5. Investidiscoveries

10:33 PM.
-30 Days
"Mom's been kidnapped??" Kimi stammered.

"That's what this sounds like," said William, placing the paper onto the table.

Johara moved to look at the paper. "El-Dok Ali-Bin Drak," she repeated. "I have not heard this name. It is vedy poor Ardabic. Loose trdanslate, it could be, 'The Claw of The Drdagon'."

William shifted slightly in his chair, sliding his hand across his forehead and looking at the paper and envelope. He then slowly slid his hand back through his hair and looked past the table to the first-floor archway, and the light mist of the dust that came from there. He motioned to the dust he had shaken onto the table. "Where did all this come from?"

"The air in the bathroom was full of it," Kimi said, smoothing her hands together. "It was all over everything."

"There aren't any windows in the restrooms," said Donna, "So the dust couldn't have come from outside."

"Is anything broken or out of place?" William asked Kimi, who shook her head.

"This is nuts," Donna said, starting for the stairway, "I'm calling the police."

"Donna, don't," said Ben. "With the bulldog tactics of the Cairo police, the restaurant would be closed for at least a couple of weeks, and they'd tear the place apart." He then pulled a cell phone from his shirt pocket and started to dial. "I know an investigator from the base. He can be here with a team in about half an hour, and they'll be neat and discrete." His attention now turned to the phone. "Yes, my name is Ben Aaronson. I work V-CAD Shift 1 in Building 17. I need to make urgent contact with a Captain Mark Broderson..."

Donna turned to Johara as Ben continued the call. "Johara, I want you to quickly...and calmly...clear the restaurant. Tell people that have already been served that their meal is free tonight."

"Yes, Miess Donna," said Johara, already walking toward the stairway, digging in her pocket of her gown for a set of keys.

11:09 PM.
They had moved to a table on the first floor near the entrance when they heard a rather forceful knock on the front door. "That'll be Brody," Ben said, taking the keys from the table and walking across the room. He looked through the window as he unlocked the door and opened it wide. A man carrying an attache case walked in and heartily shook Ben's hand - a BIG man. He stood all of 6'7" tall, without an ounce of fat. Even through the conservative cut of his military clothing, the shape of his muscles was nearly impossible to hide. His handshake was accompanied with a quick smile, showing nearly movie-star-white teeth. A close-cropped head of blonde hair topped this mountain of a man.

"Sorry I took so long, Ben," the man said. "The only crew I could get together this fast was off-base at a lab."

"I told Donna it would be half an hour," said Ben. "Given the late hour, you got here pretty fast. Please, come in." He held the door open as two other men entered carrying a couple of aluminum cases, and the four of them walked to the table where everyone else was seated. Ben swept his hand to each of them, introducing. "Captain Mark Broderson...you know my wife, Donna...her greeter, Johara...and these are The Hodges..."

William stood, shaking Mark's hand, quickly noticing the strength in his grip. "How do you do, Captain. My name is William Hodge. It's my wife, Kim that we think has been abducted."

"Please, call me Brody," returned Mark. "Good to meet you, William. Sorry it couldn't be under more pleasant circumstances."

William then turned. "This is our daughter, Kimi. She was the one who found the letter in the restroom."

Kimi stood, seemingly dwarfed by Mark's huge frame. "H...Hi." she managed as her hand was swallowed in the large man's greeting. It almost felt like she had to tilt her head to look to the second story in order to meet his eyes. "You're...all about...Shizznekinator."

"Hi there," said Mark chuckling, repeating the name slowly. "Kiimmiii...that's Japanese, if I remember right."

"Yeah," Kimi said, rather impressed. "You're the first one who recognized it."

"I spent some time in the Pacific Rim about ten years ago. That's quite a grip you have, Kimi. Do you work out?"

Kimi tried to fight off a blush. "I've been studying karate for a little over eight years. My mom is my teacher."

"Whoa," Mark drew out. "Your mother knows karate, and she was abducted? She might have been drugged when she was taken...otherwise she probably would have put up a fight." He set his attache on one of the tables and took out a small notebook and a penlight. "William, you said something about a letter..."

"Yes, it's here," said William, showing Mark the letter and envelope on the table.

Mark looked at the letter, reading it, then the envelope, but picked neither of them up. He finished - then Mark's eyes suddenly widened as he looked over at Kimi. "Your mother is Kim Pos...--?" he stopped, studying Kimi's face a bit closer. "--yeah...I see it now. Are you a...Celler, Kimi?"

Kimi and William both perked in surprise at Mark's mention of Cellers. "Only through genes," Kimi beamed. "H-how do you know about Cellers?"

Mark grinned, laughing slightly through his nose. "We've known about Cellers for about ten years now...ever since they began coming through the Resonance Conduit in steady numbers. Annnd...we have a few working in the military intelligence sector."

Kimi smiled widely. "That's just diamond, Cap'n Mark."

"Cap'n Mark...I like that," Mark smiled, then returned to the letter. "Kimi, you found the letter?" She nodded her response. "Then you brought it to your father--" He then turned to William. "--and you opened it?" William nodded. Mark then looked up at the rest of the people. "Did anyone else touch the letter or the envelope?" he asked.

"I touched it when I rdead it," said Johara. "I do not rdecognize the name...El-Dok Ali-bin Drak."

"It doesn't ring a bell with me either," Mark said. He motioned to one of the other men, who brought his case to the table next to the one where everyone was seated, opening it. The case contained a small computer and a panel beside it which had a small pad in the center. "I'm going to need the fingerprints of you three," Mark said, motioning to William, Kimi and Johara, "then we can scan the paper to see if there are any other prints on it."

The man asked William over to the table. "Place your right hand flat on the pad, if you would...spread your fingers out a bit." William did so while the man pressed a few keys. A faint blue light came from the pad and a line of more brilliant blue moved down it. "Thank you," the man said, and repeated the procedure with Kimi and Johara. He tapped a few more keys, and three sets of images appeared on the screen. "Three good sets," he said.

"Scan the doc, Craig," said Mark. Craig pressed a latch at the edge of the computer, and it hinged upward, revealing a larger pad like the hand scanner, glowing in the same pale blue light. He took a pair of long tweezers from his shirt pocket and lifted the letter from the table by a corner, sliding it onto the pad and closing the computer down over it. He tapped a few more keys, and an image of the letter appeared on the screen, with fingerprints at various points over the surface of it, highlighted in blue. Craig pressed another key. The computer beeped a couple of times, and two lines flashed across the bottom of the screen: :::Prints matching registered examples - 18. Prints not matching registered examples - 0::: "It's clean, Sir," Craig said.

"Gloves," said Mark. "I don't think it'll show anything, but scan the envelope too." Craig opened the computer again, removing the paper, and replaced it with the envelope, repeating the process. Mark nodded as the results showed on the screen. "They were probably wearing gloves through the whole operation," he said, turning to the other man. "Matt, bring the kit and let's check out the bathroom. Kimi, can you come with us, please?" The two men began to put on latex gloves. Kimi rose from her chair and followed Mark and Matt toward the archway at the back of the room. William and Donna followed at a short distance, and Craig closed the case with the computer and brought it to the hall, opening it on the floor next to the entrance to the restroom.

11:31 PM.
Kimi entered the restroom first, followed by Mark and then Matt, who both drew penlights and slowly passed them around the room. Craig stayed outside the doorway and began to scan the outside handle of the door. "I came in," said Kimi, "and there was a thin cloud of dust everywhere."

"What made you come down to the restroom?" Mark asked while pulling an electronic notepad and stylus from his shirt pocket and began making notes.

"It was after we finished dinner," Kimi explained. "Mom had just gone down to the bathroom...we were all sitting around the table and we heard this...noise...like a growl or a moan or something. Aunt Donna said it was something with the plumbing, and they were coming out next month to work on it. Then there were, like, these three booms."

"Like explosions?"

"Kind of...but they were muffled...like they were underground, or far off. They shook the whole place a little bit....the lights were swinging."

"Do you remember any flashes or anything outside?"

"No, Cap'n Mark. Aunt Donna thought at first that the water pipes busted. She said to come down and check on my mom...we came down here from upstairs and Aunt Donna was talking to Johara while I came in here."

"Was there any noise after that?"

"No...just the dust. I came in, and the door to the toilet was open a little bit...the dust got a little thicker the more I went in. I looked in here," she pointed in the stall, "and there was just Mom's purse on the toilet, and the envelope was sticking out of it. I probably shouldn't have touched anything, but it was all about no Mom, and this note and everything. I just grabbed it and tore hell upstairs to give it to Dad."

"It's okay," Mark said. "We scanned out your fingerprints, and there weren't any strange prints on the paper or the envelope." Mark then swung his penlight across the floor. "I'll assume these footprints are yours." Kimi nodded. "There aren't any others in the dust. You're the only one who has been in here since the incident." He shone his penlight on several places around the overhead light. "There aren't any breaks in the ceiling. They didn't come in that way." Mark then stomped on the floor with the heel of his boot. "Too solid. There's nothing underneath here...and there would be less dust on any part of the floor that would open to allow access from below."

Kimi watched as Craig and Matt went over various parts of the restroom with small scanners, casting blue light in patterns over everything - the door handle, the sink, the mirror, the door of the stall - even brushing away the dust along the grout between random tiles to confirm Mark's theory about the floor not being a method of entry.

11:47 PM.
William's cell rang, and he pulled it from his belt clip. "Hello? Yes, speaking..." Mark and Kimi looked toward the doorway as he continued. "no...we met him on the plane, just before the flight...yes...he took some sort of tablet just before the plane left the terminal...he said he hated flying, and it would make him sleep through the flight...yes, he dropped off rather quickly...a couple of minutes at the most...okay...yes, please call me if there is any change...yes, thank you." He closed the cell and returned it to his belt. "It was the hospital," he said to Kimi. "Apparently, the pill that Ramsi took on the plane was a muscle relaxant mixed with a massive dose of some opiate. He never regained consciousness...he's in a coma." Kimi's eyes fell to the side as she shook her head.

"Who's Ramsi?" asked Mark.

"A guy who sat next to us on the plane," Kimi said. "He said he was an editor for some New York restaurant magazine. He was behind us when we were going through the screening stuff. He asked a few questions on the plane."

"Questions?" Mark asked, scribbling onto his notepad. "Like what?"

"Just conversational stuff," said William. "He asked us the nature of our trip...things like that."

"Yeah," Kimi nodded in agreement. "Hey, he knew Mom, too...from the TV show years ago. He asked her for her autograph...said he used to watch the show all the time as a kid."

William's expression shifted to one of concern. "Do you think this could have something to do with the abduction?"

"Not sure yet," said Mark, "but it could be a start. Did Ramsi mention his last name?"

"Yeah, William said, "it was like...Al-Kal-something, or Al-Kel..."

Kimi thought for a second and then perked, "Al-Kalesh...it was Ramsi Al-Kalesh."

Mark turned to Kimi. "Are you sure that's it?"

"Yeah. I remember it, with his accent."

Mark motioned to the door. "Plug it in, Craig," he said. "Print anything that hits." Craig left the restroom and squatted at the computer. William and Donna watched as he brought up a screen and typed the name into a field. A thin white progress bar moved across the screen for a few seconds; then a sheet of paper slid from the top of the computer with several images and a list of text. Craig stood and showed the picture to William, who nodded and pointed at one of the images. Craig then brought the paper into the restroom to show to Kimi. On the paper were several photos of Ramsi, some with varying amounts of facial hair, and a couple with dark glasses.

Kimi placed her finger on the same clean-shaven image her father had pointed to. "That's him," she said.

Craig then handed the paper to Mark, who began reading. "He's been a busy boy," he said. "He's done some work with a couple of fanatic factions in the region--" Mark suddenly stopped in his tracks. "William, what hospital is Ramsi in?"

"They said he's at Kasr El Aini."

"Craig, get a security detail to the hospital to guard Ramsi," Mark barked to his assistant. "He's one of the suspects in the O'Hare blast in '06. Confiscate any electronics he had on him. I want a Level 1 perimeter. Lock down the hospital."

"He had a cell phone," said Kimi. "After we gave him the name of the restaurant, he called his cousin here in Cairo and started talking like crazy in Arabic...I remember he said the name of the restaurant in English...and Mom's name...but he said Kim Possible, not Kim Hodge."

"Get that cell," Mark yelled to Craig, who had gone into the hall to make a call to the base. "I want a phone record within the hour." Mark then went back to reading the paper Craig had printed out. "Couple of aliases...Rameed Kadusha...Ramsi Al-Zuhl...Ramsi bin Azrul--"

"Bin Azrul," Kimi shot out. "I know that name, too. That's the same name as the guy who grabbed me at the airport earlier tonight. His first name was Khalid."

"Grabbed you??" said Mark with an incredulous tone to his voice. "Were you harmed at all?"

"All about pfffffftt," Kimi sneered. "I'm a red belt in Kempo. This guy was, like, a gopher. I turned around, broke his hold and wrapped his arm before he could blink. I felt like breaking his arm off and beating him stupid with it. Mom stopped me before I uncorked on him."

Mark brought his hand to his chin, sliding his thumb and forefinger across it. "You mean you're a red belt, and you still let your emotions out before your actions?"

Kimi's expression fell a bit and her gaze fell to the floor. "That's just about the lecture I got from Mom on the scene," she said quietly.

She then felt the large warmth of Mark's hand on her shoulder. "Kimi," he said. "I was about the same way when I was a red belt."

Kimi looked back up to Mark. "You...you know karate, too?"

"Second-degree black belt...but I wouldn't have made it past red if I hadn't learned the lesson about emotions."

"Don't act - react. You are in control if the next move is yours." said Kimi, echoing her mother's lecture from the airport. "Nobody - and nothing - can defeat you faster than your own emotions,"

"Your mother said that?"

"Yeah."

"Your mother speaks the truth. You're lucky to have someone teach it to you through words. I had it taught to me by a fellow student. He beat me senseless in a match." He then turned Kimi to face the mirror. "It's like water. In the form of rain, water can destroy a mountain...but it takes years and years. Channel that water into a narrow enough stream, and the force can drill through a solid wall in just minutes...get it?"

Kimi looked into her reflection for a few seconds. "Yeah...yeah, I think I do. Focus my emotions into the energy of my moves, and no walls can hold me." She looked to see Mark smiling widely above her in approval. Kimi's eyes suddenly became as wide as saucers and her jaw dropped open. "WALL!" she blurted. "Wall! I know how they got in!" She tore away from the mirror and ran to the stall, running her hand along the paneling behind the toilet. "Aunt Donna!" she yelled. "What's on the other side of this wall??" Mark walked to the front of the stall as Kimi was studying the faux-cherrywood paneling, moving her fingernails over the joints where the four-foot square panels joined.

"It's the kitchen," Donna called back. "The stoves are in that corner. There's about ten feet of space between them and the restrooms."

Kimi moved her head closer to the wall and knocked on it with the back of her fist - then suddenly stood straight and steeled her gaze. "So not," she said, balling her fists and turning a bit to her right. She coiled her left leg upward and struck at the wall just above the toilet, squarely in the center of the section of paneling behind it. The panel below fell against the tank of the toilet - but one of the lower corners of the panel she kicked moved back about three inches, and a small cloud of dust escaped from the opening.

Kimi huffed, curling and uncurling her fists, turning around and looking at the ceiling, then to Mark, her mouth gritted into a sneer. Suddenly she twisted and jumped, her hands flashing upward, grabbing the top of either side of the stall divider. Her legs were together as she drew her knees up past her waist, rotating her hips to the right. "Eehhh-HAA!!" she shouted out, thrusting her feet against the panel. There was a sudden burst of dust and dirt as the panel fell away, the noise a mix of wood and metal, clattering into a large dark space. Kimi brought her feet down to rest on the toilet seat, then to the floor, and she turned back to Mark, coughing a bit from the dust. "This is how they got in."

Mark leaned back out of the stall. "Matt, we found the breach," he called to his assistant, who came to the stall.

Kimi moved to the back of the stall, peering into the newfound opening, trying to see through the dust. "Can I see your flashlight, Cap'n Mark? There's something in here." Mark stepped in and passed Kimi his penlight. She twisted the head to turn it on and shone it into the blackness. "It's a ladder," she said, and leaned in a bit farther - then brought up one foot and stepped through the opening into the space.

"Careful," Mark said as Kimi disappeared into the space, the haze of the penlight dancing through the dust then downward, following the ladder. Mark turned to Matt. "Go in and scan around."

Matt leaned in the space, where Kimi was trying to see the bottom of the ladder which was protruding from a hole about three feet square. "Hi," he said. "I think all this dust will have hidden any prints we could get...but try not to touch anything until I at least scan the top of the ladder and around it."

Kimi nodded as Matt began to bathe the space in the blue light of his scanner, training it first on the top rungs of the ladder, and then the panel that she had kicked out. Kimi peered down into the hole containing the ladder, seeming to lead about fifteen feet to the bottom. "Cap'n Mark?" she called out. "There's something metallic down here...by the ladder. I can't see it too well from up here though."

"The ladder's clear, Kimi," said Matt, who was now slowly tracing the perimeter of the hole. Kimi put the penlight between her teeth and began to descend the ladder.

Mark leaned in to the space, waving his arm back and forth trying to clear some of the dust. "Anything, Kimi?" he called down.

"They're...railroad tracks," Kimi said from the bottom, "but they're small...and really close together."

Mark thought for a second. "Craig??" he called back into the restroom. "See if you can pull up a map of trams with routes under the city. Pinpoint the restaurant on the map." He then leaned back into the hole. "See anything else, Kimi?"

"The track is blocked at both ends," Kimi called up, turning to her right. "One end is a wall of boards and stuff, and the tracks end just before the wall." She then turned around. "The other end is all blocked with dirt and rocks."

"There's your booms," Mark said quietly. "They blew the tunnel on the way out."

12:18 AM.
-29 Days
Matt suddenly replaced his scanner into a holster on his belt, and brought up a penlight. "I've got a small bottle, Sir," he said.

Mark watched as Matt carefully removed the bottle from the dust and, putting his penlight into his mouth to hold it, ran his scanner over the bottle. "No prints," he said around the penlight. He then brushed the sides of the bottle with his gloved finger, and positioned the penlight under his arm. "A clear liquid," Matt said, handing the bottle to Mark.

Mark unscrewed the cap and sniffed inside, snapping his head back quickly. "It's rubbing alcohol."

William's head shot up at this, and Kimi quickly climbed the ladder. "Alcohol??" she said in a worried tone. "Cellers are--"

"--Allergic to it," Mark said, recapping the bottle and turning to Kimi. "Remember I said something about your mom possibly being drugged when she was taken?" He emphasized this by holding up the bottle by the neck, shaking it gently. "That's it then. We can rule out a random kidnapping. The alcohol...the questions and phone call by Al-Kalesh, and his background...the stuff in the letter about a 'mythical Western creature'..."

Matt helped Kimi out of the hole as Mark turned to Craig, who had reentered the restroom. "Here's the restaurant," said Craig, pointing to a spot on the folded map. "It was built right over a maintainance access hatch for a tram line that was closed about fourteen years ago."

Mark motioned Matt out of the stall and began listing orders to the two men. "Get an excavation team here. I want that tunnel cleared tonight. Call the lab and have them start going over the tram routes, open or not, and get a team to every possible exit or access hatch, no matter where it leads. Open any cave-ins if they look recent. Call the team at the hospital and place Al-Kalesh under arrest...and put out an APB on bin Azrul. I want his picture at every airport, train and bus station ouf of the city. Get checkpoints at all the major roads. I want air units scrambled over the city within 15." Craig and Matt turned - one to the phone, the other to the computer in the hall - and immediately started carrying out the Captain's orders.

Mark led Kimi out of the stall and walked into the hallway, gathering William and Donna. Ben joined them. "William," Mark started, "I have pretty good reason to believe that this was a targeted abuduction. Whoever did this knew exactly who Kim is, and from the call from Al-Kalesh on the plane, they knew her exact destination and where she would be during your time in Cairo." William slumped slightly until his back thudded against the wall. Kimi placed an arm around her father. "There's just one thing I don't get," Mark continued. "The extremist groups Al-Kalesh is listed with...their work is usually more of a political nature...but, for all practical purposes, Kim is just a civilian. I can't see a clear motive for the abduction."

Mark then placed a hand on both William and Kimi's shoulders. "There is good news. Since Ben is employed at the base, and he made the call, this is now officially a military investigation. You have the resources of the entire U.S. Special Forces at your disposal." His expression then became a bit more stern. "There is also some not-so-good news. The U.S. government does not capitulate to or negotiate with kidnappers' demands. I...won't be able to help you in any way with getting the ransom money together, just in case our efforts should fall short."

William looked at Mark. "I...don't know how to even thank you for everything you've already done," he said, "but...I...might have the resources to get the money together." With that, he brought his cell from his belt clip and began to dial.

"Who you calling?" Kimi asked.

"Marcy," William said, looking at his watch. "It's about 20 before 5 on Friday afternoon back in Eastgate. She should still be at work."

4:42 PM, Eastgate time
"Good afternoon, Marcy Alvarez-Delgado, how may I help you?"

"Same way you have ever since I've known you," William said.

"William!" Marcy squealed. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you tonight, but it's good to hear from you. How's Cairo? Did you eat at Donna's yet? Tell her I can't wait to taste--"

"Marcy," William interrupted, "this...isn't really a social call, I'm afraid."

Marcy could immediately hear concern in the tone of William's voice. "William, what's wrong?"

William talked in a low, measured tone. "Marcy...I want you to put the Regents on standby for an emergency meeting. I'll be there as soon as we're cleared for the first flight back--"

He was interrupted by Mark. "I can have you on a military scramjet in a half hour, and back in Eastgate about an hour after you touch ground in The States."

"About three hours or so," William continued into the phone, nodding to Mark and mouthing "Thank you."

"William, this sounds serious," Marcy said, concerned. "Are you all right?"

"I'm...okay. It's Kim. She's been...kidnapped. I need to address the other members of the Board to discuss raising the ransom money for her release."

Marcy stared blankly at her desk, her hand beginning to shake as she held the phone. "Oh my God," she stammered. "Yes...yes William, I'll start making calls right now. Ohh, God, this is horrible. Will you have a way here from the airport?"

"Yes...everything is being taken care of...and....thank you as always, Marcy."

"I'll take care of everything here," said Marcy, opening her electronic notepad and pressing the stylus against the screen, bringing up the numbers of the other members of the Board. "We'll get this together. Just get home as fast as you can. My prayers are already with the three of you, William," she said, her voice beginning to waver.

"Thanks," replied William. "I knew you'd be the first I could turn to. We're getting ready to leave now. See you tonight."

Marcy listened as the call ended. She immediately cleared the line for a tone and began to dial. She waited for the voice mail message to complete. "Cheryl, it's Marcy. I know you're just getting home about now, but you need to come back to the office. We have a serious emergency, and I need the Board back here. I'll be calling the rest of them...and William is on his way back from Cairo. Someone has abducted Kim. Please call back the second you get this."

to be continued...