Published September 6, 2023

Spoiler Warning: This chapter refers to events (including character deaths) in the musical Les Misérables, based on the novel by Victor Hugo.

"Conviction"

Julia Argent did not receive many cards during the winter holidays. Her work kept her traveling and busy much of the year, so she did not have a large number of friends or acquaintances to correspond with.

In light of this, she was surprised to find an unexpected and anonymous piece of mail in December. The address on the envelope seemed to have been printed from a computer, and there was no return address. When she opened it, instead of a card, she found two small pieces of paper: tickets to a performance of Les Misérables in the West End.

Julia immediately called the theater to confirm if the tickets were genuine, and then tried to find out who had sent them. Apparently they had been purchased with cash at the box office window, leaving no paper trail.

Having proved the authenticity of the tickets, the first person Julia thought to tell was Chase Devineaux, both because of the mysterious nature of the gift, and because they were clearly meant for her to use with another person.

"Since you are my closest French associate, I wondered if you would like to make use of the second ticket," Julia explained with a shy smile as she showed Chase the contents.

The inspector's smile was crooked, in a way that she had come to recognize meant he was pleased. "Usually, I am not one for theatre; but my honor as a Frenchman compels me to accept."

Over the last few years, the two A.C.M.E. agents' relationship had progressed from a healthy partnership to a genuine friendship. Every now and then it started to feel like it could become something more, but their slight age gap and sense of professionalism restrained them from suggesting any change. At this point, offering an extra ticket to a cultural event seemed quite natural. On the other hand, seeing a musical about many different forms of love certainly seemed more romantic than their usual activities.

As they waited in their seats for the performance to begin, Chase casually asked Julia to explain the historical context of the story. Of course, with Julia, there was no chance of getting a simple summary; she had to begin with the French Revolution and cover the subsequent regimes in order to explain the circumstances in which Les Misérables took place. Chase paid as much attention as he could, but when she had completed her long-winded explanation, he rifled through the program booklet to find the actual names of the characters and a summary of the story.

His eyes lit up in surprise at the second character name listed. "One of these characters is a police inspector?"

"Oh yes. Les Misérables is very much about the tension between the opposing concepts of justice and mercy." Julia also skimmed the program, but she stopped when she came across a name that was startlingly familiar. She looked over at her partner. "Chase, did you see who is listed in the stage crew?"

He frowned, confused by her sudden urgency. "I have not. I doubt I would recognize any names."

"Well, there is one that I believe you know." Julia lowered the booklet and pointed to the text near the bottom of one page.

Light engineer: Graham Callaway.

Chase's jaw dropped, his eyes widening comically. "Monsieur Callaway? He is here?"

"His background was in electrical engineering," Julia recalled. "He worked at the Sydney Opera House, and accompanied various productions on tours to other countries."

No one in A.C.M.E. had spoken of him, per Chief's orders. But of course they remembered him: he had been the one who helped them finally piece together the mystery of Carmen Sandiego's true nature.

"Do you think this merely a coincidence?" Chase asked, looking skeptical himself.

Julia smiled, sensing that their suspicions, for once, were the same. "I might, if it weren't for the mysterious tickets."

"And if he is here, you think he could be accompanied by … our mutual acquaintance?"

"We have a few of those, now," she reminded him. "But an anonymous act of generosity does strike me as Carmen Sandiego's M.O." She turned around in her seat, looking toward the controller's booth in the back of the auditorium. Chase saw her countenance light up, and then she nodded into the distance. "As does hiding in plain sight."

Chase followed her gaze, and sure enough, there in the back was a young woman in an elegant red dress, her auburn hair done up in a French twist.

"C'est elle!" he exclaimed, at the very moment the lights dimmed and the preshow announcements began. It was now too dark to see the back of the house.

Chase and Julia looked at each other for a moment, debating. In the past, Chase's instinct was always to chase after the crimson-clad thief, but things were different now.

As the pit orchestra warmed up, Julia whispered to him, "If she wants to see us, she'll find her own way. For now we might as well watch the show."

So they remained seated, and listened to the thunderous opening chords. Moments later, the curtain rose, and the story began.

It was hard for Chase not to root for the French police inspector, even though it was clear that the story was presenting the criminal he pursued as the protagonist. Inspector Javert was the kind of lawman Chase aspired to be: cool, shrewd, devoted to justice, unflagging in his pursuit. The song about Javert's years-long chase after Jean Valjean was particularly relatable, full of conviction and determination that had motivated Chase for a long time.

But the fugitive Valjean's songs about his decisions and his change in conscience stirred feelings of guilt that Chase himself had felt, and tried to keep buried, since the time he realized that Carmen Sandiego was not the kind of villain he had imagined her to be.

"That boy reminds me of Carmen's old school friend," Julia whispered after Gavroche's first scene. "Very resourceful."

When it was time for intermission, Julia and Chase both looked to the back of the auditorium, but the woman in red was gone. Nevertheless, Julia stood up. "I'm going to powder my nose. Will you wait here in case she comes back?"

"Mais oui."

The lines to the women's restrooms were expectedly rather long, and Julia ended up near the end of the queue. She passed the time by watching the crowd, her eyes scanning for the familiar face or vivid red.

The bathrooms were less crowded when she finally got to them. As she was washing her hands, she heard someone address her with a voice, and a nickname, that she had not heard in years. "Jules?"

Julia was not the least bit surprised to hear this, nor to see Carmen Sandiego's reflection in the mirror when she straightened up. "Carmen." She smiled as she turned around to face her. "Is it really you? I mean, the real you?"

"Oui, vraiment, c'est moi." Carmen's smile was genuine, lighting her entire face with a happiness that Julia had never seen in her before; but she also looked a little older, less self-assured, than Julia remembered. "Can we talk for a minute?"

"Of course."

They went outside the restrooms and found an empty alcove a short distance away from where most of the theatregoers were mingling.

"I take it the tickets were your doing?" Julia said.

Carmen nodded. "I've been wanting to apologize for everything—especially for that last night—but I didn't think just saying 'I'm sorry' would be enough."

"You weren't yourself," Julia said gently. "But I knew you were still in there."

Carmen smiled again, a little sadder, her eyes softer. "Thank you for believing in me. You're the only one in A.C.M.E. who always did."

"Will you come and see Agent Devineux? I'm sure he would be relieved to see you."

"If you really think so." Carmen was not entirely convinced, but she followed Julia back into the auditorium. Chase was waiting just inside the doors, where he could see the entire room.

Julia came up and touched his shoulder. "Chase? I ran into our old friend." She stepped aside so he could see Carmen. He stared, wide-eyed but not displeased.

"Agent Devineux."

"Mademoiselle Sandiego."

Carmen smiled, a little sheepish. Chase returned it tentatively.

Many questions hung between them, all far too serious for small talk in a public place. But all Chase could get out was, "Are you … doing okay? We were not sure of your status for a long time."

"I'm great." Carmen shrugged, still smiling. "Better than ever, in some ways." Before they could ask for details—which she probably would not give anyway—she asked, "How are my old sidekicks?"

"Ivy and Zack have been progressing splendidly," Julia said, glad to be able to relay some good news. "They also speak of you often. They miss you very much." She could not keep a tone of reproach out of her voice. Carmen's evasiveness toward A.C.M.E. was understandable, but treating her closest friends and accomplices with the same flightiness was harder to excuse.

Carmen was silent for a moment, her eyes cast downward; then she looked up and became nonchalant again. "Tell them I said hello."

"We will," Julia promised.

"And how is Monsieur Callaway?" Chase asked, tapping on the booklet.

"Gray is doing well. We've made amends." Carmen's smile took on a quality that Julia had never expected to ever see in her, like shyness, or bashfulness. "He might be getting me a ring soon—and I made him promise not to steal it."

Chase looked astonished, but Julia was delighted. "That's wonderful! I'm happy for you."

The lights suddenly flickered, signaling that the intermission was about to end. "Better get back to our seats," Carmen said.

Chase ventured to ask, "Will we … ever see you again?" They had come across her trail a few times while tracking down various former V.I.L.E. operatives, and had sometimes glimpsed her from a distance, but they had not had any real contact with her until now.

Carmen's smile was as cool, playful, and mysterious as it had ever been. "If I have any news, you'll hear from me. If you have news, I'll hear it through the grapevine."

Chase nodded once, accepting this reality.

"Take care then, Carmen. And thank you for this." Julia held out her hand, and Carmen shook it warmly. Then they both turned to Chase, half-expectant. Carmen offered her hand to him, and after a pause to take in the improbability of the situation, he clasped her hand and shook it too. Julia looked on with immense satisfaction.

The two agents started to walk away, but Carmen called out behind them, which prompted them to glance back at her. "Oh, and Jules—good luck with him." With that she darted through the incoming crowd, disappearing from their sight.

Chase looked from the disappearing thief to his partner, whose pale face was suddenly flushed. "Eh? What did she mean?"

"I—I have no idea," Julia said. Unfortunately, she was not a convincing liar.

As they returned to their seats, Chase turned to her. "Julia, please be honest: do you think she intended for you to bring me here? And did she only set us up so that we might see her, or for another reason?"

"Well, it—it has often been difficult to make out her motives," Julia said, avoiding his gaze as she adjusted her glasses. "But it seems quite possible that she could have multiple motives for a single action. For example, many elements of the story of Les Misérables bear a resemblance to our own lives, both individually and in relationship to each other …"

Chase patiently let her ramble on, until the lights dimmed. But as the music resumed, he did something he had never done before: he placed his hand over Julia's on the armrest. Light reflected off her glasses lens as she glanced at him, but she quickly looked back at the stage, and she did not move her hand.

When Eponine lay dying in Marius' arms, Chase squeezed Julia's hand, and she turned it over so that she was also holding his.

When Jean Valjean set Javert free, Julia glanced at Chase, and seeing his stunned expression, she squeezed his hand gently.

By the middle of the second act, when the relentless inspector decided to end his life rather than accept a criminal's mercy, they were clutching each other's arms, tears streaming down their faces.

When Javert reappeared at the end as part of the heavenly host welcoming the dying Jean Valjean, Chase sobbed openly, and Julia laid her head on his shoulder.

When the curtain fell and the house lights went up, they took a few minutes to regain their composure before leaving the auditorium.

"You, Carmen Sandiego, and that play—you all put me to shame."

"But unlike Javert, you were willing to have a change of heart … which allowed you to believe that Carmen Sandiego could as well."

Chase nodded, then looked at her with a soft, appreciative expression. "And unlike him, I had a partner that could help me accept the truth I did not wish to see."

Julia blushed again.

When they finally stood, Chase offered Julia his arm, something he had never done before. She slipped her arm in his, and did not let go.

Author's Note: When I first saw "The Masks of Venice Caper," I freaked out because the scene of Chase's epiphany in the Venice canal was so much like Javert's scene on the bridge over the Seine River, wrestling with whether the criminal he has been pursuing is truly good or bad, and whether their entire worldview is faulty. And while I'm not a huge Chase/Julia shipper, I liked how their relationship progressed by the end of the series, and I see it as pretty open-ended. To use another musical, it could be like Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, in that they will always be close, even if they are not overtly romantic.