Chapter 3

Digging Deep

Since her chance encounter with The Shadow in Middleton Park, and Ron's elusive nature since his return to Middleton, Kim had decided to try to find some information on who the mysterious man really is, but everywhere she turned, she met a brick wall,

"Sorry, Kim, but there's no information on The Shadow." Wade said, looking at Kim through the screen of the Kimmunicator,

"So, it's like he just came out of thin air, then." Kim said,

"Figuratively, and literally." Wade replied, that's when Kim noticed the ring on Wade's finger, it was similar to Ron's, gold, with a large ruby in it,

"Where'd you get that ring at, Wade?" Kim asked,

"Bought it, why?" Wade asked, looking at the ring on his right hand, and playing with it,

"No, you didn't, don't try to fool me." Kim said, staring hard,

"All right, I can trust you, Kim," Wade said, Kim nodded, "The Shadow saved my life about three years ago, so I'm indebted to him."

"Understandable," Kim replied, then, she saw her father walk into the room, she looked, and noticed the same ring on his finger, "looks like my father's indebted to him as well, have you ever seen his real face?" she added,

"No," Wade replied, "few people have seen his real face, and lived to tell about it."

"I've seen the same ring on Ron's finger, maybe Ron owes him as well." Kim said, thinking heavily,

"Maybe, look, Kim, this is a touchy subject for any agent of his, I think you should let it drop." Wade said,

"No," Kim replied, "I want to know why Ron's being so secretive."

"I have no idea, but I can tell you this, The Shadow only recruits you into his inner circle, if he's saved your life." Wade said,

"So why didn't he recruit me when he saw me?" Kim asked,

"He didn't have to save your life, Kim, that's why." Wade said,

"So, he only recruits people who's lives he's saved, that's interesting." Kim said,

"What are you thinking, Kim?" Wade asked,

"Oh, nothing." Kim said, herself, being evasive.


Kim had signed off with Wade, who immediately contacted Ron,

"Ron, I think Kim's getting suspicious." he said, looking at Ron over a computer monitor,

"I kinda figured as much," Ron said, "I accidentally let it slip twice."

"You've gotta be more careful, man, La Mont would've gone off his rocker if he found that out." Wade said,

"I know, Wade, I know, what did you tell her?" Ron asked,

"She wanted to know where I got the ring, so I told her the truth." Wade said,

"Did she notice anything else?" Ron asked,

"Yeah, she noticed the ring on her dad's finger, when did you recruit him?" Wade asked,

"Last week." Ron replied,

"You're in over your head on this one, Ron, sooner, or later, Kim's gonna find out that you're The Shadow, then your butt's gonna be in a sling." Wade said,

"Yeah, just keep me posted if she starts digging too hard, Wade, Ron out." Ron said, deactivating the computer monitor in front of him, and pacing the study of his new home.

As Kim had said, the old house on the hill, overlooking Middleton had been vacated, so he bought it outright, and moved in the next day, sending all of La Mont's belongings from New York into the old mansion, he had even found an old building downtown to use as his Sanctum, he was currently in the process of having it modified for his needs, enlisting the services of a contractor from New York that La Mont had saved some thirteen years ago,

'La Mont, I need your help, now, more than ever. What am I going to say to Kim when she finds out the truth? Should I tell her myself, or let her find out on her own? I just wish you were still alive to guide me on this.' he thought, those questions burned through his head, until the doorbell interrupted his thoughts,

"Kim Possible here to see you, sir." said the voice of his personal valet, and butler,

"Thanks, Wilson, show her in." Ron said, nodding to the man that had served La Mont for thirty years, and was now in his service,

"All right, Ron, spill all, I know that you're an agent of The Shadow." Kim said the minute she had entered the room,

"Sit down, and brace yourself, KP," Ron said, his expression was serious, so Kim did as she was asked, he then looked over his shoulder, to Wilson, "Thanks, Wilson, your services won't be needed for the rest of the night, you can turn in."

"Thank you, sir." Wilson said, turning, and leaving the room,

"I'm waiting, Ron, spill." Kim said, it sounded more like a demand, rather than a request,

"I'm not just an agent of The Shadow, Kim," Ron said, watching her face, "I AM The Shadow."

"You can't be." Kim said, looking at Ron, her own conscious doubtful,

"Do you believe that?" Ron said, letting his eyes change color again,

"How did you do that?" Kim asked,

"Something I was taught by La Mont, he was the original Shadow." Ron said, never removing the serious look from his face,

"You're not joking, are you?" Kim asked, looking into the face of her best friend,

"No, I'm not." Ron said,

"Oh my God," Kim said, a sudden realization hitting her, "you're not going to kill me, are you?"

"Of course not, don't be silly." Ron said,

"But, no one's ever seen the real face of The Shadow, and lived to tell about it." Kim said,

"That was La Mont, there's only four others, besides you, that knows the truth, Bonnie Rockwaller, Max Shrevenitz, a cab driver in New York, Wilson, and Wade." Ron said,

"How does Bonnie know?" Kim asked,

"La Mont saved her life about three years ago, while she was studying for her Master's Degree at N.Y.U." Ron said,

"What happened?" Kim asked,

"She had been attacked by a street gang, who wanted a plaything, if you get my drift." Ron said,

"I never thought Bonnie would let herself get attacked like that." Kim said,

"She didn't let it happen, there were ten of them, and only one of her." Ron replied,

"So, what happened?" Kim asked,

"La Mont came in, and took out most of them, but one of the last had removed the scarf from his face, that's how Bonnie found out, La Mont had told her that I was his protégée, so she knows who The Shadow really is." Ron explained,

"And Wade?" Kim asked,

"Oh, that was La Mont as well." Ron said,

"What about my dad?" Kim asked,

"That was me." Ron said,

"When?" Kim asked,

"Last week. Charlie Holden had kidnaped him shortly after he had witnessed the murder of a policeman." Ron said,

"So, that's what you've been doing for the last ten years, then." Kim said, the realization hitting her,

"Yeah, I spent three years under La Mont's guidance, then, I went to Tibet, where I spent seven years being trained by a Tolku." Ron explained,

"I've heard of the Tolku's, aren't they supposed to be like mystics, or something?" Kim asked,

"More like, 'or something.'" Ron said, when he noticed Kim's blank look, he elaborated, "The Tolku's are the only people on earth who have the ability to cloud a person's mind with a thought, they're not easy to find because of that, but once every hundred years, they bestow their knowledge to an outsider, this time, I was that one."

"How did you get so lucky?" Kim asked,

"I had gone to Tibet in search of the Tolku, but he found me instead." Ron said,

"La Mont sent you, didn't he?" Kim asked,

"Yeah, my training with him had gone about as far as it could go, so I needed to find the Tolku, and finish my training with him." Ron said,

"But seven years, Ron, that's a long time to be trained." Kim said,

"Not really, it takes the Tolku a lifetime to master the art of seclusion, he can impart that knowledge onto a person in the space of seven years." Ron said,

"Okay, I think I'm beginning to understand, La Mont chose you as his successor, and sent you to Tibet, so you could be trained by his teacher." Kim said, Ron nodded, and smiled,

"Same old Kim, you don't stop until you get all of the answers." Ron said,

"But that doesn't explain why you came back home, there's other places out there that have a higher crime rate than Middleton." Kim said,

"True, but Middleton's always been home, I couldn't feel at home anywhere else." Ron said,

"I'll give you that, but how do you know when things are about to happen?" Kim asked,

"I can feel it, the power that I have makes me able to see into the deepest part of the human mind, and see what they're thinking." Ron explained,

"I wish I could learn that kind of stuff." Kim said,

"Believe it, or not, Kim, you already know how to use it," Ron said, smiling, "you have an inherent ability to know when danger is coming your way, and you can take the steps to avoid it, that's all you really need to know."

"I'm sorry if I dug too deep, Ron, but I wasn't satisfied with the answers I was getting." Kim said, her expression sad,

"That's okay, Kim, I wasn't expecting to keep it hidden from you forever." Ron said, he was smiling, it was at that point, Kim had understood, she had just joined the inner circle of The Shadow.


Kim knows the truth, now, what's going to happen from here on out, stay tuned, and find out.