About two weeks had passed since the Shakakane job. During this time, the two Cooper Gangs had been relaxing in Sandra's train collage hideout outside Paris, enjoying some much needed downtime before going after their second target. It had been a tough sell for Carmelita, who had wanted to get straight back to work, but a few convincing words from Sly finally got Carmelita to relax.

At the moment, Sandra was racing through the old train yard, several different bags of supplies in her arms. Her boots bounced lightly through the soft earth, narrowly avoiding the old rusted metal of the tracks. She ducked behind an overturned car, looking both ways before tip-toeing forth towards another. She paused at the entrance, looking all around to ensure she hadn't been followed. She was sure she hadn't been, but a safe house was only safe if nobody knew about it. Once it was clear that she was alone, she approached the main doors of the large boxcar that served as a front entrance.

"I'm back!" She shouted, hooking the handle of the door with her foot. "And I've brought dinner and some arts and crafts supplies!"

She pulled the door open with a kick and was greeted by Marcus and Murray, who both quickly freed her from the burden of all the bags of food. Left with the 'arts and crafts' supplies, Sandra went in search of the resident genii. She walked through a few car before finally arriving at the caboose, the car that served as Benjy's private lab.

"About time ya got back, Sandy." Benjy said. "Bentley's been waitin' fer his supplies."

Bentley, who was bent over a work table surrounded by bits and pieces of machinery, looked up and smiled as Sandra set down the large sack of parts.

"I got you what I could." She told him. "I hope it's enough."

Bentley rummage through the bag and smiled.

"I should be able to make some serious improvements to my arsenal with this." He told her.

Sandra smiled happily, then felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked over to see Benjy holding his small Thiefnet data-pad, his fingers dashing across it like a madman.

"What is it, Brainiac?" she asked.

"I've been going ovah de other two files from Garrett's investigation, and I think I found ar next target."

Sandra gave a small nod.

"I'll get everyone together." She told him. "We've been relaxing long enough. It's time to get back to business."

...

The two gangs met in the dining car, Marcus and Murray still chowing down on the food Sandra had brought. Carmelita was cleaning her shock pistol, Sly was polishing his cane, and Bentley was still tinkering with some of the parts Sandra had brought. As Benjy began to try and present his findings, he found it hard over the idle conversations going on amongst the group. However, said conversations quickly ceased after Sandra let out a shrill whistle.

"HEY!!" she yelled. "This is serious. Benjy's figured out our next target."

"You have?" Murray asked, a fried chicken drumstick dangling from his jaw.

"Aye mate." Benjy replied. "Ar next target is gonna be Boris Maximoff, a Polar bear from Polarstava Oblast, Russia."

Everybody leaned in as Benjy brought up a holographic projection of Boris. He was a very imposing figure, a muscular white bear with red eyes and a completely metal right arm. Looking at the projection, flashes of memory began to flood Sandra's mind. She could remember the bear tossing Marcus around like a rag doll, and how he had nearly torn her apart with those metal claws. She shivered involuntarily at the memories as Benjy began his explanation.

"Accordin' ta his file, Boris was born inna de Russian mafia where he worked as an 'enforcer' fer years. He went solo afta awhile, makin a name fer 'imself in de bounty huntin' business."

Sandra gave a nod.

"I think I've heard of him." She remarked. "He's been on Garrett's radar even longer than we have. From what he's told me during our... calmer moments. Boris only sees people as dollar signs."

Carmelita let out a snarl, her grip on the handle of her shock pistol tightening.

"And I thought Harleen was bad." She hissed.

"That's not even the worst of it." Bentley added, looking up from his tinkering. "This guy has only been caught once, and it was by Head Inspector Garrett. He managed to escape, but at the cost of his right arm."

"So he's a bounty hunter, and a psychopath." Sly remarked, a serious expression on his face. "Not a good combo."

"No it's not." Benjy agreed. "And 'e only gets more dangerous from dere. Whenevah 'e catches a bounty, 'e puts em up fer auction in 'is undah ground auction house somewhere in Polarstava Oblast. Sell em te de highest biddah."

"That's... That's pure evil!" Murray exclaimed.

"Like I said when we came to this time, crime got worse." Sandra remarked.

"Well I think it's time we shut down his operation for good." Carmelita announced, cocking her shock pistol. "Where is this trafficker scum?"

Silence fell on the hideout as both Benjy and Bentley looked awkwardly at each other.

"Well..." Bentley explained. "We don't really know. All we know is that his headquarter is somewhere in Polarstava Oblast. Aside from that, Boris has managed to keep nearly everyone in the dark on where his headquarters is located."

"What about the guests for his auctions?" Sly asked. "He has to provide them with directions on how to get there."

"True." Benjy agreed. "So that's where we'll hafta start. His next auction is inna few weeks, so we best git movin'."

"You heard the koala." Marcus proclaimed. "Let's get our stuff loaded and make tracks for Russia!"

...

Russia was just as cold and unforgiving as it was in the past, if not more so. The snow came down in droves, nearly blocking out all visibility from the sky. Within hours of arriving in Russia, the two gangs had been forced to land, attaching snow tires to their respective vehicles before continuing their trek.

"How far until we reach this place, Benjy?" Sandra asked as she zipped up a thick, fluffy hoodie.

"It shouldn't be much farthah, Sandy." Benjy replied as he too bundled up for the cold.

In the Cooper Van, Carmelita was pulling a dark blue sweater on over her shirt and zipping up a thick golden coat. Sly was also bundling up, even going so far as to put on an actual pair of pants and wrapping a golden scarf around his neck. Bentley tucked a thick fleece blanket around his legs and pulled a parka around him.

"We shouldn't be too far from the village." The turtle commented. "A few more minutes and we should be there."

Sure enough, Bentley's predictions proved true. Through the thick snow, they could make out the outlines of a small town that sat right on the outskirts of what appeared to be a debunked oil rig.

"This is Polarstava Oblast?" Carmelita wondered aloud.

"Don't let its appearance fool you." Bentley warned her. "Boris Maximoff owns this entire region. There's no doubt in my mind that everyone down in that village is on his payroll."

"That makes finding a safe house a bit difficult." Sandra told him.

"Don't you worry." Murray assured her. "The Murray and Marcus already have an idea of where to hide."

"Just hang on tight." Marcus insisted.

They sped through the snow, approaching an incredibly derelict building off the edge of the village. From the ice-coated sign, the gang could vaguely make out some Russian text.

"Богоматерь больнице Милосердия." Benjy read in fluent Russian.

"Bogo mata wha-?" Murray asked.

"Our Lady of Mercy Hospital." Bentley translated. "A debunked hospital, most likely from the 1950's."

"By now, it's been looted for all its worth and nobody will pay it any mind, leaving it wide open for us." Sandra smiled.

"How did you find this place, Marcus?" Sly asked

Marcus just shrugged.

"I actually paid attention in school, back when I actually attended." He answered.

"Enough chatter." Carmelita interjected. "We need to set up our base of operations and get this mission going."

Sly and Sandra shared a smile.

"Looks like she's getting into the spirit of things." Sandra ribbed.

"Looks like." He agreed. "Makes me wonder how long this will last."

Sandra just shrugged.

"Only time will tell." She replied.

...

After some unloading, and after rigging several space heaters in the main lobby of the hospital, the gang's safe house was fully established. They had even dragged a few of the remaining hospital beds to use as cots. Using the lobby's reception desk as a meeting table, Bentley spread out a map of the area.

"Alright." Bentley began. "According to this map, most of the village is dominated by the oil rig over there. From the sheer amount of security, I think it's safe to assume that he is using the rig as his base of operations."

Benjy looked up from his data-pad.

"I've been checkin' de records, and by all accounts, no one owns it." Benjy added, "An yet, so many guards an private security officers be millin' about onna daily basis."

"Definitely screams of a villainous lair." Sandra said, smirking at their advantage.

"Exactly, so here is the plan." Bentley began as he unhinged the lid of a red marker. "Sandra, I'm putting you in charge of getting a lay of the land, figuring out the weakness of this place. As a precaution, it would probably be best if you go alone this time around."

Sly suddenly raised his arms in protest.

"Why can't I go with her?" he asked.

"Because there's already a high risk of being seen with all the snow." Bentley explained. "It will be nigh impossible to hide tracks, and should anything happen, it will be easier for a single target to disappear than two."

"Then send me!" Sly exclaimed, "Harleen nearly got her back in Shakakane, what if Boris finds her?"

"Sly, it has ta be her." Benjy explained. "Her smaller frame allows her more maneuverability and reduces her chances a gittin' spotted."

"Besides, if you get caught, or die, or anything of that nature, Sandra AND her Cooper Gang could disappear forever and we'll be trapped here." Bentley pointed out.

"And if she does get caught, yer experience will be the key factah in getting' her back." Benjy concluded. "So let's give Sandy a go then, eh?"

Sly looked at Sandra, who gave him a small nod. He didn't like it, but he'd have to live with it.

"Alright, but if there's any trouble, you don't hesitate to call for help." He insisted.

"Cross my heart Sly." Sandra replied.

"Just try and keep warm, okay?" Marcus asked.

Sandra pulled her hood up over her head as she grabbed her binoc-u-cam.

"Will do." She promised. "Back in a flash."

...

The oil facility sat in the snow patched wilderness like a sore on skin. Its large metal frame was rusted over through the years of abandonment and neglect. The chain link fence surrounding the rig was buried underneath the large piles of snow. Gargantuan pipes and turbines swayed in the stinging winds, groaning and moaning under their own weight. The sounds echoed through endless torrent of wind, providing Sandra with the perfect cover for her footfalls.

"Easy as pie." She muttered to herself.

She crawled through the snow, swiping away swaths of it with her cane, cutting a path like an explorer through the jungle. Even over the howling winds and the foreboding groans of the oil rig, Sandra could make out the howls of timber wolves, hired guards who plagued the town like rats. They stood out like sore thumbs in the white landscape, their dark grey fur and black trench coats giving them away like neon signs.

"Stupid timber wolves." She smirked, having dealt with their kind before.

However, timber wolves were not the only guards on the prowl. Walking through the streets, armed with snow storm lanterns, were gigantic walruses. They looked fierce, from their large, sharpened tusks to their massive semi-automatic weapons.

"These guys mean business." She hissed.

As if to prove her point, one of the walruses turned towards the sound of her voice and Sandra was barely able to dive behind an oil tank to avoid being spotted. She could see the light of his lantern approaching and quickly activated her piston pole vault, sending her flying to the top of the tankard just as the walrus came looking for her.

"Too close." she breathed.

She regained her focus as the walrus looked around the tank, not thinking to look up, much to Sandra's relief. Eventually, the walrus just shrugged, returning to his rounds like nothing happened. Sandra remained on her perch, pulling out her binoc-u-cam so she could take a look at what was going on.

"I've barely been out here 10 minutes and I've already had more close calls than I care to mention." She muttered.

"These security forces are much tougher than Harleen's soldiers, and probably better trained." Bentley told her.

"More den dat, word's prolly gotten out dat we took down Harleen, and Boris beefed up security ta deal with us." Benjy added.

"All this for us?" Sandra asked. "I don't know whether to be terrified or flattered."

Over the comm, Sandra could hear an exasperated sigh coming from Carmelita.

"I will never understand you Coopers and your definitions of achievements." She muttered.

Sandra allowed herself a tiny laugh as she focused around the oil rig.

"I'm seeing lots of different buildings, guys." She reported. "I've got what looks like an old office, some storage houses, not to mention like seven different vents that seem to lead underground."

"It makes sense." Bentley told her. "Oil refineries such as this one dug far beneath the ground, and in order to successfully monitor the intake, the workers would've had to mine out miles of tunnels under the place itself."

"Stands to reason that good old Boris is probably using those tunnels as his base." Sly remarked.

"Question is, which of these buildings lead down there?" Sandra wondered.

She continued to scan the area, hoping to find even the slightest clue as to how to get below ground. However, something caught her eye as she scanned, nearly catching her off guard. Off near the edge of the rig, Sandra could barely make out what appeared to be a large black SUV. It sat just a few meters away from one of the side gates and though it was unmarked, Sandra has a sinking suspicion of who the van belonged to.

"No way..." she gasped.

She stowed the binoc-u-cam and slid off the tankard, landing softly in a large pile of snow before making for the van's location. After successfully avoiding a few more timber wolves and a pair of walruses, she found an old lamp post, which she quickly scaled. Once at the top, she produced her binoc-u-cam a second time, focusing on the van.

"What d'ya see, Sandy?" Benjy asked.

The door to the van slid open and none other than Inspector Garrett Lupine came out, pulling a thick duster around him and a knit cap on over his head.

"It's Garrett..." she whispered.

"Inspector Garrett's here?!" Marcus exclaimed. "How did he get here so fast?!"

"He knows what our targets are." Carmelita surmised. "He's doing exactly what I would do. He's setting up a sting to take us down, and most likely Boris with him."

"Well den, ar job just gotta lot hardah." Benjy groaned.

"You said it Benjy." Sandra replied.

Garrett's ears seemed to perk a bit, as if hearing something. He turned slightly, then looked straight up at the lamp post Sandra was perched on. His eyes widened and Sandra immediately knew she had been spotted.

"Oh crud." She swore. "He saw me."

Sandra stuffed her binoc-u-cam in her satchel and leapt from the lamp just as Garrett unholstered his shock pistol to pursue.

"FREEZE!!" he shouted. "You won't escape!"

"Why is Garrett shouting like that?!" Bentley exclaimed. "He'll give away his position!"

"He'll give away both of our positions if I don't lose him!" Sandra frantically hissed.

The ground was swarming with guards and she knew from experience that Garrett could easily overtake her if she stayed down there, so that left her with one option. She quickly found an old rig and scaled it, climbing to the top and hiding there as Garrett came running through.

"Damnit!" he exclaimed as he realized that he had lost her.

"Phew..." Murray sighed. "That was too close."

"I'll say." Bentley agreed. "Once Garrett's gone, you best get back here to the safe house before-"

A loud chorus of howls cut off Bentley and Sandra quickly turned towards the sound. Looking down, she was horrified to see an entire pack of timber wolves stalking closer and closer to the Inspector.

"Oh no..." she hissed. "Garrett's in trouble."

"Sandy, stay put!" Benjy demanded. "You go down dere and you'll be no better off!"

"But-"

"Stay put!" Benjy shouted.

Down below, Garrett let off several shots with his shock pistol, hitting quite a few timber wolves. However, where one fell, two quickly came take their place. Soon, they all pounced on Garrett. Even through the snow, Sandra could see one of the timber wolves coming away with Garrett's shock pistol. Off to the side, two walruses came forward with a long coil of rope and a big black bag.

"No, no, no, no, no." Sandra panicked.

Several of the timber wolves pinned Garrett into the snow, binding his wrists behind his back with the rope. He snarled and snapped at them, only to have the black bag yanked down over his face. The two walruses then took hold of his arms, dragging him kicking and screaming through the snow while a horrified Sandra watched.

"Benjy, they- they took Garrett. They- they took him!" She said, her grip on her cane so tight her knuckles turned white under her gloves. "They'll kill him... I know they will..."

Bentley had a flashback to Egypt and how badly Sandra had taken to Slytunkhamen getting taken. If anything, this seemed to be worse than that time. Much worse. Benjy quickly took over the mic, doing his best to calm his troubled friend.

"Calm down Sandy..." He told her, doing his best to sound confident. "Garrett is a smart cookie, he'll find a way out of it."

"But what if he doesn't?" She said, looking down at the remaining timber wolves, who were in the process of returning to their posts. "What if they kill him and-"

"They won't kill him." Bentley interjected.

"How do you know?" Sandra replied, sliding down off the rig in hopes of pursuing Garrett's captors.

"It's not his style." Benjy replied. "He's not ah murderah, he's ah businessman... If anything, Garrett's prolly gonna end up in de auction comin' up."

Sandra's eyes widened, the full scope of the situation suddenly hitting her like a ton of bricks. She felt completely and utterly helpless, her breath becoming raspy as tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

"What are we gonna do?" she asked.

Unfortunately, a timber wolf that was still working on returning to his post heard Sandra's question and froze.

"Who's there?!" He shouted.

Sandra's heart skipped a beat as she dove for cover behind a stack of oil drums. Her breathing was heavy and hot, the cold causing it to billow around her head like smoke. She tried to stop freaking out, but all she saw was Garrett. She had always had a vivid imagination, and like when her gang was in danger, she was imagining the worst of all possible outcomes for Garrett. Her earpiece became nothing more than a blur of sound in the back of her mind as she devolved deeper and deeper into panic mode.

"I know you're there!" That same timber wolf shouted, getting ever closer to her hiding spot.

Sandra breathing stopped. She didn't dare move, knowing even the slightest sound would give her away. However, her best efforts were for not, because at that exact moment, the timber wolf turned the corner, coming face to face with Sandra. Their eyes met and neither of them moved for a good minute or two. Eventually, the timber wolf reacted, bringing his wrist to his lips,

"We have a trespasser near the drums!" He announced.

Sandra acted on instinct, swiping her cane at the timber wolf's head, knocking him aside. She then made a dash for safety, just as the timber wolf regained his senses.

"Requesting backup!" he shouted into his communicator before pursuing Sandra. "Stop right there!"

He raised his machine gun to eye level, looking through the scope as Sandra ran. He fired repeatedly in Sandra's direction, the bullets spraying the snow behind her like tiny fireworks. Sandra did her best to avoid the onslaught of bullets, unfortunately as she rounded a corner, she ran right into two walruses who were coming to the timber wolf's call for aid. They took one look at her and charged, attempting to bring their weaponized tusks down on her.

"YIPE!!" Sandra yelped as she narrowly avoided being skewered.

The walruses shouted at her in Russian, obviously wanting her to stop. When she didn't, they readied their weapons, aiming right at her. Sandra's eyes widened and she took off as even more gun fire erupted behind her.

"GUYS!! I need help! I need help!" She screamed, her ears ringing from all the gunfire. "I can't do this anymore! I can't do this!"

...

The doors to the hospital were flung open, blowing the map and papers all around. Everybody quickly scrambled about, snatching the papers out of the air. Marcus and Murray quickly dealt with the doors, pushing them shut with a loud slam. The wind died down again and the papers began to settle. After getting everything back in order, Carmelita looked around, a look of confusion on her face.

"Where'd Sly go?" she asked

...

Sandra paused for a brief moment, attempting to catch her breath. Her tiny break was quickly interrupted when she was forced to dive behind a small building to avoid getting blasted. The bullets peppered the walls, narrowly avoiding her head. The hail of bullets went on for a while, then finally stopped.

"I'm out!" the wolf cried. "Cover me!"

Sandra risked a peak from behind the building, and her eyes widened at the sight. The walruses had apparently decided that bullets weren't doing the trick and were bringing out what appeared to be a grenade launcher. She ducked back behind the building, covering her head as she began to hyperventilate. She felt so useless, so helpless, and so alone.

"SOMEONE!" She cried out, "HELP ME!"

Sly climbed one of the pipes on a nearby oil silo, feeling them rattle as he looked down. Even from where he was, he could see the walruses loading up some grenades into their launcher. He was just in time, and couldn't help but smirk at his luck.

"Let's see how I can shake things up." He muttered.

He reached the top, perching on the top of the silo and looking down at the timber wolf, who was still attempting to reload his weapon. He was completely unaware of the second intruder in the facility, making what Sly did next all too perfect. He got a running start, his boots pattering against the steel before leaping into the air. The timber wolf looked up and was barely able to react before Sly's cane hooked his belt, throwing him into the air before slamming him hard against the wall.

"One down, two big ones to go." He remarked.

A loud explosion, followed by a strangled cry, drew Sly's attention. He looked over towards where Sandra was hiding and could see that the wall of the building had been severely weakened by the blast of a grenade. Sandra was in dire need of help. He looked down at the two Walruses, and smirked.

"Must I do everything?" He asked as he reached into his jacket, pulling out two smoke pellets, "I guess so."

He snuck up behind the two walruses, making sure they were completely focused on Sandra before coming up right behind them. He threw the two pellets onto the snow-covered ground, where they promptly exploded into blue gas.

The walruses were completely incapacitated by the smoke, a fact Sly used to his full advantage. Pulling his scarf up over his nose, he slipped behind one, his quick little fingers undoing the latch that held the belt of grenades. With a quick snatch, the weapons were his. He managed to do the same to the other one and dive for cover just as the smoke cleared.

The walruses quickly noticed their lack of grenades, shouting at each other in Russian, most likely demanding to know where they were. Sly then emerged from his hiding spot, perching on a nearby lamp post, then whistled loudly.

"Hey guys!" He cried.

The two looked up, the flabs of fat over their eyes raising in surprise at the sight. Sly stood tall on the lamp post, the two belts of grenades hanging in his hands. He yanked the pins and tossed them at the walruses.

"Bombs away!" he cheered.

The two walruses looked at each other and dove. The grenades fell and the explosion rocked the facility. They were a bit stunned by the blast, but still standing. That is, until Sly landed on one.

"I thought you guys would've gotten the memo by now." He said with a disappointed shake of his head.

The walrus he wasn't standing on turned to him in anger, leaping into the air to grab him. Sly flipped backwards as his opponent belly flopped onto his unconscious partner. Sly smiled before flipping up onto a cat walk that was hanging above the two. He swiped his cane at a set of broken screws, snapping then and sending a large section crashing down on top of the two. As the dust and snow settled and Sly repositioned himself on the lamp post, he could see the walruses were not getting up anytime soon.

"Nobody messes with the Cooper Clan." He declared with a smile and a nod.

With his job finally done, Sly ran across the snow towards Sandra. She was still huddled behind the wall, breathing heavily. Sly approached her slowly, crouching down next to her.

"Hey... you okay?"

Sandra just shook her head, tears pouring from her eyes.

"Garrett got snatched, and it's like I'm a rookie thief again." She sobbed. "I choked. I completely and utterly choked."

Sly wrapped an arm around her, and for some reason, an old lullaby his mother use to sing to him came to mind. He began humming slightly, then slowly started to sing.

"Hush little Cooper, don't make a sound.
And don't ever let your feet touch the ground.
And keep your cane with you at all times.
It's how our family commits our crimes."

It was a song Sandra had heard when she was very little. Her parents use to sing it to her, and hearing Sly's voice made her think of her father, and how he would hold her when she was upset and sing this song to calm her down. Her sobs slowly ebbed away as Sly continued his singing.

"But always remember the Golden Rule:
Stealing from the good guys is just not cool."

Sandra couldn't help but snort at that last rhyme, her mood slowly lifting. She even found herself slightly singing along.

"We may be thieves, but we have hearts of gold.
A trait that dates back to the days of old
We're the Cooper Clan, and it's in our blood
To take what we want then run, run, run."

Sandra felt loads better, and she quickly wiped the remaining tears from her eyes.

"Thanks Sly." She told him

"You good now?" he asked.

She gave a nod, picking up her cane.

"I'm good." She assured him.

"Excellent." Bentley replied from the comm. "While Sly dealt with your attackers, I was able to follow the two walruses holding Garrett with my RC Chopper."

Sandra's eyes widened.

"You were?" she asked.

"Eyup." Benjy replied. "Dem walruses ar' takin' 'im towards dat office buildin' ya saw earlier. My guess is dat dere be where Boris' office is."

"Thanks guys." She told them, then she turned to Sly. "Let's go."

The two Coopers took off for the office building, making it there with seconds to spare. There was an open air vent near the top of the building, a perfect entrance for a thief.

"You go, Sandra." Sly told her. "Garrett's your officer."

Sandra smiled, then Sly gave her a boost, allowing her to hook onto the vent and crawl inside.

...

Garrett couldn't see anything through the thick black bag that had been yanked down over his face. His arms ached from not only the tightness of the ropes, but from the constant yanking of the two walrus goons currently dragging him through the snow. When they finally stopped, he heard the sound of rusty hinges, and then he was dragged out of the snow and onto what felt like a Persian rug.

He was forced to his knees before the sack was yanked from his head, the sudden onslaught of light nearly blinding the wolf. As his vision cleared, he could see that he was in some sort of office, and judging from the expensive refinery, there was only one person in Russia it could belong to. Behind the large, ornate desk, a large leather chair slowly spun around, revealing Boris Maximoff in all his terrifying glory.

"Mr. Garrett, is so good to finally see you in person once more." Boris said, sipping a glass of wine. "How long has it been? Two, three years, no?"

Garrett snarled at the bear, not even bothering to hide his contempt.

"Three years, Boris." he replied. "Three years since you hacked off your own arm to escape my custody."

"Yes!" he exclaimed, clearly faking his happiness. "Three years since I escaped your putska of a prison. Three years since I made fool out of the supposedly 'Legendary INTERPOL Inspector', Garrett Lupine."

He gently placed the fine glass down onto the desk before standing up and walking towards Garrett. His metal claw grabbed Garrett's face, forcing him to look up at him.

"So Garrett, did you ever think you'd be here?" Boris taunted. "Bowing to me, like you rightfully should."

Garrett did his best to turn away, but was thwarted by the claws.

"Honestly, I thought one of your competitors would have done away with you by now." He taunted.

This earned him a punch from Boris, one that knocked the inspector off his knees and to the ground. However, Garrett just chuckled as he spat once, blood lacing his saliva.

"Enjoy this while it lasts," he threatened, "because you're gonna be back behind bars before the end of the week."

Far above Boris' desk, in the small air vent barely big enough to crawl through, Sandra watched the entire conversation. She was desperate to do something, but at the moment, she had to focus on the job at hand. She used her Binoc-u-cam to snap pictures of Boris for the two genii, as well as a few of Garrett for good measure.

"Hang in there, Garrett." She thought to herself. "I'll get you out of here."

Boris looked down at Garrett, his stoic expression as cold as the snow that fell outside. He then walked back over to his desk, taking the bottle of wine and pouring himself a second glass.

"I am glad you think that, Inspector." He told him. "Is always fun to watch last spark of hope die in the eyes of those who come into my care."

He sipped the wine as the walruses pulled Garrett back to his knees.

"I like to watch the realization sink in, that hopelessness that overtakes them when they finally know they are not leaving here on your own terms." He went on.

Garrett registered what Boris meant and quickly began to struggle against the walruses. Boris laughed at this, relishing in Garrett's pain.

"You lost the moment my men nabbed you." Boris informed him. "You'll never leave this place again, save for when your new owner comes to claim you."

Garrett continued to struggle, meeting Boris dead in the eye.

"You think you can scare me?" Garrett snapped. "You will go down, if not by INTERPOL, then by someone else's hand."

Boris leaned against the wall, his head mere inches from the vent where Sandra was hidden. He had this smile on his face, the smile of someone who had an ace up their sleeve.

"You still have that naïve notion that you still have even the slightest control here." He said, before scoffing. "I would call it foolish pride, but even I would feel comfortable when I had friends watching over me."

Sandra suddenly froze, a sinking feeling bubbling in the pit of her stomach. Suddenly Boris grabbed the vent and with a swift motion, forced the vent from the wall, revealing the red raccoon. Before she even had a chance to react, Boris' metal claw grabbed her by her face, pulling her free of the vent.

"Sandra!" Garrett exclaimed, completely caught off guard by her presence in the vent.

Boris threw her hard, smashing her through his thick wooden desk. She groaned, just barely conscious. Boris then bent down, scooping up Sandra's binoc-u-cam. He aimed it right at himself and gave a small wave.

"Do Svidaniya Cooper gang." He sneered.

He turned the camera towards Sandra's barely conscious form before crushing the device in his metal claws. Garrett was now fighting with every ounce of strength he could muster.

"Let her go!!" Garrett demanded.

One of the walruses produced a wad of cloth, shoving it over Garrett's snout. As the sleeping gas on the rag took its effect, his struggles became less and less violent until he finally passed out. Boris just smirked, then gestured towards an elevator off to the side.

"Lock Mr. Garrett in one of our high security cells." He ordered. "We don't want him breaking out before his debut."

One of the walruses started speaking in Russian, pointing to Sandra, who was slowly starting to come around.

"Cooper?" Boris asked. "Throw her in with my private collection. I know of a certain bird who will pay quite handsomely for her."

Sandra's head was spinning and her entire body felt like lead. However, she gripped her cane and fought through the pain. Out of the corner of her eye, she could make out a window within easy diving distance. It was possibly her only escape. Garrett would have to wait. Sandra threw herself forward, aiming right for the window. Her actions caught the walruses, and Boris off-guard and by the time they reacted, she had smashed through the glass and was falling down towards the snowy ground. She could hear Boris' angry snarls as she landed.

"Sandra!" Sly shouted, running towards where she had fallen.

Sandra was slowly losing the battle for consciousness. With no time to lose, and no time for a better plan, Sly grabbed her and threw her onto his back. Holding her cane in one hand and his in his teeth, Sly ran, not stopping until he made it to the safe house.