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!"