Earlier…
Ron did his best to avoid Kim since the lunch incident. He did so good a job at it that he never saw her outside of class the rest of the day. Even then he never talked to her. It wasn't that he didn't want to see her, he did. It was the Josh thing that was getting to him.
It's not that he has anything against Josh. Not really anyways. So what if his last name is one letter away from monkey? What's in a name and all that. The thing was there was only so much Josh he could take in one day and lunch had far exceeded that limit.
He felt it showed considerable restraint that he didn't run screaming after the first ten minutes.
Kim didn't notice and just kept on talking. Monique had given him a few strange looks. She probably knew about his plight, or at least suspected. No surprise there though. She always seemed to read people well.
Yah, Ron thought. She probably knew. Mon did seem like she was trying to spare me by distracting Kim when she tried to keep going on about it with me in class.
He didn't stick around long after classes were over for the day either. Instead he left as quickly as possible and managed to avoid most of the student body. Ron was nearly the first one out the school doors.
Normally he would walk home with Kim, but then again, normally he would walk to school with her too. Instead she went with Josh without so much as a phone call to tell him he didn't need to pick her up today. He could admit it, that hurt. Easily forgiven as a momentary lapse but hurtful nonetheless. What really annoyed him, however, was that Kim was so caught up in herself that she wouldn't even listen to his news. Probably never even heard him say he had any.
And as he walked away from the school that thought depressed him more than any of the others rocketing through his mind. That seemed to be happening more and more lately, the not listening. It seemed like with each passing day she talked at him a little more and to him a little less.
He shook off that train of thought and shivered as a cool breeze blew by him. It looked like it was going to turn into a nippy night and Ron wished he'd remembered to bring a coat with him. Sighing he continued his walk alone, Rufus having opted to catch up on his sleep at home today after their late night.
Nacos, that's what I need. Everything seems a little better when nacos are involved. Grande sized too. Can't forget that. That just makes the whole world a better place.
It wasn't long until Ron reached Buenos Nachos. The parking lot was nearly empty as he started walking through it and a quick glance through the window showed a similar scene inside. That was to be expected though. The lunch crowd was done and the after school crowd was still a ways behind Ron.
Ron was halfway across the lot when he felt a sharp prick in his neck. Reflexively his hands went to it, pulling out an offending object. Ron stared at it stupefied before falling to the ground.
"But I was going to grande size."
Then the world went black and the dart fell from Ron's hands.
Consciousness came to him slowly. The first thing he noticed was that he was not where he wanted to be, Buenos Nachos. As his vision began to clear it was plain to see he was in some kind of warehouse. How original. He thought dryly
The second thing he noticed was that he was in an uncomfortable wooden chair with his wrist tied together behind him. Suddenly he was wide awake. Ron groaned.
"I see you're awake." A voice echoed from throughout the room. The warehouse was dimly lit with many crates, machinery and shadows for whoever it was to hide in.
"Drakken?" Ron called out to the darkness. A laugh greeted him.
"'Fraid not."
"Monkey Fist?"
"Do I sound British to you?" The voice came back annoyed.
Ron just shrugged in his bounds. "Well with the echo it's hard to tell."
"It is not!" Came the indignant reply.
"Is so."
"Is not!"
"Is so."
"Is not!"
"Is so."
"IS NOT!"
"Is so."
"IS-I am not having a childish debate with you, you… loser!"
"Is the name calling really necessary?" Ron asked doing an admirable job at hiding his grin. Despite how it tended to seem he got under the villain of the week's on purpose. Usually anyways…
"I, I, I'm-" The voice sputter angrily as the person finally came into view. It was a man who looked to be barely in his mid-twenties, fairly muscular, but not overly so. His coal black shoulder length hair swayed as he walked and his deep green eyes blazed with anger as he approached Ron. "I'm so going to hurt you!"
Ron just stared at the man unperturbed for a moment. Then he peered around him as if looking for somebody else only to focus his gaze on the man once more. "Who're you?"
"What!"
"Well usually it would be somebody like Drakken and Shego or Dementor or somebody who would do this type of thing. Then try and lure Kim to her doom and take over the world." Ron paused for a moment looking contemplative. "You're new at this aren't you?"
"I don't care about the world or Kim Possible!" The dark haired man shouted. "I care about money. All I want is MONEY!"
Ron looked blankly at the man who sneered victoriously as he continued. "And you just came into a lot of it."
"No I didn't." Ron lied without missing a beat. "I'm a Smarty Mart shopper and proud of it."
The man just laughed at him. "Save it. My cousin is an accountant at the Buenos Nachos head office. I know all about your ninety nine million dollar royalty."
Roughly he grabbed Ron's chair and drug him to a nearby table. A quick scan later Ron found it to be occupied with an open toolbox filled to the brim with tool with woodworking plans and wood next to it. Apparently the warehouse was for custom made wooden furniture. A laptop sat out of place nearby. But what had grabbed the most of Ron's attention was a paper bag with a familiar logo. The kidnapper had the gall to stop for takeout in the middle of a kidnapping.
"We're going to do a little internet transfer of all your money into my accounts."
"No we are not." Rod told him with utmost certainty. He barely even acknowledge when the man picked up a wooden table leg from the table.
"Oh yes we are."
"Maybe I need to say it slower for you. No. We. Are. Not."
He just smiled viciously. "I was hoping you would need persuasion."
A glint of fear showed in Ron's eyes but he shoved it down and kept up his brave face. He returned the smile. "Doesn't matter. I haven't cashed the check yet."
"You expect me to believe that!" The man spat. "What kind of idiot has almost a hundred million dollars and waits over a day and a half without bothering to take it?"
"Ah, me." Pause. "Wait that didn't come out right."
Ron could see the other guy's face getting redder by the second. It was only a matter of time before he-oh here it comes.
The table leg came at Ron like a batter swinging after a baseball but Ron was ready for it. He pushed off his feet sending his chair into the table taking it and himself to the ground in a painful heap. The table landed on its side, its contents scattering about the floor. Ron landed on the other side, part of his chair breaking in the fall.
Groaning he grabbed an small dull knife from the mess of tools next to him with his still tied hands and rolled as the table was kicked out of the way and the leg came at him again. As he came to his feet Ron tried his best to ignore the shooting pain in his left arm as he vigorously tried to sever his bonds. He ducked and weaved as his attacker valiantly tried to take his head off. Spinning off of one blow he used his moment to carry him around and lashed out with a kicked that sent the wooden leg flying.
"ARGH!" The attacker exclaimed in pain as he clutched the hand that hand just been struck. "Fuck it! I'm just going to shoot you already!"
Why he announced it Ron would never know, but he would always remember how time seemed to move in slow motion as the man pulled a handgun that had been tucked in his belt behind his back. He perceived everything around him in agonizing detail. Details that would be burned into his mind and haunt his dreams. Then the bonds finally snapped and normal time resumed.
In a flash Ron lashed out, one hand to the man's elbow and the other to his wrist. A twist later and the result was a simple arm lock but quite affective when the weapon was now forced to point at the attacker's own head.
"I got this one from a comic book." Ron quipped. "If you still want to shoot go ahead."
In an instant the weapon dropped to the floor. An instant Ron shifted his grip on the man's wrist. One thing Ron has learned, a basic martial lesson, the body follows pain. This proved true as Ron put pressure on his wrist and used the pain to quickly drop him to the floor. It didn't take Ron long until he realize how dangerously close to the gun he had put them and lashed out to end this.
One punch. Two. Three and Ron stopped, his hand bloodied. Not as much as the kidnapper's face though. Swelling could already be seen around his eyes, his nose obviously broken and bleeding fiercely. A part of Ron wanted to keep hitting even though the man was unconscious and no longer a threat. The image of the gun and the look in his eyes, the sheer anger and intent to kill, enduring in his mind. And the fear he felt.
He sat there, his weight pinning the bigger man on the ground. One fist holding him there and the other raised to strike. He let out heavy breaths as first his raised fist shook then his entire body.
Suddenly he stood and unceremoniously flipped the unconscious form over. Taking a wallet out of his back pocket Ron flipped it open. He removed the driver's licence and tossed the rest back on the body below him.
"Edward Greeves." He read as he leaned against a nearby wall. Sighing Ron slumped down the wall and put his face in his hands as everything finally caught up with him. "I'll remember that Eddie. Bet on it."
It hadn't taken long for Ron to find a phone once he had calmed himself down. The police had arrived shortly after that. Seemed to be record time to Ron. He had been giving his statement when the ambulance got there. The officers had to snap their fingers in front of his face to regain his attention as he watched his kidnapper loaded in.
"We should probably get Miss Possible's statement now too." One of the officers said, the other nodding. He looked around not seeing her he asked Ron. "Where is she?"
"She's not here." Ron said evenly.
"You took that guy down?" The first officer asked in disbelief.
The second only grinned at Ron nodded. "Good for you kid."
Ron couldn't help but smile a little in return. A moment later it turned to a look of confusion as he heard a familiar voice calling his name.
"Ron!" The voice called frantically as it drew closer. "Ron!"
Turning around Ron saw a mane of red running across the warehouse lot making a beeline for the ambulance. He could see she was breathing heavy as she reached the vehicle, worry etched on her features. The worry only seemed to increase when she saw it wasn't Ron inside and she grabbed a paramedic. "Where's Ron?"
"KP," Ron called out catching the girl's attention. She dropped the startled woman like a hot potato. "You really shouldn't hurt the paramedic, they fix people."
Before he could even register that she had moved Ron found himself nearly knocked to the ground as she crossed the distance and grabbed him in a desperate hug.
"Something wrong Kim?" Ron asked confused.
Authors Note
Some of you may have noticed I added 'Foundations' to the title. The reason for this is that the story has just grown so much. The setup for the story I set out to tell has become a story in and of itself. As I've fleshed out the plot it just kept growing larger and larger. So'Foundations'is now officially the first part in the 'Mole Rat Security' trilogy.
