Part Two- Gone to Shakespeareland

"I guess you know what this means," the Chief noted.

"Coming with us?" Ivy asked Nigel and Valerie.

"And be there at the most famous performance of Henry VIII in history?"
Valerie replied. "I wouldn't miss it for anything!"

"Count us in!" Nigel cried.

"Henry the Eighth?" Zack asked. "Wasn't he the one with six wives?"

"The very one," the Chief answered. "There have been numerous references to
it. I believe there is a Herman's Hermits song called, "I'm Henry the Eighth
I am".

"There's a little trick to use to help you remember the fates of each wife of
Henry the Eighth." Nigel commented. "Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced,
Beheaded, Survived."

"So that would be Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of
Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr."  Valerie observed. "Am I
right?"

"Perfect!" the Chief exclaimed.

"Henry VIII is my favorite history. And I like the comedies as well." Valerie
added.

"I prefer tragedies." was Nigel's response. "It's a shame that we have to let
the Globe Theatre burn down, though."

Ivy's reply was "It's better off destroyed than owned by Carmen Sandiego."

"Speaking of time, my watch stopped." Nigel informed. "According to it, the
play was a public hash in precisely.....twenty five minutes."

"They should write a book." Valerie stated. "How to Wreck a Shakespeare Play
in a Half Hour or Less".

Zack began to adjust the Chronoskimmer to 1613 A.D.
****************************************************
When the four detectives arrived in 1613, they found themselves in the stands
of the three-story Globe Theatre. They glanced around the open-air structure.
Act I of Henry VIII was already in progress. The actor playing King Henry was
saying his lines:
"Arise, and take place by us. Half your suit
Never name to us- you have half our power,
Repeat your will and take."

Valerie recited along with the actor playing Katharine of Aragon:
"Thank your majesty
That you would love yourself and
in that love,
Not considered leave your honor nor
The dignity of your office is the point
of my petition."

A while later, Ivy scanned the crowd and spotted Carmen. "There she is!"

The detectives left their seats to pursue Carmen, who began to back away.

Just then, the famous cannon fired. The flames quickly spread. Benches were
overturned as everyone rushed to get out of the structure.One man's breeches
caught fire, but he doused the flames with ale.Within an hour, the theatre
had burned to the ground.

The four detectives gasped for air outside the building. Carmen stood only a
few yards away from them. "Your next destination is the present. Return to
Shakespeare's roots. Then visit a little shop of apparel." With these word,
Carmen used her time machine to escape.
**************************************************************************
[Present Day. Stratford-upon-Avon]
"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Zack asked.

"Positive." Nigel replied. "William Shakespeare was born, lived in, and died
in Stratford Upon Avon."

Ivy pointed out, "But that was only half the clue. What did Carmen mean by
'little shop of apparel' "

Valerie looked up from the map/brochure of Stratford she was reading. "I
think I know. It says here to visit the Tinted Past Costume Shop. On display
is a suit of armor once used for a costume in Shakespeare plays. The owner is
descended from one of the actors in the troupe."

Everyone decided to try it.

The four detectives entered the costume shop. Right in the center was a glass
case containing an old suit of armor.

The owner rushed in. "Stop, thieves!"

"No! We're trying to protect it!" Zack cried.

The owner obviously didn't believe him. "You're lying! Teenagers these days!"

"They're not lying this time!" Carmen's voice rang out. Art Issan broke the
glass case and the generic henchmen quickly took pieces of the suit.

Carmen glanced at the detective quartet. "Great Caesar's ghost! Go the Bard's
grave." She quickly made her exit.

The owner quivered. "I knew I should have sold that thing to a museum-"

He was cut off by more generic henchmen barging into the shop.

"Make like your favorite TV heroes!" Ivy ordered. She began to practice
sparring on a few of the henchmen.

Valerie picked up a fake sword from the display. "Enguarde!" A henchman
grabbed another sword and they began to duel.

Zack shrugged. "Here goes. Uh-uh-uh! Hey, Moe! A leaky faucet!"

Nigel took a bowler hat from a hatrack. He put it on his head. Then he
grabbed an umbrella from the stand, and proceeded to thrash a henchman with
it.

Valerie glanced at him. "The Avengers, Nigel? THE AVENGERS?"

Soon the henchmen faced defeat and ran out of the shop.

The four detectives slapped hands. They returned the props to the display and
left the shop.

At the Shakespeare Centre, Art Issan sighed. "Shakespeare's grave lies here.
Those detectives should have figured it out by now."

"Calm down, Art. Carmen reassured. "Just concentrate on stealing one of the
original beams." She stood up. "I'll be right back." With this, Carmen
slipped into an escape vehicle.

A few minutes later, Zack, Ivy, Valerie, and Nigel were at the Centre. Art
saw them, threw his hands up, and said, "You just missed her. She's at the
Rochestor Hotel in Queens."

After arresting Art, the quartet headed for Queens, New York. "This is a
trick," Ivy declared. "Why would a VILE member tell us exactly where to find
Carmen?"

"It' the only lead we have." Zack reasoned. "Besides, this may be  where she
stashed the stolen items."

In room 124, Carmen sighed. She backed into a bookcase. The bust Art had
sculpted fell and struck her on the head. Carmen sank to the floor and lost
consciousness.

"Are you okay?" a vague voice asked Carmen.

Carmen opened her eyes. There was a pain in the back of her head that was
beginning to throb. She looked up and saw Zack. With him was one of the forum
members. Carmen struggled to remember her name. Lenore! That was it.

"It's rather dangerous to roam Cyprus at this hour." Zack stated.

"Have you signed the registry yet?" Lenore asked.

"What registry? And what are you two doing in Cyprus?" Carmen asked,
bewildered.

A maid entered. Upon examination, Carmen noted it was another member of the
forum, Anie.

"Othello? Desdemona? Are you all right?" Anie asked.

"We're fine, Emilia." Lenore answered.

What was this? Carmen wondered. Was she dreaming?

It struck her. It was a mad idea, but it was the only theory that made sense.
She had somehow stumbled into a production of Othello. But if Zack were
Othello, who was-

Armando came in. "Is everything in order here?"

"Who are you?" Carmen asked. Didn't anyone recognize her?

Armando answered, "Micheal Cassio."

Carmen nodded her head. It made sense.

But if Zack were Othello, who was Iago?

The question answered itself. Lee Jordan strode into the room, with as much
arrogance as he had in the real world.

Carmen didn't even have to ask. She already knew it. She groaned softly.

She tried to think. It was a little more difficult due to the blow, but her
memory was clearing. Othello was a tragedy about unjustified jealously. Iago
drew Othello into mistaken jealously in order to ruin him.

One thought dominated Carmen's mind. She had to stop this tragedy from
happening. Three lives rode on it. Even if it mean turning the Shakespeare
world upside down!

To be continued........