Carmen & Gray: A Tale of Two Thieves (Book 2)

The Discovery

dino chicken nuggies

Carmen's PoV

I woke to the sound of my phone ringing, the familiar custom ringtone I had set for Player at max volume. I quickly reached for it, and went to go wake Gray.

"Hey... Player..." I yawned loudly and stretched, arching my back and stretching my arms out.

"Carmen! It's so good to hear from you again! I saw in the news headlines that all the rubies were given back by an "unidentified individual", so I take it all went smoothly?"

"Yep. The worst thing about the entire caper was the red-eye flight, believe it or not." He laughed briskly, before continuing with the call.

"Well, I actually called you for another reason. Recently, a bunch of archaeological sites have been excavated. There also seems to be some strange rumours going around, about a certain "maroon-headed child". Some of the paintings they've found look a lot like you when you were a baby! It could just be coincidence but... it's worth checking out."

"That is odd..." I trailed off, and began thinking to myself. It had been a long time since I'd visited Argentina, and I couldn't help but feel a connection to the place as I believed that that's where I was found by Coach Brunt for so long... "Sounds like fun! When do we leave?"

"How does 12 pm in two days sound?"

"Great! Thanks Player!"

"Anytime. Alright, I got to go. Cya!"

"Bye." I hung up the phone, and let out a deep breath. I smiled to myself. It'll be nice to have an adventure and go somewhere and not have to fight V.I.L.E.

"Good morning." Gray yawned sleepily, walking over to me and planting a kiss on my nose.

"I just got off the phone with Player. What would you say to taking a little vacation to Argentina?"

3 days later

We had gotten off the plane a while ago, and had began making our way towards the site from the hotel. It was around 10 in the morning, and we had landed around 6. (I didn't do the math for the flight sue me 🤷🏽‍♀️) The bright sun sizzled in the humid air, so I was glad that I had brought plenty of water. The marketplace was crowded with adults and teens purchasing items and children weaving between everyone's legs in a game of tag. The various browns, reds, and yellows of the clothes and stalls blended together beautifully to create a warm and mellow landscape. The stalls and people lessened as we neared the exit of the long path, and the construction equipment for the site could be seen in the distance.

Part of me couldn't help but feel a little... anxious. It would be absolutely insane for it to actually have something with me... wouldn't it?

"Hey Carmen, 'you coming?" I didn't realise I had stopped at the exit of the marketplace, and that Gray was a little bit ahead of me.

"Yep!" I smiled and jogged up to meet him. "Let's go dig!"