Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.
I'd like to thank Lathis, Von Uriken, and King in Yellow for their reviews of the last chapter, as well as all those who sent reviews earlier.
Kim looked on in horror as a cloud of blue mist enveloped Shego, who staggered back as she dropped the package. It was intact, but several holes had popped open in it. The regular spacing of them indicated they were designed to vent the contents of the package. Drakken stood frozen, not moving away from the mist, and Kim had taken one step towards him, to push him away, when a shout came from behind her.
"I KNEW IT!" It came from Constable Grey, causing Kim to spin around. She barely spotted Grey's hand lunging towards her with a stun gun in it in time to deflect it away from her body with her left forearm. Grasping Grey's forearm with her right hand, she continued her spin and pulled on it before snapping it sharply downwards so that the side of his wrist impacted the edge of the marble tabletop. His hand sprung open, and the stun gun flew away. Kim then released him and jumped back, dropping into a fighting stance while shouting "What are you doing?"
To the angry Grey, everything was obvious. Kim Possible had first come to the island to stop the revolution by defeating Doctor Drakken, who was the true hero. But she'd opportunistically managed to get herself called a hero too, probably after she realized that she couldn't stop the revolution, and decided to switch sides. And now she was back again to finish the job she'd failed at before. He now pulled his baton and attacked, using the training he'd received after becoming a policeman.
Unfortunately for him, Kim had had the same training, and gone beyond that to more advanced levels, and better still, had practiced against people trained to fight like Grey. And far better ones, at that. Brain already working on the implications of the bomb in the package, she felt that there was no time to try reason, so she went on the offensive, even as Grey assumed that he was seizing the initiative. But suddenly Kim was inside his guard, and then to his brief astonishment this girl he had to outweigh by nearly a hundred pounds had him off the floor and nearly horizontal before letting him crash to the ground, head bouncing hard off the marble floor. As Grey's eyes crossed, Kim ran over towards Shego dropping the police baton on the table as she passed.
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Erich Kummetz turned as 3 beeps emanated from a device placed on top of his own backpack, which rested against the base of one of the coconut palms. "Well, phase one of this part of our operation has activated." His voice showed no emotion as he spoke. Then he reached for the transceiver that hung on a strap around his neck, and spoke into it. "All teams move to jump-off points. No one proceed from there without authorization. Green has been neutralized." He also entered a code on a small keypad built into the device, before letting it drop again. "Jammer activated." He ticked off in his head.
"But how do you know?" Edouard LeMonde queried. Both men were standing well back in the shade of the trees, hardly invisible, but unlikely to be noticed from the road or the house unless someone actively looked for them. "How do you know she had the device in her hand? What if she flung it away? You have a radio that tells you it went off, but you don't know if it was effective!"
Kummetz regarded him coolly. "Is that what you think? I considered that, my friend." He turned to use his binoculars to see if he could spot any of the teams moving. "The signal came from inside the house, from someone inside the house."
Edouard looked stunned for a moment, then he smiled. "You have someone inside the house? That should make things much easier! And why didn't you tell anyone?"
"A non-combatant, LeMonde. Useless for any more then a to place a certain item within the house, but nothing that would endanger her personally. Too easily intimidated into doing our bidding." Kummetz never stopped his scanning as he talked. "If they follow proper tactics, they should all be in position in about twenty minutes."
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Twenty men moved quickly towards their positions. Six had only joined up that morning, having been responsible for the intelligence gathering functions in the city. They formed teams of three and set up with one moving to a position where they could cover the front entrance, including the garage doors. The second team took position near Shego's home from which they could watch the beach below Drakken's home. Kummetz suspected there might be an escape tunnel leading that way.
The fourteen mercenaries composing the assault force, the men who had been at the house with Kummetz the previous day, were divided into teams of two. Four teams were meant to converge on the house, merge into two teams of four at the front and rear entrances, and affect entry. Two more teams would determine if entry could be achieved through the second floor windows. Liam was in one of those parties, mostly because Kummetz doubted the windows would prove practical as a means of entry, and the teams involved would then be free to support the main assault at the doors if necessary. Dumas was also in one of the window teams, but as a volunteer, and because he thought the same thing.
The seventh two-man team consisted of Colter and Pine. They were assigned to watch the road to Port Marie for any attempt by the Constabulary or the military to intervene on Drakken's behalf. Colter was half convinced they had drawn this assignment because Pine had told Kummetz about his comments regarding Shego, though he admitted that there hadn't been a reasonable opportunity for him to do so since that morning.
Still, he was in a sour mood as he and Pine set up an M249 SAW on a small knoll that gave them coverage of four hundred yards of the road. Then he saw something that first alerted him, puzzled him, and then caused an idea to form in his head.
About fifty yards down the road, a car was pulled over on the shoulder. There were two women standing beside it, talking...
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"Does this make any sense to you?" Samantha McCarron asked Jen Paladin, clearly puzzled. "She goes to a remote spot, and she and the cop with her disappear for a while. We plant a tracker on the truck, and sorry I blew our chance before they left the city. Now she goes to Drakken's! Or, do you think maybe the cop is on Drakken's payroll, and brought her here against her will?"
Her partner stood with her arms folded, staring along the road. They had never been in a good position to see Kim herself since she had left the jail. "It's possible, but I don't think so." She finally opined, "There was some gear in the back of the truck when they came back to the main road that wasn't originally there, so they must have collected something of Kim's. Mister Hillsbury didn't mention how Kim got on the island, but I'll bet she took an indirect route."
Sam frowned. "You think she knew about the surveillance cameras on the planes? And how does someone arrange something like that?"
Jen gave a minimal shrug. "As far as Kim knowing? Maybe. As to the other, with only two local commercial airlines that service this island, it probably wasn't hard for Drakken, or someone, to arrange for the cameras. Which is obviously why those mercenaries trying to fly here were turned back at the airport, they must check out anyone who looks remotely like trouble, while they're still in flight."
"Who, though? Does Drakken have access to a terrorist and/or mercenary database?"
Jen waved her hand to try and drive an annoying insect away. "No clue, Sam, so let's not worry about that, let's concern ourselves with whether or not Kim Possible is in trouble here. Our job is...well, was just to make sure her incarceration was kosher. Technically, the only reason we can excuse our continued interest is that she's still accompanied by a police officer."
Sam nodded, also looking in the general direction of Drakken's home. "You want to get closer? Little trespass of our own?"
Jen shook her head. "Not yet. We'll give her twenty minutes. Maybe something will develop."
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"You're out of your mind, you know." Pine told Colter, "There's no way you can justify going down there, just to check those two out."
Colter responded with a sly grin, "Want to bet?" He reached for his radio, depressed the transmit switch, and said, "Blade Seven to Crown, have a situation."
A moment later, Kummetz's voice came back. "Crown to Blade Seven, what is your situation?"
"Crown, we have a vehicle pulled to the side of the road, roughly fifty yards south of us. Two women visible with the vehicle. They may be outside the range of your jamming device, and are likely to report any gunfire quite promptly, over."
On his hilltop, Kummetz scowled. In truth, there were people living close enough to hear gunfire at Drakken's, under normal circumstances. But the rising wind from the east was reducing that chance, meaning his men could have more time to accomplish their goal. But now these two women...
He knew nothing of Colter's ideas concerning Shego, he'd put the two men where they were because he knew for a fact that heir 'credentials' were false on at least one important count, and didn't want them fouling up the assault. Now he made a decision. "Better neutralize them, but only if shots are fired, rather not kill any tourists." He instructed Colter. Killing non-natives other then their prime targets could only complicate things, and give his clients something to complain about.
Colter made a face as Kummetz signed off. Pine nodded, a satisfied grin on his face. "That's not a reason to go down there, we can 'neutralize' them from here if we have to."
Colter's face contorted as he tried to think of an answer. Then one presented itself. "We couldn't right now, could we? The blond is out of our line of sight." Pine looked down the road, and winced. The blond woman was indeed no longer in sight, their view of her obstructed by some trees as she moved away from the car. "Now, if someone fires, and she pulls her cellphone out, we have no way to stop her making that call from here, do we?" Now Colter had a triumphant look on his face.
Pine looked back down the road, wincing. He could see Sam McCarron again, but knew it made no difference, Colter would only point out she might be out of sight again at the critical moment. And he couldn't let Colter go down alone, Kummetz had stressed keeping all teams together. "What about watching the road?" he asked without enthusiasm, patting the SAW.
"We can deal with them and get back up here quickly if shooting starts." Colter replied, "Now stop stalling and let's get going, it'll take time to circle and take them by surprise."
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The code that Kummetz had entered into his transceiver had activated a device hidden in a large handbag, currently in the kitchen of Drakken's house. But as soon as the device in question became active, it was noticed.
On the second floor, what had appeared to be a smoke detector suddenly showed it was something more. Four small sections of it's housing swung out, revealing small lift fans, which began spinning. It then dropped clear of the ceiling and moved towards and down the main staircase, passing above the havoc going on on the first floor, and entered the kitchen through the transom above the door. It hovered a moment, then headed straight for the cabinet in which the handbag resided.
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Drew Theodore P. Lipsky had overcome a lot of his shortcomings since the first time he had crossed paths with Kim Possible, and learned how to better use the skills he did have. But he still had the greatest difficulty dealing with multiple crisis thrown at him at once. And right now, there was too much going on for his brain to keep up with.
He had been frozen by the explosion, which was unusual, he usually reacted very quickly to loud noises and unidentified clouds of vapor, having caused a few himself in his lab. But he didn't back away from the one released from the package in Shego's hand, he merely stood there and watched her reel back, eyes blinking rapidly, reaching to cover her mouth.
Then the shout, and he turned just in time to see the constable attack Kim Possible, and her swift response. Then the teen dashed towards Shego. Behind her, the front door swung open to admit one of Drakken's security guards, another off-duty constable. At almost the same moment, another came in through the patio doors. The one at the front was taken aback by the sign of Grey on the floor, shaking his head as he tried to clear it.
"Doc!" The touch of panic in Shego's voice registered, and he felt a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Doc! Some thing's wrong, I can't see!" She suddenly backed into the wall, but her legs kept moving, as if she hadn't even felt the impact. Drakken moved towards her, then stopped as he saw the guard at the front pulling his Taser and aiming it at Kim. Suddenly, Drakken found his voice. "Charles! Stop that!" He snapped out in a commanding tone. When the astonished guard looked at him, he continued, "I don't know why that Constable attacked Kimberly, she's not responsible for this!"
"She brought the package in!" Grey shouted, then winced at the pain that shot through his head.
"But where did she get it, Constable?" Drakken asked as he moved carefully towards Shego, who was flailing her hands behind her, appearing not to even feel the wall she was pressed up against, while her head swiveled from side to side, a look of growing panic on her face. Kim was in front of her, trying to decide how to take hold of her without causing panic.
"From the mail box! A fellow conspirator must have placed it there!" Grey's accusatory tone rang out again. The guard behind him looked from him to Drakken and back again.
"Kim Possible does not operate that way!" Drakken snapped angrily. Overcoming his fear that whatever hit Shego might affect him, he grabbed the pale woman's arm, only to have her wrench it free, but not deliberately, as near as Drakken could tell. "Forget that, we have greater problems, Shego needs medical attention, immediately!" He paused before continuing grimly "And I think we're about to come under attack." Kim, who had been startled by Drakken's defense of her, met his gaze, then looked at Shego, then nodded. "Is there a way down to the garage without my having to go outside?" She asked the scientist. Her eyes were on Shego as she asked.
Shego chose that moment to speak, or rather cry out. "Doc! I can't see! Can't hear anything, either, or feel...anything! Smell..." she raised her own arm as if to sniff it, and hit herself hard in the nose. Hard enough to smack her own head into the wall behind her. "OW! I felt that, sort of...I can see shadows, but it's all so blurred..."
"Yes, Kimberly, there's a staircase down to the garage, the door is in the kitchen, through there. I'll take care of Shego, you do whatever you think is best." Kim blinked, chewing her lip as she looked at Shego.
"Doctor Drakken!" He turned to see the security guard who'd entered from the rear holding a phone in his hand. "Phone lines are dead!" Drakken's eyes narrowed. "Constable! Try your portable radio, quickly!"
Having struggled into a sitting position, Grey pulled out his radio and tried contacting headquarters. All he received was a erratic squealing noise. "Jammed" Drakken muttered, before loudly announcing, "Gentlemen and ladies, I'm now certain we're about to be attacked! Shego's been disabled, I expect some sort of assault momentarily. We have to get organized." Shego chose that moment to slide to her right and bump into a side table, nearly toppling a vase on it, which Drakken barely managed to catch. "Doc! Are you there?" The plea in her voice for reassurance tore at Drakken, but he had other priorities. "The jamming may not last, and I can close the storm shutters, which may slow them down, unless they came prepared for them..." he trailed off thoughtfully, then shook his head. "Which wouldn't surprise me much at all."
Kim grit her teeth in frustration as she gazed helplessly at her nemesis, then spun and dashed for the kitchen door. Grey watched her go through narrowed eyes.
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"I just caught a whiff of cheap camouflage make-up." Sam McCarron muttered. Jen Paladin looked at her, then both turned to face the trees just as Pine and Colter stepped out from behind two of them, weapons leveled. "Betcha he says: 'Well, well, well, look what we have here'." Sam muttered to Jen. "Optimist." Jen responded quietly.
"Well, Well, Well, look what we have here!" Colter unknowingly parroted Sam's words. Sam tried to hide her smirk, since it would have been an odd thing for a frightened woman to do in the circumstances, and might have given the two men a hint all was not as they expected, if they were perceptive enough to pick up on it. Which both women now seriously doubted they were.
They were right. Colter had been a Royal Marine, but not a commando, as he'd claimed to Kummetz. Pine likewise had lied about passing the Ranger course, he'd washed out fairly quickly, though he had been in a combat unit overseas. And incidentally was responsible for the death of his CO. They were good enough actors to fool most of the members of their team, but Kummetz had had their numbers from the day he had hired them.
Right now, Colter was assessing the two women. He liked what he saw, especially when he planned to see even more. He noted that both women obviously worked out, the short blond one especially. She was wearing a pale blue T-shirt with the legend 'I can get her from zero to 'O' in sixty seconds' printed on the front. "This will be more fun then I thought, doesn't like men, does she?" He noticed how tight her jeans were, and studied a belly pack at her waist. Not big enough to hold a decent weapon, and divided into multiple pockets. "Loose change and lipstick, if she bothers, is about all that'll fit in there."
"We don't have a lot of time here, ladies.." Colter now said aloud, "To make sure you're not going to be a problem, so we need your full cooperation..." He broke off scowling as Sam started to giggle, and tried to cover her mouth. Jen also suddenly looked away from him, her lips twitching. "What the hell..."
"All that—hehe-all that web gear, all that kit, and he left his fly open!" Sam managed to force out, turning sideways to the men and doubling over with apparent laughter. Jen also covered her mouth as if to hide a smile.
And for their sins, both men fell for it...
Shortly thereafter, Sam finished adjusting the sports bra she'd just pulled on, while looking at the hood of the car curiously. "You know..." she began conversationally, "Most of the big one's eyebrows are still stuck to the hood, Jen."
Jen's response came from beyond the open trunk lid. "So? Hot day, the wax must have been a bit tacky."
Sam rolled her eyes. "Sure, it had nothing to do with how hard you introduced his face to the car, not a bit." She picked up one of the two men's rifles. "Vanilla M16A2, not even a rail for attachments, meh!"
"You take what you can get." Jen stepped into view, in the process of getting her arms in the sleeves of a tropical weight black pullover, before pulling it on over her head. She already had her .45 holstered on her belt, with the two spare magazines in their own holders, the third already loaded. "What about the guy you nailed with the ball bearing, think you cracked his skull?"
Sam regarded the unconscious Pine, stripped to his underwear and securely bound alongside the car. "Nah! Slight concussion maybe, that's all! Lousy throw, if he'd been wearing a helmet, I'd have hit Kevlar instead of skull!" She'd palmed the ball bearing from her belly pack while pretending to double over with laughter.
"Wasn't going to mention that." Jen responded as she tucked her top in and picked up Colter's radio. "Well, we're into their communications, anyway." She scowled as she regarded the unconscious men. "But this isn't right, Kummetz wouldn't pit guys like this against the kind of opposition he's facing here."
"And that means?" Sam asked as she pulled on a pair of mottled gray trousers. Not camouflage pattern, mind you, just 'mottled'.
"It means that on some level, this might be a diversion here. A legit objective, but a diversion for something else more important." Jen replied as she hefted one of the M16s. "But our job is to see that Kim gets off this island safely, and that looks as if it just became a much more difficult job then we thought, so lets get to it!"
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"Schiess!" Kummetz spat out as he released the transmit key on his own radio, causing Edouard LeMonde to jump. The German mercenary leader took a moment to compose himself before he brought the radio back to his mouth. "I understand, though this is a great disappointment, as you obviously know!" Kummetz rubbed his head vigorously before speaking again. "Tell me, do you think you can maintain a position on the western coast of the island?" He listened intently for a moment, "Nein? Yes, I understand, there are no sheltered anchorages on the west side to take refuge in. Well, we'll have to plan on another means of rescuing President LeMonde after the storm has passed. Though how else we can draw all the armed police out of the capital...Ach, a problem to resolved later! Head for safe harbor, I will be in touch later, Crown out!"
Having developed a keen sense of knowing when not to disturb a volatile man, Edouard remained silent. As long as his equally keen curiosity would allow. Finally he couldn't stand it anymore, and cleared his throat. "What has gone wrong, Sir?" He asked as soon as Kummetz turned to face him.
"The Brazilians have let me down, Edouard. Not that I can blame them, they have no control over the weather...Phase Two has been aborted for now. Even if they were able to free your cousin from the jail, once we have drawn the available armed police out here, an escape by boat is impossible, due to Tropical Storm Kimberly! By the time they had freed him, even by the most optimistic timetable, and gotten him to the harbor, the East Coast of the island would be within the advancing storm, and the waters too rough to risk such a prize on the boat they've brought with them!" He again turned away, staring at Drakken's home. "So, we'll have to settle for eliminating Herr Doktor Drakken and his bodyguard!"
Kummetz's mention of the storm, and more importantly it's name, caused a nagging question in the back of Edouard's brain to come back to the fore. And that was whether or not to mention the slim, in his mind, chance that he'd seen Kim Possible go into Drakken's house. The big question was whether Kummetz could possibly blame him if the girl was discovered in the house, and especially if she interfered successfully with the operation. For the moment he held his peace, and listened to Kummetz, now speaking on his cellphone.
"Liam, Phase Two is off...no help for it, this damn storm!...So, we will proceed. No survivors, kill everyone inside the house...Yes, even her, her usefulness is at an end, and she can testify to the involvement of foreign mercenaries in this action...Very well, Gute Jagd!"
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Drakken had managed to capture both of Shego's hands, and fervently hoped the woman didn't light up. He suddenly heard a persistent beeping pattern, and turned to one of the guards. "Andrew, find where that's coming from, my little pet has found whatever is jamming the radios, see what it is, please!" He turned to Shego, who was on the verge of hyperventilating. "She can feel, but it takes a hard poke or blow to register...senses dulled, but not completely...Ah!" Shifting position, he laid his own head against Shego's, cheek to cheek. She didn't react. "Can you hear me now?" he intoned, then winced at his choice of words. "Dratted commercials...ow!" Shego had snapped her head to one side, giving Drakken a possibly bruised cheek.
"Doc? Was that you? Sounded weird!" Then her eyes widened, and she nodded. "Bone induction? So, I can hear in a way...ah! Not getting any worse, but I'm useless Doc, and this must mean someone's coming!" Drakken noted that Shego was going from panicked to angry. He pressed his cheek against hers' again. "I know, Shego, we are dealing with it."
"Doctor Drakken!" Andrew the guard had emerged from the kitchen area, carrying a handbag. "It's the housekeeper's bag, the device is in it!" That Drakken knew already, his little disguised detector was following the guard, trying to remain close to the bag. He noted that Kim must have been really focused on reaching the garage, if she hadn't noticed his little drone as she passed through the kitchen. "Let me see it!" Drakken ordered. The second guard stepped close to the housekeeper, who stood with arms crossed, a sullen look on her face. "Why did you do this thing?" He asked her. "I got nothing to say for myself, to you or anyone else!" She snapped back.
Drakken dumped the contents of the bag on the floor. Shego was now turning her head from side to side, squinting and occasionally cocking it as if trying to find a position where her ears would work. Drakken quickly spotted the device he sought, encased in gray plastic, with a single switch on it. He tried to mainpulate it, but it didn't budge. "Hmmm, one use switch, once turned on, can't be turned off again! Well, that's easily solved!" He tossed the device onto the marble section of the floor. The device disguised as a smoke detector swooped after it, and a low hum emanated from it. The plastic case of the device began to melt, then there was a flash and sharp bang. Shego's head moved slightly as if she heard it, a small frown crossing her features.
"Try your radio now, Constable...Constable?" Drakken looked in momentary confusion at the foyer, but Constable Gray was nowhere to be seen.
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Moments earlier...
"Buckler One to Crown, the policeman has emerged from the front door, and is crouched behind the parapet above the driveway, he may be trying to reach his truck, over."
Kummetz raised his binoculars to study the area in question. "The parapet should be called a balustrade, technically." He thought. He could clearly make out the constable's position, since he was not behind a solid barrier, and it provided poor protection from gunfire. He raised his radio to his lips. "If he tries to escape in the vehicle, stop him. If he has a weapon in the vehicle and tries to get back inside, stop him. If he just plans to flee through the jungle, let him go, unless he stumbles directly on some of you, then deal with him, Crown out."
At the same time, another series of beeps sounded from the device atop his backpack. He regarded it ruefully, then looked at Edouard. "You see? Doctor Drakken has neutralized the jammer, and can now call for help! Now that we do not wish him to, that is! Drawing the armed police out of the city to allow the Brazilians to carry out Phase Two is obviously no longer desirable!" He checked his watch, and did calculations in his head, then spoke into his transceiver again. "Crown to Blade One, move to a position near Shego's home from which you can observe the beach. Signal when in position. All other blades, re-commence your approach as soon as Blade One sends that signal, Crown Out."
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Peter Gray was determined to make up for whichever mistake he had made, either bringing Kim Possible and aiding the evil ones' plans, or attacking the girl, which might also have aided the enemy's plans, if she was not a party to them. He was still inclined to believe the former, but his current plans were the same no matter which was correct. To get to something he'd concealed in his truck.
He'd kept low from the moment he'd slipped out the front door, then worked his way cautiously down the stairs. He felt most exposed descending the lower flight, but he saw nothing of the attackers Drakken predicted. But he did not doubt that they were present.
He'd parked the pick-up truck broadside to the garage doors, but with the driver's door on the side away from them. Not that it should have mattered, he could have entered on the passenger side and easily reached his goal, but for some reason that simple fact didn't occur to him. Or perhaps the lack of a visible enemy caused his actions. For whatever reason, he dashed around to the driver's side while staying low, which was virtually pointless once he no longer had the vehicle for cover. Opening the door, he quickly rummaged under the seat to produce a handgun, a Beretta 9mm automatic. It was not a police-issue weapon, but one left over from his revolutionary days. Oddly, he kept it at police headquarters, concealed in his locker, and had managed to smuggle it out to the truck before picking Kim Possible up at the main entrance.
Now he made sure a round was chambered, then closed the truck door. As he did so, he held the weapon up out of the way, in plain sight. Even as the truck door slammed, there was a short burst of automatic fire from the brush on the far side of the turning circle. Constable Grey's last thoughts were unfair and uncharitable ones about Kim Possible.
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Kim Possible heard the muffled shots as she reached the garage. It currently held an old model open touring car, maybe from the forties, she wasn't sure, one of Drakken's smaller hovercraft, and a motorcycle she suspected strongly as being Shego's. "I hope she gets a chance to ride it again." Kim was thinking when she heard the shots. She ran towards the three doors. They were separated from each other by three foot sections of wall. Individual controls for each door were lined up on the wall on the far right, along with another that was labeled 'Storm Barriers'. This control had two positions. Seeing it was down, Kim looked at the foot of the doors and saw a row of triangular metal plates, or more likely the tops of posts meant to reinforce the doors.
Kim tried to remember for certain how the truck was parked. Most importantly, which door it was in front of. If her memory was correct, it should be right in front of the central door. She noticed a small vibration in the doors which came and went, even as she pushed the 'up' button for the center door and watched it begin to rise. A strong gust of air blew in as it did, which explained the vibration. "Storm getting closer, just to complicate things!" But as the door rose, sunshine shown through the gap, belying the threat. Kim waited until the door was high enough for her to dive under, then hit the button again, stopping the door.
She moved to where she could crouch and peer under it, trying to scan as much of the surrounding area as possible. But when she saw no immediate sign of danger, she took a chance, knowing that she might have little time if the enemy was closing in. She dove under the door and rolled the short distance to the truck. That left her in a position to look under the truck and see Constable Grey.
Kim grimaced, it was obvious to her that Grey was dead. She swallowed hard and her stomach felt a little queasy for a moment. She didn't understand the Constable or his actions, but of course she regretted his death. She spotted the gun still in his outstretched hand, but it never occurred to her to take it. She was focused on her own needs and only later would she think it might have been useful to one of the guards inside.
Rising to a crouch, she opened the truck door carefully, thankful it hadn't been locked by her or Grey. She took the bag containing her mission clothes and her boots from behind the seat, then eased the door closed. She doubted it's movement had been missed, but she wasn't going to blow an advantage if it had.
But now came the tricky part, getting her backpack out of the back. She visualized how it had been strapped in, as well as the arrangement of the other items in the trunk. She frowned. "I'll have to at least expose my whole arm to reach and undo the straps. And there's nothing blocking the line of sight from the other side of the turning circle, if the person watching is above the level of the truck sides."
She had to weigh the possible risks against the advantage of having her gear. She could always improvise, after all, she'd done it before. But she decided to take the chance.
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"Yes, Sir, someone has slipped out through the garage door. Then I clearly saw the truck's far door open and then close. Not sure if whoever it is is inside the truck or not...wait!" Kummetz did wait, very impatiently for the next words from Buckler One. "Someone just reached over the side of the truck bed and did something, then withdrew...no, there they are again! Target is small, not sure if I can hit it from here, but if I get closer, I can throw a grenade under the truck or close enough. To injure whoever it is...they seem to be trying to do something blind, I'll try and hit them from here..No! Damn, they just pulled a backpack of some kind from the truck bed. Sorry, Sir, I should have simply opened fire rather then wasting time reporting!"
Kummetz frowned, but didn't let any displeasure show in his voice. "No, you acted correctly, I wished to be informed of any activity! However, and all units hear this, from now on shoot to kill if you see any movement in or around the house and grounds."
"Sir, the garage door is closing again, whoever it was went back inside." Buckler One reported.
Some time earlier, a little nagging voice had begun to yammer in the back of Kummetz's mind. It told him that he'd seen something significant and not realized it. "They were after something in the truck, so it had to belong to the constable, or the red-haired girl...Idioten! A red-haired girl, and Doktor Drakken? It seems improbable, but..."
Again he spoke into his transceiver, but this time with ill-concealed urgency. "All units, it is possible that unexpected resistance may be met within the house! I think it is quite possible...Ach! I believe Kim Possible is within the house, and may aid the targets in resisting us! All units move in swiftly, but with caution! There are no innocents within, shoot anyone you see, immediately! Crown out!"
Sorry for the long delay since last update. Shortening this chapter so as to post it today.
Please Read and Review.