A/N: The gods of the pen are with me today, it seems. Another update, for your pleasure. Also, it occurs to me that I've yet to put a disclaimer, so I think I'll start now.
Disclaimer: Kim Possible and affiliated licenses do not belong to me, I'm simply borrowing them for my own use, and for your entertainment.
And now, let's get on with it!
The Strange Life After
Chapter 3: Indebted
Wade Load hadn't heard from either field member of Team Possible for a long time, and when he did, it was usually just a quick 'thank you' for an impromptu assist. So it was some surprise, then, when a call came through from Kim Possible on high priority channels. He, naturally, wasted no time in answering.
"Hey, Kim! Good to hear from you. What's up?" No sooner had the words left Wade's mouth, when he realized the distraught look on Kim's face.
"Good to see you, too, Wade" came the pained response. "I've got a little bit of a problem."
"Well, I'm here if you need me. What is it?" Wade incredulously replied.
"Let me start out by asking: Have you talked to Ron lately?" Kim asked, eyes set seriously.
"Well, no, but I did send him a little present a few days ago. He should've gotten it yesterday. How did you like it?" Wade had the urge to wink, but didn't in light of Kim's confused and stressed demeanor.
"Wade, I appreciate the thought, but I never got anything from Ron. He showed up at my dorm yesterday, checked in with the visitor desk, went to my room, and then ran out again" Kim explained.
"Okay, the next question is, why?" Wade asked, baffled.
"I'm not entirely sure, but I think I have a hunch. Anyway, it's all a huge misunderstanding, and
I was hoping you could get in touch with him for me. He doesn't answer his cell" Kim said, hopefully.
"Well, I could buzz his old Kimmunicator, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't carry it anymore, since you guys retired. The other option, which I'm sure you're about to request, is to track him, but I can't do that either. I deactivated his microchip when you guys stopped taking missions, and anyway, it would be abusing it to use something like that to spy on him. Sorry Kim," Wade said, "but I'm not sure what I can do here."
"Wade!" came the irritated response, accompanied by a stern glare. "You're a supergenius. There's got to be something you can do to find him, or at least get in touch with him. Can't you re-activate his chip? It wouldn't be spying, I just really need to make things right." Kim finished with a puppy-dog pout.
"Heh, I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss that" Wade chuckled. "Alright, Kim, just because it's you, I'll try it." He fiddled with his nearby terminal for a few minutes before giving Kim a dismayed look. "Uh, Kim? I'm not sure why, but I'm not getting any signal from his chip. Which means it probably got damaged somehow."
Kim looked as if someone had shot her. "Okay, so, what do we do now? My relationship is at stake here, Wade. I really need to talk to him."
Wade had to resist the urge to ask what had gone wrong with Ron's proposal. 'Discretion is the better part of valor' he reminded himself. "Well, I'll cross check Ron's name and description with every record I can get my hands on" he said after a moment. "I'm not sure what it'll accomplish, but it's worth a shot."
"Yeah, I don't see that producing any results either…" Kim said, dejectedly. "But thanks anyway, Wade. You still rock."
"Anytime Kim." Wade reached over to end the transmission, but stopped just short. "Oh, and quit being such a stranger! Just because we don't work together doesn't mean we have to throw away years of friendship."
Kim slouched guiltily. "Sorry Wade. Point taken."
He ended the call, then set his previous project aside. 'Now, where to begin with those records…'
Ron awoke with a splitting headache, not immediately sure of where he was. Next he was conscious of the fact that his head was not the only thing in pain, then of the IV in his arm when he looked around to investigate further.
'Why am I in a hospital?' he wondered numbly, before going through a quick recap of the previous night's events. Or at least attempting to, before discovering that his last memory was of ordering drinks at some filthy bar in Go City, leaving a substantial gap in events before his sore awakening. Ron Stoppable may not have fancied himself the brightest star under the heavens, but he certainly wasn't an idiot. He had obviously gotten drunk to the point of blacking out, and done something monumentally stupid in the interim.
Ron reflected on what possessed him get drunk in the first place. It wasn't like him to try and drown his sorrows with drinking. Hell, he even avoided going to parties when was at CICA, for the simple reason that where there was a college party, there was drinking, which was something that had never really appealed to him. It wasn't even that he was afraid of getting in trouble with the law (although he certainly wouldn't consciously do anything illegal, either). It was simply something he preferred not to involve himself in.
'Which just goes to show how much Kim hurt me' he thought sadly. No sooner had he finished his thought, though, when a young nurse came in to check on his progress.
"Oh my god, you're awake! Do you remember anything?" she asked expectantly.
With a bit of effort, Ron managed to shake his head.
"Yeah, that's kinda what I figured" the young woman said, nodding. "You got in a huge motorcycle accident downtown, I guess. I don't know the details, but you crashed into some big-name private security firm. The owner is the one who brought you in."
'An accident? Well, that would certainly explain why I'm sore in places I didn't know I had.' Ron also noted with some inward relief that she hadn't said anything about his being under the influence at the time of said accident. 'The last thing I need right now would be to have someone find THAT out.'
He was startled out of his musings by a small beeping to his right. His nurse picked up the call and, after a nod, turned to him. "Speak of the devil and he shall appear. You have a visitor, sir. Do you feel up to it?" she asked after ending the call.
Ron nodded numbly.
"Great! She should be in to see you real soon." She huddled next to his ear. "Oh and don't worry" she whispered. "No one knows you were drunk. I fudged your blood test. I don't know if you're underage or not, but I figured it was better to play it safe. After all, we wouldn't want a good-looking guy like you to get in any more trouble, would we?" She winked before making her exit.
'Great', Ron thought, cursing inwardly. 'So she knows, at least. I hope the owner of the building I damaged doesn't know, or I'm screwed. Wait a minute! "She" should be in to see me?'
He didn't have time to ponder it further as his visitor walked in with a confidant stride.
"Morning, buffoon. Sleep well?" she asked.
"Shego!?" Ron exclaimed weakly, sounding much calmer than he felt. 'Must be the morphine…Oh well, I've lived a good life. I'm ready if this how it's all set to end' Ron thought darkly. "You're the person whose building I destroyed?"
Shego nodded. "Yupp. I wouldn't quite say 'destroyed' though. If you'd done that much damage I would've killed you right there at the scene."
"Since when are you in the private security market?" Ron asked, trying to process.
"Since I was given a full but conditional pardon from Global Justice for my part in the Lorwardian crisis" she replied simply. "As long as I stay legitimate, I'm a free woman. Which is another reason why I didn't kick your ass from here to eternity after you tore my lobby apart. Wouldn't want to squander a get-out-of-jail-free card."
'Just my luck' Ron thought glumly. 'Here I am trying to forget about KP and I run into yet another reminder. And a really dangerous one, to boot.' "So…what happens now?" he asked, still fearful for his life.
"Well, you come up with a way to pay me back for the damages done to my building and go on your merry way" she said with a smirk.
Ron paled. He had the money, it was true, from his naco royalties, but he had made sure that put away in microscopic fragments in thousands of different banks around the globe (courtesy of Wade) to prevent it from being 'liberated' from him again. It would take months to pull enough to pay her back any significant amount, and first he would have to contact Wade. "Uh, okay. H-How much do I owe you?" he asked, preparing for the worst.
"About five and a half thousand. Not as much as it looks like, lucky you…You know, I did find that ring in your pocket. That's gotta be worth at least three large. Why not sell that for starters?" she offered with another taunting smirk.
Ron seethed internally. 'How dare she say that? I mean, I'm pretty upset with KP right now, but that doesn't mean I've given up hope completely. And she doesn't even know what it's for! Could be a family heirloom for all she knows, and she wants me to just sell it. Screw her' Ron thought, surprising himself with his own internal assertiveness.
"As tempting as that sounds, I can't do it" Ron tried, fearing the worst. "I mean, I am pretty mad at KP right now, but still…" he trailed off. 'Well, so much for her not knowing what it was for' he thought exasperatedly, 'this morphine must be getting to me more than I thought. That or the hangover. Heh, probably both.'
"Oh, gee, that's too bad…" she started, voice dripping with sarcasm, "and here I thought you two always got along so well." She stared at him intently, piercing green eyes set like stones. "You know what? Since I saved your life, why don't we click the fee up another thousand! Sound good to you?" There was that sarcasm, despite the serious edge. "I guess we'll just have to find another way for you to reimburse me."
"U-Uh…" Ron gulped, more afraid than ever. "L-Like what?"
She appeared thoughtful for a minute. "Well, we both know your uses are limited…" She seemed to have an idea, but looked reluctant to share it. "Oh, what the hell?" he could swear he heard her mumble. "Why don't you work for me at the firm for a few weeks? I could use an extra pair of hands, and even though you're probably rusty, you have something most of my applicants don't: experience in the field. Maybe your time as Princess' little stooge won't be so pointless after all, sidekick."
To say Ron was thunderstruck would be a gross understatement. 'Work for Shego? Oh, God, what did I do to deserve this cruel fate?' Seeing few other options, he came to a decision.
"Well, I guess I have no choice" he started hesitantly. Before he could get the chance to continue, however, she cut him off.
"Good" she stated, the finality of her tone leaving him no room to back out. "I'll expect you to report to the office at 6 AM sharp, tomorrow." She turned on her heel to leave.
"H-Hey!? I don't know how to get there!" Ron exclaimed.
She stopped, pulled an unknown object out of her pocket, and proceeded to do something with it in front of her, her back still to him. "There. I put the directions in your phone" she replied, throwing the aforementioned item behind her onto his waist.
Through the new pain slowly creeping up his midsection, Ron found the strength to ask one final question, only to notice his new employer (the thought made Ron nauseous) was already ten feet down the outside hall.
"What if I'm not recovered by tomorrow?" he called, stifling a pained grunt.
"Not my problem, Stoppable" she yelled back without so much as a glance.
Ron sat dumbfounded. 'What did I just get myself into?' was his first thought, and then…'Hey, she actually remembered my name! Booyah!'
A/N: So there she is, chapter 3. Hope you enjoyed it. And please let me know if anyone seems out of character, my number one desire with this fic is to keep all parties as in character as possible. Update soon. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Toodles!