Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia 9:27am ( E.S.T.)
A black Dodge Viper raced up in front of the estate before screeching to a halt
along the circular cobblestone driveway. Jida swung the car door open abruptly,
squinting momentarily as his vision adjusted and he stepped out into the warm
Georgia humidity. It was a rare moment when anyone witnessed the wealthy
multi-industrialist off guard, and in a state of unfashionable disarray. Yet he
ignored such trivial aspects for the moment, as he walked up the steps in the
wrinkled deep violet shirt, the wrists unbuttoned and rolled carelessly.
Although he had had the opportunity to rest once he boarded the private jet from
New York, it was obvious from the dark rings around his almost vermillion
bloodshot eyes that something else had occupied his flight. Exhaustion was
starting to take its toll upon him, but Jida was far from ready to give into
sleep.
Although this particular property had never served him any profitable purpose
before, he found it ironic that he had decided not to sell this estate in the
secluded isolation of the Georgia woods. The death of his father had prompted
him to sell numerous real estate holdings all over the world, and a last minute
decision had pulled a few prime locations from the seller's list. For a moment,
he felt justified in his desicions. No other place could have been more perfect,
almost a hundred acres of rolling woodlands surrounded the old restored mansion
which retained a southern flair. It was a home away from home, with just enough
amenities to operate the recent clandestine operations he was now involved in.
As he walked up the steps and opened the door, a sarcastic voice greeted him
from the main room,
"Lookie lookie what the cat dragged in! Only this time I think I'd be more
pleased with a dead rat. Although right now, I wouldn't be able to tell the
difference..."
"Spare me the sardonic repetoire for once, Kal. I'm not in the mood. I have a
headache." He flopped down into one of the burgundy brocade wingback chairs,
threw his car keys down on a coffee table and reclined back, shielding the dim
light from his eyes with a one hand. Kalista walked slowly across the room and
tapped out numbers on a phonepad and sighed,
"The story of my life. So, is there a reason why you didn't call? What exactly
happened back in the museum? I mean, one minute everything is going fine,
precisely like we planned it, and remember that radio interference I told you
about? Well, it wasn't until I heard a transmission from one of the security
guards from outside saying he spotted something suspicious on the westside of
the building that I figuired that someone else was there.And what is this little
habit I hear of? Switching your headset off so you don't have to listen to me?
Why did you hire me for my expertise if you aren't going to hear it anyways? Why
do I stay here? Hold on, I'm not finished..."
She flipped a few strands of stray dark hair from her gray eyes as she picked up
the reciever,
"Yes, hello, what are you doing? Oh, I only ask because I must have ranted for a
good minute or so waiting for someone to pick up the phone. Send someone over
with some aspirin and a glass of water and some juice. No,I don't care, suprise
me. Bye." Kal slapped the phone down and Jida looked on with a bored curiosity,
"How do you go on like that without taking a breath?" Kalista placed a hand on
her hip, tapping silvertipped fingernails against black leather pants. "I don't
know. Practice? Why do you care?"
"I was hoping you'd have passed out by now." An unamused laugh escaped her as
she walked back to the dark cherrywood desk and thumbed through a stack of
paperwork,
"So?"
"So what?" Jida snapped in reply.
"What happened?! And what have you been doing? You haven't slept, and that evil
smirk on your face is really starting to annoy me."
" To our good fortune, it just so happened that Camen Sandiego decided to pay a
visit to the Met after hours as well. She unknowingly created the perfect
diversion for my personal escape, and lead the police on a wild chase which drew
attention away from our activities. I had Ramirez intercept TelNet transmissions
and we were able to break in on a secured frequency used by none other than
Crimenet. It seems we have our work cut out for us, the theft of the Nineveh
Marbles is being blamed on the greatest thief of all time." Kalista's mouth
dropped for a moment in disbelief,
"You're kidding! You're not! Did she see you?"
He nodded a negative response,
"No, I'm confident she didn't. I doubt the adjustor from the insurance company
will have any problems verifying the theft of the collection I lost in Berlin.
Too bad really, it was my favorite. Dare to guess what the reimbursement is on
priceless artifacts from ancient Assyria?"
" I take it I'm getting a raise..." Kalista said as she smiled whimsically.
"Don't press your luck. You're going to need it for the next heist in London. I
plan on leading Carmen there."
"What?! Have you lost you mind? Why would you want to go and do a thing like
that?" At that moment one of the houseservants walked in, carrying a tray with
the requested items and placed it on a small table next to Jida, clearly
uncomfortable in her gestures. Kalista waved her away and she nodded and quickly
left the room. Jida reached over and took the aspirin and a few gulps of the
water before saying,
"An individual such a Carmen Sandiego could prove highly useful to my cause."
Kali sat down in the burgundy leather chair behind the desk and scoffed,
"Oh sure. And what makes you think you can convince her? Ever read her dossier?
She will laugh at you, and I'll be right there beside her. Besides, every law
enforcement agency in the world can't find her. What makes you think you can?"
"Exactly how much do I pay you to doubt me?"
"Not enough. Stop avoiding my question."
Jida got up and placed the glass of juice on the desk for her and walked over to a nonlighted fireplace,
"I don't have to worry about finding her. She will find me. I have seen the clue
she left behind for ACME. Now, with all the information I've gathered from my
night of hacking, I'm convinced that Sandiego will not be pleased with having
the blame of a crime she did not commit placed on her. I made a call to the
Netherlands and had one of my agents beat her to the scene of her next crime.
When she steals the next item on her list, she will find my clue. And then, my
little game will begin."
"That's what I like about you Jerard. Never stopping to let reality get in the
way of your dreams. By the way, precious metals are way down. On the upside,
that little hostile takeover thing you did six months ago on J&D Enterprises was
a very smart move. Sales on mainframes are up, and by supplying chips from that
little company you bullied and bought out in the Phillipines we've cut
production costs in half. In the mood to sign some papers?"
"No."
"Okay, then my work is done."
"Did you hear a word of what I said?"
"No."
Jida glared at her from across the room without saying a word. Kalista let out
an exasperated plea,
"Oh, come on! You had your fun, got to play cops and robbers a few nights in a
row. Let's quit now, before we get in way over our heads! Please? I don't want
to go back to prison, it wasn't exactly the getaway vacation of my dreams. How
am I go to explain this to my parole officer? He'll never believe this. This
isn't the run of the mill criminal we're used to. What do you do on my days off?
Lick the lead dust from the outdated miniblinds in your office? Reality check!
This is the Carmen Sandiego! I mean, you're good, after all, you have me, but
this is plain madness. I'll quit, I swear I will."
"You'll do no such thing. Isn't that a stipulation of being a parolee? Maintain
stable employment?"Jida gave her a familiar glare which she returned and he
grinned in reply,
" And just think, who would hire someone with a record like yours? I would hate
to think what your P.O. would say if he found out you were walking out on a
promising career like this! I know, I'll call him right now and ask him
personally..."
The look on Kalista's face changed visably as she snapped,
"You evil, underhanded, manipulative,...I hate you! I knew it! You didn't hire
me for my administrative skills! You hired me because I was a convicted felon!
How did you find out? Who was it?"
Jida grinned a knowing smile and walked over to the desk where Kalista sat and
leaned his hands against the desktop, squinting his eyes,
"Now now, I knew all about you before you went to prison. You worked for
D'Angelo and helped him take over what was left of my father's smuggling
business in Mexico. And when D'Angelo needed a scapegoat to take the fall for
that diamond heist he made sure to leave you holding the bag. Do you think it
was luck that got you out of a fifteen year sentence? Tell me, Ms. Kalista de
Silva, how many diamond thieves walk out of a courtroom with a seven year
reprieve? And after five years, you were released. Care to guess how much I paid
to speed up your parole hearing? I made sure to have one of my represenatives
give you a job offer you couldn't refuse. You were a fool to think you got this
job after a couple of years of clerical work and college. "
Kalista let out a shriek of rage and threw a crystal paperwieght across the room, shattering the object in a sharp crash. Jida closed his eyes and crossed his
arms and sighed,
"I hope you know that's coming out of your next check..."
"That's it, I've had it! Does everything and everyone around you get dragged in
by dirty tricks and blackmail? I don't owe you a thing! You want to make the
call? Go ahead, I'm pretty sure the authorites would like to hear about a
fraudelent insurance claim on a collection of Assyrian art! Say, if you don't
have a good criminal attorney, I can always give you the number to mine! "
She grabbed her purse from beneath the desk and began to hurriedly stuff various
knick knacks from around the room inside.
" Oh, Kal, stop looking at me like that. I've waited a long time to do this. Put
your purse down and stop this, you're not leaving. " Jida crossed his arms and
stated in tone which others usually cringed at, but was deaf upon Kalista's
ears, "I forbid you to leave. Put that back right now. Hey, that doesn't belong
to you, that's mine! You are really pushing me! "
When it was apparent that she seemed unaffected by mere threats he relented slightly and sighed,
"Okay, okay, I admit it. I can't do this without you. Will you come back here?"
He followed her to the door and paused a moment before giving an almost pleading
stare and asked,
"Please?"
Kalista stopped a moment in the doorway and looked up.Thier eyes met,
compromising little in response. Jida lifted an eyebrow slightly and softened
his fixed gaze and his eyes glinted a warm coppery hue. She looked away
involuntarily and muttered in a subtle tone,
" Did you just say what I think you said?" Jida's voice even echoed his
expression, softened and almost submissive, stating one thing, but stating
something else.
"No."
Kalista sighed and rubbed her tired eyes as she took a deep breath and slowly
let it out. She didn't bother to look up as she mumbled in reply,
"All right, fine. I'll do it. I must be crazy. But of all the thieves in the
world, why me?"
Jida smiled and retorted, a tinge of victory in his expression,
"I knew how you felt about D'Angelo. I knew that within a year after I hired
you, that you would help to bring him down. Who else would know the ins and outs
of his smuggling operation? All I wanted was his business, but you wanted
revenge. And I profited."
"You're unbelievable. You know, for a moment I thought I actually heard a pulse
from that nonexistant heart. I suppose the death of Magnus von Chera Jerard had
nothing to do with this. I mean, if my father was murdered ..."
" He was never my father. He was responsible for his own death. It was business,
nothing more." Jida turned away for a moment and added, " You don't cheat drug
runners out of thier money. He knew better. I never approved of what he did. And
he never approved of me."
There seemed a moment of uncomfortable silence, one which they had both found
between them and this time it was Jida who was was quick to break it,
" It was a mutual dislike. Oh, and by the way, you can give me my keys back."
"Oh, you saw that? See, your getting better at this already."
Kalista reached into her purse and threw the car keys to him which he caught with one hand.
"Now, get in there and make some calls. We're going to England."
Atlanta, Georgia 9:27am ( E.S.T.)
A black Dodge Viper raced up in front of the estate before screeching to a halt
along the circular cobblestone driveway. Jida swung the car door open abruptly,
squinting momentarily as his vision adjusted and he stepped out into the warm
Georgia humidity. It was a rare moment when anyone witnessed the wealthy
multi-industrialist off guard, and in a state of unfashionable disarray. Yet he
ignored such trivial aspects for the moment, as he walked up the steps in the
wrinkled deep violet shirt, the wrists unbuttoned and rolled carelessly.
Although he had had the opportunity to rest once he boarded the private jet from
New York, it was obvious from the dark rings around his almost vermillion
bloodshot eyes that something else had occupied his flight. Exhaustion was
starting to take its toll upon him, but Jida was far from ready to give into
sleep.
Although this particular property had never served him any profitable purpose
before, he found it ironic that he had decided not to sell this estate in the
secluded isolation of the Georgia woods. The death of his father had prompted
him to sell numerous real estate holdings all over the world, and a last minute
decision had pulled a few prime locations from the seller's list. For a moment,
he felt justified in his desicions. No other place could have been more perfect,
almost a hundred acres of rolling woodlands surrounded the old restored mansion
which retained a southern flair. It was a home away from home, with just enough
amenities to operate the recent clandestine operations he was now involved in.
As he walked up the steps and opened the door, a sarcastic voice greeted him
from the main room,
"Lookie lookie what the cat dragged in! Only this time I think I'd be more
pleased with a dead rat. Although right now, I wouldn't be able to tell the
difference..."
"Spare me the sardonic repetoire for once, Kal. I'm not in the mood. I have a
headache." He flopped down into one of the burgundy brocade wingback chairs,
threw his car keys down on a coffee table and reclined back, shielding the dim
light from his eyes with a one hand. Kalista walked slowly across the room and
tapped out numbers on a phonepad and sighed,
"The story of my life. So, is there a reason why you didn't call? What exactly
happened back in the museum? I mean, one minute everything is going fine,
precisely like we planned it, and remember that radio interference I told you
about? Well, it wasn't until I heard a transmission from one of the security
guards from outside saying he spotted something suspicious on the westside of
the building that I figuired that someone else was there.And what is this little
habit I hear of? Switching your headset off so you don't have to listen to me?
Why did you hire me for my expertise if you aren't going to hear it anyways? Why
do I stay here? Hold on, I'm not finished..."
She flipped a few strands of stray dark hair from her gray eyes as she picked up
the reciever,
"Yes, hello, what are you doing? Oh, I only ask because I must have ranted for a
good minute or so waiting for someone to pick up the phone. Send someone over
with some aspirin and a glass of water and some juice. No,I don't care, suprise
me. Bye." Kal slapped the phone down and Jida looked on with a bored curiosity,
"How do you go on like that without taking a breath?" Kalista placed a hand on
her hip, tapping silvertipped fingernails against black leather pants. "I don't
know. Practice? Why do you care?"
"I was hoping you'd have passed out by now." An unamused laugh escaped her as
she walked back to the dark cherrywood desk and thumbed through a stack of
paperwork,
"So?"
"So what?" Jida snapped in reply.
"What happened?! And what have you been doing? You haven't slept, and that evil
smirk on your face is really starting to annoy me."
" To our good fortune, it just so happened that Camen Sandiego decided to pay a
visit to the Met after hours as well. She unknowingly created the perfect
diversion for my personal escape, and lead the police on a wild chase which drew
attention away from our activities. I had Ramirez intercept TelNet transmissions
and we were able to break in on a secured frequency used by none other than
Crimenet. It seems we have our work cut out for us, the theft of the Nineveh
Marbles is being blamed on the greatest thief of all time." Kalista's mouth
dropped for a moment in disbelief,
"You're kidding! You're not! Did she see you?"
He nodded a negative response,
"No, I'm confident she didn't. I doubt the adjustor from the insurance company
will have any problems verifying the theft of the collection I lost in Berlin.
Too bad really, it was my favorite. Dare to guess what the reimbursement is on
priceless artifacts from ancient Assyria?"
" I take it I'm getting a raise..." Kalista said as she smiled whimsically.
"Don't press your luck. You're going to need it for the next heist in London. I
plan on leading Carmen there."
"What?! Have you lost you mind? Why would you want to go and do a thing like
that?" At that moment one of the houseservants walked in, carrying a tray with
the requested items and placed it on a small table next to Jida, clearly
uncomfortable in her gestures. Kalista waved her away and she nodded and quickly
left the room. Jida reached over and took the aspirin and a few gulps of the
water before saying,
"An individual such a Carmen Sandiego could prove highly useful to my cause."
Kali sat down in the burgundy leather chair behind the desk and scoffed,
"Oh sure. And what makes you think you can convince her? Ever read her dossier?
She will laugh at you, and I'll be right there beside her. Besides, every law
enforcement agency in the world can't find her. What makes you think you can?"
"Exactly how much do I pay you to doubt me?"
"Not enough. Stop avoiding my question."
Jida got up and placed the glass of juice on the desk for her and walked over to a nonlighted fireplace,
"I don't have to worry about finding her. She will find me. I have seen the clue
she left behind for ACME. Now, with all the information I've gathered from my
night of hacking, I'm convinced that Sandiego will not be pleased with having
the blame of a crime she did not commit placed on her. I made a call to the
Netherlands and had one of my agents beat her to the scene of her next crime.
When she steals the next item on her list, she will find my clue. And then, my
little game will begin."
"That's what I like about you Jerard. Never stopping to let reality get in the
way of your dreams. By the way, precious metals are way down. On the upside,
that little hostile takeover thing you did six months ago on J&D Enterprises was
a very smart move. Sales on mainframes are up, and by supplying chips from that
little company you bullied and bought out in the Phillipines we've cut
production costs in half. In the mood to sign some papers?"
"No."
"Okay, then my work is done."
"Did you hear a word of what I said?"
"No."
Jida glared at her from across the room without saying a word. Kalista let out
an exasperated plea,
"Oh, come on! You had your fun, got to play cops and robbers a few nights in a
row. Let's quit now, before we get in way over our heads! Please? I don't want
to go back to prison, it wasn't exactly the getaway vacation of my dreams. How
am I go to explain this to my parole officer? He'll never believe this. This
isn't the run of the mill criminal we're used to. What do you do on my days off?
Lick the lead dust from the outdated miniblinds in your office? Reality check!
This is the Carmen Sandiego! I mean, you're good, after all, you have me, but
this is plain madness. I'll quit, I swear I will."
"You'll do no such thing. Isn't that a stipulation of being a parolee? Maintain
stable employment?"Jida gave her a familiar glare which she returned and he
grinned in reply,
" And just think, who would hire someone with a record like yours? I would hate
to think what your P.O. would say if he found out you were walking out on a
promising career like this! I know, I'll call him right now and ask him
personally..."
The look on Kalista's face changed visably as she snapped,
"You evil, underhanded, manipulative,...I hate you! I knew it! You didn't hire
me for my administrative skills! You hired me because I was a convicted felon!
How did you find out? Who was it?"
Jida grinned a knowing smile and walked over to the desk where Kalista sat and
leaned his hands against the desktop, squinting his eyes,
"Now now, I knew all about you before you went to prison. You worked for
D'Angelo and helped him take over what was left of my father's smuggling
business in Mexico. And when D'Angelo needed a scapegoat to take the fall for
that diamond heist he made sure to leave you holding the bag. Do you think it
was luck that got you out of a fifteen year sentence? Tell me, Ms. Kalista de
Silva, how many diamond thieves walk out of a courtroom with a seven year
reprieve? And after five years, you were released. Care to guess how much I paid
to speed up your parole hearing? I made sure to have one of my represenatives
give you a job offer you couldn't refuse. You were a fool to think you got this
job after a couple of years of clerical work and college. "
Kalista let out a shriek of rage and threw a crystal paperwieght across the room, shattering the object in a sharp crash. Jida closed his eyes and crossed his
arms and sighed,
"I hope you know that's coming out of your next check..."
"That's it, I've had it! Does everything and everyone around you get dragged in
by dirty tricks and blackmail? I don't owe you a thing! You want to make the
call? Go ahead, I'm pretty sure the authorites would like to hear about a
fraudelent insurance claim on a collection of Assyrian art! Say, if you don't
have a good criminal attorney, I can always give you the number to mine! "
She grabbed her purse from beneath the desk and began to hurriedly stuff various
knick knacks from around the room inside.
" Oh, Kal, stop looking at me like that. I've waited a long time to do this. Put
your purse down and stop this, you're not leaving. " Jida crossed his arms and
stated in tone which others usually cringed at, but was deaf upon Kalista's
ears, "I forbid you to leave. Put that back right now. Hey, that doesn't belong
to you, that's mine! You are really pushing me! "
When it was apparent that she seemed unaffected by mere threats he relented slightly and sighed,
"Okay, okay, I admit it. I can't do this without you. Will you come back here?"
He followed her to the door and paused a moment before giving an almost pleading
stare and asked,
"Please?"
Kalista stopped a moment in the doorway and looked up.Thier eyes met,
compromising little in response. Jida lifted an eyebrow slightly and softened
his fixed gaze and his eyes glinted a warm coppery hue. She looked away
involuntarily and muttered in a subtle tone,
" Did you just say what I think you said?" Jida's voice even echoed his
expression, softened and almost submissive, stating one thing, but stating
something else.
"No."
Kalista sighed and rubbed her tired eyes as she took a deep breath and slowly
let it out. She didn't bother to look up as she mumbled in reply,
"All right, fine. I'll do it. I must be crazy. But of all the thieves in the
world, why me?"
Jida smiled and retorted, a tinge of victory in his expression,
"I knew how you felt about D'Angelo. I knew that within a year after I hired
you, that you would help to bring him down. Who else would know the ins and outs
of his smuggling operation? All I wanted was his business, but you wanted
revenge. And I profited."
"You're unbelievable. You know, for a moment I thought I actually heard a pulse
from that nonexistant heart. I suppose the death of Magnus von Chera Jerard had
nothing to do with this. I mean, if my father was murdered ..."
" He was never my father. He was responsible for his own death. It was business,
nothing more." Jida turned away for a moment and added, " You don't cheat drug
runners out of thier money. He knew better. I never approved of what he did. And
he never approved of me."
There seemed a moment of uncomfortable silence, one which they had both found
between them and this time it was Jida who was was quick to break it,
" It was a mutual dislike. Oh, and by the way, you can give me my keys back."
"Oh, you saw that? See, your getting better at this already."
Kalista reached into her purse and threw the car keys to him which he caught with one hand.
"Now, get in there and make some calls. We're going to England."
