Credo of Thieves, Part 2
#2 of Credus Ereptae or Credo of Thieves
In the second of three parts, Sly gets put in an Animus again to see the life of one of his ancestors and relive conflicts he's already been through.
Everyone was appalled; everything was broken.
Storming through the damaged museum, servant in tow, the esteemed philanthropist Thaddeus Winslow Cooper swept dust and rubble aside with the trim of his thick coat in a fury. The collapsed hallway had led to further damage of the wing, and police had blocked it all off. Servant in tow, he shouted as stand-offishly as he could:
"Just what is the meaning of all this?! What happened here!?"
A conservatively-dressed policewoman with a well-groomed coat of black-and-orange fur broke off the main team to address the man. "Oh, Mr. Cooper. Everyone has gathered here to view the genius of your security measures, your oversized novelty keys, hung just out of reach."
"Bah. Sarcastic flattery notwithstanding, Officer del Zorro, even one with a head for just barrels and finances can tell that the failure was on the part of the wall. See where it looks like a mighty impact-"
"Nevertheless, every conspicuously oversized lock has been opened, and other than all the damages, the only unaccounted items were those intricate golden orbs the archaeologists found in the ruins of old Mossflower. The ones, I believe, you yourself successfully lobbied into this understaffed, fragile place."
"Bah, this coming from a lone Spanish woman, brought to the Isles to continue some merry chase about the country?"
"Half-Spanish , Mr. Cooper, and a subject of the Crown all my life! Was 'Cecile del Zorro' too confusing for you, or is taking on an African just sanctimonious enough for you?"
"Egypt counts as Arabic, ma'am, not African," the large Crocodile corrected reproachfully. "And I'm employed, not adopted. I wanted to come here. He didn't force me."
"Thank you, Rashid, seeing as my only prejudice is toward incompetence! If this 'mystery thief' you're after really did do all this-"
"Oh, use your rich eyes, Mr. Cooper, there were two thieves who fought over them! The huge flying one smashed through the wall, left down and claw marks everywhere, and the other did all the fiddling with the locks! No actual blood, and I doubt one made off with the other: before they both ran for it, he left this!" Her finger pointed to a paper ornament, made to look like a stylized Raccoon's face, that had been pasted to the dais where the orbs had until recently lain.
"He's been rampaging through London, Brighton, Surrey, up as far as Durham and even in Nutwood, of all places! And that little hamlet has nothing worth stealing! Now all we need is a violent rival looking to do him in! Ooh, but when I finally catch him, he'll wish-"
"Maybe this is an opportunity for you!" he interrupted with a stamp of his cane. "If your quarry's proven too elusive for a single Frenchwoman-"
"Half-French," she sneered through clenched teeth, "and that hardly matters toward my plotting of his every move!"
"Be that as it may, perhaps it would be easier for you to catch a bloody great suspect than a quick and sneaky one! If you're right and lucky, they'll have even fought each other to pieces and left the goods for you when you finally track 'em down! If you do! Now if you'll excuse me, Officer del Zorro, I must save my voice for another appointment with a man who was still sore over last night's billiards game. Rashid! We must be off!"
The embarrassed Crocodile shuffled silently off after him, helping him hide his boss' limping until they were outside and out of earshot.
"Rrgh, that fiery Vixen will land herself in trouble one day, I have no doubt! ...Rashid," his tone softened, "...am I- do I really sound that... prejudiced?"
"To tell the truth, Mr. Cooper, you sound to me like an old married couple from one of those comedies!"
"We do? ...Oh no, we do! Well, we'll have to put a stop to that at once, and then deal with that other issue, hm..." A conspiratorial glance around, and they continued in hushed tones. "Our best plan should be one that lures out Owl on our terms and throws the police off on some fool's journey. Had I known Cecile would be here, I'd have been more cautious..."
"Why not do both at once? Get the Owl arrested or shot, then sneak away while they think you're heading out somewhere else. They'll all head straight for you, and if you're quiet and they're loud, a one-or-less-eyed Owl that size won't have much on you. Should I make another anonymous note with my left hand again?"
"...That would be much appreciated. Thank you for all of your assistance, Rashid. Incidentally," he leaned even closer and softened his whisper further, "Do you think your anonymous note could contain a, well, a coded apology to Cecile, something about people not meaning to be as harsh as they generally sound?"
Rashid grinned his wide grin again, but didn't let even a snicker escape him. "Sorry, boss, it'd be too obvious if you did that."
"Right, right! Erm, uh... Then just complain of something large crashing into the pier by air, and perhaps a suspicious silhouette later on. I'll consult the book again: I've seen references to attacks by large, nocturnal flying predators - a rival family, perhaps - but it lacks any conclusive information. I'll take that to imply a series of half-hearted, desperate attacks such as last night's-"
"Or that the second ones were fatal!"
"Urh, yes, or that. However, my advantages are that he'll merely be trying to kill me. By my terms. On terrain I know like my own study. And, if Ms. del Zorro plays her part, assuming I'll have challenged him as a matter of familial honour, which I will have not."
SYNCHRONIZED. TO ACHIEVE 100% SYNCHRONICITY, FIND EVERY CODEX PAGE, SECRET VAULT, SCRAP OF CLOTHING, FURTIVE NOTE, CANE UPGRADE, THIEF SKILL AND SIDE MISSION.
"-should do it for now. You okay, Sly?"
"Wait, that was it? Just a couple of conversations about stuff we've already seen? If this is some kind of 'thief returns to the scene of the crime' cr-"
"Didn't you listen? How those things were found in Old Mossflower? Maybe the historians were right, and their 'magical artifacts' really did come from technology that got lost in a dark age!"
"Yeah, or maybe Clockwerk's family was a bunch of aliens that left stuff all over the world for him to find. Hey, they made a big deal about that Cecile woman's mixed race... You don't suppose she's an ancestor of-"
"That's as much time as you should spend in there, Sly. Any more today would have dangerous health risks!"
"Y'know, my eyes have been feeling blood-shot. Can you tell through all that glass?" He leaned up close to the window, giving a big grin and thinking to himself "Gotcha!" as he got a close look at the image on it. "I don't want to look bad for the date I've got tonight. It's at the Orchestra Pit aroouunndd... seven?"
"Oh - uh, I'm happy for you! I wouldn't want you to be late, and uh, allowing for traffic - I always allow for traffic - you've still got plenty of time..."
"Thanks again, Bently," he smirked without even a pause, "I wouldn't want to be late for these trips down memory interstate with you either."