"This is odd," Wade reported to Kim.
"Please tell me that it isn't the 'let's take up a lot of time' kind of odd," Kim told her friend, as she and Ron walked to school. "We're working a new routine and final exams are showing on the horizon."
"Odd as in interesting," Wade told her. "I tracked Shego to the same hotel in Calcutta where Fiske is staying. A couple hours after she showed up, there was some sort of disturbance, I have surveillance footage of her leaving via a window, from the twelfth floor, then another camera showed Fiske leaving via an emergency exit. After that, the hotel staff generated a work order, replacing two doors in Fiske's suite."
"Do you think the spirit caught up to Fiske?" Ron asked.
"This all happened within the error margin I had set for when the spirit should reach him," Wade agreed. "The footage shows Fiske moving very quickly on the sidewalk until he flagged a taxi down. After that, he went to the airport but he didn't catch a flight to Sydney, he got on a plane to Taipei."
"What did he do there?" Kim asked.
"The aircraft is still in the air," Wade told her. "I'm trying to set up additional surveillance cameras in that city."
"Any idea why he's not going to Sydney?" Kim wondered.
"Not at this time," Wade admitted. "I'm running a filter program at this time, trying to find anything that he might be interested in either Taiwan or Mainland China. Of course, he could be doing this just to spite me."
"If so, it would be kind of foolish," Ron cut into the conversation. "Monty doesn't like to call attention to himself when he's away from his castle. In Calcutta, he was in an area frequented by Europeans so he didn't look out of place. In Sydney, he could blend in to a certain extent. Is there an area in Taipei where there's lots of Europeans?"
"I'll check on that, as well," Wade nodded. "If he winds up mingling with Asians, making himself visible, we can assume that he's up to something."
"Any other news?" Kim prompted.
"Something you might want to know," Wade told her. "The school officials for the Tri City Area high schools had a little talk. You already knew about the basketball and wrestling tournaments that were going to take place between the schools next weekend."
"Ready and pumped to fire up the crowds!" Ron told him.
"Well, the officials decided that they could throw a little more competition into the mix," Wade smiled. "They managed to find some qualified judges and will have a competition between the cheer squads, as well."
"What!" Kim snapped at him. "Why didn't you tell me this right away?"
"The officials are going to make the announcement later today."
"But you already knew and could have told me!" She shouted at the unassuming device in her hand and, by extension, Wade.
"Kim," he tried to be reasonable. "I gave you the news about an international criminal's unexpected movements first."
"But this is cheer leading!" Kim pointed out. "I face international criminals on an almost weekly basis, but I only have a few competitions every year! Prioritize, Wade!"
"Uh, Kim?" He pointed out. "You still found out before you actually got to school. You haven't lost any time!"
"I could have been debating if I should use the old routines or the new ones for the competition! I could have been deciding between Ron's old kata routine for the mascot portion or insist on seeing what he and Tara have come up with!"
"Why don't you just run both and see which one has the most promise?" Wade asked.
"See, if you had told me about the competition right away, I could have come to that conclusion fifty steps ago!" She grabbed Ron's arm and picked up the pace. "C'mon Ron, we have work to do!"
"Just what?" Ron demanded, being dragged along at a pace he usually reserved for running from bizarre weapons. "Practice isn't until this afternoon, anyway!"
"But we can put notes in the squads' lockers," she told him. "Tell them what's going to happen! Get everyone on the right mindset!"
"Between the two of us, we share classes with every member before noon!" He pointed out. "We can let everyone know what's up. Running won't help."
Kim reluctantly slowed to a more sedate pace.
"Okay, fine," she told him. "But you have to tell Tara right away! No getting cute with her until she has the news."
"Don't sweat it," he told her.
By this time, they had reached the high school. Kim went straight to her locker to collect her books for the morning. While collecting her books, she heard a gentle, giggly voice behind her say "bloop".
She turned around to see Ron, with an expression that was equal parts tolerant, happy and exasperated, and with a pair of small, feminine hands over his eyes.
"I'm getting the idea that I shouldn't be as forthcoming about mission details as I have been," Ron quipped. "Other guys have girlfriends who cover their eyes and say 'guess who'. I have a girlfriend who teases me about missions. Of course, most guys don't have a girlfriend anywhere near as adorable, so I guess it all works out."
Kim grinned as Tara removed her hands and took a place beside the young man.
"I hope you've been working on the new mascot routine," Kim told her friends. "Because you're going to be showing it off to the squad tonight."
"What?" Tara first looked at Kim, then at Ron.
"We just found out that there's going to be a cheer leading competition at the Tri-city tournament next weekend." Ron informed her.
"We could use a little more practice time," Tara said. "But you'll see what we can do. Ron, did you bring the shirt?"
"In my locker," Ron told her.
"Shirt?" Kim asked.
"You'll see," Ron actually managed to provide her with an impish smile.
"Pass the word around the squad," Kim told the two blondes. "We're going to rehearse both the old routines and the new ones tonight and figure out which we want to use next weekend. We don't have the time to keep the old one on hold while working on the new one. We're going to decide on a routine tonight and work it hard until next weekend."
Tara flinched a little, fully aware of what happened whenever Kim said 'work it hard'.
Despite the fact that the entire squad felt a certain sense of impending 'exertion doom' by the end of the school day, they had a sense of anticipation as well. Tonight they were going to decide which routine they would use and would practice it for the upcoming competition. They all wanted to prove that they were ready to use the routine they would take to the January competition, as they wanted to be able to concentrate on one routine.
Ron set up a camera, high in the bleachers to record the execution, then activated the portable stereo. The squad executed the routine that they had used to win the regional competition. Once done, they took a short break to catch their collective breath while Ron set the stereo for the new routine's music. With the camera and music ready, the boy started the stereo and the squad went into the new routine. Finished, they grabbed water bottles while Ron pulled in a plasma screen and connected it to the camera. The squad watched both routines several times, making comments and discussing the advantages and disadvantages of going with both. Kim kept a close eye on the discussion, stepping in when it got too heated. Finally, she called for a vote. The vote was four to two to go with the new routine. Then, it was time to select the mascot's routine.
Even though everyone had already seen the ceremonial kata several times, Kim had Ron perform it again. As always, Ron felt a slight surge of energy when he completed it...although the surge wasn't as intense as it was when he did it in front of a clapping audience and with the live drums.
"Tara and Ron have put together another routine," Kim announced. "I'd like them to perform it so we can decide if they should do this one, or if Ron should do the old one."
"Okay, if we do this, picture the squad just leaving the floor," Tara told everyone. "I hang back as Ron comes on the floor. Hit it, Kim."
The unmistakable drum rip from 'Sing Sing Sing' by Benny Goodman blared from the stereo in response to Kim pressing a button. Tara King, the sweet and sometimes shy girl, vanished. In her place was a confident, beautiful young woman, wearing an almost predatory expression as she approached the mascot with a bouncing strut, shaking her hips with every step, moving in rhythm with the driving percussion. She walked in front of Ron, reaching out and touching a finger to his right shoulder and drawing the digit across his upper chest to his left shoulder and around to his upper back as she stalked around him with the same, hip-shaking walk.
For a moment, Kim reflected on the fact that Tara could sometimes be a different person when she was performing with the squad. When she was away from the squad, she tended to be a little on the shy side. The redhead wondered if her blonde friend would have been too uncomfortable to work on this routine, which promised to be a little on the provocative side, if she hadn't already been dating Ron. The redhead suddenly smiled as another thought occurred to her; was this how Tara would like to act towards Ron, but was still a little shy to come out and actually do so outside of a cheer leading routine?
The low brass rip joined the drums as Tara circled behind Ron, her finger having traced around his left shoulder and now in the middle of his upper back. Ron must have discretely loosened the straps that secured the Mad Dog head, since Tara flicked her finger up, catching the edge of the mask and flipping it off of Ron's head. The blonde boy caught the mask and tossed it towards Kim, who caught it while watching the unfolding spectacle on the floor.
With Ron now revealed to be a teenage boy and not an anthropomorphic canine, Tara suddenly pressed herself up against Ron's back, reaching around him to grasp his sweatshirt low on his waist. Ron dropped to one knee, raised his arms to the sky and Tara yanked his sweatshirt off, revealing that Ron was wearing a sleek, tight black shirt. While Kim was aware that Ron had changed over the years, she hadn't realized that the last of his boyish chubbiness had vanished and he now had a lean, wiry build.
The trumpet section kicked in while Ron regained both feet, spinning to face Tara and the two did a couple of swing moves, holding hands. Before they made the third lunge, they released hands, Tara crossed her wrists before they clasped their hands again. This time, as they withdrew from the lunge, Ron threw a leg up and over their clasped hands, leaving Tara behind him. He pulled her through his legs, lofting her into the air and twirling his girlfriend one and a half full spins in the air, catching her at the waist as she came down.
The rest of the band kicked in and belted out the driving melody while the mascot and the cheerleader performed the classic lift move. Tara first came down and swung her legs to Ron's left side while Ron bent at the waist to absorb her momentum. Ron uncoiled and lifted her into the air again, her body horizontal and with her forehead touching Ron's. This time, when she descended she swung her legs to Ron's other side. Another lift and this time she put a leg on either side of Ron's waist when she came down. This allowed Ron to shift his grip slightly before uncoiling his body once more, lofting her into the air again. This time, she didn't lift her legs but stayed vertical and allowed him to twirl her before catching her and lowering her to the ground, right in front of him.
Now the clarinet started and the two blondes danced back and forth in front of the audience. They used intricate leg movements, kicking and swaying with Ron so close behind his partner that they could have been glued together and Tara's expression was absolutely sultry. Next came the mid-song drum solo. Ron reached his left arm around Tara, catching her right hand and pulling her into a twirl that ended with them facing each other mirroring each others ragtime kicks, arm movements and exaggerated claps. Both dancers wore wide, frisky smiles. The instruments started again and they came together, Ron grabbed Tara's waist and hoisted her up and over his head so she slid down his back. They linked arms and Tara bent forward, helping Ron execute a back flip over her to land on his feet with the dancers facing each other again, as the second drum solo began.
Now Tara poured on the hip movements, shaking her hips to the point that Kim swore she must have a paint-mixing machine under her skirt. Ron took on a vapid expression, like a young man who was completely mesmerized by her display. Kim wondered how much of it was actually acting until the blonde girl twirled her hips, almost like she was winding up and made an exaggerated hip thrust in her partner's direction. Ron dropped to the ground like he was poleaxed. The rest of the squad started to giggle.
Tara executed a series of handsprings, approaching then vaulting over Ron's prostrated form. As soon as Tara passed over him, Ron scissored his legs and started spinning on his back, something like an old-style break dance. He was spinning when he executed a classic, martial arts back-spring recovery, spinning in the air and landing facing his dance partner. The rest of the squad gasped at Ron's display of agility as the two performers pressed close to each other, his arm around her waist and hers around his shoulders, each with a hand extended out and clutching the others. The intricate kick moves were back as they first danced towards the audience, then reversed their grips and danced their way back to the center of the court.
Closing in on the end of the song, they faced the audience with Tara in front of Ron. He grabbed her waist and hoisted while she jumped, putting her completely over Ron's head and landing behind him. She crouched and reached between his legs while he caught her crossed arms, pulled her through and twirled her again. Landing, she fell back into his arms and performed a high kick. The song was now on its final stanza and the two performers took on expressions of fear. They ran to where Ron's mask and sweatshirt lay on the floor. Acting like they were panicking, Tara helped Ron put his sweatshirt on, then put the Mad Dog Head back in place. The last move was her lifting the mask, giving Ron a quick peck on the cheek and returning the mask to its proper position.
"This is where the squad would come back on court," Tara told the stunned and appreciative cheer squad.
The rest of the girls applauded the performance and came out on the court to congratulate the performers. Kim could appreciate not only the very hot and energetic performance, but the act it conveyed; that the two were secretly infatuated with each other and keeping it secret from the rest of the squad. In a way, it approached reality.
"The two of you worked this out in a couple of weeks?" Hope asked, amazed.
"She did," Ron pointed at Tara. "She choreographed the entire routine, I just did what she told me to."
"I don't care," Kim told her friends. "That was great. What do you say, the old ceremonial kata or this?"
"THIS!" The rest of the squad insisted.
"Let's call it a night," Kim suggested. "We all know what we're going to do for the competition next weekend.
The squad cheered again. They knew that there would be hard work, but they knew what to do.
"Kim?" Tara asked the captain while the rest of the girls made their way to the locker room. "Was it really a good routine?"
Kim couldn't help but smile. The confident, almost arrogant young woman who had performed on the court just minutes ago was gone and in her place was Tara, the nervous, kind and somewhat shy girl who could use some reassurance.
"Tara," she said. "If you made that routine any hotter, you'd set the sprinkler system off. That was amazing!"
"Thanks," the blonde actually blushed. "I just put some pieces together from some swing moves and it seemed to work. It was really fun working with Ron to get ready."
Again, Kim was forced to wonder if Tara would like to be a little more...aggressive...with her relationship with Ron, but was just too shy to come out and act the way she wanted.
"It still needs a little work," Kim pointed out. "But you're almost there. We'll do one routine, you and Ron will do this, then we'll do our finishing routine. I hope you have the endurance to do it all."
"Oh, I'll be fine," Tara assured her. "Let's just get another win."
Kim just smiled and made her own way to the locker room. After watching that performance, she could use a cold shower.
Kim moved quickly when she wanted to and considering her busy life, she wanted to move quickly almost all of the time. She outpaced the other girls on the squad in showering and getting dressed and was the first one out of the locker room and back in the gym. There, she found her best friend, who was waiting for his girlfriend. She walked over and sat next to him while he waited.
"That was an awesome routine," she told him. "You must have really worked hard to pick it up in such a short time."
"Yeah," his voice and expression were kind of wistful. "It was a lot of fun practicing with Tara and I'm sure we're going to get some serious points from some judges."
"As well as a lot of cheers and energy from the crowds," Kim pointed out.
"But I hope I can still to the ceremonial kata every once in a while," he sighed. "Something feels so right about that routine...I always feel so strong whenever I do it in front of a crowd and a live band."
"We'll keep using it," Kim told him. "The band's drummers have the rift down solid, so it's part of our entertainment repertoire. We'll just be using it as more of a filler for long time outs and delays, rather than for the halftime entertainment."
Ron looked a little happier after she said that. For a few moments, she wondered why he would miss doing the kata, when the alternative was a very hot, very provocative little number with his very pretty girlfriend. She was interrupted by the rest of the squad showing up. Ron got to his feet when his girlfriend approached.
Performing the routine in front of the squad, getting their enthusiastic approval, seemed to have done something for Tara. While the rest of the squad knew that Tara and Ron were dating, most didn't know how serious the two were about each other. Usually when the two met up for Ron to walk her home, he would offer his arm and she would take it. Tonight, with no faculty in the immediate area, she walked up to her boyfriend, put her arms around his neck and gave him a short, yet passionate kiss on the mouth. Kim watched the rest of the squad. To her surprise, Bonnie appeared to be neither surprised nor disapproving. Hope also just smiled at the two but Jessica, Marcella, Liz and Crystal seemed surprised at the display.
As was his usual habit, Ron offered Tara his arm, the two bid the rest of the squad goodbye and walked out of the gym.
"I'd offer her a ride," Bonnie spoke towards the blondes' disappearing backsides. "But I'd be weirded out if she accepted."
For the first time in a long time, Kim laughed at a Bonnie joke.
Kim's homework session that night was interrupted by a familiar, four tone chime.
"What's the sitch?" She asked.
"Update on Fiske," the youngster reported. "He arrived in Taipei and checked into a luxury hotel. After that, he appears to have tried to arrange for transportation to Beijing. He's also arranging to have a cargo shipment from London forwarded to Beijing, as well."
"Want to bet it's some of his monkey ninjas?" Kim asked.
"I'm not taking that bet," Wade told her.
"Any idea what he wants in Beijing?" Kim prompted.
"Not at this time," Wade admitted. "I calculate a sixty five percent chance he's after an artifact called the Amulet of the Monkey King. It's supposed to turn the bearer into the king of all simians. There's a twenty percent chance he's after a set of golden monkey statues, worth something on the order of four million on the black market."
"It's not like him to go for money," Kim pointed out.
"His estate has incurred additional expenses," Wade informed her. "He's been changing out a lot of windows and he demands the best. They don't come cheap."
"Any idea why he's changing windows?"
"Not a clue," Wade admitted. "I figured we can look into that once we deal with what he's doing in Taiwan."
"When will he make his move?"
"He seems to be having some difficulty with the transportation" Wade told her. "Tensions are pretty high between the two countries, so there's only so many seats available. Throw in the fact that Fiske pretty much demands first class accommodations and he doesn't want to go anywhere without his ninjas, it's going to be hard for him to find a flight."
"Do you have a suggestion?" Kim asked.
"I think it's too early to move you and Ron into place," Wade told her. "It's a sixteen hour trip, one-way. Let me monitor him and find out what he's after. We can be pretty sure he's up to something illegal, otherwise he wouldn't be bringing his monkeys along."
"Keep me posted," Kim told him.
"Always, Kim," he assured her. "I should have more info for you sometime tomorrow."
Kim heaved a heavy sigh once her young friend signed off. It seemed that everything always happened at once. A sudden competition as well as the scheduled one next month. Finals. Now, another potential mission on the far side of the world. At least she was on top of things, academically.
The walk to school with Ron the next morning cleared her head a little. Her friend told her that Wade had updated him, as well so they were free to talk about teenage things, like the competition, finals and the upcoming holidays.
"So, do you have anything planed for you and Tara over the holidays?" She asked him.
"Well, I was able to get tickets for the Middleton Symphony's Christmas Concert the day before Christmas Eve," Ron told her.
"That's good," Kim told him.
"I've arranged to pick her up in a horse and sleigh," he continued.
"That's better," Kim nodded.
"We'll have dinner afterwards," he finished. "After that, I'm pretty much running on empty."
"That should be good enough," Kim told him. "You're turning into a pretty good boyfriend."
"Hey, thanks for all the consulting," he frowned. "How about you and Josh? Do you guys have anything planned?"
"Not really," she admitted. "I'm hoping he comes up with something, but he's been a little distracted lately. His band has a lot of offers to play at parties over the break."
"Has he invited you to show up for any of them?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, but it's kind of awkward," Kim admitted. "I've gone to a couple but it just seems wrong to dance when my date is playing the music I'm dancing to and can't join me. I'll probably go to a couple anyway."
"You could always join us," Ron offered. "It might seem a little awkward, but we could..."
"Don't go there," Kim told him. "I wouldn't mind joining you for some skating, skiing or other things, but that sounds like a romantic evening. I'm not about to be a third wheel."
By now they were at Kim's locker. Upon opening the door, her screen came to life with Wade's image.
"Update, guys," he told them. "I'm ninety-seven percent sure that Fiske is going to try to steal the Amulet of the Monkey King. He's currently flying to Beijing and has purchased a ticket to visit the museum later today...local time."
"Will we get there in time?" Ron asked, noticing Tara showing up.
"I'm willing to bet that he's going to visit the museum and scope it out," Wade told them. "He'll make his move based on that. Commercial aircraft take about sixteen hours to reach Beijing, but I have a ride that will get there in twelve. Pick up at the airport in two hours, your ride to the airport will be at the school in a half-hour. In the meantime, I'm contacting the museum and city authorities."
"Then we're on our way," Kim started to scoop her books into her bag.
"I'll get your class assignments and forward them to your Kimmunicator," Wade told her. "You'll have plenty of study time on the flights.
"I better grab my books," Ron added. He turned to his girlfriend, "sorry about tonight. With any luck, I'll be able to make it up to you Saturday."
"Just get back safe," she told him, giving him a quick, discrete and completely against school policy hug.
"Let our 'rents know, as well," Kim told Wade. "We're going up against Monkeyfist."
A/N: Thanks for reading and a big shout out to my ever patient beta Joe Stoppinghem.