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Carmen Sandiego sighed as she walked into Dubai Mall. Ignoring the noisy people who were walking around on the first level with either family members or friends or even co-workers.

She had taken a personal trip to Dubai to get Zack one of Al Sibaq's cars as a birthday present, since Al Sibaq did give them a discount as a thank you for (not so) safely returning his car.

It had been several months since Team Red was in Dubai, and a lot has happened in those several months. From her almost dying of hypothermia to finding out the truth about her father.

And also hacking into ACME's network to see if Shadowsan's story checked out. And it did.

At first, she wanted to blame Chief for all of it. And she did, but for a short amount of time.

It took her some thinking about her life as a toddler when her father was still around. And also recalling that he was a part of VILE Faculty. And to become a Faculty member, you have to go to the extremes. You had to be a wanted criminal.

And that's exactly what her father was.

And now, well, it was no surprise to her that Dexter Wolfe, a wanted criminal, had died from an act of defense.

She had to put herself in Chief's shoes at that time. What would she do if a criminal who is wanted by Interpol, a well-known law enforcement agency, reached into his pocket which could've had anything held for him?

She definitely would've acted on instinct in defense of her own life and many others.

Carmen's goal after getting Zack his birthday present is to at least try to make amends with Chief. What she did was petty and wrong, and it needed to be addressed. Not just by herself, though.

Carmen continued to walk to where her destination was, but a voice from behind stopped her in her tracks.

"Well; hello Miss~." The voice said.

Carmen whipped her head around to see a man of Japanese descent in his mid-twenties with gleaming amber eyes. He was wearing a navy blue button-up shirt with a pair of simple blue jeans.

Carmen raised an eyebrow at him. "And whom may I have the luxury of speaking with?" She asked, placing a hand on her hip.

The man smiled at her. "Aron Koizumi. I'm an actor and model. And you are, Miss?"

Carmen (rather reluctantly) smiled politely at him. "Carmen."

"Carmen, huh? You seem..new." Aron said, subtly moving closer to the woman in red.

"I am, actually. Well, not entirely. I've been here before, but it was several months ago."

Aron hid his smirk with his still-friendly and handsome smile. "Oh, really? Well, me too, actually. I'm here on a modeling job." He said, sneaking his left hand behind Carmen. Ready to snake it around her waist and seduce her. But, suddenly, someone else had entered the fray.

Abruptly, Aron felt his wrist being pulled away from Carmen's waist and was firmly gripped by a strong and rough hand.

"I didn't think you would be here in Dubai, Aron." The newcomer said.

Aron turned to look at the person who had stopped him in his attempt to woo Carmen and was surprised to see who it was.

Before Carmen and Aron, stood a man in his thirties who was of Korean descent. He had on a black formal suit with a white button-up shirt underneath. Along with a red tie.

The man was none other than Zhan Lan.

Aron internally scowled at the sight of the businessman. 'Dammit. Now my chances with her are over. Well..maybe not entirely.'

"Chairman, it is good to see you." He said, somewhat nervously. Which got Carmen's attention.

"Mr. Zhan." Carmen greeted.

Lan gave her a sly smirk. "Carmen. A pleasure to see you again."

"Oh please, The pleasure is mine." Carmen replied, trying to not notice the visible scowl Aron was sending Lan's way.

Aron cleared his throat, entering the conversation once again. He turned back to Carmen.

"So, Carmen, what do you do for a living? Are you a model? Actress? Singer? Dancer?" Aron asked her, wanting to get to know the woman he wanted to wrap around his delicate finger.

Carmen shook her head. "None of those things, actually. I came to Dubai to get my friend Zack a new car."

Aron raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh? And how are you supposed to do that if..you don't have a job?" He asked, while side-glancing at Lan.

"Well, I'm looking for a new job at the moment. But Mr. Al Sibaq gave us a discount on his store here. As a thank you for safely returning his car to him." Carmen explained, while making sure to not mention the part of Zack and Ivy driving the car off a blimp and onto a rooftop.

Aron hummed. "I see. Well, if you want any help paying off debts, then I might be able to help." He said, winking at Carmen.

Carmen was visibly not interested in what Aron was implying, since he seemed to be very flirtatious with her ever since they crossed paths only a few minutes ago.

"Umm..okay, thank you." Carmen said.

Aron laughed, trying to make himself sound melodic enough to hopefully at least have her take an interest in him.

"No problem! Oh, and did you know that I am actually one of the top models in Japan? I'm much better than Yuka Mannami. Oh! And Kiko Muzuhara! And definitely above Rina Fukushi-"

As Aron blabbered on about how amazing he was, Carmen leaned in near Lan.

"Is he always like this?" She asked in an annoyed tone.

"Aron Koizumi isn't used to not getting the woman he wants. He's like a spoiled brat, so it's best not to indulge him and resist as much as possible." Lan whispered back, while watching Aron closely as he ranted on about several other actors/actresses and models who weren't as great as he was.

Carmen scoffed. "Easier said that done. He's a huge blabbermouth."

Lan chuckled at Carmen's comment, not really saying anything. Which slightly annoyed the young woman.

Carmen fixated her attention back to Aron, who was still going on and on about how interesting his life and career was.

She cleared her throat, interrupting Aron's..ranting.

She sighed. "Look, Aron, that sounds amazing and all, but..if you're trying to impress me or something, it's not really working."

Aron was suddenly at her side in an instant, but he made sure to keep some distance between them since he knew he would have to face the wrath of Zhan Lan if he ever landed a hand on her.

Aron smirked at her. "C'mon, sweet cheeks, I know that you've got to hold some affection for me somewhere in that beautiful skull of yours."

Carmen gave him an unimpressed look. "Seriously? Do you not take no for an answer?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Aron gave her a dopey smile. "Not when it comes to beautiful women like you, sweet cheeks."

Carmen snorted at the reused nickname. "Yeah, well, get over it. I'm not interested in you, as said before. And if you don't respect that, then you're not worth my time."

Aron smirked. "Playing hard to get, huh? I like women like that." He said. "Gives me more of a challenge."

Carmen was now visibly fuming. 'If Mr. Zhan didn't find him useful, I would've skinned him alive by now.'

Carmen took a deep breath, and let it out. "I'm not playing hard to get. I'm going to say this one last time, so listen carefully—I'm. Not. Interested. And I don't care if you have a problem with that." She said, hoping that would be enough to send this fricking playboy on his way.

Aron looked to Lan for help, but all he got was an unreadable expression from the businessman.

Aron sighed in defeat. "What a stubborn woman." He said, before turning on his heel and walking away.

Lan snickered, seeing Carmen's pissed off look fade away when she heard him.

"Hey, Carmen, do you need some water?" He asked jokingly.

Carmen rolled her eyes at the joke. "Yeah, yeah, sure."

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