//------------------------------//
// The Frozen North 
// Story: Dressed to Steal 
// by Tatsurou 
//------------------------------//

	With the family all back together, I was much more at peace with myself...for the moment.  Still, Uncle Murray was acting a little off, not that we could blame him after what had happened.  We were all a little off.  Still, for some reason Uncle Murray's behavior stuck in my mind...

Dad thought the first thing we should do was to get Mom reinstated on the force and get her record cleared...but Mom vetoed that immediately.  With both Neyla and the Contessa exposed as members of the Klaaw Gang, scrutiny would be high everywhere as Interpol hunted Neyla and the other Klaaw members down.  She said our priority would have to be on the Clockwerk Parts.  Not only would that lead us to the remaining Klaaw Gang members - and Neyla - the parts had to be destroyed.  They were simply too dangerous.

Thankfully, we knew where to find one member of the Gang.  The trail of spice shipments led to Nunavut Bay, Canada, the secret hub of Jean Bison's shipping empire.  On our way there, I learned a bit about the man.  Apparently, he wound up frozen for 120 years, leading to him being a bit out of his time.  Behaviors and attitudes that were perfectly acceptable in his day had him an outsider in the present.  Kind of a pity.  It made me wonder if there was any way to save him...

That would have to sit on the back burner, though.  He had quite a few of the Clockwerk Parts - both lungs, the stomach, and the talons - which was rather concerning considering what the other Klaaw Gang members had been using theirs for.  That much of Clockwerk's body in the hands of one man who was using it...we had to act fast.

Once we had a base of operations set up, I went looking for the Vault while Dad did some scouting.  I actually crossed paths with Dad while hunting the vault, since we both had to go into that cabin for our respective missions.  Once I'd raided its contents, though - designs for a music box that played on a specific harmonic that forcefully induced sleep - Dad insisted I go back to the hideout so Mom didn't worry.  I went, wishing Dad as much luck on his run as I had on mine.

Of course, Dad had much better to report from his excursion.  Not only did he get the blueprints for all three Iron Horses - the trains Jean Bison used to deliver his spice, powered by the Clockwerk Lungs and Stomach - he also brought back pictures of their routes and information about a 'Northern Lights Battery'.  On top of that, he connected Uncle Bentley to a satellite dish that would let him track all three trains all the time.

...no, I wasn't jealous.  Why would you even think that?  To be perfectly frank, I was glad to get to sit on the sidelines for a bit.  My magical reserves still weren't fully recovered from Prague, and we didn't exactly have time to let me take a week's siesta...so taking it easy was the next best thing.

Then came the plan for how to get into the trains...and Mom caught all of us off guard.





Bentley laid out the information he'd put together from what Sly had gathered.  "Alright, we know where in the trains the Clockwerk parts are.  Unfortunately, the Parts let the trains run day and night, so we can't just wait for them to shut down for the night.  We'll have to get the parts while they're running...which is going to be tricky.  The only entrance is a hatch on the roof of the caboose of each train, and it's locked shut.  There's no way we'll be able to get the keys, so we'll need to blow the locks open."

He shifted the visual to a picture of the sky.  "Thankfully, Jean Bison's operation is actually helpful to us here.  There are balloons of ultra-unstable denatured spice gas floating all over the place.  If you're able to gather enough of it, Sly, you can attach the canister to the hatch and blow it open...but you'll have to land on the caboose, or the gas will explode before you can detach the canister."  He rubbed the back of his head nervously.  "The gas is highly unstable at lower altitudes, after all."

"That sounds needlessly reckless, not to mention dangerous," Carmelita observed.  "One mistake and Coco loses her father."

"Not all that different from most of what we've done," Sly pointed out.

"Yeah...that's about standard for what Dad goes through," Coco agreed, much to Carmelita's displeasure.

"It just seems foolish to not use a much simpler, safer option when it's available," Carmelita countered irritably.

"And what would you suggest, Carmelita?" Bentley asked curiously.

"I switch my cannon from 'stun' to 'armor pierce' setting, and use the focused electrical discharge to blow the lock off," Carmelita explained simply.  "No risk of any of us getting injured, and the 'armor pierce' setting is a lot quieter than an unstable gas exploding."

"That's...not a bad idea," Bentley allowed.  "I didn't know your stun cannon had an 'armor pierce' setting."

"That's because none of you wear armor," Carmelita shot back teasingly.

"But...won't it look bad for you to be actively helping us with a heist?" Murray asked worriedly.

"That's not a concern right now," Carmelita responded flatly.

The room fell completely silent.  Eventually, it was Sly who spoke up.  "What do you mean?"

"Despite Coco's efforts getting my name cleared, it's highly unlikely I'll ever be able to wipe this whole incident from my record," she responded softly.  "The investigation will go deep...and likely will uncover our relationship, Sly.  Even if Neyla's interpretation is completely disproved...that emotional connection will mark me as being compromised where the Cooper Gang is concerned.  If that's the case...I'm finished at Interpol."  She managed a smile as Sly's hand found hers.  "I accepted that from the moment the Contessa locked me up.  I just had to look at my priorities...and taking care of Coco is the highest priority for me.

"And if I'm no longer a member of Interpol...then the most efficient - and most pleasant - way to do that is to become an official and permanent member of your Gang."

Bentley's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his sockets.  Murray actually fell over in shock.  Coco didn't know whether to cheer or commiserate.

Sly put his arm around Carmelita, pulling her into a hug.  He made sure to position himself so the others couldn't see her tears.