"The Vixen" 
Author: Robert Brown 

Disclaimer: This story uses characters created and copyrighted by Sucker 
            Punch, Inc. (except where noted, in which case they were created 
            and copyrighted by me or by another and I have permission to use 
            them). The author hereby gives permission for this story to be 
            downloaded and/or printed at 1 copy per user as long as (1) no 
            changes to the story are made without my express written(not 
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            this story. If either or both rules are violated, it will be 
            considered a violation of copyright law. 

Chapter 3: What a Woman!

	Sly was aware that his jaw had dropped open, but he couldn't muster up
the muscle control needed to close it.  Hanging from a chandelier directly 
above where "A Vixen's Lament" had been kept by a hooked cane similar to his
own only pure white with a platinum hook, was one of the most beautiful vixen
or woman he had ever seen, bar none.  A skin-tight bodysuit, all in an ice 
blue, covered her from neck to toe.  But because it was so tight, there was 
virtually nothing hidden from his view.  
	And what a view it was!  Her body could easily rival Carmelita's in both
form and tone, though this vixen would beat her out in both departments if he
were completely honest with himself.  A dark purple belt hung at an angle
across her narrow hips with a holster that ostensibly held her cane.  Gloves
and knee-high boots in that same purple color complemented the bodysuit nearly
perfectly.
	When he was finally able to wrench his gaze above her neckline, his eyes
widened even further.  The fur that he could see of her neck and lower face 
was pure white, though what was under her jaw and down the center of her neck 
seemed a grey just three shades darker than white.  Her lips were painted a 
rich indigo, the perfect blending of the ice blue and purple colors she wore 
on her body.  Her cheeks were barely dusted with the same color, as if a fresh
snowfall had just fallen into night's shadow.
	The top half of her face was covered by a contoured mask done up in ice
blue with dark purple eyes and ears.  A peasant cap, much like his own except 
done in purple as well, lay perched on her head at the same angle that her 
belt lay across her hips, completing the ensemble.
	"Well well," she veritably purred in that glorious accent of hers, the 
sound sending shivers through Sly's body.  "The great Sly Cooper, speechless?
And just from seeing little ol' me?  Someone should alert the papers."
	Sly forcibly blinked his eyes which had gone dry from staring.  "You
have me at a disadvantage," he said, injecting his usual swagger into his
voice.  "You know who I am, but I don't believe I've ever seen you before.  
And for this to be our first meeting is truly a terrible shame."
	The vixen laughed softly at his words, a rich, throaty sound that seemed
to resonate through every cell of his body.  "You certainly are as charming as
I've heard," she said, swaying gently back and forth as she held onto her 
cane.  "You may refer to me as the Vixen.  But as for who I am under the mask,
that is a secret for me to know and for you to find out Monsieur Cooper."
	Sly crossed his arms and tapped the hook of his cane against his cheek.
"A challenge huh?  Well, let it never be said that Sly Cooper was one to back
down from a challenge, especially from a lovely lady like you."
	A smirk settled on the Vixen's lips, something that Sly found quite 
fetching.  "Then let the challenge begin," she breathed, taking the cap from 
her head and tossing it near an alarm sensor.  While Sly looked on confused, 
she backflipped to the floor across the case from him and tapped the butt of 
her cane against the floor near her feet.  At that instant, her cap exploded, 
triggering the alarm and activating the museum's security system.  "Catch me
if you can," she tossed over her shoulder as she turned away from him, 
reaching up to adjust the cap which had appeared back on her head.
	"Wait a second!" Sly called as she dove headfirst into the now active
hallway, avoiding the security laser beams like they weren't even there.  Sly 
quickly followed, staying in her path except when a sweeping laser made him 
dodge to avoid getting fried.  "She's fast," he thought cutting more sharply 
around a corner than she did to shave a couple seconds off her lead, "but not
fast enough to get away from me."
	When he'd almost caught up to her, about two levels above the ground 
floor, she jumped in the air and spun around, bringing her cane toward his 
head in a wide arc.  Sly was able to dodge, but he dove a bit too far and 
found himself teetering on an exposed balcony with nothing to latch his cane
onto to regain his balance.  Just as he was about overbalance, he found her
cane hooked around his foot, pulling him back to safety.  "You'll have to be
lighter on your feet than that if you want to impress me Sly," she teased,
flicking the tip of her tail against his chest.  "Now let's see what you can
really do."
	If Sly thought she was fast before, she was even faster now.  No longer
content with letting him catch up, she was now in full sprint, easily as fast
as him if not a bit faster.  But she didn't even lose a bit of her agility,
avoiding the laser beams and any other traps as if they were standing still.
"Who is she?"  Sly wondered, finding himself hard-pressed to keep up with her.
"She's definitely no ordinary thief."
	The Vixen led Sly on a merry chase throughout the entire museum, pausing
only briefly to taunt him if he ever fell back out of sight.  The chase only 
ended once they reached the roof, and then she waited until they were near the
edge that overlooked the building's entrance to turn around and face them.  
"Well done," she allowed, inclining her head to him ever so slightly.  "You've
definitely passed the first challenge.  And quite impressively at that."
	"Mind telling me what that was all about?"  Sly demanded, reminded a
little of the times he'd had to chase that traitor Neyla.
	As if she could read his mind, the Vixen held up her hands defensively,
the statuette tucked safely between her belt and her bodysuit.  "Relax Sly,"
she said.  "I just had to know if I was as good as I hoped I was.  I've been
keeping tabs on you for some time now, and there's no other way to really 
measure one's skills except against the best.  And that, my dear raccoon, is
you."
	Sly stared at the Vixen for a moment before he relaxed his stance.  "All
right, I can buy that," he said.  "But what did you mean that you've been 
keeping tabs on me?  And how did you know I'd be here tonight?"
	The Vixen pouted prettily, wagging one finger at him.  "Now now, I'm not
going to tell you everything tonight.  That would ruin the game, and the fun
has just started.  You'll find everything out when the time comes.  That is, 
if you're good enough to keep playing with me."
	"Bring it on," Sly challenged.  
	She laughed again and Sly couldn't help but try to think of ways he
could make her laugh again, so enchanting was the sound.  "No need to worry 
about that," she said, walking toward Sly with a slow, sensual gait.  "I 
always 'bring it.'"
	Sly swallowed involuntarily but refused to step back from her advance.
"Getting back to business," he said, glad his voice didn't crack, "you do 
realize that I can't let you leave with that."  
	The Vixen casually swiped her cane at Sly's which was tapping the 
statuette.  "You do realize that you don't exactly 'let' me do anything," she
returned, leaning down to be face-to-face with him.  "However, because you've 
been such a good sport about this whole thing, I suppose I can give it to you
if it means that much to you."
	Sly watched her very carefully as she pulled the statuette from where it
rested and held it out to him.  Instead of reaching for it with his own hand,
he swiped his cane at it, using his practiced technique to bring it safely 
into his possession.  "I'm glad we could reach an agreement," he started to 
say, but he stopped when he found the hook of her cane around his neck.
	"I never said I'd give it to you for free," she said, pulling him in and
sealing her lips to his in a passionate kiss.
	Sly stood for a few seconds, stunned by her boldness.  This kiss was by 
no means unpleasurable, Sly even felt his knees go a bit weak from it.  But 
before he could really get into it and return it, a bright searchlight was 
shined on them from the street below, making them jump apart.  "Cooper!"  he 
heard Carmelita yell, standing in the glare of the spotlight so that he could
only see her in silhouette, "I should've known you were behind this.  And 
you've got a new helper too?  Well, just stay right there and I'll be up to 
haul both of you in."
	Normally, Sly would have taken the opportunity to flirt with his lovely
Carmelita, but he was still reeling from the kiss he'd received from the Vixen.
The Vixen, however, showed no such effects.  "Sly Cooper and Carmelita Fox in
the same night!"  she called down as she leaned casually over the roof's edge.
"Looks like I can get a two-for-one."
	"Who do you think you are?"  Carmelita yelled, pulling her shock pistol
from her holster and taking aim.
	"I'm the Vixen," the masked fox said very simply.  "I've already matched
my skills against Sly, so why don't we see what I can do against you?"  
Without waiting for an answer, she slammed the butt of her cane against the 
roof, causing a cloud of smoke to surround both her and Sly.
	That snapped Sly from his stupor.  "How did you--"  he began before 
having to dodge a shock pistol blast.  
	"Don't just stand there," the Vixen said, nudging him toward one of the
other edges with her cane while taking off in the opposite direction.  Sly 
thought about going after her, but quickly killed that thought when another
shockbolt nearly singed his fur.
	Falling back on his years of training, Sly leapt off the roof's edge and
hooked his cane onto the fire escape.  Instead of climbing down it though, he
pushed off and flipped backward to land on a nearby dumpster, thankfully 
closed and recently emptied.  From here it was a straight shot to where the 
van was waiting with Murray and Bentley, but Sly couldn't help taking a 
slightly more roundabout way to try and catch a glimpse of either Carmelita or 
the Vixen.
	His hopes were rewarded when he saw the Vixen perched on the top of a 
flagpole, tossing a few barbed taunts at Carmelita.  But instead of making her
more careless, the taunts only served to make Carmelita's aim more precise.  
The Vixen, running out of ways to avoid the bolts, was forced to jump to 
another flagpole with a perfect Ninja Spire Jump and then Rail Slide away via 
a nearby power line.  "Maybe she's been watching me closer then I thought," he 
mused, now a lot more interested in finding out about this Vixen, and not just
for personal reasons.
	He wasted no more time in returning to the van, diving through the open
doors as soon as he was within range.  "Let's get out of here," he said, 
closing the doors behind him and sitting down in a bit of a huff.
	Bentley's eyebrows shot up at his friend's actions, and he couldn't help
but make some kind of remark.  "So Sly, did you find that she was too much for 
you?"
	"Nothing of the sort," Sly said, propping his feet up and laying his 
cane down by his side.  "After all, I am the one who walked away with...."  
His eyes widened as he reached for the statuette only to come up with one of
the Vixen's calling cards.  "Then again," he added with a rueful chuckle,
"maybe she is.  But how did you know our new thief was a she?"
	Bentley simply reached into his pocket and handed Sly a handkerchief as
Murray started up the van and drove off.  "It was either that or worry about
why you've started wearing lipstick."
	Sly quickly wiped his lips with the handkerchief, sighing as he saw the
white of it get smudged with indigo.  "Bentley, I've only got one thing to 
say.  What...a...woman!"

TO BE CONTINUED