Stumbled (A Carmen Sandiego/Gray Story)

Chapter Two

We had returned to HQ. Flying Gray out from Australia wasn't a problem, as soon as he was on our jet he was out cold. I don't know what seeing El Topo may have sparked in his brain, but it was better than the alternative. They'd torture him if the found out he had seen me. The most amazing part of all was when Shadowsan saw him when we got there. He had returned from Turkey a few hours earlier. His face was a mixture of feelings, but all I got in response to the situation was "Be careful."

I thought I would've been in for a long argument, but apparently not.

We decided to put Gray in a small room in the basement. No outside light was let in, so he would have no clue where he was. This was best until we determined if he had figured anything out yet. If not, we would have to tell him. One way or another, his relaxing, normal life in Australia was over. He would either become a V.I.L.E. operative once more or... my partner?

All that was in this basement was a lightbulb connected to the ceiling, no cover panel, a bed and a couch. I was sitting on the couch, reading a book. When he came to it was important I spoke to him before anything else happened. I glanced up from my book. In his relaxed state he looked almost... cute?

Are you meant to find people you admire cute? I wasn't sure. At V.I.L.E. island I mostly thought of him as an older brother to me, but since I became Carmen and met him again in Sydney, I was confused of my feelings. The old feeling of admiration was back, along with uncertainty, and reassurance. I was relieved when I found out he wasn't a V.I.L.E. operative any more, but also sad. He didn't remember any of the time we had spent together, that entire period in his memory had disappeared.

God only knows what Dr Bellum did to him.

"Carmen, where am I?.."
He was sitting up in bed. This was going to be interesting.
"It's best if you don't know that." I put down the book. "What do you remember from last night?"
He rubbed his head. "You... stealing opals and this other guy, he chased us."
"Any idea who that other guy was?"
He shrugged. "No."
"What were you doing at the mine, Graham?"
"I'm an electrician, and a buddy of mine called me on Wednesday and asked me to come and cover for someone who'd had to take urgent leave. I agreed since the pay was good and I didn't have any other jobs lined up for a few weeks. But why were you there, Carmen? Why were you stealing opals? You told me that you were 'the good guys' back in Sydney, but now I'm not so sure."

I sighed. It seemed my only option was to reveal myself, and reveal his true identity as well.

"Gray, do you remember the first time I met you, I asked if you remembered me?"
"Yes."
"We had met before. We trained together, before your accident."
His eyes almost popped out of his head. "You're an electrician too?!"
I couldn't help it, I laughed. He truly was clueless.
"No Gray. Now answer truthfully, and know that what I tell you will impact your future. Do you truly want to know what happened at the mine, or would you prefer to simply forget it all?"
He didn't hesitate. "Tell me what happened at the mine."
"Well, there's a build up to that. Gray, before your 'accident' you were training to be a thief at a place called V.I.L.E. Academy. I also was there. V.I.L.E. stands for Villains International League of Evil, but we didn't know that at the time. I was a year younger than the rest of the students and had grown up on the island. I was an orphan, brought in by one of the faculty members. My name was Black Sheep. At 16, I begged them to let me do my course a year early. They approved. That's how I met you. You picked on me at orientation, but we soon became friends. The year passed and it was time for us to take our final exams. You passed, I didn't. It was rigged by the same man that found me and brought me to the island. I attempted to escape by joining you and the others on your first caper even though I wasn't meant to leave the island. But I failed. I retook the course the next year, pretending to study when I was really plotting my escape."
Gray looked at me, speechless. "I wouldn't believe you if it wasn't for last night. Who are 'the others?'"
"People you graduated with. Le Chevre, El Topo, who is the person you saw, Tigeress and Mime Bomb. Your code name was Crackle."
"I was a criminal?"
"Unfortunately, yes. But that's not the end of the story. I escaped the Island with the hard drive that stores all V.I.L.E.'s operations, and took on a new name. Carmen Sandiego. One night, I was travelling through France and you arrived on my train. You were meant to kill me."
At this point Gray looked sick.
"You failed, and V.I.L.E.'s mad scientist, Dr Bellum, tried out one of her experiments on you. It was a mind-wipe. You woke up in hospital, not remembering the last two years of your life."

Gray was staring at the floor. I felt bad.
"Look," I said softly, "I'm so sorry they wiped your memory."
"That's not why I'm mad!" He yelled, pounding his fist into the wall. "I was evil. I tried to kill you. I probably killed other people."
I walked over to him. "Gray, it's alright. You have a fresh start now. Nobody is holding your previous actions against you."
He sunk down onto the bed again. "Where do you fit into all of this?"
I sat next to him, cautiously. I may knew what he thought of V.I.L.E, but I still had no idea about his thoughts on my profession.
"I steal items that V.I.L.E. has stolen and return them to their rightful owners. So, in my opinion, I am 'the good guy'."
His response was completely unrelated to what I was saying.
"Does this mean I'm trained in the art of thievery too?"
"Yes. But now V.I.L.E has seen you, you are in danger."
"Would you mind if I... helped you? To make up for all the things I did before?"
I was shocked. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"You can help, if you're sure that's what you want. We'll just have to get you trained back up again." I grinned.
"We?"
"Yes, Shadowsan, ex-faculty member of V.I.L.E., and myself. But I also work with three other people. Zack, Ivy and Player. Zack and Ivy are upstairs. If I had to guess, Player is in his bedroom a couple of continents away. He's still in school."
"Right... where am I?"
"HQ. Carmen Brand Outwear."