Dressed to Steal

by Tatsurou


Learning to Cope

It didn't take long for us to find a good place, with Uncle Scrooge's help. It just so happened he owned a few homes in Paris that were available to rent, and one that just happened to meet our needs perfectly was currently empty. Between the value of our share of the Cooper treasure and Mom's salary as an Interpol agent, rent was easy enough and it didn't raise as many eyebrows as flat out buying a place would have.

It was a small house. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, dining room, kitchen, and a sitting room. Ostensibly, the third bedroom was supposed to be a guest room...but Mom insisted on taking it, leaving us each with our own room. It'd be a while before she explained that to me.

While we waited for Dad to try and regain his memories, Mom went back to being a cop full time. I stayed with Dad most of that time, but at least at first it began to feel like Mom was trying to spend as much time away from Dad as she could. She probably was, for the same reason she took a separate bedroom, though why escaped me.

Still, even without his memories, Dad was stubborn...and definitely wanted to spend more time with Mom. Since I took that as a good sign, when Dad started bugging me about where Mom was while she was on the job, I decided we should tag along with her. If thief techniques didn't stir memories, maybe working alongside her would.


Carmelita moved carefully as she made her way into the warehouse. The thief techniques she'd picked up working with Sly all those years had drastically improved her abilities as a cop, allowing her to take on much tougher cases solo. This one in particular was one she definitely wanted to take down hard. The gang in question was especially rough, and evidence suggested they were involved in everything from petty theft to illegal arms trading...to even sophont trafficking. All she wanted to do was get in, get the evidence she needed to take the entire group down, crack a few skulls, and then get home and hug her pony daughter as she tried hard not to think about what she'd already seen sneaking into the various bases this gang had.

Because it wasn't just their crimes that she'd seen evidence of. She'd managed to get ahold of the one document of communication between this gang and their backer that hadn't been completely eradicated until there was nothing useful left. And one name had set her on this quasi-legal takedown. Seft.

Slipping along the cross beams at the roof, she carefully examined her targets. Several larger crooks and nearly two dozen smaller ones, all of them wearing body armor that would render her stun rounds completely useless unless she managed a shot straight to the face, and that ran the risk of frying their brains or sensory organs. She would have to take them down in melee, and she was at a severe disadvantage that way unless she could manage to thin their numbers somehow.

Unfortunately, it seemed luck would not be on her side. As she'd moved to find a way to draw some of them away from where they were counting their loot, her foot came down in a wet spot on the metal beam caused by a very tiny leak in the roof above. She slipped, barely managing to catch herself on the cross beam before she fell to the floor below...as her shock pistol did, shattering as it hit the floor.

Knowing the time for stealth was over, she swung herself to the side, kicking off a wall as she moved to take out some of the smaller thugs with blows to the head even as they turned their heads towards the noise. A few well placed kicks and punches had six of them down before the gang was able to react, and another three before they were able to move to surround her. She braced herself as they gathered.

Much to her frustration, they chose to speak to each other in a language she didn't know, so she wasn't able to take anything they said as evidence she could use against them. However, the way they were gesturing to her and grinning - she'd worn her old uniform that she'd used for when pursuing Sly out of habit - told her plainly what they intended if the rumors of sophont trafficking were at all true.

Turning, she dove for the remains of her weapon. The shock blade would still be functional as long as that part of the weapon was in one piece, and that would give her plenty of advantage as far as making them keep their distance, giving her time to plan. A sudden blow to the back of her head put an end to those plans, sending her careening across the floor towards the wall. As she struggled to get her thoughts in order, she stared up as one of the larger thugs moved towards her with a grin on his face...only for his eyes to roll up into his head as he slumped forward into unconsciousness.

"There's very few things I won't tolerate in criminals," a soft, familiar voice spoke as someone dropped lightly to the floor between Carmelita and the gang, right in a spot of shadow cast by an errant cloud over the moon. "And what do you know...it just so happens you lot have hit on all of them." A flash of light against something gold pierced the eyes. "So I hope you've been keeping up your religious obligations."

As the cloud passed, the light of the moon fell on a swirl of black as something lunged into the gang, striking out in flashes and thuds, laying them low before they could even react. Several of the smaller thugs made a run for the door, only for it to slam open before them. Crimson eyes glowed in the darkness, and an owl's hunting shriek rent the air. Flashes of metal sent the thugs flying around the large chamber, slamming into walls and slumping to the floor.

The last thug backed slowly away from the shadowed figure that stalked towards him. "What...what are you?" he gasped out in terror as he shook, desperately lifting a gun.

A flash of gold and the gun shattered, along with the thug's hand. "...pissed," the figure in shadows growled. The thug fainted.

A familiar hand gently helped Carmelita to her feet. "Are you alright...Carmelita, right?" Sly asked as the light shone down on him, Deik-Beck and Coco moving from the exit to join him.

"You...remember?" Carmelita asked, a desperate hope in her voice.

"Just...a few bits and pieces," Sly allowed. "I remember...that I want to protect you." He blinked, then smiled his familiar rakish smile. "And that you don't like that," he added teasingly.

Carmelita sighed sadly, but smiled. "It's a good start..."


...is it wrong I enjoyed watching Dad scare the living crap out of those thugs like that? I don't think it is, and neither does Deik-Beck.