SLY COOPER: SEPPUKU SQUADRON

At the International Criminal Court, I had the privilege of meeting people who were as dedicated to justice like me. And one of them was Gregory Maximoff from Russia. But even as we rose up through the ranks of the organization, it became clear to me that most members preferred him over me. Apparently, they favored his soft approach in dealing with criminals. Once he was named President of the ICC, I was mortified. But still, Gregory was not the only one I made friends with. Among other people there was Bruce McWhite from Australia, Eduardo Picadura de La Arena from Mexico, Aloka Manavy from Madagascar and Kematian Pembalasan from Indonesia. It was with them I started develop much more friendlier relationships with.

Chapter 6: Freeing the Scoundrel

Inside the cargo of a truck, somewhere near New York City, USA

For some reason, B.A.N.J.O. had decided to cause a prison riot in the Heathrow Penitentiary. This had been done so under the command of the "board of directors" led by Pinga Masayoshi. By hacking into the penitentiary's database, as well as cause a few explosions, this top secret and rogue agency was able to cause this prison riot.

However, Pinga and her allies had caused this riot for a very important reason. One could say that they had hoped this prison riot would divert INTERPOL's attention away from other things, including the ongoing transferring of Cyrille Le Paradox. Yet there was also another reason. Pinga had sought to "recruit" several inmates at this facility for a very special mission.

Inside the cargo of a truck, Pinga sat on a chair while facing several inmates across her. On each of these couches sat a walrus, an orca, a camel, a salamander and a pelican.

"Forgive me for causing all this trouble in order to free you. But I felt that the prison riot was the only way that I felt we could recruit you. After all, B.A.N.J.O. operates independently from INTERPOL and its sister organizations" Pinga told them.

The woman took her time to read through each of these files that explained the criminal history of these individuals. From what she could tell, they each had good reasons to be locked up at Heathrow Penitentiary.

"Micah Sealy. A former marine biologist turned eco-terrorist from New Zealand. Not only have you been involved with the sinking of fishing and whaling vessels, you have also done some illegal treasure hunting in the oceans. From what your files says, INTERPOL really struggled to catch you, given how you always used your expertise as a diver to your advantage" Pinga read the files about the muscular orca.

Micah crossed his arms while shrugging. "No worries. I was only protecting the oldest creatures to have ever lived on this world. Someone's gotta take care of our oceans. Not my fault the World Wildlife Fund is munted as a car without a motor" he responded to his criminal history being read.

Pinga proceeded to the next individual, and it was about the camel with the long beard.

"Osama bin Dokki. Born privileged as the son of an oil sheikh in Egypt. But once you gained the mantle of leader, you were involved with committing frauds in the oil industry. You even hired assassins to get rid of rivals, among them CEOs of other oil companies. Because of your actions, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries renounced your reputation. Even your own family disowned you" Pinga read about Osama's criminal past.

In response to this, Osama laughed at Pinga reading her criminal history. "Those fools at OPEC! They never understood how oil could've been used for a much greater cause than to just build homes and fuel vehicles! And despite my contributions, they abandoned me and left me to rot in the hands of INTERPOL! I curse them upon the day I die" the camel felt no shame with his past wrongdoings.

Pinga then started looking at the only female inmate in the group. It was the salamander with the large diva-like sunglasses.

"Cynthia de Poção Ame. Your criminal past makes me somewhat feel a hint of sympathy towards you. Hailing from the favelas in Brazil, you had a dream of becoming a beauty pageant. Once you got in the branch, you were the number one VIP in all of Brazil, until competitors appeared. All the fashion industry turned their attention towards them instead of you. Resentful, you started murdering your competitors, one by one. But eventually, the pageant branch discovered your hand in their deaths, and you were expelled from it for good" Pinga expressed her somewhat sympathetic views towards Cynthia's descent into criminality.

The yellow-skinned salamander with the long black hair huffed. "Spare me your sympathy, cadela! I know that deep down, it's nothing but fake" she snapped at the penguin, refusing to take her words for granted.

Pinga didn't take Cynthia's words seriously. "Hmmm, and here I fought we would come to an understanding. Unfortunate, I must say" she remarked.

The penguin proceeded to read the criminal files about the pelican. He was the smallest of all the inmates gathered, yet a bit bulky at the same time. He had a monocle over his right eye.

"Herman Vogelkauf. A self-proclaimed tinkerer from Germany. As an engineer, you were fascinated by the ideas of the Industrial Revolution taking place in Germany in the 19th century. However, you came to steal the ideas of other inventers and engineers, even playing a part in their deaths. A shame that you have reduced to this, when you could have contributed greatly to the forces of good" Pinga explained his criminal past.

Herman didn't seem to buy her words. "You dare lectzure me about vat is good und bad? I schpit upon you, Masayoshi! All mein life, I haff schpent years creating zhe greatest weapons und machines zhat hast driven even zhe police insane!" the German pelican spoke up.

However, Pinga ignored Herman's outburst and moved on to the final and perhaps most interesting member of these criminals she had gathered in this cargo.

"And finally, the most interesting case. Jim McSweeney. Hailing from the USA, you were a member of the Original Cooper Gang, alongside Conner Cooper and Monty Jekyll aka Dr. M. As the gang's brawn, you helped commit some of the greatest thefts in the world. Unfortunately, there came a time when Jekyll betrayed the two of you, causing the gang to be disbanded. Turning yourself in to INTERPOL at some point, you've lived the rest of your life as an inmate…until now" Pinga spoke up, the smirk on her beak never fading away.

Still, McSweeney didn't so much as smile back at the Japanese penguin. "Don't pull all that sweettalk crap on me, lady. You don't know the full story behind the gang's downfall" the bulky walrus told her.

"Don't I? That's a little presumptuous of you to say, McSweeney. After all, you would have known nothing without my assistance. Who allowed you to send those messenger pigeons to the likes of Sly Cooper?" Pinga tried getting under his skin.

McSweeney was having none of it. "Shut up. I never asked for your assistance in covering me. Besides, I know for a fact that you only did that so that I could become your bitch" he hit back.

"And how would you exactly become that when I'm giving you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to avenge Cooper's death?" Pinga point blank asked him.

To hear the name Cooper being brought up enraged McSweeney. But before he could open his mouth to protest, a loud and disrespectful yawn came out of Micah's mouth.

"I'm getting knackered by all this chit-chat about you two talking! For what exact reason did you free us?" Micah wanted some answers out of her.

"Yes. Why even pick us to do your schemes? I thought INTERPOL had plenty of incarcerated murderers that you could use as your toys" Cynthia joined in.

Pinga was indifferent to their demands. "Well, to answer Poção Ame's question, the security cameras have caught you always hanging with McSweeney when you're all outside your cells. That to me sounds like a form of friendship" she answered the salamander. "But to answer Sealy's question, it's the same I've told each of you before. As of now, eight incarcerated convicts escaped from New York Penitentiary. B.A.N.J.O. has reasons to believe that it was a young weaponsmith by the name of Penelope Van Kinderdjik who engineered their escape" she went on delving information.

Herman's eyes widened, given that he knew who Penelope was. "Vat did you say!? Van Kinderdjik!? Zhat mouse haff been a pain in mein neck für too long! She hast schtealed some of mein ideas!" he was outraged at the mentioning of the mouse's name.

"Oh, that's right. There was a robbery taking place at your former workshop in Switzerland. Based upon the logo, it was without a doubt Van Kinderdjik's doing" Pinga remarked, much to Herman's rage.

"Zhat little… Hündin!" the pelican's bad temper was on full display. He even swore in German.

Pinga shook her head in return. "At ease, Vogelkauf. You will get your chance to get back at her for whatever transgressions she has done to you" she insisted, only to look at the rest of the inmates. "That said, B.A.N.J.O. will send the five of you to go after the Seppuku Squadron and do whatever is necessary to end their charade. Capture them or kill them, you decide" she went on explaining it all.

The inmates each glanced at her suspiciously. "Not so fast, Masayoshi. Why would you resort to us, the very thing you hate most, to do your bidding?" Osama suddenly questioned her.

"Yeah, not to mention how manipulative you are. We know all about your desires" Micah joined in on the fray.

The penguin sat and listened to the accusations she was getting thrown at. Still, they didn't seem to affect her in the slightest.

"You want to know why. It's simple. Sometimes, not even INTERPOL can be reliable when it comes to deal with the greatest offenders. That's why I'm always open for pragmatic solutions" Pinga insisted, making sure that they all heard her reason. "After all, the ends justify the means. And by that, I'm talking about making this world a much better place for future generations" she went on.

McSweeney sat and listened carefully, still not trusting her words. But on another note, the walrus was already showing signs of rage as he kept thinking about certain individuals that he had a beef with.

"I couldn't care less about Le Paradox and whoever the hell this Penelope is. All that I want, is to crack the skulls of Raleigh, Muggshot and Mz. Ruby! They will pay for what they did to Conner!" McSweeney expressed his desire to get back at those three.

His fellow inmates were stunned to see this level of rage taking hold inside the walrus.

"Woah. Why're you mad as a meat axe all of a sudden?" Micah wondered.

"Yeah, you never displayed such back in the prison" Cynthia agreed with the assessment.

Pinga smirked at what she saw. "Patience, McSweeney. Your time will come. But for now, all that I ask of you is to wait until you've reached France. Even as we speak, the Seppuku Squadron and their accomplices are seeking to form an alliance against INTERPOL. And given how incompetent they are these days, I've appointed you to deal with them" she explained, looking specifically at McSweeney. "That said, I have come to the conclusion in making you the leader of this team. Together, you shall be known as the Banzai Brigade" she suddenly revealed, yet McSweeney didn't show any emotion at this in return. He remained aloof.

But as that announcement came, the rest of the inmates expressed their opposition to having McSweeney being their leader, let alone having him the group as a whole.

"Is this supposed to be a joke!? How could you possibly place this man as our leader!?" Osama was furious with Pinga's decision. "As we all know, he hasn't killed a soul!" the camel with the long beard added.

"Zhat camel speaks zhe truth!" Herman joined in to voice his opposition. "Und not only zhat, he hast no leadership experience! In mein opinion, I am more suited für zhe title!" the pelican boasted.

But now, they began showing opposition towards each other being the leader. As such, they had forgotten all about McSweeney as a while.

"YOU becoming our leader?" Cynthia asked while raising an eyebrow. "Besteira! As if I would ever follow the orders of a demented mechanic such as you!" the salamander rebuked him.

"Vat did you just say!?" Herman demanded.

"What I'm saying is that I'm more worthy of a leader" the ex-pageant model pointed out while stroking her wonderful hair.

But Micah felt the need to voice his opinion. "Nah. A hapless sook like you isn't leadership material" the muscular orca pointed out.

Cynthia was not appreciative of Micah's comment. "Then that makes two of us" she hit back at him.

"Naff off" Micah responded.

Meanwhile, McSweeney had been ignoring the constant bickering from his fellow inmates. He was more focused upon what Pinga had in store for him. Clearly, he seemed to have figured out something.

"So, you're sayin' that if we accomplish with eliminating this Seppuku Squadron, you'll let us go willingly? Tch, I've nothing else to return to besides jail" the walrus bluntly told her.

"Really? Not even the Cooper Gang?" she pointed out, much to the surprise of the man before her. "That's right. You should think more about where you truly belong in, McSweeney. Surley, you don't wanna end up dying in jail, would you?" she continued.

This made McSweeney consider her words carefully. While it was true that the Cooper Gang still existed, Sly was nowhere to be seen. Therefore, he felt like it would only be foolish of him to seek out Bentley and Murray when their leader was not around. But the muscular walrus brushed aside those thoughts. Right now, vengeance was what crawled on his mind.

"Fine. I'll deal with those bastards and Le Paradox with this Banzai Brigade of yours. But be warned: I ain't doing this out of respect for you. My motives for killing those Fiendish Five bastards…are strictly personal" McSweeney reminded the penguin.

"Very well. Then we got ourselves a deal then" Pinga replied.

Onboard a train, in the middle of France

Inside the wagon holding the cell of Cyrille Le Paradox, the guards led by Detective Winthorp stood their ground. Outside, they heard explosions coming near their location. However, these came from above. This could only mean that the machine turrets were being taken care of by the enemies.

"What's the situation?" Winthorp asked one of the guards standing nearby.

"Sir. It appears that these boarders have an enemy flyer backing with air support. Our turrets are unable to neutralize it!" he replied as he looked above.

"Dang it! Whoever these boarders are, they sure planned this attack well!" the young weasel responded. But there was more he wanted to know from the guard. "By the way, soldier, any signs of Carmelita yet?" he asked him.

The guard shook his head. "Negative. I'm unable to reach out to her through my communicator. Something must've happened, but we can't verify what it was" he responded.

It was then Winthorp started worrying about his colleague. "Carmelita…" the weasel uttered out his concerns.

From the sidelines, a sneaky Le Paradox took pleasure in watching the look on the detective's face. Therefore, he tried once again to mock Winthorp's dignity as a cop.

"What's the matter? Are you worried about that fiery inspector? Hmmm, I didn't know any better, I would say you are in love with Carmelita" the skunks called out to him.

This actually caught Winthorp's attention, and he looked at him with surprising eyes. Winthorp couldn't understand how someone like Le Paradox had figured out his feelings towards her.

"Forget about her. At this rate, that chienne is as good as dead!" Le Paradox told him.

Hearing those words only brought anger inside the usually quirky detective. "You shut up! You know nothing!" Winthorp retorted.

Le Paradox's smirk spread wider, as if he enjoyed it completely. "Am I? I think not, detective" he responded, only to hear the nearby explosions. Despite the magnitude of this glass, the skunk was able to hear those perfectly. "Which reminds me, time is running out for you. Soon, you and your pathetic colleagues will die!" he taunted the young weasel.

It was at this very moment that the secured door to their left exploded. It got every guard to direct their attentions towards it. Winthorp surprisingly took the lead, giving commands to the guards while standing behind their barricades.

"Hold your fire, men!" Winthorp ordered. "There's no enemy standing in the opening!" the weasel then realized as the smoke started to clear out.

That's right. Not a single soul could be seen at that entrance. It made all the guards confused as to where the boarders could have gone.

"This doesn't make any sense…..why is there…" Winthorp was interrupted by a someone touching his shoulder. He assumed it was one of the guards near him. "What is it? Do you see something out in the…AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" he literally screamed as he got a look of who it was that had touched him.

"I am sorry, but are we intruding here?" the Contessa asked as she Mz. Ruby and Tsao had already entered the prison wagon from the other opening. As such, they had succeeded in neutralizing the guards without notice.

Tsao pulled out his spear, having just used to impale a guard. "Hmph. Even with all their weaponry and armory, these guards are nothing against a man like me" the ex-general boasted, feeling no remorse for his brutal actions.

Winthorp was taken aback by this surprise attack. However, he was more shocked by the individuals who had entered this wagon.

"I don't believe it…the Contessa…Mz. Ruby…..and Tsao Nezha….." Winthorp stammered, quickly swatting away the black widow's hand before proceeding to run towards the opened door before him.

"Looks like that little fly is trying to make a run for it. I say we go after him" Mz. Ruby remarked.

"No need for that" Tsao bluntly shot her suggestion down.

It seemed like the rooster was right. Unfortunately for Winthorp, the way was blocked once Muggshot and Jean Bison stood in the doorway. The two muscular brutes formed a blockade, preventing Winthorp from finding a way beyond them.

"Goin' somewhere, runt?" Jean Bison asked with his muscular arms crossed.

"Give me a break! This is all the defenses that INTERPOL can muster!?" Muggshot was disappointed with the lack of challenge from the guards.

The young weasel froze. "Muggshot and Jean Bison! They're here as well!?" he squeaked, feeling himself surrounded at this rate.

But he was in for more shocking realizations, as the ceiling of glass soon shattered and down came three other individuals. It was Rajan, Octavio and Raleigh. They all landed in the middle of the wagon, thus rendering any chance of escaping the place impossible.

"Rajan Sunderbans…...Octavio Pavarotti…...and even Walter Raleigh…." Winthorp felt himself powerless to do anything. "I don't understand! All of you should be behind bars! How did you even manage to…" the weasel got a powerful slap by Muggshot and it sent him to the floor. The poor detective was sleeping with the fishes.

"Shut it, pipsqueak! We're not answering you squat!" the muscular bulldog told Winthrop, not realizing that he couldn't hear him.

It was now becoming clearer. The Seppuku Squadron had succeeded in reaching the prison wagon. They were now gathering in a ring, before directing their attention towards the one they came for: Cyrille Le Paradox.

Despite seeing so many infamous criminals, Le Paradox was hardly intimidated to say at least. In fact, it amused him to see them all standing in one spot.

"Ah, you must be the entourage sent by Pinga Masayoshi to retrieve me. Then that means she must've gotten the lead from the Grizz" Le Paradox remarked, only to scowl at the mentioning of his former criminal cohort. "Blasted imbécile! I should have known better than to entrust the chip to someone like him" he lamented his choices.

"Enough talk!" Tsao got his attention by approaching his cell. "We were sent here to free you, Cyrille Le Paradox. Someone has desired to get a hold of you personally" the rooster revealed, motioning for Raleigh to decipher the code for Le Paradox's cell.

The frog managed to break the code easily and the cell was opened. Le Paradox was free. However, he still remained in handcuffs. And he remained so cavalier in face of this predicament he was in.

"Merci beaucoup. Now as for what you said. I am aware of Pinga Masayoshi wanting my hide. So I assume you will bring me to her" Le Paradox spoke as if he understood their motives.

After a few seconds of silence, all members of the Seppuku Squadron laughed at the skunk's statement. Even Le Paradox himself couldn't understand why they did that.

"What is so funny!?" he angrily demanded from them.

"Fool! You think we would ever give you to her!?" Rajan growled, his claws nearing Le Paradox's chin.

The freed prisoner sweated, watching as Jean Bison readied his laser cannon. But he wasn't aiming for Le Paradox, fortunately.

"But I know how that penguin uses anyone as pawn…..if not her…then who are you working for!?" he then asked.

Jean Bison was creating a large rectangular exit on the wall of the prison wagon. He was doing that to open a hole for someone. As soon as he had created a rectangular shape, the bison kicked it down with only one blow. Le Paradox was stunned to see who it was that were standing outside.

On a big rig where its inside cargo space was open on its left side, a mouse dressed in a yellow jumpsuit stood there, frowning at the sight of Le Paradox in handcuffs.

"Impossible…" Le Paradox uttered as he got a better look at the mouse. "Penelope? Penelope Van Kinderdjik, is that really you?" he sounded somewhat shocked and surprised to see his former cohort.

"Cyrille Le Paradox. It's been a very long time since we last spoke" Penelope told him, not even hiding her distaste for him.

"But I don't understand…" the skunk was in disbelief. "I was under the impression that you were incarcerated in the Brussels Facility. How did you get loose?" Le Paradox asked her.

Being asked this forced Penelope to smirk. "How? The answer to that is obvious, you idiot" she insulted him before pushing a button on her remote. A bridge was created between the cargo and the prison wagon. "A genius like me can never be caged. But you on the other hand" she continued ridiculing him.

Le Paradox didn't appreciate Penelope's tone. "You shut your mouth! I was the one who gave you assistance against the Cooper Gang!" he furiously spat at her.

"Wrong! It was the other way around! I helped you do many favors in hopes of bringing your twisting plans to fruition! And did you forgot who it was that built your stupid time machine?" Penelope reminded him, starting to get pretty resentful towards her former ally. "Yes! It was me! And now the time machine is destroyed, all because of your arrogance!" she continued chastising Le Paradox.

But the members of the Seppuku Squadron were having enough of this tit for tat between the mouse and the skunks.

"Enough!" Rajan growled, directing his predatory eyes at Penelope. "Here is your pathetic skunk, just like you asked for!" the tiger growled, almost feeling the need to launch himself at her.

"Yeah! How about you do your part of our deal!?" Muggshot demanded.

Despite seeing this, Penelope remained nonchalant. "Don't worry, Seppuku Squadron. I am a woman of my word. In fact, I've brought with you the one thing that can destroy those nano-bombs without them exploding" she answered before showing them a machine connected with eight chairs.

Some of the criminals didn't seem to buy it that much. "What is this?" Tsao asked, his eyes fixated upon Penelope. "Is this some kind of a joke!? You will suffer for this…." Tsao was about to throw his shield, only for Raleigh to intervene.

"At ease, young chap. Can't you see what this machine is?" the frog told him before looking at what Penelope was showing them. "Judging by the many chairs and the large quantity of electricity, this must be an electro shock machine" Raleigh took an interest in it.

"I see. So that's how we will defuse those nano-bombs" the Contessa remarked as she looked at Penelope. "A very splendid plan you have, Penelope Van Kinderdjik" she commended the mouse.

"Finalmente! It will be great to finally get rid of these bombs. One day, that sneaky cagna Pinga Masayoshi will feel the wrath of Octavio!" he sang out what he wanted to do in order to get back at the woman.

"Well, then we all better get onboard, fast. The longer we wait, the sooner those INTERPOL-folks will know what's going on!" Jean Bison spoke while pushing Le Paradox to move. "Alright you! Get your stinky ass onboard that truck!" the bison commanded him.

"Don't touch me, brute! I can handle this on my own!" the skunk protested, yet he soon found himself inside the cargo.

Mz. Ruby felt somewhat moped. "But what about the inspector? I wanted to go back and zombify Carmelita!" the voodoo priestess wailed.

"That fena is as good as dead, Ruby Mambo. Now come onboard" the Contessa told her.

"You ain't the boss of me!" Mz. Ruby responded back, although she did follow her into the cargo.

Before Muggshot joined up with his fellow criminals, he took one last look at Winthorp.

The poor weasel had been lying on the floor unconscious due to the punch Muggshot gave him. That only gave Muggshot nothing but satisfaction.

"Hey look, guys! This weakling here is sleeping with the fishes just because of one punch!" he spoke to his cohorts.

Yet none of them seemed interested in what the bulldog had to say. "Punching a mere weakling is nothing to be proud of" Rajan expressed his opinion.

This made Muggshot offended. "Hey! You take that back, old-timer!" he growled as he followed the others onto the cargo of the truck.

As soon as everyone was on the cargo, the truck's engine started. The cargo closed and it was about to drive away.

The sound of the motor was enough to awake Winthorp from his unconsciousness. Still, Muggshot's punch had been so hard that the young weasel struggled on getting up on his feet. With all his strength, he crawled over to the hole in the wagon in hopes of seeing the vehicle that was taking off.

From what he saw, it was a red big rig with a red cargo on its back. He also saw a pink symbol on the cargo's left wall. From what he could tell, it was the face of a mouse. While panting deeply, Winthorp remembered the individuals he had seen. But at the same time, he realized something else.

"No! They've taken Le Paradox! Those fiends!" Winthorp exclaimed while rubbing his head, still feeling a little headache.

But it was already too late for him, as the big rig sped up on its way. It soon drove upon the main road and continued until it vanished from his small eyes. Watching this only filled the young weasel with so much despair.

"NO!" he slammed his fists on the floor. "I can't believe it…..they got away…..and it's all my fault!..." Winthorp lamented, blaming himself for being such a weakling.

For several minutes, Winthorp laid on the floor crying. Many guards were dead and Le Paradox was freed, all because of his incompetence as a leader. The young weasel was now starting to realize the words Commissioner Barkley had told him, about how he was not prepared for taking serious responsibilities as a detective. Winthorp dreaded of what he would say once he got back.

"When the commissioner gets wind of this…..he's gonna kill me…..or worse….I'll be discharged!" the young weasel dreaded of how his failure to guard Le Paradox would cost him his career.

"Winthorp….Winthorp…" he stopped sobbing as he could hear a familiar voice calling to him from above. He even felt a touch on his head.

Looking up, the teary weasel was stunned to see who it was that had attempted to comfort him. It was Carmelita!

"C-Carmelita!?" Winthorp was in disbelief. Yet he was completely relieved to see her standing there that he embraced her in a tight hug. "CARMELITA! YOU'RE ALIVE!" he exclaimed.

Normally, the vixen would've punched anyone who did something like this to her. But in this case, she couldn't. Winthorp was already too sad and distraught to even think clearly. At the same time, Carmelita was empathic, despite her fiery temper.

"It's alright, Winthorp. I'm here" Carmelita told him while patting his head.

"Thank heavens! I was worried that those boarders had killed you and…." Winthorp stopped speaking as he could see the Carmelita's bandaged stomach. It was clearly covering a wound. "OH MY GOD! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!?" he screamed in paranoia, only to be banged on his head by Carmelita.

"Get a grip, will you!?" she snapped, which forced the detective to do as she asked. Sighing, Carmelita decided to tell the truth, albeit half of it. "I got this injury from Tsao. He then punched me and thought that I was unconscious. But I was only fooling him. With a nearby health charger, I managed to heal my wound and reduce it's gravity" she told him.

This made Winthorp recall to what he had seen. "Tsao! That's right! There were a bunch of criminals standing here! They've all taken Le Paradox!" the young weasel said.

"I know. I was stunned to see the Contessa and Mz. Ruby accompany Tsao. But tell me, Winthorp. Who else were with them?" the vixen asked as she looked at the empty cell where Le Paradox was usually being held at.

"I saw Muggshot, Jean Bison, Walter Raleigh, Rajan Sunderbans and Octavio Pavarotti. They seemed to be after Le Paradox, but why?" Winthorp could not fathom what he had seen.

Carmelita was having a similar question inside her mind. "That's a very good question. And I bet that there is more to this than what we know. Somehow, I have a feeling that this boarding was not coincidental at all. Someone must have wanted to free Le Paradox" she remarked, feeling very suspicious.

This made Winthorp aware of the situation. "Oh no! They all took Le Paradox with him on a big rig. Darn it! If I hadn't been unconscious after Muggshot's punch, I could've jumped onboard it" the weasel cursed himself.

His colleague was finding the assumption both amusing and stupid at the same time. "Yeah. Sure, Winthorp" she noted, not knowing whether to take the detective's words for real or not. But Carmelita quickly changed the subject. "Now about this big rig. Did you see anything? Like, who it was that was driving?" she asked him.

Winthorp shook his head a no. "No. The only thing I managed to get a glimpse of was that strange symbol painted on the truck's cargo" Winthorp said.

This got Carmelita curious. "What do you mean?" she wondered.

"Well, it was a pink symbol. I don't know what it was supposed to symbolize, but it looked like a mouse's face. That's all I remember" the weasel tried memorizing what he saw.

This only left the inspector in deep thought. She realized that that symbol could only mean.

"No way. A pink symbol that resembles a mouse's face. This can only mean one thing" Carmelita thought, recalling to the conversations she had been having with Bentley lately. "It turns out you were right, Bentley. Penelope really has been making her move lately. But was she responsible for freeing those criminals? Is she the one who wants Le Paradox so bad? No. Clearly, Penelope is only a brick in this large game…...perpetuated by the corruption within INTERPOL itself" she was trying to conclude on what this meant.

Winthorp was puzzled by seeing his colleague thinking like that. "Umm…...Carmelita? Are you alright?" he asked, wanting to see if she was doing okay.

"Winthorp. We need to catch up to this big rig. It couldn't have gotten far from here" she said as she walked towards the opening in the wall.

The young weasel was confused. "You mean we're gonna walk all the way to catch up to it? But that's impossible!" he was in disbelief at her suggestion.

Carmelita smirked. "Who said we were gonna walk?" she asked while motioning for him to follow her outside.

Winthorp did that and he was surprised to see a yellow motorcycle being parked there outside the train. The detective understood that it belonged to INTERPOL.

"What the….how did you get this motorcycle?" he asked as he got out of the wagon.

"I found it secretly stashed in one of the wagons. With this operational, we should be able to catch up to this big rig" Carmelita said while showing something on her wrist. It appeared to be a radar. "Also, I managed to plant a tracking device on Tsao's spear while he was too busy degrading me. So unless he's not noticed it, we should be able to locate where he and his partners are heading" the vixen added, before putting on helmet.

At first, Winthorp felt somewhat reluctant to sit on the back of a motorcycle. He knew how dangerous accidents with them was. But a thing in his gut told him to be brave for once. While he may have failed to guard Le Paradox from the enemy boarders, he could at least make up for it by helping Carmelita getting to them.

"I'm ready!" Winthorp said, trying to put on a brave expression. "Let's go after them, Carmelita" he said while sitting behind the vixen.

Carmelita was amused. "That's the spirit! Now put on this. You will need it for the ride" she told him while handing out a helmet, except that it wasn't for a motorcycle.

Winthorp felt somewhat dumbfounded. "But isn't this a scooter helmet?" he quizzed.

"We don't have time for such, Winthorp! Whatever vehicle it belongs to, it's better than nothing! I'm driving the motorcycle, so I need the motorcycle helmet! So quit complaining and put the damn thing on!" the vixen furiously commanded him.

Gulping, Winthorp gave into her demands, knowing better than to argue against a furious Carmelita. Putting on the helmet, the detective hoped that this would at least save him from a brain concussion.

"Alrighty then! The helmet's on and I'm all…WOAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Winthorp screamed as Carmelita quickly sped up the motorcycle.

This vehicle was incredibly fast, yet it was not suited on driving on dirt. But as soon as they reached the main road, Carmelita sped up even faster. She also took her time to look at her radar, in hopes of figuring out where the big rig was going. Winthorp was struggling with keeping his face out of the wind, all while holding onto Carmelita. A part of him like that, while the rest of him did not.

"Judging from the radar, I can tell that they're not heading towards Marseille. But they aren't going back to Lyon either!" Carmelita called out to her partner, who was still struggling to hold on tight. The vixen turned her attention to the road ahead of them. "Just hold on tight, Winthorp! I'll do my best not to kill us. Otherwise, Commissioner Barkley would chase after us even in the afterlife!" she added, steering the motorcycle so that it wouldn't hit cars or whatever hindrances.

To be continued….