Chapter 7
The First Encounter
Ron had waited for three days for his package to come from Yamanouchi. He was hoping it would get to him sometime soon,
"Ronald, would you get the door, please?" Mr. Stoppable asked, Ron nodded, and walked to the door, where he was greeted by a delivery man,
"Package for a Ronald Stoppable." the delivery man said, looking at Ron,
"I'm the one you're looking for." Ron said, taking the clipboard the man handed to him, Ron quickly scribbled his signature on the pad, and took the package.
Ron walked past his father, who was looking at the package thathe held tightly to his side,
"What's in there?" Mr. Stoppable asked,
"A sword." Ron said, he had decided not to lie to his parents, remembering how much trouble that Kim had gotten into when she had done just that very thing,
"Why would you want a sword?" Mr. Stoppable asked, his eyebrows raised,
"I'm going after Mankey." Ron said,
"Son, you're going about this all wrong," Mr. Stoppable said, placing a hand on his son'sshoulder, "there's an old Chinese proverb, that says, 'If you look for revenge through violence, you should start by digging two graves.'"
"It's not revenge, Dad, it's justice." Ron said,
"That's what you'd consider it, but to others, it would be revenge, Josh put Kim in the hospital, that's no reason for you to sink to his level, son." Mr. Stoppable replied,
"So, you're saying that I'm lowering myself to his standards?" Ron asked, looking at his father with a raised eyebrow,
"No, I'm saying that you're playing into Josh's hands," Mr. Stoppable said, leading Ron to the sofa, and sitting down next to him, "if you're gonna go after him, at least do it with a clear head, and let the police take care of the justice part."
"So, just take him down . . . and then, let the police mop it up?" Ron asked, looking at his father in a different light. Ron had always known that his father had the wisdom of the family, he just didn't realize how wise he really was, until now,
"If that's the way you want to look at it, get your revenge through the court system, that's where you'll hurt him the most, by sending him to prison for the rest of his life, and, you'll get more satisfaction out of it." Mr. Stoppable said, smiling at his son,
"I'm not gonna do it unarmed though, Dad, he'll come after me, and I want to be ready if he does." Ron replied,
"That's a better idea, let him make the first move, what happens from there on out could be considered self defense on your part." Mr. Stoppable said, smiling even wider at his son,
"True, I never thought of it that way." Ron said, an unreadable expression coming over his face,
"Do what you gotta do, son, but keep it within the law, Kim would blow a fuse if she ever found out that you killed a man in cold blood, that would be lowering yourself to that person's level." Mr. Stoppable said. Ron had just realized that his father had a heart-to-heart talk with him, and never made it seem that way.
Later that afternoon, at Drakken's lair:
Ron arrived at the lair, wearing his mission clothes, and a long black leather trench coat,
"What's under the coat, Stoppable?" Shego asked,
"Oh, a little surprise for Mr. Mankey if he gets any ideas." Ron replied, a sly smile on his face,
"What kind of surprise?" Drakken asked,
"A very sharp one." Ron said, pulling The Lotus Blade from it's scabbard, which Ron had tied to his back,
"The Lotus Blade," Shego gasped, looking at the beautiful kitana, "I thought that was just a legend."
"Not hardly, and I'm the only one that can really control it." Ron relayed, smiling,
"Oh, great, as if we don't have enough to worry about with Kimmie, now we got to keep an eye on you too!" Shego said, astounded,
"Am I missing something here?" Drakken asked,
"The sword that Stoppable's got strapped to his back is The Lotus Blade, the mystic sword of the original master of Tai-Ching-Pek-War." Shego said, her eyes threatening to pop out of their sockets,
"How mystical are we talking about?" Drakken asked. For answer, Ron made it take another form right in front of Drakken's face,
"Wow, cybertronics!" Drakken said, looking at the sword,
"Not hardly, how about Japanese know-how, and a little bit of mystical monkey power." Ron said, smiling slightly,
"Sick, and wrong." Drakken said,
"Nah, a legend, reborn." Ron said.
At the service alley behind Middleton Mall:
Ron was walking down the service alley, where a month ago, Kim had been shot, tonight, it would end where it began.
Ron had gotten a letter from Josh Mankey, it had only a few words written on it:
Meet me in the alley, tonight at midnight, come alone.
Ron had showed up a couple of minutes early, waiting for Josh, when a sound echoed out, like a car backfire, Ron fell to the ground in a heap, and lay still.
From the field across from where Ron lay, a figure popped up from the thick undergrowth, his dyed blond hair was evident, even from this range, Josh had made his presence known, by taking a shot at Ron,
"What a loser," Josh said, as he got even with Ron, "bet you don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong anymore."
With the speed of a cheetah, Ron struck, tripping Josh, and taking him hard to the concrete,
"Next time you shoot someone, don't go near them, 'till you're sure they're dead." Ron said, taking the rifle, and swinging it against the building, breaking the stock, and rendering it useless,
"I don't know how you're still alive, I couldn't have missed you from that range." Josh said, now looking at Ron with disgust on his face,
"You didn't miss," Ron said, now pulling a bullet out of the tight weave of his shirt, "kevlar works wonders, doesn't it?"
"WHAT?" Josh said, stunned,
"Yeah, clothes that double as body armor, gotta love it." Ron said, smiling as he looked down on Josh.
It didn't take long for Josh to get on his feet, and pull out a sword, Ron was ready, he reached over his back, and pulled out The Lotus Blade,
"Bring it." Ron said, his face set into a menacing scowl, that's all it took, the fight was on.
Ron and Josh traded blow for blow for what seemed like hours, until Ron began to get the upper hand, finally turning The Lotus Blade into a baseball bat, he swung it hard at Josh's knees, knocking him down to the concrete for the second time,
"Give up now, Josh, and I might spare your life." Ron said. The sword had changed back into it's usual form, and Ron was holding it in a battle stance, ready to strike. Unfortunately for Ron, he had exposed his knees. Josh took advantage of this, and knocked Ron to the pavement hard, causing him to split his chin open, but before he had fallen, Ron had reached into a pocket of his mission belt, and placed a tracking chip on Josh's leg, just under his pant leg.
"You've not seen the last of me, loser." Josh said, now taking off across the field. Just as Ron stood up, Drakken landed near where Ron was, his hovercraft waiting for him,
"Let's get after him." Shego said,
"No," Ron said, "he's won this round, let's let him have his little win, he's not going to be so lucky next time."
Oh yeah, first fight is in the books, (no pun intended) what happens next, do you really think I'm gonna make it that easy on you? You'll have to read it in order to find out.
Shout outs to captainkodak1, gargoylesama, continental-line, and buenonacho, 4 of my most loyal readers, you guys totally rock, thanks for your support, and several ideas over the last several months, much appreciated.