ATHENS GENERAL HOSPITAL, 3:15 AM Ivy lay in the hospital bed, still unconscious. Across the room, Zack dozed uncomfortably in a chair. He had C-5ed to the hospital just after Carmen had contacted the Chief. The Chief himself was working on getting their parents clearance to use the C-5 themselves to get here, but some of the higher ups at Acme were being stubborn. As time progressed, the door to the hospital room opened with a faint click. Zack stirred but did not move. The door opened partway and Carmen Sandiego stepped in, dressed in green surgical scrubs and a white lab coat. Her hair was tied back and she wore a pair of glasses to complete the disguise. She closed the door behind her and smiled at Zack's sleeping form. Her smile faded as she looked over at Ivy. The only sound in the room came from the heart monitor next to the bed. It emitted beeps at regular intervals indicating Ivy was in stable condition, though she wouldn't be going anywhere for a few days. The master thief knelt down beside the bed and gently brished an errant lock of Ivy's hair away from the sleeping girl's face. It was amazing, Ivy was always so angry when she was awake, but asleep she was at peace. Peace with herself and the world. Carmen thought ruefully. She had known that life would never be the same again after she became a thief, that maybe she would never know peace again until she died. Now it was different. Now Zack and Ivy had been drawn into the crossfire. Someone was out to kill her and they didn't care who got in the way. Despite being stable, Carmen feared that Ivy would take a turn for the worse. If the young detective died, she honestly didn't know what she would do. She briefly flashed back to her younger days at the Golden Gate Girls School. She had been tough and resillient even then, only telling her fears to Miss Abernathy, the headmistress. She remembered what Miss Abernathy had recommended she do when her fears threatened to overwhelm her. Carmen clasped her hands together, bowed her head and began to pray. she prayed. Carmen stood and looked down at Ivy. "I'll get him." she said. "I'll get him for both of us, Ivy." HOTEL OLYMPUS GARDENS, 3:30 AM MacInnes waited, smoking a cigarette. Where was he? He'd done the job, and all he wanted was to get out of town, before people started asking questions. He didn't have long to wait. After a few minutes, Enge stepped out of the shadows. He was carrying a silver briefcase in his free hand. "About bloody time." MacInnes snapped. "I feel like a clay pigeon out here. The sooner I'm on a plane to Barbados, the better." "Quite," Enge said handing over the briefcase. "Did you leave the envelope where I told you?" "Yeah, yeah. She'll find it if she comes back." "She will. She won't be able to resist." "Yeah, well, great. Where's my money? I shot the detective like you wanted. If she isn't dead, she won't be going anywhere for a while." "Nice to see you care so much about your fellow man." Enge said, passing over the briefcase. "And people say there are no humanitarians in your line of work." MacInnes didn't reply. He popped the latches on the case and opened it, anticipation glowing in his eyes. The glow quickly faded at the sight of the ten million dollars in Monopoly money that was in the case. The assassin threw the case back at Enge. "What the hell is that?!" he demanded. "I thought you were going to play straight with me, Enge!" "My dear Mr. MacInnes," Enge chortled. "If you truly knew anything about me you would know--" He snapped his fingers. Instantly, Ling Pao leaped from her hiding place in the tree above MacInnes, tackled him to the ground and snapped his neck. The Irish marksman when limp instantly. "--That I don't 'play' at all." He turned to Ling Pao. "Excellent work, my dear." Ling Pao smiled slyly and walked over to Enge. "Anything for you, my love." she said. Enge threw an arm around her waist and pulled her close, their lips meeting en route. "And now, there's only one last thing to do. Take care of that woman who ruined my life!" Enge said after they separated. "You know what to do." Ling Pao nodded and vanished into the shadows. CARMEN SANDIEGO'S HOTEL ROOM, 3:36 AM Carmen unlocked the door to her hotel room and entered. She closed the door behind her and sighed in exhaustion. As she stepped into the main room, she discovered an envelope sitting innocently on her bed. She frowned and opened the envelope. Inside was another Shakespearean quote: "You'll ask me why I rather choose to have A weight of carrion flesh than to receive Three thousand ducats. I'll not answer that, But say it is my humour. Is it answered? What if my house be troubled with a rat, And I be pleased to give ten thousand ducats To have it baned? What are you answered yet?... ...So I can give no reason, nor I will not, More than a lodged hate and a certain loathing I bear Antonio, that I follow thus A losing suit against him. Are you answered?" Carmen pondered the note for a few moments. <"The Merchant of Venice" Act 4, Scene 1.> she deduced. Tossing the lab coat onto the bed, Carmen retrieved the first note she had taken off of Morgensen and compared the two. Obviously, both were meant for her. Someone was trying to send her a message with these notes. Ivy had mentioned Enge's name before she passed out. But that was impossible. Reginald V. Enge was dead, she had attended the funeral herself. But someone was going to great pains to impersonate him. The Chief had told her in the C-5 corridor that Acme recieved a hot tip that Enge had broken out last month, and was headed here, to Athens. But no one knew she was going to Athens except her henchmen and...That was it. Carmen went to her closet and reached up to the highest shelf, retrieveing a laptop computer. Plugging the adapter into the phone jack, she logged on and activated the vidphone link to the Paris headquarters. Frank M. Poster answered. "Carmen! What's up? I thought you were on vacation." "I was, but things have changed, Frank. Someone is trying to kill me. Where's Touris?" The master of disguise shrugged. "I don't know. The last anyone heard of him was just before you left. He recieved a letter and bolted out of here like the devil himself was on his heels." "You don't know how close you are, Frank." Carmen replied under her breath. Aloud she said, "If you see Touris, tell him that as soon as I get back, I want to see him in my office at the main headquarters no later than 9:00AM the next day. Pass the word along to the rest of the hideouts, won't you?" "Gotcha. When will you be back?" "Not sure. The vacation's over, but I've got some business to attend to here in Athens before I head back." "Okay. Anything else?" "Yes, send a message to the staff at the house. Tell them to send me the black box under my bed. Overnight delivery. I'm using the Candace Smythe identity." "Done." "Thanks, Frank. Carmen out." Carmen disconnected, stood up and went out onto the balcony. She looked at the lights coming from the nearby beach and the gardens below. Somewhere out there was the man who had threatened her life, turned her henchmen and nearly killed someone close to her. That was inexcusable. Carmen had a very reasonable temperment, but her unknown adversary had seriously pushed her limits. There was no way that Carmen would let him escape her. And when she caught him, there would be hell to pay. TO BE CONTINUED...