Sly groggily hobbled over to the buzzing coffee machine, pulling the pot free and pouring himself a cup. The sensation of the drink hitting the cup immediately, unpleasantly startled him, forcing him to be a bit more awake than he had wanted to be and leaving the tips of his fingers on high alert.
"Everything alright, pal?"
Murray had turned to watch Sly when he had begun to stir from his nap. Turning to face him now, he studied his recently awoken friend and recognized his struggle.
"Yeah, it's alright, Murray. Just grabbing some coffee before we get to it. Say, where's Bentley?"
"Oh, he said he was out for some reconna-... Some, uh, some recon before you went out for the job."
"Right. I guess there's some more time to spare, then."
Sly sat himself next to Murray, eyeing the monitor keeping track of Bentley's position and binocucom feed. He stared at it idly, letting his focus wander, and his mind follow in turn.
Breaking the silence, Murray leaned over to Sly, who didn't seem to respond.
"Something on your mind?"
Nearly spilling his coffee, Sly gave Murray a look, but nodded after falling back into his unrested attitude.
"There was something. I've been having this dream lately. It's been bothering me."
"Oh, the guru taught me all about dreams! Lay it on me, buddy."
Sly smirked as Murray perked up, happy to have a way to ease into the night he'd just woken up to.
"Like just about every night, we're planning a heist. Well, I say 'we', but really, it's just me. I case the joint, and security is always tight. Total lockdown. Even for me, it's a dangerous job. Eventually, I get in there, and I'm standing right in front of this diamond. The rock is about the size of a fist, and it's cut into this beautiful shape, too. I've never seen anything like it. But, whenever I go for it, I feel like it's pushing me away. I can feel this, pressure, closing in, I assume it's the guards, but I can never really bring myself to follow through with the steal. I leave a card every time, but in the moment I wake up, I almost have to wonder if it's worth showing up at all just to walk away empty handed."
Sly takes a sip of his coffee, it having cooled adequately in the time he took to lay it all down for his partner. Murray mulled over it for a moment, and made a gesture of understanding, a smile wide across his face.
"It sounds to me like you've got some kind of unresolved feelings holding you back from something."
"Trust me on this one. Maybe, like, that pressure you're feeling is the pressure to perform, right? You're Sly Cooper. Everybody knows you, knows us. It's not like you to mess up; at least, not in a way that everyone finds out about."
Murray audibly pauses long enough for the two of them to let out a light laugh as he continues.
"But that pressure can come from you, too. If you feel like you aren't making it your best, you won't feel right taking that diamond. And maybe that's holding you back from taking it even if it's what you're looking for, so you hesitate. Maybe that calling card of yours is more of a promise to return than it is a big bundle of unresolved feelings."
Sly narrows his brow and, without turning to face Murray, says something under his breath.
"And if that diamond were a person?"
Murray sees Sly's expression and softens his voice a little, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Well, there's surely something there to view someone as a diamond. I remember one time Bentley was going on and on about them before another heist of ours. How they're made of tough stuff, and that they're molded under the pressure of a thousand suns, packed tighter and tighter until they become an unbreakable hunk! Or, uh, something like that. But, he also said that they can be cut at just the right angle that they'll come apart, and that that's how we get them stuffed onto little rings and bracelets and the like. Maybe you're feeling that same pressure that this someone is. Maybe you think that, like, they're all complete, but that you haven't proven yourself to measure up yet. It's like, you're both going through this struggle, but you can't see yourself as being that, uh, solid, I guess... "
Murray had obviously lost the trail a bit, but to Sly, it all made sense. He smiled, and touched his brother's hand, now turning to face him.
"Thanks, big guy. I think your master taught you well."
"You can thank him when you see him. For now, just be sure you don't get cold feet like that on this heist, alright?"
The two of them laughed to themselves, and settled back in. It was gonna be a long night, and a longer day until they found a place to hide out. Until then, there would be plenty to keep them occupied. Perhaps things had become just a little more clear.
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