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// Honor: Venice 
// Story: Sly Cooper: Family of Thieves 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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The boat trip to Venice gave the gang time to read up on everything that Secretary Sen could provide them on Octavio, the local mob boss that commanded the Vincenetti Gang that controlled the area, and they made sure that they memorized everything that he offered them. From what they could tell Octavio, when he was still growing up, used to be a real celebrity in the neighborhood, as everyone loved to hear him sing opera and said he was destined to be the next great tenor, but, as with the other people they had take on over the years, things changed for him, because just as his career started to take off, everyone's musical tastes changed. Suddenly, from what all of the reports said, all the people cared about anymore was rock music, and that no one wanted to listen to opera anymore, but Octavio did hold onto a few fans, and it was these mobsters that took him into "the business". The gang knew that, from the various reports that were offered to them, that heading onto this guy's turf was going to be dangerous and require more stealth than what they usually used in their operations, but, at the same time, it was worth it for a chance to make things right with Murray.

Eventually they reached a point that made them come to a stop, as Secretary Sen had to get off and take the boat back to where they got it from, but there was another boat they could use to get close to Venice and, as an added bonus, he also promised them at Inspector Hopps was on her way with a task force to investigate the area... and help them in any manner that they needed, though he didn't have to tell them that as they went their separate ways once more.

It didn't take them long to reach the floating city that was Venice, where all of them found that the city was beautiful and had a number of canals, which they had known about long before they decided to come here to find Murray, but all of them agreed that the Ferris Wheel, the blimp with Octavio's likeness on it, the likeness of Octavio on the clock tower, and the black stains in the water seemed out of place in a city like this. Fortunately the various guards, which were pigeons, cats, and some dogs that reminded them of the goons from Muggshot's place, which they had told Diz about, didn't notice the gang as they road their small boat under the Rialto Bridge and made their way around the exterior of the city before finding a good place to stash it until they were ready to leave. Another thing that was in their favor was that Inspector Hopps had arrived before them and knew of a safe house that the gang could use, which was actually past a small bridge that was near where she and her task force would be operating, and she allowed them to take up residence in the clearly abandoned building, which served their purposes quite nicely. As they entered the building the group found that there was a window that allowed them too look out at the city that was in front of them and that Bentley was able to find a round table for them to use.

The moment they all entered the building the gang set down their bags and pulled some chairs over to where the table was located, indicating that they were ready for whatever Bentley had to tell them, as they were all sure that  he already had an idea for them to begin their search for Murray.

"Given Murray's criminal past, it seems logical to start our search at the local police station." Bentley said, though at the same time the rest of the gang noticed that he had something else to tell them, which was why they were being silent at the moment, "It seems unlikely that he would already be in custody, otherwise we would have been told that ahead of time, so that means that Inspector Hopps and her task force have to have some information on all the crooks in Venice."

"Then we'll simply go over there and ask her if she has an idea where Murray might be located," Carmelita stated, as she knew that Judy, as her friend before she was fired, was one of the few people that had been on her side before she was forced to retire, and, as the handler of the Cooper Gang, she could either assist them or stay out of their way until they took out Octavio, which they were planning on doing, regardless if Murray was here or not.

Sly nodded and together he and Carmelita walked down to the first level of the building, walked outside the moment the pigeon guard walked by the door, and made their way over towards the entrance of the police station, where they found that the door was unlocked and they were able to slip in without anyone discovering that they were in there. As they stood in the corner, away from the guards and near the office that Judy likely took as her office for this operation, they came to a stop and listened to the presentation that the new Inspector had for her mercenary task force, where the two of them discovered that they were here to investigate the mysterious tar that has been seeping into the water for the last month. It appeared that Interpol believed that the person responsible for such an outrage was Don Octavio, the same man that was in control of the mob in the area and was going to be an obstacle between them and getting Murray back into the Cooper Gang, but, because they lacked enough evidence to actually get a warrant this time around, they were forced to do things the old-fashioned way... though the moment her presentation was over, and the goons seemed to stay in their seats as they discussed the operation, Judy walked towards her office and found both Sly and Carmelita waiting for her.

Instead of saying anything Judy opened the door and ushered the duo inside her office, where she locked the door and made sure that the mercenaries were preoccupied, before she sighed and turned towards the duo with a small smile on her face, indicating that she was happy to see one of them.

"Carmelita! It's good to see you again." Judy said, where she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her friend for a moment, something that Carmelita returned not a few seconds later, while at the same time Sly stood there and waited for them to separate, though he was happy to see that Carmelita had friends outside the gang, "So, what brings the two of you to my office? I'm sure that it's not about the building that I found for you, since Bentley seemed to find it appropriate, and I doubt you've done anything that would change the situation that I just briefed my team on."

"We were hoping that you might have some leads on where Murray might be," Sly replied, though at the same time both Judy and Carmelita pulled apart from each other, just in case one of the mercenaries came to the door while they were talking, "Or, at the very least, some clues for your investigation that we might be able to assist with."

Judy stared at him for a moment, as if thinking about something, before she walked over to her desk and pulled out a flash drive that appeared to have been given to her at some point in time before she came to this area, with a flaming wing mark that meant that it came from Secretary Sen. It appeared that this was his way of demonstrating that he trusted the gang and had some information to share with them, which meant that Judy was supposed to share it with the gang as well, though as she handed it over she did say that she had a brief sighting of Murray near the Rialto Bridge when they were setting up their base and that it would be the best place for them to find him. She didn't bother to remind them about the rules of the arrangement they had with Secretary Sen, as they remembered it since they had been the ones to agree to it when they first met the man, and quickly unlocked the door so the duo could leave the way they came, without any of the mercenaries noticing them at all. The moment they were outside the building, and were sure that no one was following them, both Sly and Carmelita headed back to the safe house so they could give Bentley the flash drive that they had been handed, so he could begin forming a plan of attack immediately... before heading out for the Rialto Bridge, where they remained true to their thieving ways and took the treasures from the pockets of the guards they walked by.

When they reached their destination they stood up on top of the structure that was located on the bridge, which they had spotted when they used the boat to go under it, and observed the area around them, keeping an eye out for Murray so they could speak with him before he disappeared again.

"Sly? Carmelita?" a voice asked, to which the duo moved over to the edge of the structure that they were on and found a familiar face staring up at them, where they smiled as they noticed that Murray was the one that had found them first, which was great news since they were looking for him.

"Murray!" Sly said, where he dropped down onto the bridge and approached his childhood friend, while at the same time Carmelita landed behind him and kept her eyes open for any enemies, just in case someone spotted them and came to investigate the area, "Boy am I glad to see you... even though you look a little different."

It was interesting because Murray looked almost identical to when Sly and the rest of the gang had seen last him, back before he left to go find inner peace despite Bentley's injuries not being his fault, as he was still wearing the same blue shirt that he had been wearing, despite it needing to either be washed or thrown out. In addition to all of that he was wearing some white Dreamtime make-up on the lower part of his body and on his face, complete with what appeared to be a crown made from grass resting on top of his head, a yellow cape that must mean something to him, and a necklace of teeth that he proudly wore around his neck.

"A different path in life calls for a different set of clothing," Murray replied, sounding much more relaxed and at peace with himself than he usually was, showing them the progress he had made with his Dreamtime training and revealing that he must have impressed whoever his instructor was, before a brief flash of nervousness came and went in a matter of a few seconds, "Is... is Bentley here?"

"Along with the rest of the gang," Carmelita said, though she smiled as Murray looked over at her with a peaceful smile on his face, because despite how he looked he was still a member of the gang and he knew that, by looking at her, that she had embraced the gang with ease, "Murray, I sort of understand what you're going through, having to change from being a cop and becoming a full time thief, and I don't blame you for what happened... neither does Derpy, Gilda, Diz, or even Sly and Bentley for that matter. Hell, even Clockwerk, whose body was the main reason Bentley ended up in this situation, doesn't blame you for what happened that day... in fact the ancient owl seems to be the most depressed out of all of us, despite Derpy's attempts to make him feel better."

"He continues to surprise me, he really does," Sly added, as while he still thought that it was unusual for Clockwerk to be so mellow and not spout anything like he did during their first fight, about how he was the superior thief and how he hated the Cooper Clan, he had to admit that the ancient owl might have made a friend in Bentley, though that didn't stop him from keeping his eyes open for trouble, "though Bentley didn't want to come with us in case things turned too emotional because of people bringing up his situation."

"That's okay," Murray said, causing the two of them to turn towards him, as they were interested in why he was here and why he was so close to where Octavio's base of operations was located, before he beckoned to the water that was near them, which had the black stains on it that they had seen earlier, "My Guru, in his wisdom, told me to lose myself and not return until the black water ran pure, so here I stay."

Sly and Carmelita glanced at each other for a moment, as it sounded like Murray was definitely on a Spirit Quest and wouldn't leave the area until the water problem was taken care of, to which they turned back towards Murray and told him that the gang was going to help him figure out what was going on... before the two of them headed back to the safe house while he continued what he had been doing until he found them standing on the bridge's structure.





As it turned out Bentley, with the assistance of Clockwerk, had come up with a plan of attack so they could dismantle Octavio's operation, show the people of Venice what he was doing, solve Murray's problem, and give Inspector Hopps a new criminal to arrest once the job was done. The first thing Bentley wanted them to do was send a few of them to break into Octavio's opera house and see if they could some information that they could use against him, while at the same time another group would be looking out for photographic evidence of their target contributing to what was going on. Thanks to their connection with Secretary Sen they would be able to send the evidence to him, so he could see what was going on for himself, and another set to Inspector Hopps, that way, in case there was a mole on the inside of the task force, Interpol would still know what was going on. Bentley also stated that he would be keeping an eye on the local communication frequencies, just in case something happened in the near future that would require them to make a change of plans, and the gang agreed that it was a wise move since they were unfamiliar with what their opponent was doing.

From what Bentley said it appeared that Sly and Carmelita were going to tackle the opera house break-in, Gilda and Derpy were going to keep an eye out for Don Octavio, which left Bentley and Diz to keep an ear on the communications and act accordingly, in case something happened. At first Sly wondered if Bentley was going to have the ancient owl stay with him and Diz, to assist them in whatever they discovered, but, as he and Carmelita headed out to do their mission, he discovered that Clockwerk was following after them, to assist them in whatever manner they needed. He knew that the ancient owl wasn't too keen on helping him, since he had been his target for many years, and he honestly wasn't happy with the situation either, but since Secretary Sen had entrusted them with Clockwerk a year ago, to watch over him and decide whether he deserved the change that Derpy had given him, there wasn't much they could do about the situation and simply accepted the owl's presence. As such the three of them made their way over to the opera house and headed over to the side yard, as that was the point of entry that Bentley suggested that they take to get inside the building, though when they arrived Sly opened the wooden door and let Carmelita, as well as Clockwerk, entered the canal area that ran beneath the opera house.

The first thing the group discovered was that there was a double button security door in front of them, to which Sly and Carmelita stood in front of one of the buttons and pressed them at the same time, allowing the door to open and head further into the canal area. At the bottom of the stairs that were behind the first door they found a second room that was identical to the first floor and that they needed to so the same thing to a second security door, something that they got around quite easily and continued moving to avoid whatever was down here with them. That was when the group reached the canal area, where Sly noticed that if Bentley had come along with them he would have had to stay behind for a few minutes before he and Carmelita dropped some sort of bridge for him to follow them, but, at the same time, they were able to maneuver their way through the obstacles and reach the other side with ease. Clockwerk, on the other hand, simply stared at them and flew over to the other side of the room that they were in, as he didn't feel the need to sneak along with them, where he raised a wing and loosed a sleep dart into the cat guard's neck... so when Sly and Carmelita caught up with him they wouldn't have to worry about the guard, who the ancient owl moved out of the way while also lowering some boats so the duo could get out of the area when they were finished here, instead of going through all the obstacles again.

"Nice work Clockwerk," Carmelita said, as she knew that the ancient owl was attempting to impress Sly and hopefully convince him that he might have changed for the better, and she was willing to give this side of the owl a chance until he changed on them, before she glanced at the door in front of them, which was reinforced and much stronger than anything they had found so far, "You wouldn't, by chance, happen to have something like Bentley's bombs on you... otherwise we won't be able to get to our objective."

I do. Clockwerk replied, because one of the things he and Bentley had worked on over the last year was adapting the turtle's bombs to become miniature versions of themselves and had stored quite a number inside his inner storage area, were part of his chest opened and he pulled one of the bombs out, though as it started to enlarge he stuck it on the center of the door, before beckoning for them to move.

That was followed by the bomb growing to the size that they normally were when Bentley used them before it finally detonated, blowing the door wide open and allowing the three of them to move up the stairs that were on the other side of it, while at the same time avoiding the laser defenses that were guarding the stairs. Since they didn't have to worry about leaving someone behind Sly and Carmelita entered the vent that was nearby, at the top of the stairs, and made their way towards the other side of the room that they had entered, though Clockwerk waited until they were at their destination before heading through the vents as well. On the other side of the vent they found a cat guard with a shining pocket, to which Sly smiled as he snatched the loot that was inside the pocket before Clockwerk knocked him out with another dart, which he recovered like the one before it, and the owl waited for them to move the guard out of the way before using a second bomb to destroy the security door that was in front of them. From there the group walked down the stairs that were in front of them, avoiding the lasers that were in their way, and the ancient owl used a few more darts to knock out the foes that were coming to investigate the noise of the door being destroyed... before Sly and Carmelita used the pair of buttons in front of them and opened the next door that was blocking their way, allowing them to move even closer to their destination.

Fortunately that was as far as they needed to go, because at the top of the stairs was a large room with a computer that had to be what Bentley told them to look for, to which Sly and Carmelita approached the device while Clockwerk flew over and landed on the side of it.

"You know, it's times like this that I wish I understood how to hack into something," Sly commented, though at the same time he knew that it was best if he remained as a thief of the gang and not another computer expert, even though his skills in such a field would be useless since he had no experience, before he turned towards the owl that was staring at the computer, "Clockwerk, you can hack into the computer... right?"

It is a Worlizter-700. I can easily splice into this and get the information we're after. the ancient owl replied, to which he jumped down onto the keyboard area, moved over to a nearby port, and revealed a connector, tied to a flash drive, that he only used whenever he was personally hacking into something, which was why he continued to have his systems upgraded so he could be current on the latest software, Give me a few minutes... I'll be done in no time.

Sly and Carmelita stood by, fully expecting guards to show up the moment that Clockwerk started his hacking session, but, as it turned out, the ancient owl was more skilled than they originally thought, because the first thing he did was disable the delay switch that he discovered, revealing that there wouldn't be any guards to pester them. The two of them entered up standing around for a few minutes, making sure the area was secure for their departure, before Clockwerk, as he promised, declared his victory and unplugged himself from the computer, where he disconnected the flash drive for now and stored it away. From there the three of them made their way back through the cleared obstacles that they had gone through to reach this area and made sure not to wake the guards that were napping on the floor, but when they finally reached the area they had entered the building through, and started to head back towards the safe house, Sly said that Clockwerk did a good job on their mission and Carmelita agreed with him... especially since they wouldn't have been able to succeed without the skills he had offered them.

As they headed back towards the safe house, however, Sly noticed that Clockwerk seemed to be lost in thought about something, likely his actions that had aided the gang, as the owl simply sat on his shoulder all the way back to their base of operations... and, at the same time, he also had to wonder how the others were doing at the moment.





Gilda and Derpy, sticking to the mission that Bentley had told them they would be doing while Sly and Carmelita headed into the opera house to gather information, with Clockwerk flying after them in his miniature owl form, carefully flew around the entirety of the Venice area that Octavio controlled and searched for their target. Every now and then one of them would spot a guard with a loot filled pocket and, true to the thieves that they were, they would swoop down, loot the pocket dry, and then flee back into the sky before the guard even realized they were there. It continued to amuse them that the guards that they had to go against couldn't hear the sounds of their wings when they flew through the air, though they weren't sure if that was because of the Cooper Clan techniques or because of their magic, but both of them weren't going to argue with the results. Eventually the two of them returned to one of the roofs that they had landed on earlier, so they could keep an eye out for any signs of Don Octavio, and paused when they heard their binocucoms go off, to which both of them pulled their device out and held it in front of their faces.

"Heads up girls, I've intercepted a radio message from one of Octavio's men." Bentley spoke up, though as the two of them looked around the area they spotted the lion in question moving up the ramp and approached one of the service stations that were in the area, one that had a valve behind the door, "The Don is moving towards your position!"

"Yeah, we see him," Gilda said, though it appeared that their target was preparing to do something, which was perfect considering that she and Derpy were preparing to use their camera functions to take come pictures, "Don't worry Bentley, we'll follow him and take some pictures of whatever he's doing, since it looks like he might be getting ready to provide us with some evidence that he's the one behind this city's tar epidemic. Hopefully these pictures will allow Inspector Hopps and the rest of Interpol to do something to Octavio, but at the very least we'll be able to either confirm or deny that he's the one we should be focusing on."

Not a few seconds later Octavio turned the valve that was in front of him and tar started to pour out into the fountain that was right behind him, to which the sisters snapped a few pictures of their target incriminating himself, but after a few moments he stopped turning the valve and closed the service station, before apparently moving towards the next location that he was going to be messing with. As such both Gilda and Derpy took to the skies and followed after him, making sure to keep him in their sights at all times and made sure that the guards didn't see them, as that would ruin the mission if one of the guards spotted them, before Octavio stopped at the other end of the bridge that connected to where their safe house was located. The sad part about the second valve was that Octavio turned a bird bath into a bird death trap, which both of the sisters got shots of without him even knowing they were there, before he moved into the location of the third valve, which was actually located near his opera house, hidden behind some buildings. That was where the sisters noticed Octavio clogging a water wheel with tar, which they snapped some pictures of from a safe distance, and soon enough their target was heading out to his destination without knowing that they were even following him.

When Octavio reached the fourth valve the sisters discovered something horrible as they snapped pictures of what he was doing, he was pumping tar into the nearby aquarium full of tar, killing all of the fish that was in there while he prepared Venice for whatever he was planning... and soon he made his way over to the Ferris Wheel and jumped onto one of the moving carts, where Derpy latched onto the side of the cart, without him noticing, and opened a link so everyone in the gang could hear what Octavio was talking about.

"Listen Giovanni, this Ferris Wheel was a good idea; she's a'pumping the tar fast, and nobody, but nobody suspects a thing!" Octavio said, revealing that the seemingly innocent ride that he was standing on actually served a sinister purpose, while at the same time enraging several of the gang members in the process, "But still... is it going to be enough to get things ready for my opera recital?... Bella! When the people come to see me sing, I want to make a'sure they keep a  comin'... even if they don't feel like it. One way or the other, they'll be opera fans again. Ok, see you soon."

In the instant that Octavio's call was done, and he was still unaware that someone had been following him, he jumped off the cart he had been riding on and headed back into the streets around him, though as Derpy climbed off the cart Bentley informed them that both he and Clockwerk were on their way. That told the sisters that Sly and Carmelita had finished their mission already, which was good to hear, though as the pair came over to their area Clockwerk used his talons and tore open the control panel that was in front of them, before both he and Bentley started messing with the controls. Both of them were annoyed with Octavio killing a bunch of innocent fish, or rather Bentley was more annoyed about that than Clockwerk was, and soon enough they backed away from the now unstable Ferris Wheel, which tore itself from where it was being held and crashed into the water that was in front of where they were standing.

With the Ferris Wheel destroyed, and part of the operation crippled, the four of them returned to the safe house, so they could send the photos to who they needed to go to and see if there was anything else they needed to do before they started the second stage of Bentley's plan to take down Octavio... and then they could watch the water become clear and then bring Murray back into the team once that happened, where he belonged.