"Tis Better to Have Loved and Lost..."
			Part 1			
			By, Meg Clark

	"You know, I could be at home channel surfing right now. But instead, I'm on a hopeless
stakeout, in the middle of the night, in below freezing temperatures, with my sister!!"  Zack 
whined as he pulled yet another thorn from his leg. He could see his breath in the cold October 
air and he pulled his jacket tighter around himself, "This night couldn't get any worse!"

	"It's not hopeless, Zack," Ivy replied, "This is V.I.L.E.'s main headquarters, and if we 
can get enough information, we'll have Carmen in no time. Ouch!" she finished as she pulled a 
thorn out of her arm.

	The two detectives were crouching behind a stone wall covered with rose bushes, and not 
having very much luck avoiding them.  The wall stretched around the perimeter of a huge field, 
acres wide.  In the center of the field was something that no living soul other than the members 
of V.I.L.E. had ever seen in his or her life.  V.I.L.E. Headquarters.  A place so secretive, it's
existence was merely a rumor on the outside world.  It was a huge mansion that had four stories 
and several wings.  It rose upward from the ground like a huge Gothic cathedral. The stone looked
ancient and climbing roses and ivy snaked up most of its walls, but despite the cold but 
beautiful exterior, there was a warm glow of lights shining from every window. A long driveway 
stretched from the front entrance of the mansion, to a giant iron gate guarded by two of Carmen's
henchmen.  Zack and Ivy were to the east side of the mansion at the moment.

	Zack leaned over and whispered, "So what are we doing here, again?  My brain's frozen 
over."

	"This is the first step of the plan, to find out where the headquarters is and how well 
it's gaurded.  ACME will take it from there, they can handle Carmen's security system and 
capture the rest of the her crew," Ivy replied, shifting her weight to the other foot, "How long 
have we been sitting here?  The Chief was supposed to contact us a while ago."

	"Two hours, and he better get here soon, I don't think I can squat like this for another 
minute!"  Zack complained.

	There was a loud beeping from a communicator on Zack's wrist.  Ivy jumped and looked 
toward the guards, hoping they hadn't heard it.  They hadn't; they were engaged in a 
conversation that was obviously funny because they were laughing.   Ivy let out a sigh of relief
as Zack answered the call.

	"Come in, Chief." he whispered into his watch.

	"Sorry I'm late," the Chief replied, there was a worried expression on his face and he 
wasn't as happy as usual, "I was delayed by an important meeting."

	"No problem, Chief.  We've got plenty of information on the security system and the 
structure of the building.  What was the meeting about?" Ivy asked, taking note of the Chief's 
unusual seriousness.

	He sighed, "I'll tell you at back at headquarters, let's get out of here."

	"Right," Zack said, "Player, C-5 us back to ACME Headquarters."

	There was a flash of blue light and they were standing in the center of the main control 
room of ACME Headquarters.  It was filled with all kinds of buttons, monitors, and lights.  The 
detectives both plopped down in the computer chairs facing the Chief's screen.  

	"Aaaaaah...finally get to rest," Zack said, he yawned and stretched, "I was getting tired
of sitting out there, and Ivy's yacking was giving me a headache!" he snickered, yanking out a 
few more thorns from his floppy blond hair.

	Ivy playfully whacked him on his shoulder and then remembered what the Chief had said, 
"Soooo, what was this meeting about again?" she asked.

	The Chief sighed once more, "I hate to tell you this, but ACME isn't going to be 
handling this mission."

	"What!?" Ivy gasped, "B-but, we almost have her!!"

	"We're really close, Chief!  Why are you taking it away from ACME now?" Zack chimed in, 
equally as confused.

	"I wish it were up to me, Detectives.  But it's not.  Commander Jackson has decided to 
take control of this case," the Chief answered them,"But don't worry!  It's still ACME, just 
another branch of ACME."

	"Who's Commander Jackson?" Ivy asked in a sharp tone of voice, folding her arms up in 
displeasure.

	"A real strict military kinda guy.  The leader of CrimeNet," the Chief replied.

	"I thought CrimeNet was an imformation program to help out ACME detectives," Zack said.

	"It is, but it's also a crime stopping orginization. Just adults, though. The Commander 
doesn't have a very high opinion of people your age, Detectives.  They handle mostly terrorist 
and murder cases.  I don't know why he would want to go after Carmen...but I have a pretty good 
idea," the Chief finished, he sighed again and closed his eyes as if remembering something.

	"What's on your mind, Chief?" Zack asked, concerned.

	"Well, a long time ago, when Carmen was still in ACME, the Commander tried to have me 
shut down.  That was when I was a robot, I'm sure you've heard those stories before though."

	"He what!?!" Ivy shrieked.

	The Chief nodded, "He thought I wasn't 'up to speed', you know, 'out of date.' 
Technology was advancing, and I was getting left behind.  But luckily I had a loyal friend on my
side."

	"Carmen?" Zack suggested.

	"Yep. With the help of a few other detectives, she had me connected into ACME's computer,
like I am today.  So apparently, Commander Jackson is still holding a grudge." 

	There was an uncomfortable pause as the detectives contemplated this news.  They had been
working so hard on the case.  It had taken them ages to figure out where V.I.L.E. Headquarters 
was because they had literally looked everywhere on Earth!  They were lucky to get a hot tip 
from an agent that had seen a lot of activity around a rural area of Paris, France.  Sure enough,
there was Carmen's main hangout.  To have the case and the chance of catching the world's 
greatest thief was just to much for Ivy to handle. She stormed out of the room.

	Zack looked at the Chief, "She probably just needs a little time to cool off."

*			*		*		*		*		*

	It was an important day for Commander Jackson.  As he sat at his desk at CrimeNet 
Headquarters, he was already planning what to do about the current case involving his old enemy- 
Carmen Sandiego.  He had already taken over the mission, so now all he had to do was carry out 
the plan.  This couldn't be just any plan though.  Carmen had put a large scratch in his pride, 
humiliated him in front of all of ACME by taking away the chance to eliminate the Chief.  He 
could just see that smug smile on her face that he remembered from so long ago.  He snarled at 
the thought; he had to make her suffer, and he knew just the agent for the job.  He leaned over 
and pressed a button on the intercom control box on his desk.

	"Agent DeMarco, report to my office at once," he said.

	He leaned back in his chair smiling, and clasped his hands together.  He was a 
middle-aged man, about forty or so, dressed in uniform, and his face was that of a stern military
Commander.  His hair was dark brown, and he was going gray at the temples.  His eyes were cold, 
dead, and gray like stone.  

	He looked up as an attractive young man walked into his office, stood in front of him,
and saluted.

	"You called for me, sir?" he asked, his voice seemed smooth but serious.

	"Yes," replied the Commander,"I have an important mission for you.  Recently ACME 
discovered the location of V.I.L.E. Headquarters, and I have chosen you to do the honors of 
bringing in the world's greatest thief- Carmen Sandiego."

	"Permission to speak, sir?"

	"Permission granted."

	"Carmen Sandiego is a thief, sir.  She poses no threat to anyone."

	The Commander's eyes narrowed,"You'll follow orders and do as your told!"

	"Yes, sir!"

	"Now, I'm assuming you're familiar with the routine, Agent DeMarco?"

	"Yes, sir," he answered slyly, a smirk crossed over his face.

	"Good.  Do you think you could handle Ms. Sandiego?"

	"No woman escapes me."

	"Ahem!"

	"SIR!!"

	"Perfect, " the Commander finshed, "You can pick up the case file on your way out. You'll
station yourself at the nearest hotel outside of Paris, France.  Contact me at 2100 hours 
tonight for further instructions."

	Agent DeMarco saluted again, turned, and started to leave the room. 

	"Oh, and one more thing...," the Commander Jackson called after him.

	He turned around, "Yes, sir?"

	"Failure is not an option!!"

	 As soon as he got out of the office, Darien DeMarco sighed in relief, and ran one hand 
through his brown hair.  No one at CrimeNet ever liked confrontations with Commander Jackson.  He
was always in a foul mood, and even though Darien was the finest agent in CrimeNet, he was no 
exception to the rules.  Along with his usual solving cases, Darien had his own special strategy
for getting information.  A strategy that earned him the code name- Romeo.  When he was first 
stationed at CrimeNet, he discovered a hidden talent- that no woman, no matter how strong, could
resist his charms.  He usually used his talent to get female spies to give up their information, 
but he planned to bring in a much bigger prize tonight.  A much bigger prize indeed.

*			*		*		*		*		*
	
	Carmen Sandiego sat gazing out at the beautiful French countryside from her balcony.  
There was a full moon out, and it cast a lovely glow over the entire landscape.  She sighed.  It
had been a tiresome day for her; V.I.L.E. was getting ready for its big Halloween Masquerade, and
Carmen was in charge of planning it.  That meant decorations, food, entertainment, and much more.
She smiled at the thought of getting to stay in one place for a few days, though.  Even though 
her career was a fun one, all of the action and excitement was getting to her.  

	"Well, better get ready for dinner, Ms. Juliet," she told herself.

	She was going to be eating at her favorite French café tonight, and she always went there
under the name "Ms. Juliet" to keep herself from getting caught.  Just as she was getting up out
of her chair, a tiny white mouse scurried across the balcony ledge in front of her.  She quickly 
snatched it up, careful not to hurt it, and brought it over to her desk.  She picked up a 
magnifying glass and looked at its ear.  Sure enough, there was a tiny tattoo that read : S#12.

	"Specimen number twelve, eh?  This is the fifth one of you I've found this week.  Sara 
should pay closer attention to you guys so you don't keep getting lose in my house," she said to
it, "I'll just drop you off by her lab on my way out."

	With that, she set the mouse down in her handbag and walked out of her room and down the
spiral staircase.  She had a feeling something exciting would happen tonight- little did she 
know how right she was.

*			*		*		*		*		*

	It was around 8 o'clock when Darien walked into Le Petite Café.  He looked around at the 
quaint decor and listened to the classical music playing in the backround.

	"She has taste," he said to himself.

	Just then a waiter walked up to him, "Bonjour, Monsieur!  Welcome to Le Petite Café, I 
will be your waiter tonight.  Your name?"

	"Mr. DeMarco.  Do you of anyone who's dining alone tonight?"

	"Oui, Monsieur DeMarco.  Would her name be Mademoiselle Juliet?" he said, pointing to a 
young woman across the room,"She dines alone here often."

	"Yes, that's her.  Thank you." Darien said, and headed towards the table, "Who says the 
French are rude?" he said to himself with a smile.

	He had only seen a portfolio picture of Carmen in her hat, so he didn't know what to 
expect of her looks, but he was pretty sure she was here.  It had taken some spying at V.I.L.E. 
Headquarters on Darien's part, but he had finally learned that Carmen liked to dine here when she
was around the area of Paris.  As he neared the table the waiter had pointed out, he was already
planning what to do.

	He sat down in the chair in front of her, turned around, and cleanly plucked two glasses
of red wine off the tray of a passing waiter.  He whirled back around and extended one of the 
glasses towards Carmen.

	"Care for a drink, Mademoiselle Juliet?" he said suavely with his most charming smile.

	But his suaveness didn't last for too long after that.  His eyebrows shot up and his jaw
dropped an inch when he caught a glance of Carmen's sparkling sea-blue eyes.  He gulped; he had 
never seen such a beautiful woman in his life.  All of his wit and charm immediately betrayed 
him.  She leaned over and rested her chin on her hands.

	"I don't drink," Carmen answered in a smooth whisper.

	Before he knew what had happened, Darien had  dropped one of the glasses and spilled red
wine all over the front of her crisp white evening dress.  They both gasped and shot up out of 
their chairs.  Carmen gave him one last disgusted look, grabbed her coat, and headed for the 
door.  Darien was left utterly confused and alone at the table.

		To be continued...