A/N: I just want to remind you that Carmen's mind is still weakened by the truth extractor. This means that she is easily manipulated. Enjoy your reading.
Carmen POV
I wake up with a start as the door opens. The Cleaners release me from my chains but unlike last time with Bellum, handcuffs hold my hands in my back. Vlad gags me, then places a blindfold over my eyes. Would the Faculty have understood my spotting from last time? If so, it's none of my business. The Cleaners lead me through various corridors and doors. After a while, one of them pushes me to my knees and then I hear them leave the room by closing a door. I try to get up but feel a strong electric shock hit me.
Maelstrom POV
I see her collapse to her knees in front of me with a scream muffled by the cloth around her mouth.
"Black Sheep" her body trembles as she hears my voice. "I heard about your little... resistance with Dr. Bellum. I have to give you credit, no one has ever been able to fend off her truth extractor. Needless to say, she won't let it go."
I get up from my seat and approach her. Her body tenses at the sound of my footsteps circling around her. "Your determination is impressive. Too bad it's not used where it's truly appreciated." She lets out a small exhale through her nose with the beginnings of a mocking smile on her lips to show her amusement at my words. I give her a little jolt as a warning. I then play an audio recording that we were able to retrieve from her communication before we destroyed it.
"Red, Red, answer me! Carmen, do you hear me?" the panicked voice of a teenager echoes through the room. Carmen's face reflects obvious terror and distress as she listens to this audio. Interesting...
"The first time I heard that voice, it sounded familiar like deja vu. So while looking through your file, I came across... this."
"Guten tag, Strudelhaus of Düsseldorf. How can I help you?"
"We were already aware of the two redheaded idiots in your team, which had made me personally wonder how you could infiltrate so easily with the little hacking knowledge you have. Neither of them seemed smart enough to. So there was your secret, a hidden and probably well protected member. Tell me, Black Sheep, did this boy simply influence you to fight us or did he also incite you to betray us?" I ask her as I remove the gag.
"I don't need anyone to tell me what to do, or to tell me the truth about VILE and encourage me to destroy it," she replies. Everything goes according to plan, that growl in her voice that she refuses to give up proves that the provocation works.
"You don't expect me to believe you? Who is he to you, just an operative? A friend? Is he really worth all the pain you're going through?"
"My team will always come before me and you know that Maelstrom. So why don't you save time and get to the point instead of skirting around like you've been doing since the beginning of this pleasant conversation?" she replies sarcastically.
"Still as perceptive as ever, I see..." I shock her enough to let out a cry of pain "... but you should learn to control yourself because I won't tolerate your disrespect. To get back on topic, I wanted to discuss the events that led you to this situation. Specifically, the person who brought you there." Perfect, her anger is at its height.
"You see, before your little act in the Himalayas, I had the opportunity to speak with Crackle. You should have seen the hatred in his eyes when he realised it was your fault his mind had been wiped." her face twitches in pain at my statement, so that's it. Her will is not only fueled by her desire to protect her team but by her love for him. "Why do you continue to endure all this for someone who has abandoned you?"
"It won't work on me Maesltrom, you can talk your shit but I know him, he would never do that." She tries to sound confident but her voice trembles slightly.
I send her a little dose of electricity, "Your language, Black Sheep. Think about it, whose fault are you our prisoner? Did he help you confront the robot and Dr. Bellum or did he leave you alone ?"
"It was me who gave him the order to..."
I cut her off, "And did he contradict? Insisted on staying? No... he abandoned you to save his own skin like you did on that train to Paris. He doesn't care about you as much as you think..." I stroke her hair in a reassuring way "... contrary to us."
Her face reflects her confusion as she considers my words. It's time to place my last pawn. As she lowers her head, I remove her blindfold and grasp her chin to force our eyes to meet. The determination once present is replaced by doubt. "My dear, we can help you, you know. Let you ask him yourself, all we need is to know where to find him." She looks away. Just as I'm about to demand an answer, my phone rings.
"Think about what I said, Black Sheep. I put her gag back on before walking away to answer it.
Carmen POV
Is it true? Everything that happened to Gray is my fault after all, he would have every reason to hate me. No. Maelstrom is manipulating me, I have to trust Graham, he cares about me. Right ?
I need to know for sure, but giving anything to VILE is out of the question. The handcuffs are not very tight, a little pity for the bare flesh of my wrists which hurts like hell. As quietly as possible, I straighten up and put my restraints under my feet to place my hands in front of me. Slowly approaching Maelstrom, I neutralize him with a quick blow to the back of the head. I get the remote and unlock the collar and handcuffs, allowing me to remove them. I need to get out of here before anyone notices I'm gone.
I walk along the walls to stay in the shadows as much as possible and not be spotted. This castle seems huge, as I pass a window I notice the height, so I am upstairs. It seems to be almost dark outside, but with the storm, it's impossible to be sure. As I speed up my pace, I hear Bellum's voice in the distance.
"The information has been planted and recovered. If all goes according to plan, Team Red will show up and hopefully find Black Sheep. We just have to make sure that she plays her part when the time comes."
I come closer, concerned about what they are planning for my team. Hiding in the shadow of the door I notice Cleo and Brunt surrounding Bellum as she works on her extractor.
"Why don't we just kill her if we can't reprogram her. After betraying us, I think we're being too soft on her."
"Because, Coach, she's our only leverage against Shadowsan and her crew. Besides, imagine how she'd feel knowing that now all of our capers are successful thanks to her. That will hurt her more than any injury," Cleo explained mischievously.
"We'll just have to watch her fall apart while we keep a tight leash on her team," Bellum sneered without looking up from her device.
I can't let them do it, as I was about to go back to my path a voice came from behind me.
"Carmen Sandiego ?"
I turn around and see El Topo staring at me as Le Chèvre arrives. The half-open door where the Faculty was, opens and Brunt looks surprised at the corridor. Wasting no time, I run down the corridor towards a door. I hear screams behind me but don't look back, past it are stairs. I run down as fast as I can and arrive in a corridor. An alarm sounds throughout the building.
"Shit."
I recognise the door leading to the Faculty Room at the end of the corridor, I could get out that way. The footsteps of errands come closer to me as I quickly enter the room and close the door. I push a desk in front of it, ignoring the pain in my shoulder, that should be slowing them down.
Redoubling my speed I quickly knock out the few guards in the room and rush through the large entrance doors. Outside, the rain has stopped but puddles are still visible. A small explosion sounds behind me, they have passed the door, I run towards a gate in the distance. Just as I'm almost there, El Topo emerges from the ground in front of me and Le Chèvre lands next to him.
"You're leaving already? We didn't even have time to enjoy ourselves." I turn around to see Tigress, all claws out giggling.
"Surrender Carmen Sandiego, you can't escape," Le Chèvre tells me with disdain.
"We won't hurt you if you follow us nicely, mi amiga."
"You should know that I never surrender without a fight."
I get into a fighting position. Tigress charges me, I dodge her and send her to finish her rush on El Topo. Le Chèvre attacks me, I parry his blow and retaliate with a kick to the abdomen. El Topo takes the opportunity to grab my right arm which I quickly release with a left shoulder strike, not without a cry of pain.
"It looks like your right side is hurting," Tigress sneers.
"Why don't you check it out for yourself Sheena," I reply, running towards the gate. I have to get out of here as quickly as possible but Le Chèvre holds his position in front.
That's when I realize it. Their goal is not really to bring me back by themselves but to hold me back. Indeed, a few seconds later a dozen VILE agents and guards surround me, the Cleaners among them. Reasserting my fighting stance, I look for any escape in vain. This was going to be a hard fight.