Chapter Text
Julia is, perhaps, the most cautious person in her ACME team about cybersecurity. Technically, Devineaux is the only other person in her team, currently, but she’s worlds ahead of him.
“Miss Argent! The car’s extended warranty is in danger!”
Julia sighs. Case in point, right in front of her.
“No, it’s not, Inspector Devineaux,” Julia reassures him, as patient as she can be, as she approaches his desk. It’s covered in papers, scattered around, covered in pen from a desperate hand and highlighted rather oddly. Perhaps, she considers, if Devineaux was more orderly, he would have an entire evidence board for all these papers, complete with thumbtacks connecting red strings. “I can guarantee you, you’re getting…”
Julia pauses. This email is most definitely fake - she knows without a reasonable doubt that their car’s warranty is paid - and it is high. But the email is incredibly well crafted, and a little too detailed, and the wording is a bit… off. Not in a usual, bad grammar way, but in a rather… subtle, slightly out of order…
“Why don’t you go ahead and forward that to me, Inspector,” Julia forces a smile, resting her hand on her hip as she goes ahead and forwards itself to her laptop ( “Forward an email? You are talking witchcraft, Miss Argent”). “I’ll deal with this, and you can get back to your…” her eyes move from his messy scraggle of a beard to the papers. “...research.”
Devineaux nods seriously. “Of course, Miss Argent. Make sure the car is safe, and I will hunt down the crimson ghost.” He turns back to his computer, and Julia makes the short trip back to her little pod.
She sits and opens her laptop, heart thumping in her chest, and rereads the email.
Just so you know, your car’s extended warranty is about to expire! Until you fix this, your car is in danger! Let us know if you need help solving this problem. Even if you’re confused, we can make things easy! Safety first: get that car guaranteed!
In three days, your car’s extended warranty will expire! No need to worry, we will reach out again: contact Earbud Everett if you have any questions. Don’t wait! You can fix this today! Open this link to establish a connection with one of our agents. Until then!
Realwarranters Helpline.
East alps, Lovett Park
Julia’s mouse hovers over the link for a few moments, and then she sighs, printing out the email and grabbing her bright red pen. Honestly, she’s as bad as Devineaux - but perhaps a bit more orderly. Printing, of course, takes a few excruciating moments, as she nibbles on the top of her pin, foot tapping in excitement - or is it anxiety? She knows what she suspects, but she needs concrete proof first.
Of course, when it comes to Carmen, she never has that.
As soon as the paper prints, she snatches it up, planting it firmly on her desk as she stares. Despite the oddness of the email, she doesn’t notice anything at first, and her heart begins to falter. Is she wrong? It takes her a painful few moments more to figure out the pattern. Why is it Realwarranters and not Real Warranters? Lovett Park can’t be a real place, she thinks, and in a couple moments of despair, she wonders if she’s actually stupid. Oh my god, I can’t figure this out, why didn’t I solve more riddles as a child?
Then she sees that the capital letters of the sign off spell out RHELP, and suddenly it clicks. She taps the top of her red pen, and begins circling every capital letter of the email, and then rewrites them all on a separate piece of paper.
There’s something so wonderful about writing in red.
JULES I NEED YOUR HELP
She breathes a sigh of relief. Only one person ever calls her Jules.
Her mouse hovers over the link again. She could click this, and possibly see Carmen. A technical criminal, but one she trusts. Alternatively, she could be crazy, and get malware on her laptop. A third possibility appears in her mind - what if this is Devineaux’s way of testing her loyalties?
She shakes her head, dismissing that first option with a slight chuckle. She’s supposed to be smart, patient - calculating the risks first, approaching with the most knowledge possible. But when it comes to Carmen, some part of her wants to trust her instincts.
Julia clicks it, then immediately yanks her hand away from the computer, as if that would undo what she had done. Nothing happens for a beat, and then two, and then a trademark red hat appears on the blank screen, followed by a stream of words:
I KNEW YOU’D CATCH ON ;)
Julia blushes despite herself, and then a real email appears across the screen, one she’s positive belongs to Carmen. She briefly considers the weight of her next actions, but before she knows it, she’s adding Carmen to her contact list, and emailing her (with a new personal but somewhat disguised email, of course).
From: [email protected]
Subject: Extended Warranty
Dear Miss Sandiego (I do hope this is you),
I hope that you understand I’m still very cautious of you and your motivations, but as you’ve done nothing but help in the past, I’m choosing to place my trust in you for the time being. Excellently crafted email, by the way. Devineaux was fooled.
I look forward to corresponding with you in the future. Let me know how I can help,
Julia Argent
She quickly sends the email and then slams her laptop shut. It took her fifteen minutes to write that email, deleting and rewriting so many parts of it. She doesn’t know why she’s so nervous - Carmen had obviously gone to lengths to make sure that nobody discovered them. She isn’t in danger of losing her job, or of being found out.
Well, minimal danger.
Despite this, she jumps every time her phone buzzes, or her laptop dings, or any banner appears at the top of the screen, notifying her of a message. It’s a little embarrassing, and so obvious that even Devineaux comments on it (“Miss Argent, you are making me nervous! Why do you look so tense?... is it the car?”).
By the time she’s driving home for the night, she’s certain she will never let Carmen make a fool of her again.
But then, when she checks her laptop again, there lies an email in her brand new inbox.
From: [email protected]
Subject: RE: Extended Warranty
Hey, Jules!
You’re right on. I knew I could count on you to decode that email, though I will say that I’m impressed regardless. Nice work.
I do hope you’ll join me for some appelflappens in The Haug. I heard it’s beautiful this time of year.
See you then,
Carmen
Julia’s eyes rest on the final line. Carmen. Nothing more, nothing less. Just Carmen, as she was, signing off on this as if it was the most normal thing in the world. As if this weren’t another clearly encoded message.
She smiles, though. She does like the chase.
She sits at her desk, rooting through the drawers for an unused notebook. She pulls it out, and her red pen from earlier. Decoding it won’t be easy, but she’s determined, and that pulled her through college. It would help her here, too.
Julia taps her foot once more. The Haug was a city in the Netherlands, and an appelflappen was a Dutch pastry. Carmen probably wasn’t actually inviting her out for pastries, but why mention the food?
She sighs, and reads back through the first email, the print still tucked neatly away in her purse. It takes a few moments, her eyes scanning the page, but then she sees it. The name - Earbud. A stupid name, and clearly it was intentional. Headphones? Why would she need headphones? Ear bud. Ear… bud..
Bud, like a flower. A flowerbud. Earbud.
Ear like what?
Julia doesn’t stop thinking about this; not as she showers, not as she cooks herself pasta, and certainly not as she eats. She stares at her laptop, and then back at her notebook, and when she’s certain she’s had enough and she shuts the laptop, gets into bed, and absolutely thinks of anything but Carmen Sandiego…
Cornflower.
Ear of corn, bud like a flower.
Cornflower blue was a color famously used by Johannes Vermeer, a Dutch painter who made Girl with a Pearl Earring, which was in the Mauritshuis museum in The Haug.
Carmen Sandiego was going to steal Girl with a Pearl Earring, and she was going to give it to Julia.
Julia Argent has cracked the code. She smiles, and goes back to bed.
It goes off without a hitch, something that makes Julia’s heart flutter.
Although Devineaux was suspicious of her sudden desire to go to the museum at first, he eventually wrote it off (“Bah! Books, paintings, history, all manner of boring things. Let me know if you see La Femme Rogue. She’s always watching”).
Which meant that Julia was staying alone at a small hotel, finally on a “vacation” without her coworker. She wasn’t entirely sure where she was supposed to go, but she was technically on vacation, so she took the liberty of visiting the museum, just for her own benefit.
She didn’t expect to run into Carmen there.
“Hey, Jules,” a voice came from behind her, and a hand rests on her shoulder. She turned, a small gasp escaping her. She’d only really interacted with Carmen once before, on a train - this was taking her completely by surprise.
“Whuh - Carmen,” she stammers. Carmen looks just how she remembers; her hair is tied up in a bun, curling a bit at the edges. She still has trademark red lipstick on, but like last time, she’s not wearing her trademark red jacket. In fact, she looks normal. Like anyone Julia would pass on the street.
Well, a very attractive person Julia would pass on the street.
Carmen winks, and Julia adjusts her glasses, willing herself to calm down. “I’m glad you’ve taken my invitation,” she says with a grin, and Julia notes that there’s no lipstick stains on her teeth - impressive. Then she curses herself for paying so much attention to Carmen’s mouth. “I was afraid you wouldn’t make it.”
Carmen starts to walk, and Julia quickly catches up to her. “I’m happy to help in whatever way I can,” Julia responds, a shy smile rising to her face. She likes how Carmen makes her feel - so capable, as if she’s certain that Julia can handle anything.
“You’re even here early,” Carmen continues, stopping in front of Girl with a Pearl Earring. Her eyes scan the painting, and Julia’s eyes scan her. After another beat of silence, Carmen turns towards Julia, who has snapped her head towards the painting. “I appreciate this, Jules.”
Julia fights the flush on her cheeks. “I appreciate you giving me the opportunity. You do so much for history. This painting in particular, too. It’s quite well known, and was even stolen in a movie, by a group of schoolgirls trying to raise money. It’s safe to say it’s made quite the impact on both modern culture and the art world - I believe Banksy recreated their own spin on it.” She glances over at Carmen as she speaks, her smile growing as she sees how happy Carmen is, listening to her.
“You really know your stuff,” Carmen whistles, nodding at Julia. “Glad to see I’m not the only history nerd here.” Her eyes settle on a pair of redheads nearby, currently shoving each other as they recreate fighting poses from the paintings. A sigh escapes her lips, but she doesn’t seem upset. Just… fond.
“Are they… your crew?” Julia clears her throat, curious. She doesn’t want to pry - and she definitely doesn’t want Carmen to think she’s just vying for more information. She adjusts her glasses again, watching Carmen’s hands disappear into her pockets with a drop of disappointment.
“They are.” Carmen watches them for a few more seconds, then starts to walk again, and of course, Julia follows. “They might be spying on you a bit - but don’t worry. I promise they only have the best intentions.”
Julia falters a bit at that. “I promise I don’t mean you or them any harm,” she reassures Carmen, hoping that her sincerity shows. “I mean, I know I’m… technically supposed to be hunting you down, but… I trust you, Carmen.” At her words, Carmen stops, looking back at Julia with a smile as she bites the corner of her bottom lip - Julia Argent, you are better than this, stop staring.
“Oh, it’s not that,” Carmen reassures her, sounding perhaps as nervous as Julia has ever heard her - as though Julia had gotten many chances to listen to her speak. “They’re, ah… curious. I’ve talked about you to them.”
Before Julia gets the chance to ask about that, her mind swimming with questions ( Why? How? In what way? About… me?), Carmen waves, taking a step backwards. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jules. Best to communicate the plan in an area a bit more private, don’t you think?”
“Well - yes,” Julia stammers. “But-”
And Carmen is gone. Around the corner, but when Julia looks, she’s not in the next room, either. And when she places her hand in her pocket, walking towards the exit with a drooping head, there’s a single note.
Julia sighs, but like Carmen earlier, she’s still smiling. “See you tomorrow, miss Sandiego.”
Julia doesn’t really think about when Carmen is going to contact her; if she needs to know, obviously Carmen will tell her. Unfortunately, she forgot about Carmen’s habit of simply not telling her things, and showing up randomly at her apartment,
Or in this case, her hotel.
There’s a knock at the door.
At this point, Julia is still in her pajamas, drinking some not-great hotel coffee and scrolling through the news. At this point, Julia has convinced herself that Carmen would obviously only contact her at a reasonable time, say, after 9am.
Julia is, unfortunately, incorrect, she realizes as she peers through the peephole. It’s Carmen, holding a small paper bag and carrying two coffees. “Hey, Jules,” she greets as Julia creaks the door open, still not entirely sure this isn’t a dream. “Did I wake you?”
At the confirmation that it is not, in fact, a dream, Julia blinks with a start. “No, not at all! Please, come in, Miss Sandiego.” She opens the door wider, and Carmen slides in as if it’s the most natural thing in the world, placing a coffee in Julia’s hand.
“Miss Sandiego?” she repeats, smirking a bit. Her eyes remain trained on Julia as Julia takes a tentative sip of coffee, and her smirk only grows when Julia’s eyes light up and she makes a hum of approval (it’s good coffee). “I was just Carmen yesterday, what happened?”
Julia fumbles with her drink (and her keys), locking the door and nearly dropping her coffee (which Carmen, of course, helps her with). “Well - I just didn’t really expect you to just… show up. I’m not exactly dressed for the occasion,” she chuckles, cheeks burning. She’s wearing a simple tank top and sweatpants - which isn’t exactly date material.
Not that this is a date, and not that she wishes it is, either.
“Sorry for dropping by so unexpectedly but - nonsense, Jules,” Carmen smiles, sitting casually at the table. Everything she was doing was casual, which was amazing, because Julia felt like she was possibly dying, or maybe that she was going through puberty a second time and was being the awkward girl in middle school sitting in the English teacher’s room for lunch. Carmen clears her throat. “I brought you some pastries. Figured I should butter you up for this favor.”
Julia sits down across from Carmen, watching her open the brown paper bag with slender fingers, pulling out several different pastries and placing them on a folded napkin - when did that happen? Julia supposes that being a thief has its perks, like using slight of hand to magically place a napkin on the table.
“If you insist,” Julia says with a smile, and she watches Carmen’s eyes light up. She can’t help the way her shoulders slump a bit, leaning forward as she props her elbow on the table and just watches Carmen. Carmen is just so… effortless.
And Carmen smiles back, and Julia realizes she is well and truly fucked.