Chapter 8
D-Day minus 12 Days
"Ron, we have to talk about something."
"Ah, KP? Is now really the time?" said a terrified Ron Stoppable.
The two were currently over Bolivia on what should have been a beautiful morning. The air was crisp and clear. Looking around they could see for miles. And the clouds looked so beautiful several thousand feet below them. It would be a lovely day to spend together, if they were not on a mission or falling from the sky.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. One hour ago a TransAir 757 had been hijacked over Peru and was rerouted by 12 terrorists. So far no one had been killed. Neither the US nor Bolivian governments believed that would be the case for long. Official Policy for both countries was not to deal with terrorists, even though on occasion both states had done so in the past. Given that one of the demands was the release of one General Javier Polar, it was extremely unlikely they would in this case.
Polar had been politically linked with a number of previous Bolivian governments as well as the country's right wing death squads. After two years in a Bolivian jail, not nearly as bad as it sounds given his political connections, the General was being extradited to the United States for trial. The charges there included racketeering, drug smuggling, and three counts of murder. It was expected that General Polar would have a much poorer time in a US Prison than in his rather palatial South American jail cell.
Upon reaching thirty thousand feet, twelve men had drawn out weapons, seized the flight attendants, and stormed the cockpit. The current theory was that someone in maintenance must have been involved and sabotaged the door. Of the ten men who had had smuggled weapons onto the plane 10 were armed with knives, and two had actually managed to get pistols on board. Like the door, speculation ran that the weapons had been smuggled in prior to the men boarding the plane. The job had been professional, used a minimum of force, and had taken all of twenty seconds.
From there the plane was turned around and headed back to La Paz. No one expected it to reach the city given the number of landing strips that various drug kingpins had built all over the Bolivian lowlands. There were over one hundred known air strips, two dozen of which could handle a 757, though the landing would be far from comfortable. Bolivian forces would not be able to get there in time to stop the plane from landing and the terrorists from escaping. Worse, there was every reason to think that once the General was on his way out of the country the men would kill the passengers to make sure no one could inform their pursuers where they went.
Given that conventional responses were out, the whole thing had been dropped in Global Justice's lap. It's one-eyed leader, Dr. Betty Director, and taken one look at the disposition of her agents and shook her head. GJ had no agents close enough to the plane to intervene. So, quickly hitting speed dial number three on her phone, she had contacted Wade and through him Team Possible.
Wade, a chubby boy genius, had been Team Possible's technical and information support for years. An extreme agoraphobic, Wade almost never left his room and instead lived vicariously through Kim and her friends. At some point, he would have to actually try leaving his room for more than a few minutes, but whenever he tried something important always came up, like a mission, or a computer upgrade, or whimpering in the corner. Wade wasn't particularly proud of the last reason, but it happened more often than the other two.
Looking at the data GJ had supplied, Wade contacted Middleton Space Center, which had a manned rocket flight scheduled to leave in 15 minutes. Kim and Ron could take that to near orbit, arriving over Bolivia in about 20 more minutes, be jettisoned into free fall at 80,000 feet using breathing equipment and heavy duty thermal gear. Once they were low enough they would deploy paragliders to slow their decent. From there they could grapple onto the back of a Bolivian Fighter and then use a flyby to get onto the plane. Total travel time under one hour.
By the time Ron and Kim reached the airport, two high-altitude suites, oxygen bottles, paragliders, and several extra grapple guns had been delivered and loaded aboard the spacecraft. Five minutes later, the launch commenced. Sometime after that, Kim had filled Ron in on the plan. After several minutes of Ron breathing into an airsick bag, the two had launched from the spacecraft, plummeted tens of thousands of feet until the atmosphere was thick enough for the paragliders to be useful and then made their rendezvous with the jet. Two minutes later, the jet did a quick flyby of the plane and the Team Possible used their grapple to latch onto the tail. The grapple gun was now dragging them towards the jet.
"Ron, I've been thinking," Kim started to say again over her throat microphone as they approached the plane.
"KP, does it have to do with how we get into the plane without falling to our deaths?" Ron gasped looking up at Kim.
Kim looked down at the blond haired boy. "No," her face pensive.
"Then maybe we can talk about it over some nacos when we're done? Having a hard time concentrating here, what with the moving at hundreds of miles an hour thing," Ron's fearful gaze met Kim's.
"I know Ron, there is just, well, ah, something I've got to say and…," Kim frowned and went on.
"Kim! Not the time!" Ron cut her off as the plane began to bank and the two were whiplashed to the left.
"Yeah, right," the teen reluctantly agreed. Ron's right. This is so not the time. Looking to her side at the plane and nonchalantly drawing a second grapple gun. The plane had been executing some erratic maneuvers to discourage repeated flybys but Kim had counted on just such a turn. As they were thrown to the side, she let go of the first rope, fired a second grapple gun, and the pair were now twenty feet closer to the aircraft.
Being that they were almost at the plane, Kim sighed, "Okay, we'll talk after the mission."
"Great idea, KP!" Ron grinned at his girlfriend.
By now they were at the tail of the plane. They began a slow crawl along the bottom of the liner using suction cups on their knees and hands. The wind against them drove them against the skin of the aircraft. Being in a tornado would have been easier if not for the fact that tornadoes tend to be full of debris. Kim began using her lipstick laser to cut a tiny hole in the skin.
"Uh, Kim, like won't this cause the aircraft to explode or something?" Ron voice was wary and his shoulders hunched in case something blew up. The plane came to mind. "I mean every movie shows it happening and as awesome as watching a plane explode on screen is, I really could skip it in real life."
"Relax, Ron," Kim replied. "Shooting bullets into windows and all that stuff doesn't actually cause an explosion."
"Wasn't there one in Hawaii where it happened?" Ron countered.
"Structural failure, Ron, so not caused by a gun or a bomb," Kim said. "This will cause the aft cargo hold to depressurize. Once it is we can cut a large hole to get inside."
Kim waited for the pressure to equalize and then began to cut a larger hole.
Ron's eyes followed her hands, "You're sure about this?"
"We're going to be okay, Ron." Kim replied in a slightly exasperated tone, "The cargo compartment isn't pressurized anymore so the only real danger we are in is..."
At that point the laser finished cutting a hole large enough for the two of them and the piece followed by several suit cases fell away from the aircraft. For a second they seemed to fall straight, but then seemed to shoot out behind and away from the aircraft.
"Falling luggage," Kim smiled as the black suitcases fell past.
"Kim, there could have been pets in there!" Ron exclaimed his eyes wide.
"No, problem, Ron, I had Wade check to make sure."
Ron breathed a sigh of relief.
Crawling into the hold, both of them relaxed just a bit without letting down their guard. Even for Kim it had been a taxing mission so far. And now came the tricky parts.
Looking around for a large metal suitcase, Kim crawled over the baggage. Once she found what she was looking for, she grabbed it and moved back to the hole. With Ron's help the adventurer(s) fitted it in place. She drew an aerosol can from her back pack and knelt by the case.
Ron grinned and wagged a finger, "Hey, Kim those aren't allowed on the plane."
The teasing fell on deaf ears. Kim was definitely fully in mission mode now and didn't see anything funny about it.
She glanced at Ron and raised an eyebrow, "You done?"
Taken a bit back Ron flinched at bit, "Chillax, KP. Just trying to lighten the mood."
Kim sighed, "Sorry, Ron. I don't know what's gotten into me today." Other than not wanting to tell you that I'm in love with someone else.
Ron accepted the apology, "No problem, Kim. The Ronster is always happy to kiss and make up later." The boy wiggled his eyebrows for a second, "Now, let's get out of these clothes."
Kim rolled her eyes, "And you thought my wanting to talk was inappropriate."
Ron closed his eyes and raised a hand over his heart, "I'm just talking about the high altitude gear. I can barely move in this stuff."
Kim just nodded and turned back to the case. Using the can of spray foam she sealed the area around the hole gluing it in place. She checked her watch. Three minutes ahead of schedule. By now they should have put the loss of pressure down to a mechanical failure. Nothing, no boom, no disaster, time to relax.
After stripping off the insulated suits but not the breathing gear, Kim was in her mission outfit and Ron in a black t-shirt and jeans. Moving to the forward bulkhead, Kim repeated the procedure she had used on the aircraft's hull, first equalizing the pressure between the holds, then cutting a door for the two of them.
Kim looked determinedly at the ceiling, "Okay, the first pressure failure the terrorists could live with. This one should be causing them to panic, thinking that the plane is having a major structural problem. How much time is left on their deadline for the general's release?" she asked as her eyes scanned for the spot she wanted.
Ron checked his watch, "Twenty-three minutes."
Kim's eyes narrowed and she raised the laser again, "Spankin." She cut a hole about three inches in diameter. She could hear screams of panic above her as the cabin pressure dropped. An alarm went off and she heard a quiet collective thunk as oxygen masks deployed.
"Rufus," Kim exclaimed, "You're up."
Leaping from Ron's pocket and finally dropping his own oxygen mask, the naked mole rat scampered over to Kim who raised him up to the hole. It had been cut underneath the forward galley drink cart so that the rodent could scamper out and get them some much needed intelligence on the terrorists inside.
"Ready!" Rufus chirped and moved out into the plane, which as per the plan was in total chaos. One gunman was visible near the door and was shouting at someone inside. He scampered up onto a seat back and got a look down the plane. Thanks to the airbags being deployed, the passengers were all in their seats and he had a clear view. Ten more terrorists were stationed at various places down the plane, most of them off balance as they tried to grab masks from the passengers. He smiled and ran back down the hole.
While he had been topside, Kim had finished cutting out the area under the drink cart, leaving two thin sheets of metal to hold it up. She had just stepped back when the pink rodent jumped down.
Glancing down at him Kim asked, "Get a count?"
"Yep, yep!" Rufus chattered. The then threw up one finger made a gun with his hand and pointed forward. Then he pointed aft and made a stabbing motion ten times. He smiled at Kim.
Her eyes tightening Kim thank the mole rat, "Great job Rufus. Where is the twelfth terrorist?"
Rufus ran back to Ron's pocket and squeaked, "Cockpit."
Kim smiled, "Perfect. Ready, Ron?"
"You bet!" Ron stepped forward and surprised Kim with a kiss.
Kim froze for a second in Ron's arms and then did her best to kiss him back. Oh, this feels so wrong. I have to tell him about Shego once we are on the ground.
Once Ron let her go, Kim turned away and straightened as she looked up at the ceiling. Ron noticed that Kim seemed stiff, but she was back in her mission face and put it up to her determination. That's my Kim, he thought.
Just as the noise in the cabin above them started to subside Kim used the laser to cut the supports and the cart fell into the forward hold with a loud crash. Coffee and drinks rained down over the luggage but Kim managed to avoid them. Ron ended up with a soda can bouncing off his foot and bit his lip for a second, but otherwise was unharmed.
Two seconds later Kim was up through the hole. She crouched and looked down the aisle. The passengers were screaming again and three of the terrorists from the rear of the jet were moving to see what had happened. The gunman who had been at the cockpit door was rapidly moving towards her.
Kim smiled and glanced back to make sure Ron had made it up. She saw the boy behind her. Ron grinned and gave her thumbs up. Kim returned it. She grabbed two smoke grenades from her belt, pulled the pins and rolled one to the front of the plane and the other to the back. Though they weren't strong enough to fill the entire cabin with smoke they would make it hard to see and for anyone without an oxygen mask to breath.
By now the gunman had reached the galley. His pistol was raised ahead of him and Kim noted it was a Glock 17. The guns were tough, boxy, and really easy to use. Not even a true safety on it.
The terrorist turned to look where the crashing sound had come from. He was already having trouble seeing from the smoke. His eyes widened as he saw Kim crouching low below him. It was child's play for her to reach up, grab the gun out of his hand and smack him right between the eyes with the pistol butt. He dropped like a stone. Shoving the pistol into her belt Kim sprinted over his body to the cockpit door and smashed it in with a roundhouse kick.
While Kim moved forward, Ron and Rufus moved into position on either side of the galley in case any of the knife wielding terrorists got close enough to interfere with Kim. As they took positions Ron looked at the wall of the galley, smiled, and picked up their secret weapon.
Flicking on the airliner's intercom system Ron started to speak in his best David Spade impersonation, "Attention terrorists."
Kim was through the door and saw the second gunman bringing his weapon up to bear on her. The man was actually rather ordinary looking: about five foot ten, brown hair, with a typical dark Latino complexion. He was dressed in a grey business suit with a red tie. Kim wouldn't have guessed he was anything other than an executive on a trip if it was not for the blocky looking black gun trying to track her.
I really hate Glocks, she thought, they just look so ugly. She ducked into a roll to avoid the man's aim.
"My name is Ron Stoppable," crackled over the intercom.
The man's eyes were wide with terror after everything that had happened. First the pressure failures, then the loud crashing and now all the smoke had drawn him away from the pilot. Then the door crashed in, and this whirling demon with red hair tumbled almost to his feet. His hand moved to realign the gun. He almost had her in his sights when the demon rose up, and he felt its hand slide over his. It laced a finger behind the trigger to prevent the gun going off. Then it struck him hard enough in the mouth to send blood and teeth flying across the cabin. The last thing he saw before the second strike knocked him unconscious was the demon's face. The face of a girl with the most determined look in her eyes he had ever witnessed. Then he saw nothing.
Ron continued to speak in a monotone over the system, though amusement started to creep into his voice, "You probably don't know me, but I'm sure you all know about Kim Possible; hero, adventurer, savior of the planet." He heard a cry of pain and winced. Thankfully it was way too deep to be Kim. "Oh, did I mention she's my girlfriend."
Kim lowered the man's body to the ground, snatched up the gun and tossed it to the pilot, "Back in a flash." She turned to head back out the door. She stopped and smiled at the approaching men. They could just make her out through the smoke.
By now Ron's voice was back to his normal excited tones, "Well, as you can see she has the cockpit secure. And I hate to say it guys, but between the two of us we can kick your asses into the ground, or floor, or whatever. Anyway, time to drop the knives and surrender before anyone else gets hurt. Oh, and just to clarify because sometimes you bad guys don't get it, the people getting hurt would be you."
For a second the men moved towards the closest passengers desperate to get a hostage. Kim shook her head and began to walk down the aisle. She reached behind her as she advanced.
"Oh, and did I forget to mention," Ron went on, stepping into the isle behind Kim, "We have the guns now?"
Kim held up the Glock she had taken from the fist terrorist and dropped the clip out. She casually jacked the slide to send the round flying from the chamber. She flipped the latch on the gun's left side allowing the slide to slide off the frame. She dropped the pieces to the floor and whipped her hands
The men froze. The one in the lead looked back at his companions. Kim Possible in the plane and the only weapons that might be able to stop her were now either in pieces or behind her. They had knives and the odds were five to one in their favor.
He sighed and said, "I am not being paid enough for this." The knife fell to the ground and he dropped his knees and put his hands on his head. His friends only took a second more to do the same. They all had reached the same conclusion. They were way outnumbered.
Ron smiled, "Thank you for your cooperation. We will now be coming down the cabin to collect your knives, tie you up, and deliver you to the police. I hope you had a pleasant flight."
Kim smiled to herself. Why fight them when you can get them to surrender?
Thirty minutes later they were on the ground and the terrorists were in custody. Kim begged off the thanks of the people on the plane, repeatedly saying that it was no big deal. The passengers ignored her protests and hugged and kissed her cheeks in thanks as they praised and applauded her. Old women blessed her and she was pretty sure that she received at least one proposal of marriage from a man in the crowd.
Finally it was over and an exhausted Team Possible boarded a Bolivian Air force transport for the flight back to the US. Kim sagged as she heard the familiar sound of Ron's snores. If Ron was asleep, it meant everything was okay and the mission was over. Soon afterwards Kim joined him in dreamland. The two slept the whole way back to Middleton.
Kim woke to Ron shaking her shoulder, "Hey, KP, were home." He gave her a quick kiss, "Have to run, or my Mom will kill me. I'll call you later."
Kim sleepily muttered, "Bye, Ron," as the boy turned to leave. She saw Rufus peek out of Ron's pocket and give her a wave. She waved good-bye to him and began to get up. With a yawn and a stretch she stepped off the plane then down the steps onto the tarmac.
She smacked her head, Shit; I forgot to talk to Ron. She started to go after him, but felt two arms slide around her waist. Kim gasped as a tongue slid across hear ear followed by a gentle nip.
A voice purred in her ear, "I missed you."
Kim turned in Shego's embrace, "I missed you too."
The taller girl looked down at Kim seeing the frown on her face. She had watched Ron run from the plane and Kim follow slowly after. I bet he took it hard, she thought. Not that I give a shit about him, but I don't want Princess to be upset. "It didn't go well?"
Kim buried her face in Shego's shoulder as she sought to avoid the green-skinned thief's eyes, "Can we not talk about it now?"
Shego raised Kim's head up and smiled at her, "Sure, Princess, whatever you want." She gently kissed the girl trying to take the pain away. Despite the fact that Kim knew she should tell Shego that she had not talked to Ron, Kim let it slide. It was, after all, the first kiss Kim had enjoyed all day.
