Untamed Hearts: Descent Into Darkness
Author's Note: This is the second part to Raging Hearts. Most can be read and understood without reading the first part, but reading this earlier work can clarify critical plot points.
Disclaimer: Kim Possible and all characters portrayed and/or implied inside that television animated program belong solely unto Walt Disney Productions.
Two years passed since they'd gone into hiding. Kim still kept tabs on her family and friends. Much had changed during this short period.
G.J. publicly declared her dead. She even earned a star upon its memorial wall. Global Mutual also paid Anne her full death benefits, a $500,000 policy. Kim knew, all this was only ceremonial.
Dr. Director was a natural born cynic. She perceived potential threats everywhere. It's why shed held her directorate so long. The woman simply couldn't ignore a mystery. Every secret posed a potential threat unto global security. And what spelt conspiracy better than vaporized bodies (an estimate 4,000 dead, and no bodies), a blown military platform, and billion in global property damage.
Everyone blaming her didn't ease her suspicions. She barely held onto her chair. Dr. Director knew, her ex-protegee was responsible. Possible tricked her into firing, and inadvertently destroying, that platform. Now global media's lionizing Anne emasculating her agent, "I'm not into children. This cougar wants a man, not a boy".
Family, friends, acquaintances, even strange men came forward to comfort the grieving window and mother. Delivery drivers knew her address by heart. They dropped off glowers, boxes of candy, witty/romantic cards, even little stuffed animals at least two to three times per day. Anne turns down her latest suitors. That only made her more desirable in their eyes.
Work wasn't much better. An internal audit turned up accounting discrepancies with MMC upper management. Several administrative staff wound up going to prison, charged with embezzlement. The legal battle drained the hospital's funds. A shutdown seemed inevitable and everyone losing their jobs, til Mid-Land Global Health bought MMC settling the debt.
Anne did her job without causing waves. Ava Morgan, her new hospital administrator, didn't waste any time firing even senior staff members, marked as 'troublemakers'. Dr. Possible couldn't forget her daughter's inexorable warning. G.J. would go to any lengths, even murder, to gain control over her powers. And they could be behind this whole buyout.
Jim and Tim graduated as MIT valedictorians with 4.0 GPAs. Both received prestigious job offers across the globe, but passed them up staying closer to home. Even they weren't sure why.
Monique felt Anne's pain. Ron, his parents, and Hanna's deaths hit her hard enough. Her best friend's death was almost too much to bear. Monique did little but cry refusing to be comforted. Heartbroken, she lost all design inspiration. Kim foresaw this writing and mailing a final letter.
She shared her dad's deathbed advice, 'We may lose loved one, but never alone. We carry them with us in the different ways they impacted our lives. Their memories live into perpetuity as long as we're true to ourselves and pursue our dreams'.
Wade interpreted Kim's coded message. Betty would keep targeting them and their families, over being friends with her. They must stage a break-up to safeguard everyone involved. The heartbroken couple stage a tearful break up a couple of days later.
Monique moved to Milan, Italy, to begin her new career as a fashion designer.
Kim anticipated so much, but never imagined this simple letter—only meant to comfort a grieving friend—could actually stir up so much trouble.
Lighting The Spark
She had ample suspicions, but no proof. Her protegee was alive hiding somewhere under an new alias. She'd learnt log ago to trust her instincts. They'd never led her astray yet. Dr. Director couldn't justify wasting G.J. resources probing this case without solid evidence suggesting foul play or possible fraud. Foul play wouldn't work in this case. Fraud would.
Kim Possible single-handedly took down SX-7, Necros, and WEE. Her powers posed the greatest global threat to date. Her problem, she'd spent hundreds of millions and dedicated over 17,000 man hours in probing this alleged threat, but came up with next to nothing.
Now Rafael Compton, Chairman of G.J.'s Funding and Appropriations Committee, demanded an audience to examine her fraud claims.
Dr. Director ambles into chambers. Each step hesitant but deliberate. She takes her position behind the center podium, "Betty Elizabeth Director, Senior Director Global Justice, Mr. Chairman".
"We'll see about that, Director". Councilman Sosa rolls his eyes in bitter contempt.
"That's enough, Miguel!" Chairman Compton reproves him sharply. "We're not here to alienate, but appropriate G.J. resources better".
He turns his attention towards their current business at hand, "Director, I assume you know why you're here".
"I have a pretty good idea, Mr. Chairman".
"Good. This meeting shouldn't last that long," he smiles affably. Her posture and very demeanor assured him. Her probe hadn't turned up any new evidence. Get her to admit this for public record and they could end this ridiculous op adjourning this meeting. "Tell us, Director, what new have you been able to uncover regarding Agent Possible's death?"
"Nothing concrete," she mumbles.
"Sorry, we didn't get that," Alma Marinov leads forwards with her right hand resting against her right ear goading Dr. Director into speaking up.
"Nothing concrete," Dr. Director grumbles irritably louder.
She didn't yell. Councilwoman Alexia Baldwin still detected her edgy undertone pressing, "Can you please explain then, why are you wasting so many man hours and G.J.'s limited resources probing a dead case?"
Hiro Cho shared this sentiment culminating, "If this were any other case, you would've shelved it as a dead case months back. We simply can't understand something. You're a competent director. You'd never endanger your job or this agency without a damn good reason. So, what do you have? I mean, something must be driving your action beyond mere curiosity. Why not share that with us?"
Fanning The Coals
Dr. Director senses their condescension. Which meant, they didn't buy her global threat argument. The fact, they called this meeting specifically to kill this case, but didn't. That told her, they were at best divided over entertaining the possibility. "You're all right," she widens this gap. "This case is quite personal, but not for the reasons you may think".
"Why then is this case so personal?" Chairman Compton asks pointedly.
"I detest people who manipulate the legal system, while bilking G.J., Mr. Chairman".
"Who's bilking us, Director?" Chairman Compton seeks to clarify the suspect's name.
"Agent Possible, Mr. Chairman".
"Agent Possible?" Councilwoman Baldwin laughs with bitter contempt.
"Ah, c'mon," Hiro snips indignantly, "we've covered this in past meetings. You didn't have much proof then, and I'll bet you don't have much more now. And besides, if G.J.'s medical staff believed her still being alive, why did Dr. Weizmann sign her death certificate. You seconded his testimony with Global Mutual Company's assigned investigator".
"Yes, I did". She didn't deny her initial actions.
"You came back a couple months later insisting she was still alive," Councilwoman Marinov tries to build her case around her colleague's objection.
Dr. Director discerns her intentions countering, "The letter..."
"Oh, we know," Miguel Sosa interrupts, sighing heavily, before she gets started again. "That letter was postmarked 48-hours after her death".
"That was the only reason we allowed this crazy investigation, thinking maybe..." Alexia Baldwin leaves the rest hanging. Each council member had his/her own reasons for allowing this probe.
"We can't run this agency on 'what ifs' director," Chairman Compton shares his colleagues' doubts. He discerns her unwavering convictions. "And yet, you still insist she's alive".
"Mock me, if you must," she spurns all their criticism. "I won't be deterred. She's alive".
"I spoke with the postmaster in Bannock, OH. The Hela-Viper left such widespread destruction just outside their tiny town. The post office shut down 24-hours to memorialize those who'd perished in preserving their freedoms. We didn't know this then, or we'd never approved wasting G.J.'s resources probing such an open and shut case. Your own investigation proves this case being solved".
It's true, she hadn't turned up any concrete proof. Her gut, though, said her protegee's alive posing the single greatest threat to global security ever. She just needed time, maybe they'd come to see this, too. For now, she must divide and deadlock this committee. That was the only way she'd be granted the time needed to prove her suspicions.
"Here," she shoves a folder into the head guard's hands. He inspects its content, not seeing anything dangerous. He delivers the same folder into the chairman's outstretched right hand.
Chairman Compton opens the folder with piqued curiosity, thinking maybe she did have something. He inspects the content very closely, leaving his disappointed and aggravated. He passes around the 'evidence' gauging his colleagues' reaction. They, too, were unimpressed by her grandstanding. He shuts and slams his hands atop the folder cinching, "Is this how you justify wasting precious resources, unreliable affidavits, blurry surveillance photos, and a couple composite sketches?"
So Much More
Dr. Director couldn't bring up certain evidence just yet. Their hostilities would ensure they'd shut down her investigation faster. "Oh, no," she plays a wildcard baiting them, "this evidence isn't mere hearsay. Every piece represent G.J.'s most credible sources involving this case".
"Who would they be, Director".
"Councilman Cho, I assure you. I'm know wasting our resources. G.J.'s best counterintelligence analysts vetted every piece of evidence. My people didn't verify a single shred til then. You're holding our best leads in this case, Sir".
"What makes these so special?"
And there's her opening she desperately needed. Dr. Director beams with confidence, "Because, Councilwoman Marinov, one of my witnesses is the esteemed Carlitos Almeida..."
"Director General of the Brazilian Federal Police?" Miguel Sosa stammers.
Councilman Sosa was from Brazil himself. She had his undivided attention. Dr. Director preens, dropping a few more names, "Kaiya Takahashi..."
"Japan's Minister of Defense?" Hiro recognizes his country's incumbent leader.
Again, she doesn't say anything, only dropping another name, "Timur Yozlov..."
"Director of the Russian GRU?" Alma Marinov immediately recognizes his name.
"All these people and their agencies are probing Possible's death. Minister of Defense Takahashi and GRU Director Yozlov's convinced she's alive, too. Director General Almeida of the Brazilian Federal Police holds some reservations, but he's still open to the possibilities".
"Director," Chairman Compton contemns, "I won't tolerate such theatrics inside my chambers".
"Theatrics, Sir?"
"Don't be coy with me, Director. I know what you're doing," he admonishes her sharply. "Drop my colleagues' respected national leaders' names and they'll fold. That way, you'll have more time to probe your obsessive case. Well, let me assure you, you figured wrong".
Dr. Director sharpens her eyes upon him.
Chairman Compton returns her ferocity, "I don't care what you have. Show me affidavits signed by President Valentino or the Secretary General of the United Nations. I won't be intimidated by you or them. So, you'd best have better evidence or this inquiry ends, here and now".
"No, you can't," Dr. Director blurts, covering her mouth.
"Director, I caution you against opposing me openly. It's true, I can't revoke your chair. I can, on the other hand, end this case and present the SSC this committee's findings. They can, and probably will, given G.J.'s billable hours has more than quadrupled, while our number of solved cases plummeted, and overworked agents requesting sick leave tripled. All, I suspect, traceable to this single case. What can you offer in your own defense, Director?"
Loaded and Waiting
That was a loaded question. One designed pointedly to give her enough rope to crawl out of this pit or hang herself, politically speaking. She couldn't deny facts. Man hours and absentees are up, while their solved cases down. She skirts his trap by twisting this inquiry into her favor, "I sense a question buried in there somewhere, Mr. Chairman".
"What question would that be, Director?" Alexia Baldwin unwittingly extends the opening Dr. Director sought most.
"What ever happened to Grimmorea?"
That single question openly divided this committee. Grimmorea wasn't mentioned anywhere in their briefing papers, designed to refresh their memories, before presiding over an inquiry.
Councilwoman Baldwin and Councilman Sosa didn't recall the organization's name.
Councilwoman Marinov and Councilman Cho, however, couldn't believe they hadn't asked that pertinent question sooner.
This debate heated up rather quickly. Chairman Compton discerns her underhanded tactics. She pointedly ignored his warning earlier. He now had no choice, but pursue this line of question, or he'd never diffuse this tension. "What does Grimmorea have to do with these proceedings, Director".
"Everything, Sir," she replies with a somber smile. "Possible uncovered four rogue organizations operating internationally: WEE, SX-7, Necros, and Grimmorea. She tricked me into destroying WEE, SX-7, and Necros, before slaying Trinity Rose in mortal combat. The rogue assassin bragged how she killed Agent Possible's husband over her killing her sister, Gama Rose.
It took time, 2-months actually. Dr. Emmanuel Weizmann, G.J.'s chief medical examiner, pieced together the twelve bodies recovered amidst the I-10 traffic accident. His findings collaborates the hysterical assassin's accusation against Agent Possible. He positively identified the one of the victims as, Diamonique 'Gama' Rose".
"So, she killed both sisters...to do what exactly?" Chairman Compton casts doubt over her line of questioning.
"She'd become a major figure inside the criminal underworld, Mr. Chairman". She skirts his effete attempt, smiling all the more.
Chairman Compton discerns her open defiance arguing, "And yet, our Organized Crime Unit (OCU) nor our Cyber Securities Division (CSS) haven't caught any chatter about any new underworld kingpins seizing power over or ".
She shrewdly skirted every question, shifting doubt off herself and onto them, as though they were responsible for this debacle. Chairman Compton builds there solidifying his point, "Even if we did, what would that prove? It could still be anyone. Why would she become a crime lord?"
Dr. director matched wits with him disputing, "Her partner, Ron Stoppable, once commented about her aberrant behavior since her initial exposure inside Mandrake Bio-Research, Inc.'s labs. Point is, he held her reins, which she resented. Those mystical monkey powers were his, not hers. He could pull them whenever he deemed necessary. What if she arranged his death? That way, she could keep the power. Let's examine the last moments of her battle with Trinity Rose. And you'll begin to better grasp and appreciate my growing concerns over her being alive".
Reason of Intent
Chairman Compton felt she was grandstanding again. He would've shut her down in a single heartbeat. Only, she'd sparked his colleagues' curiosity. "Very well," he extends her next opening.
Dr. Director types fiercely on her keyboard. A video pops onto the main viewer. She turns up the volume and lets it play til near the end. She pauses the video explaining the redhead's motives behind every taunting syllable.
"Don't get caught up with her calling Stoppable her husband. Sources reveal the couple married in Japan. Pay closer attention. Possible didn't shed a single tear or threaten her appoint over killing her husband, only goaded her about the timing. Hell, she's devoid of emotion during this whole showdown, almost like she'd planned his death all along and her opponent inconvenienced her by accelerating her plans. Even you must agree. She was pissed here, not grieving".
Pictures alone wasn't enough. She driving home the psychotic angle with words, "Notice what she said next, 'These powers aren't something new. I earned them...' Earn here doesn't denote love, but compensation, like on a job. You may ask. What was her job? Her job entailed her marrying Ronald. And there's my next point.
Agent Possible always called Agent Stoppable, Ron or a handful of pet names, never Ronald, unless super mad with him, as she appears here. Furthermore, she condemns him an overbearing coward by alleging, 'He fearedthese powers and forbadeus ever tapping their full potential'. She exhales sharply as relieved, 'Now,' or finally, 'he's dead,' and notice how she stresses, 'They're mine. He can't dictate..." Again she stresses his domineering nature.
'He can't dictate how I use them now. And unlike him, I don't fear my abilities or have no qualms about tapping their full potential'. Agent Possible wasn't like Agent Stoppable. She knew those powers inside, out, and didn't mind unleashing their destructiveness, as seen during her battle with Trinity Rose. The old her would never join the underworld. Now she wouldn't hesitate".
Her argument catches them completely off guard. Each was sure what he/she would decide over this case. But now, all debate what they should do. Two hours later, they still hadn't reached a decision.
Chairman Compton settles the issue for now concerting, "Director, despite my best efforts, you did what I thought impossible. You divided us right down the middle. We, therefore, grant you a month, 30 days. You'd best prove your wild eyed theories by then, or prepare to abdicate your directorate". She'd pitted them against one another from the start.
He returns the favor, "Maybe Commander Du would make be a more competent director than you". He bangs his gavel tossing it into the air, and storms out without giving her a chance to rebuttal him.
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