{"id":373,"date":"2014-12-30T07:11:48","date_gmt":"2014-12-30T07:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/?page_id=373"},"modified":"2022-01-01T19:55:46","modified_gmt":"2022-01-02T01:55:46","slug":"part6","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/episodes\/episode10\/part6\/","title":{"rendered":"Part 6"},"content":{"rendered":"

Episode 10: \u00a0Catch Her If You Can<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Part 6<\/strong><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI love Paris,\u201d mused Leo, gazing out the window of the taxi at an enormous cathedral. \u201cIt\u2019s so beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beside him in the backseat, Jay hunched down, craning his neck to get a look. \u201cThat\u2019s a pretty sweet tower,\u201d he said, admiring what he could see of the intricate, Gothic architecture. \u201cAs far as world cities go, though, I\u2019d rather be in London, myself. Most of the times I\u2019ve been there have been for missions; I never get to just go out and explore like this\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a good idea,\u201d Leo agreed. \u201cIt\u2019s fun to just act like a tourist for once.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two men had left Opal back at the hotel to work on the clue they\u2019d found the day before in peace and quiet — her idea, not theirs. \u201cGo sightseeing or something,\u201d she\u2019d urged them. \u201cStyx gave me a lead on how to decode this thing; I just need the time to do it, and I think better in silence. I\u2019ll call you when I\u2019ve got it figured out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo had been hesitant, thinking he might be able to help with the translation, but Jay, who knew nothing of what Opal and Vitruvian had been doing this whole mission, had been more than happy to take a break from it. \u201cC\u2019mon, dude,\u201d he\u2019d coaxed Leo. \u201cLet\u2019s go out. It\u2019ll be good to clear our heads.\u201d<\/p>\n

They were on their way to the famous Louvre Museum, after discovering they shared an appreciation for art and history. Jay wore his shades and fedora; Leo held a worn leather portfolio in his lap. He seemed like a pretty cool guy, though of course Jay would have preferred the company of a woman. Wish u were here,<\/em> he texted Emerald.<\/p>\n

A few minutes later, he got her reply:\u00a0 Me too. I hate it when you\u2019re gone.<\/em><\/p>\n

Jay smiled at that, absently humming a tune to her words. They would make a great song.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you singing?\u201d asked Leo.<\/p>\n

Crap,<\/em> thought Jay. Carter\u2019s rubbing off on me.<\/em> \u201cNothin\u2019. Just something Em said.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEmerald Ecstasy, eh?\u201d Leo smiled appreciatively. \u201cYou\u2019re a lucky man, Jay. You\u2019re constantly surrounded by beautiful women\u2026 Do you love any of them?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jay smirked. \u201cQuite frequently, actually. You?\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo seemed to consider the question. \u201cI haven\u2019t met a woman with a heart like my own\u2026 until recently,\u201d he added, waggling his eyebrows.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould that be Diamond?\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo smirked. \u201cIt\u2019s good that you watch me, Jay, but I fear that you watch me too closely.\u201d<\/p>\n

In that instant, Jay could understand why Nick loathed Leo. Something about that smirk bothered him, too. \u201cDid you sabotage the mission so that you could catch the crook instead of Nick?\u201d he asked abruptly.<\/p>\n

Leo’s smirk twisted into a frown, his eyebrows furrowing together. He leaned back and folded his arms, glaring at Jay. \u201cDo you question my honor?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I don\u2019t question your honor. What does that even mean?\u201d snorted Jay. \u201cIt\u2019s the mission I care about. I know Nick\u2019s got some jealousy issues, but he\u2019s one of our best agents. If he\u2019s got a bad feeling about you, I want to make sure it\u2019s not justified.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t sabotage the mission,\u201d said Leo stiffly, his voice deathly calm. \u201cI really thought the plane ticket to Germany was a red herring, a lure meant to throw us off her trail. I would never do anything to hurt HimTak just to benefit myself. You have my word.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jay nodded. He had no choice but to take the other agent\u2019s word for it, for now. \u201cThank you, Vitruvian.\u201d<\/p>\n

They rode on in awkward silence. After a few minutes, Leo said, \u201cJay?\u201d Jay looked over. Leo\u2019s face was serious. \u201cI am a young Double-0,\u201d he said firmly, \u201cbut I am a Double-0.\u201d<\/p>\n

So was Drums,<\/em> thought Jay, and that didn\u2019t stop him from trying to bring us down.<\/em> To Leo, all he said was, \u201cThen be a good Double-0, Vitruvian.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

A short while later, they stood in line outside the colossal, glass pyramid in the center of the Louvre\u2019s main courtyard. Leo tucked his leather portfolio underneath one arm and raised his hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the bright morning sun as he stared up at the pyramid.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is this stupid thing you\u2019re carrying around?\u201d Jay asked suddenly, snatching the portfolio out from under Leo\u2019s arm. He\u2019d been curious about it since he had noticed Leo with it in the taxi and wondered why he was bringing it with him into the museum. He opened it up to see a pencil sketch of a pair of hands. It was just a black and white drawing, but the detail and shadowing were impeccable. Behind it was another drawing, this one of a woman breastfeeding her infant. \u201cSo what are you, an artist or something?\u201d<\/p>\n

When Leo didn\u2019t reply, Jay continued to flip through the sketches. \u201cDang, these are pretty good. They\u2019re, uh\u2026 they\u2019re very good, actually. Dude, this is fuckin\u2019 exquisite,\u201d he said, stopping on a drawing of a mother\u2019s hands caressing her baby\u2019s chest. He turned to the next one and raised his eyebrows. \u201cWell, well, well,\u201d he snickered, grinning down at a nude young woman sprawled out on her side, smoking a cigarette. \u201cAnd these were drawn from life?\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo grinned. \u201cWell, that\u2019s one of the good things about Paris. Lots of girls willing to take their clothes off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jay smirked, imagining what Nick would say if he knew his rival liked drawing pictures of naked chicks. \u201cNice, dude,\u201d he said, passing the portfolio back to Leo.<\/p>\n

As they waited in the long line that snaked into the museum\u2019s entrance, Leo turned to a blank page in the back of his sketchpad and began to duplicate the criss-crossing lines of the glass pyramid. He was easily as talented as Nick and more sophisticated, too; Jay had only seen Nick draw comic-style superheroes and funny cartoon doodles. Still, the two were so similar, it was no wonder they couldn\u2019t stand each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you like the pyramid?\u201d asked a voice behind them.<\/p>\n

Both Jay and Leo turned to find a young woman with long, wavy, blonde hair parted in the center, studying Leo\u2019s sketch over his shoulder through a pair of oversized, red sunglasses that hid most of her face.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, the pyramid is magnificent,\u201d answered Leo, enunciating his words in response to the woman\u2019s thick accent.<\/p>\n

She smirked. \u201cThe French say it is a scar on the face of Paris. But I think it is beautiful. The late French president, Mitterrand, had it commissioned. They say he had a \u2018Pharaoh complex,\u2019 but really, he was just interested in ancient Egyptian culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho isn\u2019t?\u201d said Jay, thinking of sphinxes and mummies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am.\u201d The woman smiled dreamily. \u201cI plan to travel to Egypt sometime soon. I would love to hold in my hands a piece of Egyptian history.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must be quite the world traveler,\u201d said Leo, raising his brows.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I do get around,\u201d the woman replied with an innocent smile, and Jay stifled a snicker at the connotation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are you from?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDenmark,\u201d she said, \u201cand you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re from the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAhh, Americans. We have borrowed so much from you — from your culture, I mean. Here in Europe, we love all things American. Your Hollywood movies, your television shows, your music, and your books. I love your books most of all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah?\u201d Leo smiled down at her. \u201cWhat\u2019s your favorite book?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite book? It is\u2026 secret.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSecret?\u201d asked Jay, thinking that was a strange answer. \u201cYou won\u2019t tell us your favorite book?\u201d<\/p>\n

The blonde laughed lightly. \u201cNo, no, I said it wrong. I mean to say, it is a secret even from me — I do not know! So many books\u2026 How can I choose a favorite? I love all books. I have quite a collection.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do seem well-read,\u201d said Leo, still smiling at her. Jay watched him flirt with her in amusement; the guy seemed to have a thing for blondes. Yet another similarity to 00Carter.<\/p>\n

Finally, the line started to move. Once inside the museum, Jay and Leo headed in one direction, the blonde woman in another. But they ran into her again in the Denon Wing, where the Renaissance paintings were displayed. \u201cI love Da Vinci\u2019s work,\u201d she breathed, creeping up behind them again as they stood gazing at the Mona Lisa<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Jay jumped, startled, but Leo turned smoothly. \u201cI was named after him,\u201d he told her. \u201cLeonardo — that\u2019s my first name. The first time my mother felt me kick while she was pregnant with me was when she was standing in front of a Da Vinci painting at a museum in Venice. She took it as a sign.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally?\u201d She had put her red sunglasses up on top of her head, so they could see her smile spread slowly across her face, brightening her blue eyes. \u201cThat is a touching story. And Venice — what a beautiful city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo nodded. \u201cI love Italy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do, too. In fact, I am traveling there next, once I leave France.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah? Lucky you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLucky me,\u201d repeated the blonde, her smile turning more seductive.<\/p>\n

Leo seemed to be eating it up. \u201cBusiness or pleasure?\u201d he asked, just as flirtatiously.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, a little of both\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Jay was starting to get sick of the silky way they were talking to each other, so he wandered ahead to the next painting, the Danish woman\u2019s voice fading into the background. Wondering how Opal was doing back at the hotel, he pulled out his phone and called the room.<\/p>\n

The phone rang and rang, but finally, Opal answered with a hesitant \u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Jay,\u201d he said quickly. \u201cJust checkin\u2019 in. Any progress with the clue?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting there. The code was easy to crack this time — the idea Styx gave me was right; it was Dancing Men, a substitution cipher from an old Sherlock Holmes story, \u2018The Adventure of the Dancing Men.\u2019 Another book reference — big surprise. Unfortunately, the translation will be a lot harder.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat language this time?\u201d Jay wondered.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy best guess is Mandinka — it\u2019s an African language spoken mainly in The Gambia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAfrican? We\u2019re headed to Africa next?\u201d asked Jay, picturing himself running around a dry savanna that looked like something out of The Lion King<\/em>, with prides of hungry lions hunting zebra and gazelle, and half-naked tribal men chasing the lions with spears.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks that way. But until I\u2019m able to translate the text to know where in Africa, we aren\u2019t going anywhere. It\u2019s not going to be easy; it\u2019s an obscure language, and I don\u2019t have any background knowledge in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe ol\u2019 Vitruvian can help, world language expert that he is,\u201d Jay said somewhat sarcastically, glancing over his shoulder at Leo, who was laughing along with the Danish woman.<\/p>\n

Opal sighed. \u201cI hope so. It seems like we\u2019re falling farther and farther behind in tracking these clues. I hope the other team\u2019s having better luck in Germany.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMe too,\u201d said Jay, wishing he\u2019d listened to Nick instead of Leo and let his team go there in the first place. They might have been able to head the thief off, if not for the detour to Paris. \u201cOtherwise, Carter\u2019s never gonna let this go.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Nick paced his hotel room, still fighting the rage that filled him. He had ranted during the entire flight to Germany. He knew Diamond and Styx were both beyond sick of hearing it. But still. If everyone had just listened to him in the first place, they would have captured this thief by now. Then Opal would be free to go home, and Brian would be out of trouble.<\/p>\n

Nick flopped down on his bed. The day\u2019s investigations had come to no avail. No clear shots of the crook in question, no prints, nothing to help them on their mission. He sighed. Why had Jay trusted the new 009 over him? Why did everyone fall for the act Lame-onardo Di-Crapio put on for all of them? He felt like he was the only one who could see him for what he was: a wannabe 00Carter, trying to wreck the mission so that he would catch the villain instead of Nick. And so far, it seemed to be working. He felt a bit hurt, to be honest. Nick had thought he\u2019d proven himself enough times for his colleagues to trust his instincts at this point, and now he could see that wasn\u2019t the case.<\/p>\n

He grabbed Opal\u2019s phone, grinning as he scrolled through the numbers. Perhaps calling the FBI would be a good pick-me-up. He called the number, leaning back, snickering in anticipation.<\/p>\n

\u201cA–\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTOMMY BOY!\u201d Nick yelled, cutting Agent Tom off immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Carter! Trace the call!\u201d he heard him yelling in the background.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, have you watched that movie? I love that movie. Tommy Boy. That\u2019s your new nickname!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou made a big mistake contacting me this time, Carter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nick laughed, getting comfortable against the fluffy pillows. If nothing else, Lancy was really good about booking ritzy hotel rooms. The accommodations on missions were often better than the dorms in HimTak\u2019s headquarters. \u201cWhy? I want you to find me. That\u2019s why Opal and I decided to use her phone again. Hers is traceable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah? And why do you want me to find you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI already told you, gumshoe, I gotta lead you to the real enemy. \u2019Cause you don\u2019t know your enemy\u2026\u201d He paused, grinning. \u201cYou want me to sing for you again? Hey, did the trace go through yet?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got him! They\u2019re in Munich!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHank! Shut it!\u201d Agent Tom barked, causing Nick to laugh even more.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, now you know where I am. So, catch me if you can!\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Part 7<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Episode 10: \u00a0Catch Her If You Can Part 6   \u201cI love Paris,\u201d mused Leo, gazing out the window of the taxi at an enormous cathedral. \u201cIt\u2019s so beautiful.\u201d Beside him in the backseat, Jay hunched down, craning his neck to get a look. \u201cThat\u2019s a pretty sweet tower,\u201d he\u2026<\/p>\n

Read more<\/span><\/i><\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":145,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"templates\/template-onecolumn.php","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-373","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P5xaHX-61","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":994,"href":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/373\/revisions\/994"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}