Chapter 1, Crackle Interferance
Fear cracked at Player's heart. It was far from being the first time Carmen had gone off the grid due to an EMP or jammed signals, but it was certainly the longest it had ever lasted. Over an hour she had been in Crackle's clutches.
He was fairly certain that Crackle wouldn't be able to lay a finger on Carmen without her beating him into a pulp, but that didn't cease his worry. Just because that Crackle had been the one to target her didn't mean he was alone. He could have multiple other agents with him. Carmen had never faced three or more operatives at the same time – after her time at VILE island, that is – and Player wasn't willing to put money on her winning.
No offense to Carmen, of course, but she had only been on the job for about five months. Despite twenty years of training to be a thief, while everyone else got a year or two, if that much, before entering the field, she still probably wouldn't hold off against multiple adversaries.
Player was quite concerned.
"Alright, Red, anytime, now…" he hissed quietly to himself, willing for her to come back online. He tapped at a few of his keys, trying to work his way – somehow – past the EMP jammers. He had tried three times already in the last hour, but he still wanted to make another effort to win it over. "Come back online…"
The loading symbol appeared – the first time it had done so in all his tries – and he leaned forward eagerly. After a long moment, it vanished, disappearing without any trace of securing the communication with Carmen Sandiego again.
Player pouted in disappointment, leaning back against the back of his chair. (He had already decoded another VILE file. There was nothing to really do at the moment.) He squinted one last time at the computer board, tapping on a final key before pacing back and forth across his room, growling under his breath. He returned to his chair after only two laps, adjusting his settings to see where exactly the train he had gotten for Carmen was along its track.
Almost to Paris. The rendezvous with Zack and Ivy.
Player pivoted to face a different screen, tapping on it to connect with Zack's com link.
"Zack?"
"Playah!" Zack greeted cheerfully. "What's Carm's ETA?"
"Don't know." Player said, swiveling to face his first computer. "She just had a show-down with Crackle. You know; that old school mate she told you about?" ('Mate' was said with an Australian accent, mocking Graham.) "EMP shorted out her communication. If she can get away from him according to schedule, she could be there in ten minutes."
"Oh, yea!" Zack enthusiastically agreed. "Gottcha, Playah!
Player turned to Ivy's communicator, shutting off his call with Zack to chat with his older sister. "Ivy? Go to the barge at the rendezvous. Get ready in case Carmen and Zack need a quick save."
"Time to save their bacon, aye? Little bro's lunch can wait. Sucks to be him." Ivy cackled, sounding quite amused. "Tell Carm' and Zack I'll see 'em soon!"
Player shut off the com with Ivy, leaning back to stare at the ceiling and wait.
Only two minutes later his computer beeped, Carmen's signal coming back online.
Launching forward, he eagerly thrust his face at the screen, exhaling in relief. "Red. You're back online!" Smugly, he continued, "I miss anything juicy?" (If there was anything he knew about Carmen and Graham's former relationship, is that they might have had something goin' before the whole 'Graham-suddenly-becomes-evil' and 'Carmen-is-randomly-stealing-for-the-good-guys' thing happened.)
"Nothing you don't already know." Carmen teased back, and Player could just picture her smirk.
He grinned in relief, leaning back. Carmen was safe and sound, and… well, she'd live to steal another day.