Archive of Our Own ^beta

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."

Chapter Text

Carmalita was sitting at her desk, the paperwork on her desk forgotten but nearly finished, thinking about why Sly hadn’t come back yet. Of course, she told him to go home and wait for her there, but he had never actually done that in the past. Normally, he would come back to the office and annoy her till she gave in, and they would leave together. One thought that went through her head was that he did leave, but only to buy her some chocolate and flowers, and was there waiting for her in the lobby of the building, the dork. Before she could think of anything else, she heard a knock at the door.

“Come in,” yelled Carmalita.

The door opened and a large figure walked in, it was Arnold.

“Inspector Armstrong wants to have a word with you,” said Arnold.

            “

Thank you, Arnold,” said Carmalita, “Oh did you see Sly out there anywhere? He would normally come right back to the office even if he was done for the day.”

“He left after he talked to Armstrong,” said Arnold, “anyway Armstrong said he needed to discuss an urgent case with me, you, and Amelia.”

“What about Sly?” asked Carmalita.

“Apparently, he was told about the mission in private,” answered Arnold, “it must be dangerous because he was mumbling something about shock proof gear.”

Without another word Carmalita put the finishing touches on the paperwork and headed out the door to Armstrong’s office. When she got to the office, Arnold and Amelia were already sitting at the front of the desk, with Armstrong sitting on the other side. They looked like they were having a great conversation till she came in.

“Oh, Inspector Carmalita,” said Armstrong cheerfully, “please have a seat.”

“Okay,” said Cramalita sitting in the seat to the right of Amelia, “can you tell me what is going on. Arnold says that the three of us, plus Sly, have a mission. A mission where you felt the need to tell Sly in private.”

“Oh, all will be revealed, but first have a look at this,” said Armstrong pulling out a large file out of a drawer of his desk. Carmalita’s eyes went wide when she saw the name on the file: Cooper, Sly. Many questions were running through her mind, but the main one was: Why was the file there and why was it important?

“Cooper, Sly?” read Arnold, “Isn’t that Inspector Cooper’s name?”

“Wait, but Inspector Cooper is one of the best agents Interpol has,” said Amelia, “how can he have a criminal record that large?”

“Oh, I think that Inspector Fox can answer that for you,” said Armstrong with a smile, “she is the one that made the file as large as it is.”

“Inspector?” said Amelia in a questioning tone.

“Hmm, this seems like a lifetime ago, even if it has only been a few years,” said Carmalita reaching out and moving the file closer to her, “so, many memories, but I don’t see what this has to do with the case.”

“Wait,” said Arnold holding up his hand, “are you saying that Sly is a thief?

“He used to be,” said Carmalita to focused on looking through the file and not paying attention to the people around her, “but after a mishap, he got amnesia, and I convinced him that he was my partner. I sometimes see the gleam in his eyes when he sees some sort of jewel and I can see the urge on his face, but he never does. Really the only reason he doesn’t is because of me.”

“So, you have a feeling that Sly does remember?” asked Armstrong breaking Carmalita out of her daze.

“Well, I mean, it wouldn’t be surprising that he would get his memories back,” said Carmalita putting the file back on the desk, “but it is just a feeling I have.”

“Have you talked to him about this feeling?” asked Amelia.

“Well, if he doesn’t remember, it might jog his memory and he will return to thievery,” said Carmalita, “if he does remember already, me saying that I feel he has his memory back, it might scare him to leave.”

“That is a lot of negative outcomes,” said Arnold, “you could try and give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“I know I just wish I knew if he had his memory back or not,” said Carmalita.

“Well, I can answer that,” said Armstrong interrupting the conversation “he does.”

In almost a flash, Carmalita had gotten up and was almost out the door, while shouting “I’M GOING TO KILL HIM!!!” but was stopped by Arnold grabbing her arm and Armstrong telling her to stop.

“WHY SHOULD I?” yelled Carmalita, “HE HAS BEEN LYING TO ME THIS ENTIRE TIME!! GOD AND YOU LET HIM LEAVE AFTER TALKING TO HIM. WHO KNOWS WERE HE IS NOW?”

“Do you really think so poorly of both me and him?” asked Armstrong, “If you don’t think he can be trusted now, at least trust me.”

Carmalita stood in the doorway for a second. The rage in her eyes started to subside and she unclenched her fists. She was still angry, but she could at least hear what Armstrong had to say. She took a deep breath and walked back to her chair. With a big huff, she sat back down. Amelia put her hand on Carmalita’s knee and gave her a reassuring smile.

“Good, now I can get down to business,” said Armstrong, “now you know that Inspector Cooper was once a criminal, and that Carmalita was tasked with bringing him in. She did in a way, but now the committee wants him delt with officially.”

“What do you mean ‘officially’?” asked Amelia.

“Meaning they want him to answer for his crimes, or they want him to earn his freedom,” said the Chief.

“How does he earn his freedom?” asked Arnold.

“He will do this by him and the rest of his gang helping us catch some of the criminals we don’t have the ability to take on,” said Armstrong, “either they are too powerful or have too much influence for use to have anything stick. So, they will go in and do the evidence gathering for us.”

“And were exactly do we come in?” asked Carmalita not really believing what she is hearing.

“The plan is that you three will be accompanying the three members of the Cooper gang as they do their job” Armstrong said “Inspector Cooper and Inspector Fox will be the lead inspectors on these cases, while the rest of you will be rookies needing field experience. None of it is an exact lie, you do need field experience.”

“Why don’t you just have me, Amelia, and Arnold chase after Cooper, Bentley, and Murry?” asked Carmalita.

“Because over the past few years you and Inspector Cooper are expected to be working together,” explained Armstrong, “If you show up without him, it will look suspicious. So, we need you to arrive and work together.”

“But if he is going to be stealing, how are we supposed to work together,” asked Carmalita still annoyed about this whole thing.

“I told Sly he can use you three to help him with plans and cons,” said Armstrong, “basically you will be a part of the Cooper gang.”

“WHAT!?!” shouted Carmalita “You want us to become criminals?”

“If that is how you want to look at it then yes,” said Armstrong, “I like to think of it as breaking the law to bring justice.”

“So, criminals,” said Carmalita.

“Well, just remember if Sly and his friends can’t do it then they will be going to jail for years,” said Armstrong, “so it is up to you three.”

“Wait, why would you go to jail as well?” asked Amelia.

“Each of you have done criminal acts that have been overlooked either for not enough evidence or as a favor,” answered Armstrong, “Amelia you lost your job with the FBI and were almost arrested for stalking your superior.”

“Well, to be fair I was proven right in the long run,” said Amelia crossing her arms and turning her head, “it turned out he was Mr. Bones, just wish people listened to my profile on him. It might have saved the sixth victim’s life.”

“Profile?” asked Carmalita, “I didn’t know you were a Profiler?”

“Yep,” said Amelia, “I worked there for about one years as an intern. Then a case sprang up in D.C. after the body of a recruit was found in his car in an abandoned alleyway. It was a week after when the body of another recruit was found in her home. It was ruled that it was the work of a serial killer and he was targeting new recruits.”

“Now, Amelia tell them why you were stalking your boss,” said Armstrong letting her continue.

“He fit the profile I had made,” said Amelia, “after the 5^th victim I was able to come up with a slightly different profile then what the main team did. I said that the unsub would be an older male, between 55 – 65, who had multiple muscle and joint alignment, mainly severe arthritis. He would be someone of higher authority, or someone that the victims respected, and would be eager to do whatever he said.”

“And as she said before, she was right,” said Armstrong, “the former head of the BAU turned out to be the killer. He started to get paranoid after he realized that his health was failing, and he might lose his title and be forced to retire, he decided to take out young recruits that he was afraid was going to take his job.”

“I still lost my job,” said Amelia, “if it wasn’t for a friend, I made on the main team I would most likely be in prison. They pulled some string and got me a job here.”

“And we are happy to have you,” said Armstrong, “now Arnold do you want to share what you did, or do you want me to tell them?”

“Heck, I will,” said Arnold, “when I was in my late teens I became a bare-knuckle brawler in Blackpool. I was on a roll and was on top of the world. Then all of it came crashing down, when a scrawny weasel stepped up to face me. He was a slippery one, would duck my swings, give me a couple of jabs, and then would start making jokes about me. I got so angry.”

“I can finish the story if this is making you uncomfortable,” reassured Armstrong as Arnold started clenching his fists at the memory.

“No, I am fine,” said Arnold taking a few calming breaths before starting again, “as I was saying I got too angry that I grabbed him and slammed him as hard as I could onto the ground. Then I just started battering him and buy the time I came to my senses he was just a bloody stain on the floor.”

“Arnold,” both Carmalita and Amelia said in a sad tone.

“I ran,” said Arnold, “was found by a friend of mine that got me off and the rest was what I thought was history.”

“Yes, a few months ago that friend was caught and told the story,” said Armstrong, “now if you don’t cooperate you will be charged.”

“I understand,” said Arnold.    

“Now, Carmalita,” started Armstrong but Carmalita just held up her hand.

“I know what you are going to say,” Carmalita said, “I have been harboring a wanted thief for years, and it is now in question that I may have been secretly helping him for years before the island. Is that right?”

“Yeah,” affirmed Armstrong, “that is about the long and short of it.”

“So, now because of that and because that damn ringtail decided to lie to me, we must become criminals to keep ourselves out of jail. Is that right?” asked Carmalita in an angrier annoyed tone.

“Yes,” answered Armstong, “what do you say?”

Taking a deep breath Carmalita finally responds, “I’ll do it, but this is not for that ring tailed bastard’s sake but for these two, as well as Bentley and Murry.”

“Well, while I don’t want to go to jail, I also can’t let Inspector Cooper go to jail either,” said Amelia.

“I guess if you both are going through with this, I really don’t have a choice” added Arnold.

“Glad to hear it,” said Armstrong, “you will have one week to get ready. Amelia, in a few days, come to my office to be briefed on some of the criminals you will be going after. Carmalita, have Sly get ahold of Bentley to see if he will come to the briefing as well. Dismissed!”

“Yes, sir,” the three of them said.

After leaving the office an angry Carmalita stormed back to her and Sly’s office and angerly grabbed her coat. Before she left, she saw a picture of her and Sly on her desk. She picked it up and tears came to her eyes. It was a picture of her and Sly, her sitting and Sly standing with his hand on her shoulder. It was the first time she and Sly solved a case together. It was a happy day, but now it was just the face of the man who had been lying to her for years. She went to throw it in the trash when she heard a voice.

“What are you doing?” the figure in the door asked. It was Amelia and Arnold. They had seen how Carmalita was acting and decided to follow her to her office.

“I am getting ready to confront my ex-boyfriend about how he had been lying to me for years,” said Carmalita slamming the picture back on the desk.

“Now, how about you calm down and come with me and get a few drinks,” said Amelia.

“No, I’m going to confront that damn ringtail,” said Carmalita trying to push her way past them.

“I’m sorry, did I make that sound like a question?” said Amelia grabbing Carmalita by the wrist, “because you don’t really have a choice. You are going with me, have a good time, simmer down to a slow boil, and then Arnold will drive us home.”

“Wait, when did I agree to this?” asked Arnold.

“You didn’t have too,” said Amelia, “we need a designated driver, and you are the closest one here, and I plan on drinking with her.”

“And who said I was going,” growled Carmalita, “now let go.”

Paying no mind, Amelia just turned around still holding Carmalita and started walking dragging her unwilling drinking buddy with her. Carmalita had two things on her mind: 1. Somehow this was Sly’s fault and 2. Amelia is surprisingly strong.

Chapter Text

It was around 11:30 pm, and Sly was getting worried. He was sure at this point, Carmalita would have come through that door yelling, screaming, and shooting at him with her shock pistol. But, as of now, she hadn’t come home yet. Which as much as Sly is worried he is glad that this gives him more time to get ready for whatever she has instore for him. Sly is sitting behind a turned over couch, he is using a cover, he has a broom handle to defend himself and is wearing a colander on his head as a helmet. He also has a bullet proof vest on. Sly was hoping that the Chief explaining the situation to her calmed her down a little, but that seemed to be unlikely. He knows how much Carmalita hates being lied to or feeling like she was betrayed. So, her being uncontrollably angry was the most likely outcome. He was brought out of his thoughts by the door opening.

“Who’s there?” asked Sly peeking out from his hiding spot.

“It’s just me,” said Carmalita putting her key on the table by the door.

Sly looked at his girlfriend standing in the entrance hallway. She didn’t look angry, in fact she looked calm, but that could just be a facade. The smell of alcohol was in the air.

‘Has she been drinking?’ Sly asked himself, ‘Was the truth so bad that she had to go out drinking to get over it?’

“Have you been drinking?’ asked Sly.

“Yes, I have” said Carmalita affirmatively.

“Why?” asked Sly feeling like he already knew the answer.

“Amelia thought I needed it to cool off my anger because an idiot decided to lie to me for years,” Carmalita half yelled.

“Did it work?” asked Sly. He wanted to know the answer before he came out of his hiding spot fully.

“Only to the point that my anger is numbed,” said Carmalita, “I am still blindingly angry, but now I am more than willing to listen to what you have to say. And besides that, Amelia made me leave my shock pistol in Arnold’s car. So, I can’t even shoot you if I wanted to.”

Sly decided that this was as good as it is going to get, so he decided to come out of his hiding spot. When he did, the drunk Carmalita started to laugh. He was still wearing his dress shirt and pants he wore that day but is now also wearing a colander and a bulletproof vest. Couple that with her also seeing the couch turned over and a broom handle. It seemed like it was the funniest thing in the world to her.

“I see you find my defenses funny,” said Sly.

“Yeah,” said Carmalita through her laughter, “and we both know that that would definitely not be enough.”

“Okay, laugh it up,” said Sly, “at least it would have stalled you for a few seconds.”

“Maybe,” Carmalita said calming down and wiping a tear from her eye, “anyway, my only question is why?”

“Why, what?” asked Sly like he didn’t already know what she meant.

“You know exactly what I meant,” said Carmalita her anger breaking through a little, “why did you lie to me and why did you decide to keep lying to me for the past three years?”

“Because I love you,” said Sly.

“BULLSHIT!!” Carmalita yelled as her anger started fighting up stream against the alcohol.

“No, no, no it’s true,” said Sly trying to reassure his angry and drunk girlfriend, “back when I was still a thief and you were chasing after me, I slowly started to get a crush on you. Then on that cargo plane, is when I realized that I was in love with you. The only reason I jumped out of that plane was because I had some unfinished business and the gang was in shambles.”

Taking a deep breath Sly continued, “Bentley was hurt and Murry blamed himself. When I caught up to them after jumping out of the plane, Murry left us to try and better himself.”

“What was the difference between that time on the plane and what happened on the island? Because it seems you left the plane because you were going to jail then and are just using Bentley and Murry as an excuse,” said Carmalita as she folded her arms.

“No, no, no,” said Sly moving over to Carmalita and putting his hands on her shoulders, “I did jump out of the plane to clean up the remnants of the gang after the defeat of the KLAWW gang. The island was a little different.”

“WHY!?! WHY WAS IT ANY DIFFERENT!?!” yelled Carmalita as she knocked Sly’s hands off her.

“For two reasons,” said Sly, “the first reason was that the members of the gang were in a good place after the heist, as all the member took part of the treasure or I assume they did I was fading in and out of consciousness at that point.”

“Me and other officers looked for a way into the cave, but we couldn’t find any entrance to that cove,” said Carmalita.

“Well don’t you remember who helped you look for a secret entrance to the cave?” asked Sly giving Carmalita a nervous but cheeky smile. Carmalita, being the decorated inspector she is, took only a few minutes for her to figure out what Sly was talking about. Her face turned between something between shock and anger.

“You…You can’t, you can’t possibly mean,” said Carmelita not believing what she is hearing, balling her fists in rage. Sly could see how angry Carmelita was getting. “But how and when?”

“Do you remember near the end of our search you found me walking out of the jungle and told you I didn’t find anything?” said Sly moving his smile back seeing Carmelita’s anger growing.

“Don’t tell me,” said Carmalita said pinching the bridge of her nose “you had found a secret entrance to the cave, then decided to keep it a secret from me.”

“Yes,” said Sly, “I made it obvious where they could find the entrance. It also wasn’t like we could have gotten into the vault anyway. I lost my cane at the same time as I lost my memory. I assumed that Bently had found it.”

“Why didn’t you rejoin the gang when you were alone,” said Carmelita “why didn’t you work with them and take some of the treasure for yourself.”

“Well, to start off with most of the gang thought that I had lost my memory” said Sly “so I could not go back to them, as they probably thought that I thought I was a cop. As for the treasure, I had already got the treasure I wanted.”

“And what was that?” asked Carmalita.

“You,” said Sly with his nervous but cheeky smile returning. Carmalita’s face was now somewhere between annoyance and anger. Sly was wondering if he should be looking for an escape route or if he should just assign himself to his fate. What happened next was not something that Sly was anticipating, Carmalita started to chuckle. Then that chuckle then turned into uncontrollable laughter. Sly had expected a lot of things like getting shot with a hidden shock pistol, slapped, or punched, but this was the last thing that he expected. Carmalita almost doubled over in her laughing fit, and Sly was getting worried.

‘Was the alcohol affecting her more than I thought,’ Sly thought as Carmalita started to come out of it.

“You know what, heh heh, I actually believe you” said Carmalita laughing to herself.

“So, do you forgive me?” asked Sly with a worried smile.

“Not even close,” said Carmalita, causing Sly’s smile to disappear, and Carmalita did the same into the bedroom. After a few, she reemerged from the bedroom with a cover and a couple of pillows. She draped the cover over the back of the couch, that Sly had turned back to its normal position, and placed the pillows next to it.

“For the foreseeable future you will be sleeping on the couch,” said Carmalita, “If you prove to me that I can trust you then I might let you sleep in the bed again, but until then. Goodnight, Sly.”  

“Goodnight,” said Sly before taking a deep breath and falling back on couch while pinching the bridge of his nose.

Sly sat there, staring at the ceiling, thinking about how this wasn’t how he wanted this night to go. After a few minutes, he decided to go to bed. He was going to need his rest because he could feel that the next few days were going to be a headache.