Kindred Spirits, Part 1, The Phoenix Rising

What symbol is held dearest in the whole of America? 
Is it the Empire State building or the Library of Congress? 
For most Americans and foreigners, the Statue of Liberty symbolizes 
what America stood for in its early days of colonization and what it 
stands for today: the land of the free. Unfortunately, Carmen was 
trying to steal it and this night changed the course of her life 
forever...


Location: Statue of Liberty, New York, America


Grappling up the Statue of Liberty was definitely not how Ivy wanted 
to spend her Saturday night. Yet to catch Carmen, she was willing to 
forgo a few hours of sleep and bear  some bruises.  She heard Zack 
muttering to himself behind her. He was making steady progress but 
he would be faster if he worked out at least once a week in the gym. 
She craned her neck back to glare at the thief who gave her an amused 
smile in return. Even if they reach the top  in a few moments, Carmen 
would give one of her taunts and flee before they could catch her. 
Snarling, Ivy flung herself up the last seven feet without the aid of 
the rope but with her legs.

Her fingers brushed the stone rim; desperately she tried to get a hold. 
Carmen’s eyes widen as Ivy fell backwards. Ivy screamed reflecting 
surprise and fear. The chilly air seemed to her infused itself in her  
bones, freezing her soul and cutting off her cry. Her brush with death  
only lasted a few seconds when a hand caught her wrist, gloved fingers 
digging into her flesh.

"Relax, Ivy. I got you."

Ivy was still shuddering with fright as Carmen hauled her onto the 
safety of the torch. Ivy hung her head down, panting, as she tried to 
regain her composure. On her hands and knees, she was next to Carmen, 
who was looking down at her with concern. Keeping her movements hidden, 
Ivy’s hand snaked into her jacket and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. 
She barely kept her mind on what Carmen was saying.

"I haven’t seen a move like that, since Lee Jordan at the Delphi Oracle. 
You need to be taller and stronger to perform such a stunt, Ivy." 

Carmen started laughing at the young woman. She shook her head as she 
offered a hand to help the detective up. Suddenly, Ivy’s arm whipped out 
and clapped one handcuff on Carmen and attached the other to her. Surprise 
and anger etched itself on the renegade Acme detective’s features as she 
gaped at Ivy. Ivy smiled triumphantly at Carmen, showing too many teeth 
for it to be considered friendly.

A crash broke the tableau. Ivy pushed herself to her feet and glanced over 
at Zack’s crumpled form. Zack groaned and managed to walk over to them. 
He eyed Carmen discreetly as if looking openly would prove that she was 
an illusion of his mind.

Carmen finally found the strength to speak. Inwardly, a blizzard of shock 
and anger raged. Her respect for the two detectives dropped to negative 
levels.

"I thought of you better than this, Ivy. I just saved your life but you 
would try any trick to catch me wouldn’t you? Rather than using your wits 
and cunning like a detective should, you take foolish chances. What would 
have happened if I couldn’t have reached you in time? You can throw away 
your life if you want to but I’m disappointed that you do not love your 
brother enough that you would waste his as well, " the words came out 
gratingly as if she was struggling to control some rampant emotion.

Ivy shrugged unconcernedly. Zack looked shocked and confused. She smiled 
reassuringly at her little brother.

"What do you mean?" Zack asked in an unsteady voice. It made him sound  
very young and innocent.

Carmen tugged at the handcuff but Ivy held firm. She gave up and spared 
Zack a cynical frown. Then she sighed and replied wearily, "Zack, I know 
you too well. If your sister had fallen passed you, you would have tried 
to save her. By doing so, her plunge could have taken you and her to the 
pavement below. I do not think I could save you both and I know I wouldn’t 
like to choose between you. " She paused and added dryly, "Despite the 
present circumstances."

The two detectives ordered the Player to rev up the C5. As they were dong 
so, Carmen snapped her handcuffed wrist and it slipped free. Ivy reflexively 
caught the dangling handcuff as Carmen tipped her hat and jumped lightly 
onto the rim.

She looked over her shoulder; Zack was recovering and lunging towards her. 
Their blue eyes met.

"Until next time, detectives," she whispered and let herself fall backwards. 
The snap of the mechanized glider could be heard and a red spot appear 
some distance away, veering for the horizon.

Ivy and Zack exchanged glances and both turned to look at the empty handcuffs. 
Zack managed to grin and asked in a too bright voice, "Who’s gonna explain 
this to the Chief?"
*

Player: Carmen, get ready for some new challenges.

Carmen: Whatever challenges you present, I can overcome them, Player.

Player: This is a whole new arena with new champions.

Carmen: Who?

Player: You’ll see.

Carmen: This should be fun.

*

Zack and Ivy trudged wearily towards the main Acme control room. The Chief 
would either be fuming mad or he would be in one of his eccentric, cheerful 
moods. Both of them were too tired for any upbraiding or comforting. The dual 
doors hissed open and there was the visage of the Chief.

He slowly floated towards them, the pink background contrasting drastically 
with the thunderclouds of his face. Zack plopped himself onto the swivel chair 
while Ivy leaned against the mainframe. The Chief said nothing, just floated 
around, inspecting them. Ivy kept up her nonchalant appearance but she was 
getting worried and confused. Why wasn’t he saying anything?

"Well?" the Chief barked out.

Zack sighed and said hesitantly, "She got away."

Ivy added, "Again."

"She-got-away-again," the Chief repeated slowly, anger coating generously 
with each word. "SHE GOT AWAY AGAIN!"

Zack fingers flew over the keyboard as he checked the Chief’s programming. 
He shook his head at Ivy, indicating that the Chief was not plagued with a 
virus. He frowned and wondered why the Chief was acting so funny. The Chief 
visibly drew a deep breath and quietly asked them to recount what had 
happened. Zack did so, making his report concise and yet detailed. Ivy kept 
silent except recounting what had happened when she tried to spring 7 feet 
to catch Carmen. It was hard to tell if the Chief liked what he heard.

The Chief maintained his neutral expression. The stunt Ivy pulled chilled 
his circuits but he knew Carmen would save her. The Chief ran a reference 
on all the times Carmen had saved Ivy, Zack or any Acme detective, he gave 
up after the first 20 times. He finally said five words that he thought he 
would never have to say to two fine detectives.

"You are off the case."

Zack fell off the chair; Ivy staggered as if she was physically hit. Their 
eyes were wide and for once, Zack was for a loss of words. Ivy struggled 
but could not say anything. The Chief answered the question that was in 
their eyes.

"The United Nations and leaders of other countries feel that the Acme 
Detective Agency is no longer adequate to handle the Carmen Sandiego 
problem. It is felt that Acme is too involved with Carmen and that the 
cat and mouse game has lasted so long that they are now routine. They 
are now calling in outside help. You two would be reassigned to catch 
her henchmen, as will all the Acme agents."

Ivy never in her life had been taken off a case or had felt degraded in
 such a manner. She felt angry, "And who will replace us?"

"Me."

Ivy spun and snarled, "Lee Jordan." 

What she saw shocked her more than the Chief’s pronouncement. The owner of 
the voice was a tall man in his mid or late thirties. He had mahogany, 
slightly curly long hair. His voice had a soft confidence, which sounded 
so much like Lee Jordan. There was an aura of arrogance that was projected 
effortlessly. The black leather coat he wore caught the light at odd angles. 
He wore a white shirt with tan leggings. His leather boots moved soundlessly 
on the marble floor as he approached the two young detectives.

Zack studied the man closely; there was something familiar about him. His 
jade colored eyes noticed Zack’s examination and glinted with amusement. 

"Detectives, meet Detective Derek Patten of the San Francisco Police. He 
was on the ‘missing children’ division. He solved more crimes in his division 
this month than any other agent."

Ivy extended her hand, astonished that he was a head and shoulders taller 
than she was. His grip was firm yet gentle. His smile was condescending. 
It was obvious, he doubted that they earned the right to be called detectives 
or that their skills did not equal or precede his. He murmured something 
polite, an exotic Spanish accent coating his words. Turning, he shook hands 
with Zack, who did so sullenly.

"I assure you, ‘detectives’, that I have researched the Carmen Sandiego case 
and am fully capable of bringing her in," he reassured them. As he shifted 
his stance, Zack noticed a holster holding a magnum.

Derek was very quick. He noticed Zack’s glance and offered an explanation, 
"I’ll win her little game anyway I can, Zack."

Ivy and Zack’s protests were cut off by a Crimenet alert.

The Chief spoke up in the silence; "Looks like you’ll get the chance to 
catch her sooner than we thought. Carmen has been spotted in Japan. Looks 
like she’s after that priceless samurai sword again."

"Player, C5 the detective to Japan," Zack ordered.

Derek shook his head and replied, "Cancel that. I'd rather use my father’s 
private jet. It’s modified so I’ll reach Japan in a few hours."

Ivy protested, "The C5 will save you time. If you use the jet, she’ll be 
gone."

Derek ran to the dual doors, as they hissed open he stopped and said over 
his shoulder, "No, she won’t. She’ll be waiting for you two or any other 
Acme agent to come. She’ll be there."

The doors hiss shut. 
				   To be continued...