Broken mirrors, Part 2- Faded photos

The crash of waves against the surf was the only sound that Ivy could
hear besides her harsh breathing-that and Zack’s loud exclamations.

"I don’t believe it! She got away again. We had her and she slipped
literally from our grasp! Again!"

Ivy sighed tiredly and rubbed her temple in an effort to try and focus her
thoughts. Carmen Sandiego had cheerfully let them actually grab her
and then... Ivy frowned as she remembered the smoke grenade
exploding on the ground. She had tightened her grip on Carmen’s arm
but when the smoke cleared, Ivy found that she had a vise-like grip on
Zack instead. A slow, wiggling feeling of warmth suffused itself through
her tiredness. The feeling intensified and Ivy clutched her sides in a
vain effort to contain herself. A choked sound erupted from Ivy’s throat.

Zack caught off his tirade and glanced askance at his sister. Muffled
sounds came from her. He felt a pang of worry-surely Ivy was not
choking or having a seizure. Suddenly, Ivy threw back her head and
roared with laughter. 

"I hope you haven’t just gone insane like Sara Bellum," he said dryly. Ivy
was quivering with the task of preventing herself from rolling on the
warm sands. "What’s so funny, sis? Carmen got away."

"How-she-got-away-funny," Ivy managed to gasp out between laughter.
"It's sort of like when at Halloween, I dressed up as her and she
dressed up as me. You thought she was me and you caught me
instead of her. It’s an ingenious way to escape Zack. I thought I had her
even with that smoke screen and when it cleared- the surprise on your
face was priceless, little bro."

Zack managed to look indignant but wry amusement was creeping into
his voice. "Me! Surprise? You should look in the mirror!"

Ivy smiled and turned to walk up the beach, the strip of sand, peppered
with small, sharp rocks was squashed between the broiling sea and
severe cliff side. The balmy weather of Buenos Aries made Ivy sweat
freely. A small red box with a Carmen emblem etched on its side was
propped up on a large, jagged rock. Ivy scooped up the box and turned
it over trying to find a way to open it. Daylight was fading and this
meant that she had to depend on her sense of touch to find a notch.
Zack joined her and delved into his jacket to pull out a small penlight. It
gave off a narrow, weak beam of light.

Trying hard not to snarl in irritation, she ran her hands over the box
again. It felt uneven in some places and smooth in others. Patience,
she reminded herself was the greatest asset a detective could
possess. If only there was more... Ivy blinked in surprise.

"Zack! I found something!" 

Zack shone the pathetic penlight at Ivy. She was running her hands
over the clue rapidly, sometimes going over a section twice before
continuing on. He could feel triumph and excitement emanate from her. 

"There’s words, Zack. Their branded on the box."

"Well, let’s C-5 home and figure out this clue over dinner."

               ******************************************

It was truly a beautiful sight as the laser traced a delicate crimson
rectangle in the glass. The glass rectangle popped out and was deftly
snatched it from falling to the ground. The gloves she wore protected
her from getting cut and Carmen pocketed the fragment. She gently
eased the book through the hole in the glass display she had just
made. 

The leather bound book was thick but not awkward to hold yet to avoid
damaging it, Carmen decided to place it into an electronical book
holder. 

"Seven seconds and counting," a feminine voice from her watch
intoned.

Carmen stood and exited from the London museum’s showroom when
the alarms began to ring. Her aircraft was hovering where she had left
it. It was about 14 feet above the museum’s rooftop. The night was lit
with the brightness of the moon. Carmen felt a flash of irritation. Where
was Zack or Ivy or even England’s two Acme detectives? She was
going to get away without a decent chase. She pressed a button on the
remote control she had taken out. A flexible tube was lowered from the
aircraft’s belly towards where she stood. Come on Zack. Come on Ivy.
The clue was so simple!

The tube closed down around her. As soon as adjusted her stance so
that her feet were on either side of the tube, it was raised back into the
aircraft. In the cockpit, Carmen piloted the craft so that it flew straight
at the moon. Then, she switched it on autopilot and relaxed back into her
seat as her thoughts took her far away. The moon shone defiantly
against the darkness of the night.

Defiance. There was only a few times during her life as a thief that
she had been defiant against all the wrongs in the world. Carmen
shuddered against the memories crowding in but they came
relentlessly. 

"Destroy Zack, Ivy and the entire Acme Detective Agency once and for
all!" Lee commanded from the ground inside the Forbidden City of
Beijing.

Carmen felt anger; cold and quivering it seized her. From the rooftop
she gazed down in disdain at Lee. Her answer was quick and
vehement: "Never!"

Lee’s upturned face was full of malevolence. His voice was cold with
cruel delight and it turned Carmen’s heart to ice.

"Then you’ll never see your father again."

Her father’s cry of help wrenched her heart into motion as she turned to
see him still bound and gagged on a bridge. Lee’s henchmen were
wrestling him into a steel cage that was attached to a hovering
helicopter by a chain. Too far, he was too far away-she couldn’t help
her father.

With a start, Carmen came back to herself. Angrily, she wiped away a
tear, which must had resulted from her staring into space too long.
Switching off the autopilot, she took control of the plane. The night
seemed an echo of her feeling of isolation. 

 

                ****************************************

The late hour explained why Acme HQ was virtually deserted save for
two young detectives. Zack covered a yawn behind a hand and
knuckled his back in vain. His whole body was covered in aches. Ivy
was pacing in front of the giant monitor where the Chief was trying to
liven up the situation with some trivia information. Zack sighed and
winced when it sounded loudly in the oppressed silence.

Ivy stopped her pacing and pivoted to face him.

"The first stanza of ’London’ by William Blake and a philosophical
statement. What is she aiming at, Zack?"

Zack glanced at the monitor which displayed the clue Carmen had left
them:

                I wander thro’ each charter’d street,

            Near where the charter’d Thames does flow.

                  And mark in every face I meet

                Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

                                

‘The promise of salvation is a handle most people grasp to keep a grip
                          on reality’.

 

Before Zack could reply, Chief sounded off the alert that a hot tip had
just come in from crime-net. 

"Listen up you Crimebusters, Carmen has just stolen the music score
titled ‘Messiah’ by George Frederick Handel."

Ivy slapped herself on her forehead in frustration, "Oh, that’s why she
was pointing us to London."

"But, Ivy. Why would she steal Handel’s autographed music score
again? Hadn't she already stolen it last Christmas?" Zack wondered.

Ivy smiled. "That’s what we’re gonna find out, little bro." 

 

To be continued...