Carmen Sandiego leaned nonchalantly against the hot brick wall, swiping slowly at the screen of her phone. In two minutes, a man wearing a green shirt would walk past, and her instructions were to follow him. She sighed heavily, nervous. This meeting needed to go perfectly, or else several things will have not been worth it.

"Snap out of it," she muttered, shifting slightly and going back to her phone. Her appearance needed to be kept up. Otherwise, the man wouldn't allow her to follow.

Green Shirt Man POV

Ryker "Rhino" McConnell was a tall, burly man in his late 20's. This was his seventh job as an official member of "Shock Head" Eddie's gang, and it was important. He hadn't been given many specifics, but the potential buyer he was meeting would help to fund the next several months of business.

He rounded the corner, silently cursing the hot, Boston sun. Summer was the worst season, and Rhino was wearing thick pants and combat boots. Not exactly cool clothing for mid-day. "This better be worth it," he growled under his breath, tattooed fist curling slightly. He took another corner, and there she was.

The buyer was a young woman of South American descent, or so he had been told. So far, she matched the description perfectly. Red high top converse, auburn hair, red hoodie. Her striking gray-blue eyes were cool and calculating, even as she stared lazily at her phone. There was just one thing missing... Ah- there.

The woman glanced at him as he continued to walk, and Rhino could see the gleaming triangle pendant on her choker. This was her, at least by appearance. If she gave the signal, he'd know for sure.

Carmen POV

Carmen waited until the man was about three feet  away before tugging gently at her earring, as if the stud was irritating her.

The man gave the tiniest of nods, but didn't stop, and he walked past her with a gruff "good afternoon, miss" before continuing on. Carmen waited a few seconds for him to be out of sight, then tucked her phone away and followed after him a safe distance behind.

Carmen found herself seated at a dimly lit table, about half an hour later. On the other end of it sat "Shock Head" Eddie, a compact man of about 40 years. His grizzled mohawk was dyed an electrifying gray, which is where he got his name.

She knew how this worked. Either give them the money or do business with them, or get out before they could pound her into the ground for wasting their time.

"So," Eddie started, his heavy accent thick and familiar. "You want something from me. What?"

"Nothing," Carmen answered.

He raised an eyebrow, lips tightening.

"I'm here to pay off a few debts. These two owe you, right?" I took a photo of Zack and Ivy out of my pocket, sliding it across the table. "Tell me how much."

Eddie's eyes narrowed as he fingered the photo. "I remember them. They did not deliver." He glanced up at Carmen, angry. "Have you been protecting them?"

She narrowed her eyes right back. "They work for me, so, yeah."

"Business?"

"International Super Thief," she replied cooly.

A pause went around the room.

Eddie leaned forward on the table and snorted. "You? You do not look the type."

Carmen shrugged. "That's what makes me the best."

"You steal for your own gain?"

She shook her head, remembering that Eddie also disapproved of such antics, at least when anything stolen was used for bad purposes. "I steal only for the gain of others."

"Interesting..." he muttered.

"Look, I came to pay them off, not to talk about me."

"Yes, that is why you're here, isn't it? Rhino." Eddie snapped and pointed behind him. "Get me the box."

Rhino grabbed a black metal container and placed it on the table.

"Now, let's see..." He rifled through it for a second. "Ah- here it is. The brother and sister, after all this time has passed, owe me..." He paused and looked at her, mouth twisting cruelly. "You will not have enough."

Carmen merely shrugged again, slightly annoyed that Eddie would underestimate her for such a small amount of money. "Try me. Super thief, remember?"

Eddie blinked, surprised, then barked a laugh. "$50,000. Let's see you pull up that much, super thief."

"Alright." Carmen slapped a thick bundle of bills down onto the table.

Eddie stopped laughing.

Carmen watched in disgust as he eyed the money greedily. She knew he was lying about how expensive his services were, and it only made her wish even more to pick him up and throw him over her back-because she could.

"Count it. It's all there." Carmen stood. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be going."

Eddie nodded to Rhino, who suddenly slammed the door shut. Several other men also stood, cracking their knuckles and stepping to surround her. "You have more where that came from, don't you? Maybe hand some more over, and I won't notify the police about your activities."

Crap.

Carmen had suspected that something like this might happen, but she still didn't want to have to deal with it.

"Ok, fine, guess we're doing this now," she sighed, turning to smile sweetly at a very determined looking guy-who also looked extremely unexperienced. "Hey." She winked and then spun on her heel, round-house kicking him across the face.

Shouting erupted around her, but within the next ten seconds, Carmen was gone.

Eddie cursed and sat heavily, then scooped the money up to count it. "She delivered. It's all here." His eyes narrowed. "Someone tell Ol' Shark to scratch those two off of the List. No need to hunt 'em anymore." He waved a bill in the air. "Boys, that was quite the fun, eh?"

Rhino only nodded as the other men barked in agreement.

Ivy POV

"Sis! Ivy! Come here! I gotta tell you somethin-" Zack's shouting was cut off when he tripped over the couch in his hurry to reach her.

"WHAT?" Ivy popped from her room and looked down at him.

He sucked in a a heavy breath, eyes wide, and waved his phone at her. "You know the storehouse that's been holding on to Lydia's scraps for us? Well, the manager just called. She's gone."

"I- what?" Ivy raised an eyebrow.

Zack took a second to catch his breath. "Lydia. Our car, Ivy. She's gone. Someone stole her. The whole thing."

The siblings stared at each other.

But then Ivy smiled. "Carmen."

Carmen POV

Pushing open the doors of the CS HQ, Carmen glanced around the dimly lit interior. "Ivy? Zack?" There was no answer. Worried thoughts gnawed at her head. Where were they? She hoped that they were home, but then again, if they weren't...

"Guys?" she called again, sticking her head into Ivy's room and then the kitchen. "Guys, I'm home. I gotta tell you something,"

"Carmen!" Arms were suddenly around her, and the thief almost flipped the person over on their back before realizing that it was two people-Zack and Ivy.

"Hey!" Carmen laughed as they tackled her to the ground. "Easy, easy, I'm still tired."

They just hugged her tighter.

"Ok, ok." She pulled them closer, cuddling them like a pair of puppies. "What happened?"

"Oh, just you coming into our lives in the first place," Zack said, his voice muffled by Carmen's shirt.

Ivy nodded in agreement.

"I- what? Oh." Carmen chuckled. "You saw the car, huh?"

Zack suddenly sat up to cover his face with his hands, and burst into tears. "I never th-thought... that we w-would... ever get our c-car back." He hiccuped through happy sobs, hugging Carmen again and crying into her arm.

Carmen blinked at him, then at Ivy, who also had tears in her eyes. "Aw, you guys," she muttered. "You totally deserve it. And I payed Eddie back, too."

"Thank you," they whispered in unison.

Carmen sighed and snuggled them in happily, a smile tugging at her lips. "You guys are so sweet. Now come on, I've got an idea for dinner."