Happy to be of Service//RedCrackle

Chapter Twelve- The Cutting Caper and a Close Call (Edited)

Sorry about the cheesy title, I just couldn't help it!
Hope you like!

Carmen POV

My breathing heaved as I ran, closely followed by a VILE operative by the name of Blacksmith. If I could just reach the end of the long hallway I was in, there was a window that I could jump out of. But there was a problem.

I was slowing down.

Blacksmith had yet to falter, even when carrying and a tool belt, sword, and several other weapons. He was a compact man, and he didn't talk, though his eyes burned with hatred for me. I guessed that he had been deeply fond of VILE's island academy, and now he blamed me for the destruction of his home.

As my feet pounded the marble floor, I wished with regret that I had gotten a better chance to see Berlins famous Neuschwanstein Castle. Running for my life from a furious murderer so fast that the beautiful decoration was blurred didn't really cut it. Annoyance slipped through me. I had finally made it to Germany, and I probably wouldn't have any reason to come back.

A SHIK of metal on metal cut off my thoughts, and I instinctively ducked my head as I continued to run. Good thing I did, too, because half a second later one of Blacksmith's hand crafted daggers sped over my head and slit the top of my red fedora open. A muffled squeak of fear emitted from my throat, and I found myself shooting forward as adrenaline surged through my legs, up into my chest.

Just when I thought my panic couldn't heighten itself any further-

It did.

My earrings buzzed with an incoming call from Gray. I took a sharp corner, having to reroute my course to the window in order to dodge another sharp weapon. The stud in my ear continued to blink, and I managed to reach up and tap it to accept the call as my breath rasped in my head.

"Gray?" I panted heavily. "Is something wrong?" I had given him instructions not to call when I was away unless he really needed to.

"Sorry, Carmen, just thought I'd check in. I was getting- are you OK?" He must've heard my labored breathing.

"Totally," I lied, selling it with another pained gasp as my ankle twisted itself on the marble.

"You don't sound OK." Gray's voice was etched with a quiver of worry.

"I'm in the middle of a mission right now, dude. Can't really talk right n-" I cut off the sentence to take two corners, and relief surged through me as I spotted the window yet again, but it was short lived. Blacksmith had gotten ahead of me, and he stood in front of the opening.

I muttered a word Shadowsan would've scowled at.

"Carmen? What's going on?"

I didn't respond to Gray, though he was probably wondering why I had chosen to swear over the line when I had never done so in his presence before.

"Alright. Guess I'm pulling this out." I grabbed my taser and clicked it onto the hook of my grapple gun, aiming it at the VILE operative. Not giving him a chance to attack, I shot.

He hit it out of the air with his sword, of course.

The second of surprise was all I needed.

Cursing as tiny shocks jolted the sword out of his hand, Blacksmith yelled out as I shot past him, throwing a fogging ball behind me. I didn't look back to see how he reacted, instead barreling through the closed window.

Glass flashed around me in tiny pieces, cutting into my clothes and digging their way into flesh. I don't remember crying out -probably because the shattering of glass in my ears was so loud- but Gray yelled from my earring as I activated my backpack hang glider. Ignoring both him and the countless cuts, I ended the distracting call and soared wobbily to where I was to meet up with Zack and Ivy.

Blacksmith's enraged shout followed me. "You can't run much longer, Carmen Sandiego! We're all after ya. The whole fleet. Hope I get the privilege of slittin' your throat for what ya'v done. I'd enjoy it, I can swear that to ya!"

I gulped at his words, knowing they were true. VILE was upping their game, and fast.

"You alright, Red?" Player chirped.

"Been better," I grunted as the burn in my legs and the cuts over my body refused to be ignored.

As I neared the rendezvous point, my chest seemed to constrict and I felt my eyelids droop from exhaustion. I hadn't slept in almost three days, and now that I wasn't pumped with adrenaline, my battered body was demanding that I rest.

I shook my head -HARD- to temporarily clear the fuzz from my brain. I couldn't fall asleep in the air unless I wanted a deadlier repeat of Stockholm, which I didn't.

Eventually I saw the car Ivy and Zack had rented, and I sighed heavily. The siblings saw me and waved, looking happy to see me. I angled myself to land, but my body wouldn't cooperate.

I was so tired...

Before I could stop it, my glider folded in on itself, and I made impact with the ground. Rolling once, twice, three times, I winced at the tremor that rocked up my bones. Coming to a painful stop, my eyes closed tightly.

Talk about serious OW.

"Carmen!" Zack and Ivy appeared above me, and I blinked at them with bleary eyes. They both wore horrified expressions, and I imagined that I must have looked terrible laying there, ripped up and covered in dirt and blood.

Not that I had the strength to care.

"Just tired guys." I whispered, trying for a smile. It turned into a yawn, and the darkness crashed down on my head.