Disclaimer/Author's Notes: Sorry this chapter took so darn long to finish. Being a college student ties up a great deal of my free time, as well as having a terminal case of writer's block. Hopefully, Chapter 3 won't take as long. As usual, I don't own "Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?" Deric is MINE though…
Chapter 2: Raging Storm
Zack watched his sister nervously as she paced around like a caged animal. 'Man is she heated.' The young detective thought when he saw the fierce scowl on his older sister's face. 'I would not want to be Deric when we catch him.' Zack was putting that nervous energy to good use trying to figure out Carmen's latest clue. It was a sun-shaped object about the size of a Discman. They had been working on it since they local police released them from Carmen's trap. Ivy had been in a rage ever since. Zack looked up to see his fiery sibling going off on a rant to the Chief.
"…and when I catch that punk, I'm gonna throw him behind bars so fast it'll wipe that damn smirk off his face." Ivy nearly screamed. "Plus, he had the gall to kiss my wrist like he's some European nobleman. Oooh!!!" She balled her fists and looked over at Zack, who was staring. "Are you done yet, Zack?" she snapped. Zack yipped and immediately went back to work. Ivy angrily sighed and took a deep breath. "I'm going back to headquarters." Ivy told Zack as she activated the C-5 recall on her communicator. "I need to blow off some steam. Call me when you bust the clue." Zack nodded as his sister stepped through the blue energy and disappeared. When the energy bubble disappeared, Zack exhaled and went back to his task.
Back at ACME…
Ivy stepped out of the C-5 corridor and into the women's locker room at headquarters. Changing into her workout clothes, she stepped out onto the mats and did a few quick stretching exercises. 'I should be helping Zack...' Ivy thought, 'but I need to hit something before I go crazy.' Putting a CD into the stereo, Ivy began her workout on the heavy bag. She started with a few light kicks and punches to get a rhythm going. Soon, the kicks had more snap and the punches had more power behind them. Finally, Ivy went all out on the bag. A small crowd began to form around the redhead's fierce display. Ivy did not even notice as she launched into a flurry of knees and kicks. A knee to the imaginary groin, kick to kidneys, and a jumping roundhouse to the head which almost knocked the heavy bag off its hook. The dents became deeper and the sweat started pouring off of Ivy. However, she still couldn't beat the memory of Deric betraying her and her brother and the embarrassment of being fooled by a stranger out of her psyche. The face of her newest rival came into view in her mind. Cocky smirk, bold attitude, and nice on the eyes…
'Huh!?!' Ivy thought. 'Where did that come from?' Rubbing her temples, Ivy gave up on the workout and decided to check in on her brother. After a quick shower, Ivy changed back into her normal clothes and headed for the C-5 launch site. 'I wonder what Carmen and Deric are up to right now?'
VILE Safe-house, French Riviera
As Ivy was finishing her workout, Deric walked into the seldom used fitness facilities at the VILE safe-house. After warming up on the treadmill, Deric soon went through a practice kata. He was practicing some techniques on a practice dummy when he heard snickering from the entrance of the gym. Lars Vegas and Moe Skeeter began mocking Deric by 'executing' some stereotypical karate poses, like the crane kick from the Karate Kid movies. Deric rolled his eyes disdainfully at the two henchmen. 'And these are supposed to be some of Carmen's finest.' he thought sarcastically. 'I'd rather have two chimps helping me on a heist instead of these two morons.' Deric laughed at the thought of two chimps dressed like the two in front of him. Lars noticed and took offense.
"Something funny, kid."
"Yeah," Deric said standing straight up. "I was just wondering how two schmucks like you ever joined VILE." Both thugs started approaching the young man.
"You think you're betta than us?" Moe asked. 'Is the earth round?' Deric thought, smirking. "Hey, Lars." Skeeter looked at his partner. "Rain here probably thinks he can take us with all that chop-socky crap?" Moe said, pointing at Deric. 'With one bloody hand tied behind my back.' Deric smirked again.
"Actually, it's Storm, Curly." he mocked. "And yeah, I think I could take the two of you." Lars bull-rushed him, only to have his legs taken out from under him by Deric. With that, the fight was on. Deric danced around the two slower henchmen's attacks, all the while picking and choosing his shots. Things got serious when Skeeter grabbed a broomstick and charged at his target, intending to treat his head like a baseball. Or, at least he would have, if Deric didn't do a full split to avoid the attack and jump up to knock the weapon out of Moe's hands. The last thing Moe Skeeter saw was Storm's right fist connecting with his jaw.
At that moment, Carmen came into the gym to see what was causing such a ruckus. "STOP THIS AT ONCE!!!!!" she yelled and the remaining two combatants looked in her direction. "What in heaven's name is going on in here?"
"This little punk challenged me and Moe to a fight, Carmen." Lars lied, trying to get out of trouble. "First, he hits Moe with a stick and nearly breaks his face." Deric stood there, jaw agape at the blatant untruth. "Then he wanted to take me out. I say you should kick him out of VILE, boss. He's a loose cannon."
Deric had had enough. "Why you rotten son of a…" he began as he reached over to floor Lars.
"That's enough Deric." Carmen said coolly. Deric stopped dead in his tracks. Lars brined cockily at the young man. "Lars," The bumbling thief looked at his employer. "Take Moe to the infirmary. I need to have a few words with Deric." Lars happily picked up his partner and gave Deric a 'you're a dead man' grin. Deric stepped towards Lars to finish the beating.
"Deric," Carmen snapped. "I said THAT'S ENOUGH." Carmen's voice was a shade below yelling. Lars saw this blessing and all but ran out of the room. "Walk with me." Deric understood the tone of the semi-order. The mansion's grounds gave an unbelievable overlook of the ocean. The master thief and her apprentice walked along the mansion's gardens. "Do you want to explain what was going on in there?" Carmen asked.
"Not really…" Deric just stared into the horizon. He took a deep breath and sighed. "It's just… how can you stand those… those… those IDIOTS?" he asked, exasperated.
Carmen pondered over that for a minute. With a smirk on her face, she responded, "They make me laugh." Deric shook his head and blinked several times in disbelief. Carmen laughed at the reaction. "Everyone in this organization has a purpose, even Moe and Lars. If you want to have a future here, Deric, you're going to have to understand that."
"When you brought me in," Deric said, looking out at the ocean, "I thought I would be matching wits with the best ACME has to offer. Now that I'm here, I don't know who to worry about more, the cops trying to catch me or whether my backup will cause me to get caught." Deric picked up a rock and threw out into the ocean. "From what I've seen, I don't see ACME as much of a threat after how easily I fooled their two BEST detectives." The young thief smiled at the memory. "Ivy's face was as red as her hair when I took off my helmet." Carmen frowned at the bravado.
"Do NOT underestimate Ivy & Zack, Deric." Carmen said, starting to walk again. "That kind of arrogance will come back and bite you in the ass." Deric snorted and followed. "They are very, VERY good at what they do. Plus, Ivy is one of the best fighters I've ever seen." Carmen turned and poked Deric in the chest. "She could even give you a run for your money if you're all pumped up on testosterone and bravado." The master thief and her apprentice re-entered the mansion and headed for its computer center. "Here, sit." Carmen said, gesturing towards the chair. Confused, Deric sat in the chair. Carmen opened a file folder titled "Zack & Ivy" and a video file popped up on the screen. "Here," Carmen said, "watch the video and read the files. This folder has almost every bit of information gathered on Zack and Ivy Darren. It has their fighting styles, their tendencies, bad habits, et cetera." Deric whistled in awe as he opened the file folder and saw the sheer deluge of information. "A wise man once said 'Know your enemy.'" Carmen said. "Here's your chance." Carmen headed out of the room. "We leave for D.C. in four days." Carmen said. "Have fun studying."
Carmen laughed as she left the room, leaving Deric with the ungodly amount of information at his fingertips. It really did have almost every possible bit of information about the two detectives, especially Ivy. 'All she missing is Ivy's address, phone number and measurements.' Deric thought as he leafed through the papers. 'Great googly-moogly!!! They even know her favorite color!!!' Deric laughed at that. "Someone has way too much time on their hands." Deric started the video and began to take notes, trying to find the weak points, if any, in Ivy's fighting style.
Paris, France
The C-5 dropped Ivy in a park near the Eiffel Tower, where she found Zack sitting at a chessboard table. He was wearing a set of headphones around the back of his neck. The headphones were connected to the clue which Deric had left behind when they were ensnared. Zack was completely unaware of her presence as she snuck up behind him.
Ivy put her face right next to Zack's and said, "I see you cracked the clue." Zack jumped about three feet in the air.
"Jeez," Zack squeaked, trying to get his heart rate back to normal. "Don't scare me like that, Ivy." Ivy laughed at Zack's reaction as she sat down across from him. "But, to answer your question," Zack said, his voice back to normal, "No, I haven't been able to figure out the clue." Zack handed Ivy the headphones.
The clue consisted of clips of the song "To the Moon and Back" by the band Savage Garden. The CD only played the refrain of the song and the part of the song which included the astronaut countdown in the background. Ivy actually owned this album, so she knew a little bit about the song. Ivy listened to the clips a few times, trying to see if she could piece together a hidden connection or meaning. Then a thought popped into her head. "Chief," Ivy said, activating her communicator. "cross-reference 'firsts' with moon."
After a few seconds, the pink screen which showed the virtual head of the Chief appeared. "Well, the first manned lunar landing was accomplished by the crew of Apollo 11. The first man to walk on the moon was Neal Armstrong in 1969." Ivy's eyes went wide.
"Wait a minute. Isn't the Smithsonian unveiling a display commemorating the first moon landing, even having the original spacesuits worn by the crew in the display?" The Chief checked his databases and nodded. "What do you want to bet that's Carmen's next heist?" Zack gathered up the clue to take back to San Francisco. "Chief," Ivy, confident, "C-5 us to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. We're gonna nab Carmen and that cocky punk Deric for sure this time." The two detectives disappeared in the C-5 engine's blue light, en route to the potential site of Carmen's next caper.