Sly, Carmelita, and Murray stood there, staring as Coco slipped into unconsciousness, plainly spent. Carmelita was the first one to speak. "So...what now?" she asked Sly calmly.
Sly frowned as he stared off into the distance as he mulled it over in his mind. After a time, he came to a decision. "Now you arrest me," he stated simply.
"What?" Carmelita, Murray, and Bentley all shouted out in shock.
"Look at us," he continued sharply. "Murray, you're still recovering from the spice overdose. Bentley, you can't walk anymore. We have no escape vehicle. We have no allies to help us anywhere near here. Interpol will likely be here any minute now, and there's no way we can make a getaway. The only way we can protect Coco now - especially with Seft active again - is if I end up in jail in one piece." He turned to Carmelita. "So I'll surrender to you, you'll arrest me, and take me all the way back to jail. That will wipe away any suspicion that you might have been working with me from the start, and get you reinstated. You'll then be able to keep an eye out for Seft's exploits on that side of the law, while our friends on the other side can keep their ears to the ground."
Carmelita frowned, her eyes conflicted. "I...I don't like this," she murmured softly. "I...don't like the idea of throwing you in jail." Now confronted with the real fact of having to lock Sly up...she found she no longer wanted to. It betrayed everything she'd stood for as an Interpol Inspector...and yet here was Sly, willing to give up his freedom for the sake of their daughter, and to give Carmelita back her life. "I..."
Stepping forward, Sly gently pressed his lips to Carmelita's, silencing her. "We have to do this," he said softly as he stepped back. "For Coco." Handing his cane off to Murray, he held out his hands.
Knowing she could do nothing else, Carmelita regretfully pulled out her handcuffs and clapped them around Sly's wrists. "...Murray, Muggshot and Miss Ruby's sentences should be up soon," she spoke up. "With everything that happened with Coco's golems and the Contessa, they'll probably be released on their own cognizance, completely rehabilitated. When that happens, you should consider dropping Coco off with them, if a more permanent option hasn't arisen."
Murray nodded as he scooped Bentley and Coco up, shifting all their gear into a bag. "I'll...I'll see you," he offered softly, turning to walk slowly away with his double burden.
As Sly and Carmelita were left alone on the bluff for a time, they turned back to each other. "You're...you're sure there's no other way?" she asked worriedly.
Sly nodded sadly. "It has to be this way. Don't worry, we'll make things work somehow." He offered a soft smile. "Maybe I can cut a deal to get out early as a CI?" he suggested comfortingly.
Carmelita managed a chuckle, but the sound of wings put them on alert. Carmelita spun, her expression professional...only for her eyes to widen in shock. "...Megraw..." she whispered worriedly.
The golden eagle that flapped down to land near the pair wore the uniform of an Interpol officer, but his decorations plainly showed him to be of incredibly high rank. He landed on point, his talons digging into the ground as his wings folded, feathers curling in as he freed his hands to stare down at the pair. "Ach, lass!" he greeted coldly. "Ah knew this'd be where ya'd come down from that sky fight, so ah come ahead o' the rest ta see if'n that metal burd be tough enough ta still be kickin'. Now what's all this then?" His fierce, golden gaze swept between Carmelita and Sly.
Carmelita saluted almost instinctively. "Secretary Megraw, the suspected Master Thief Sly Cooper has surrendered into my custody, sir!"
Sly blanched as he heard the title. While he didn't know the name, this was a member of Interpol's General Secretariat, the governing body. This was one of the people who made the decisions about how Interpol policy was shaped and carried out.
"Ach, ah ain't no Secretary just now!" Megraw countered. "Never lahked that title. Makes me sund lahk some busybody in a skirt fetchin' coffee! When the kerfuffle 'boot that Contessa reached us, we decided someone had ta come in and clean house! That be me." He glanced back and forth between the pair. "So...that's yer story, then? The supposed Master Thief surrendered to ya...just like that?"
"In exchange for letting my injured friends leave unmolested to seek treatment," Sly spoke up quickly, wincing internally as he saw how stiff Carmelita got at his statement.
Megraw glanced between the pair again for a time, before a smirk crossed his wickedly curved beak. "Ach, if that's yer story, then ya better stick to it, ya ken? That'll get ya back on the force wit yer name cleared, Miss Fox, no matter how the trial goes!"
Trial? Sly thought in surprise. But aren't I-
"Ya just me be makin' sure this idjit keeps his mouth shut till he gets a lawyer," Megraw insisted. "Dun want no legal loophole 'bout 'rights violations' gettin' anythang he says thrown out!"
"Yes sir!" Carmelita confirmed, saluting again.
As a chopper flew in, followed by several police cars, Megraw nodded firmly. "Escort tha prisoner...Inspector Fox!"
Despite having about the same number of words, this chapter seems a little short, somehow. IDK. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the great work. Deus tecum.
Uhhh, what happened at the end there?
7988702 noticed that too
Depending on the lawyer, Sly might not be gone all that long, after all...
Huh? Well now, that went better then expected.
me thinks megraw wants to give sly a slap on the wrist punishment....... i like him
7988703 Someone competently realized the Coopers are best thieves?
I think Megraw might understand that the Coopers aren't really bad guys ando are good guys that skit the law.
Is Megraw an actual character from the games or was he a reference to the Redwall series?
Oh, this one of those guys that believes in black and white but can't deny that the world is actually grew to dark grey, so he makes the best calls he can to keep the people safe.
Never played the Sly games other than one demo-disc of the first one.
So I can't help but imagine Megraw (Should that be McGraw?) wearing a kilt with a sword over his shoulder and an assault rifle in place of one leg.
Um... why do I get the feeling that Sly isn't going to be the one on trial?
7988728 Dunno about the first game, but he's not in the second, third or Thieves In Time
7988731 kiddiepunk.com/zacshauntedhouse/images/1-26.gif
7988728
Reference.
Someone kindly explain to me-
WTFH just happened?!
...So anyone else imagine bagpipes getting more and more louder as Megraw talked and whenever he wasn't speaking (when the focus is on Sly/Cam) it's oddly silent?
7988894 I wanna know, too!
I have to wonder how many times has an officer of the law let a cooper disappear or misplace some important paperwork.....I mean Carmelita can't have been the first Inspector to investigate the Cooper clan and get wrapped up into the family especially considering how old they are.
Hmm... I got nothing. Through Trial and error, I can't seem to come up with any puns. It's like I'm cuffed at the throat to even say them. It's not like a golden arch wearing eagle is gonna swoop in and arrange it into puns.
Oooh! The Coopers have a fan in Interpol. Well, besides Carmelita. One in high places, too. That could be a Chekhov's Gun right there pointed at our face.
7988702
7988706
I think it's because normally he's doing at least four scene cuts a chapter, leading to more ground being covered despite the small chapters. This time he did less, and it seemed smaller because of it.
7988894 Seriously. I'm having so much trouble understanding that phonetic accent.
7988794 ...
Will Phoenix Wright be coming in?
Please tell me he'll be coming in.
I like Megraw... is it wrong to want to see him on a day off giving Coco a ride and her squealing with delight as they soar through the air????
I hope we get a few world building scenes between now and Sly 3, I especially want to see Coco have a talk with Mrs. Ruby over her actions and if she can help Bentley.
7989203 would he be an actual phoenix, or a porcupine?
7988708 He better call Saul.
7988932 That is a hilarious thought that I should've done.
7989159 That seems right.
I was expecting Scruff McGruff, but Megraw works.
I'm sorry but what the he'll did that guy say?
7989290 I'd say by his name and motif, he should be a Phoenix with spiky hair who gets called porcupine and other things constantly in court and during investigations by some people. That would be brilliant.
A Scottish eagle...okay, I'm on board.
7989290 Why can't it be both?
Ya know it's weird but I thought you woulda went with mcgruff the crime dog. But a Scottish bald eagle works too.
Scottish Bald Eagle...
...
I can work with this.
Carry on
7990453
Your comment combined with your avatar made me laugh.
Cool. I was wondering if Carmelita was going to get back on the good side of the law, or if she was going to be a permanent member of the Cooper Gang. (Maybe she'll be both? )
And Megraw seems like he's going to do something (hopefully extra-judicial) to make things turn out as they should. I very much hope Sly gets some kind of... what would it be called? Letter of Marque? Some kind of assurance by Interpol that they won't hunt him down as long as he only targets the bad guys? That doesn't seem like a thing that in international police agency would do, but if they couched it as a CI with Carmelita as his babysitter? Maaaybe.
"So, Inspector Fox, there have been reports that your CI, Sly Cooper, has returned to his thieving ways."
"These allegations are serious, and I assure you that I would not allow my charge to engage in any illegal activities. These reports must be false."
"Inspector, there were Cooper Gang calling cards left in half the safes in the building."
*Eye twitch* "...Dammit, Sly, I told you not to stop doing that."
*Shrug* "I plead the fifth. On a completely unrelated note, why only half the safes?"
"Because, Dad, I got with the program."
7990483
Hahaha, I'm glad.
Oh man, for a second I read Megraw as McGruff.
7990453 Great, now I want to see Samurai Jack. Just the episodes with the Scotsman.
7990921
Shockingly enough I've never seen Samurai Jack... that was the one cartoon I never got to see in my childhood alongside the classics
7990959 The show is resuming this year. Granted, Jack can now use firearms, but he still has his sword and searching for a way back.
7991212
I wanna watch the old school Samurai Jack before delving into the new one. I feel like I missed out on too much XD
7991245 I know a good site if you want a link.
7990959 I know the feeling; I still want to watch the "Megaman Net Warriors" anime based on "Megaman Battle Network".
7991245 They're not connecting Season 1 - 4 to this new Season 5. You could watch the other seasons to know the popular characters and a bit of Jack.
7992878
I'll be sure to do that, hehe
7990921
Gotta love that guy:
8094940 Oh yeah. He is easily my favorite non Jack character. He's still in season 5.
8100766
CELTIC RUNES MOTHERFUCKER!
Megraw is fun, and seems to be up to something.