Kim

"What do you want?" Kim spat at Lindsay's digital image. The acting director didn't even blink, ignoring her hostility.

"Ms. Possible I realize you were just in my office a few hours ago, but I need to speak with you rather urgently." Lindsay said.

"Aren't we talking now?" Kim replied. Lindsay's smile twitched ever so slightly. It was the only indication that he was annoyed as his voice was still calm when he said. "Obviously I meant in person."

"I'm kind of busy right now." Kim shook her head.

"Ms. Possible if you look to the front of the waiting room you are sitting in you will see three agents from my office." Lindsay paused as Kim glanced up at the agents still waiting outside the triage doors.

"One of those agents is there to bring you in, by force if necessary." The agent in question turned to look in their direction. Kim stared into the screen.

"You can't use force on a civilian." Kim said.

"You have information that you chose not to share with me earlier today. Information crucial to an ongoing investigation into a matter of national security." Lindsay said.

"You've got to be kidding."

"You can come voluntarily or not it's your choice… but you are coming in." The screen winked out and she had to suppress the urge to throw the device into the wall.

"Are you really in trouble?" Monique's concerned voice cut through her irritation.

"I doubt it." Kim said. "He wants something… otherwise he would have just arrested me and not bothered with the phone call." Kim frowned. It was the second time someone was manipulating her to get what they wanted. The first a gangster and second the acting director of Global Justice. What irony Kim thought. It might have even been funny if it were happening to someone else.

By that point Ron and Yori had joined them in the corner.

"What's up?" Ron asked.

"You can say I told you so." Kim sighed. Ron raised an eyebrow at her and waited for more.

"That Lindsay guy wants to see Kim… he threatened to arrest her if she didn't agree to meet him." Monique answered for her.

"We were just there and he barely spoke to us." Ron fumed. Kim raised her hands and shrugged.

"I'm sorry." She said to Monique.

"I know… it's okay." Monique touched Kim's cheek. "Just come back to me." Kim took Monique's hand in her own and nodded. She didn't want to leave and thankfully Monique understood that. Though she added this to the ever-growing number of things she owed to her girlfriend. She had a lot to make up for although that could be fun too. Kim gave her a kiss on her cheek and started toward the agent that waited for her. Ron was walking right beside her. Keeping in step with her.

"You want me to come too?"

"No, stay with the women." Kim told him.

"You might need help." Ron tried to protest. Kim stopped and turned toward him.

"I can take care of myself…" Kim dropped her voice. "I don't want to leave them alone again." She didn't come right out and say it but she was still worried for Monique's safety. Bonnie and Shego had gotten to them once and there was nothing to guarantee they wouldn't try again. It was happening again… enemies using someone she loved against her. She hated it and would do anything to prevent it. Thankfully Ron understood what she was saying and nodded.

"Alright I'll keep them safe. Just make sure you check in and let us know what's happening."

"I'll do my best." They parted ways there. Ron returned to the corner with Yori and Monique. She watched the way Yori moved toward him. Ron slipped his arm around her the way he used to do to her. He let Yori lean her head against his shoulder like she used to do. Kim turned her back to them and walked up to the agent who had been watching her.

Kim flashed her fake smile and said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.

"Shall we?"

The agent led her out of the ED and to a car. While she sat in the back seat she thought of the way Ron and Yori were acting in the waiting room. For a moment she thought she might actually be feeling jealous, though that made no sense. She had let go of her relationship with Ron a long time ago and she was truly happy with Monique. So why was she thinking about it so much. Why was her mind pulled into the past when she and Ron were still together? She decided it wasn't Ron who she was coveting at the moment, but the life she once had. The life she thought nothing of until it ended in the same fiery inferno that had consumed the Rockwaller's house. She thought she had made peace with that too, but so far she hadn't adjusted to this new life. Things kept getting worse and she wondered what the landscape would look like when it was finally over.


Kenneth Fletcher

When he was honest with him self Kenneth Fletcher admitted that he hated his job. In his youth he had many dreams and aspirations. None of which had been realized and he feared he was running out of time. When he first started working for Big Daddy Brotherson he was enticed with all sorts of success stories and promises of quick succession through the ranks. All he had to do was be a hard, honest worker and keep his head down. Kenneth had done just that and had been doing it for nearly 10 years. However, he had not experienced a meteoric rise in the organization. Sure he had moved up in the ranks. His pay was good and most days past rather quietly, but after a decade of dedicated service he expected to be more than a security guard. He tried not to think about it, to be content with what he had. That wasn't possible at the moment. Just a few hours ago a little girl, a teenager, had managed to get the better of him. She had gotten his gun and pointed it right at him. If she had gotten the itch she could have shot him dead. He was still walking with a bit of a limp and was still pissed off. Was he really slipping that bad? Was that why he was still working security? Maybe he was just one big screw-up. Maybe his life was destined for the crap heap after all. Kenneth swore to himself and took out a cigarette. He flipped open his Zippo and lit it. Technically they weren't supposed to smoke while on duty but he didn't care. He needed to calm down and besides his route took him around the far end of the compound near the power transformer. No one would see him light up out there. Kenneth blew a column of smoke into the air already feeling the nicotine work it's magic fingers on his nerves. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and went back to his route. It was nice in the night air, the crickets and cicadas chirping back and forth. To distract himself from his self-depreciation Kenneth shifted his thoughts to Meredith, the short hottie who kept coming on to him at Brotherson's Seattle club. Kenneth had been keeping his distance amid rumors about the girl, though she claimed they were all lies spread by a jealous ex. She had taken a liking to him recently and Kenneth decided he might just give in the next time she invited him home. Kenneth stopped walking. He turned toward the woods that flanked the rear of Brotherson's complex. He hadn't noticed right away he was so caught up in his thoughts. It was quiet… the crickets and cicadas no longer chirped. It was dead silent. Kenneth placed the cigarette between his lips and held it there while he reached for the radio on his belt. A blur of motion caught his eye. He turned to follow it but saw nothing. He took a step toward the woods, pulled the cigarette from his lips and let the smoke curl out between them. He scanned the trees again feeling his muscles tense and the hair on the back of his neck rise. He was about to chalk it up to some woodland creature when he saw a faint greenish glow spilling around a tree three or four meters into the woods. Kenneth was reaching for his radio again when the attack came. Not from the front but from behind. It was swift, sudden and Kenneth never felt it…


Kim

She sat alone in a "conference" room at GJ headquarters. At least they had told her it was a conference room it looked more like a holding room. A place where persons of interest were interviewed or interrogated depending on how politically correct you wanted to be. The room was approximately three meters by three meters. A rectangular table sat in the center of the room with a chair on either side. A two-way mirror dominated one wall. Kim stared at her own reflection imagining she was staring down Lindsay. She was confident he stood in the darkened room on the other side of the glass. The single door to her left opened and a woman entered closing the door behind her. Kim looked her over as she approached the table. Kim guessed she was in her late twenties. She had dark black hair, which was pulled up into a bun kept in place by twin chopstick looking hairpins. She wore a navy blue dress blouse and black skirt that ended ever so slightly above her knees. She also had on a pair of black-rimed glasses. Her earrings were gold each ending in a Chinese character. The character for death hung from her left ear. The character for life hung from her right. The woman didn't look particularly of Chinese descent and when she spoke she had a British accent.

"Ms. Possible, my name is Cora Rose Morgan." She set a file on the table and sat across from Kim.

"I thought I was here to talk to the acting director." Kim folded her arms in front of her.

"You will, but we have some business to take care of first." Cora opened the file and glanced down at it. Kim rolled her eyes and leaned forward placing her hands on the table.

"Can you just tell me what this is about?"

Cora pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose looking back up at her.

"There are some questions we need to have answered before we can proceed with any formal arrangement." Cora said. Her tone of voice and posture contained a youthful exuberance of someone fresh out of school. However, underneath her enthusiasm Kim detected Cora carried a lot of scars, vestiges of a woman who was older then her years would indicate.

"I still have no idea what you're talking about." Kim said. Cora looked over her notes for a moment or two. Her posture became more ridged. Down to business Kim thought.

"You know this girl, Bonnie Rockwaller?" Cora asked though they had to know the answer already. Perhaps it was just a starter, like the control questions they asked at the start of a polygraph.

"I used to know her." Kim replied. Cora jotted something down on a piece of paper.

"You attended school together?"

"Yes… and we were both on the high school cheerleading squad." Kim didn't want to give more information then they asked for, but she was pretty sure they would have come around to asking. She wanted to head off any more needless questions. Cora took down more notes.

"How well do you know Bonnie?" Cora said. Kim didn't like the direction this was going in and now understood why they had her in a holding room. They knew Bonnie was working with Shego. That would mean treating her as a partner instead of a victim, though Kim believed she was both.

"We fought over everything." Kim said feeling even less corporative then she had before.

"Can you elaborate?"

"Grades, talent competitions, the cheer squad…" Kim almost added Ron to the list but stopped short and instead chose. "Guys."

"Does that mean you didn't know her well?" Cora looked at her over the rim of her glasses.

"We saw each other as rivals it wasn't exactly fertile ground for a friendship." Kim said.

"I understand." Cora nodded, then added. "But, you haven't answered the question." It was true Kim admitted, she hadn't. However, Kim had been conducting her own test even while Cora performed hers. Now Kim knew more about her interviewer. Cora was focused, perceptive, and intelligent. She likely had training in psychology and profiling, which would make it very difficult to dance around her. Kim could try to be evasive or lie but she wouldn't get away with it.

"Yes I knew her but not well." Kim said.

"Do you know why she has taken up with Shego?"

"No."

"Have you had any contact with her since the bombing of her house?"

"No."

This went on for the better part of an hour. Cora asked her more questions about Bonnie, about Shego, and then she dropped the bombshell.

"Why did you meet with Big Daddy Brotherson yesterday afternoon?" Cora asked. For a moment Kim was hung up by the use of yesterday. She glanced at her watch and sure enough it was past midnight and Kim realized that soon she would have been up for 24 hours.

"Ms. Possible?" Cora prodded.

"I don't see how that's relevant." Kim said.

"What did he tell you?" Cora proceeded unfazed. Kim was tired of answering so many questions while receiving no response to her own. She jumped from her seat and leaned over the table. Her face was mere inches from Cora's who, to her credit, didn't react.

"No more." Kim said. "I'm not answering another question until I talk to the acting director." Cora held Kim's gaze, her features expressionless. Then she pursed her lips and set her pen on the pad full of scribbled notes. Quietly Cora folded her hands.

"Ms. Possible…" She began but before she could continue the door opened. Kim didn't look to see who it was but kept her attention on Cora. The older woman broke eye contact to look toward the open door.

"You're excused agent Morgan." It was Lindsay's voice.

"Sir?" Cora's mask faltered and Kim read surprise and anger in her eyes.

"You're excused." Lindsay repeated. The mask went back up as Cora collected her things, stood and left the room. Lindsay stepped into the room followed by a male agent. Lindsay came around the table and stood across from Kim. The other agent came to a rest in the corner behind Lindsay.

"Please have a seat." Lindsay said as he pulled the chair away from the table. He unbuttoned his sports jacket and sat down. Kim retreated to her chair folding her arms across her chest.

"I understand that you're frustrated…" Lindsay began.

"Do you?" Kim retorted.

"Yes… but you must understand we're dealing with a very delicate situation here." Lindsay played with a ring on his right hand. Rotating it around his finger.

"You're talking about Betty Shepard."

"No." Lindsay shook his head. "That's not even on the forefront anymore." Kim narrowed her gaze. As far as she could tell he was telling the truth. She wondered if Lindsay would have the guts to try to lie to her face. Regardless something was wrong here. Something had happened she wasn't aware of.

"Then what's the situation?" Kim asked doubting she would get a response but she did.

"I will tell you under one condition." Lindsay paused and when she didn't object he continued. "I need you to finish your interview with agent Morgan. However trivial her questions might seem your answers could be invaluable to us. I can see threats are no longer going to work so I hoped mutual cooperation might." Kim mulled this over. She didn't like being in the dark, being the one at a disadvantage. If Lindsay were really willing to work together she would be willing to suffer through the rest of Cora's questions.

"Alright, I'll cooperate." Kim answered. Lindsay sat forward in his chair casting his face in shadow.

"About three hours ago we received intelligence of disturbances at a stronghold belonging to Big Daddy Brotherson." Lindsay said. Kim felt the words strike her. Felt her breath hitch in her throat.

"What…" Kim swallowed. "What kind of disturbance?"

"We dispatched some agents to investigate. By the time they arrived the action was over. They found the stronghold destroyed and a lot of bodies… including Brotherson's." Kim clutched the table for support as the room spun around her. She had just spoken with the man a few hours ago. Warned him to be careful. With some effort Kim found her voice to ask.

"Brotherson's dead?"

"Quite dead… agent Morgan will elaborate in the interview."

"Was it Shego?"

Lindsay said. "We believe so but we're still gathering intelligence." Kim tucked her head to her chest. She couldn't believe this. How could so much go wrong so fast. What was Shego after? That was the question above all others. Until they could figure out what Shego was up to she would continue to be unpredictable and dangerous. Kim regained some amount of composer and sat up straight again.

"You can send agent Morgan back in." Kim's found her voice was not as strong as it had been. Her mind was still reeling unable to process it all.

"Thank you Ms. Possible…" Lindsay stood and refastened the buttons on his jacket.

"Please don't call me that. Just… call me Kim."

"Very well Kim. Thank you for your cooperation." The other agent fell in line behind Lindsay and both men left the room. When the door clicked shut Kim had the distinct impression of being trapped. Not by the holding room exactly. The room was just a visual metaphor for something she felt deep down, the feeling that she was trapped by circumstances far beyond her ability to cope or influence. Perhaps circumstances too great for her to survive. One thing brought her back to some kind of functioning rational state.

"What do you want Shego…" Kim whispered. "What the hell are you up to?"


Ron

"Will Kim-san be alright?" Yori asked him.

"I'm sure she will be." Ron said. Though he wasn't exactly sure. He knew enough about Kim and Lindsay to know their personalities didn't mix well. That is unless your intent was to make a volatile mixture that could blow up in your face. If Kim were too combative Lindsay would be well within his rights to arrest her on any number of charges. Maybe that was even his plan. He never liked how much freedom Dr. Director gave Kim. Now was his chance to remove her from the equation, to keep her from causing him trouble. Ron hoped this wasn't the case. He hoped Lindsay was smart enough to realize he needed Kim and that he would work with her to stop whatever demented scheme Shego was acting out. Ron scanned the room again looking for Monique. She had left to visit the bathroom and to look for something to drink ten minutes ago.

"Is something wrong?" Yori asked. She must have sensed his tension and noticed how he kept scanning the room.

"Have you seen Monique?" Ron said.

Yori shook her head. "Not since she left for the washroom." Ron bit his lower lip.

"Would you mind checking for her in there? Make sure she's alright."

Yori said. "Wakarimashita." As she made her way toward the bathrooms Ron went to check the vending machines. Monique was not there, just a balding man frustratingly cramming a bill into a drink machine. The bill was spit back out at him and he cursed trying again to make the machine accept the crinkled bill. Ron ran a hand threw his hair and tried to ignore his quickening pulse. He had promised Kim he'd take care of Monique… He told himself to calm down that there was no sign that anything was wrong. Perhaps he was becoming as paranoid as Kim, but he didn't think that was the case. In training Yori had taught him to trust his instincts. If he felt there was something amiss then he should act as if it were so. Ron made for the bathrooms with a quickened pace. He rounded a corner and saw Yori coming toward him with Monique a step behind her. Ron's feeling of disease lightened but did not disappear completely.

"Everything thing alright?" He asked the women as they approached.

"Just some mechanical trouble." Monique said.

"I was able to help." Yori added. Ron looked down the hall past the girls. At the far end beyond the bathrooms there was an emergency exit. Ron glanced over his shoulder at the waiting room. He didn't want to take the women back into that room.

"Come on, we're leaving." Ron gently pushed Yori and Monique toward the emergency exit.

"Why, what's wrong?" Monique asked.

"I don't know exactly." Ron looked over is shoulder again. "Just, something doesn't feel right." Yori immediately stepped into a defensive position by Monique.

"I will lead the way." Yori said.

"What's going on here?" Monique look back and forth between Yori and Ron.

"It's a ninja thing, just stay between us and keep moving." Ron said gently.

Monique obeyed but said. "You'll have to explain that once we're out of here." Ron kept moving them toward the exit. He wasn't sure he could explain it. How did you explain a feeling? The only comfort he took in all this was how fast Yori had moved to support him. Which meant she felt it too or maybe she just trusted him that much. Either way Ron wanted to know what triggered this feeling, the nature of the threat that hunted them. He might need help to unravel this one… help from someone older and wiser then himself.


In the next chapter:

Ron seeks Master Sensei's wisdom while Kim continues to be questioned by agent Cora. All the while Shego and Bonnie prepare for the ultimate assault on GJ headquarters.