"A Secret Worth Keeping"
Part 6
Acme Headquarters, Outside Chief Executive Willis's Office
Mr. and Mrs. Scotts sat anxiously outside Chief Executive Willis's
office. Neither of them knew exactly why they'd been summoned, but they both
assumed it was about Desiree. They just prayed that it was good news.
Finally, the nearby elevator doors opened and Miss Willis exited. She
was dressed in a cream-colored lady's business suit, and was carrying a
leather briefcase. She came over to them and stopped. Miss Willis had a
nervous expression on her face, and instantly, the Scotts assumed the worst.
"Mr. and Mrs. Scotts," Miss Willis said to them, "I'm glad to see you've
come. I'm the Chief Executive Administrator here at Acme, Amanda Willis.
Please step into my office."
Mr. and Mrs. Scotts nodded and entered the office. Miss Willis followed
them, closing the door behind her. The Scotts took their seats in front of
Miss Willis's desk, and Miss Willis walked around the desk, set the briefcase
down on it, and took her seat.
"What's this about?" Mr. Scotts asked, once Miss Willis was seated.
"Is it about Desiree?" Mrs. Scotts asked desperately. "Has she been
found? Is she all right?"
"Please, Mrs. Scotts, you must remain calm!" Miss Willis told her. "Now
I do have some very important information to talk to you about, but what I am
going to tell you is classified information. You must agree to never to
discuss the information with anyone. Now, I have a paper for you two to sign,
swearing that you agree to remain silent."
With that, she removed a sheet of paper from the top drawer of her desk.
"But..." Mr. Scotts argued, but his wife cut him off.
"Of course," Mrs. Scotts stated.
Miss Willis nodded and passed the paper and a pen to her, which she
immediately signed. Then she passed it to her husband.
"Are you certain?" he questioned.
"I'd do anything for Desiree," Mrs. Scotts told him. "Wouldn't you?"
"Yes, of course I would," he answered, taking the paper from her and
signing it. Then he handed it back to Mrs. Willis.
"Thank you," she said to him. She then placed it back in the top
drawer. Then she opened her briefcase and removed a folder and a document.
"All right," she said, setting them both on the desk. "Now, what I
have to tell will probably upset you a great deal, but you must understand,
we had no choice. I ordered Carmen to abducted your daughter."
For a moment, there was silence, but it was swiftly broken by Mr.
Scotts. "You did what?!" he shouted, standing and slamming his fists down
on Miss Willis's desk.
"Please, Mr. Scotts, calm down and let me explain my..."
Mrs. Scotts cut her off.
"We don't give a crap why you did this!" she snapped, standing up as
well. "You can give your explanation to the FBI, as well as telling them
where Desiree is!"
Both of them turned and started for the door, but before they could
reach it, Miss Willis pressed a button under her desk, locking it. The
Scotts heard it lock, and whirled around to face her.
"Unlock the door, Miss Willis!" Mr. Scotts ordered.
"I can't and I won't," she replied, "not until I've explained this
situation to you."
"We don't care why!" Mrs. Scotts told her.
"But Desiree does," Miss WIllis stated, catching them off guard. "She
cares deeply about this, and has already sworn her silence."
"You have seen Desiree?" Mrs. Scotts asked. "Is she all right?"
"She's quite well, Mrs. Scotts," Miss Willis answered. "She's being
very well cared for. Now, please, sit back down so we can discuss this
like adults."
The Scotts looked at one another, and then back at Miss Willis. After a
moment, both returned to their seats.
"How could you do this?" Mrs. Scotts demanded.
"Yeah," Mr. Scotts added, "and how in the world did you order Carmen
Sandiego to kidnap our daughter. She's been a criminal mastermind for almost
thirteen years."
"Please, let me explain!" Miss Willis answered. "Now, about 14 years
ago, Acme's prize agent, agreed to take on a top secret, experimental project
to train new agents in order to prepare them for the field. This project was
deemed classified, in order for it to work successfully. Only those involved
would know the truth, that our prize detective hadn't really betrayed us."
"Well," Mr. Scotts said uninterested. "That's very interesting, but
what does that have to do with Desiree?"
"Desiree accidentally stumbled upon the truth about the project, and we
were afraid she would disclose the information," Miss Willis stated. "So in
order to keep it a secret until a decison could be reached, Carmen took
Desiree. But Carmen didn't agree with our first decision, and threatened to
reveal the truth unless another decision was made, so we made one."
"And what was that decision, Miss Willis?" Mrs. Scotts asked her.
Miss Willis gulped. "Well we decided that Desiree would come home to
you, we'd tell you what was going on, and convince you to keep quiet about
the truth," she told them. "But originally, we were not going to let
Desiree come home, so we had wanted her to remain with Carmen and become
part of the plan, but Carmen refused to permit it, so we changed our minds.
Desiree will be returned to you later tonight, and we intend to compensate
we for all the trouble we caused you and your daughter."
"You mean to tell us that you weren't going to let Desiree come home!"
Mr. Scotts shouted, but quickly lowered his voice. "How could you, you
monster? What made you think you had the right to make that decision? Do
you think you're a god or something?"
"I know you probably don't understand my reason, but maybe Desiree could
explain it to you better," Miss Willis answered. "Would you care to speak to
her?"
She picked you the phone.
"You'll let us speak to her?" Mrs. Scotts asked in suprize.
"Of course," Miss Willis stated, dialing the number.
It rang a moment, and then Carmen answered.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Carmen? It's me," Amanda told her. "I have Mr. and Mrs. Scotts with
me right now, and they'd like to speak to their daughter. Is Desiree there
with you?"
"Yes, she is," Carmen replied. "We've been waiting to hear from you.
I'll put her on."
A second past. Then Desiree came on.
"Yes, Miss Willis?" Desiree asked.
"Desire, I'm here with your parents right now," Miss Willis explained,
"and they're very anxious to speak with you. Would you like to talk to
them?"
"Definitely!" Desiree answered strongly.
"Okay! Just give me a moment," Miss Willis told her.
She reached over and pressed the speaker phone button. Then, she put the
receiver down.
"Can you still hear me, Desiree?" Miss Willis said into the speaker.
"Yes, Miss Willis," Desiree stated.
"Desiree?" Mrs. Scotts cut in. "Is that you?"
"Mama?" Desiree asked back.
"Yes, Desiree. I'm here," she told her, "and your father is, too."
"Hello Daddy," Desiree stated.
"Hi, Precious," Mr. Scotts said to her. "Are you okay? Is Carmen
taking good care of you?"
"Yes, Daddy, she is," Desiree answered. "She's been very nice to me.
She's nothing like what I was taught at Acme."
"Baby?" Mrs. Scotts asked her. "Is what Miss Willis told us true? Did
you find some top secret plan?"
"Yes, Mommy, it is," Desiree explained. "With Samson's help, I
accidentally discovered "Project VILE" while I was preparing for my first day
at Acme."
"But that's no excuse for kidnapping you, Desiree," her father stated.
"We need to press charges!"
"No, Daddy!" Desiree exclaimed. "We can't! I swore secrecy, and so did
you, when you signed that document Miss Willis gave you. We can't say
anything! We'll destroy 'Project VILE!'"
"But we have to Baby," Mrs. Scotts explained. "If we don't, this will
happen again. We have to stop this. We must press charges."
"And I'll refuse to testify!" Desiree stated, causing her parents to
gasp in shock. "Without the key witness's testimony, there will be no case
against Acme. I know the law, Mother, and if I say it isn't true, there's
no case."
"But, Desiree," her parents argued.
"Mom, Dad, we must keep quiet. This plan is not only important to
Carmen and Miss Willis, but now, it's important to me," Desiree told them.
"It's been successful for more than a decade. Please, for me, don't ruin
it."
Her parents sighed, and looked at each other. They both knew there was
no arguing with Desiree. They looked back at Miss Willis.
"You said something about compensation?" Mr. Scotts asked.
"Yes," Miss Willis replied.
"Two conditions," Mrs. Scotts replied. "Number 1: you fix it that no
one, absolutely no one can ever accidentally open that file again and
discover that information."
"No problem! Done!" Miss Willis answered.
"Second, we want you set up a trust fund for Desiree, so that she can
get a better education," Mrs. Scotts finished.
"Fine," Amanda stated. "I'll see to that!"
"We also want our daughter, out of Acme," Mr. Scotts added.
"Sorry Daddy," Desiree told him. "But, that isn't happening. I'm
staying at Acme, or I'll just stay here for a while."
"All right," he sighed, "you can stay, as long as you continue your
education and agree to be careful."
"Of course," Desiree told him. "I'm hoping of taking over Miss Willis's
job someday."
"Uh," Miss Willis said, "we'll discuus that at a later date. Now, put
Carmen back on."
"Okay," Desiree agreed. "Bye, Mom, Dad. See you tonight."
"Bye, Desiree," her mother and father said in unison. "We both love you
very much!"
There way a moment of silence, and then Carmen came on again.
"Miss Willis?" she stated.
"Carmen," Miss Willis said, "now, tonight, you'll take Desiree to the
destination we discussed last night, with a phone so that she may contact Ivy
and Zack to come and get her. Now, you make sure that you're out of the area
before they arrive, and come up with something for Desiree to tell them."
"Already done," Carmen told her. "Desiree and I were just discussing
that."
"Good," Miss Willis stated. "Then, I guess that's all. We'll talk at a
later date. Goodbye, Carmen."
"Adios, Amanda," Carmen stated. "Until next crime..."
Then, she hung up.
Acme Headquarters, 8:30 PM
Zack and Ivy were in the control room at Acme, waiting for any new leads
on Desiree's where-abouts. Zack was still trying to find where Carmen had
moved the file to, but so far, wasn't having any luck. Ivy stood just behind
her brother, staring at the computer screen in frustration. She occasionally,
would pace back and forth like a lion in a cage, thinking.
"I still don't get it, Ive!" Zack saind to his sister. "What could be
so important that Carmen would kidnap Desiree to keep, whatever it was, a
secret?"
"I don't know, Little Bro," Ivy answered with a sigh. "I'm betting the
only ones who do are Carmen and Desiree, But whatever it was, it must have
been very important, because Carmen wouldn't have cared if Desiree had
stumbles upon something like, say, her grocery list."
"And I'm guess that it will mean big trouble for us!" Zack added.
At that moment, the Chief popped up.
"Okay, Gumshoes!" he exclaimed. "Listen up! I just got through talking
to the management and, sure enough, they have no record of a file ever being
at that site. In fact, Amanda Willis says that that particular site was
reserved for top secret Acme programs."
"So how in the world did Carmen get into it?" Ivy enquired.
"Who knows!" the Chief replied. "All I know that nothing was suppose to
be at that site, so whatever Desiree found there will probably be trouble, so
we've got to be on full alert!"
"Poor Desiree," Zack said saddly. "And to think I was upset with her
for being late."
Just then, the Acme Security phone rang.
"Who in the world?" Ivy questioned.
She picked it up. "Hello?"
"Ivy?"
"Desiree?" Ivy said with suprize, causing Zack to stand. Are you
all right? Where are you?"
"I'm in Paris," Desiree explained. "I'm fine!"
"How did you escape?" Ivy asked.
"I didn't," Desiree told her, causing Ivy to become even more shocked.
"They let me go, but I have no way to get home, and I don't speak French."
"We'll be right there," Ivy exclaimed. "Where exactly are you?"
"I'm at the Arc de Triophe," Desiree answered. "Please get here
quickly."
"Stay where you are," Ivy ordered. "Zack and I will be right there!"
Then she hung up.
"Thanks goodness," Zack stated. "She's okay."
"Yeh, but let's get to her before anything else happens," Ivy told him.
"Player, C-5 us to the Arc de Triophe in Paris, France!"
Immediately, the C-5 corridor opened and they leaped into it.
Paris, France
When Zack and Ivy exited the C-5 corridor, they instantly spotted
Desiree sitting on a bench, near the Arc de Triophe. They immediately
rushed over towards her; she stood and met them half way.
"Desiree," Zack cried as they reached her. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I am," Desiree told him, smiling gently. "I'm just glad it's
over."
"What happened?" Ivy enquired. "What was it that you found?"
"A computer timebomb," Desiree told her. "It was designed to alter
every file and code on Crimenet when Carmen activated it. It would have shut all of
Acme down in a matter of seconds."
"Wow!" Zack exclaimed. "With all of Acme shut down, there'd be no one
left to stop her. But, do you know what happened to it, because it's not
where you found it?"
"I don't know," Desiree shrugged, "but, I thought I heard her say
something about moving it."
"You mean you were with Carmen?" Ivy asked with suprize. "But, we
thought that her henchmen took you."
"They did," Desiree answered, "but the brought me to her. She was,
suprizingly, very polite about the situation. I don't get it!"
"That's Carmen for ya," Ivy commented. "Now, let's get you home. Your
parents have been worried sick. Besides, we have to look for that timebomb,
before there's nothing left of Crimenet. Player, C-5 us back to San
Francisco."
The corridor opened and they entered it, but she did, Desiree turned and
looked to the top of the Arc de Triophe. Then, she enetered the tunnel and
it closed behind her.
On top of the Arc de Triophe stood Carmen. She'd been there since Zack
and Ivy had first arrived to get Desiree and had seen everything. As the
detectives entered the corridor, a smile grew across her face. She'd been
successful; Desiree was going home.
"Goodbye, Desiree," Carmen said softly. "I will miss you, but I'm glad
to see that you're going home. I'm looking forward to seeing you again. My
game will be much more interesting with someone who knows all the rules
playing against me, and I hope that you have as much fun playing it, as I do.
See you next crime."
At that moment, one of her hovercrafts arrived above her. A platform
was lowered for her, and she climbed onto it and it hoisted her up into the
craft, and headed off in the direction of VILE Headquarters.
Epilogue: Scotts' Residence, 10:30 PM
Desiree stood in the showr in her bathroom, taking a hot shower. It
felt wonderful to be home again. After returning home and having a long,
touching reunion with her parents, Desiree had went up to her room to
relax. It had been a long 48 hours.
As she exited the shower, she heard a soft meow. Looking down at her
feet, she saw Samson, the one responsible for her ordeal. Desiree picked up
her towel and wrapped it around her, and then, knelt down and gently stroked
Samson's head.
"Hey, Samson," Desiree said to him. "Did you miss your mommy? Well, if
you hadn't tried to steal my sandwich, I wouldn't have had to go away."
Samson simply mewed at her and began to purr.
"Oh well!" Desiree sighed, scooping him up. "No harm was done; lucky
for you."
Desiree caried him over to the sink and set him down gently. Then, she
began to dry herself off. She blow-dried her hair and braided it. Then she
put on her night gown. She turned and picked up her shirt and pants, and
walked them over to the hamper, but as she was about to throw them in, she
felt something in her pants' pocket. Reaching inside the pocket, she
discovered the printout she'd made of the "Project VILE" document.
Desiree tossed the clothes into the hamper, and then walked into her
bedroom and sat down on the bed and unfolded it.
Looking it over again, she thought, "I should have given this to Carmen!
What if someone finds it!"
Desiree started to crumple it up, but for some odd reason, stopped.
Something was telling her not to.
Peering around, her eyes fell upon her lock box on her dresser. Desiree
stood, walked over to the dresser, and turned the combination lock until it
opened. Then, she folded the paper again and placed it inside, and closed
the lid.
Smiling to herself, Desiree returned to her bed and layed down. Samson
lept up on the bed and curled up next to her head, and quickly fell asleep.
"Your secret's safe with me, Carmen," Desiree said softly. "No one will
ever know the truth about you or VILE. I can't wait to see you again, my
friend!"
Then she, too, closed her eyes and drifted into a sound sleep.
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