If you want quiet on a Sunday morning, you should not definitely go 
to the park. Throngs of joggers, walkers, old folks resting on benches 
and kids had the simultaneous thought of spending the weekend there. 
Derek loved public places but he usually avoided them for one reason. 
The children; he could not stand to look at them and not wonder about 
the ones that were still missing or the ones who never could come home. 
Every child that cross his path reminded him of another that he still 
was looking for. 

However, the heightened activity of the park helped him to focus his 
concentration that he needed to do to operate his laptop. The only 
thing in the world which he could not do, is use a computer. Even 
reminding himself that a computer was an upgraded version of an 
electronic typewriter did not help. Another 'illegal operation' 
message flashed across the screen and the file, which he was looking 
at, closed. Suddenly, he hefted the laptop, seriously considering tossing 
it against a tree. Derek had only gotten a few hours of fitful sleep 
before he roused himself and headed out here to look at past cases of 
Carmen as a crook. Which was a futile effort.

Sighing, he started over again. He heard soft footsteps approach the 
bench, engrossed with the tenuous effort of operating the computer, 
he ignored the person as he or she sat down. Even though he was barely 
paying attention, his mind recorded little details that occurred in 
his surroundings. Such as the wooden bench barely shifted as the person 
sat down, indicating that the person was most probably a woman and 
tall from the way her shadow was cast onto his screen. The silhouette 
of a woman's face, fedoras hat and coat. Carmen Sandiego! Trying not 
to tense, he realized that he could feel her coat against his tan 
leggings.

"A beautiful morning perhaps like the one Orpheus was born on," he 
remarked casually, building up the nerve to look at her. She was wearing 
an outfit akin to her usual one except that she switched her red hat 
and coat with a tan colored one. He closed his laptop and put it in its 
carrier bag. She smiled slightly as she turned to look at him.

"I believe even Orpheus would weep and compose a ballad for such a 
morning as this," she murmured in agreement. Her blue eyes seemed to be 
laughing at some inside joke. Derek noticed that she had pulled her hair 
back into a ponytail and wore a lipstick akin to the shade she used to 
wear in her Acme's days. They both stood and the detective courteously 
offered his arm for her to take. She did so while biting her lip, he 
glanced at her and knew that she struggled to keep from bursting out in 
laughter.

For a while, they walked, silently enjoying each other's company. Derek 
pondered his current dilemma; it was his duty to catch Carmen and now 
would be the perfect opportunity since she was off guard. But, he would 
never have the chance to converse with her like this and he knew this was 
the first and last time he would ever do so. Whenever Carmen looked at 
him, he could see reflected in her eyes sorrow and loneliness that a 
facade of confidence did not cover. He knew her too well and realized 
she knew him as deeply. 

Carmen could see that her presence troubled him and had no difficulty in 
envisioning all the morals and ethical decisions he was contemplating. 
She fervently hoped that he would not ruin their moment with an attempt 
to capture her. She just wanted to talk with no chases and no games. 
Never would she ever play any games with him. She knew she was 
forestalling herself from suggesting that he was her brother, the memory 
of Avalon spurning her burned bitterly whenever she started to tell Derek. 
This opening and closing of her mouth brought to her mind the image of a 
gasping fish. This sent her into gales of amusement. 

Derek smiled at the master thief, glad that the cloud of uncertainty and 
grief had lifted. She smiled back and hesitantly explained why she was 
just a couple of glazed doughnuts short of a dozen. His smile widened and 
he shook his head in rueful amusement but he didn't laugh. Briefly 
analyzing this behavior, Carmen realized that Derek was too in control of 
himself and his life to simply let go on a spontaneous burst of emotion. 

They stopped as they had come full circle. Derek lowered himself on the 
bench, gesturing for Carmen to do the same. She did, looking at the 
children to avoid looking at the detective. Whenever Carmen looked at 
children, she always felt slightly sad. The bittersweet memories of her 
childhood made her envy the children who ran into the waiting arms of 
their parents. They symbolized something that she never had: family.

"You know, you are such an elusive person, its almost hard to keep track 
of you, Carmen," Derek's voice trembled on the her name. Despite his 
conversational tone, his face was strained and there was a determination 
in his eyes that matched her own. 

"I studied you from the first moment you started making headline news. 
You solved a lot of cases, making me wish that I was doing what you did 
instead of staying in university and finishing my education. For all 
those years, I wished I had taken the offer of Acme but I didn't. I 
wanted to be on my own for a while. To show my father, that I was 
someone he could be proud of. 

"He never did come to my graduation but I can't blame him. My 
accomplishments bring bittersweet memories up from where he buried them. 
To him, I was his worst nightmare yet his only hope. Sure, he was proud 
but he was afraid."

Carmen paused, letting it all sink in. She spoke up quickly, trying to 
ease his pain; "I know what that feels like; to be afraid. Before I 
joined Acme, I was afraid, I didn't know who I was or what I could do. 
I was afraid then as I am afraid now."

Derek's jade eyes gazed flatly at her, "Are you afraid of me? I would 
never hurt you Carmen. I swear on my father's blood, I will never harm 
you."

She answered quietly, "I know."

He continued after a shaky breath. "After Harvard, I did what I was good 
at. Solving puzzles. At first, I was in homicide but after a long time, 
I realized that I was solving cases more for vengeance on personal 
vendettas against the crooks than for the cases themselves. This 
frightened me so I was moved to the Missing Children Division. I was 
happy there for a time but it brought up all my unsolved questions about 
my sister. I knew in my heart that she was alive but I never had the 
courage to see if my suspicions were true. Now, I have my chance and I 
am talking it away."

"You know?" Carmen asked surprised.

Derek nodded now openly regarding her with his somber jade eyes. "Like 
I said, I knew you for who you were ever since you made the headline news 
in Acme. I knew you were my sister," he paused and added," I like saying 
that, 'my sister'."

Carmen struggled fiercely with herself, he had known yet he still was 
willing to send her to jail. Suddenly, she understood, like Avalon and 
like herself long ago, Derek believed that a person should always follow 
the law no matter what. Also, with Avalon's recent amnesia and fervent 
denial of Carmen's heritage, it was no wonder Derek never had sufficient 
proof to confirm his suspicions.

"So, what do we do now? We're in a fine pickle," Carmen asked her brother, 
who gave her a pained expression.

He said, "C'mon it's Sunday, let's sit here and relax for awhile. Tomorrow 
is another day and I rather enjoy the present."

Carmen nodded and they sank back into companionable silence, sometimes 
exchanging their thoughts on various philosophers. Derek had different 
tastes then hers and also some thoughts that contradicted hers but Carmen 
didn't mind. In Derek, she had found an equal. A murky suspicion formed in 
her mind and she decided to voice it

"By the way, why were you assigned to the case?" she asked as nonchalantly 
as she could.

Derek glanced at her askance but his answered her with a smirk, "Because 
I'm the best detective that ever was."

"Oh, really?"

"Besides, I was assigned to the case by a mutual acquaintance."

Carmen frowned, slowly working that one out. "The Chief!"

Derek nodded pleased by her insight; Carmen had the sudden feeling that he 
was restraining himself from hugging her. He looked at his watch, and stood 
up to leave. She sat there stunned as he stole her hat and ran off with it. 
Laughing, she got up and chased after him. A day was too short yet for this 
time it was blessedly enough. 

And as Derek had said, tomorrow was another day.