Archived Thanksgiving at V.I.L.E. HQ

[Vic]

[Archival Post: Original thread | Posted on Nov 27, 2008]
[Leave comments in the Discussion Thread]

Who: @Vic the Slick, Carmen Sandiego
What: An informal, one day only RP
Where: Somewhere in V.I.L.E. HQ

Vic cleaned his new shoes and polished them until he could see his own reflection clearly on the black leather and vaguely on the white. When he grinned, he spotted a piece of vegetable between his teeth and dug in with his smallest fingernail to get it out.

Part of his morning routine every day was to clean the shoes, then slick the hair with enough gel to change the colors of the Prismatic Lake. The mustache received extra care. He had to admit that the years were catching up to him and the little bald spot in the middle of his head was getting bigger.

Still, despite having been sent to jail more times than any three random V.I.L.E. agents combined, Vic was happy here. This would be his 10th Thanksgiving with the league.

 

[Carmen]

4:57 a.m.
Inside a silent aircraft, Carmen Sandiego glanced at a green digital clock on a heavily blinking dashboard.Three more minutes.

"Warning," the computer notified, "Refuel."

4:58 a.m.
Carmen smiled to herself and took in a light breath. She pushed her tongue between her teeth, pressing softly--a subconscious sign of reassurance.

4:59 a.m.
The plane eased in for a landing. A sudden pop sounded like clashing thunder in her head, then the dashboard went black. The craft was dead.

5:00 a.m.
"I didn't make it!" Carmen shouted to the simulation engineer when the plane's door slid open with a hydraulic hiss. "You promised me a full hour." It was barely a minute less than advertised, and she was not the type to nag, but such was the reason for these rigorous tests.

"Recheck the system and see if you can get me at least 70 minutes on this thing?" Hopping out, she casually nodded to the other engineers and gathered herself to leave. "Let's schedule another test next week," she waved, "good night, gentlemen."

Leaving the testing facilities and entering the area that many V.I.L.E. agents consider as a second home, Carmen noticed a familiar green suit shining his shoes.

"Are you up early or up late, Vic?" She asked casually, planning to end the conversation in the next two or three sentences.

 

[Vic]

Vic the Slick gave a pathetic sigh and shrugged. "I suppose it's a little of both, Carmen. It's thanksgiving, y'know, and I'm not seeing any celebrating third year in a row!"

 

[Carmen]

"You… celebrate Thanksgiving, US, last-Thursday-of-November Thanksgiving?" This was something new for Carmen. He might have hinted this to her before, but obviously, he never made it clear.

She was silent for a good second or so.

"I thought you hated conformity?"

 

[Vic]

Vic grinned.

"Yeah, that's me, but I like good o' tradition, see? I think we're missing that, here at this HQ."

He stood up and put on the shined shoes. "We don't even do turkey heists, or something with a giant cornucopia…"

 

[Carmen]

"Vic, really," Carmen skeptically ended the topic her way, "maybe next year, I'll even let you plan it." The training had taken all night, and the Thief needed her beauty sleep, or what's left of it.

However, as she started to leave, a conscious thought popped into her mind about seeming insensitive to "The Slick". After all, he had been a willing henchman much longer than some people she considered "friends". Why was he so bothered by a holiday?

"Hold on, Vic," she took a breath, "what is this about?"

 

[Vic]

"It's about Thanksgiving!" Vic merrily threw his arms up into the air, "A time to be nostalgic, to think about what we're thankful for, y'know, Carmen."

Then Vic rubbed his mustache a little, rolling one side to a taper between his index finger and thumb.

"Me and the boys, you give us free time during the Holidays, so we go party, we have fun, we talk." He continued, "but you're never there. Even Patty, she's practically all grown up, when was the last time you saw her?"

"It's Thanksgiving, Carmen, what are you thankful for?"

 

[Carmen]

"I'm…," Carmen couldn't answer right away, and if she did, it might have sounded rehearsed. Worse, this was coming from Vic--Vic the Slick, of all the sentimentally nostalgic henchmen to make her partially soft and retrospective.

Better turn this around, "This is about me not spending free time with you guys?"

Good question Carmen, she thought to herself, let's see Vic answer that one.

 

[Vic]

"You guessed it!" Vic clapped, "the new recruits never even seen you, Carmen, not even with your hat on." He put his hands in his pockets.

"Why don't you, I dunno, come have Thanksgiving dinner with the gang tonight, or join a few of us for Christmas in Sweden before all of us forget what you look like?"

 

[Carmen]

Carmen barely blinked at Vic's request. It was sweet, sure, but joining a henchmen gathering wasn't always--How does she put this?--Proper. She didn't hire people because she needed people, she hired them to support the people she already had in the league. One thing required another, and while she liked socializing, she really couldn't be bothered this time of year. Plans were laid out since September.

"Vic, you know I don't do gatherings," she sympathetically smiled, "but keep me posted, perhaps next year."

With that, she turned on her heels and walked off. It was time for a nice long bath and a three-hour nap. At 10 a.m., she has to initiate a virtual conference with her personal team of investment bankers in Switzerland.

Something told her Vic was going to bring this up again the next time he felt nostalgic, she would have to prepare a better excuse.

 

[Vic]

Shaking his head with a smile, Vic made circles with his foot and sighed. Some things he could never sell.

He shrugged and left the room in his best clothes. The V.I.L.E. henchmen are having an an all-day Thanksgiving barbeque this year with Robocrook at the pit. Later tonight, Eartha, Patty, and Vic were going to ride in Contessa's limo and have a turkey while driving over the Brooklyn Bridge.

Carmen might have enjoyed that, oh well.

[END]​