A New Beginning...?
By: Athena
Part Three:
Acme Detective Agency; San Fransisco, California
Three months later
"Okay, Cheif, we've put away HOW many VILE agents in the last three
months?" a VERY annoyed Ivy asked.
"Seventy-five, but they always break out of jail within a day or
two."
"Ya know, sis, I hate to admit it, but I miss Carmen. These VILE
agents are too easy to catch."
"Yeah, me too, little bro. It's just not the same without her."
"Hey, Cheif, Interpol hasn't found her yet?"
"Well, Zack, Acme couldn't catch her in twelve years, do you
seriously think that Interpol can catch her in three months?" Ivy answered.
"Good point, Ive. I kinda don't want them to find her. I mean, I
really don't think that Carmen could've killed anyone, much less some lady
she never knew."
Ivy didn't say so, but she agreed wholeheartedly with Zack.
I shouldn't be feeling this way, Ivy thought. Carmen's a theif, of
course I want her to get caught. What she does is wrong.
"But you don't want her to be convicted of a crime she didn't
commit," a voice in her head argued.
How do I know that she didn't do it?
"Because you know Carmen better than that," the voice answered.
This is stupid, Ivy thought. I'm having an argument with myself.
"Yoo-hoo, Ivy? Earth to Ivy, anybody home?" the Cheif called out.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, what's up, Cheif? Is it Carmen?"
"No, Hannah Lulu was just spotted stealing a rare White Rhino from
the San Diego Zoo. Looks like you two gumshoes have your work cut out for
you."
"Okay, Cheif, C-5 us to San Diego."
There was a flash of light, and the detectives left.
VILE HQ; Outside Paris, France; same time
Carmen looked up from the book she was reading in her study. The
room was empty.
"Esmeralda?" she called out. "Where are you?"
Lately, the little girl had begun to crawl and soon found her way
into every room of the Manor. Carmen always worried about her; the Manor
wasn't the best place for children.
With a sigh, Carmen marked her place in her book and got up to look
for her daughter. It wasn't long before a loud scream coming from the
direction of Sara's lab told her where Esmeralda had gone off to.
Entering the lab, Carmen found it in a disaray. Boxes had been
knocked over, a table had been overturned and a rat cage had been opened.
Seeing the last thing, Carmen understood what had happened. Esmeralda must
have opened the cage, and in a fright, Sara Bellum had knocked everything
over. The mad scientist stood on a table batting at the ground with a broom
and yelling something in an incomprehensible accent.
"Sara," Carmen called, "have you seen Esmeralda?"
"Yessss, ssshe let out my lab mice!" Sara let out a piercing
shriek as a mouse jumped on the table with her. "Get it off!!!"
Carmen supressed a chuckle as she picked up the mouse from the
table. Then she spotted Esmeralda sitting in a far corner. Carmen
abandoned the professor and went to see her daughter.
Kneeling beside her, Carmen could see that Esmeralda was tightly
holding one of the white mice. "What do yo have there, Esmeralda?"
The girl silently held the mouse out for Carmen.
"Thank you. I need to put our little friends back before Aunt Sara
loses her voice from all this screaming." And her mind, Carmen thought.
The master theif took Esmeralda's mouse and put it along with the
one she already carried back in a nearby cage.
"Sara, how many mice got out?"
"Two."
Carmen nodded, thinking that Sara's reaction was a little too much,
especially considering that she DID study those mice.
"You can come down now, Sara. I've put the mice away."
"You should watch her better," Sara said climbing down from the
table.
"This IS your lab, Sara. I thought you kept a better eye on things
than that."
Sara Bellum opened her mouth to speak but decided against it.
Esmeralda had crawled over to Carmen and Sara and lifted her arms.
Carmen smiled and picked up her daughter.
Sara turned around shaking her head. "The greatest theif in the
world is a mommy...."
Carmen shot Sara a cold look. "Shhhh, I don't want you talking about
that around Esmeralda. She can understand everything you say."
Sara faced her employer. "I just wouldn't have to have lab rats if I
were busy, but since you quit being a-"
"Sara...."
"Okay, okay, but I'm bored stiff."
"You should be busy with the equipment for the rest of VILE."
"They always use the old stuff. You were always the one to try out
my new inventions...."
"Sara-" Carmen was cut off by her ear being tugged. Esmeralda had
seen Carmen's gold stud earrings and grabbed for them.
"Ouch! Esmeralda, stop that." Carmen then let out a laugh seeing the
disappointed look on the girl's face.
She then cast a look toward Sara. The scientist looked VERY angry at
having her lab destroyed, eventhough she HAD done most of that herself. The
last thing Carmen wanted was to see Sara go insane again. So she took
Esmeralda back to her study.
VILE HQ; Outside Paris, France; 11:00 PM
Carmen sat before the fireplace in her study drinking a cup of tea
and thinking.
Interpol was still searching for her, and every week they brought
out more reenforcements than the last. Carmen was beginning to worry.
What will happen to Esmeralda if I'm caught? she wondered.
That was one of the reasons she hadn't pulled off another heist
since the incident at Mount Vernon.
The other reason was Esmeralda. For the first time in her life,
Carmen felt like someone truly depended on her for everything, for food,
warmth, shelter, and love.
Love? That strangest of all emotions that causes humans to depart
from their normal routine. It's caused nations to fall, and theives to
reform, Carmen thought. Like me.
She looked down at herself. She was wearing a cream-colored silk
blouse over a pair of black dress pants. It had been three months since she
wore her red fedora and trench coat. Three months since she had worn red on
anything.
Three months? It's seemed like a lifetime. Esmeralda's grown so much.
"You can't run forever, Sandiego," Carmen heard a voice in her head
say.
Yes, I can. I knew that I would when I left Acme.
"But now you have a daughter. It's hard to make those brillent
getaways of yours carrying a baby...."
Carmen knew the voice was right. She couldn't run now with Esmeralda.
I don't want her growing up thinking that I'm running because I
killed someone.
Carmen pondered the situation some more, until she had a
solution. Satisfied, Carmen went upstairs to check on the sleeping Esmeralda
before she herself went to bed.
If I do this, Carmen thought, I could lose her forever.
The blanket covering Esmeralda had fallen off, and Carmen reached
down into the crib to recover her daughter.
But if I succeed....
With a nod of determination, Carmen Sandiego had sealed Esmeralda's
future and that of her own. She knew what she had to do.
To be continued....
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