A New Beginning...?
By: Athena


Part Four:

Acme Detective Agency; San Fransisco, California; One week later; 2:55 AM


	The doors to the main computer room opened silently, and a lone 
figure walked in, carrying what appeared to be a bundle. Setting the bundle
down on a blanket on the floor, the figure went to one of the computer chairs
and sat down.
	"Cheif," the intruder whispered, "Cheif wake up. I need to talk to 
you."
	The bodiless head opened its eyes on the screen and looked down at 
the intruder. Its face was covered by the brim of a red fedora and its body 
concealed by a matching red trenchcoat.
	"Carmen! What're you doing here?" the Cheif shouted.
	"Shhh, Cheif, not so loud. The residencers will wake up," Carmen said
in reference to the detectives who lived at the Agency.
	"Oh, yeah right." The Cheif lowered his voice. "What are you doing 
here? Interpol could find you!"
	"Would they think I'd be foolish enough as to walk into a detective 
agency?"
	"Good point. Reverse psychology. VERY clever, Carmen."
	"Why thank you, Cheif," Carmen responded with a smile.
	"So why are you REALLY here, Carmen. Have you come back?"
	Knowing that the Cheif would be overjoyed at her answer, Carmen tried
to act nonchalantly. She mearly nodded.
	"ALLLLL RRRIGHTTT!!!!" the Cheif began jumping up and down and from
monitor to monitor singing, "Carmen's come back to Acme! Carmen's come back
to Acme!"	
	"Cheif," Carmen whispered, trying to quiet him down, but he couldn't
hear her.
	"CHEIF!!"
	"Carmen's come back-" the Cheif stopped in mid-bounce.
	"Hey, wait a minute! How do I know that this isn't some kind of trick
of yours? For all I know, once we think you're back, you steal the whole
agency right out from under us."
	A pained look came across Carmen's face, and the Cheif immediatly
regretted what he'd said. She had feared this would happen.
	"Cheif, I thought you trusted me. I've given up being a theif."
	"What? Then you HAVE come back."
	"Not for good. Just for one last case."
	The Cheif looked confused.
	"Cheif, I have to clear my name. If I don't, I'll never be able to
raise my daughter in peace."
	"Carmen, what really happened that night?"
	"I can't tell you right now, Cheif. All I can say is I saw who killed
that woman, and I'm going to find him and see that he pays for what he did."
	"Okay, but I think if you're going to go after this guy, you should
lose the 'I'm Carmen Sandiego, arrest me now' look."
	Carmen looked down at her red coat and nodded. Why had she worn 
that? Perhaps it was because in wearing it, she felt a greater confidence 
when breaking into detective agencies late at night.
	"Cheif, I need to ask you a favor."
	Ah, here comes the catch, the Cheif thought. "What?"
	"I need you to take care of Esmeralda while I'm gone."
	"What?!?! But I can't take care of a baby! Why couldn't somebody at
VILE help?"
	"Cheif, would YOU trust a baby with Moe and Lars or Sara Bellum? 
Don't worry, I'm sure Zack and Ivy will help you. It's not as though they
have much to do lately."
	"What do I tell them? Hey, Zack, Ivy, can you help me babysit Carmen
Sandiego's kid? I don't think that would go over very well with them."
	"Tell them that the child belongs to one of your new agents. THAT 
won't be a lie."
	"Well.... I guess...."
	"Good. I need to get going. Do you suppose Ivy might have an extra 
change of clothes up here I could borrow?"
	"I have something better, Carmen," the Cheif said with a smile.
	Carmen raised an eyebrow. What did he mean by that? she wondered.
	"In that closet over there. On the far side of the room.... Yeah.
The code to open it is 3-4-68."
	Carmen stopped for a minute realizing what the numbers she was
punching in were. "Cheif, that's my birthday!"
	The Cheif nodded in response as Carmen opened the closet.
	She gasped when she saw what was inside. On a chair was a scrapebook 
made of newspaper clippings from her detective years, and at the back on a 
hanger was a pair of khakis, a tan button-up shirt, a brown vest, and a 
matching fedora.
	"Cheif! You kept my old detective clothes? After all these years?"
	"I had always hoped that you'd come back, Carmen...."
	Carmen didn't respond. She went into the closet and shut the door. A
moment later, she came out, dressed in her old detective clothes. She 
carefully hung up her trench coat and fedora in the closet before turning to 
face the Cheif.
	"Carmen, I don't know about this. I mean, this guy's killed somebody
before...."
	"Cheif, I've dealt with people far more menacing. They were arguing
before the woman got killed. I think it was just a domestic dispute."
	"I hope you're right, Carmen. If something does go wrong though, 
you'll need to contact me."
	"Cheif, I don't recall ever having a communicator in my detective 
days. The telephone was good enough."
	"I know, Carmen, but I may need to contact you. I could get some 
information, or what if Esmeralda gets sick?"
	"All right, Cheif. I'll get one."
	"Hold out your hand." 
	Carmen did so, and a hole opened up in mid-air. From it dropped a 
communicator into Carmen's hand. With it an Acme badge.
	Carmen put the communicator on her wrist and closely studied the
badge a moment before putting it into her pocket.
	"Thanks, Cheif." 
	Carmen walked over to the make-shift bed on the floor. Esmeralda 
looked up at her foster mother with her beautifully green eyes. The girl
whimpered softly.
	Carmen reached into the baby bag she had brought with her and pulled
out a large plastic blue ring. 
	"Here you are, ma petite," Carmen said, giving her daughter the 
teething ring.
	"I think you should be forewarned, Cheif. She's getting a few teeth 
in and tends to be fussy at times. Just let her have her teething ring and
she should be fine. I think she'll go back to sleep in a few minutes.
	"Don't worry, Esmeralda, I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise.
The Cheif will take good care of you. And so will Zack and Ivy.
	"Everything you need should be in the bag."
	"Okay.... So, where to, Carmen?"
	"I was going to go back to Mount Vernon, to see if there were any 
clues left behind."
	"All righty! C-5ing Carmen Sandiego from San Fransisco, California 
to Mount Vernon, Virginia."
	"Wait a minute, Cheif! I'm not going to use the C-5!"
	"Why not? You are an Acme detective now."
	"Cheif, I hate that thing," Carmen muttered under her breath.
	"Oh, come on, Carmen. You had one bad experience with it. It was 
still experimental then."
	"Cheif...."
	"I can't believe it. Carmen Sandiego who does backflips off buildings
in stilletos on a daily basis is afraid of using the quickest and safest way
of travel today."
	"Cheif, I didn't say that I was afraid to use it-"
	"Good." 
	Behind Carmen the C-5 corridor opened up. 
	"Cheif, why can't I just take a plane?"
	"That would take too long, Carmen. The C-5 will save you hours."
	Carmen looked to her daughter in the corner who had fallen back 
asleep. Grudgingly she consinted to the C-5.
	"I guess."
	The next moment, Detective Carmen Sandiego was gone.


To be continued....