A strong dose of the Stoppable Immune System to MrDrP for reviewing and beta reading this chapter. And thanks to all for reading!
I.
When the Yeti first attacked, Ron had been so petrified that he had forgotten to run. Fortunately, Jamie had grabbed him and carried him under his arm like a football as he and the Doctor fled the foyer. In his rush, Jamie had picked up Ron so that his feet were facing front. This had given Ron a shaky though unblocked view of the Yeti's pursuit of them through the darkened halls of Paisley Manor. Although still majorly frightened, Ron had recovered enough from his initial shock to make the detached mental observation that "for a big guy, he sure can move fast." In addition, Ron noticed that although the hairy beast was holding a gun of some type in his right claw, this weapon was not raised. As he listened absently to the Doctor and Jamie's bickering over which direction they should run next, Kim's reassuring words from earlier kept repeating in his mind.
'There's no way this isn't all a dream.' 'There's no way this isn't all a dream.' 'There's no way …'
Eventually, the obvious thought occurred to him.
Where's KP?
And once the answer made itself known (Gone!), his mental state quickly deteriorated into unconsciousness.
When he awoke, he was bathed in a faint red light and lying in a pile of Cuddle Buddies. The Doctor and Jamie were sitting a few feet away on piles of plush of their own. The Doctor was softly blowing on his recorder, and Jamie was alternately flicking two torches-one in each hand, off and back on. The light from the torches revealed that the three of them were sitting in Mr. Paisley's vault. Ron wondered absently where the steady red glow that bathed everything was coming from.
Emergency lights?
Ron shook his head and looked around. When he had seen the place the weekend before, it had looked like a museum. The side walls had been lined with gold-edged shelves, and there had been glass display cases arranged in neat rows from the door back to the rear wall. Each shelf had held carefully aligned rows of rare Cuddle Buddies, and the display cases had housed the rarest of the rare. Now all the shelves were gone, the display cases-their glass shattered-shoved all the way to the back, and the collector's plush menagerie was lying in drifts on the floor. After looking around to get his bearings, Ron attempted to stand up.
"Careful now, lad," Jamie warned. "There's glass everywhere."
"How did we get here?" Ron asked, rubbing his eyes.
"That boyo chased us," Jamie said gesturing nonchalantly with a torch to the door of the vault.
"Aiiiieeee!" Ron cried as he looked up at the towering figure of the Yeti standing in the doorway. The red 'glow' that was covering everything was emanating from its eyes.
The Doctor put down his recorder. "Now, look what you've done!"
"What?" Jamie protested. "You said to break it to him gently. How more gently do you want?"
"Don't worry, Ron," the Doctor said, patting the frazzled blonde on the shoulder, "he's not going to harm us."
"Wh-what's he doing then?"
"Just keeping us where the Great Intelligence wants us," the Doctor replied, preparing to play his recorder again.
Recognizing how at ease the other two, especially the Doctor, were acting, Ron began to calm down. Still, he felt compelled to ask a follow-up question. "What does he want with us?"
"Well, it's mainly me," the Doctor said, patiently lowering his instrument. "Remember when I said that the Great Intelligence wanted to conquer the world … among other things?"
Ron nodded.
"Well, I'm one of those other things. Specifically, he wants my mind." He began to play his recorder again.
Since the older man didn't seem particularly bothered by the prospect of a ghost stealing his mind, Ron decided he wasn't going to let it bother him, either. After listening to the Doctor play for a few minutes, he felt compelled to ask another question.
"How did you beat the Great Intelligence the last time? Do you have any …," and right here Captain Constellation popped into mind, "… blasters?"
"Blasters?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow.
"You know, guns."
"Oh, no," the Doctor shook his head. "I never use weapons." He went back to playing.
"You're listening to his only weapon," Jamie sighed. "Playing that thing helps him think."
"Oh," Ron said with an air of disappointment. "Any futuristic gadgets?" he asked hopefully.
"Well, I do have the sonic screwdriver," the Doctor said lowering the recorder.
"Great," Jamie scoffed. "A screwdriver that makes noise. Fat lot of good that'll do against a Yeti."
"Jamie, please," the Doctor huffed. "I am doing important work here. Or trying to."
All his burning questions answered, if not satisfactorily, Ron decided to lay back and let the Doctor's playing distract him. As he did so, he absently reached into his pocket.
Oh no!
"I've lost Rufus!" he cried.
"Ahhh!" Jamie cried. "Don't do that! You nearly scared me out of my skin."
"But—"
"Your little bald rodent is right there," Jamie said pointing to a space on the floor a few feet away from the Doctor's crossed legs.
Sure enough, the little pink blob was reclining on a clear patch of floor and giving every indication that he was enjoying the Doctor's musical noodling.
Ron waved to his little friend who gave a friendly wave back. As he was just starting to adjust to his new circumstances, and to even feel somewhat okay, he recalled why he had passed out.
"KP! Where's KP!"
"You did it again!" Jamie cried. "Just when I get settled down, you start screaming!"
"She is fine, Ron," the Doctor consoled. "Just fine."
"H-how do you know?"
"Well, I don't," the Doctor said simply. Swiftly realizing this was not the best answer to give, he followed up quickly, "But I feel most certain that she is."
"Okay," Ron managed after a minute of nonplussed silence. "Why do you feel that?"
"She strikes me as a most resourceful person," the Doctor explained.
"Aye, and the way she saved Zoe was very impressive," Jamie added with genuine appreciation.
"Really? What happened to Zoe?"
"Well, this boyo," he nodded toward the Yeti, "was about to shoot her with that fungus gun—"
"What!?"
"Yeah, and then your friend came flying out of nowhere and landed right next to her! She pulled Zoe and herself out of the way right before he fired!"
That certainly sounded like something KP would do. "And then what happened?"
"Don't know," Jamie shrugged, "that's when he started chasing us."
"Cool," Ron nodded somewhat relieved. "But what if there's another one, and he's chasing them now?"
Jamie shook his head, "He doesn't think there's any more."
"Why not?"
The Doctor stopped playing. "Because of what Rufus found stuck to the bottom of your shoe, Ron." He reached into one of his coat's inner pockets and took out a wadded piece of paper and handed it to him. As Ron uncrumpled it, the Doctor explained, "That's the delivery slip for the crate. It came this afternoon."
"So, there's no way the Intelligence could have made more Yeti," Jamie said with a nod.
"Okay, that's a relief." Ron said giving back the scrap of paper. "But that doesn't explain how we're still alive."
Jamie sighed. "The Yeti doesn't want to kill the Doctor—"
"Oh, I got that," Ron interrupted. "I meant about the laser grid."
"Laser grid?" the Doctor asked.
"Yeah, Mr. Paisley set up this deadly laser grid to protect all these Cuddle Buddies," Ron gestured to the jumbled contents of the vault. "I guess it must have been flipped off if we made it in here without getting sliced up."
"Hmm." The Doctor thoughtfully tapped his chin with the recorder's mouthpiece. "The Intelligence may have wanted to learn this vault's contents and cut all the power to make it past the grid."
"It doesn't look like he was happy with what he found," Jamie said, picking up and then tossing an Otterfly over his shoulder.
"Indeed not."
"Well, he didn't turn off all the power," Ron said.
"What do you mean, Ron?" the Doctor asked.
"Well, that camera's still working," Ron explained pointing to the black globe directly above them on the ceiling. A small red light flashed every few seconds.
"My word," the Doctor breathed. "I didn't even notice that."
"Do you suppose it can hear what we're saying?" Jamie asked.
"I wouldn't doubt it, Jamie."
"Well, it's a good thing you haven't said anything important since we've been here."
The Doctor ignored this comment. "There must be a central location in this house where one could control that camera. Probably, control everything."
"Yeah, the panic room," Ron said.
"Panic room?"
"Uh-huh, when Mr. Paisley gave us the tour last weekend, he showed us everything. Even KP was getting kinda bored toward the end. One of the last stops was his panic room. I remember because his security guy really didn't want us going in there."
"What's a panic room?" Jamie asked.
"It's this room where you can hide if someone breaks in. It's got tons and tons of buttons that control everything in the house," Ron nodded. "And this cool little fridge for sodas."
"I see," the Doctor said. He then gestured for Ron and Jamie to lean in close. Once they did, he whispered, "Where is it?"
"On the second floor, I think," Ron answered.
"That must be where he is," the Doctor pronounced.
"Who?" Ron asked.
"The Intelligence," Jamie whispered.
"But I thought he was a ghost," Ron said and then, remembering, whispered, "what could a ghost do in a panic room?"
"Pretty much anything he wants," the Doctor whispered into Ron's ear, "once he has possessed someone."
II.
It was almost ten in the morning, and Kim and Ron were still marinating. Sidling next to each other on Michelle's couch/Ron's bed, they were still in their sleepwear. Ron was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt that may or may not have been clean the previous week. Kim, as was her want, was wearing Ron's old hockey jersey from high school and a worn-out pair of Otterfly slippers. She reflected idly that he had worn the jersey practically every day in high school. What gave credence to this was the fact that even after she had washed it multiple times, it still smelled like him. Not that she was complaining about that.
As Kim watched her roommate rushing about the apartment preparing to leave for class, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Monday was the one day when Kim didn't have any classes, and part of her desperately wanted to assist her friend. However, Kim knew not to disturb Michelle when she had gotten into 'the zone.' Even offering to help could throw the young woman out of her groove and inadvertently delay her.
Ron wasn't as well versed in this protocol.
"What would you like for dinner, Michelle?"
"Huh?" Michelle turned to face him although the rest of her body was headed in the opposite direction.
Kim elbowed him.
"Ow!" Ron said, rubbing his side.
"Oh, I don't know—there's still plenty of pancakes," Michelle said as she absently looked for the purse that she was already slung over her left shoulder.
"Sure, but you don't want that for dinner, too, do you?"
"Why not?" Michelle replied, discovering her purse. "They're fantastic. I'm even taking some for lunch." She shouldered a bulging backpack, shot the two of them a quick wave, high-fived Rufus who was balancing on the key rack next to the door, and was gone.
Once she was sure her roommate was truly gone and wasn't about to return for some forgotten item, Kim whispered a single word to Ron: "Snoogle." Originally a one-time mispronunciation (by Ron) of 'snuggle,' the word had gained a special meaning in the young couple's relationship.
Kim got up so Ron could extend his lower body across the length of the couch. She then eased back down into what remained of his lap. Simultaneously, she edged her back deeper into his chest and lay her legs over his. Ron folded his arms across her chest and held her arms against her sides. He then proceeded to hug her as tightly as he could-to the point where they could almost feel their heartbeats echoing in each other's chests.
Sighing pleasantly in her BFBF's embrace, Kim stretched out her bare legs to the point where her Otterflies' noses almost reached his ankles.
When did he get so much taller than me?
Ron then entwined his legs around hers. Now that he had her in a sort of full body hug, Kim was, if not fully immobile, very restricted in her ability to move. She closed her eyes, lay her head against his shoulder, and waited for him to take the next step. Part of her wanted to hear a Zorpox cackle, so she would be in the thrilling—though always safe—clutches of Ron's role play alter ego. However, this morning, the larger part of her wanted something more emotionally satisfying.
"You are so, so beautiful." His breath rustled the strands of hair around her ear, and he squeezed her even tighter. As he did so, she felt a warm, tingly sensation that began on the undersides of her knees and then spread across the rest of her body.
Oh, yes. That's it.
He held her in this pleasant warmth for what seemed an ocean of time.
Bee-be-be-beep
According to the Kimmunicator's display, the ocean had only been two minutes deep.
Normally, Kim would have been royally tweaked. However, the import of the news Wade had to deliver overrode her annoyance … although she was still disappointed.
The couple quickly righted themselves, and Kim answered the call.
"That was quick," she said to Wade's image before realizing her unfortunate word choice. She blushed.
"I'll say," Ron groused. "Ow!" He rubbed his side. "That one hurt, Kim."
"Did I interrupt something?" Wade asked with an uncomfortable smile.
"Yes," Kim admitted quickly, "but what were the results?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Wade grimaced. "It's not about the flute; Tim just dropped it off, actually. I was calling about a hit on the site."
"Oh," Kim's disappointment was palpable.
"It's local if that helps," Wade explained.
"Sure, Wade," Kim smiled. "What's the sitch?"
The Mathter was apparently re-writing the algorithm that controlled all the commuter trains in the Tokyo area.
"Ugh," Kim said after she ended the call.
"What, KP?"
"I haven't even showered yet."
"Come on, Kim, is the Mathter really shower-worthy?"
"I guess not," she grumbled. She hated going on missions before she'd had a chance to get fully prepped for the day, but it was a local mission, and they would have it in hand quickly.
"Heck, I wouldn't even brush my teeth for that dude."
"No," she said pushing him toward the sink, "but you will be brushing your teeth for me."
III.
As the girls completed their search of what turned out to be another deserted room in Paisley Manor, Kim's fears began to override her optimism. Although they hadn't run into any more Yeti, she had been so sure they would find the missing millionaire frightened but safe somewhere in his mansion. However, there had been no sign of him in the dozen or so rooms she and Zoe had inspected so far.
Zoe sensed her companion's flagging spirits. "Are you training for the Olympics?" she asked quietly.
"I'm sorry?"
"I mean, your gymnastic skills are so incredible, it seemed likely that you were."
"Oh those?" Kim blushed. "They're just cheerleading moves."
"Really?"
"Yeah, they're 'no big.'"
"Hmm. Cheerleading. I remember a few years ago watching a video on cheerleading in history class. I must say, their moves didn't impress me that much. They were certainly not as impressive as yours."
"Thanks." Kim blushed again, and then something occurred to her. "Did you say a film in history class?"
Although Zoe was a certified mathematical genius, she was still liable, like most fifteen-year-olds, to commit a verbal slip-up time and again. She attempted to backtrack without telling any outright lies. "Well, on the Wheel, the artificial gravity is not … sufficient … um … to make cheerleading … safe. So, you know, we never see it performed live." Zoe hoped this ruse would be enough to keep Kim from asking too much about the future, especially, about the turbulent years after 2050.
"So, you were born … in 2063?" Kim asked hesitantly.
Zoe sighed. Here we go.
"Are you—I mean, you, Jamie, and the Doctor—time travelers?"
Zoe sighed again … with relief. "Yes, yes we are. Jamie is from the early 18th century."
"Really?"
"Yes," Zoe nodded. "I believe he was born not too many years after Scotland and England first became Great Britain."
"Wow."
"I know, just thinking about how long ago that was before New Britain was founded …"
"New Britain?"
Oops. "Did I mention that I'm negative sixty-four?" Zoe asked quickly.
"Uh-huh, I remember," Kim said softly. "Shouldn't we be whispering?" she asked.
"Oh, right," Zoe replied trying to match Kim's volume. As they entered the kitchen, Zoe whispered, "a few weeks ago we were in 1960's Great Britain, and I was negative a century or thereabouts."
"Oh, cool. What were you doing there … or then?"
"We were trying to stop a Cybermen invasion."
"Cybermen? What are those?" Kim asked.
Great. Zoe was at a crossroads. She wanted to tell Kim that Cybermen were just robots, but that was inaccurate to the point of being a lie. However, if she gave Kim the accurate answer—Cybermen were people who had been converted into robots against their will, that might terrify her new friend. However, before she could decide which was the lessor or two evils, fate intervened.
Bang!
"Did you hear that?" Kim trained her flashlight toward the far-right back corner of the kitchen.
"I did." Zoe's beam joined Kim's.
As they walked hesitantly in the assumed direction of the sound's source, it came again
Bang!
Their lights played across the large cooking island in the center of the room and weaved among the pots and cooking utensils hanging over it. The resulting shadows created were not particularly inviting. Yet the two continued moving toward the rear of the kitchen.
Bang!
Zoe tapped Kim on the shoulder and pointed her torch's light at a cabinet door on floor level to the right of the fridge.
Kim nodded her agreement that she, too, believed the source for the noise lay behind that door.
Before they could decide on their next step, it was made for them.
The cabinet door flew open.
As the Doctor neared the end of his unsuccessful attempt to convey the funky brilliance of 'Flash Light' on his recorder, he surreptitiously signaled to Rufus that he needed to have a word with him. Once the little creature reached his shoulder, the Doctor put down his instrument and whispered something into the mole-rat's left ear nub. When he finished speaking, Rufus cheerfully nodded his agreement to the plan.
The little rodent sped toward the Yeti and leaped onto its left claw. As the Doctor had guessed, the robot took no notice of the small fellow. Rufus quickly made his way through its tangled fur and within a few minutes had reached the figure's head. There he waited patiently for the signal.
The Doctor beckoned Jamie to his side and whispered something in his ear. Jamie nodded his agreement and returned to his original position.
Then the Doctor beckoned Ron to his side. When Ron didn't react, he beckoned again.
"Oh, sorry, MrD," Ron apologized and then made his haphazard way through the drifts of Cuddle Buddies, only almost falling once. After hearing what the Doctor had planned, Ron hesitated but then nodded his agreement. He carefully stumbled back to his spot and nervously awaited the signal.
A few minutes later, the Doctor blew a high, slightly off-tune C note; Rufus responded immediately. He jumped from the top of the Yeti's head onto the globe containing the security camera. Although only a juvenile, the mole-rat's incisors made quick work of the glass case and the lens protected within. The camera's red light quickly died.
"Okay, boys, go!" the Doctor directed. "We only have a few moments, if that."
Jamie quickly stood and Ron, almost as quickly, staggered to his feet. However, the Doctor suddenly gestured for them to stop. "Here, take my coat," he rose to his feet and began removing his tattered jacket. As he did so, the Yeti came to life, standing fully erect with a growl.
"Aiiieee!" Ron yelped.
"Don't worry, Ron, he's only cares about me." To demonstrate this, the Doctor sat back down, and the Yeti lowered both its gaze and posture accordingly.
Tossing his coat to Jamie, he instructed, "Drape the coat over your head when you run through the fungus—it'll protect you."
"How?"
"It's not from this planet, Jamie," the Doctor explained, "you'll be fine. Now go!"
Before they could move, he gestured again for them to wait. "If the door is locked, use the screwdriver. It's in the left pocket"
Anticipating he had more instructions, the two hesitated. Until, that is, he yelled, "RUN!"
Each ducked under their respective Yeti arm and took off across the vault's large antechamber that housed the deactivated laser grid.
"What will we do when we get there?" Ron asked as they rounded into the foyer.
"I'll distract whoever the Intelligence has possessed," Jamie responded over his shoulder. "You turn on that laser thing."
"O-okay."
"You do remember which button turns it on, right?"
"No way," Ron answered.
Jamie stopped in his tracks. "Lad! The Doctor's counting on us!"
"Don't worry, dude," Ron said, catching his breath, "I'll just press everything."
After a second, Jamie nodded. "Aye, that should work."
They made it up the stairs with no problems. In fact, they didn't even need the Doctor's coat—the billowing 'gate' of fungus across the bottom of the stairs had already been broken. Things were even easier when they got to the panic room itself. Not only wasn't the door locked—it was open. As an added bonus, there was no one for Jamie to distract because the room was empty.
However, before they could start pressing any buttons, Ron saw something on one of the security monitors that chilled his heart.
Oh no, KP.
IV.
Ron drove the Sloth back to the apartment as Kim fussed with her post-mission hair. Before they had left, she had decided to save time by throwing on a hat instead of going to the trouble of making her hair presentable. This was certainly not for the Mathter's benefit; rather, she knew that after they foiled his plot, they would need to speak briefly with the authorities. Unfortunately, when the time came to leave, the only hat she could find that even slightly went with her mission gear was one she knew made her hair frizzy.
During the so-called fight with the Mathter, he had gotten close to hitting her with one of his dumb electrified 'weapons.' She hadn't been hurt, but she knew its static discharge in combination with the fabric of her hat was going to reap havoc. She had not been wrong.
"We are SO never doing this again," she groused as she attempted to drag a comb through the giant red puffball on her head.
"I'm sorry, KP," Ron said glumly. "I always mess up your routine when I stay over." His eyes widened as he realized the tragic endgame of their current arrangement. "Oh no, by August break, you'll be as big a slacker as me!"
This last comment took most of the air out of her anger.
"It's all right, Ron," she said. "Today was my fault. I wouldn't have marinated so long if I had gotten more sleep last night."
"Oh yeah, you were gonna tell me something about that call with your mom. Some advice she gave…"
Snap!
Although she had wanted to confide her fears to Ron under much different circumstances, there was no time like the present.
"Yeah, that. Well …"
Bee-be-be-beep.
Seriously!
She shook her head and tapped the Kimmunicator's screen. "Go, Wade."
Her heart froze when she realized the hologram wasn't Wade's; it was Captain Jack's.
Fortunately, Harkness quickly read her shocked expression and held up his hands in a calming gesture. "Nothing serious! Nothing serious! Just wanted to talk."
Kim sighed.
That was so not cool.
"Hey, Jack," Ron said with a small wave.
"Hey, Ron," Jack waved back.
"Dude, I thought I gave you the Roncon's number. How'd you hook into KP's device?"
"Actually, that's something I'd like to know," Kim said, arching an eyebrow.
"Complicated?" Harkness offered with a smile.
"Fine. What did you need to tell us?"
"Actually, I'm sensing this is a bad time," Harkness said giving Kim a funny look. "I can call back."
"Okay," Kim nodded. "We'll be back at my place in about five minutes."
"Great," Harkness smiled. "I'll call you in ten."
Kim was still frazzled by the jolt his call had given her, but she hadn't thought it had been so severe that she needed to take five. Then again, why else would Harkness decide that this moment was a bad time to talk?
Just before he ended the call, he said, "By the way, Ms. Possible, love the bold new look."
Of course.
Kim was still fussing with her 'bold new look' after Ron had parked the Sloth and they were making their way back to her place. She was almost pleased/not horrified with how it looked when Ron cleared his throat with clumsy significance.
"Yes?" Kim asked as she inspected the top of her head with her compact. She had just spied a small cowlick at her crown that had been hiding beneath the frizz.
"What's the backstory on the Doctor's recorder?" He asked. "How did you know to tell Tim to look for it in your closet?"
"Oh, that," Kim said, putting her compact away. "Well, it's like you were saying, memories of him just keep popping up unexpectedly. Last night, I woke up and remembered something that I always lumped into the main dream—that is, back when I thought it was dream. I was in my room around dawn looking for Pandaroo. He wasn't on the bed where I knew I had left him. Instead, he was under the bed and right next to him was the recorder. I guess I got pretty anxious because I recall tossing it into the closet and then hurrying down the ladder with Panderoo."
"And you didn't remember that until last night?"
"Uh-huh," Kim nodded. "And I didn't know for sure the memory was real until Tim found the recorder."
The Roncom started playing the chorus of "Hello, Hello, Hello" by the Oh Boyz.
"Is he calling you now?" Kim asked. "It hasn't been ten minutes."
Ron glanced at his device, hit a button to silence it, and threw it back in his pocket. "Not him," Ron said in a nonchalant manner that was highly suspicious.
"Who was it?"
He rubbed his neck. "It's nothing. I-I mean, no one."
"Really?" she asked. When he didn't reply, she gave the sensitive spot right above his hip a quick poke with her index finger.
"Stop it, KP!" he laughed with a jump. "It's nothing. Well, nothing big." They had made it to her door.
As he fished his spare key out of his cargo pocket, she slipped around him and raised her two index fingers menacingly. "I'm not afraid to use these, Stoppable." She wiggled them. "Spill."
"Okay, okay," he said backing away. "It's a surprise for you. But I don't want to say any more."
"All right," she said reluctantly.
He opened the door and suddenly sprang toward the bathroom. "And I need to take a shower first!" he called as he shut the bathroom door behind him.
"What? No! Ron!" Almost immediately, she heard the shower head turn on. Dejected, she collapsed on Michelle's couch.
Bee-be-be-beep.
A hologram of Harkness appeared when she clicked the device's display.
"Not sticking with the bold?" he said in a disappointed tone.
When she replied with just a sigh, he dialed back his charm and got down to business. "First, there hasn't been any movement from the Lorwardians. However, something occurred to the team about your plan."
"Which is?" Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but Kim noticed that her question had a snarkier tone than she had intended.
"We can give you the heads up if/when they start an approach to earth, Kim. However, when they start to get close, they could disrupt global communications again."
Kim sat up. "Right, preventing us from getting the latest news." Memories of being unable to consistently reach Wade just prior to the invasion flashed through her mind.
"So, my team has come up with something that might help that."
"Okay, cool."
"It's a device that can detect Lorwardian tech within a radius of fifty miles. Small enough to wear on your wrist."
Kim considered saying something sarcastic about how Torchwood had been able to access Lorwardian technology but thought better of it. Despite their somewhat shady methods, Torchwood was going out of their way to help Ron and her. "Great."
"A few more tests, they tell me, but it will be ready by this evening," Harkness explained. "Would you like me to bring it over when it's done?"
"Please and thank you," she smiled.
He returned the smile and then frowned. "Ms. Possible, I know that we didn't get off on the right foot. I tend to come on a little strong …"
"Yes, you do," she agreed. "But when I let you know I wasn't interested, you stopped immediately. That counts a lot with me."
"I'm glad, Ms. Possible."
"You can call me, Kim."
"Ok, Kim, I'll be over as soon as it's finished."
"Sure, my address is … is probably something you already have, right?"
He gave another embarrassed smile.
"Complicated?" she asked.
He nodded.
"Okay, see you tonight, Jack."
V.
Kim aimed the beam of her flashlight into the shadows of the cabinet. There was a brief flash as the light reflected off something. Adjusting her aim, she could see a pair of dark glasses laying near the base of a stack of pots.
Those are Mr. Paisley's.
"H-hello?" a fragile voice asked.
"Mr. Paisley? Is that you?" Kim whispered urgently.
As if in response, a small hand appeared within the cabinet and retrieved the glasses. Both disappeared into the darkness on the left. "Who-who are you?"
"It's me, Mr. Paisley, Kim," she said louder. "Kim Possible, we're here to help you."
"Kim?" His small head appeared from the left. Although he didn't have much hair to speak of, what he did have was in quite a state.
"Yes, from last weekend. Are you all right?"
"I-I believe so," he nodded. "Where am I?"
"You're in your kitchen cabinet," Zoe explained.
"Oh? Well, it is really cramped. How did I get in here?"
"Well, we assumed you were hiding." Zoe said.
"Oh right," Mr. Paisley nodded. "The monster." He began to quake in fear. "The monster that got delivered to me." As his shaking increased, his glasses started to edge down his nose and the banging of pans within the cabinet could be heard.
"Let's get you out of there, Mr. Paisley," Kim suggested. "Don't worry, it will be okay."
As the two girls lifted the older man from the cabinet, each winced at the commotion he was making. No doubt, the crashing of the cookware could be heard all over the first floor of the estate.
"Thank you, girls," he said as he dusted his small frame off with his tiny hands. "And who might you be, dear?" he asked, adjusting his glasses and looking at Zoe.
"Zoe. Zoe Heriot," she replied pleasantly. "I'm a friend of Kim's."
Kim found it pleasantly odd that someone she had known for maybe an hour already considered her a friend. What made it even stranger was that until this moment it hadn't even occurred to her to ask for Zoe's last name.
"Well, we need to get out of here girls," he said definitively. "Before that monster finds us."
"But we need to find the Doctor, Jamie, and Ron first," Zoe objected.
"Doctor?" Mr. Paisley asked. "Has someone already called 911? I couldn't get the phones to work right before the attack."
"No, no, Mr. Paisley," Kim explained, "we're here with some other friends. We need to find them before we can leave."
"Wait," Mr. Paisley raised his hands. "The panic room! That has its own generator. We can call the police and be safe in there."
That sounded like a good plan to Kim, but they needed to find Ron and the others first. "We need to find our friends first, Mr. Paisley. Then we can all be safe in your panic room."
"I understand, dear," he said patting her shoulder with his small fingers, "but they could be anywhere in this large house—if they haven't already left themselves."
"Mr. Paisley," Zoe said, "I really think our next step should be to find the Doctor."
"Oh, I have an idea," Mr. Paisley said, placing his right hand gently into Zoe's left, "the panic room has monitors linked to dozens of cameras all over my mansion. If your friends are still here, we'll be able to find them in no time."
The girls weren't a hundred percent on the older man's suggestion, but they couldn't really think of a good objection to it, either. So, it was agreed that they would go to the panic room, so that they could call the police and find the others.
As they left the kitchen, Mr. Paisley put his left hand in Kim's right, so that he was walking between the two girls. As they made their way down one of the halls of the mansion, Kim reflected on what an odd picture they made. Two teenage girls (although Kim was still six months away from being officially a teen, she tended to round up) were walking a man in his forties between them as if he were a little brother or a child they were babysitting. When they reached the foyer, Mr. Paisley made a sharp right.
Kim was just about to remark that she thought the panic room was on the second floor when she noticed how firm Mr. Paisley's grip had become. Before she could say that she thought they were going in the wrong direction, Zoe cried out in pain.
"You're hurting me," she complained.
As Kim glanced at her friend's pained expression, she realized two things. One, Mr. Paisley's grip was also hurting her. And, two, the man was no longer leading them so much as he was dragging them to where he wanted them to go.
To be continued...
