Choice: A Carmen Sandiego AU

Part 9: Base

"She's-" He started, faltering as she turned. "She was still asleep when I left. Just now."

She gave a small nod and glanced down at the coffee. "I just thought she'd need the energy for when she wakes up." She said. "Chief's going to interrogate her basically as soon as she does. Well, Agent Zari is."

Graham winced very slightly at her cold tone. "She could be the key to taking down VILE and making the world a safer place." He said, his mind going again to what she'd said. "Interrogating her is necessary."

Keep telling yourself that, Graham, whispered his brain.

Shut up, he whispered back.

Julia looked at him, looking like she had a few things to say but couldn't figure out how to word them; eventually she just turned around with a small nod and disappeared into Carmen's room.

Graham stayed away from Carmen for the rest of the day. Even when he heard she'd woken up. Even when they questioned her for hours. Maybe especially when they questioned her for hours.

He couldn't ask her about anything with Zari and Chief there.

They didn't know.

They couldn't.

That he was...that he might have been...

A thief. A liar. A murderer.

Just like he kept telling himself Carmen was.

It was dark by the time he finally gathered the nerve to go to Carmen's cell. To ask her if his life really was a lie.

Carmen was currently unlocking the cells of Zack and Ivy, after easily getting out of hers herself. Ivy's grin was short-lived. "Carm..you look awful."

Carmen flashed a smile. "I guess running into a burning building, getting tranquilized, and being interrogated for 4 hours don't do wonders for me. Come on. We need to be fast."

Carmen and the siblings managed to sneak out of the room with the help of the tranq gun Carmen had somehow swiped. It only had two darts, which she used on the door guards.

Carmen tossed the empty gun aside. "Now, we really need to avoid everyone we can. I would rather not have to fight-"

She stopped and sighed.

"-anyone."

Wouldn't it just be her luck that Graham was coming down the hallway?

He didn't look all that surprised after the initial start. "I should have guessed." He said, deadpan. "A master superthief can't be held for long."

"This seems to happen too often." She said coldly.

"None of those times had you coming out on top. You're good, Carmen, but even you can't-"

Carmen never found out what even she couldn't do, because at that moment there was a whistle and thunk and Graham fell to the floor, unconscious.

Standing behind him, her dart gun raised, was Julia.

"Why did I just do that?" Julia gasped after a moment. There was shocked silence for a second.

Carmen blinked. "I have...no idea. But. Thanks?" She paused, looking calculatingly at her for a second. "Okay. Zack, Ivy, grab Graham. Julia, you're coming too."

"I- I am?" Julia said, bewildered, as Zack and Ivy picked up Graham's unconscious form.

Carmen caught Julia's hand in her own and pulled her down the hall. "I think we need you to get out. Can you help us?"