Chapter XI: Endgame

Three days and three nights had passed since the Triad Treasure had been lost. A search crew was out on the bay, but they had recovered none of the precious items the cave had contained...nor any bodies. However, the broken and rusting pieces of a few VILE-Bots had been recovered, so they knew they were likely looking in the right place.

It was a cold comfort, to say the least.

Batman lay crouched upon a cathedral gargoyle, brooding in the silence of the night, his brain running through the motions as he recalled those last moments in the hidden cavern beneath the harbor.

"It wasn't your fault, sir," Alfred had told him. "There was nothing you could have done."

As if that fact had ever helped in the past.

The Caped Crusader looked up. The moon was curved into a white crescent, looking for all the world like the mocking smile of a Cheshire Cat. The masked man focused on it contemplatively for a while...before another light quickly caught his eye.

It was the Bat-Signal, lighting upon a dark cloud.

Batman scowled, eyes narrowing, and unfurled his cape. He jumped from the gargoyle perch and caught an updraft, gliding through the cool night air. The city seemed so quiet now, he thought, as he flew through the shadows; stillness was so rare in Gotham City, it was honestly more unnerving than excitement.

If you have ever cut yourself VERY deeply with a sharp knife, you know there is a moment or two, immediately after the sensation of pain, and immediately before the blood starts to flow, where you feel a tense sort of numbness; you know what's coming, but for a moment, your brain tricks itself and wonders if it will. That strange sort of tension was perhaps the best analogy for a calm night in Gotham City, and it left Batman particularly uneasy as his cape billowed in the chilly darkness.

In due time, the Caped Crusader found his way to the roof of Police Headquarters...but the moment he dropped down and let his cape fall, he frowned in confusion.

Not a single officer was anywhere around.

"Commissioner?" he called, his voice growling thanks to the modulator in his cowl. "Hello?"

He froze as a familiar, feminine chuckle caught his ears…

...And from around the spotlight...she appeared. He could now make out BOTH of her steel blue eyes, the curve of her ruby red lips, the twinkle of the starlight in her earrings...and of course the flash of her long, red trenchcoat and floppy fedora, which covered up the dark catsuit beneath.

"I was tempted to steal your spotlight, too," Carmen Sandiego almost sang, gesturing towards the Bat-Signal. "But I think I've had enough fun."

There was a pause. Carmen raised an eyebrow, and lifted her right arm; she pulled back her sleeve, glancing at a red and green wristwatch she wore.

"How did you escape?" Batman asked at length, not sure of where else to start.

"It's what I do," Carmen said in a dismissive, casual tone of voice, then smiled up at him again. "Speaking of, my next escape should be here QUITE shortly. We have time to chat till then."

Batman narrowed his eyes and said nothing.

Carmen let out an amused-sounding puff of air, then turned and lifted a medium-sized green bag up from behind the Bat-Signal. With a light, perhaps exaggerated grunt of exertion, she tossed it at Batman's feet.

It opened...and a few gold and silver coins, along with a single painted scroll, fell free. Just an inkling of the rest of its contents.

"I was able to save all that," she said, calmly. "At least some of the Triad Treasure can now be displayed before the world. You'll find the sculpture of Bast, the toy of Grock, and the Enigma Machine in there, too."

Batman glanced down at the bag...then looked back up at the Miss of Misdemeanors.

"What happened to the Joker?" he asked.

To his slight surprise, a frown creased Carmen's lovely face. She dipped her head, eyes hidden by her hat brim, and turned away slightly.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I lost both hold and sight of him during the collapse. I was so focused on gathering as much of the treasure as I could before getting out...I have no clue if he survived."

Batman scoffed.

"Don't beat yourself up about it," he muttered. "I know him too well to think he's gone for good. Experience has taught me that if there's no body, he's just waiting for the right moment to ring the curtain up again."

Carmen said nothing in response. She simply lifted her head and gave Batman a quiet, curious look from beneath her hat brim, the wind rushing through her long, auburn hair.

After another moment's pause, the Dark Knight was alerted to the sound of helicopter rotors. He turned over his shoulder, and saw a large red helicopter, with a huge "V" stenciled onto its side, nearing the rooftop.

He turned back to Carmen and glared.

Carmen smiled almost apologetically.

"There's no point in me trying to catch you now, is there?"

"You're learning, Detective."

"I have only one question."

"I might have an answer."

"Why? If you didn't want to keep the Triad Treasure for yourself, what was the point of all this?"

Carmen gave him a shadowy and secretive smirk.

"You could come up with several reasons," she suggested. "Perhaps I wanted to see how the World's Greatest Detective could match against the World's Greatest Thief. Perhaps I just thought an old-fashioned treasure hunt would be a fun change of pace. Perhaps I simply hoped to do some good with the Treasure, to begin with. In fact, perhaps I suspected your enemies would come after me, allowing you to nab no less than three of Gotham's most heinous villains in a single evening."

"I find that last one hard to believe."

Carmen hummed thoughtfully, and turned her head upwards.

"In the words of philosopher Friedrich Nitetzsche," she purred, "'A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything.' Of course, I'm sure you're aware of at least that much…"

She then looked back at the detective with a mysterious smile.

"...Right, Mr. Wayne?"

Batman's eyes widened for a moment...but he quickly regained his composure.

"How did you find out?" he hissed.

The woman in the fedora shrugged, then reached into her trenchcoat…

...And pulled out a batarang. The very same one she had stolen from Batman during their first encounter, several nights ago.

"I have my ways," she said, cryptically, and with a practiced flick of the wrist sent the boomerang-liked blade flying towards the Dark Knight…

...Who deftly caught it in one of his own hands, glaring at the master criminal.

"Oh, don't look at me that way," chortled Carmen. "I was a detective once, too, remember? You may not like me, Batman - it comes with your job description - but I should hope you, of all people, can trust me to know better than to divulge such a startling secret."

As she spoke these words, a light washed over them. Batman looked up; the helicopter had finally arrived. He'd been so focused, it caught him off guard.

Out of the side of the chopper appeared a VILE-Bot; it unrolled a rope ladder, and dropped it down to its mistress.

The elusive thief placed one foot and one hand on the ladder...then grinned rather teasingly back at Batman.

"Last chance, Detective!"

"Leave Gotham. Now. And never come back."

Carmen Sandiego laughed.

"I make no promises. Until Next Crime, Dark Knight…"

She stepped fully onto the ladder, and tipped her hat.

"...CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!"

And just like that the helicopter rose and pulled away...flying off into the night. Still laughing, the Lady in Red waved farewell, as Batman watched the chopper disappear.

Going...going...gone.

The moment Carmen Sandiego was out of sight, the Caped Crusader quietly looked down at the batarang in his hand.

On the flat of the blade was painted a single bright red letter V.

"...Until Next Crime...perhaps I will."

The sound of an alarm going off in the distance - from the direction of the first national bank - broke Batman out of his reverie. With a scowl and a growl, the Dark Knight detective swirled his cape about him...and vanished into the darkness.

Enemies Come, and Enemies Go...But Crime Marches On.

The End