“Carmen.”

“Gray.”

The two stared at each other from across the dimly lit room. Carmen on the cold, dank floor, her hands tied behind her back and chained to the ground. Gray with his electric rod in his hands, sizzling with neon green electricity.

“It’s Crackle,” Gray said in his Australian accent, his charming dimples nowhere to be found.

Carmen smiled a little and tilted her head. “You will always be Gray to me,” she said softly, a little sadly. She watched Gray’s frown turn into a glare as he gripped the rod more tightly. As if he was going to do anything with it, Carmen thought. But she wasn’t worried. All she had to do was distract him by making him believe she had what he wanted while Shadowsan ran around the lair that was directly above them and stole the artifacts before VILE realized the deception.

Gray shook his head in frustration. “Just give VILE what they want. Please, Carmen. I don’t want to have to hurt you.” Gray said the words as if they were difficult to get out.

“We both know you could never do that,” Carmen said. She met his eyes and knew they were both thinking the same thing.

Two years earlier. His arms wrapped around her. “The only thing I ever regret doing for VILE was trying to hurt you.” Him walking away as a thin crack ran through her heart.

Carmen had thought the heartbreak had healed, but she once again found herself seized with longing for what could be.

“It doesn’t have to be this way, Gray,” desperation bleeding into her voice. “VILE is evil. More than you know! We worked together once. We can be like that again. Please, Gray,” she said, her voice falling to the softest of whispers. But she knew she had already lost him.

The hardness had returned to his eyes. “You know I can’t do that, Carmen.”

“Then you’ve already hurt me.”

“Carmen, Jack and Ivy have the package. Shadowsan’s on his way,” Player said through the earpiece in her earring. A few moments later, a vent in the ceiling burst open and Shadowsan dropped down, landing almost silently.

“Just tell us where you put the artifacts and I might be able to let you go…” Gray had been saying. He trailed off. “Ah, I should have known,” he said, as Shadowsan ran to Carmen and broke off her chains with his samurai sword. Carmen jumped up and assumed a fighting stance.

“You may think you’re making the right choice, but know this Gray. I will never give anything to VILE,” she said fiercely. They’ve taken enough from me already.

Gray activated his crackle rod and it started sizzling and popping with more intensity.

“Fine. Be that way,” he said, and immediately all three jumped into action.