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It was a typical caper, nothing special. The only abnormality was that Team Red would be able to hang out with Player since it just so happened to be taking place in his city. The team was staying in a nearby hotel, and Player was able to get over to meet them in no time, just in time for brunch at his favorite diner. Usually, he went with his family, and it was never crowded. At the moment, it was just the team in a corner and two other groups scattered about.
“Is the syrup here really that good?” Zack said, picking up the table’s bottle to examine it. “It’s the same brand we have back home!” Ivy responded, slapping the label. Carmen, Player, and Shadowsan, however, were more concerned with the upcoming caper than with syrup. “I fail to see how their goal is of any use to any of them. It’s very unlike VILE.” Shadowsan picked at his omelet while he pondered. Carmen nodded. “Player, is there anything suspicious hidden in the plans?” She looked at the currently sleep-deprived boy, assuming the answer was yes based on his disheveled appearance. “That’s what I was thinking. I started digging deeper into the file, and there was a whole big puzzle I spent all night getting through. It revealed their true mission.” Player looked across the booth into Carmen’s eyes. “They’re using it as bait to lure you out of the shadows so they can kill you,” he said, quiet enough that only their table could hear.
The table went silent. None of them had known what VILE wanted with Carmen, if it was to imprison her, kill her, or make her work for them. Even before Shadowsan left, the decision was unclear, with discussions always leading to arguments among the faculty. It seemed that they had finally gotten their answer. Carmen always had a gut feeling that at least a small part of Brunt still cared for her, but she was wrong. “They’re going to hack into the cameras to find you. Their plan is to kidnap and interrogate you first, they won’t kill you on sight.” Carmen smirked, having a genius idea.
…
Player stared at his reflection in the hotel room’s bathroom mirror, nervously adjusting his hat. It was exactly the same as Carmen’s. His whole outfit was identical to hers, from his headpiece to his coat, all the way down to his shoes. He slowly walked out into the main area and was greeted by four people in identical outfits. Zack and Ivy were pretending to be the boss herself, while Shadowsan stood there, not thrilled one bit. “Why must we do this instead of showing false footage to the cameras?” he groaned, both asking Player a genuine question as well as insulting the plan. “It’s a touristy town, it’ll be too obvious.” The hacker answered, equally as disappointed with the idea of acting as Carmen. His main fear was that, unlike the rest of the crew, he wasn’t athletic. It would be just a game to VILE to get him. The area they planned Player Carmen to patrol had the most escape routes, and while it did help, he still had a pit in his stomach about it all.
…
Night fell, and the Carmens all dispersed around the city as distractions for VILE, all pretending to be busy while Player discretely checked on his phone the city security cameras for any signs of suspicious activity from their enemy. He would have greatly preferred to use his laptop, but it would have been too conspicuous for the task. “I don’t see any signs of them, and I don’t know if that’s a good sign or a bad one,” he said into his earpiece, voice riddled with anxiety. “Sounds like a bad one. Everyone, make sure to keep an eye out.” Carmen replied, taking note and warning the team.
The idea that even the incredibly experienced, world-famous thief, Carmen Sandiego, was nervous only made Player even more terrified. His heart rate sped up and his breaths became short and shallow. He started coming back to reality and processing his surroundings after remembering a breathing technique Carmen had taught him. In and out. In and out. Still spending a bit of attention on himself rather than his surroundings, he continued walking around, head held up high like he had been told to do. Luckily, the hidden earpieces weren’t quite sensitive enough to catch his breathing. However, they were sensitive enough to catch the sound of Player being hit, as well as the sound of his unconscious body hitting the cement below him.
…
The boy awoke in a dark room whose walls were covered. He couldn’t tell if he was under the city, in an abandoned building, or in a helicopter. The ringing in his ears was deafening as he groggily looked around. He was still in the Carmen outfit, and his kidnappers hadn’t seemed to have stolen anything from him. He saw two figures and quickly recognized them from working with Carmen so long. Their code names were Crackle and Tigress. They had tied him to a chair, but they probably realized he wasn’t Carmen and didn’t go any further with restricting him.
“This is just some kid!”
“Those are the exact clothes of Carmen Sandiego! It’s not my fault that I saw it and thought of her!”
“I know that exact outfit isn’t very common, but not everyone in red is her!”
Crackle and Tigress argued. From what Player’s jumbled-up brain could figure out, Tigress knocked him out because she thought he was Carmen, while Crackle was upset that she attacked some random kid, missing the real one. Apparently, neither of them had figured out that it was Team Red’s plan. It wasn’t in the plan to get kidnapped, but everyone assumed attempts would happen. Player was just unlucky enough to have had the first encounter. He figured the team had deafened his radio in case his captors overheard, which is what they all agreed to do in case of emergency.
Player winced at the noise, his head already pounding from being hit by a ferocious and vengeful wildcat. His soft groan alerted his capturers to his consciousness, making them turn towards him. He tensed up as they approached, but he ignored the pounding in his chest as Crackle crouched down to be at eye level with him. “I’m so sorry about all this. How about we give you some cash, and you don’t tell anybody, yeah?” Was VILE really giving him money? He just stared back in confusion while Tigress slapped her mission partner. “You idiot! We can’t just let him go after kidnapping him!” “Oh, I’m sorry, I must have missed ‘What to do after your partner kidnaps the wrong person 101’ class! Let’s just call-” The man had barely reached into his pocket when his wrist was grabbed. “No! We are NOT telling them about this. We’d be an embarrassment to VILE and never hear the end of it if we did!”
Crackle sighed, turning back to Player. “I’ve never kidnapped a kid before. Is there anything I can get you?” he chuckled. Tigress facepalmed even though she was equally clueless. Other than freedom, there was one thing Player so desperately wanted. “Can I have some ibuprofen? My head hurts.” On the one hand, it was true, and he needed it. On the other hand, he saw no harm in some light trolling.
Crackle nodded. “Tigress, go get some. I saw a pharmacy down the street.” She raised her arms in protest. “Why do I have to?” “You got us into this mess!” she mumbled some swear words under her breath and left. Player tried again to see any trace of the outside world, but there was none, but he figured that he was in some sort of building.
The remaining kidnapper’s smile fell. “Why are you dressed like that?” Player knew he had to come up with some kind of excuse for why not only he, but four others, were in the same outfit. “My friends and I like to match.” he desperately hoped that he would fall for it. Crackle’s face gave up that he didn’t, but also that he was against torturing a teenager. “Why those specific fashion choices?”
Player’s heart beat faster. At least VILE didn’t know for sure if Carmen even had a hacker, let alone a teenage one, so his outfit was the only reason for suspicion. He knew he wasn’t good at lying, so he knew he was done for when he put his hand on the Crackle Rod. “Don’t make me use this. I’ll be straightforward. What do you know about Carmen Sandiego?” The electricity hissed mere inches from his face. “I don’t know anything! I swear! I don’t even know who that is!” Player shouted, trying to be brave. It was what Carmen would have wanted him to do. He could tell that his captor still wasn’t convinced, but he also continued to have conflicting feelings on electrocuting someone so young and innocent.
Crackle looked down at the rod in his hands, contemplating. His thoughts were broken by the sound of a window opening. But it wasn’t one, not two either. It was four windows simultaneously opening, forcing Crackle to turn around and see what was happening. He stood face to face with his former stealth teacher, although he sported a bright red new outfit. They began to fight, and Player saw Ivy, also still in the outfit, roll something on the ground and give a thumbs up. The other team members all tightly shut their eyes, and he followed along. A bright light flashed and Crackle dropped his weapon in favor of rubbing his eyes. Carmen untied Player and pointed in the direction of one of the windows. Understanding, he looked out it. It had a fire escape, and waiting below was Zack in the driver’s seat of a car underneath the moonlight. He started shakily climbing down as he heard sounds of Carmen joining Shadowsan in the fight.
Player opened the back door of the car and buckled into the middle seat. It was his usual spot since he was the smallest. He was followed by Ivy, who tossed her hat into the trunk. The car started, its engine purring as it drove down the empty streets of a sketchy part of the city. “Are we leaving them behind?” Player panted, worn out from the adventure. “Nah, they’ll catch up. Take your hat off, it’s too obvious.” Zack, still in the red coat even though he was hatless,. He reached up and pulled off his own accessory and threw it above the tops of the seats and into the back as well.
…
“I LEAVE FOR TEN MINUTES TO GET IBUPROFEN, AND THIS IS WHAT I COME BACK TO!?”