A Thief's Honor [Book 2]

Ch.24 Rival Forces Align

Sly managed to help Rae get inside the Safe House, taking her to one of the rooms and seating her on the bed. The fox gave a heavy sigh, flopping down against the pillows. "Are you alright?" Sly asked as he sat down next to her on the bed, running his fingers through her soft hair.

She gave a tired nod. "I'll be alright, I'm just a little tired, that's all..."

"Why don't you rest for a little bit then while I take care of my mission."

Rae nodded again. "Alright... And please, Sly...try to get along with him."

"For you, I'd do anything." He said, kissing her forehead.

The fox gave a tired grin before closing her eyes and soon falling asleep, Sly pulling a blanket over her. He then kissed her forehead one more time before exiting the room, closing the sliding door behind himself. "Rae's sleeping right now, in case you're look for her. I'll go ahead and make my way over to one of the firework caches." Sly then made his leave.

He made quick work of getting to one of the locked cases holding some of the fireworks, trying to avoid guards along the way since they were in a bit of a time crunch. When he reached the case, he examined it for a long moment, when he noticed the strange emblem on the front opened. Sly pushed it it back only to see a lock behind it, fiddling with it for a moment before tapping on his earpiece.

"Hey, Bentley, I've reached one of the firework stashes for Tsao's wedding ceremony. From what I can see here, it's a pretty standard lock, so it won't be very difficult to crack, but I will need help carrying the goods."

"The Panda King is the man for the job." Bentley replied. "He's strong, good with explosives, and capable of dealing with multiple opponents, which means he'll be able to cover you while you open each cache. Once he's got enough fireworks, he should be able to blow the hopping vampire crypt sky high."

"Look, pal, I know you believe in the guy and all, but I'm still skeptical about trusting him right now."

"Maybe, but right now, you don't have a choice."

Sly just sighed. "Just know, I'm only doing this because I promised Rae that I would play nice."

"Fine, do whatever it takes, but I'm gonna go get the Panda King and send him your way, so have that cache open by the time he gets there."

"Come on, bud, this is me we're talking about. Had it not been for this conversation, I'd probably have it open by now."

"Then I'll leave you to it, lady killer." He then disconnected, Sly just shaking his head with a smirk.

"I swear, he gets more snarky with every minute he's with me. At least things are finally back on track, which means I shouldn't be slacking off either." He said aloud before turning to the firework cache, fiddling with the lock again.

-Meanwhile-

Bentley exited the Safe House, heading out to go meet up with the Panda King. He went up to a small building and pushed the sliding door open before entering, the panda glancing over before approaching the turtle. "This is it, Panda King, we need you for a field mission. Sly is trying to break into a fireworks cache and he needs some help."

"Fine. I will be there presently... You may go." The Panda King responded, sounding a bit bitter.

"Look, I don't mind telling you because I'm putting my neck on the line here. We're all counting on you for this." Bentley said sternly.