Chapter 9
"No!" Carmen said tersely over the phone. "I'm very sorry, Chief…but I won't. Carmelita has made her decision, and I have no say in the matter." She listened impatiently as a desperate Chief Rob pleaded his case one more time. "I'm sorry. Now, if you'd like to call her yourself and convince her…" Carmen waited, and grinned evilly as the very talkative Chief suddenly went silent. "No? Then, I really need to get back to work, Chief. Good-bye." Carmen wearily hung up the phone, and then rubbed her eyes. That had been the fifteenth call from the overworked Chief of Interpol's Paris branch in two days time. Carmen had tried to be polite at first…but, as the days---and the calls---had worn on, she finally decided enough was enough.
Carmen sat back in her chair in her office, and decided she could certainly use a fresh cup of hot coffee. So, she headed for the cafeteria at her usual time for her afternoon break---when she could get one, that is. Carmen was a Captain after all…and a busy woman she was most of the time. Coffee mug in hand, she rounded the hall and entered the cafeteria.
"Good afternoon, Captain," a soft refined male voice greeted a weary Carmen. She looked up and smiled at seeing the Tibetan constable, Ling Chu, seated at a table beside---of course---Kitty Petro. Those two had grown closer over the weeks, and seemed to always somehow manage to take their breaks together each day. Carmen smiled as she saw the two of them sitting, hand in hand. She waved over at them, moved over to the coffee urn, drew herself a fresh cup, and sauntered over to sit with the pair.
"Good to see that you two seem to enjoy each other's company so often," Carmen remarked, grinning over the rim of her cup.
Kitty softly blushed, then grinned. "Just you hush, Carmen," she admonished her. "You and Carlos aren't any better, you know."
"Ah, Kitty, you are---" Carmen began just as her cellphone rang. "Excuse me," she said and took the call. "Capitan Fox." Carmen listened a moment, then added, "Ah, Doctor Chen…so good to hear from you. What's up?"
Kitty smiled as Ling leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. She turned affectionate big blue eyes toward the handsome Constable beside her. But, before she could utter a single word…
"Madre y Dios!" Carmen softly exclaimed, her freckles appearing to darken as her face paled.
"Carmen, what is it?" Kitty demanded, concerned. "Is it Carlos? Is he okay?"
Carmen hung up her cell phone, then shook her head. "No, Kitty," she assured the other vixen. "Carlos is just fine. That was my doctor, Dr. Chen."
"Okay," Kitty said, her worry changing course then. "Are you all right then? You look as pale as a ghost…well, a ghost with freckles at least…" Kitty was trying very hard to get even a smile out of her friend.
Carmen seemed to be not listening at first, then she blinked. "What? Oh, no…I'm fine, Kitty. Really," she said. "It's just…well…" Carmen halted, her color coming back just then. "Kitty?"
Kitty was nervous. "Yeah, Carmen?" she replied tentatively.
"Do you remember the conversation you and I were having the other day in my car?" Carmen said mysteriously.
Kitty frowned, thinking a moment. "What? Oh…you mean when I was teasing you about the taking Carmelita's advice? About working on that fifth generation---erk!" Kitty's big blue eyes went suddenly huge, and her mouth worked but not a word did she speak at first. "No. Way," Kitty then added. "No freaking way!"
"Yep, I'm pregnant," Carmen affirmed, grinning.
"Oh, man…that's wonderful!" Kitty squealed, taking Carmen's hand, then getting to her feet to hug Carmen to herself. "Oh, Carmen…I'm so happy for you! Oh, wow! Just wait til Carmelita finds out!" She giggled.
"She's on my list, believe me," Carmen told her as she disengaged herself from Kitty. "But, not before I tell my Carlos…"
Carmelita sat at the formal dining room table, wiggling her fingers which had gotten stiff from her long hours with a lockpick. It wasn't as easy as she would of originally thought it to be, she found, now on her second day of training. There was a definite knack to it…one that Bentley had hands down. "Wow…what's that? Lock number one hundred seventeen?" Carmelita asked, cracking her knuckles softly.
"Nope, one hundred sixteen," Bentley corrected her. "But, don't worry about that. You're doing great, really. You should of seen how long it took Murray to get to even fifty." He paused a moment, considering. "You know, you're pretty much on par with Sly's work…which sure isn't anything to be ashamed of, Carmelita."
Carmelita was heartened to hear that. "Thanks, Bentley," she told him. "You're a pretty good teacher, buddy."
Bentley grinned back at her, and shrugged. "Okay, Grasshopper," he teased. "Here's another puzzle for you. Impress me," he added, pushing lock type number one hundred seventeen her way across the table.
"Great," Carmelita replied, eyeing the newest exercise warily. She grasped her lockpick in hand, and began. It took her only three minutes time to foil the lock and open the miniature door it held closed. "Done."
"Hey, that was pretty slick, Carmelita," Bentley congratulated her. "Look, we've had a long day of this…so, I'll tell you what. I'm going to show you what a real pro at this can accomplish…even under very adverse conditions," Bentley added after setting up a new door with a new, complex double lock system. "Because it's one thing to pick a lock under ideal conditions---like this, for example. However, it's an entirely different thing altogether to pick one while something really distracting you. So…just to illustrate my point, I'll be opening this lock while you do everything you can to distract me, all right?"
Carmelita smiled and nodded. "Got it," she assured him, already plotting her strategy.
"Time me," Bentley said giving her a stop watch. "When I say go, start," he said, then added. "Go!"
Carmelita pressed the start button with her index finger, and then put her plan into action. She leaned close to Bentley's ear and began singing, "Bentley and Yuri…sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First come love, then comes marriage, then come babies in a baby carriage…"
Bentley's eyes bulged at first, but went from there to practically bugging out as Carmelita continued her psychological warfare operation, the strain showing on his face, even as his fingers worked to open the lock.
Carmelita grinned wickedly, but then stopped singing, and began to talk instead. "You know, buddy…that Yuri really is really a beautiful woman. Don't you think so, Bentley? I mean, I could see you looking at her…that shiny blond hair, that tight dress, her pretty eyes. Oh, and did you happen to notice the way her hips sway when she walks, or the way she seems to glide along instead of walking. And---"
"Gah!" Bentley shrieked, working the last point on the lock, throwing open the door. "I´M FINISHED! I'M FINISHED!"
Carmelita stopped the watch, peering down at its face. "Let's see. Ooh, hey…you did pretty good there, pal. One minute, fifty-three seconds," she informed him.
Bentley was sweating, and his hands were trembling slightly. "Bloody hell!" Bentley groused. "I usually manage it in under a minute thirty. Man, I guess you were distracting me better than I thought." He then turned toward Carmelita. "Oh, and please, Carmelita, could you kindly refrain from your going on about Yuri and me all the time? It's really starting to annoy me. C'mon, Yuri doesn't have those kind of feeling about me, okay?"
Carmelita grinned, opening her mouth to respond, when the doorbell rang. She got to her feet. "I´ll get it!" she bellowed, "after all, it might just be some innocent Boy Scout or something selling cookies…and we wouldn't want him to see you now, do we?"
"Just get the door already," Bentley groused, grinning at her long explanation.
"Hello, but we've already given at the---Kitty!" Carmelita began, only halting when the Boy Scout turned out to be her former partner.
"Hey there, sport," Kitty said with a grin.
"Kitty!" Carmelita nearly squealed, rushing forward to envelop her friend in a hug, pulling her inside. "It's so wonderful to see you!" She pushed Kitty gently back, so she could look at her. "Hey, I've missed you, kiddo!"
"Yeah, it hasn't been the same without you either, Carmelita," Kitty said, finally letting Carmelita go.
"So…you and Ling still together then?" Carmelita asked, grinning.
"H-How did you know?" Kitty stammered.
"Kitty," Carmelita pointed out, noticing Kitty's puffy lips and rumpled hair. "I don't have to be a CSI to figure out you and Ling have been…well, you know."
Kitty grinned sheepishly, quickly running her fingers through her hair to smooth it, and trying vainly to look presentable. "Have not," she denied, but not very convincingly.
"She couldn't convince me either, sister dear," came the sound of a most familiar voice behind Kitty.
"Carmen?" Carmelita gasped, but then relaxed, seeing that her sister wore a black kerchief across her pretty hazel eyes. "Oh, come in, come in…" she added, reaching out to take Carmen's hand and drew her inside, closing the door behind her and Kitty.
"Yes, Carmelita, it's me," Carmen answered, reaching up to remove the blindfold. She blinked several times as her eyes got used to the light, then looked around. "So…this is the hiding place of the infamous Cooper gang, eh?"
"Carmen, you shouldn't of---" Carmelita began, feeling the edge of panic in herself at the sight of her sister.
Carmen seemed to understand. "Relax," she told her. "I won't tell a soul. Besides, I couldn't even if I wanted to---which I do not. That was the one condition I had to meet before Kitty would give me a ride over here with her."
Kitty smiled. "Yep! I even got her signature on it, Carmelita…so if she spills the beans, I'll just show that document to Chief Rob, showing that she's consorting with criminals."
"Ah, Carmen," Carmelita said, smiling and giving her sister a hug. "It's so good to see you, hermana." She led the two girls over to a nearby room, and they each took a plush armchair to sit in. "Now, what brings you to my new home, Carmen?" Carmelita asked.
Carmen's eyes light up, as she turned toward her sister. "Brace yourself, Carmelita dear," she relayed to her with a mysterious smile. "This is not the sort of news one hears everyday, my sister."