Carmen was examining the window as Graham dropped down from the vents. Pain flared in his leg as he hit the floor, but he ignored it.

"Should we break the glass?" he asked, stepping up beside her. He peered at the seemingly endless forest outside the window, and spotted something attached to the side of the building.

Carmen frowned at the sheet of glass. "It would probably trigger some sort of alarm if we did, alerting the faculty."

Honestly, Graham was surprised the faculty hadn't noticed their absence already. He opened his mouth to comment on this, but he was interrupted as red lights began flashing and a loud wail blasted from the speakers embedded in the ceiling.

"ALERT: PRISONERS ON THE LOOSE. ALERT: PRISONERS ON THE LOOSE."

Graham instantly leaped forward as metal shutters began closing over the window. He shoved the crackle rod he had stolen from the guard into its gears, preventing it from closing.

He offered a hand to Carmen.

"Do you trust me?" he asked her, raising his voice over the noise of the sirens.

She stared at him incredulously. "Are you crazy? There's a four story drop below the window, we can't just-"

Shouts sounded around the corner, and he raised an eyebrow at her. "As I said, do you trust me?"

She gave him a lopsided smile and took his hand. "Hang on tight, don't let go?"

"Exactly," he replied.

He wrapped her in a tight embrace and heard someone yell, "There they are! Get them!" before crashing through the window and falling into the fresh air outside.

Graham twisted his head around and spotted precisely what he was looking for. He reached out and took hold of the long pipe running down the side of the building, pulling himself and Carmen towards it. She caught on to his idea instantly and latched onto the pole with her free hand, though she retained a firm grip on Graham's other hand.

The two of them were able to slow their downward momentum by the time they reached the ground, and took off running into the forest.

"There's bound to be some sort of escape vehicle around here somewhere," Graham huffed as they ran, looking around.

Carmen angled her head at a clearing a little ways in front of them. "How about a helicopter?" she asked, grinning.

Gray's eyes widened as they reached the clearing. "Crikey!" He couldn't believe their luck. "Do you know how to fly one of these things?"

Carmen shrugged. "I'm sure I can figure it out," she said casually, picking the lock on the door with a particularly springy pine needle (because she's Carmen Sandiego, and she's just awesome like that). She yanked open the door and climbed inside.

Now it was Graham's turn to stare at her. "This seems like a terrible idea," he replied, eyeing the helicopter nervously.

Carmen rolled her eyes and pulled him inside. "I'm just joking. Of course I know how to fly a chopper. Now, we'd better hurry up before V.I.L.E. catches up with us."

Normally, it was only the doors of a helicopter that required a key, and the engine would turn on at the push of a button after the doors were unlocked. But since Carmen had forced through the lock, the doors hadn't registered as properly unlocked, and therefore the engine wouldn't turn on. Thankfully, Graham knew how to hotwire a helicopter, and the engine rumbled to life.

As the two of them put on headsets and buckled their harnesses, he cast a nervous look at Carmen. Even though she knew how to fly a helicopter, heights had never been his favorite thing in the world. She squeezed his hand reassuringly before guiding the helicopter off the ground, careful to stay clear of the trees surrounding them.

"As soon as we get above the treeline, V.I.L.E. will be able to spot us easily," Carmen told him, her voice crackling through his headset. The roar of the chopper droned in the background. "They'll send other helicopters after us, and I'll probably have to do some evasive maneuvers to lose them. So you'll want to hold on tight."

She didn't have to tell him twice. His knuckles were white as he gripped the handle beside him as if his life depended on it.