Here's the next chapter! I'm planning on posting the next chapter sometime this weekend but we'll see what happens. Also, hopefully the emojis in this chapter will show up correctly but please let me know if they don't.

Thanks as always to Vodonn!

WARNINGS: Violence, torture, and more which I'll update as the story is written.

I do not own Carmen Sandiego (Netflix). This story is a work of fiction that came from my own horrible brain because I have been searching for Player!whump and haven't found many fics like that.

Lisa and Martin O'Connell were unassuming average thirty-five year old adults. Lisa was medium height with tan skin, blue eyes, dark curly hair and an athletic build. Martin was taller than his wife, but was pale skin, dark eyes, dirty blonde straight hair, and rather muscular. They worked for some corporation that required them to travel around constantly and left their young genius son alone in Ontario to be homeschooled online for extended periods of time.

Player would classify them as workaholics.

They never specified what they did and Player wasn't all that interested to pry for details or even hack into their email accounts for any information.

Groaning, Player fell back dramatically on the queen sized bed in his temporary room. His parents had booked a private villa at the Caneel Bay Resort, leaving Player with his own bedroom and bathroom which was perfectly fine with him. It was equipped with a humongous tv, mini-fridge, and even a minibar that Player didn't even think about touching. Player absentmindedly wondered if it made his parents even more irresponsible or oblivious that they didn't even think to take a minibar away from a sixteen-year-old; not that he had any interest in it anyways. The bathroom held a massive sink, shower, jacuzzi tub, and toilet with a heated seat and several puffy towels.

He knew his parents were plenty rich, but Player lived by himself and wasn't used to anything like his current surroundings. It wasn't like he left his room that much to begin with.

The villa had its own private beach with three bedrooms with their own bathrooms, a living room, and a kitchen that Player knew wouldn't be used. The remaining two bedrooms were used by his parents; one for sleeping, and another as a temporary office. Player didn't even pretend to be surprised that his parents had brought work with them when on a family vacation.

Propping himself up on his elbows, Player gazed out through the open french doors that led onto a balcony overlooking the ocean. His room was on the third floor of the villa, leaving the two bedrooms his parents inhabited on the second floor and the remaining rooms on the first floor. Despite his distaste about leaving his house, Player couldn't deny that the view was spectacular. Player had arrived with his parents a week ago, but the view still took his breath away. The sound of waves crashing on the sandy beach drifted in along with the salty sea breeze and sweet smelling flowers. He'd only seen views like it through video chats with Carmen or in pictures.

"Jacob?" His mother's voice startled him, causing him to almost tumble off of the bed. "I'm coming in."

Before Player could say anything, though he wasn't sure what he would've said, his mother walked into the room. She wore a long flowy skirt that tickled her ankles and a tank top that matched her bright pink nails. High heeled strap sandals gave her an extra inch of height.

"Yeah Mom?" Player asked, biting back his annoyance.

"Your father and I are going out to dinner to catch up with some business associates who we happened to run into early today, so you're on your own for room service," Lisa stated.

"Where was I when that happened?" Player asked. His parents hadn't been hovering the way they had been back in Ontario, but they still checked in on him every hour or so. It wasn't like he had any interest in going with them to a business dinner.

"You were taking a shower," Lisa replied bluntly, either ignoring or not noticing the flush that painted the teenager's cheeks.

"Ah," Player coughed.

Player didn't blush easily, but something about his mother's blunt matter-of-fact tone made him self-conscious.

"We'll be back later tonight," Lisa continued, not acknowledging the awkwardness that filled the room.

"Okay," Player nodded. His mother nodded, before walking out and closing the door behind her.

Player pushed back the hurt that came with his parents dismissiveness with practiced ease. At least he'd have some time to work on tracking down VILE and maybe even talk with Carmen for more than a few texts.

Food first, Player thought to himself, pushing himself up and walking towards the desk which held his laptop and the room service menu. As he flipped through the rather expansive menu, he absentmindedly pulled on his usual hoodie over his white t-shirt and navy board shorts. The dull thud that echoed up to his room indicated his parents had left just while Player called to order salmon with some kind of risotto with green beans and a fruit tart.

After he hung up, Player pulled out the desk chair and opened up his laptop. A few keystrokes and he was logged in as Player rather than Jacob, reactivating the half dozen programs he had running back in Ontario to track down VILE.

Picking up his "work" phone for Team Red, he sent a text to Carmen.

Me: Parental units out to business dinner. Big surprise… Am going to work on tracking down the target.

A few seconds later, his phone binged with a response from Carmen.

Red: I thought you were on vacation?

Me: I AM, but that's under protest, remember? It's not like my parents are going to be back any time soon.

Red: Point.

Me: And I've been away from my real tech for too long! It's physically painful, Red!

Red: 😓

Me: 😒

Red: 😁

Me: Why did I ever teach you how to use emojis?

Red: Because you hadn't slept in over 24 hours, so it was in a moment of sleep-deprived weakness. That is why you should sleep more.

Me: 😑 Hypocrite.

Red: ❤️

Player groaned, but smiled, turning back to his laptop to check the progress of the tracking programs.

Red: Stop it.

Player frowned at the text.

Me: What?

Red: Stop checking your tracking programs every 5 min

Me: I am not

Red:

Me: ...okay, maybe I am…

Red: Well STOP!

Me: I'm waiting for my food! There's nothing else for me to do!

Red: Seriously? Nothing?

Me: I feel like you're judging me.

Red: I AM judging you. Feel the silent judgement.

Me: FINE! I'll go do something horribly unproductive.

Red: I'm so proud of you.

Player felt no guilt for sending the emoji which more or less told Carmen to shove it. With a chuckle, he set his phone down and put his laptop to sleep. He stood up, wandering over and leaning on the balcony railing as the sea breeze tousled his hair.

Talking with Carmen helped, but his mind still wandered to the conversation he'd had with his mother. If he could even call it a conversation. Player hadn't been deluded enough to even hope that this "family vacation" wouldn't become a business trip for his parents, but it still hurt. Sure, he was used to it after years of missed family vacations, holidays, and birthdays, but that didn't make it sting any less.

It was always the same: go to some exotic locale and get ditched within 24 hours on the rare occasions Player was dragged along by his parents. A part of him yearned for the years when his parents were always around, supporting him and encouraging him. At the same time, he couldn't help but be relieved that they weren't around so he could guide Team Red through their capers. It tore his heart in two so Player tried to ignore it as he usually did.

The faint 'bing bong' of the villa's doorbell jolted Player out of his musings. With a sigh, he slumped over and dragged himself down to open the door. A second ring and the faint cry of "room service" confirmed his suspicions as to who was at the door. There was no way his parents were back already though he was mildly surprised his dinner was ready so soon. Fishing out his wallet, Player grabbed a few bills in advance to give the waiter a tip before he reached the door. Before the doorbell could be rung a third time, Player was yanking the door open.

"The O'Connell villa with an order of the salmon with the house risotto, the tropical fruit tart, and a lemonade?" A cheery voice asked.

"Yup that's me," Player responded absentmindedly, not looking up from the cart that held his dinner. He may have forgotten to eat both breakfast and lunch; his rumbling stomach had his full attention.

"Glad I got the villa right. Otherwise, this would've been awkward," the voice was now sinister and vaguely familiar, tickling the edge of his mind.

Player looked up from the cart and froze; it was instinctive and immediately Player wished he had better control of his body.

The young woman was in her early twenties, with icy blue eyes, platinum blonde hair and a pale complexion. She wore the standard uniform the staff of the resort wore; khakis and a blue polo, but the clawed gloves, one of which held a gun, were not part of the outfit.

Red lips twisted in amusement as Tigress shot Player underneath his right collarbone before he could react. The agonizing pain of a bullet wound that he'd expected was absent, which was a relief but he couldn't dwell on it. The blurring vision and sudden inability to stand up was far more relevant to him as he sunk to his knees.

Stubbornly, Player tried to stay conscious, shaking his head belligerently in hopes of clearing it.

"Well aren't you a stubborn one," Tigress mocked. "Guess that's to be expected, given who your parents are."

Player didn't have time to fully process what the villain had said before hitting the ground with a dull thud and drifting into the realm of unconsciousness.

Instead, his final thought was Carmen, please…

He wasn't sure if he was begging her to rescue him or begging her to stay away.