Summary: A minuscule injury with the potential to disrupt the entire dynamic.

Disclaimer: I'm just a fanfiction writer. All hail the rightful owners.

Content Disclaimer: This story is not written from or for a child's perspective. Though both dark and light moments are present, if you don't wish to see cannon characters distressed, this is probably not for you.

"Ok…" Ivy snapped as their feet hit the ground. "You going to tell me what you were playing at back there?"

"Uh… what do ya mean sis?"

Ivy put her hands on her hips and launched into an imitation. "Carmen, watch out for that wire. " She said in a high pitched mockery of a voice " Carmen, the loot is two feet down and to your left. Carmen, watch out for the low hanging beam…"

Zack colored.

"Ring any bells?" Ivy prompted.

"I err… " Zack muttered. "I didn't want her to trip…"

"Over the bright orange caution tape?" Ivy asked sarcastically.

"Err…"

"Am I missing something," Ivy continued sarcastically. "Was she running the caper with her eyes closed?"

"Umm… "

"Zack, my man," Chief wheedled. "Are you holding out on us?"

"I…" Zack muttered.

"Yeah?" Ivy prompted.

"I don't think she can see." He blurted out.

"Wait what?" Chief exclaimed.

"Who?" Ivy half shouted.

Zack nervously responded. "Carmen."

Slowly, the redhead nodded. "The splash at the chemical plant…"

"I think so…"

Ivy bit her lip. "What makes you say that? Wouldn't that be her heist theme?"

"It is."

"Ok…" The redhead admitted softly. "I see where the blind part came in with the Antigone play what with the whole Tiresias character and all."

"And her Oedipus Rex reference was one of the last lines of the play. They'd be delivered shortly after Oedipus blinded himself."

Ivy made a low growling sound "OK, so Sophocles has a blind motif. Anyone reading his plays would get that. He wasn't exactly subtle about it! But what about the other two heist sites? I haven't seen any pattern at all except that she's on a morbid streak."

"And let's face it Zack," Chief added nervously. "She does go on those a lot."

"The Prometheus Bound quote she gave translates to 'I established in them blind hopes.'" Zack muttered.

Ivy shook her head, trying not to believe it. "And the holocaust stuff?"

"Jacques Lusseyran was blind. " Zack said quietly. "I looked it up yesterday in between cases when I caught her theme."

Ivy paced erratically. "No… no that can't be it. That's a coincidence."

Zack didn't say anything.

The redhead sighed. "But, you're right it sure does look like that correlation's intentional."

"I'm sure she knows you didn't mean to…" Zack began.

The detective was fidgeting as if she could get her mind around the scenario. "We have to deal with this." She snapped. "Carmen's going to get herself killed."

"Yeah…" Zack muttered. "She's being a little reckless."

"A little!"

"Uh... one good thing gumshoes…" Chief piped up nervously.

"Alright chief," Ivy made a sad gesture with her arms. "Let us have it."

The CGI head formed into something that resembled vulnerability. "She told you."

Ivy and Zack exchanged glances. "I don't follow." The elder remarked. "Carmen didn't tell us a thing."

"But she gave us the clues Ives." Zack answered.

"Except for the last one…" Ivy snapped. "I don't even think she knows she missed with that one. And now…" the detective started pacing. "We don't know where she's going and we can't…" her breath was coming faster.

"Earth to Ivy!" Chief announced. "You don't need a clue. You've got the theme."

Ivy just glared.

"What's the number one most famous example of blindness in our culture sis?" Zack prompted. "The one that Carmen would put as the last stop. That's what you're getting at Chief right?"

"Yessir!"

Ivy's head slowly tilted. "Blindness… blindness…" she looked up. "Helen Keller?"

Carmen sat passively, a totally different picture from her last appointment. The sounds kept replaying in her head. She heard Zack tell her to let go of the rope and shivered again.

It wasn't that she didn't trust him. Carmen had trusted with all her soul… else she never would have ducked on cue, never would have overbalanced herself and risked falling.

Given the choice, she believed they would help her.

It wasn't fair to expect that of them.

The master thief knew that. She hadn't wanted to admit it.

The detectives couldn't keep handicapping the game for her. Eventually, they would have to explain the strange run of assistance. Carmen knew she never would have gained their compassion, were they not kindhearted in the first place. It takes a rare breed of person to see an adversary as so human.

Continuing the game would stomp that out of them and Carmen couldn't be responsible for that desolation. Particularly Ivy would not hold up well under the cognitive dissonance of the illegality.

To continue would be wrong. Carmen didn't often think in such black and white terms, but for this she would make an exception. However, if she stopped that left her... nothing.

It was a miracle that stunt hadn't snapped her neck. It hurt, even so, and Carmen found herself massaging her shoulders to try and assuage the soreness a bit.

That probably should have killed her.

Should have… indeed.

At least that was… neat.

"Catherine Sanchez?"