Chapter 21: Challenges and successes.

"OKAY PEOPLE," Barkin's voice echoed through the Upperton High visitor's locker room. "Are you ready to play!?"

"YES SIR!" The entire team roared back.

"Who are we?"

"MAD DOGS!"

"Who are we?"

"MAD DOGS!"

Ron found himself joining in the yells, getting pumped up in spite of himself. He didn't think that he could get pumped, after all he as used to tangling with super villains, but there was something stirring about being a cog in a larger machine. There was something stirring about knowing that his parents were actually going to be watching him play his first game. There was something stirring about knowing that he wasn't going to let his teammates down.

There was something stirring about knowing that Kim was going to be cheering extra loud; just for him.

The second week of school had gone by in a blur of morning sparring sessions with KP, Hirotaka and Yori; afternoon practice, evening homework (with KP) and occasional babysitting duty. He and KP had already declared Friday to be homework/give his 'rents a break from Hanna night, while Saturdays were date night. Of course, they still spent almost every available moment together, just like when they were just best friends.

"ALLRIGHT MADDOGS, LET'S GO!"

Coach Barkin threw open the door and Ron joined the stampede onto the field. The Middleton fans who had made the trip cheered their team while the Upperton fans offered polite applause. Ron glanced to the Middleton cheerleaders, smiling when he saw Kim starting the squad on a routine. He noticed Oscar, jogging nearby, looking at Cindy, who was also on the squad. Ron almost laughed when he saw Bonnie.

Ron and KP had kept questioning Yori and Hirotaka about the incident at the cheerleader auditions. They had finally gotten the Japanese teens to admit that they were cousins (second cousins, to be exact) and that Hirotaka was flat out tired of hanging around with Bonnie. They had, indeed, staged the incident, giving Hirotaka a plausible excuse to avoid the queen of the food chain. Overnight, Bonnie had gone from sneering at the other girls on the squad for 'not having a boyfriend as hot as mine' to sneering at them for 'settling.' Of course, she was turning absolutely green whenever she saw Kim with Ron, or Oscar with Cindy, or Crystal with…"

Ron snapped himself to the here and now, taking his place as the team lined up for their pre-game warmups. The stadium erupted into applause as the Upperton Lemurs swarmed onto their side of the field. Both teams warmed up while the Upperton High School band entertained the crowd. Barkin stalked through his team, offering words of advice or encouragement.

"Williamsen, Stoppable," he rumbled as he reached his starting backfield. "As you know, the Upperton starting middle linebacker is Mat Soley, he was all-state last year and a shoe-in to get a 1-A scholarship next year. Are you two ready to deal with him?"

"Yes, sir," both teens told their coach, although Ron was showing some of his nerves.

"You going to be okay, Stoppable?" Barkin asked. "You're not going to freeze up on me out there, are you?"

"No way Mr. B," Ron assured him. "There won't be a repeat of my first match."

"I heard a little about it from Coach Winters," Barkin informed the boy. "He said you froze up and forgot to move."

"Coach B." Ron informed him. "I forgot I had feet to move. Anyway I'm not freezing up again."

"See that you don't," Barkin's tone carried a slightly threatening undertone. "How about you, Williamsen? Are you ready to make the blocks? That kid's got a good forty pounds on you."

"I'll hit him, Coach," Oscar promised. "He might put me on my butt, but I'll hit him."

"That's all I can ask," Barkin approved, then stalked off to talk to some more of his players.

Ron concentrated on stretching himself out and trying to relax. It would all start soon.

"Are you a little nervous, Shego?" Monkeyfist asked his companion, as they were leaving the ranch house. "It's been a number of months since you've been in action."

"I'm a pro, Monty. Don't worry about me." Then she paused a moment, "But yes, I'm almost as freakin' jittery as my first heist."

"Don't worry, I know you, you'll be fine," the nobleman assured her. "Just keep to our schedule, and we shall be successful."

"I know the schedule, monkey-boy," for some reason, her nickname didn't come off as insulting. "Just you get half-pint and get yourself back here. If I have to put up, alone, with the birdbrain; we just might be down a partner by the time the sun comes up again."

"I should be back well before you," he assured her. "I have only a single man to liberate while we have inflicted a full shopping list upon you."

"It was the best way to get it done," she shrugged. "But we're not getting it done by jawing at each other. I should be back around three AM or so."

"Shego?"

"Yeah, Monty?"

"I know that you do not require luck to perform your task," he declared. "Yet, I find myself wishing you good fortune. I also feel I must tell you that I'll be counting the minutes, with great anxiety, until you can return to me."

Shego couldn't keep the smile off of her face.

Ron pulled on his helmet and trotted onto the field with the rest of the offense. Upperton had taken the opening kickoff and had driven deep into the Middleton side of the field before the Mad Dogs' defense stiffened, forcing them to settle for a field goal. Middleton had a fair return on the following kickoff, starting their first possession of the season on their own 28.

The offense huddled up and the quarterback called Barkin's first play. The coach wasn't trying anything fancy, for now. He had called a basic, off-tackle run up the gut. The Mad Dogs broke their huddle and lined up.

"Hey sidekick!" Soley yelled from his linebacker position. "Bring it right here! I'm waiting for you!"

Ron decided to not return the trash talking. He listened as Bob, the quarterback, called out the signals. On the third 'Hut!' Bob took the ball and stepped back, faking a handoff to Oscar, then cramming the ball into Ron's belly. Ron charged for the gap between the left tackle and guard, while Oscar ran between the left tackle and the center. Oscar and Soley met, with a jarring impact that sent Oscar stumbling backwards. Yet, the fullback had done his job, slowing the linebacker in his pursuit of Ron.

Ron darted past Soley, feeling the linebacker's hand brush his back as the safety came forward to make the tackle. Ron clutched the ball with both hands and kept his weight low, driving the safety back. Soley caught him from behind and drove him to the sod (forcing Ron forward another yard in the process.)

"I'm looking for you, sidekick!" Soley snarled at him, as they got to their feet.

"I'll be here," Ron snapped back, tossing the ball to the referee. It was now second down and three.

Back in the huddle, Bob called the play that Barkin had sent in. It was to be the same play, but to the other side of the line, on two instead of three. Middleton would keep hammering the ball into the center of the field until Upperton stopped them.

This time, Oscar managed to force Soley a half-step to the middle of the field, before the linebacker threw him to the side. An outside linebacker came forward to fill the gap Ron intended to run through, so he bounced his run to outside of the guard and sprinted for all he was worth. The strong safety caught him as he went by and clung to him, slowing Ron until the cornerback could come up and finish the tackle. Still, Ron had picked up twelve yards on the play.

Coach Barkin watched, satisfied, as his team drove down the field. After six plays, during which the Mad Dogs drove to the Upperton 38, Barkin saw what he was waiting for, the Upperton safeties cheating up to the line. He struck with the next play.

Ron set himself for the seventh play of the drive, trying to look like he had for the first six. Again, Bob took the ball from the center and faked a handoff to Oscar. This time, he faked the handoff to Ron. Ron charged into the line as Soley knocked Oscar to the ground yet again. The strong safety came up and delivered a solid blow, standing Ron up so that Soley could finish the tackle.

"Ball! Ball!" One of the Upperton linemen, realizing that Bob still had the ball, shouted a warning but it was too late. Bob spotted the tight end, wide open over the middle, where the safety normally would have been. The result was a twenty-two yard completion. Barkin wasn't finished. The next play, Bob pitched the ball to Ron, who ran for the end without even pretending to try to take the ball inside. Upperton, caught defending the middle of the field, couldn't catch him as he sprinted the sixteen yards into the end zone.

Aviarius dropped out of his vulture-aircraft and activated the folding wings in his suit. The wings, combined with the rocket pack on his back, gave him enough lift for a short burst of flight. He looked at the building in front of him, a physics research facility. The bird-obsessed villain launched one of his last falcon-missiles at a point between two windows on the third floor.

The missile blasted a hole in the wall. It wasn't a large hole, but it was enough for someone with his precision flying skills to pass through. This was the way to perform a heist! Not stalking around like some nervous rodent. He was the eagle, striking boldly and leaving so quickly that no lumbering, earthbound fool could catch him! Alarms rang as he swooped into the opening, burst through the room's door and flew down a corridor. A security door, flanked by two, stunned guards, loomed ahead of him.

Aviarius fired two hummingbird darts. The darts flew true, injecting the guards with tranquilizers. Both slumped, immobilized, before they could bring their pistols to bear on the incoming birdman. Aviarius didn't bother with the door, but fired another falcon missile at the wall to the right of it. Again, he blasted a small hole in the wall and again, he swooped through.

Technical staff scattered like panicking sparrows as he thundered into the laboratory. He quickly spotted the pan-dimensional vortex inducer, clamped in some machinery. He pulled his eagle-talon, a curved blade of especially hardened steel, from his belt. Like a bird of prey, he made several passes at the machine, using his velocity to slice the inducer free from its restraints. Snatching up his prize, he let loose a little bit of deception.

He released a burst of green energy from his wristband, blasting a hole in the ceiling. It had taken him days to construct the article and it could only fire the single burst yet, he hoped that when the flustered eggheads talked to the authorities, everyone would assume that he now possessed plasma powers, acquired from a certain green-tinged loudmouth. How was that for tactical thinking?

Aviarius flew up and into a hallway in the floor above the laboratory, even as additional security poured into the lab. He flew down the hall then launched his last missile at the end of the corridor, blasting a hole through the building's outer wall. Flying through, he ducked back into his vulture jet, which he had programmed to meet him at this point. Wasting no time, he opened the throttles, setting a course for Go City. After several minutes, when he was out of site of the witnesses who would report his course, he would change course to a certain farmhouse in Wyoming.

Aviarius smiled; this was the way to conduct an operation!

The Mad Dog offense trotted to the sidelines, finding water, sport's drinks, and spaces on the bench. Ron worked his way down the line, sharing high fives and congratulations as the special teams kicked the extra point. He ended at Oscar, who was moving just a little gingerly.

"You hurting?" Ron asked his friend.

"Not as much as I will be tomorrow," Oscar replied, with a somewhat pained smile.

"Okay Mad Dogs, listen up," Barkin growled to his starting offense. "Your execution needs work, but it could be worse. Now, we're forcing them to cheat their secondary up to stop the run. Soon, we're going to take advantage of that. Williamsen, how are you holding up?"

"I'm taking some hits, but I'm still in there," Oscar informed his coach.

"You're getting pounded, but you're accomplishing you're goal," Barkin informed him. "Those are tactical losses leading to a strategic victory."

"Coach," Oscar asked.

"Yes Williamsen?"

"How many of these tactical victories can that poor guy take?"

"Don't worry, Willliamsen," Barkin had a predatory grin. "You won't have to crack heads with him much longer."

Professor Dementor turned his head slowly, gazing with limited interest at the guard who had just approached his cell door.

"Ja, vhat does jou vant?" He asked the man.

"I have a business proposition for you," the man replied.

"I'm nein interested in buying der chocolate or der cigarettes!" The small man snapped.

"This proposition has nothing to do with such mundane matters," the guard assured him. Why, in the middle of the US, did the guard have a British accent?

"I have," the guard continued. "Or will soon have, the pan dimensional vortex inducer. Now, I have a few questions about this item, after which we can start to negotiate. Assuming that you are interested."

"Ja, ja, I'm most interested," Dementor almost drooled. "Vhat dos you need to know?"

"I'm interested in pulling…energies…from another reality," the guard managed to make this statement with a conversational tone. "Can you use the inducer to open a portal, making this possible?"

"Ja, ja, it's child's play to mein," Dementor assured him. "I just need to some zort of transmission, from der dimension you vant, to calibrate der inducer."

"Very good," the guard smiled. "Now, how long will it take to open such a portal."

"Vhell," Dementor mused. "It might take a couple of der weeks to build up der power source, but vonce dat's complete? Maybe ten minutes once I have der transmission."

"Excellent, now how about some negotiations?"

"I know vhat you vant of me, but vhat are you villing to provide?"

"Easy and straightforward, old boy," the guard assured him. "I'll provide your liberation from this facility, and will let you keep the inducer, once we've acquired these energies."

"Dat's all you vant from me? I agree to der terms!"

"That's all I require," the guard assured him, producing a glass bottle. "Now, you will need to do some fast running in a few minutes."

"Dat's no problem!"

"Somehow, I didn't think it would be."

And with that, a British nobleman, dressed as a prison guard, applied hyper-acid to a prison cell's bars.

Middleton's offense returned to the field. The Upperton offense had managed a short drive, then an excellent punt to pin the Mad Dogs on their own twelve yard line. The first play was a repeat of the first play of the game; Bob faked a handoff to Oscar before handing the ball to Ron. This time, Soley knocked Oscar back at Ron, forcing the tailback to avoid his fullback. Even so, Ron managed a four-yard pickup before Soley hammered him to the turf.

"You had your fun last drive, sidekick," the linebacker snapped at Ron, as they lay on the field. "But I've got your number now!"

"I'm still here and I ain't going anywhere," Ron snapped back. Then he thought how stupid that was to say, considering that his job was, to indeed, go somewhere.

Middleton ran two more, similar plays off tackle. With the Upperton defense keying on him, Ron struggled and barely made the first down on the third run. Seeing this, Barkin called his next play.

Bob took the snap just like his previous plays, held the ball out in front of Oscar. Only this time it wasn't a fake handoff. Oscar took the ball, lowered his head, and charged into the line. Soley swatted the fullback to one side and leveled Ron, only to realize that the tailback didn't have the ball. He wasn't the only one; by the time the Upperton defense realized who had the ball, Oscar was into the secondary. The fullback leveled a cornerback and kicked in all of the speed he possessed. The Upperton secondary caught him from behind and dragged him to the ground, but not before he had broken a 43-yard run.

The next play the Mad Dogs ran another 'Ron Stoppable off tackle' play, picking up six yards. On the next play, Bob faked handoffs to both Oscar and Ron, then tried to run the ball around the right side of the line. An alert, Upperton Cornerback spotted the quarterback keeper and tackled Bob in the backfield, loosing five of the six yards that Middleton had gained on first down. Barkin grinned and called another fullback run.

This time, Oscar ran for twenty-six yards, to the Upperton eight-yard line. Coach Barkin tried to call a quick, no-huddle play, but Upperton called timeout. Barkin was still pleased; he had forced the opposing coach to waste a timeout. He called his offense together and outlined the next play.

With the timeout over, Middleton lined up in the same formation they had used for every play. Bob took the snap and faked the handoff to Oscar, who ran into the middle of the line. He then faked a handoff to Ron, who ran around the end. Soley came up and hit Oscar, as the fullback came across the line. Realizing that he didn't have the ball, the linebacker shoved him aside and tried to locate the pigskin. He saw a cornerback and an outside linebacker bringing down Stoppable, then realized that the halfback didn't have the ball, either. He looked to the quarterback just in time to see him throw a pass to a wide-open Oscar Williamsen, standing in the end zone.

Oscar caught the ball, spotted an official to make sure that he was signaling the touchdown, the tossed the ball to the nearest official. The offense trotted off the field in high spirits, exchanging high fives and sending a few jeers towards the Upperton defense. The lighthearted mood vanished shortly after they got to the bench.

"Can the chatter!" Barkin snapped at his players, "we've still got a lot of football to play! We aren't doing to badly, but we've got to FOCUS people!

For Shego, it was like shopping in an exclusive store. She had already staked out the joint, so she knew a few things about the security procedures. For one thing, she had spotted the exterior alarm devices and had noted that they were bells, not enclosed horns. Her first order of business had been to tape some padding on the bell, right where the striker would hit it. She had also learned that security system made its 'I'm still here' call to the monitoring service at 8:30 every evening. Thus, she had cut the phone lines at 8:50 PM. The monitoring service wouldn't be alerted for almost 24 hours.

Now was the time for bold action. She burst through a window and kicked down the door to the security office, knowing that the on-duty watchman would be at the security panel, wondering why it was indicating a 'phone line dead' message. She was dressed in black fatigues and wearing a black mask, so the guard wouldn't recognize her and she wouldn't have to kill the man. She quickly overpowered him, silenced the security alarms she had activated by breaking the window then went on with her work.

There were three items that she wanted from this particular factory: A high frequency resonance generator, a high efficiency feedback eliminator, and an ultra-high frequency isolation transformer. She had no idea what any of these things actually did, but she was perfectly capable of reading part numbers on the packages. It took her roughly thirty minutes to locate the items in the cavernous warehouse, then she was on her way to her next target.

"Well Terry, it isn't looking good for our Lemurs," Brian, one of the local sports reporters for WKUT, an Upperton radio station, told his companion. It was halftime, and the two reporters were filling their listeners in on the action.

"I have to agree with you, Brian," the color-man responded. "Let's look at the numbers. Not only is Middleton up by a score of 21 to six, the statistics make this score seem tame. If Coach Barkin had tried, he could have probably put up another field goal at the end of the half. The Mad Dogs racked up over 250 yards of combined offense, with 187 of that on the ground. While it's been a team effort, we're going to have to talk about Ron Stoppable."

"One hundred and ten of Middleton's rushing yards have come from his legs," Brian agreed. "This kid has worked with Kim Possible for years, so it really shouldn't be surprising that he's an athlete."

"It's surprising that he isn't more well known," Terry continued. "There's still a lot of questions about him in the media. If you ask most celebrity reporters, they'll say that he's her sidekick. If you ask Kim Possible herself, she says that he's her partner. If you ask Stoppable, he says that he's her assistant."

"Well, whatever he is, he's giving Possible and the rest of the Middleton Cheerleaders plenty to cheer about," Brian concluded. "What do our Lemurs have to do in the second half to turn this game around?"

"On offense, they're going to have to open up the playbook," Terry informed him. "The Middleton defensive line is dominating the line of scrimmage; stuffing the run and getting good pressure on our quarterback. The Lemurs are going to have to start rolling the quarterback out of the pocket, giving him time to throw and maybe giving him some running lanes."

"How about our defense?" Brian prompted.

"They're going to have to gamble," Terry announced. "I'd say that they're going to have to blitz, and maybe execute some cornerback or safety blitzes. Middleton is just grinding up this defense right now. It's time to take some chances."

"Alright, Terry, it looks like the teams have returned to the field. For those of you just joining us, Middleton is dominating the game; up twenty-one to six and they get the ball to start the second half."

Ron trotted onto the field with the rest of the Middleton team. Now, he felt confident enough to join some of his teammates in waving to the Middleton section of the stands. He spotted his 'rents, with Hanna. Yori and Hirotaka were there, as well, having asked the Stoppables if they could catch a ride. Ron waved to them, then waved to Mr. and Mrs. Dr. P, who had also made the trip.

Coach Barkin put in his 'hands' team for the kickoff, expecting an onside kick. The opposing coach, however, executed a standard kickoff, resulting in Middleton having lousy field position, on their own sixteen. The Mad Dogs offense took the field.

The Mad Dogs executed their usual play, but the radio announcers had predicted Upperton's defensive actions. Ron ran into the middle of a blitz, struggling to gain three yards. Barkin called an outside run next, but Upperton ran a safety blitz, and the oncoming strong safety caught Ron for no gain. Seeing what was happening on the field, Barkin smiled and implemented the plan he had come up with when selecting his undersized backfield.

Middleton came out and aligned themselves in their usual, I formation. While Bob called signals, Oscar went in motion and lined up as a slot receiver to the right side. Then Ron when in motion and lined up as a slot receiver on the left side. Middleton had gone from a power rushing formation to a spread formation. At the snap, Ron sprinted down the field while the receiver outside of him slanted to the inside. Oscar slanted inside while his outside receiver stretched the field. The Upperon blitz closed in on Bob as Oscar broke free. Bob caught him in stride, and the fullback picked up twelve yards.

Coach Barkin kept changing formations for the rest of the quarter, keeping the Upperton defense off balance. While the Upperton offense managed some increased success, the Mad Dog offense was unstoppable. Middleton scored two more touchdowns that quarter, with Upperton scoring one. The 'dogs went into the fourth quarter with a commanding lead.

She still had it! Shego was on her third, and final, stop of the night. She had picked up three components at the manufacturing plant, and another two items at the research facility. Now, she found herself in a warehouse, specializing in industrial electronics. She had to pick up two, step-up transformers. Apparently, Dementor's devices used extremely high voltages.

She was gratified to know that she had been correct; move fast, do the unexpected, and the other team couldn't stop you. This warehouse wasn't even guarded, the owners depended on a security system and an occasional visit from an outside security company. The on-duty guard had a flat tire, and the phone lines were cut. Shego had four hours before the security panel was due to call the monitor. She would only need thirty minutes.

Just to keep in form, Shego scaled an outside wall and scaled in through a skylight. She used her flashlight to spot the items she needed. Looking at the tags, she chuckled at the irony that the Middleton Space Center wouldn't get their transformers on schedule. She opened a bay door, backed her truck inside, and loaded the transformers. She used a forklift, in case there were hidden cameras. She didn't want to let anybody know that this black-clad figure had extreme strength. Finally, she climbed into the cab and started to drive. She was facing several hours on the road, both because of her circuitous route and because she would transfer the fruits of her labors to another truck. She had stolen this truck, earlier, from a general contractor.

Shego found a rock station and settled in for the drive. Oh yeah! It was good to be back. 'I CAN'T DRIVE, FIFTY-FIVE!' Bared from the radio as she drove off into the night.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, Ron found a gap in the tiring, Lemur defense and broke off a seventy-two yard touchdown run, putting the Mad Dogs up by twenty-six points. With an insurmountable lead, Barkin pulled his starters off of the field. The Upperton coach followed suit and the Middleton fans gave their starters a big cheer off the field. The rest of the game was anti-climatic. The reserves from both teams hammered away at each other, but scored no additional points. The final seconds ticked off and the teams swarmed onto the field.

Ron was surprised when Soley looked up him and Oscar to congratulate them on the victory, and compliment them on a well-played game. The two Middleton boys, Oscar in particular, praised his efforts. Kim and Cindy arrived, each giving her boyfriend a big hug and a quick peck on the cheek. The school officials tended to relax the PDA rules in the aftermath of a game, but the teens knew better than to push the issue. Soon, the Possibles and the Stoppables arrived, as well as Felix. Ron couldn't help but feel proud when Felix told him that his two hundred forty-three yards rushing was both the most in school history, for an away game, as well as the most that Upperton had ever given up to a single back during a home game. The chatter went on for perhaps fifteen minutes before Barkin bellowed for his players to hit the showers. Ron smiled, it had been a very good game.

Shego pulled the truck into the farmyard and, just has he promised, Monty was quickly out the door, followed by the squat form of Professor Dementor. Shego barely managed to open the door and step onto the running board when the nobleman swept her into a fierce embrace,

"Are you well, Shego?" He asked her, not lowering her to the ground. Shego was stunned, even Drakken would have been more interested in her mission than her well-being.

"Piece of cake, Monty," she assured him. She gave him a quick, but emotional kiss, not even concerned that Dementor might be watching. She didn't need to worry, the mad scientists was already digging through the trucks contents.

"I see you got half-pint," she told him, as he finally lowered her to the ground. "How did birdbrain do with the gizmo?"

"He's already retrieved it, and has returned to his own abode," Fisk informed her. "Dementor seems unwilling to allow the inducer out of his sight."

Shego walked to the back of the truck and looked inside, to where Dementor was already inspecting her haul. She noticed that he was carrying the inducer in one hand.

"I zall ztart immediately!" He declared.

While Shego watched, bemused, the undersized villain scampered to the barn and fired up the forklift. Soon, he was unloading the equipment that Shego had acquired. He seemed to be very happy.

"I showed him to his lodgings," Fisk informed her. "But he seemed determined to construct his device as soon as possible, despite the late hour."

'Drakken was the same way," she informed him. "Once he got an idea in his head, he wanted to work on it."

"I'm glad that you've returned safely," Monty informed her.

"Same here," she agreed. "Oh, something you should know."

"Yes,"

"Well, two things," She smiled at him. "First of all, I think that Dementor is going to be very busy for the next several hours, at least."

"I suspect you are correct," Fisk agreed. "What is the second item."

"I've just remembered," she pulled him very close, so that she could whisper into his ear. "A good heist always stirs my blood."

"The final test is complete, I have successfully converted a spider monkey into a howler monkey," DNAmy dictated into her recorder. "This test was much more complicated that the procedure required too cure my employer, therefore I am ready. I will retain the test subjects at this facility until after my employer's procedure is completed."

Amy transmitted her message to her employer, confident that he would soon contact her and arrange transportation to her facility. She instructed her staff to double check the quarters she had prepared.

"Again, this monkey seems somewhat aggressive," she recorded on a private file. "Almost like it has a sense of…entitlement. It's not a psychopath, at least for a monkey, but it demands the first crack at food and the most desirable sleeping platforms. I consider this to be minor and inconsequential."

Amy closed off her recording and headed to her private quarters. She had been awake for over thirty hours straight, but it was worth it. Soon, she would fulfill her obligations to her employer, receive a generous payment, and be free to rejoin her love.

A/N: Thank you all for being patient with me. I hope that the wait was worth it. I hope to update once a week.

Again, my thanks for the reviews and PMs. The encouragement and ideas have been great.

Thanks to Joe Stoppinghem, for his great Beta services.

Until next time, best wishes;

daccu65