With Seft on the run, the situation with me apparently got a great deal more complicated. Even looking back, I don't really see it myself. After all, I stay with Dad or Mom at any given time. What's so complicated about that? Still, I take Mom's word for it on this. Apparently, it was a rather interesting discussion...
Sly and Carmelita once more sat on opposite sides of the table in the Gang's temporary cave hideout, sipping their drinks. Neither was happy with the outcome of the battle with Seft, though for different reasons.
"You were trying to kill him," Carmelita pointed out bluntly.
"I was," Sly admitted, his voice even. "The design of the portal was his. As long as he lives, he puts Coco, her world, and all other worlds in danger."
"He would pose no danger in prison," Carmelita insisted. "And he would certainly have gone there if we'd captured him."
"I know you would never use his knowledge," Sly countered. "But can you personally vouch for every guard, every warden, every judge, and every lawyer that he would be before at any given time once he was captured? Could you guarantee that none of them would be tempted at the idea of infinite wealth and power? Especially if they never saw who suffered for them to achieve it?"
Carmelita fell silent. She glowered at Sly for a time, then eventually lowered her eyes. She wanted to say Sly was wrong, but she knew better. After all, if he was wrong, why did Interpol - her own agency - have an Office of Internal Affairs? "It goes against my grain to set out specifically to kill someone," she offered finally.
"Mine too," Sly agreed. "Knowing I was going in there not as a thief, but as an assassin...it felt dirty. I hate myself for even trying...and hate myself even more for being relieved that he escaped, so I didn't have to find out if I actually had it in me to kill." He leaned back, taking another sip as he thought about it all for a time. "So...what now?"
Carmelita raised an eyebrow. "Now? Seft escaped. I'm going to have to file that report, and direct attention towards tracking him down."
"Not trying to arrest me this time?" Sly teased, a flirtatious grin on his face. "Inspector, I'm hurt."
Carmelita snorted disdainfully. "You saved my life and Coco's when I confronted Seft alone," she pointed out. "I'll overlook your status as a criminal this time."
"I still owe you, then," Sly pointed out, leaning forward. "I'd have been dead against Seft if you hadn't shown up when you did."
Carmelita shrugged, looking away. "You were more useful alive than dead then," she muttered, though Sly noticed her cheeks coloring slightly. She then cleared her throat, getting herself back under control. "Now, about Coco..."
Sly immediately stiffened. He didn't like the distant tone she was using. "What about her?" he inquired judiciously.
"I think I can fudge some paperwork to get her into a good orphanage," Carmelita began, hesitance in her voice at the idea of bending the rules even that much.
"No," Sly stated flat out, catching Carmelita off guard. "Even the best of those places is no place for her. No matter how good the people running them might be, the children take care of themselves their own way. As different as she is? She'll be miserable there...especially since 'Mommy and Daddy' put her there." His eyes narrowed. "And if you can't get her into a good one, and she ends up in a bad one..." He frowned, closing his eyes. "...nevermind..."
Carmelita stared in shock. She'd heard what Seft had said to Sly during the fight. She'd managed to put together that Sly had witnessed his father's death...but hadn't realized that meant he was an orphan. Seeing Murray and Bentley come up to him to rest their hands on his shoulders, she realized that that must have been the case with all three of them...likely where they met and became a Gang-
A family, another part of her mind supplied pointedly, making her lower her eyes.
"There's a more practical reason not to put her into the system," Bentley pointed out. "We don't know what Seft's resources are. Would you really bet Coco's life he wouldn't look there first for her, to try and reclaim her to power a new portal? Or that, if he found her, he wouldn't be able to get ahold of her there?"
"Or from whoever wound up adopting her?" Murray added. "Admittedly, that thought's rather optimistic. No matter how adorable and sweet she is...she's different."
Carmelita found herself wincing yet again. Obviously, all three of them had received a raw deal from 'the system' as far as their early lives went. She found herself feeling guilty about this. Even if she wasn't part of Child Services, she was still part of 'the system', and that made it her job to make sure there weren't so many sad stories. As such, every one she came across felt like a personal failure on her part, however illogical that was in the context. Her father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had all talked about having feelings like that themselves, and had told her it was the sign of a good cop. Her great-grandfather had said flat out that the day she stopped feeling guilty was the day she should hand in her badge.
"I can't take her," Carmelita said finally. "Even if I could come up with an explanation of where she came from, I won't be able to take care of her and do my job and make sure Seft can't get ahold of her. There's no way I'd be able to keep her."
"Then the solution is obvious," Sly offered warmly. "We'll take her. Not only will there always be at least one of us with her, we're completely off the grid. Even if Seft should somehow learn we have her with us, he'll never be able to track us down to get her."
Carmelita frowned. The idea was completely sound, looking at it just from the perspective of 'best for Coco'. But at the same time, something felt off from that perspective. "I'm not sure how I feel about my daughter being raised by a pack of thieves." The words were out of her mouth before she realized she was going to say them, and she bit the inside of her lip to keep herself from saying more as Bentley and Murray both snickered.
"Then how about this?" Sly offered. "Anytime you have a day off, we'll drop Coco off to spend the day with you. After all, the days off are the only time you'd be able to spend with her anyway if you took her yourself, by your own words." He grinned...slyly. "That should give you more than enough time to counter our 'untoward criminal influence' on her."
Carmelita glowered at Sly, knowing he was teasing her...and hating that she didn't have any ammo to fight back with. After all, not only was he right, any skills Coco picked up living with them would help her stay alive should Seft get a bead on her. Finally, however, she found a counter argument. "And if I manage to arrest the three of you?"
"She's a minor," Murray pointed out. "As long as she is one, legally she'll be a witness or 'victim', so you could take her into 'protective custody' personally to 'get her statements' and 'rehabilitate' her."
Carmelita's eyes widened in appreciation. That had been a valid point. And from the way Sly and Bentley were looking at their robust roomie, that was a rarity.
"Bad idea?" Murray asked worriedly when he noticed the stares.
"Very good, actually," Carmelita corrected. "Once Coco wakes up...we should explain the situation to her."
And that's how things began. Now, that's not to say it was all sunshine and rainbows between Mom and Dad. They still had their share of differences. But...learning to put my well being first helped smooth some things over.