DK and the Cooper Gang Ch. 4

Chapter 4
Strange Encounters With a Certain Thief
I thought I'd have a nightmare after hearing that story, but thankfully I didn't. I actually had a very sweet dream.
I was sitting in a meadow filled with green grass with spots of dandelions speckled here and there. It was warm, clear and cloudless. I looked beside me. Sly was sitting there, smiling at me. His eyes were gorgeous, the way the sun reflected off of them. Involuntarily I scooted closer to him. He put his arm on my shoulder. Although we didn't speak, it felt so real.
I looked up at him again. With his other hand he began to stroke my cheek. It sent a delicious chill down my spine. In real life I had a chill as well, which partially woke me up. I cracked open my eyes to check the time. But instead of seeing the blue glow of the clock, I saw a pair of big brown eyes staring at me.
I opened my mouth to scream, but a gloved hand covered it. "Shhh. Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you," the figure whispered. A chill went down my spine when he spoke. It was the same chill from the dream.
I reached my hand out and flipped on my side table lamp. Then I froze. The mysterious figure took his hand away from my mouth. I slowly sat up. Was I still dreaming? I rubbed my eyes, but the figure didn't go away. I stared for a long time. I couldn't believe it, because standing right next to my bed was Sly Cooper.
I quickly closed and wiped at my mouth. I swore drool was forming. Sly was illuminated by the fading moonlight streaming in from the open window behind him. I just couldn't get over how handsome he was, clad in a blue shirt and hat, as well as blue shoes and gloves. The Cooper Crest shone brightly in the gathering sunlight on a yellow belt worn around his waist. He had the Cooper cane gripped in his right hand – a wicked-looking hooked staff that glinted in the low light.
He began to speak. "Daisy….. I realize this sort of awkward, but…. my crew and I would like you to come and spend some quality time with us for a few days."
His voice was smooth and creamy. It probably would have lulled me back to sleep if my brain hadn't processed what he had said. My eyes opened wide. Suddenly the words wait for me made sense. He wanted me to wait for him to come and take me away.
"Wait….." my voice was still groggy since I had just woken up. I cleared my throat. "So….. you want me to come with you, a world famous master thief, so we can spend quality time together?"
I'll admit, it did sound very strange. If I hadn't been in love with him, I probably would have screamed to alert my parents. But I'm really glad I didn't.
"If you don't want to, I completely understand……" he started to turn toward the open window.
"Wait! I'll go with you." I said quickly without thinking. He turned back around. "You will?" his eyes lit up. They were even prettier. Then a confused look crossed his face. "Why so willing?" he asked.
Should I tell him that I had been in love with him ever since the first time I saw him? I decided against it, and made something up instead.
"Um, well, I'm doing a research project at school about the Cooper Gang, so going with you guys would provide me with some good research."  I said. I felt bad lying to Sly, but he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.
"Oh." he looked a little downcast for a brief second, but then perked up. "All right then, let's get going."
I pulled back the covers of my bed and stood up next to him. He looked at me and a small smile appeared on his face. "Um…. you might want to change before we go," he said. I looked down at my ruffled pajamas and blushed.
"I'll be right out." I promised. Then I went into my closet and threw on the first pieces of clothing my hands fell on, which were a light pink t-shirt, tan shorts, and blue and white striped socks. I looked at the socks and put them back and grabbed some white ones. Didn't want to give Sly the wrong impression.
I slipped on a pair of old sneakers that were in the back of the closet. Thankfully they still fit. I walked back over to Sly. "Okay, I'm ready." I said. He nodded and gestured toward the window. "Ladies first," he said with a grin.
I peered out the window. A spidery-looking piece of metal was hanging from the sill, and a long rope was attached to it that ran down to the driveway below. In the driveway itself was the Cooper Gang van, still running.
I looked from the window to Sly. "Um….." I started; "…..I'm not the greatest climber." I finished. And it was true. In gym class when we climbed knotted ropes, I always lost my grip and fell to the mat below me. I didn't want to fall off the rope here and onto the solid concrete at least 15 feet below my window.
"Alright then….. why don't you get on my back?" he suggested. I stood silent for a moment, then shrugged. "Okay."
He bent over and I climbed aboard. I decided not to mention how delightfully awkward this was as he got out onto the sill. I ducked underneath the pane and he grabbed the rope and slid to the ground.
I slid off Sly's back. The van engine sputtered to a stop, and the driver door opened. A large and rather plump pink hippo appeared, wide smile on his face. "You must be Daisy," he said to me, walking over. "My name's Murray."
"Nice to meet you." I smiled back, holding out my hand. But instead of shaking my hand, he swept me up in a big bear hug. I could barely breath as he squished me. I head Sly stifle a giggle from behind us.
"Alright Murray, I think she gets the idea," a nasally voice said behind us. Murray let go of me and I fell on my bottom on the ground. Sly offered his hand and I gratefully took it.
I looked around for the source of the voice. My eyes fell on a short turtle with thick glasses squinting up at me. "Hello. My name is Bentley. Pleasure to finally meet you." he said, and held out his hand. I didn't ask what he meant by 'finally meeting me' and shook his hand. His grip was surprisingly firm. "Daisy." I said simply, nodding at him.
"Sorry I squished you. I get carried away sometimes," Murray said sheepishly, picking at the large brown belt strapped above his plump belly.
"It's okay." I smiled.
"Murray, would you please do the honor of closing Daisy's window so no one suspects anything?" Sly asked. "Of course!" Murray's big smile returned and he went over to the rope swaying slightly with the breeze.
I blinked. I had no idea how in the world someone the size of Murray was going to climb that skinny rope straight up 15 feet to a small window. I watched as Murray grabbed hold of the rope and yanked it hard backwards. The grapple moved off the sill and into the air. Before it had time to fall, Murray threw it hard up and pulled down. The grapple latched the actual window part and it slammed shut. The grapple hit the concrete with a loud THUD!
I just stared, mouth wide open, as Murray wound up the rope and handed it to Bentley. "H-h-how did you…." I stuttered. "Years of practice." Murray grinned broadly.  
"Well, it's a long drive to the Safehouse, and I'd like to get there in time to make a lovely dinner of frozen pizza heated up in the microwave, so what do you say we get going?" Bentley asked us.
"Yeah! Pizza!" Murray exclaimed, and ran to the van and jumped in. The engine roared to life. "Come on!" his voice filtered through the windshield as Sly, Bentley and I walked over to the van. Bentley opened the back doors and climbed in. Sly opened the passenger door. That's when I realized that there were really only two seats – the driver and passenger seats.
The entire back area was a command center where Bentley sat like a king among his minions. There was a computer buzzing on a desk, and stacks of paper littered the desk and floor. Maps were tacked randomly on the walls, and a surveillance sonar beeped occasionally in the corner. Bentley sat on a wooden chair in front of the monitor, typing so fast his fingers were a blur. Random numbers and letters filled the screen.
"Um, Sly, where am I gonna sit?" I asked nervously. I really hoped I didn't have to sit in the back with Bentley; I was afraid that I would break something really important, and he would never forgive me.
"Well….." Sly considered the possibilities for a moment as he sat down in the passenger seat. "I guess right here." he patted his knee. "Will that be alright?" he asked. I guess he thought that it sounded kind of awkward, but I was totally fine with it. Better than bumping around in the back with paper flying everywhere.
"It'll be perfect," I smiled, and took a seat on his lap.
Sly closed the door and Murray began backing up out of the driveway. I looked at my quiet house, thinking of everything that had happened in the last ten minutes or so. It was amazing, really. Was it just a coincidence that the guy I happened to be in love with came to take me away? Or was there a purpose? Either way, it was an opportunity that had come knocking at my door that I wouldn't miss for the world. (Or it came knocking at my window, if you want to be literal.)
"Okay, is there any particular reason you came to take me away?" I asked after we had been driving for about five minutes.
"Um, well……" Sly started. He sat silent for a moment, thinking over what to say. "I saw your phenomenal skills at riding that motorcycle through the crowd of people at the bank, and thought you would be a wonderful recruit for out gang. We won't be around forever, so we'll need to get recruits sooner or later, and you seemed worthy enough to be our first one," Sly said rather rushed.
A confused look crossed Murray's face and it looked like he was about to say something when Bentley tapped him on the arm rather forcefully. Then he fell silent.
"Wait, you saw that?" I asked.
"Yeah, I hung around a bit after 'disappearing' to see what would happen." Sly replied.
"How did you disappear like that anyway?" I asked.
"It's a Cooper family thief move called Shadow Power. It allows you to become invisible. Like this." Suddenly it looked like I was floating above the seat. Sly was 100% invisible, just like he was at the bank.
"That's...... amazing!" I exclaimed as Sly reappeared just as quickly.
"That's just one of the many moves I know." he smiled in a I'm-so-much-better-than-you-ever-will-be kind of way, but I knew he was just kidding.
"So you want me to be a part of the Cooper gang?" I asked again.
"Well yes. We'll test your skills and all that stuff to see if you're up for it, but yes, we want you to be in our gang." Sly looked like he desperately wanted to add something to this, but he kept quiet about it. "Do you accept this challenge?" he asked rather nervously.
I nodded and smiled. "I accept."
There seemed to be something odd in the explanation given about the purpose for my 'kidnapping.' It didn't make sense somehow. Were they lying to me? Was I too hopelessly in love with Sly to see the writing on the wall? Were they really gonna take me away and like, murder me? I severely doubted that. I mean, they had been so nice to me. I just didn't know, and I wasn't about to ask.
Eventually, homely houses were replaced by the wooded trees and farms of the Freeway. I had been laying my head on Sly's arm on the edge of the window with my eyes closed for quite some time. I wasn't asleep, but it must have looked like it.
"Is she asleep?" I heard Murray ask. I felt Sly stroke my back. "Yes." he whispered.
"When are you going to tell her the real reason we took her away?" Bentley's voice asked. I had considered opening my eyes to prove I wasn't sleeping, but kept them tightly closed. I wanted to hear the answer to the question.
"I'll tell her in a couple days," Sly said, still stroking my back.
"What happens if she doesn't accept it?" Bentley's voice asked again.
"She seems like a nice kid, I'm sure she will." Murray answered.
"Yeah." Sly said. "I hope she'll understand." he said quietly, so that he thought no one else heard. But I did. There was a desperate pang in his voice.
What? What do you want me to understand? I thought to myself. I really wanted to ask, but I knew deep down I would have to wait. I thought for a moment about what the answer might be. Then a spark of hope lit in my soul. Then it went out. No, there is no way. I thought, but I couldn't help but hope just a little bit. One question filled my mind as I eventually fell asleep:
Was Sly in love with me as I was with him?