Chapter 8

"Leaving for London"

A few days after our meeting with Dr. Director, Ron and I were once again on our way to Boston's Logan Airport for an overnight flight to London's Heathrow Airport. Only this time, it wasn't for a vacation, but rather a mission to prevent a repeat of the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 all those years ago. In the aftermath of the attempted bombing of Flight 213, security was tightened with extra officers from the TSA, local and Massachusetts State Police.

Fortunately, we got through security without any issues and soon, we arrived at Gate E8A and waited to board British Airways Flight 212 at 7:20pm. Of course, anyone could be planning a follow up to the Flight 213 bombing, so Ron and I had to be on our guard for any signs of suspicion. Still, there was a more pressing matter that needed to be addressed.

"Hey, KP," said Ron as we waited to board. "Your dad knew that kid that was on the Pan Am plane that blew up over Scotland?"

"They actually went to school together," I replied, taking a drink of bottled water. "Afterwards, they settled in New Jersey while my folks settled in Massachusetts. From what I remember, JP had promise in his family only to have all taken away at such a young age. I could only imagine what Dr. Director is going through right now."

"Well, whoever these punks are," remarked Ron. "They are certainly no different than any enemy we have faced yet, Kim. Just remember, we are in this thing together."

Ron then grabbed my hand and kissed it as I let out a small giggle. His commitment to working together on this made me feel very good and confident at whatever tasked laid ahead for us. This was the final mission for me and the combination of this and waiting for word from either Harvard or Brown was clearly taking a toll on me. But, Ron was going to be there for support all the way through. The events with the Lowardians during Graduation was clear proof of that.

A little while later, we boarded the Boeing 747 and took off into the midsummer night sky over Boston, heading over the North Atlantic. Right after takeoff, Ron and I settled in while also being vigilant for any signs of trouble.

"Nothing's going down right now," I whispered as we watched the activities in our cabin. "Everything seems to be in normal state of mind."

"Well, might as well just sit back and enjoy the ride, KP," sighed Ron. "I'm just going to hit the head. Be back in a bit."

So, Ron waltzed over to the bathroom and once again, did not see that the bathroom was occupied. Also, once again, a father and his young daughter were inside giving Ron an incredulous stare.

"You bloody idiot," hissed the British father. "Did you not see that we were occupying this lavatory?"

"Sorry, but you know that maybe there should be a…" Ron stated to say, but the father pulled him into the bathroom and began to teach him a lesson. There were muffled screams, but the rest of the passengers assumed that it was a parent spanking a child for bad behavior.

Ron returned a few minutes later, looking none the worse for wear as he had a black eye over his left eye and his hair was messed up. By now, most of the cabin had fallen asleep except for us, but that was about to change.

"Hey, Kim, you might want to get some sleep," suggested Ron. "You look tired."

"No, Ron," I yawned. "Danger is going to strike at any time. We have to be on our guard at all times."

"Let me take over," insisted Ron, with Rufus also in agreement. "You need to get some beauty sleep and Rufus and I will keep an eye out for trouble, okay?"

Although it was against my better judgment, I fell asleep and left the love of my life and his pet naked mole rat to look for any signs of trouble. Several hours went by and I soon awakened by the sounds of Ron's voice as he tried to wake me up.

"Kim, Kim," he whispered. "We're landing soon. Better get ready for our meeting with our counterparts."

"What counterparts, Ron?" I replied, yawning as I tried to once again adjust to the time change.

"Duh!" remarked Ron. "The British counterparts of Global Justice, the people we are supposed to be helping in catching these guys and stop them from carrying out a bloodbath over the Atlantic?"

I was still groggy by the time we landed at Heathrow Airport and taxied over to Terminal 4. Entering the United Kingdom was smooth and quick and after our bags were collected, we took a taxi into the center of London and towards the Crowne Plaza St. James Hotel, where we would be staying during the mission.

"You must be Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable," said one of the concierges. "I have you in Room 164 and your companions are in Room 166. My name is David if you need anything at all."

So, our first impressions were seemingly that the hotel staff was friendly and that the location was favorable. Although, I will admit that being so close to the Queen did raise a few eyebrows. It's not every day that someone gets to be neighbors with the Queen of England herself.

"Is that a good idea that we are so close together?" I wondered as we changed our clothes for our upcoming meeting.

"What do you mean, KP?" asked Ron adjusting his red bow tie. "It's not like our counterparts want to get into anything that is not there's. Maybe you are just dealing with the effects of the jetlag."

"I suppose you are right," I said as I came out of the bathroom wearing my sleeveless navy blue dress that I wore on special occasions. "Or maybe it is because there is a lot going through my mind right now."

"There is a lot going through everyone's minds, KP," remarked Ron as I slid on my stockings and then my black dress sandals. "It seemed like we just can't catch a break with Graduation, the attempt on our lives at 30,000 feet. But, then again, we are quite used to it."

I said nothing to that remark as I stood in front of a mirror to make sure that my dress didn't have any wrinkles on it.

"By the way, Kim," said Ron. "If you don't mind my asking, you've been wearing that dress a lot. Is there any reason for it?"

"Well," I replied. "Aside from it being my favorite to wear for special occasions, it holds a lot of memories, some good like your cousin's wedding after you gave up being evil, and bad for nearly disappearing with you-know-who. But, aside from that, it's your all-time favorite outfit of mine."

"Perfect for a meeting of this magnitude," chuckled Ron as we walked out of the hotel room and down to the lobby for our meeting to start the chain of events that would lead to stopping the biggest terror plot since 9/11…