Author's Note: Hello All! Here is chapter 6! Thank you again so much for all of the support I've been getting on this story, your reviews really do brighten my day and encourage me to continue. I know I'm not always great at posting consistently, but you all have been such a great help. I will be starting a new job soon, so hopefully that will level out my schedule a bit. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Disclaimer: I don't own Carmen Sandiego...Obviously.

"She's plotting something Zack, I just know she is." Ivy said pacing up and down the floor of ACME's recreation room.

"Who's plotting something sis?" Zack asked flipping through a comic book.

"Her." Ivy said gesturing her hands outward.

"Ive, I don't mean to nitpick, but you're going to have to be a bit more specific. "Her" could refer to something like half of the world's population."

Ivy clearly wasn't paying attention to him. "Always in the library or the lab. Going over old case files. I don't like it."

"Are you referring to Dr. Romano?" Zack asked putting his comic book down.

"You know full well that Dr. Romano isn't her real name." Ivy said in reply.

"Certainly, it's her title. Nobody is named doctor Ives." Zack teased his sister.

"You're not taking this seriously enough Zack." Ivy replied. "You know full well that Dr. Francesca Romano is just a pseudonym for Carmen."

"We've been through this Ivy. You're being paranoid. I've run all of the checks you've asked me to. Gone through the server and other files, and everything checks out." Zack said. "You are worrying over nothing."

"Computer files can be changed. For someone with technical skills like Carmen's it would be no problem to create a digital alter ego." Ivy said.

"I did think about that Ivy, which is why I took the liberty of meeting with some of the team over in Florence where she was based out of. Her file checks out completely. Everyone I met with had wonderful experiences working with her." Zack said. "It makes sense that you had some suspicions, but I really believe that they were unfounded."

"Think about this then little bro, in the time that Dr. Romano has been here Carmen has been absolutely silent. No activity from ACME whatsoever." Ivy said. "How often does that ever happen."

"It has been weeks since we have had any Carmen sightings or heists." Zack said. "That doesn't mean that she is here though. Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps Carmen might need a vacation or a break once in awhile too? I mean as exhausting as it is chasing her can you imagine just how tiring it is for her?"

"Zack, that isn't funny. She is a thief it's not like she has a normal job as we do. If she wanted vacations she could do something else." Ivy said flustered. "Besides, it's Carmen, she does not do vacations. Even when she was a detective she didn't."

"Ivy, don't take this the wrong way but it feels like you're grasping at straws right now. Given that she didn't take vacations even then would it not follow that perhaps she is due for one now? Why not just enjoy the fact that we have a little bit of free time for now. Dr. Romano isn't doing you any harm."

"There's just something about her Zack."

"Could it have anything to do with the fact that she absolutely trounced you on the obstacle course multiple times?" Zack asked innocently.

"She did not trounce me, things were pretty close. Besides I've just been off my game for the last couple of weeks. You know because of the whole Carmen thing."

"Then now is the perfect time for you to get some rest and recuperate. Do something for yourself, engage in higher education. Someday you might even attain my level."

"You really do crave pain, don't you little bro?" Ivy said cracking her knuckles.

Zack gulped, and quicker than a flash he was off the couch and sprinting out of the room, Ivy hot on his heels.

When the sibling detectives had vacated the room Carmen stepped through the doorway. While she had not gone to the recreation room for the express purpose of eavesdropping she had nevertheless found herself in a position where she had overheard their entire conversation. For a few moments she had considered joining them in the room but that would have created a situation that was potentially far more awkward.

In the weeks she had been back at ACME doing research for this case she had been accepted into the fold fairly quickly. While she did spend a fair amount of time by herself she had been social, and even on friendly terms with many of the detectives. Zack had been especially welcoming and agreeable. Of course he always was, even when he was pursuing her on a case.

She had known that Ivy would be the most likely to suspect something. It was in her nature and she had a strong intuition about these things. Perhaps it should have worried her more than it did that Ivy had her suspicions. Right now though, she was in no place to be worried by such matters. They had very little bearing on her job, and as long as nobody else believed them she was in fine shape.

Walking over to the piano she sat down and began to play the opening bars of Chopin's Minute Waltz. The music was one way she could escape her pain and help her focus more on what she had to do. Many evenings she had found herself in here practicing and getting lost in the music. It was by far the most effective of all of the different remedies she had tried. As an added bonus it helped to sharpen her mind and help her make more connections in the case.

"Hello Chief." She said after a moment without missing a beat. He had popped in behind her as she had been playing the key change.

"Car….Dr. Romano." he said catching himself again. "We need to talk about something."

"I'm listening Chief." she replied not taking her eyes off of the instrument.

"It's rather a delicate matter I am afraid." he said not quite knowing how to address things. "It would seem that Director Devineaux will be returning in the next two weeks or so….." He stopped when he heard the sudden clash in notes. Carmen had faltered on what she was playing when she had heard that name.

"Is everything quite alright?" he asked her after a moment.

"Yes, yes. Quite alright." Carmen replied after a moment. "I suppose I should be getting my things in order and getting out then."

"What? No." Chief said a little forcefully. "Absolutely not. I just thought it would be good to give you the heads up considering the….history the two of you have. I don't pretend to know what the status of your relationship is now. I would imagine though, that the situation is still rather delicate."

"That's very thoughtful of you Chief, thank you." Carmen replied. She had started to fiddle with the gold band on the chain around her neck. "Perhaps it would be best if I were to leave though. Else it put him in a bad temper. It would not be fair to make the detectives here suffer his wrath on my account."

"I won't hear of it Carmen." Chief said. "We need you here right now, and you know it as much as everyone else does. Without your assistance we will never be able to bring Toscano to justice. With him on the loose you will never be safe."

"What are you going to do to keep me here?" Carmen asked dryly. "Arrest me?"

"Don't give me ideas." Chief replied.

"What about the detectives then?" Ivy is certainly more than suspicious about who I am already. Perhaps it would be for the best."

"I won't hear of it. You're staying." Chief said sternly. "Further Chase would say the same thing. You are needed here the most."

"Ivy's suspicions though?"

"I'll think of something to put them to rest." Chief said. "Just be patient with me."

"Fine." Carmen said reluctantly. "I should probably be getting back to my room."

"I'll leave you to it then." Chief replied. "Please though, don't do anything foolish Carmen and please don't leave. We need you here, and we need you safe."

Carmen nodded. If it had been anyone else but the Chief she wouldn't have heeded the request. He was one person she hated to let down. The Chief blinked out after that and Carmen was left in solitude once again.

The walk to her rooms was a relatively quiet one. Nobody was around now and she was glad of it. Her emotions might have broken the facade she was trying so desperately to maintain. Normally keeping up a disguise was easy. Blending into a crowd wasn't a challenge for her. In the past few weeks however, everything had felt off.

This whole ordeal had changed her. Though she would never admit it aloud she was glad that the Chief had insisted that she stay. Truth be told she did not want to go back out into the world. Since the night of her attack she had not left the ACME building. There were times that she had thought about VILE; but less than she ever had in recent years. She wanted to feel guilty for that, it was her organization after all, at least technically it was.

Her staff there would be fine operating on their own. There had been several times where out of necessity she had been out of contact with them for up to several months at a time. They knew that without orders from her they were to return to their more…conventional business endeavors. While most people had known VILE as a criminal organization it was also behind a number of perfectly legitimate businesses.

Regardless she should have found some way to go and check in on them. Some way to see what they were up to and if perhaps Sara Bellum was allowing the freedom to go to her head….again. Allowing her to return to the organization after her release from prison was something that many in VILE had raised eyebrows at. The woman had impersonated her and had gone a long way towards ruining her pristine reputation. However Carmen had a firm belief in offering second chances. She also made certain that Sara was being carefully monitored at all times. As of now, she had not seen anything on CrimeNet to indicate that anything was amiss, nor had anyone attempted to contact her from VILE. So for the time being this would have to fall into the out of sight out of mind category. It was necessary for her survival.

When she had reached her room she closed the door behind her and did something she never did. Rather than going to her desk to get some more work done, or getting a book, or even making a meal she laid down on top of her bed and cried. She had been doing her best the the past few weeks to clear suppress these emotions. Burying herself in work for hours on end. Researching, anything to get her mind off of her present situation.

Now that Chase would be back in the picture she was not sure how well her resolve would last. If it would last. She had last seen him the day before, or rather the morning of the incident. The terms she had left him on were not the best and she knew that he would be angry with her. Perhaps not as angry as she was with herself, but angry nonetheless.

She also knew that he would be the person to recognize her when he returned to ACME. The one who would easily confirm Ivy's suspicions. He knew her better than anyone else, even the Chief. If he did not call her out on her disguise within a few hours she would be incredibly surprised. If he was going to be back at ACME soon she would have to prepare, and fast.

Sitting up she dried her eyes and fought back the nausea that her emotions had brought on. If she was going to have any chance of escaping his notice and passing as someone else. This was no time to be wallowing in self pity and other emotions, this was time that she needed to spend working.

Carmen had only just sat down at her desk again when the Chief popped in. "Carmen, this is probably, hopefully, the only time I am ever going to ask you this, but I need you to steal something."