Once again, thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review the story. I hope you're enjoying it so far.

God-hand Number 7: Well, you're partially right. My department issues us a Smith and Wesson 5906 pistol and an AR-15 rifle. These belong to the individual officer, but are paid for and serviced on the department's tab. We are, however, permitted to carry a different type of sidearm that we pay for and service as long as the Chief of Police approves it and we are able to qualify at the range. After some research (And a few bad experiences with the 5906), I decided to switch to the Glock 22. It has served me well.

captainkodak1, Classic Cowboy, and Skymouth: I'm glad you all found Sean's advice to Kim to be so 'on-target'. That speech (As well as a few other sub-plots in the story) is an adaptation of real events that I have experienced. My fiancée and I went through a situation very similar to Kim and Ron's (Long-time friendship to romantic involvement) shortly after high school. One day the idea of us dating was brought up by some of the other officers during a conversation and our sergeant gave us both the 'compatibility' speech. After a few sleepless nights I thought 'What the hell' and the rest is obvious (The wedding is in March). I guess the slight personal familiarity is one of the reasons we both got hooked on the show in the first place.

And now, on with the story.

Chapter Seven

Super 8 Hotel
Oelwein, Iowa – June 5 05:25

"C'mon Possible, rise and shine."

"Mmmmpf…" Kim rolled to her side and pulled the blanket in closer to her body. Sean looked down at the sleeping girl and sighed before trying once again to rouse her.

"I'm serious Kim, don't make me drag you outta there." His voice was harsh, yet easygoing: his gruff exterior slowly wearing down having spent two days with the teens.

"Mmm…jus' five more minutes daddy." Kim mumbled, pulling the covers over her head.

"She's like this every morning." Ron commented from his seat in front of the TV. "The only way she manages to get up for school is because her parents disconnected the snooze button on her alarm."

Sean looked down at Kim's blanket cocoon, shook his head in frustration, and turned to Ron. "Fine then, how do you suggest we get her up? There's an ice machine around the corner," Sean announced, loud enough for Kim to hear. "We could just pour a bucket of ice on her." He glanced over to see if his threat had any effect, but Kim still refused to rise.

"Here, allow me." Ron said standing up and walking to the foot of her bed. In one swift movement, he yanked the covers off of her and jumped up onto the bed. "C'mon KP! Get up! Get up! Get up! Get up…" He shouted at his friend while bouncing up and down on the mattress. Finally, unable to ignore the lack of warm blankets and repetitive bouncing, Kim rose stubbornly and looked around the now lit hotel room.

"Oh good, you're up." Sean said sarcastically. She shot him an angry glance before turning to Ron and playfully pushing him off the bed.

"Gee, thanks for the gentle wake-up guys." She spoke in a tired and raspy voice, rubbing her eyes.

"Hey," Sean responded. "I gave you two gentle wake-up attempts. You're just lucky Ron stepped up, if he hadn't you'd be swimming in ice right now." Somehow, Kim didn't doubt that for a second. "Go take a shower," Sean gestured towards the bathroom. "If you hurry we should have enough time to stop by a Denny's or something before we have to be at the meeting place.

Kim just grumbled as she grabbed a clean pair of clothes and headed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

"She is so not a morning person." Ron laughed, returning to his spot in front of the TV. Sean just chuckled, securing his gun in its holster and closing up his bag.

"So why is the NSA involved in this rescue mission anyway?" Kim asked as they waited for their breakfast to arrive. She was back to her normal alert self, having taken a hot shower to wake up.

"The NSA's been keeping a close eye on every known domestic-terrorist organization since September 11th. They more or less act as the 'information gatherers' while the FBI and other federal agency's act as the enforcers. This is mainly because the NSA is able to…um, obtain certain bits of information about the groups and their intentions that we may have a hard time doing…well, legally at least." The way Sean worded his last sentence gave Kim a slight chill: the image of a dark-suited government agent holding a pair of sparking jumper cables and grinning evilly suddenly found its way into her head.

"And why do we need to change cars?" Ron asked. "I like your car, it's cool looking and has a comfortable interior."

"Well, we want to go as unnoticed as possible once we get close to our destination." Sean glanced out the window at his car parked in the lot. "I don't know about you two, but I kinda think that a gray Crown Victoria with government plates and enough antennas to contact Mars tends to stand out pretty easily in a rural farming community." Kim and Ron both nodded.

"Hmm, good point." Ron observed. "Those lights behind the grill are pretty obvious as well."

"But you don't know who the NSA is sending?" Kim asked nervously, getting back to her original question.

"No," Sean paused. "But I know Sue. She won't send us anyone but the best."

It was a few minutes before seven when Sean pulled the car to a stop in front of the meeting place. They all got out and surveyed their surroundings.

He had turned off the main road several miles back and traveled along a winding dirt trail before pulling off in front of an old abandoned barn. Next to the structure, Kim noticed there was two old picnic tables lined up facing a large dirt barrier that was very obviously man-made. It reminded her very much of what a shooting range might look like.

"So where's the NSA agent?" Ron asked innocently.

"He should be here any minute now." Sean reassured the two.

- TWENTY MINUTES LATER -

Ron picked up a small rock and absently tossed it against the side of the old barn, watching as it hit the ground with a miniature 'thud'. Kim was sitting next to him on the picnic table, glancing nervously at her watch every few seconds. Sean meanwhile, was leaning against the side of his car, staring obsessively at the point where the road they had entered on came into view around the corner. With a frustrated sigh, he gave up and walked over to where Kim and Ron were sitting.

As he sat down, Kim shot him an annoyed glance. "He should be here any minute now." She recited in a mocking tone. "So Sean, where is the agent?"

"Shut up." Sean mumbled back at her. "Gee, thanks Sue…thank you very fucking much." He thought out load. "I ask you to send me someone who's got their shit together and you dispatch some retard with no sense of time or direction."

"Some retard?" A female voice responded from the barn behind them. "What a terrible thing to say."

The three stood and turned simultaneously to face the person who had emerged from the barn. Sean's face turned into an excited grin when he recognized the woman standing in front of them; Kim and Ron, on the other hand, stared in disbelief.

Kim couldn't believe what she was seeing. The woman in front of them had a mischievous grin on her face that was the mirror image of Sean's trademark smirk. She wore camouflage BDU trousers and a pair of black combat boots. Tucked into her pants was a green t-shirt with a picture of a military rifle and the inscription 'AK-47. For when you absolutely, positively, have to kill every motherfucker in the room.' Her long black hair was tied into a neat ponytail to reveal her lightly tanned face. Even without her trademark jumpsuit or green-tinted skin, there wasn't any doubt in Kim's mind who the woman was.

"Shego!" Ron growled, dropping into a fighting stance. The raven-haired woman just raised her hands and laughed, Sean chuckled as well.

"Relax Stoppable," Shego responded in her usual mocking tone. "I'm not here to fight…well not you at least."

"It's a trap!" Ron shouted as he looked back and forth between Kim's archrival and Sean; unable to determine which one was the bigger threat. Kim meanwhile stood frozen, trying to fully process the image in front of her.

"Settle down Ron," Sean commanded in an annoyed tone. "I told you two about my friend in the NSA." He gestured towards Shego. "This is Agent Susan Gonzales, National Security Agency." The woman reached into her back pocket and removed a pair of credentials similar to the one Sean had showed them when he first introduced himself several days earlier.

Ron looked uncomfortably at Kim, trying to read her opinion of the situation. She stood frozen for several seconds before she was finally able to regain control. Calmly, she walked up to the now slightly apprehensive woman and extended her hand.

"Shego," Kim spoke in a steady and secure voice. "It's nice to see that you're on our side for this." The woman reluctantly took her hand and shook it.

"Uh, no problem, it's my job."

"B-but…she's a…I mean…" Ron started to argue, but quickly gave up. "Ugh, never mind."

Sean watched cautiously as Kim greeted Shego and turned to return to her now utterly confused friend. He was half expecting Kim to spin around and throw a quick jab at the female agent; but when it became apparent that it was not going to happen, he cleared his throat and spoke. "Well…that was surprisingly pleasant. Uh…why don't we all have a seat and take a look at the info Susan has to share with us?"

"No problem," Shego responded. "Let me just grab my folder from the car. She turned and re-entered the barn as Sean, Kim, and Ron walked over to the nearest table.

"So…um, how long have you been a…y'know…" Ron was still having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that the woman he and Kim (Well, mostly Kim) had fought on an almost weekly basis, was a government agent.

"A federal agent?" Shego supplied. "Since before you two first met me."

"And Drakken?" Kim asked.

"Lipsky," Shego chuckled when she mentioned his name. "No, he's for real…pretty much harmless, but real none the less."

"Harmless?" Kim asked doubtfully, remembering the many times the blue-skinned mad scientist had attempted, unsuccessfully, to conquer the world.

"C'mon Kimmie," Shego responded in a patronizing tone. "His arch-nemesis is a high school cheerleader and her slacker-sidekick. His plans for world conquest involve over the top radical ideas like covering Wisconsin in cheese, or…"She began to laugh as she remembered his many failed attempts. "…Or how about stealing the world's oxygen supply, that was a good one."

"Not to mention that his 'partner in crime' is an undercover NSA agent." Sean offered,a hint of genuine amusement in his voice.

"But why?" Ron asked, trying to understand what he was being told. "Why work undercover with him if he's just a harmless idiot?"

"Because it allowed me to build a reputation and it opened the door for me to get information on other, more dangerous terrorist organizations. That's how I got my info on The New Order." The dark-haired agent answered, waving the folder in front of her as proof. "Now, any other questions? Or can we get down to business?"

"Oh no, whatever you feel is best…Susan" Kim responded, putting a mocking emphasis on the agent's real name. Shego raised her fist, which erupted into a familiar green fireball.

"Watch it princess," She growled. "Not everything was fake." Sean began laughing.

"Sue…the info?" The female agent allowed the fire to extinguish and dropped the file on the table.

"Right," She eyed the two teens cautiously and turned to Sean. "Um, how much do they know?"

"They've both been given complete access." Sean responded. "I've told them everything I know."

"Everything?" She shot Kim a worried glance. "Even…y'know, her father?"

"Yeah," Sean stated grimly. "She knows about his work with USAAMRID."

"Shit…" Shego suddenly gave the teen a sympathetic look. "I gotta say, I admire your strength Kim."

"Thanks." Kim replied with a smile, realizing that this was the first nice thing that Shego had ever said to her.

"Don't mention it." Shego opened the folder and handed everyone several items: a few maps, and several black and white aerial photographs. "The New Order's compound is located about an hour west of here; just outside of Edgewood, Iowa: right on the border of Bixby State Park. As you can see from the map and photos, their compound is very isolated. There's only one road entering the property, so driving in is out of the question; they'd know we were there before we even got close. Fortunately however, the rest of the compound is surrounded by thick forest. This should allow us to walk in through the State Park and arrive at the compound undetected."

"What about patrols?" Sean asked.

"They have a few patrols that monitor the perimeter and surrounding area, but they shouldn't be a problem to avoid." Shego responded. "This is also going to be a night op, so we'll have the dark to aid our infiltration. They do have some night vision equipment, but it's mostly just commercial shit."

"How about defenses?" Sean inquired. "My reports mentioned possible automatic weapons and explosives, but I've got a feeling that's an understatement."

"Understatement is putting it lightly." Shego said; her voice filled with concern. "This is some of the heaviest firepower I've seen for a group this size; we're talking factory full-autos here, not sporting rifles with Hellfire triggers or filed sear-springs. They've got assault weapons, machine guns, claymore mines, and hand grenades: military issue by the way, not your typical Molotov cocktails or black powder-filled Budweiser cans. I've also heard rumors about some anti-tank weapons being stored on-site, possibly British LAW-80's or Soviet-surplus RPG-7's."

"Jesus Christ!" Sean muttered. "They've got more god-damn firepower than the fucking CSA did." Shego was the only one of the group familiar enough with Sean to know that he tended to swear even more than usual when he was nervous.

"They're also much more violent and unstable than the CSA was."The NSA agent added, remembering the well-known 1985 standoff between HRT and the heavily armed white hate group The Covenant, Sword and Arm of the Lord near Mountain Home, Arkansas. The standoff had lasted almost a month before the CSA surrendered peacefully. "There'll be no negotiating our way out of this one, and we stand no chance of going head-to-head with them on our own. Our only hope is to enter quickly and silently, grab Dr. Possible, and be out of there before they know something's happened."

"What about the virus?" Kim asked. She was glad her father was the priority, but she also remembered he had been kidnapped so The New Order could get a hold of the Blackpox bacteria.

"Our only concern is your father Kim." Sean answered. "We need to go in quietly and remove him from the area. Once that's been accomplished, HRT, State Police, and Iowa National Guard units are gonna hit the compound full force."

"You see," Shego said, taking the opportunity to elaborate for the two teens. "This is a bit of a catch-22 situation. If a small team like us goes in to rescue your dad and recover the virus, we'll be torn apart by the sheer firepower. At the same time, if a large strike force goes in, they could stand up against the group's defenses, but the collateral damage may very easily result in your dad getting killed in the cross-fire."

"Makes sense." Kim said: mostly to reassure Ron, who was still slightly apprehensive about the whole situation.

"Anyway," Shego continued. "Myself and Sean are going to serve as the primary operatives in this operation. We're the ones with the proper training, so we'll be the ones to actually enter the building and recover your dad. We want you two to serve as cover and fire-support; make sure nobody comes up behind us." She paused for a moment to allow Kim and Ron to process the information. "As I said earlier, we want to be in and out as quickly as possible; getting into a firefight with these people will only end badly for us. This is gonna be about speed and lethal efficiency, not heroics, you got that?"

"Got it." Kim nodded.

"No prob." Ron said, though slightly more uncertainty than his friend.

"Good," She turned to face Sean. "Well that's all I've got to say. I've got the weapons and equipment in the car. You gonna run 'em through some training and familiarization drills?"

"Oh yeah." Sean replied, his evil smirk creeping its way back onto his face.

"This ought to be interesting." Shego grinned at the two teens.

Kim and Ron both looked on as Sean and Shego returned from the barn carrying several large duffle bags. Sean set his bag on the table in front of the two and removed two small-sized hard plastic cases, as well as several boxes of ammunition and two sets of eye and ear protection.

"Before we get started, do either of you have any firearms experience?" Ron proudly raised his hand. "That's real firearms experience by the way, not video games or pellet guns." His hand quickly shot back down. "Ok then, let's start from square one."

Sean gestured for the teens to sit and placed one of the cases in front of each of them, opening them as he did so; inside the foam-lined case was a handgun, user's manual, cleaning kit, and two spare magazines. He then removed his own identical gun from its holster and unloaded it; dropping the magazine and locking the slide, making sure to catch the chambered round as it was ejected.

"This is going to be your sidearm for this mission," He began. "It's a Glock Model 22 .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol. It has an overall capacity of sixteen rounds when fully loaded: that's fifteen in the magazine, and one in the chamber." He double-checked that the open chamber was clear before pulling back on the slide and allowing it to snap forward with a sharp 'clack'. He then set his gun on the table in front of him and continued. "Now before we start shooting, there are four fundamental firearm safety rules you need to know…"

"Oh yeah," Ron interrupted eagerly. "I know those."

Sean and Shego stared at the blond teen. "Ok, what are they?" Sean asked skeptically.

"Um let's see," He began, counting off on his fingers. "Number one; all guns are always loaded. Uh, number two; never let the muzzle cover anything you aren't willing to shoot." He paused for a moment to think as the two federal agents stared at him with their jaws hanging. "Oh yeah, number three; keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target. And number four; be sure of your target and what's behind it." He grinned proudly at the surprised look on both agents' faces.

"That's…absolutely right." Sean answered, dumbfounded. "Stoppable, how the hell do you know that?"

"SWAT 3." Ron responded.

"What?"

"SWAT 3," He repeated. "It's a first-person shooting game for the PC. You play as a member of the LAPD SWAT team. One of the training missions is a shooting house and those four rules are posted right next to the front door." Sean groaned and dropped his head into his hand while Shego tried to hold back her laughter. "What?" Ron shrugged his shoulders in confusion.

"Nothing…" Sean mumbled before raising his head to look at Kim. "Did you get all that?"

"Yeah, no big." She recited the rules back to them, just to ease Sean's apprehension.

"Good, remember those rules, especially rule number three." He picked up his gun again. "The Glock was developed specifically as a combat pistol, and as a result it doesn't have a manual safety device. This means that it's always ready to fire, so when you're sights aren't on target, I want to see your finger clear of the trigger." He held the gun out and showed them how he was holding it: his index finger outside of the trigger guard, pointed forward along the base of the slide. "You got that?" The teens both nodded. "Good, then let's get the party started. Grab your guns, magazines, and eye and ear protection and follow me." He grabbed four boxes of .40-caliber ammo and headed up range where Shego was currently setting up several silhouette targets.

"Uh Sean," Ron asked, causing the agent to turn. "What about Rufus?"

Sean's expression didn't change as he eyed the small pink rodent and responded. "No Ron, the rat doesn't get a gun." Ron blushed slightly out of embarrassment.

"Oh no, I didn't…ear plugs, I meant ear plugs."

"Oh," He thought for a moment. "You'd better have him stay back here. It's pretty open out here, so the noise should dissipate."

"Sorry buddy," Ron said, lifting his companion from his pocket. "Looks like you're gonna have to stay here."

"Awww…ok" The rodent squeaked before jumping onto the table. "Bye bye."

Ron turned and jogged up range to join the others on the firing line.

June 5 – 11:45

"GUN!" Sean barked from behind the firing line. Kim pulled her gun from the tactical holster attached to her hip and took quick aim; firing three rounds into the center of the silhouette target, followed by a double-tap to the head.

Done firing, she lowered the Glock into a low-ready position as instructed by Sean earlier; the barrel of the pistol slowly sweeping the area in front of her for any additional threats the agent might see fit to throw at her. In addition to all of his other accomplishments, Sean had also turned out to be a certified range-master and firearms instructor.

"SECOND SUSPECT ON YOUR RIGHT!" Without any hesitation Kim brought the Glock back up and leveled the sights on an identical silhouette target to the right, firing three rounds before the slide locked to the rear. After over four hours of repetitive drilling she no longer found herself having to think about what she needed to do. Acting on pure instinct and muscle-memory, she yanked the empty magazine from the smoking pistol and retrieved a full one from its pouch on the opposite side of her gun belt, making sure to slam it into the gun with enough force to release the slide-lock mechanism (A quick and effective maneuver Sean had showed her and Ron early on) and finishing with the double-tap to the head. She once again went into low-ready and waited for his next instructions.

"Alright, all suspects are down. Safety/holster your firearm and step back from the firing line." Kim returned her Glock to its holster and walked back to where Sean, Shego, and Ron were standing, removing her earplugs and placing them in her pocket.

"Nice job Kim," Shego commented. "You're getting pretty good, almost as good as Stoppable here." Much to everyone's surprise and disbelief, Ron had turned out to be an exceptional shooter; acing every challenge Sean could throw at him. It was a talent Sean had attributed to 'Excessive video gaming and fine muscle control' and one that left Kim with a slight twinge of jealousy, especially after an earlier incident when she accidentally pulled the trigger while holstering her gun: the bullet missing her own foot by about four inches.

Sean walked up and examined Kim's targets before returning and giving both teens a satisfied nod. "Well I'd say you've both gotten more than enough experience with the Glock." He glanced at his watch. "Tell you what, let's head back into town and grab some lunch before we break out the rifles." His offer was approved in the form of two tired and very hungry nods.

- Just so you don't get confused, Sean is the only one of the three who will be addressing Shego by her real name (Susan or Sue), Kim and Ron will still refer to her as 'Shego'. Why? I don't know...just seems to fit, let me know if you disagree and I'll consider changing my mind. I hope Shego's arrival didn't seem too random, I felt like including another familiar character to the mission and pictured her as the perfect candidate.

As always, reviews are appreciated and chapter eight should be up within the next two weeks; we've got part two of the firearms training, an interesting look into Sean's past, and Kim and Ron finally get some time alone to talk about what happened on the side of the road.