In a local commissary…
"Here she is, the slippery Lucky Sandiego," said Miguel pointing at a dark cell. There was movement on the rack of the cell. Lina was sitting and was looking at the two known faces and two other new faces.
"Ivy, don't you think that the Sandiego's of the world will one day take over," said Zack.
"Don't be ridiculous, this is just a coincidence."
As they sat down at the desk in front of the cells, Zahyra brought some files. "We are happy to met the new bread of Acme agents. We are part of the oldies, but we still can kickbutts like you guys."
"Yeah so we see. Thanks for helping us , although it was in vain," said Zack.
"Anytime kiddo, its good to have some high red adrenaline flowing on," said Miguel.
"That's great, but who is she?" Ivy signaling to the cell.
"Her name is Lina Sandiego, a well renown girl around here. She is a little thief that has been giving us headaches for their years," Miguel took her file and search in it. "Stealing cars, CD's, motorcycles, personal properties, houses, etc., etc., etc., and then exchanging or pauning them for money."
"Wow, she has quit a hobby," said Zack.
"Money? money for what?" asked Ivy.
"To pay for her grandfather's hospital bill. Edward Mangual, his name, is very sick with a strange anemia and has been on the hospital for nearly three years now. Report has it he is already through therapy and could be going home in a couple of weeks," said Zahyra as she peeked at the other files. "The bills cruse above the three thousand dollars a month. Olga, his wife and Lina's grandmother, has been working in three different jobs each week and it is not enough. So Lina here, started stealing to complete the payments."
"Couldn't she had gotten a job or the grandmother gotten a loan?" asked Ivy.
"That has proven to be impossible, for a slightly family problem," said Miguel with a sigh, he took a very old file in his hands. "Lina's father was the youngest leader of a Mafia center of murderers, drug dealers and thieves. With that little problem no bank has allowed them to get a loan, nor to Lina nor her grandmother get well paid jobs, or a job at all."
"His name was Rocky, Rocky Mangual. The Smasher, his fellow villains called him. He died in a fire nearly fourteen years ago or less on his hideout," said Zahyra looking at the cell were Lina was. "No one knows who or how the fire started, but he died that night. Seventy-eight people, terrorists, died with him that night. No one survived that fire. Also no one knows how Lina got to her grandparents house."
"Nor who her mother is. Edward has never told us her name or us who she was, he has only told us that she is dead for him. He named her Lina by her mother's request, but Sandiego, which we believe is her last name, because his son should have never had a child with that woman, and it is a way to punish her, so she would know that someone still lives with that error," said Miguel with a sad look on his face.
"Thanks for the biography but could we speed things up here and get this thing over with," Lina was annoyed by now.
"Well miss lucky, we will send you to a new juvenile institution near Tampa," said Miguel with some handcuffs in his hands. He opened the cell and handcuffed her. "Come on, your new home awaits you."
"Let me rephrase that for you sir, my temporary home."
"Very brave for a little girl like you," said Zahyra taking her away.
"We too must get going, Carmen is going to strike anytime soon," said Ivy.
"Good luck to you two," Miguel handshake them both.
The two were off to the headquarters when Chief came barging in.
"ITS CARMEN, she is in Puerto Rico stealing a big national monument 'El castillo San Cristobal', come on, come on, we must move. Aaaaahhhh!" he knocked Lina and Zahyra on his way out.
"Wait Chief, C-5 us there, but wait," shouted Ivy.
By this confusion Zahyra loosen her grip on Lina, and the clever girl took the opportunity to get out of there. She pushed Zahyra down and ran to catch up to the two detectives. A blue portal was opening in front of them, they jumped in hoping to get there in time. So was Lina.
All of them had gone in the portal, Zahyra took her gear and called her husband.
"Lina went off with the detectives, come on slugy we must get that girl before trouble finds her."
SCENE 2
7:00 am – Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. 'Castillo San Cristobal' (San Christopher Castle)
"Be ready to activate the rockets Sara. Lars, Paige, and Moe start the spring separators. Hugo position the aircraft and balloons over the castle, Hannah prepare to tighten the chains," shouted Carmen the orders.
"Stop it Carmen, you will never get away with this," cried Zack running up the main gateway.
"I don't think so detectives," above Carmen five of her henchmen jumped between Zack and Ivy, a fight started. Carmen ran to the main plaza unawares that a familiar black figure got inside her mini jet plane.
"Now everyone, start the engines," the castle started to shake. By now many local residents had gathered around the site.
"Que madre, que sucede aquí."1
"El castillo se esta rompiendo por abajo."2
"Carmen Sandiego se está robando el castillo San Cristobal."3
They were wrong, the castle wasn't going anywhere, the castle was starting to break apart and that's not what Carmen had in mind. Little did she knew what was going on, nor many of the new comers to this national museum. Under the castle there are a series of tunnels that connect it to the Fort San Felipe del Morro. This corridors and the castles or forts were used by the Spaniard to defend the capital, they traveled and transported ammunitions from fort to fort and to other parts of the island through this tunnels in war times. There are seven known corridors that acted like anchors to the big castle.
"STOP RIGHT THERE CARMEN. YOU HAVE NO ESCAPE." The US Army marines surrounded the whole castle.
"Get out, get out, forget this thing. Go now!" ordered Carmen. The balloons were left loose. The master plane hooked Sara, Lars, Moe, Hannah, and Paige up to join the others. Everyone else scram from there. Carmen was left alone in that plaza.
"Thinking big eh Carmen? What was on your mind with this caper," said Ivy.
"Not leaving any clues, don't let us chase you anymore, looks like you are giving up," said Zack.
"I have never given up on anything Zack," she pressed a bottom on the communicator she had on hand and a white smock from under the detectives started to rise. It was so choking and thick that the detectives were so involved in how to get fresh air that they didn't noticed Carmen's plane firing up.
The smoke dispersed just in time to see Carmen close the cockpit and pull up.
"Commander, please lend us a fighter CF-6 plane to cut her power off," pleaded Ivy.
SCENE 3
Somewhere over the Atlantic…
"Give it up sis, she is gone we'll never catch her," wined Zack.
"That's impossible, that little jet plane isn't fast enough, so its logical she is planning to aboard her main plane somewhere."
"It's been an hour now."
"This means her main plane will slow down to let her catch up."
"It's been an hour now!"
"Come on Zack, think about it."
"It's…been…an hour…NOW!"
"Aaaarrrgggghh…that Carmen, she is more slippery that Ricky Martin getting out of a concert."
SCENE 4
Some where over the Atlantic…just a little bit ahead of Zack and Ivy…
"Come in Big One, where the hell are you guys," retorted Carmen over again.
"What a spooky situation back there boss lady. Am so amazed they didn't caught us," responded Hugo.
"Carmen, that was a very close encounter of the army kind. They could have even shoot at us," replied Sara.
"I've had closer ones, believe me. That was only a minor set back. That Manny, he didn't delivered the entire info," said Carmen.
"Yeah. Who would have thought that a US army marine facility was nearby," said Lars.
"I had the same feeling as if one was seated near a fire ant hill. And talking about animals don't you think caterpillars are cute and fuzzy? Oh , I loved Charlotte's Web, and then…"
"Shut up, PAIGE!" cried all in unison. (They could have been a great chorus. The VILE Chorus.)
"Hell, anyway, slow down and open the backdoor Hugo, today's events has me in a bad mood," said an angry Carmen nearly crushing the phone in her hands.
"Alright boss, contact in five minutes, there is a little storm to cross, Over."
"Over… Wow, what a rip-off that was."
"I'm the one who's going do any rip-off here, I'll rip-off your liberty," a familiar voice said from behind.
"Who are you, what are you doing here, and more important than that, how did you get in here?" she looked back.
"Hello again," Lina's hand grabbed the control panel and pressed several commands at the same time. The plane started to shake and waddle out of control, rising and descending in harsh movements.
Carmen grabbed her hands by instincts and started to struggle with Lina. Lina tried to free her hands to grab Carmen's neck, but Carmen was stronger and twisted painfully Lina's right hand. Lina cried in pain, Carmen's mind stooped in fright. 'What I am doing?' Lina released her injured hand from her capture's grip and noted Carmen's blackout and used it in benefit. Lina released her other hand and pressed more bottoms on the panel, the plane's motor heated up and was throwing smoke.
'Ridiculous, she is nothing of yours right now. Have your pride as a thief and show her who you are.' Carmen finally reacted and grabbed Lina by her collar and threw her back on the back seat, praying she would stay calm and let her take control of the plane to stabilize it. Carmen looked to the front as she grabbed the steering rod, Lina did not read Carmen's mind and hurried to stop the thief when she looked to the front too. They were both petrified with the same expression on their faces. Fate was playing a great twist of its power on them.
SCENE 5
"There Zack, everyone they are there," shouted Ivy.
"I see her Ivy," said Armando over the radio. Other detectives, in planes of course, had been able to catch up to them.
"It looks like there is something wrong," said Jasmine.
"That plane is going out of control," said Josha.
"More trouble is coming. Carmen's goons are deploying from the mother ship and coming our way," cried Lee (not to be confused with Lee Jordan, OK.).
SCENE 6
A giant wave was rising towards them. They were plunging to the stormy sea.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH," they shouted.
"Pull up, pull up, pull up Carmen!" yelled Hugo trough the radio.
Carmen got a hold the control of the plane and pulled just in the nick of time. The plane was difficult to control, it was throwing smoke, it had no lights and to top it all up, from where in the nine hells this storm came from, ohh yeah from last night's theater movie I saw the Perfect Storm. Finally out of the reach of the angry waves Carmen and Lina saw that more than a storm had shown up, but various other plane were now surrounding them, and a bigger fight had been going on.
ACME detectives and VILE henchmen had been fighting against Carmen's own wishes. She saw that this was inevitable though, but why here in this place and at this time. Each side was trying to shoot the other. This was not the first time Carmen had been in a shooting, in fact she was so good at it that she was afraid of it. The whole world, or nearly, knew that she was only a thief, and even as a compassionate thief that had saved the detectives trying to catch her, and she wanted to stay that way. She was not violent. What to do, what to do? She sensed Lina getting a little nervous because the girl had loosened her grip and was staring at the lighting and firing outside. 'What would he have done?' Carmen asked to no one in particular. 'What will you do?' Again she asked to no one in particular, or so she though.
"YYYYEEEEEEHHHHAAAAA!" was heard the radio. Carmen looked up and saw a jet plane flying by spinning along the way.
"Miguel, you imbecile don't you ever do that again," that frightened Zahyra.
"Don't worry mom. This jet is state of the art, and its only purpose it to entertain us," said Charlie. He was Miguel and Zahyra's son, a new Acme recruit too. "This is so much fun."
"Like father, like son. Both are animals and savages," complained Zahyra.
"What are they doing here," said Lina under her breath.
"You get used to it, but don't blame them it's not their fault," whispered Carmen back to her.
"I've been acquainted," giggled Lina. Carmen just smiled, then they both remembered with who they were at the moment and the struggle began again.
SCENE 7
"This is not good. Boss, boss, get inside the mother ship. Hey guys! Come all aboard, the storm is intensifying. I repeat the storm is intensifying. Calling everyone… including… the ACME agents. Turn back, we are headed to the middle of the storm. Let it be and turn back" Hannah desperately informed trough the radio.
She was right, Ivy couldn't keep the plane from being tossed by the strong winds. Other ACME agents were being hit by lightning. Many of VILE goons' planes were throwing smoke. And Carmen's plane, well, it was still unstable.
The horrible monster was at its greatest, lightning clashed, thunder exploded, waves roared, wind screamed and more than a dozen of people fighted for their lives. Then it happened, a huge wave of lightning hitted the main plane. It gave to the storm, the plane was beaten up by the winds and it carried it along. With the plane out of power the VILE jets went out of control. Many collided with the ACME detectives, there was no other way but down. Other planes succumbed to the fury of nature and plunged down. The engine of Carmen's plane exploded in a ball of fire, the only option was to survive in any way possible.
Ivy had lost control of the plane and urged Zack to open the cockpit and jump. Before Zack even got up the lightning illuminated a steady ground. Mountains, trees and an enraged beach. An island, the paradise as Ivy saw it and she went for it, try to land on that desolate place.
She struggled to keep the control stick on her hands. The land grew nearer, they were above it and ready to descend when a tree trunk hit them, they plunged from the sky. They landed with a loud crash among the trees. Time to get out. Zack had to break the window in order to get out. What a night, and the storm wasn't giving in. They had to find refuge and fast.
Every plane groveled at the feet of the storm, not knowing what was going to happen to them. Carmen and Lina were in the same test, the plane without engine gladiated with the strong winds. Just as Ivy, Carmen had seen the island and she planned to land there. The plane just went in a straight angle towards a nearby small mountain and crashed in the bushes. Carmen could open the cockpit and climbed out, she pulled Lina out of the nearly engulfed in flames plane and ran from there. The plane exploded sending debree, water, and soil towards the angry sky. It was time to find cover in that place. As Carmen washed her plane burn on, Lina pulled her coat a little and signaled to a small cave close by. Well it was as good as anything at that time.
Everyone else did the same in different parts of that place, and for the first time in this story enemy and friend helped each other for the well being of everyone.
End of chapter 2
1 'Que madre'=local expression meaning literary What mother, but it is used to express What the…, 'Que sucede aquí'= what is going on here.
2 'El castillo se está rompiendo por abajo.'= the castle is breaking at the bottom.
3 'Carmen Sandiego se está robando el castillo San Cristobal.'= Carmen Sandiego is stealing the 'Castillo San Cristonal'.