Author's Note: Hello All, and Happy Halloween! I hope you are doing well. Thank you so much for the lovely reviews and messages again, they really have helped me to keep this story going. Writing is lonely sometimes and it's nice to have friends. :) Another chapter should be coming in the next day or two. The new job is proving a bit hectic, but hopefully my schedule will calm down again soon. Please enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Carmen Sandiego, in any of her incarnations.

Carmen cocked her head to the right wondering if she had heard him correctly. He couldn't be serious. The very notion was ridiculous. "Chief." She said after a moment. "What are you getting at?"

"You were right, Ivy is getting suspicious, I need you to steal something. Anything, just to keep her and the others distracted. The detectives are getting restless."

"So let me get this straight, you want me to steal something?"

"Yes." The Chief replied. "As I previously stated the detectives are getting restless."

"This happened just now?" she asked him suspiciously. "Really that does seem to be a rather quick turn around. Not half an hour ago you were telling me that you did not want me leaving."

"Well, maybe it's quick, but it's necessary. No I don't want you leaving but it seems unavoidable now. Just do your thing steal something, anything. Give the detectives something to work with." Chief said rather frazzled now.

"Are you sure that it is the detectives that you are worried about?" Carmen asked surprised. "Nobody else?"

"Nope. Nobody at all." The Chief said not meeting her eyes. "Say, that's a lovely picture you've got there on the wall. Have you been redecorating lately? I love the look of this place."

"Don't change the subject Chief." Carmen said addressing him a little more harshly than she had intended to. "There is clearly something that you are not telling me. Someone wants me out of the picture for awhile."

"No, no. That isn't it at all." Chief said.

"Does someone suspect my presence here?" Carmen asked. "Someone higher up in the organization? Chase perhaps?"

"Nothing to do with the Director." The Chief said in reply. "Look Carmen, I can't tell you who it is, but someone within the organization, above my level, has made certain statements, that while not explicitly suspecting that you are, well you, they are inferring that perhaps in this recent bit of inactivity you have either started spying on our organization from within, or that you have gone a touch darker in your crimes."

"I'm not sure I understand." Carmen said. "A touch darker? What on earth could they be implying."

"There have been some recent accusations, that perhaps you are not quite so honorable as you are made out to be. That you have taken a leave of absence to plan something truly nefarious." He said.

Carmen just looked at him stunned. "You want me to steal something to defend my reputation?" she asked.

"Not exactly. I don't want you stealing things, however it would look better. Oh you know, I just, I don't want them thinking that you, believing that you, would be capable of some of the crimes that were put forth. You would never commit espionage against ACME, you would never participate in any of the dealings he said you did. You understand?"

Carmen could not help but smile a bit. He really, truly, did care about her. Enough to suggest she do something that pained him so much to watch her do. "I'm truly flattered Chief." She said at last. "You do see some good in me still; but perhaps you see more than there really is. I do not know that I am worth your putting your neck on the line. What would happen to you if someone was listening in on this conversation?"

"Carmen, don't say that about yourself, you are absolutely worth it, and I think most people know that. Whatever happens to me happens. I take necessary precautions. Extra security and all that. Besides what happened with Maelstrom was just a one time incident. It won't happen again."

"That's certainly comforting to know. Are you forgetting the time I hacked into the system and took you with me for Christmas?"

"Not at all, but I was compromised with a virus at the time. At any rate though, will you steal something? Anything? I cannot believe I am saying this, but it would put my mind at ease."

"Anything Chief?" she asked innocently, a coy smile on her lips.

"Now don't let this get to your head Carmen, I don't want you to get too carried away." Chief said backtracking a little bit. "I just need to remind you that this is not something that I condone. I don't wish to find out that you've stolen the Golden Gate Bridge, or the Washington Monument or anything along those lines."

"What wonderful ideas Chief." she said picking up a pen and paper. "I never would have considered those before. You think big. Maybe I should be taking a leaf out of your book. We could certainly use you at VILE"

"That's not what I, oh Carmen, you know I would never promote criminal activity. Do not, I repeat, do not steal the Washington Monument." Chief said.

Carmen smiled coyly at him. "Alright, I will not steal the Washington Monument….Today."

Chief raised an eyebrow at her. "Do what you will other than that. Just give my detectives something to work with. Something that will take them awhile to solve."

"Okay…." Carmen replied after a moment. "Do you not think it might raise some suspicion if I were to go missing and then Carmen were to pull a heist?"

"You may be right…." Chief said after a moment. "How about this? I can tell them you are sick, or you can fake an illness or something. Anything that would keep you out of the way for a few days."

"A few days Chief, you want me to be gone for a few days?" Carmen asked incredulously.

"Not necessarily, but we must be prepared for that if need be." He replied. "You could always come back and hide out in here until you "recover" before returning to the search. That way it will detract suspicion from the whole your being Carmen Sandiego thing."

"Would it not be easier for me to have one of my henchmen steal something, or better yet have one of the women in my employment dress up as me and steal something. They would have to realize that I am not blessed with bilocation." Carmen said after a moment. "That would perhaps be the least complicated means of doing something."

"They would get suspicious if you were to send someone else to do something, you could easily call a henchman from here." Chief said. "As far as having someone dress up as you, remember what happened with Sara Bellum when she went a little power crazy? She nearly ruined your image, and she caused a number of problems with VILE and ACME. Something like that could happen again, with you here there would be no way to make sure we could clear your name without blowing your cover. No it would be too risky."

"Fine." Carmen said at last. "I'll do it. Just give me a few days to get something planned. It will have to be somewhat autonomous to keep the detectives occupied though. As I would preferably like to be back here and working as soon as possible. What type of bug am I supposedly going to come down with?"

"Wonderful Carmen, I'm so happy you're doing this!" The Chief replied. Carmen had to say this was probably the most peculiar situation she had ever been in with him. Imagine that, the Chief telling her to steal something, and then getting excited about it. How things had changed. "Don't get too excited though." He amended.

"You should be ill with a stomach bug or something of the sort. People will be less likely to ask questions. They'll also be less likely to come and check on you." Chief said after a moment. "Unless you would prefer to contract some tropical sickness, in which case Malaria or yellow fever are great. That would be insurance that you would not get any visitors."

"I think I will stick with a stomach bug." Carmen said. "Malaria or Yellow Fever are a bit too dramatic, not to mention far fetched, for my tastes. Our goal is not to quarantine all of ACME HQ."

"Point taken. A stomach bug will do just fine for you then. Think you can handle all of this? Planning a heist? Faking an illness? Sneaking out of the building?" Chief asked.

Carmen merely raised an eyebrow at him. This did not deserve a response. "Would you like a copy of my itinerary, for the heists, or would you prefer to be in the dark as well?"

"Yes, no, yes, no. Wait, yes, oh, no. Oh I don't know." Chief replied. "I want to know where you will be in the case that you are put in danger, but I also don't want to risk giving something away to Zack or Ivy and thus making this case too easy for them."

"You don't actually think that I will allow them to capture me, do you?" Carmen asked after a moment. "You can rest assured that I have not lost my reflexes. If you don't believe me check the rankings for the obstacle course."

"Yes, the whole agency knows about that. Ivy hasn't stopped cursing the board that lists the rankings." Chief said. "It's a good thing her competitive streak is well known, else everyone would be giving her theory more thought."

"Perhaps she just needs to use her brain bit more, and concentrate a little bit less on her athletic prowess to have a more successful time." Carmen said. "Would you like that itinerary or not then?"

"Alright, then give me a copy of the plan once you have finished."Chief said. "I will let you get to it then. If you, ah, need anything don't hesitate to come find me." With that he blinked out and Carmen was left alone with her thoughts once again.

Now the real task was before her. She would have to figure out some heist that would be simple to execute, yet tricky to figure out. Something that would give the detectives something to do, whilst still allowing them the freedom to work on actual cases if they were to come in. Taking out a pen she began writing out her plans. Eventually she would put this in the computer to pass along to the Chief, heavily encrypted of course. When planning something out though she had always preferred pen and paper to anything else. A carry over from when she had first started at ACME.

This should have been exciting for her. Exhilarating even, yet she could not seem to stop the impending feeling of doom that was welling up in her stomach. Nerves like she had never felt before. She felt dizzy and queasy just thinking about what she would have to a deep breath she tried to calm herself down. She would do this. As she had done many heists before. This time though, she knew that it would be far more difficult. Even more difficult than that first time had been.