Cooper days.''
``Just get down here, Ringtail.'' She told him.
Sly chuckled a bit, then Carmelita returned her attention to Kitsune. Priming her shock pistol, Carmelita emerged from her hiding spot, taking a shot that knocked Kado off his feet and into the snow.
``Hold it right there!'' she ordered. ``Make a single move and I'll shoot.''
Kitsune stopped walking, giving her husband a glance. Her brow furrowed as she slowly raised her hands above her head. Carmelita stepped forward, but remained wary. She couldn't afford any mistakes.
``Do you have anyone you love?'' Kitsune questioned, her voice even and yet filled with malice. ``A husband? Fiance? Lover maybe?''
Carmelita's brain went straight to Sly, but she forced the images down, keeping her focus on Kitsune and getting a set of cuffs on her.
``Because if you do, I will find them. And I will kill them. Slowly.'' Kitsune promised. ``And I'll make you watch.''
Carmelita's teeth clenched, a sound that didn't go unnoticed by Kitsune. She gave off a chuckle as the Interpol officer took hold of her wrist in order to cuff her. No sooner had her hand touched the other fox, Kitsune was a blur of motion. She grabbed Carmelita, twisted her arm and threw the cop over her shoulder, where she landed in the snow drift. Carmelita gasped in surprised, then quickly rolled out of the way of an attempted jab at her face. Though she missed, Kitsune was able to get ahold of her shock pistol. The silver fox smirked at this, then tossed it into the snow behind her. She then allowed her coat to slide off, revealing a skin tight black suit underneath.
``You're good.'' Kitsune admitted, sliding her mask onto her face. ``I'm going to enjoy ripping you apart.''
``Good luck with that, puta.'' Carmelita spat.
Kitsune launched at Carmelita, tackling her into the snow. The two wrestle for a bit before Kitsune kicked Carmelita off. Carmelita rolled in the snow a bit as Kitsune launched at her again. Carmelita saw this and double kicked her in the chest. The silver fox recovered quickly, holding her stomach.
``You'll pay for that.'' Kitsune swore.
``Then come and get me.'' Carmelita challenged.
Kitsune then ran at Carmelita, continually trying to punch her. However, Carmelita was able to avoid and block all the attacks. Unfortunately, this left her with little chance to deliver her own strikes. Kitsune then kicked Carmelita in the chest, sending her into the snow. As she started getting up, Carmelita saw her stun gun laying there. Thinking fast, Carmelita grabbed the gun and fired it at Kitsune. Kitsune quickly dodged the shot and brought her foot up, kicking the gun away. Before Carmelita could attempt to recover it, that same foot came down hard on her chest, pinning her in the snow.
``Pathetic.'' Kitsune taunted. ``Perhaps I gave you too much credit before. I didn't even break a sweat.''
There was a polite cough behind Kitsune, drawing her attention. She turned around to see Sly Cooper standing behind her. Two seconds later, she saw the curved end of his cane connect with the side of her face. She crumbled to the ground, the porcelain mask now dangling from the hook of his cane.
``You're late.'' Carmelita said in a joking manner.
Sly offered her his hand and helped her to her feet.
``I couldn't find my tux.'' he replied.
The two looked down at the unconscious criminals, smiling to each other.
...
Sly and Carmelita left a tied up Kitsune and Kado inside one of the many storage rooms inside the hanger. They were left in their underwear, Sly and Carmelita now wearing their clothes. Carmelita slid the porcelain mask on over her face.
``You sure those two will be alright?'' Sly asked.
``So long as they don't try to bust out of that storage room, the space heaters will keep them from getting frostbite.'' Carmelita replied.
Sly chuckled at that, then Bentley and Benjy came onto the comm links.
``Focus you two.'' Bentley ordered. ``It's critical that Boris doesn't suspect a thing when you guys show up. Otherwise, we won't be able to get a peak under the hood of this operation.''
``I was wondering about that, Bentley.'' Carmelita commented. ``How are we going to be able to gather recon photos with Boris right by our side?''
``I thoughta tha'.'' Benjy interjected. ``Sly, give yer lady friend da thing I gave ya bifore ya left.''
Sly fished into his pocket, pulling out a broach. He slid it onto Carmelita's lapel, then added a similar looking on onto his own.
``These spy cams will allow us to see and hear everything you do without having to risk him seeing the binoc-u-cams.'' Bentley explained.
``Just be careful ya don't make a big ah lookin' about.'' Benjy warned ``Ye might git Boris on yer tails.''
``Got it, we'll be careful.'' Sly promised.
The two straightened their coats, then they began their walk towards the oil rig. Through the snow, they could see several of the other guests for the auction gathering up.
``So many criminals...'' Carmelita whispered.
``Haven't seen this big of a gathering since Rajan's ball.'' Sly commented.
``Ah Kitsune!'' Boris' booming voice shouted out.
Carmelita stiffened a bit, her hand instinctively going for her belt where her shock pistol usually was. Unfortunately, she'd never recovered it from the snow, so she was currently defenseless.
``I was afraid you had gotten lost!'' Boris exclaimed, walking over to the masked fox.
``Reception in this hole is lousy.'' Sly explained, trying to make himself sound as much like Rioichi Cooper as he could. ``We landed on an air strip on the other side of this blasted storm.''
``Oh, my apologies.'' Boris said, clapping the raccoon on the shoulder. ``I will be sure to have words with men in radio tower. This problem not happen again. Swear it.''
Both Sly and Carmelita had a pretty good idea what Boris meant when he said he'd have words, but they both remained in character.
``See that you do.'' Carmelita replied, mimicking Kitsune's arrogant tone.
Boris laughed, then turned towards the rest of the group.
``Now that everyone is here, we start tour!'' he declared.
He led everybody inside of one of the large storage rooms on the oil rig. Two walrus guards held the doors open, no doubt the security for the main entrance. Inside, the entire storage room was lined on two separate walls with makeshift cells. These cells seemed to be made out of chain-link fencing, each of them containing a prisoner. Both Sly and Carmelita were disgusted by the sight, their knuckles turning white as they gripped each other.
``As you can see, I have many wares for sale this time.'' Boris exclaimed, gesturing to the many frightened prisoners.
As he droned on about his various charges, Carmelita and Sly took the opportunity to look around. Making it look like they were merely taking a closer look at the cages, the two began examining the cells, searching for a way to get into them. Unfortunately, even though they were makeshift, they were very well put together, leaving little to no chance of escape.
``God... This is awful...'' Bentley gasped.
``Reminds me of Prague.'' Sly whispered.
Carmelita shivered at the memories, clinging tightly to Sly's arm. He gently placed his arm around her, then they both continued deeper into the building.
``Of course, you all know about wares currently on display.'' Boris said, drawing Carmelita and Sly's attention once more. ``But you don't know about last minute addition.''
The other guests seemed to murmur to themselves in confusion and curiosity. Sly and Carmelita now gave Boris their undivided attention.
``That's right ladies and gentlemen.'' Boris continued. ``I have special surprise for everyone. Follow me.''
He began walking deeper into the warehouse as Sly and Carmelita made their way to the front of the group. Boris led them to what appeared to be an old closet. The door was reinforced with steel though, and had at least five locks on it. No doubt a maximum security cell. Boris unlocked the five locks, then gave a cruel grin.
``May I present...'' he threw the door open. ``Inspector Garrett Lupine!''
Everybody gasped in surprise and amazement, which aided in masking the gasps of horror that came from Carmelita and Sly. The Interpol officer looked horrible. His suit was torn, one of his eyes was swollen shut, and he was dangling from the wall by a pair of shackles.
``That's right folks, Boris has everyone's most hated Interpol officer on the block!'' The bear cheered. ``Say hello, Inspector.''
Garrett lifted his head, giving Boris a hard stare.
``When I get out of this, I'm going to make the Russian gulag look like paradise.'' He swore.
``Empty promises from a broken cop.'' Boris chuckled.
``It's a promise alright, but it is far from empty.'' Garrett snarled.
Boris laughed, then slammed the door shut, locking it once more.
``Well that ends tour.'' Boris declared. ``Now, is time to retire to rooms. I'm sure you all know drill by now. All guests under guard to ensure no early try at merchandise.''
Both Sly and Carmelita gulped. Neither of them had even thought that Boris may have had his guests guarded. Now they couldn't get back to the group without raising suspicion. As they followed Boris towards where the guests were kept, Bentley's voice crackled over the comms.
``This mission just got a whole lot harder.'' He lamented.
