Hidden In Plain Sight:
Carmen saw a whole new side to Isamu when Spinkick leaked that VILE now had a new class called 'Carmen Sandiego 101', and tracker placed on her. Rage he hid behind his wolf mask become known in his first face off against this person. Somehow fueled the way he dodged and blocked each one of Spinkick's attempts to hit him at one his weak points. Only falling to his knees once to delivery a low the belt blow to solo plexus to a Reverse Sweeping Kick. Sent Spinkick to floor so hard he ended up being pinned with his head crashing onto the hard surface of a the ground. Before he was placed got masked Isamu kneeling over him with gloved hands coming to lay on bent knees.
"Consider this your first warning." A growl could be heard at the end. "Got it?"
All he got was a head nod and barely a squeal out of the guy when gloved hands removed the green cords from around his arms and head. Slow way masked Isamu untied that fine knot not once breaking eye contact with Spinkick was building to a creepy tension. That didn't disappear even after masked Isamu slowly start to pull away once the cords came off. Getting to his feet with his eyes still staring at Spinkick after bidding his limbs using the cords and a double fisherman's knot. Flytrap would soon join him with her own bolas acting as her retrains when she struggled. Leaving Carmen to comment about how masked Isamu was a little to terrifying told a VILE operative during a take down.
"I tend to get possessive over my friends." He spoke messing with the extra cord. "When does VILE change up their curriculum? I mean from what my dad and you told me about them, they didn't seem openly change that much."
"Since I started messing up their plans." Carmen reminds him.
"Forgot that one." He pulled at the cord.
He ended straightening his posture when the cord was completely wrapped around one his hands with a sigh escaping his lips. Apologizing to Carmen for being to forcible toward someone he barely knew with fury he didn't want her to see. Trying his best keep it from boiling over was becoming a problem for him after hearing how string of clues led to dead end. All stemmed from a locket found in her father despot box that ended with Coach Brunt in a Luchadora Mask confronting Carmen. All during a late night match that went side wards when Acme also decided to crush without a backstage pass.
"Then changing subject, reason you decided to pop in?" Carmen asked knowing he had something for her.
"A University lab with private funding." He pulled a flash drive from his jacket pocket. "Has successful invented cloaking tech."
"We talking camouflage that allows someone to blend in their surroundings?" Ivy eavesdropped.
"Pretty much." A masked Isamu answered her.
He didn't have to go on about VILE stealing this newest piece of technology before a proper series of tests could take place. Player and Billy were the ones that started to complain about VILE selfishly use the stolen tech for their own means. Had Carmen and Isamu turned the volume down on their ear pieces or tuned out the voices chatting in their ear drum.
"Your hacker is a lively one." Carmen was impressed with Billy's sentence a minute way of speaking.
"That's her without her a fistful of pixi sticks." A masked Isamu crossed his arms. "Which she better not be eating."
"I am having sugarless gummy worms." She hissed at a masked Isamu.
"You sure?" He asked back.
He ended up having the sound of a buzzer go off in his one ear before he ended up being told that her parents restricted her sugar intake. Leaving her to start munching on mostly fruits and vegetables with sweetness that made her lips pucker.
"I'll send some Sour Apple licorice." A masked Isamu assured her. "Usual address?"
"Better be and this time don't use Āwhina as the courier." Billy signed off.
A masked Isamu would end up turning toward Carmen with a bow since he had somewhere be before the night was done. Informing Carmen as soon as the flash drive was plugged into a computer for Player to download the needed files. His location would be sent to her and her crew as encrypted files tailored for each one to solve in order to open.
"Someone has been taking extra precautions." Ivy's voice rang in.
"Call me paranoid all you want." A masked Isamu became more cheerie. "How is Zac doing? I heard he had a freak out after seeing the image of my cousin and a certain detective."
"Not so good." Ivy and Carmen answered at the same time.
"He doesn't hurry up, My cousin is going to fall in love with the wrong prince." A masked Isamu hinted toward the legend.
Carmen was the one that ended up making the connection between Āwhina and the legend of the mermaid way after Isamu left. This news worried Zac when he was in middle of eating a fresh corn tortilla filled with generous portions of hot chicken. Poor boy almost choked on his food when the thought of Āwhina turning into seaform worried him. His sister didn't lighten the mood when she spoke about latest picture of Āwhina. She was wearing a seaform green colored attire when hanging off Trey's arm attending 2020 Wales Rally GB.
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06:18:17 PM
Technical University of Denmark
Research Lab #1
Copenhagen, Denmark
Invited to a view a demonstration for this so called piece of cloaking technology from the DTU Electrical Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering. Had Carmen and Isamu using an old ruse they used during Skeleton Key heist. Heir of the foundation and his secretary wanting to see where their money was funding and wanting to see the results. Once more the pair of Carmen doing the talking for Isamu as they sat in these hard plastic chairs that gave no comfort. Done up up in business attire, a tailored suit in Italian style on Isamu while Carmen wore another skirt suit (picked by Ivy). Wearing these official visitor badges strapped to the pockets of their blazers with metallic clips. Looking outward to the interns being used to show off a piece of materiel that reflected rays of light surround it's fibers.
"Let's get over with..." Carmen tapped the wrist watch she wore. "...Mr. Cassim has places to be..."
"Give us a moment." One researcher scrambled.
He yelled at the interns to hurry up before Isamu got back onto his feet and decided to leave to terminate this project. One would trip over the other while flinging the cloth onto the one that fell in hopes the glitching cloth would work. Did the very thing it was woven and wired carefully to do by making the upper half of the person disappear from sight. Not like their flailing lower half of their body sticking out of the edges this invisible cloth as he struggled to breathed. Leaving him to take on the appearance of white bed sheet ghosts without the eye holes cut out for him to see. Become a sight that Isamu recorder on fiber optic contact lens he wore on his eyes and ended up sending to Player. Hiding his smile that dare appear across his face from the eyes of anyone watching him, a single gloved hand was lifted. To cover the front of his face as the intern had the invisible cloth pulled off his person by two other interns.
"Sorry for the trouble." Researcher stuttered through his sentence.
"When will the final product be done?" Carmen asked tilting her head.
"We're still trying to get the cloth to stop..." Researcher stopped talking when the cloth defected between visible and invisible.
"...glitching?" Carmen finished for him.
She got a head nod as Isamu reclined forward in his seat drawing his bent elbows onto the tops of his knees with hands folded. Narrowing his eyes to looking at the glitching cloth to give his best impression of not giving a care as he moved. Fingers started to thud against one another with a single eye brow raising with his eyes watching interns move.
"Weekly reports are to be sent to me until this glitch is done." Isamu firmly spoke.
"You heard him." Carmen looked at them.
"Right away." Researcher agreed.
To him a business card would be handed from Carmen while he clearly swallowed his fear to step forward with a suggestion. One in the form of meeting them for drinks at a local bar after work day ended and get to know the research team. Give the interns someone around their age to hang with since they were always being over worked and underestimated. While the researchers got to know the new head of foundation that reached out to them in their moment of need.
"I have plans." Isamu ignored the laughs from his ear piece.
Ivy went on to tell him the only plans he had was messing with Zac about what his cousin and Trey had been up too. Shadowsan didn't care either way since he was starting to get a headache every time Zac went ballistic over the man in Āwhina's company. Player was having a hard time keeping news of Āwhina from Zac during their a way from heists. Carmen was completely impersonal to Zac's personal life since she was to focused her own struggles.
"Some other time?" Researcher asked how giving up.
"Maybe." Isamu turned his back.
Carmen was right behind him when turned toward the exit when he started to walk away with his hands tucked behind his back. Getting close enough to him so that she could ask what was with the sudden turn down offer of drinks with strangers. Trying her best to point out he needed to chill out after showing some aggressive behaviors the past few days. Not that she didn't have to last long in further telling him to find a means to calm down before they stopped.
"I feel I have become a reliability to you." He answered her. "Player can fill you in."
"You mean the whole ACME taking you and questioning you?" She asked.
"Please don't bring that up." He sighed lowering his shoulders. "I feel I let you down."
She ended up reaching out a comforting hand to rest on his shoulder to assure him that he had done nothing wrong. Brought only a half smile on his face since he ended up stepping way from her hand when his heart skipped a beat. Followed by a stranger tightening that his mother once explained were the first sensations of love. Left him to step aside to get Carmen walk ahead of him with his following behind her so he couldn't have to watch. Needing to calm his heart beat down enough he clear his head when emotions for Carmen re-rose in him. Ones that reared their head when they first met in the auction house among his late great- grandmother's jewelry. Again when she first caught him with his pants down in that bathroom of his godfather's Italian mansion.
"You ok?" Carmen came to ask out of worry.
"Getting there." He shook one of his hands.
"Good or bad?" She wondered.
"A bit of both since I sent Zac on a goose chase." He picked up his pace.
Carmen wanted details and Ivy yelled what so loud, that the ear pieces in Carmen's and Isamu's released a high pitched squeak. Had the two stopping to tell her to calm down before she demands answered from Isamu on what he did. Not like she was angry at Isamu for also paying off her and her brother's debt to Shark Head Eddie those months ago. Which she still hadn't forgiven for doing since that had nothing to do with him or a matter he needed to solve.
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06:35:38 AM
Langelinie promenade in Copenhagen, Denmark
Āwhina stood a few feet away from the famed bronze statue of mermaid becoming human as she looked to the sea. Would have put a smile on her face since she always wanted to lay her eyes on something inspired by a fairytale. Only became a crippling reminder of someone with light cornflower blue eyes and sprinkled freckles. Whose red hair the texture of wiry brush could still be felt within the enclosed space of her fingers. Made her sniffle at wanting to hear that thick Boston accent sharing how seafood and him didn't mix. Brought a few tears from the corners of her eyes when she could feel her legs about to give out. On the ground she would fall without a care someone would catch her making a scene over pointless issue. Become halted when someone in a black long-sleeve undershirt under a white and red baseball jersey. Hooking her by the waist and stood her on her heel clad feet when holding her against his person.
"I kinda not ready for you not to become sea form." That voice made her blink.
"Zac?" She mumbled.
"Yea." He looked away from her.
She turned around in his arm stating that other legends of mermaids becoming completely human once they found true love. To only have intense stare she never could get out of Trey to stare back at her with equal amount of passion. Pressing his lips into a thin line made of dried skin that recently misted by chapped stick. Signs of a blush slowly appearing through out his face among the freckles that lined his cheeks. Gave her the answers she been looking since she now mended heart become free.
"I like that better the seaform." Zac found himself blushing.
"So?" She came to ask.
"Can you break up with Trey?" Zac looked between them. "I want us to have a second chance."
"My side job and fact I like eating seasfood." She reminds him.
"Willing to sort something out." He dislike the reminder.
He ended having both her arms around his neck and tightly squeeze him with his arm still holding her by the waist as other barely touched side of her face. Brushing the contour of her cheek toward her chin in order to lift her face toward his. Meeting of their lips in a sensual matter for those few seconds would ended up getting caught by a masked Isamu. He wore a pair of selvedge style jeans from 1980s made by Big John. A worn leather belt that was worn in Jean's belt loops was simple in decoration. The buckle was uncut rhodochrosite stone in pink coloring, that was shaped with scrapped metal to form a strange symbol. In this Vintage Brown Members Only Jacket from Mercari and a graphic shirt underneath. Socks and high top style shoes finished off the look this person wore, as their face was covered by a Japanese Sumi-e styled wolf mask. Made of white leather with carefully places details and held in place by red cords in a carefully placed knot.
"You two done playing kissy face?" Ivy voice grin on Isamu's wolf mask. "We have a job waiting."
"When did you start sounding like my sister?" Zac asked.
Explaining that the century old Japanese Sumi-e styled wolf mask had been updated with wireless camera and retriever. Allowing Player or anyone on Carmen's team to see through Isamu's wolf mask as he was quiet puppet. Idea that Carmen worked out when she figured out a more safer way to protect his identity from ACME. Had Zac interested in messing with control end of the set up. Only be told by his sister the equipment alone wasn't a toy for him to amuse himself. He was just going to have to wait until she or Āwhina had the time to show him how everything worked.
"We going?" Players voice would end up asking them.
"OK, now I REALLY want to try it out." Zac couldn't wait.
"I can get one made for you." Āwhina assured him. "Now go on and do what you two do best."
A masked Isamu rolled his eyes at the two of them before turning away fro the two to share yet another kiss before separating. Zac wore a goody grin on his face with shade of lipstick on the center of his own lips as he stumbled away. Approaching masked Isamu's side like a love struck fool with a question about the all the women in his family a gifted. Got him blankly stare at for a few passing minutes without as single world coming from his own mouth before he spoke.
"Beware." Gruff voice made Zac jump back.
"Adhesive voice distorter?" Zac pointed to his own neck.
Got him a up and down head nod from masked Isamu before jiggling keys right before his face to get him motivated enough. Āwhina would end up Zan snatch the keys from her cousin's hand before making his way to the driver's seat. To them she would wave when masked Isamu got in the back through passenger side seat for them to get going. Slamming of doors and two belting in before the car drove way was all she needed to know was wish them luck.