Summary: As a powerful but novel thief, Carmen must decide how she wishes to play her game.

Standard Disclaimer: I'm just a fanfiction author. All hail the rightful owners.

Content Warning: Very mild swearword, brief sexual reference, and non-explicit violent themes.

Carmen breathed, then swallowed, then breathed again. Her hands beat out a restless cadence against the cool fabric of the armchair. Restlessly, she licked her parched lips. She looked down at the chessboard, nudged the piece with her thumb, then walked to the other side of the board and moved another piece. Circling the setup again, Carmen tipped over the king and turned away in disgust.

After a few minutes Carmen touched her bare shoulders, where the skin drew tight from the way the ceiling fan tickled the tiny hairs. She took her coat from the closet and put it on. She'd had it tailored perfectly last month. Now it was small around the upper arms and large everywhere else.

With a quick contemptuous sweep, she cleared the game board of its heavy pieces and stowed it away. Then, firmly pressing the button on the intercom, Carmen ordered "Send her in."

"Well now," Carmen declared, as her adversary walked through the door. "This is interesting, isn't it?" They could be sisters. True, the other woman's lips were pink and not red, her hair a touch curlier, her cheeks a bit higher, her hands a touch smaller, her skin a shade more deep. Their manner of dress was nothing alike. The resemblance, regardless, was uncanny. "I ask for a hostage negotiator, and they send me a body double."

"It was a difficult placement." The other woman replied tersely. She stood stock-still, in Carmen's posture but more formal. "No one wished to be chosen."

"Oh really?"

Still standing, the negotiator specified. "There is some risk you might kill whomever we send."

"Fascinating." Carmen purred. "And what about you?" She gestured with an upright palm.

For someone with good reason to be afraid, Carmen's visitor was showing rather little fear. "I needed the money, didn't I?" She asked pragmatically.

Carmen nodded, "Yes you did. Sit down." She pointed to a chair, on the other side of where the chessboard had previously rested, "Have a drink."

Proudly, her guest shook her head. "I'm on the job."

Carmen shrugged gracefully. "Water, then." She reached for a pitcher and poured, listening to ice cubes clink against the side of the vessel. When finished, she slid the cup forward.

"Is it important to you," The negotiator demanded, gingerly sitting down, "That I behave as your guest?"

"Is it important for you to refuse?" Carmen countered, a slow smile gradually spreading across her ruby lips.

The woman stared at the glass, face contemplative.

"Don't worry," Carmen's light voice carried amusement. "I'm above poison. It hasn't been properly in vogue since the Borgias. "

No movement.

The master thief shrugged. "Please yourself then." She poured herself a glass and sipped it. "So, you must be wondering why I asked for you."

"Sure."

"And I'm certain." Carmen laughed musically, "You know I don't intend to surrender."

"However you have no prisoners," The expendable woman specified, "Myself notwithstanding. And making a hostage of a hostage negotiator is… convoluted isn't it?"

"There is," Carmen licked her lips and set down her drink, "Something I am willing to trade. I would like to know what I can get for it."

"And that is?"

Unblinking Carmen answered. "I'll disarm, completely. I will carry nothing more dangerous than a pocket knife and I will order my employees to do likewise."

"And this would apply to…?"

"Any object that is primarily a weapon and also the use of any tool as a weapon. Under any contexts," she smirked, "Provided you don't peer through my bedroom door that is."

"I see… Well generally we do not make these sorts of deals with…"

"Terrorists?" Carmen finished brightly.

The negotiator frowned, "Illegitimate foreign governmental entities."

"You flatter me."

"However," Her double said firmly. "I am interested to know more about why you are making this offer."

Carmen shrugged. "I don't want blood on my hands. It's tacky."

"As of yet," The woman mused, "You are not responsible for any deaths."

Distantly, the master thief clarified, "My career is young."

"Am I to take it," The voice held caution, "That you are threatening violence if you don't get whatever you're asking for?"

"Of course not!" She laughed again. "That wouldn't be very stylish."

"What is it you want then?"

Carmen leaned forward, eyes cold and intense. "When one of your people kills one of mine…"

The negotiator swallowed,

"And claims it's because they might have been drawing a gun,"

She swallowed again.

"I want you to call them a murderer and a liar. No one who works with me could possibly," she leaned on the word, "be carrying a gun." The smirk was altogether terrifying. "Everyone knows that."

"There are folks," Carmen's double finally said, "Who'll be willing to kill your henchmen. Gun or no gun."

"I know." Carmen replied softly, "But they are defending property, not themselves."

The negotiator shrugged, "That's a hell of a concession to make for an ideological victory."

Carmen shrugged. "I know."

For a long moment, the face was smooth and thoughtful. Then it tightened. "You can't expect this to result in any actions, or convictions rather. You'd be buying words."

"I see." Carmen mused. "Well it's how it goes. Isn't it? You're a negotiator. I'm a thief, a liar, a traitor, but I'm not a murderer." Her tone never shifted. "It is important that I know who I am."

"Nah," The woman breathed. "There's confusion here, but it's not yours. You know who you are. This is something else."

The master thief didn't move, not even slightly.

"Your legacy?"

"It's what I want." Carmen said simply.

Finally, her double nodded. "I'll carry your offer to my superiors. For what it's worth, I think they'll accept."