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Before Carmen knew it, everyone was heading to their respective places, and the start of the exercise was nigh. A look of panic briefly flashed over her face. She was [i]useless[/i], and she had no idea where she should go. Maybe she could enter through a broken window? Sneak around until she managed to distract someone? It was the best she could come up with. Carmen knew her own limits, and she knew that she was smacking right up against one with this exercise. She was made for going undercover, not… whatever this was! Useless, useless, useless. 

Ben started to speak, and Carmen only half-listened before he said her name. She jumped and turned to look at him. [color=SeaGreen]Carm...you should probably come with me.”[/color] Ben smiled at her, and a slight blush tinged Carmen’s cheeks. [color=SeaGreen]”Don't want you getting caught out by one of them and getting shot.”[/color]

[color=b62b41]“O-oh! Okay!”[/color] She smiled back at him, not picking up on how forced his was. She hadn’t been expecting that, but she supposed she should have. After all, Ben was so nice! Hopefully, she wouldn’t bring him down much. He was arguably one of the most useful on their team at the moment, and she wouldn’t want to cost them the win.

Once Nadia told them they could go, Carmen followed Ben into the building. Although not good with guns, she was not terrible at stealth, so she made no sounds. She gazed around the first floor. It looked abandoned like they thought it would. If she was right, there wouldn’t be anyone down here- it was a vulnerable area. But they still needed to be careful. She crept after Ben, holding her nightstick rather than her pistol. With her mouth shut, she watched him shoot out the cameras. [color=b62b41]“Impressive,”[/color] she whispered, although she was sure he already knew how impressive that move had been. She nodded at him when he spoke again.

There was a loud, almost deafening sound when the paint bomb went off. Carmen jumped, startled. Thank God she hadn’t walked into that thing! She followed Ben up the stairs and into the dilapidated cubicle and glanced up at the air vent.

Ben seemed to have the same thought as her. [color=SeaGreen]”Carm, this is perfect...you can climb right in and head around the whole floor from above! Just watch out for any rats or loose screws.”[/color] 

[color=b62b41]“You want me to... get in there?”[/color] Carmen considered the vent for a long moment. She was certainly small enough to fit, and it wasn’t like Ben was asking her to snipe anyone from the vent. She should probably get in. 

But then, Ben seemed to have a second thought. He climbed up on the desk and started to jimmy open the vent. [color=SeaGreen]”I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to. Just an idea. I mean, I can go, it's just, you know, Nadia made me go through air vents all the time on missions. Because of the height thing,”[/color] Ben said. [color=SeaGreen]”But I don't want to volunteer you, y'know...I'll do it, actually,”[/color] Ben said quickly, starting to step onto the desk and head into the vents. 

Carmen’s heart stuttered in her chest. She didn’t want to be left down here [i]alone[/i]! Especially if the other team was hunting them. Plus… well, she knew she would lose in a fight. This was the only way she could be useful, damnit! [color=b62b41]“Wait!”[/color] She tugged on his jean leg with force, stopping him from entering the vent. [color=b62b41] “I didn’t disagree, did I? I’ll go. It’s a good idea, and… well, I am shorter than you,”[/color] she joked. [color=b62b41]“You’ll be better down here than I will.”[/color] Then, she practically yanked him off of the desk and stood on it herself.
 
It wasn’t hard to get into the vent. It took a bit of wiggling, but Carmen fit her shoulders into the vent (it was so dark), and then her butt, and then her feet. Once she was fully in, she started to wiggle down the little path. It was dark and claustrophobic, and she definitely heard a couple of scurrying sounds, but… she was in! [color=b62b41]“I’m in the vents,”[/color] she whispered into her radio. [color=b62b41]“I’ll report back in once I’ve seen something. Babel out.”[/color] She squinted as she saw light ahead. Could that be an opening, maybe? [/center]