First off, I'm taking another hiatus from this story. I don't want to do that, but I have writers block and I'm swamped with real life shit that's a constant source of stress right now that I can't deal with. I'm hoping to pick up this story over the summer, hopefully at the end of May but no promises. I do promise that I will finish this story. I'm so thankful for all the support you've given this story and hope you'll continue to do so in the future.

Okay, I know this is one of the shortest chapters, but I couldn't make it longer without adding filler that has zero importance. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer.

I know this has come up in comments in previous chapters regarding Player and Carmen's relationship as being beyond platonic or like siblings. I know the age gap of 4 years isn't that much, but I personally don't ship them at all. So please know it isn't the age gap that prompted me to make this a brother-sister relationship even though Player has a rather negative reaction to the suggestion when he's being interrogated via the truth extractor a few chapters ago. That reaction more stems from him thinking about Carmen romantically. That comes from the idea of me having romantic thoughts about my best friend who is like a sibling to me. So sorry if you wanted this to be a Player/Carmen fic, and if you want to read it that way go ahead, but this is firmly a Player & Carmen story about being best friends and practically siblings. Just wanted to clarify that since I know I've gotten a few comments about that.

And now we check back in with the rest of Team Red as Carmen prepares for her next caper, and the stakes couldn't be any higher.

Thanks as always to Vodonn!

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.

…..

Carmen stared at her phone for a full five seconds before she was scrambling around her room. She swapped out her comfy clothing for something more appropriate for travel; her usual hoodie ensemble she wore to blend in. Lunging for the closet, Carmen pulled out one of her pre-packed suitcases that held her iconic trench coat and fedora outfit. Another few steps had Carmen shoving her laptop into a backpack along with some of her more easily disguised gadgets, and her cellphone into her hoodie's pocket. Cramming her feet into a pair of hiking boots, Carmen took one last look around her room before scurrying out of her room and slamming the door shut with a resounding bang.

"IVY! ZACH! SHADOW-SAN! EMERGENCY!" Carmen yelled as she reached the "living room" of their hideout.

Shadow-san sprinted in while Zach and Ivy jumped to their feet from where they'd been lounging on the couch.

"Woah, slow down Carm," Ivy eyed her friend nervously, eyes lingering on the prepacked suitcase and backpack. "What's wrong?"

"Yeah, you look like you've seen a ghost!" Zach exclaimed.

Carmen took a few deep breaths and glanced at Shadow-san. Whatever he saw had his eyes widening and jaw clenching.

He knew, or at least suspected, what had shaken Carmen.

"VILE has Player," Carmen blurted out, though her words were numb as they rolled off her tongue.

"WHAT?!" Ivy and Zach gasped in unison.

"Tell me this is just a shitty joke Carmen," Zach was practically begging.

"'Cause if it is, it isn't funny," Ivy muttered.

Carmen shook her head helplessly.

"VILE just contacted me. Apparently, they didn't even know who Player was when they took him. He was supposed to be leverage against his parents who, get this, are secretly ACME agents," Carmen didn't pause to acknowledge the stunned looks on Ivy and Zach's faces or the darkening expression on Shadow-san's face. "Player didn't have his fully encrypted tech with him and the Troll managed to hack into his tech and revealed him to VILE. Now, it's a replay of what happened when VILE kidnapped you two. VILE has given me fifteen hours to reach the site of their "caper" and if I'm not there…" Carmen trails off, her finishing words catching in her throat.

"Fucking hell," Zach muttered. "How'd the kid look?"

Carmen bit back a sharp retort and shared a glance with Shadow-san before turning back to Zach. "Not good. I managed to convince VILE to give Player medical treatment, sleep, etc., but they have a compliance collar on him."

Shadow-san spat out a stream of particularly foul curses in several languages that left Ivy and Zach looking confused, but were more than able to read Shadow-san's vocal tone. Had it been any other time, Carmen would've been rather impressed at Shadow-san's fluency in multiple languages. One or two of the words she didn't understand and distantly wondered if Shadow-san would teach them to her.

"What do you need us to do?" Shadow-san asked after his diatribe of cursing ended.

"You need to locate Player. He's in VILE's new clubhouse. VILE's having him work with me for the caper and I doubt he'll be able to get any information to you guys, but you never know," Carmen was cut off by an unfamiliar text tone beeping from her hoodie's pocket.

Carmen snatched the phone out of her pocket and skimmed the rather lengthy text. When she reached the bottom of the message, she snarled, and barely managed to restrain herself from flinging the phone across the room.

Taking a deep breath, Carmen read the text out loud though shaky breaths:

Miss Sandiego,

Your plane leaves from San Diego International Airport in two hours. From there, you'll fly to Chicago, then to Atlanta, and finally to Philadelphia. You only have one ticket for each flight, so don't even try to bring any additional tag-alongs with you. Once you've arrived, I'll send you further details.

Please try to hurry. I couldn't care less, but your "secret weapon" isn't as indestructible as you appear to be, and the VILE faculty members aren't the only one with a grudge against Jacob.

Safe travels!

When Carmen finished, the room was silent for five seconds, before Team Red leapt into action.

"Zach, you're driving me to the airport. I don't care how many speed limits you break or traffic lights you ignore. Ivy, Player downloaded his hacking algorithms onto your laptop two weeks ago, including whichever one he uses to control traffic lights and surveillance cameras. Once we've arrived, you switch to tracking down Player. Shadow-san, you grab your laptop and start looking for him. Try anything and everything; Player's life is at stake. I won't be able to help you, so you're on your own. Find VILE's new location within 24 hours; I don't know what'll happen after I complete this caper, but it won't be anything good."

Carmen spun on her heels and sprinted to Zach's car.

Hang in there little brother… We're coming for you.