Chasing the Past--A Carmen Sandiego Story

2---The Glass Water Club

The Colonial Singapore Caper, pt.2

Feb 7

23:26 S.S.T   

 Sentosa, Singapore.

Carmen gestured to the third bazaar they had passed. This one had multiple vendors buzzing about and a bit of a crowd. Ivy's eyebrows shot up. "This is where you're famous club is?"

"Hidden in plain sight. The Glass Water club is full of criminals and has a renowned cage-fight arena. It's better for them to be more discreet."

The sound of player's fingers clacking on keys returned. "Okay, Ivy. I'm going to tell you what you have to say. Don't stutter. Make sure to leave your communicators in the car. They'll have alarms to detect for any trackers or weaponry you might have on you."

"Hoo. Okay. It's all about confidence." Ivy repeated to herself. As Player relayed the code she'd need to say to get in, Carmen began to analyze the bazaar. It was larger than the ones they'd seen previously, making it harder to determine who they'd need to say the code to. After Ivy was ready, they discarded their communicators in the black automobile, parking it in an area that was harder to reach.

"There." Ivy pointed to an old woman hunched behind a putrid stall reeking of dead carcasses and sea salt. Fish lined her booth, big and small.

"Her?" Carmen couldn't hide her surprise. The woman was a fragile thing.

"Yeah. I couldn't believe it either. Player said I needed to speak in a Singaporean dialect. The only one I knew some of was mandarin, since I took it in high school."

"You'll do great. Mandarin was the one language I was taught that I couldn't master back on the island. You'll have to teach me sometime."

"Sure." She paused and smiled. "Lucky Zack isn't here. He'd be like 'ugh, Fish!'"
Carmen chuckled. "We all have our weaknesses. And dead fish are pretty gross."

"True that."

As they approached the stall, Carmen could feel eyes lingering on Ivy and her. Though a quarter of Singapore's population wasn't Chinese, she knew their mannerisms screamed foreign. The extravagant dresses didn't help. Still, she kept her eyes forward and chin raised. She knew from experience to not show any sign of discomfort.

The old woman looked up, distrust and curiosity evident in her almond shaped eyes.

"Zhèxiē yú kàn qǐlái bu xīnxiān." (These Fish do not look fresh.) Ivy said, and Carmen was surprised at how effortlessly the words came out despite her earlier anxiety.

The woman looked up, a wicked glimmer in her eyes. "Tāmen shì jīntiān zǎoshang cóng hǎishàng dài lái de." (They are. Brought from the sea this morning.)

"Wǒ tīng shuō xīnjiāpō zhōuwéi dì hǎiyáng xiàng bōlí yīyàng qīngchè." (I hear the seas around Singapore are clear as glass.)

The woman smiled, revealing a mouth of yellow teeth with a few missing. "Nà nǐ huì shì duì de." (Then you would be correct.)

"Yǒu yītiān, wǒ xīwàng zìjǐ kàn kàn." (Someday, I wish to see it for myself.) Ivy's Bostonian accent affected her mandarin to a degree, but there was a confidence in her voice that seemed to be tricking the old woman.

The woman nodded her head to the door behind her stall. "Zhè tiáo lù." (This way.)

Ivy and Carmen reluctantly followed the woman into a dark hallway. It exited out into the wilderness. The woman motioned for them to follow and disappeared into the jungle-like area. They shot a wary glance at each other before following.  For ten minutes, they trudged through the underbrush. Finally, they arrived at a manicured estate.