A REAL Mission:  Impossible, Part Four
                                        by Belle Book

Three weeks later, inside Gehenna Prison

	Carmen left her special cell in the company of a guard which was always supposed 
to accompany any prisoner who left the assigned cell, even for dinnertime, which was the 
only time prisoners got to interact with each other.  It was 6:00 pm, Mountain Time, which 
meant it was time for dinner.

	It had been three weeks since Carmen had taken up temporary residence in Gehenna
prison.  During that time, the guards had treated her strictly but fairly.  As long as you
didn't cause trouble, they would not give you a hard time.  And since Carmen had no intent-
ion of causing trouble, they didn't give her a hard time, unlike a good portion of the ter-
rorists and murderers.  Carmen had two reasons for not causing trouble.  First, she was a
very patient woman, with a good temper, which made it very easy for the guards in the prison.
The second reason, of course, was that she was not planning to stay there forever, so there
was no reason for her to give any of the guards a hard time.
	
	When Carmen entered the dining hall, she looked at the menu for the prisoners.  To-
night, the choices for meat were ham and meatloaf, with two choices of potato and dessert,
and a choice of either salad or one of two soups.  The choices for potatoes were mashed
potatoes and baked potatoes this time.  For soup, it was clam chowder and chicken noodle;
and for dessert, it was sponge pie and strawberry shortcake.  The desserts were optional,
and Carmen rarely had some because she liked to remain trim.  She chose ham, mashed 
potatoes, and salad this time.  She didn't choose any desserts, as usual.

	Once she got her meal, she went to sit down at a table.  Just before she began to
eat, a fellow prisoner named Mai Chao came to sit down beside her.  Mai was one of the 
best coutnerfeiters around.  She had committed three major operations, and all three times 
she was caught and sent to prison.  Twice she had escaped, so this time, after her capture, 
she was sent to Gehenna.  Mai was a small woman about forty, with black hair and brown eyes, 
and was known for testing the calm of fellow prisoners to prove her own ability to remain 
calm in any situation.  She had never met anyone who could remain calm in the face of her 
provocations.

	Until now.

	Mai began by saying, "Well, if it isn't the famous Carmen Sandiego.  The one who 
could never stay in prison for long.  It's been three weeks now.  What do you think now?"

	Carmen calmly replied, "There's a first time for everything."

	Mai said, "I know.  You thought you were so smart, believing you could never stay 
in prison, if you were ever caught."

	Carmen replied, "Nobody's perfect."

	Mai said, "Yes.  Nobody's perfect.  And only now are you beginning to see that."

	Carmen replied to that, "If I was perfect, I'd have nothing to strive for.  I knew
that before I came to prison."

	Mai frowned at Carmen's calmness.  Nobody in this prison had remained that calm.

	"Well, we're no different now.  We're both prisoners in the one prison we can never
escape from.  It's impossible to get out of."

	Carmen smiled and replied quietly, "There is one difference."

	"What is that?" Mai asked.

	"I know never to say that something's impossible."

	Mai had to respect Carmen.  Carmen never lost her cool during this exchange.  Mai 
knew when to give up, and she realized this was the time to give up.

	"Ok, you win.  For now.  But in time you'll realize that there are things that are
impossible," Mai said.  "At least, I know that I can't make you lose your temper."

	Mai left, and Carmen began to eat her meal.

*                                           *                                                  *

That night, at the FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC

	Guard Kevin Brown was strolling around the grounds on his round.  It was a tough job,
but somebody had to do it, and he was one of the best guards on the FBI roster.

	<Wait, what was that?> Kevin thought.  It looked like a shadow.

	It was a shadow.  Make that two shadows.  One looked like a man's shadow, the other
a woman's shadow.

	At that moment, the moon came out from behind some clouds, revealing the woman 
clearly.  She was a strange woman, with wild black hair, glasses, and a white labcoat.

	<I've seen this woman somewhere before, but where?> Kevin thought.  Then he snapped 
his fingers.

	He knew where.  In the files of the FBI which dealt with criminals from VILE.  The 
woman was Sara Bellum, number-one henchwoman to Carmen Sandiego, the master thief whom ACME 
had captured recently.

	Which meant he had to contact ACME.  Right now.
 
*                                           *                                                  *

At ACME Headquarters

	Ivy and Zack were ready to leave work.  They had just finished investigating a case 
of attempted counterfeiting, and had caught the criminal.  It was a first-time criminal, so 
he was going to a normal jail.

	Then the Chief interrupted.  "Hot tip, Gumshoes!  A guard outside the FBI head-
quarters in Washington, DC, spotted a woman and a man sneaking into the building.  And get 
this!  His description of the woman fits that of Sara Bellum!"

	"She must be trying to replace Carmen as the best thief in the world," said Ivy.  
"Again."

	"Well, since Carmen's in Gehenna, she probably thinks she has every right to do so,"
said Zack.  "But what does she want there?"

	"Let's find out," said Ivy, ready for action as always.  "Player, C-5 us to the FBI
headquarters in Washington, DC!"

	The C-5 Corridor appeared, and Zack and Ivy leapt into it.

*                                          *                                                   *

At the FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC, just outside the room where the NCIC "brain" is
located

	Zack and Ivy appear in the corridor just in time to hear voices.

	"So, what now, Sara?" asked a male voice.

	"Shh," Zack whispered to Ivy.  He crept up to the door, Ivy right behind him, and
together they listened in to the conversation.

	"What do we do now that we got inside?" asked the male voice.

	"Now, we use zis device to access ze records of ze NCIC and zen we transfer zem to 
zis WORM disk.  Zen, we get out of here.  Ze rest of my master scheme I'll reveal when we 
leave."

	"Let's get them," whispered Ivy.

	"First things first," Zack whispered.  He contacted the Chief.

	"What is it?" the Chief asked.

	"Are the police on the way?" asked Zack.

	"They sure are," replied the Chief.  "They'll be there in about two minutes."

	"Now we can move," whispered Zack to Ivy.

	Ivy busted open the door and said, "Give it up, Sara Bellum.  We got your boss, and
now we're going to get you."

	Sara turned, as did the man accompanying her.  It was Turiste Claisse.  Nearby were
some of Carmen's blue-coated henchmen.

	"Get zem," Sara shouted to the henchmen.

	The henchmen raced toward Ivy and Zack.  However, Ivy quickly took care of two of
them by giving them a karate chop.

	Zack, faced with the other two henchmen, gave his famous impersonation of the Three
Stooges, completely confusing them enough so that Ivy, having taken care of the other two,
was able to drop-kick them from behind.

	But that had given Sara enough time to get away, though Turiste hadn't time enough
to do so before Zack put the cuffs on him.  Then he went after Ivy, who was already chasing
Sara.

	Sara raced toward the back door, with Ivy right behind her, and Zack a little ways
back.  Zack contacted the Chief, saying, "She's trying to escape by the back door!"

	The Chief alerted the police, so when Sara managed to get out the back door, she 
saw policemen racing up toward the door.  She turned, and saw Ivy, who promptly placed the 
handcuffs on Sara's wrists.

	The police took Sara into custody, leaving Ivy and Zack to congraulate each other
on having captured Carmen's number-one henchwoman.

	"First, we capture Carmen herself, and now we've caught Sara!  Soon, maybe we'll
have all of VILE behind bars," cried Ivy.

	"Especially since Lee Jordan and Maelstrom are back behind bars, where they belong,"
said Zack.

	They had every reason to be happy.  But they were unaware of what was going to 
happen in almost two weeks.  If they had been aware, they would have been more on their 
guard.

					To be continued