Till We Meet Again

3. Escape, it is

If you don't heal what hurt you, you'll bleed on people who didn't cut you

-Unknown

Player dropped his bag on the floor outside his flat, and dug for the keys in his bag. His mom and Robert had gone out, leaving Player at home, alone. But he was used to it. After a few minutes of fumbling with the lock, Player slipped in, making a beeline for his room. Soon, he was settled in front of his three monitors with a cup of hot chocolate. Things were still dark about Carmen, so he first contacted Zack and Ivy. After a few seconds of ringing, Zack's face popped up on the screen. 

"Hey player! How's school, my dude?". Player stiffled a laugh as Zack raised a suspicious eyebrow. "You doing well? You know Carm would want you to do well". And just like that, the laughter died in his throat. Ivy popped up behind him, and smacked the back of his head. "Quit talking about her like she's dead. We'll find her Player, don't you worry". Player smiled, grateful. Ivy and Zack may try to look strong, but he knew they missed Red as much as he did. Even though he knew her first. Not that it's a competition. 

Zack and Ivy began to bicker, something about turtle neck t-shirts, when... Carmen popped up on his radar.

Player shot up in his seat, as he examined the bright red dot on his screen. She was online. Which would probably mean she escaped and is safe. But her location was still VILE. Her being online could mean she managed to escape. And now she's trying to alert them of her position. It was a stretched theory, he knew, but it was the only positive theory that he had. "Uh, guys?", he said, his voice shaking ever so slightly. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Zack, Ivy!". The twins stopped squabbling and stared at Player. 

"Um, Carm's- Carm's online". 

Meanwhile on the other end of the screen, Vivian sat in her dark room, the only light coming from the bright desktop infront of her, and her currently charging suit. She sipped her mug of coffee - she would rather have hot chocolate but VILE only had caffeine - and stared at the screen in front of her. Download will be complete in 3 minutes. Man, Carmen's partner had a lot of firewall's. Of course, she managed to get through all of them eventually, but damn, this guy knews what he was doing. And in... 2 and a half minutes, she would know everything about this mysterious man. 

A small shiver of anticipation ran through Vivian as she watched the screen, watching bar slowly fill. She would be lying if she said she didn't want to unmask the great hacker who helped Carmen foil VILE's plan's repeatedly. Her knee's repeatedly jiggled under the table, her fingers tapping against the hot surface of the mug. 30 seconds... the fingers spend up, the knee bumped the table, eyes widened. The bar filled up completely.

In less than a second, multiple pages popped up on her screen. The first few were VILE's criminal data, brought by Cookie Booker each year. Another one was a huge set of bills for flights, trains, hotels and more. And then... jackpot! Gamer tag's Player. Last name Bouchard. Dad left early on and mom re-married. And... oh. He's 16. The same age as Vivian herself. She leaned back on her chair, processing the new found information. Oh well, he'll be easier to catch. She carelessly flipped through the rest of the pages, before her fingers stilled and her eyes rested on Player's face. Vivian cocked her head as she scrutinized his appearance. Gray eyes, black hair, carefully timid smile. Hmm. He knows more than he shows, that's apparent. Isn't this going to be fun.

Sandiego lied on her bed, staring up at the gray painted ceiling, her mind pathetically empty. You're a world renouned thief Carmen, think! You've gotten out before, you can do it again. Her mind wandered towards her friends. Ivy and Zack were probably worried sick. And Player... oh god, Player. He would blame himself for her capture, even though he had warned her not to go alone. 

Gosh, she needed to get out. She had enough time to examine the door. A Carbondale door, made to withstand any force and temperature, unlike the one Scott Lang managed to freeze and break into. The lock is tricky, but with huge gears, so really any large fire stoker would work. But she didn't have a fire stocker. Heck she didn't have anything close to a... bingo! Carmen ran into the tiny bathroom, and grabbed the dismantled tap. It was a bit of a struggle, but the tap went in, and after large amounts of jiggling and rattling, the tap caught on a relatively small latch and with a faint click, the door unlocked. Sandiego stood in front of it, breathing heavily. She did it. She was free. 

Just as the feeling of pure elation was setting in, faint footsteps could be heard, obviously heading for her. Oh god. The second they tried the door they would realise it had been unlocked. And she would get caught. Okay okay, breathe Carmen. She had two options. Make a break for it before VILE got to the door, or play dumb when they did. And as great a liar she was, they wouldn't believe a word. 

Escape it is, then.