Chapter Text
To say that Julia was surprised would be an accurate assessment. Although perhaps concerned was a more appropriate description.
10:00 am GMT
A few hours previously, Carmen had shown up at her workplace unannounced and said she needed help with a caper. She brought an ancient artifact with her, one which had roots in old Norse culture. What was more striking about this artifact though, was the bold V on its other side. Julia knew that meant it was the work of VILE.
For a second she couldn’t help but marvel at the history of the object in her hands. It was centuries old, and was in great condition after being unearthed.
Julia’s ACME instincts kicked in for a second, thinking about how valuable the item could be to Chief. It could serve as key evidence in VILE’s history. It was truly a wonder that the crime organization even dated back that far. If she were still in the loop of it all, she could picture herself spending hours trying to piece together ancient VILE history.
Well, all that wasn’t her problem anymore. She would just stay safely at her office and aid Carmen from afar. Or at least she thought she’d be aiding Carmen.
3:30 pm GMT
Julia was finishing up her research on the artifact when her computer screen shifted to an image of a white hat. In confusion, she questioned, “Hello?”
A male voice replied with, “hey, Jules!”
Julia, worried she had been hacked by something, tried to recall the last couple minutes. In her research, had she come across anything suspicious? Clicked on any strange websites for answers? Not remembering anything out of the ordinary, she chose to hesitantly ask the person, “who is this?”
“Oh, sorry!”
Julia’s screen shifted as the other person’s camera was turned on. A young boy waved at her from the other side of the screen. “You can call me Player. Red asked me to check in for any updates.”
Julia raised an eyebrow. This boy looked to be around 16 years old and was clearly sitting in his bedroom somewhere. While she didn’t know much about Carmen, she didn’t think she was the kind of person to recruit children.
She asked the only logical question, “and how do you and Red know each other?”
“We’re old friends. From her school days.”
“I see.”
Strange. Julia didn’t know Carmen’s exact age, but she had assumed she was around 21 years old. How could she have possibly gone to school with someone five years younger than her? Their ages were estimates, but it was still an odd situation all around.
She would figure it out later. For now she’ll reply with, “Oh, well, I do have some updated information for her.”
6:00 pm GMT
Julia was sitting down, eating her dinner, when she felt her phone vibrate. She looked down at the caller, seeing the same white hat symbol as before. Without another thought to the matter, she picked up the call.
“Hello again, Player.”
“Hey, Jules! We have an update on our red adventurer.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, the team’s gotten the second clue. I’m pulling up an image of it right now.”
Julia looked as Player’s face was replaced with an image of a piece of leather. After further inspection, there seemed to be another map indented on the material. She took a screenshot of the leather so Player could reappear.
She quickly stood up and grabbed her computer before coming back to the table. The markings seemed to have early Indian influence. She studied them for a minute more before asking, “do we know any more information about this second location?”
Player’s voice was regretful when he responded. “Unfortunately no. We aren’t sure if–”
Player was cut off by the sound of glass shattering somewhere nearby. His face went pale and he stammered out a quick, “be right back.”
Julia watched him leave the room, although his camera and audio were still activated on the call. She could hear a man loudly yelling now. She couldn’t discern what he was saying. Player’s voice stopped the yelling, responding much more quietly. There was a long minute of silence where Julia was relieved, hoping the issue was solved.
Time froze when she heard glass shattering again and a noise of pain. Julia was panicking. Should she call the police? But she didn’t know where Player was, and even if she did, she should wait for him to get back and explain, right?
She was helpless. There was nothing she could do but wait and hope he was okay.
After another minute of yelling, Player came back into his room. The door slid shut with a quiet click behind him. Player seemed overwhelmed by his emotions and leaned his forehead against the door, breathing slowly. For a moment he stood there, at the door. When Julia couldn’t stand it anymore, she asked, “Player… are you alright?”
His head snapped up to look at the phone still propped up on his desk. He looked like he’d just been caught doing something illegal – although that probably didn’t bother him anymore, all things considered.
The only thing Julia could see was the blood. He had a cut on his left cheek, a shallow thing that was just starting to bleed. Julia looked at him more closely and found that his arms were much worse. There were several shards of glass stuck in his arms, thankfully most of them were small. She immediately blurted out, “Oh my goodness! You need medical attention.”
Player’s face hardened and he responded with a short, “no, thank you. I can handle it.”
Julia looked at him incredulously. He certainly couldn’t be saying that he would just fix it himself? “Player, I don’t think that’s wise. I’m sure someone would be more than willing to help if you just–”
He cut her off. “I have to go. Just text me whatever you’re able to find about the second clue.”
The screen went black. Julia blinked, long and slow. She had one question on her mind. It wasn’t the usual ‘where in the world is Carmen Sandiego,’ but rather ‘where in the world is Player?’