Life As a Constable

Chapter 20

"Vanessa?" Carmelita whispered.
"She was your wife?"
He ignored her question as he looked over at Sly. He pulled out his gun and pointed it at him.
"Give me the girl, and no one will get hurt."
"No!" Sly yelled. He was getting tired of people trying to take Cassandra away.
"She's just a little girl, don't waste her life with your heists and crimes!"
Preston squeezed his fist, and through his teeth he said,
"Do not tell me what to do with my daughter. I've done far worse things to her, so she'll get used to it."
Sly's mouth flew open as he tried to find the right words.
"Daughter?"
It all made since. How else would they have found out about her talent? But why didn't Cassandra know about him?
"Cassandra said she didn't have any parents."
Sly said.
"That's what Vanessa and I made her think. When she was first born, we dumped her on the streets. Whenever someone found her and took her in, we killed them, in disguises of course. This went on until she was ten, when no one took her in anymore. Then my gang would beat her every other day. Vanessa and I didn't want her, she was a mistake. But when we found out about her talent when she was eight, we knew that it would help us out a whole lot with our heists and murders. So we decided that when she turned twelve, we would take her in and act like the kindest people on earth, so she'll do to anything we ask."

Sly's face became red from anger. He put Cassandra down and walked over to Preston.
"I have met some very bad men in my time, but you are one of the worst. Her whole life has been about death and sadness, and you're going to use her for even more killing? What kind of a father are you?"
Preston smirked behind his gun and said,
"A very, very cruel one."
With that, he pulled out a communication device.
"Get your men and raid the Cooper Gang apartment. Do whatever you want to them, but don't kill them, they might be useful."
Sly was shaking from anger when he growled,
"You son of a bitch!"
Preston laughed and said,
"Quite right."
He quickly snatched Carmelita, and pressed his gun to her head.
"If you give me Cassandra, I'll let your little girlfriend go."
Sly didn't even have time to respond, when Carmelita quickly kneed him in the balls and grabbed his gun.
"I'm done playing damsel in distress today." She aimed the gun at him and said through clenched teeth,
"Say your prayers."
With that, Carmelita shot him, which made him quickly fall to the ground.
They left him there, knowing that he would probably bleed to death before he could reach any help.

Sly and Carmelita brought Cassandra to the police car. They told Lieutenant Gronk to take the men to the police station, and to take Cassandra to the emergency room. They promised to check on her later, but they have to help their friends back at the apartment. They called for a taxi, and moments later, they were driving back to the apartment.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived. They both barged in, ready for some action, but they found a horrid sight. Murray was unconscious on the floor with a shot in his good leg, Bentley was knocked out of his wheelchair across the room with a bloody nose, while Penelope was rolled into a ball on the floor, sobbing. Carmelita ran to Murray, to make sure he was alive, while Sly darted to Penelope. He wrapped his arms around her to comfort her, while he asked questions.
"Are you alright?"
She tried to pull herself together, so she could talk.
"They p-punched me-" she sobbed.
Sly began to get angry again.
"Where?" he asked, trying not to lose his temper.
She couldn't talk, so she just placed a hand on her stomach, hoping Sly would understand.
His eyes grew wide as he understood.
"Does it hurt?" He asked in a panic.
"No shit, Sherlock!" She gasped, between sobs.
"Right," He said to himself.
He slowly picked her up and carried her to the couch. Then he went over to Bentley. He picked the small turtle up and put him back in his wheelchair. Then he grabbed a wet cloth and pressed it against his bloody nose. Sly then ran to Carmelita, and helped her carry the unconscious Murray to a chair. Sly went back to Bentley, for he was the least injured, to talk to him.
"What happened?" Sly asked.
"Four men barged in and started to attack us. Murray fought the best he could, but one of them shot him. Then they punched me across the room, giving me this bloody nose, then they punched Penelope in the stomach."
Bentley said, with anger.
Sly nodded, then went to talk to Carmelita.
"Do you think Murray needs to go to the emergency room?"
He asked, walking to her.
"No, the bullet went right through, and I managed to stop the bleeding, so he should be good to go after I patch him up."
Carmelita replied, focused on what she was doing.
"Okay, because I was about to bring Penelope there, she got a really hard blow in the stomach and won't stop crying."
Carmelita looked up at him with worried eyes.
"Alright. Be careful." She said, after a moment. Sly gave her a quick peck on the lips before walking back over to Penelope.
He picked her up, and started to walk towards the door, when he was stopped by Bentley.
"Wait," He said,
"I have to go too."
Sly looked at his friend for a moment, before replying,
"Alright. Come on."

The van ride was silent, the only sounds were Penelope's quiet sobs.
Bentley managed to calm her down a little, but the pain in her stomach was still unbearable. After about fifteen minutes, they arrived. Sly carried her in, with Bentley trailing behind. The doctors and nurses wheeled Penelope into a room, which Bentley and Sly were not allowed in. They went to the waiting room and slumped down in the chairs.
"This is all my fault,"
Bentley groaned,
"If I wasn't in this stupid wheelchair, I could've saved her."
Sly sharply turned to look at him.
"Bentley, don't you ever say that. It wasn't your fault."
The turtle shook his head.
"I told her that I wouldn't let anyone hurt her again, but I broke my promise."
Sly looked down at his feet, not knowing what to say.
A doctor came out a few minutes later.
"Is Penelope alright?" Bentley asked in a panic.
The doctor gave him a sorrowful look before replying,
"She is suffering severe internal bleeding, and we have to perform immediate surgery, or she'll die."
Bentley looked at the floor in shock, before asking,
"She- she was pregnant. Is the baby...?"
"I'm sorry, if there was any child inside her, it's dead now."
Bentley continued to stare at the floor, zoning out the doctor's talking.
After a minute, he felt someone tap his shoulder.
Bentley looked up at him and Sly said,
"The doctor wants to know if you want to pay for the surgery."
Bentley gave the doctor an
'are you really that dumb' face and said,
"Yes of course, just save her."
The doctor nodded and said
"Alright, we'll be done with the operation in an hour, if there are no problems along the way."
Bentley shuddered at the thought, then nodded, dismissing the doctor.
A minute later, Lieutenant Gronk entered the waiting room. He walked up to Sly and said,
"Cassandra got a very mild concussion, and is going to be okay. They are checking right now to be completely sure."
"Alright, that's good news." Sly answered.
"I'm going to head back to the police station for my next job. See ya, Constable Cooper."
"Bye."
Bentley and Sly stayed in the silent waiting room for an hour and thirty minutes, until a doctor finally walked out.
Bentley quickly looked up at the doctor, with hopeful eyes. The doctor sat down on the chair next to him, and put a hand on his shoulder.
Fear rushed through Bentley, knowing that something was wrong.
"The surgery was unsuccessful, I'm sorry."