Choice: A Carmen Sandiego AU

Part 10: Love

What do we know?" Chief said tensely, her very real heels clacking over the floor as she paced. Agent Castro spoke.

"Carmen Sandiego and her two accomplices broke out of our cells at 1:27a.m. last night."

"And why weren't the cameras being monitored?" Chief questioned.

"Security has never needed to watch the cells, Chief; an old habit, unfortunately. They were...slacking. Besides, there were two fully trained and armed guards outside the exit to the fortified cells. Still investigating how she managed to get out."

Chief nodded as a signal to continue.

"On the way Sandiego encountered Agents Davies and Argent. Unfortunately, we do not have footage from this area, but our next frame shows Sandiego holding Argent at gunpoint and taking an unconscious Davies outside, before loading them both into an awaiting vehicle and driving away."

"Any sign of their location?"

"Working on it. It has been ten hours since their kidnap. We don't know what Carmen has done before, however their driver was the man Devineaux was tortured by in Poitiers. We can assume hostile."

Chief grimaced and pulled out her pen.

"Agent Zari," she said into the microphone. "Gather a team. We need to get our agents back."

A pause. "We'll have our dart guns ready and loaded, Chief."

"Not this time." Chief said grimly. The room stilled. A few agents glanced up at her sharp outline with wide eyes.

Chief's resigned fury caught in her yellow irises. "Sandiego has kidnapped two people and we have reason to believe she could be torturing them. Get your guns. Your real ones."

--

Jules, dressed now in some of Carmen's things, had happily kept them supplied with coffee as Carmen had talked; she'd taken right to the base and had insisted she take care of everyone.

Gray listened without interrupting, wide eyed, a little disbelieving, but...everything clicking. His original hostility gone. Tiny, fuzzy wisps of memory attaching themselves to little hidden folds of his mind that were slowly coming to light.

She started with what had happened a few hours ago. Then she went to the year Gray couldn't remember.

When Carmen finished with New Zealand, it wasn't her Gray was looking at. His mind had skipped ahead to their next meeting. The ambush. He was looking at Julia.

"ACME didn't trust me, did they? That's why none of them came forward to help me...arrest Carmen. Chief looked at me like..." He paused. "Were you told to keep an eye on me, Julia?"

Julia nodded slowly. Gray didn't look all that surprised now. "VILE didn't trust me enough to let me keep my memories. ACME didn't trust me. You probably don't trust me now, any of you. And why should you?"

Carmen leaned forward. "Gray. Our relationship has been...awful. You tried to kill someone in front of me. Then you tried to kill me. I know you don't remember but it was still you. I acknowledge that I lied to you- for your safety, though maybe I shouldn't have. I also just took you here against your will. But on your half its been nothing but backstabbing and injury since that night in Morocco."

Gray looked away. It was true in the part of his life he could remember. What about when he had been a fully trained murderous criminal? He could have gone with her. Defected. She would have offered that night if he hadn't...been like he was. Dead set on the ways of VILE. Hot shame washed over him. He liked her. Really, though, all he'd ever done was hurt her.