Still passing through the canals of Paris, Carmen Sandiego is in the midst of planning her next move with her friend and hacker, Player. The pair that had tailed Carmen following her escape at the Paris train station are still behind her boat, which does not elude her notice. Their methods, while more subtle and finely tuned compared to Interpol's, still puts Carmen one step ahead she instructs her driver Zack to ditch them. The suits give chase but get routed when they're blocked by a barge piloted by Carmen's other accomplice; Zack's sister Ivy. Ivy jumps aboard Carmen's boat and the trio successfully escape their pursuers.
Carmen and her team fly out of Paris en route to Jakarta, Indonesia on the island of Java to investigate a V.I.L.E. center of operations. Carmen tries to identify the two people that tried to follow them but is unsuccessful in getting any hits on a digital facial recognition, meaning they are unaffiliated with any faction that the team has dealt with thus far. The next day, at Interpol's regional offices in Paris, Chase Devineaux and Julia Argent are debriefing each other on the events from the previous day in preparation to interrogate the young man they arrested on the train and ascertain what Carmen Sandiego's involvement is with him. Unfortunately, upon entering the room where he was being held, they quickly discover he has already left the building on a granted release. Outside, Crackle is sitting inside a waiting limousine departing from the Interpol offices. His drivers, the pair of V.I.L.E. operatives referred to as "Cleaners", communicate back to faculty council that they are on their way back to the island with Crackle in tow.
Dr. Saira Bellum brings up surveillance footage of Carmen Sandiego boarding a plane bound for Java, suggesting that Carmen is heading there to target one of her pet projects, but Professor Maelstrom is confident that the operative they have stationed in Java will not fail them should Carmen interfere. On the ground in the jungles of Java, Zack is driving the team to their next objective: a laboratory run by Dr. Bellum. After scouting the facility with a drone and disabling the security interface, the team enters only to find that whoever was in the facility had only left shortly before their arrival. Downloading data on their computers, Player informs the team that V.I.L.E. has been experimenting with a fungus that can feed on rice. Combined with the density of rice fields in Indonesia, Carmen deduces that V.I.L.E. intends to decimate the rice crops and then substitute their own imitation products to fill the gulf in order to profit off the famine that will ensue.
Finding evidence of V.I.L.E.'s heading away from the labs, Carmen and company follow the trail and catch up to the box truck carrying V.I.L.E.'s stockpile. Carmen boards the truck, which is being guarded by Carmen's rival from the academy, Tigress. The two engage on the top of the truck and a fight breaks out as Zack and Ivy come in from behind the truck. Ivy takes it upon herself to get inside the truck but is left in a precarious position when the doors to the truck swing open and leave her hanging above a sheer drop. Ivy's predicament distracts Carmen but gives Tigress the chance to gain the advantage. Ivy manages to fall back into the jeep while Carmen sees what was inside the truck, fireworks, giving her a better picture of what V.I.L.E. might be plotting. She bails by grappling onto the tire of the jeep and lets the truck drive on without her.
While Zack and Ivy work on the damaged jeep, Player and Carmen meld minds in order to figure out what V.I.L.E. might be planning. Given that there were fireworks inside the truck, the most likely scenario would be that V.I.L.E. plans to launch the fireworks with the fungal spores onboard, spreading them when the fireworks explode. The most likely target, based on the truck's direction of travel, is a shadow puppet play just outside the capital city adjacent to several rice patties, replacing the fireworks that were planned to be launched with their own. Back at Interpol, Julia and Chase are unsuccessful in identifying the man they arrested and with his escape, Chase is disheartened that his only opportunity to link back to Carmen Sandiego is no longer an option.
While the Indonesian shadow play takes place, Tigress is behind the scenes swapping out the fireworks prepared for the festival with V.I.L.E.'s own. After informing Dr. Bellum that the weapons are ready for launch, Tigress is instructed to let things play out as scheduled, despite the fact the delay gives Carmen a window of opportunity to strike. Unfortunately for Tigress, Carmen is already in the area and drops in and with Dr. Bellum too distracted to give any further instructions, Tigress is forced into another fight with her rival. The pair battle amidst the band providing the music for the shadow puppet show as Ivy and Zack arrive on the scene. Tigress "borrows" one of Ivy's stilts while Zack offers his up to Carmen voluntarily. Carmen and Tigress clash in a fierce staff duel while the siblings go to disarm the V.I.L.E. fireworks.
Tigress knocks Carmen onto her back but Carmen manages to kick Tigress before she can land the finishing blow, which causes Tigress to hit an overhanging light and bring an end to the puppet show. Tigress flees the fight and lights the fuse to the fireworks before escaping into the night. However, thanks to Zack and Ivy, the V.I.L.E.-planted fireworks were swapped back for the original fireworks, meaning none of the spores were released into the atmosphere and the crisis averted.
Back at V.I.L.E.'s island headquarters, Dr. Bellum and Crackle are complaining to Professor Maelstrom about Carmen's interference in their operations. Maelstrom instructs Crackle to sit in a chair, which locks him in. Malestrom explains while failure is not unheard of and is tolerable at V.I.L.E., Crackle's capture by Interpol is a grievous misstep that could have cost the organization dearly and will not be overlooked. Dr. Bellum places a visor over Crackle's eyes and assures him nothing bad will happen, despite Crackle being clearly terrified what they have planned.
The two agents who had been trying to track Carmen Sandiego report in from Java that they have once again failed. The repeated lack of success in tracking her has forced their commanding officer to employ "Plan B" in order to locate her.
Tropes in this episode:
- Poison and Cure Gambit: A variation. V.I.L.E.'s plot is to infect Indonesia's entire crop of rice with a fungus, and then profit off selling rice to them.
