Author's Note: Hello All! First I would like to say that I did not plan on falling off the face of the earth and being gone this long at all. So much has happened during this time that I'm still trying to wrap my brain around things. Shortly after posting the most recent chapter my school ended up eliminating my position as a cost cutting measure. I wasn't intending to return to the school anyway, and I had already accepted another job beforehand, but it was hard to take emotionally. Also just knowing that another music program was biting the dust really got to me.

On the positive side of things I've finally gotten a job teaching band! The school I'm currently at is a vast improvement over the ones I have taught in before. Administration is great, everyone is really friendly and positive and they really care about the music program. It's so refreshing to not be working in a toxic environment. I really enjoy going into school everyday now.

I've been dealing with a bit of writer's block lately too. I know where this story is going, and I have an outline of how I want it to get there, it's just a matter of actually making it happen. I wrote five or six different chapters for this particular one, but for some reason or another I decided not to use them quite yet. Hopefully some of those will be making an appearance in the near future. For now here is this, and hopefully I can post more soon.

Thank you again for all of the lovely reviews! They really make my day! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Carmen Sandiego...obviously


The ACME archives were unusually quiet this afternoon. In the four hours she had been working in here Carmen had scarcely seen three or four other people. Generally she relished the quiet, any time she could find to work without distraction was a blessing. Yet right now, she longed for the presence of other people. Distractions from her current work would be welcome. If nothing else it would at least give her the excuse she needed to explain away her current inability to focus.

Four hours she had been in here under the auspices of doing research and yet she had nothing to show for it. Nothing but a complete sense of exhaustion all over. There were several documents laid out in front of her, yet what they were about she couldn't say. The words on the pages had long since started swimming before her eyes and more than once she had started to doze off. Her back ached, her head hurt and she couldn't concentrate on anything. Even she had to admit that she could not function like this. She needed rest.

She had been staring at the same report for almost an hour now and….nothing. It wasn't rocket science. Carmen rubbed her eyes and shook her head to try to wake up a bit, but it was no use. Her eyes were feeling impossibly heavy and it was all she could do to keep from falling asleep in the spot where she was standing and working. Even at her most jet lagged she did not fall asleep standing up.

The odd hours she had been keeping since coming here seemed to have finally taken their toll on her. Too many late nights scouring the archives and looking through case files. Lots of early morning discussions with her VILE employees to make her heist happen. Meetings with the other criminologists at ACME HQ. Lab safety training with the younger detectives. Staff meetings. Briefings.

Keeping busy was always something that she had enjoyed. Even as a young girl she had never been able to be idle. It had been years before she had even learned to be able to take a vacation let alone relax. Her work drove her and gave her purpose. Now it served as a distraction. The more she focused on work and putting criminals behind bars the less time she was able to spend thinking about everything that had happened. The less time she would have to worry about seeing Chase again. The less she would have to think about her upcoming heist.

She had never before felt such anxiety or stress in relation to a job. It was literally making her ill. In the span of just a few days she would be scaling walls again, repelling off of buildings, running from the people she was currently working with. This sort of thing normally gave her a thrill. Heists were always an adventure for her. The mental gymnastics; figuring out just how to make everything work and staying just one step ahead of her opponents. The rush of jumping off a building, or avoiding security cameras and alarms. Now just thinking about it made her sick to the stomach.

Truth be told she had actually pushed the date of the heist out three times because of it. The problem was that she was past the point of being able to postpone it any longer. Unfortunately the longer Carmen Sandiego was silent the more suspicious the world became. Not just ACME agents, but VILE operatives and civilians as well. She'd already heard whispers amongst the detectives. Perhaps Carmen had gone dark, or maybe she was planning something truly evil. The thought made her shiver, her pristine reputation could be shattered forever by that sort of thought process.

Although her own VILE employees hadn't brought it up, she had a feeling that they too had their suspicions. It was honestly quite surprising to her that Sara hadn't said anything to her about it, or hadn't taken the opportunity to try and impersonate her again. It was gratifying to see that there was some show of loyalty, yet she knew it would only be a matter of time before someone lost confidence in her and decided to take matters into their own hands. In the coming days she would be having her first in person meeting in months so that they could finalize this heist. She hoped that she would be able to use it to put any questions from their minds. Maybe even put her own mind at rest.

"You look exhausted Dr. Romano, perhaps you should get some rest." Carmen nearly jumped at the voice behind her. She chided herself for not being more vigilant, more aware of her surroundings. In the world outside that could have been a fatal error.

"Zack, I did not hear you come in." Carmen said regaining her composure.

"What can I say? I'm stealth like a ninja. You can learn a surprising amount from comic books and graphic novels."

"I'm sure you can." she replied with a smile. "Tell me, what brings you to the archives today?"

"Oh, I was just going to take some of your advice and read up on old case files. Carmen has been pretty silent lately and I need something to work on." Zack said. "Perhaps I can get some idea of what it is that she is working on right now too. Get a head start on her next heist."

"A wise pursuit." Carmen replied "There is much that we can learn from those who came before us."

"You sound a lot like Suhara." Zack said with a chuckle. "He's always saying things like that."

"He's a wise man, who has mentored many of the best detectives the world has ever seen." Carmen said "You would do well to listen to him."

"I can't argue with you there." Zack said rubbing the back of his head. "At any rate I shouldn't be keeping you here talking right now. Please don't take this the wrong way, but you don't look so great right now. I think you should go get some rest. Whatever you are working on here can wait. It might be better even. Fresh eyes you know."

Carmen opened her mouth to protest, but closed it just as quickly. Normally she would not even entertain the thought of it, but Zack was right. What she needed right now was sleep. Waiting until later to look at this would do her good."You're right Zack. Fresh eyes would be wonderful." Being careful to make sure that she had all of her notes tucked away in her bag, she glanced over her workspace one final time before leaving the archives and heading off to her rooms.

As she made her way through the winding corridors of the ACME building from the archives to the residential wing she saw a lot of the detectives scurrying around working on various projects. While the case load had been lighter for most of them recently, considering the situation, they were still finding ways to stay of them were eagerly trying to decipher what she would be doing next.

The aura of excitement and the relatively light hearted means by which they approached her case was almost contagious. Watching them work there was a brief moment when she considered turning back and resuming her work. It had always been hard for her to watch others working when she was not. Yet she needed rest right now if she was going to be doing anything worthwhile. Lack of sleep dulled many of the senses, but it also dulled reflexes. Reflexes she would need to survive her upcoming heist. She walked on.

The closer she got to her rooms, the heavier her feet felt, and by the time she was opening her door she was ready to collapse on the bed. She was careful however to make sure that she closed and locked the door behind her first and set her bag down underneath her desk. Slipping her shoes off she flipped off the lights and climbed into bed fully clothed. By the time her head hit the pillow she was asleep.


Carmen awoke to the sound of feet pounding on the floor outside of her rooms. Groggily she sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She was still tired but she was feeling far more rested than before. Looking over at the clock on her bedside table she saw that it was 5:45, and nearly jumped out of her bed. She'd been asleep for over four hours. Much longer than she had previously anticipated. By this point it was likely that she had missed a meeting or something important.

Quickly she threw off the blankets and got out of bed. Flipping on the lights she grabbed a hairbrush from her nightstand and began pulling out the pins in her hair working meticulously to get all of the tangles out of it and pull it into a braid. It wasn't what she normally wore, but it did the job and looked much cleaner. She didn't need any questions about why she was such a mess today. The less attention she drew to herself the better.

She was getting ready to grab her bag and leave when she felt her stomach growling. Perhaps she could have ignored it, but it did occur to her that she did not remember when the last time she had eaten anything was. Maybe she had eaten a piece of toast at breakfast? It was hard to tell, that was hours ago. Oftentimes when she was focused on a job or a case she would forget to eat. In the past she had always had someone there to remind her. Whether it was Chase, or Suhara, or even James, her head of security at VILE. Here it was just her.

It was rather a ridiculous thing really. Eating was a normal bodily function, not something that someone should forget, especially not when it was so important for her to be at her best. She looked down at her watch and then walked over to the fridge. Perhaps she would be able to find something quick. At least that would keep her somewhat focused for the afternoon. Upon opening the fridge however, her hopes for a quick snack were somewhat dashed. The shelves were remarkably bare.

A near empty olive jar, a stick of butter, a bottle of mustard, a few slices of American cheese and a jar of sauerkraut were all that remained. It wasn't much, but if she could find some bread she could probably make a sad sandwich out of it. Closing the fridge she began to rummage through the cabinets. Her search was futile however, there was no bread. She had finished that this morning with the toast. Just crackers. Still it was better than nothing, and with the cheese and olives it would be more filling.

She prepared her snack quickly and then made a mental note to procure more supplies later that day. It wasn't the best meal she had ever had, but it helped. In a way it reminded her somewhat of her detective days. Oftentimes on stakeouts and undercover jobs she would have to improvise when it came to preparing food. Suhara, and then Chase would often tease her about the weird concoctions she would come up with. If only they could see her now. How broken she was.

Soon everything was put away and she found her way out into the world of the living again, her bag slung over her shoulder. It was her plan to head to the archives again to continue combing old case files, but instead she was stopped by two of the other detectives. An emergency meeting had been called and her presence, as well as that of some of the more senior detectives had been requested in the briefing room. It was odd that the Chief hadn't called on her himself, but something must have kept him.

Carmen walked into the briefing room to find an anxious crowd of detectives and others seated around the conference table. She took her spot in an empty chair trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Over the years she had learned how to blend in, to become completely invisible. Agents from ACME locations around the world had teleconferenced in. Something had clearly happened, and whatever it was she was almost certain that Toscano's name was written all over it. He had been silent for far too long.

"What's going on Chief?" she asked, for he had suddenly appeared next to her. She was almost afraid to head into the crowd and see for herself what all of this kerfuffle was about. Everybody seemed to be on edge.

Instead of answering her directly he instead addressed the entire group congregated around the this was a slight, or he had wanted to address the entire group, she did not know, but it stung nonetheless. "It would seem that a number of dangerous and potentially armed criminals have escaped from a high security prison in Greenland. " Chief said nervously. "These people have potentially already managed to make their way to Asia, Europe, Africa and South America."

The quiet room now burst into a flurry. This was not good news at all, and it could be devastating to the world if it couldn't be contained quickly. "While this is not strictly an ACME matter the involved government agencies believe that it is important to keep us involved and in the loop. We will be assisting with containment and public safety matters. This is currently not public knowledge and we are not to mention it. The world intelligence and law enforcement agencies are hoping that we will be able to recapture the criminals before anyone notices they are missing, and before any major crimes happen. This whole situation is strictly need to know. I will be calling on all of you in the coming days to work on strategies here at ACME and I will give you all more information as it arrives. You are free to return to your normal activities."

"Before we go, is there anyone that the authorities are linking this to in particular? It certainly seems odd that this should happen now, and Greenland is a very specific place." One of the detectives said as they were getting up and leaving.

"It is believed that this escape is the work of Carmen Sandiego." Chief said almost sadly.

There was a murmur of surprise amongst the detectives, but no more questions were asked. Carmen knew better than argue this case in front of them. It would do her no good, and would likely cast suspicion on her. Instead she waited until everyone left and she and the Chief were alone. She picked up one of the printouts from the nearby computers. After skimming the information she turned to the Chief. "This clearly wasn't coincidental" she said. "This was an intentional attack." There was no emotion in her voice.

"The briefings we have been given make it quite clear that the authorities believe that Carmen is behind this. Furthermore there is not concrete proof or evidence that would implicate anyone else." The Chief replied quietly, but Carmen could tell that he did not believe the story he was telling her.

"Then we had better go about finding some. You know I did not do this, nor would I ever do this sort of thing." Carmen said in a harsher tone than even she was expecting before abruptly turning on her heel and leaving the briefing room.