Disclaimer: 'Power Rangers' (all incarnations) belong to BVE, who are related to Disney. No infringement is intended.
Author's Note: (a) Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I wasn't sure if there would be any interest in this. I will try to keep the first few chapters as interesting as possible. It's best to think of them as the first episode of a television series, since everyone has to figure out where they fit in the grand scheme of things. Another note, this will be written in episodic form rather than as an overarching plot with subplots going on underneath it. With that, a cheesy dramatization is at the bottom for those of you that are unclear on what a bounty hunter does. (PS- Other characters will come into this, but not for some time now and there will NOT be cannon pairings.)
BOND ENFORCEMENT
By Etcetera Kit
Part One: On the Run
Chapter Two: Moving Up
Cam Wantanabe stared into the muddy depths of his mug of coffee. The beverage had become the hinge on which his existence swung. No one dared talked to him in the morning until he had had his first cup of coffee and no one tried to interrupt him while he was working on restoring Ninja Ops. The only person who ever interrupted him was his father and most of the time it was for something academy related.
He sighed. Becoming the head teacher of the Wind Ninja Academy was not supposed to come with so much work and stress. It had been his dream to become a ninja, since he was a little kid, but it was always the one thing his father denied him. School had always come naturally, especially math and science, so he was able to take a little comfort from being unable to attend ninja school. He built Ninja Ops and the morphers and the zords—all the things that they would need if Lothor decided to land on Earth again. If he couldn't become a ninja, then he was determined to be one of the ones his father chose to become Power Rangers.
Once more, he was thwarted. His father gave the wind morphers to the three screw-ups and he was stuck fixing their messes. It hadn't been until the other rangers were helpless that his father let him embark on a journey to become a ranger. That had been an experience, meeting his mother, whom he hardly remembered. How his parents ever got married and had him were questions that only a few knew the answers to.
Now, he was looking at starting something new, beyond being a ninja and going to college for degrees to help him build Ninja Ops. Alan Collins, the millionaire who owned Bio-Lab and the Silver Guardians, was putting together a team of bounty hunters. The man was in charge of one of the most prestigious and advanced companies on the planet. Cam didn't really care if he was the janitor; it was an honor to be offered a position with them. He had the combat skills and stealth to become a bounty hunter, plus he could build the much needed surveillance equipment and bugs needed to track fugitives. He liked to think that his college degrees counted for something in the grand scheme of things.
Of course, he had been surprised when the commander of the squad, Mike Corbett, had suggested one of his people meet Cam at the Greasy Spoon. He knew who Mike Corbett was—anyone with half a brain who followed science did. But whatever the methods, he just wanted to get the job with Bio-Lab and get away from the building pressure and stress at the school. His father would let him go without a fight. The others might have more problems with it, but he didn't care. It was time to walk his own path for a while. He might ultimately end up back at the ninja school, but it would be a few years on his own.
He looked up as someone walked into the diner. It was mid-afternoon and business was slow. This might be the person sent to meet him. She had blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, glasses and was wearing a white tank top and pink broomstick skirt. She dug into her shoulder bag and pulled out a file folder. Looking up from it, she looked at him and made a beeline for him.
"Are you Cameron Wantanabe?" she asked.
"Cam," he corrected almost automatically. The only person who ever called him 'Cameron' was his father and that was normally before a lecture.
She smiled. "All right. Cam it is. I'm Kendrix Morgan," she introduced herself and slid into the booth across from him.
"You're on the squad?" he asked.
Kendrix nodded. "Yup. I already worked for Bio-Lab, so it was more of a parallel shift for me." She paused. "Mr. Collins recruited me, Mike and Eric. Now, he's letting us pick the other two members for the squad."
"Really?"
"He has the final say, but we have a lot of influence."
"You don't look like a bounty hunter."
Kendrix raised an eyebrow. "What's a bounty hunter supposed to look like?"
He shrugged. "I don't know—like an ex-Army Ranger on steroids with a grudge against the bad guys and life in general."
She laughed. "You'll fit right in."
"With who?"
"Mike and Eric. Unfortunately, you have a share a room with Eric."
"Eric?"
"He was the co-commander of the Silver Guardians. Mr. Collins asked him to work on the squad. He's kind of a one man army, who doesn't suffer fools well."
This had to be the strangest interview that Cam had ever had in his life. At least, he had thought this was supposed to be an interview. He had done the entire application process to the letter—sent in his resume and letters of recommendation along with a cover letter. He had received a postcard from the Human Resources department at Bio-Lab saying that his application materials had been received and he would be contacted soon. The recommendation letters had been as professional as he could get them—one from a professor he had during his master's degree, one from Kelly and the third one being from Sensei Omino at the Thunder Ninja Academy. Was this an interview? He was confused.
"Are you all right?" Kendrix asked him.
"Yeah… I just thought this was an interview."
"It is," Kendrix said. "Collins made sure that all the people's name we received were qualified. This is more to make sure that you'll get along with the others."
"Get along?" he asked faintly.
"Uh-huh. We're going to be living and working in pretty close quarters, so it's almost essential that we be able to peacefully coexist if nothing else."
"Makes sense."
Kendrix bobbed her head. "I'll recommend to the others and Mr. Collins that we hire you for the squad." She paused. "I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be hired."
"Oh."
Kendrix's cell phone rang. She rifled through her purse and pulled it out. "Hello?" she asked. She paused and then looked at her watch. "We need to leave now, if we want to get there in time." She paused again. "All right. See you in a few." She hung up.
Cam raised an eyebrow at her.
"I need to go," she said. "Are you all right with joining? I mean do you have any questions or anything like that?"
He shook his head.
"Great!" Kendrix said enthusiastically. "You'd be in charge of all the computer surveillance type things we'd need to do. Mr. Collins should arrange your interview by the end of the week. I'll see you when you move in!"
With that, she was gone. Cam stared after her, wondering just what he had managed to get himself into.
The concert was in full swing when they arrived. Mike looked around as they filed into their seat near the back of the floor section. It was obvious that this was the last place Eric wanted to be seen alive. The Quantum Ranger had a frown firmly in place and narrowed his eyes at the screaming kids in front of him. The sunglasses didn't help—at least he wasn't wearing leather. Eric looked like something out of a really bad spy movie.
Then again, all three of them were older than most of the audience—and most of the audience was also female. Mike reached into the pocket of his jean jacket and took out his backstage pass. Eric's pass was tied to one of his belt loops. Kendrix's was already in place around her neck.
Mike shook his head, thinking back to why he had taken this job. Things on Mirinoi were stable and peaceful. Commander Stanton was more than able to handle things by himself—the man was in his mid-forties. When Collins had offered him a command position for a team of bounty hunters, Stanton had encouraged him to accept. The shuttle system between Mirinoi and Earth enabled fairly efficient transportation between the planets. He would be able to see Leo and the others on Mirinoi in his spare time. That was a discussion they needed to have once they had a full team—off time. He couldn't imagine being able to handle things if more than two people were off at a time… They would have such an unpredictable schedule—and with the rate at which the bond company was growing, they would have to recruit a full ten members within a few months.
Pay raise, no rent and utilities', being able to concentrate solely on work with some leisure time in between… the job was a dream come true for most people. He could also make his own schedule. It was great. There was nothing to ground him to either Earth or Mirinoi—as long as he knew where Leo was, he didn't mind being planets apart. For a while, before Terra Venture took off, he had known that he and Leo might be separated forever. Technology was amazing and took the edge off his worry. Plus, Leo was still rooming with Damon and Kai—with Kai around, there was not much opportunity to get into trouble. Besides, Maya had gotten Leo involved with Jara, the chief of her tribe, and Leo was now intensely interested in the spiritual aspect of their life.
Leo was out of trouble and he was doing something new. Everyone came out on top.
"Thank you, Silver Hills!"
He snapped to attention at the farewell from the stage. Kira Ford waved to the audience and skipped off the stage.
Eric nudged him and gave him a meaningful look.
"Come on," Mike said, standing up. He headed towards one of the doors where fans were clustered, hoping for an autograph or something. They held up their passes and the security guards waved them into the hallway.
"I'll have to get one of these for a good concert," Eric muttered in the relative quiet of the white hall, away from screaming fans.
"I thought it was pretty good," Kendrix commented.
Eric snorted. "Please," he replied sarcastically.
Mike could foresee arguments over what kind of music would be played in the stakeout van. He didn't comment on the exchange, just came to the dressing rooms where there was another crowd of people. This time it was reporters and salesmen, all trying to see the great Grammy-award winning artist, Kira Ford.
A man with blonde, spiked hair was close to having a nervous breakdown, trying to get rid of all the people. Mike figured he must be Kira Ford's manager. He elbowed his way through the crowd and showed the manager his pass.
"You're the people from Bio-Lab?" he asked, close to tears with gratitude.
"Yeah," Mike replied. "I'm Mike Corbett. This is Kendrix Morgan and Eric Myers."
"Go on in," the manager said, cracking the dressing room door enough for them to slip in, but not enough for the crowd to start a stampede.
Mike stopped short just inside the dressing room. It looked like a typical dressing room for a pop rock star, but there was no pop rock star inside. He glanced around and saw a door that had to lead to a bathroom.
"I feel like I'm in the presence of Carolyn Pickets again," Kendrix muttered.
"That movie star who went on Terra Venture?" Eric asked.
"Uh-huh."
"Isn't she a really big bitch?"
Kendrix shuddered dramatically. "You have no idea."
Eric shrugged. "I can't see Tommy Oliver having a bitchy beauty queen involved with a team of Power Rangers that he was on." He paused. "At least not voluntarily."
"Power Rangers?" Kendrix questioned.
"I'll explain later," Mike ended the exchange, since the theory that Kira had been a Power Ranger was just that… a theory.
The bathroom door opened and Kira Ford emerged. Her face was free of make-up making her look younger and more vulnerable than in the pictures. She was wearing a yellow tank top and loose jeans. Mike nodded to her.
"I'm Mike Corbett," he said. "Kendrix Morgan and Eric Myers," he added, motioning to his companions.
"Kira Ford," she replied. "Why don't you guys find a place to sit? Want anything to drink?"
Mike found a seat in one of the folding director's chairs in the room. Kendrix perched on a chaise lounge while Eric leaned against the make-up counter. Kira sat in another director's chair, facing them with unabashed excitement. She looked like she had been thrown into the world of stardom when she didn't want to be there. Doing a quick calculation, Mike thought back to the paperwork on her, realizing she was only nineteen. This 'interview' was probably going to be very interesting.
Kira Ford studied the three people before her. Mike had said on the phone that Mr. Collins had hand-picked the first three members, but the squad was given a say in who the final two members were. It was puzzling why her. Doctor Oliver had given her the article on the bounty hunter team and encouraged her to send in her application. He knew that she wasn't happy with where the music industry had taken her. He also promised to write her a recommendation letter along with getting two other letters from the reformed Principal Randall and Anton Mercer. She wasn't sure she wanted to be a bounty hunter, but it would get her away from music for a while. She could write and play what she wanted and she had no doubt she could do the job.
Mike Corbett, the commander of the squad, looked like a normal guy who had worked for the GSA. He was tall—over six foot—with medium brown hair and sun-kissed skin. Of the three, he was dressed the most normally in jeans and a gray t-shirt with blue lettering. Eric Myers had his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes narrowed. He had on a red shirt with a white t-shirt under it. Something about him screamed 'guerilla warfare.' Kendrix looked like the stereotypical 'girly-girl' complete with pink skirt, blonde hair and blue eyes. The only thing out of place was her wire-framed glasses.
"Thanks for seeing us," Mike said with a smile.
"It's my pleasure," she replied easily. One of the things being famous had taught her was how to handle herself at interviews. It was good to see that those skills would be used for something other than drippy MTV shows. "I'm flattered that you're interviewing me."
Mike nodded. "We've been given a lot of authority over recruiting the final two members for the team."
"So you said." She paused and looked at the three people. Mike was giving her his sole attention. Kendrix was looking around the room with interest. Eric looked bored. "But why me?"
"You had good recommendations." He paused. "Do you have any questions about the squad or what we'd be doing?"
"I have a decent idea," she replied carefully. All of these people were beginning to look familiar, but she couldn't place from where. "Do I know any of you?"
"No," Eric answered. Kira glanced to him, startled that he had chosen to speak. "But I know your science teacher."
How in the world did Eric know Doctor O? She was confused and frowned at him. Perhaps it was best not to know how he had met Doctor O… Eric just didn't seem like the type of person that the former Black Dino Thunder Ranger would be friends with. Of course, she didn't know any of the people in the room with her…
Mike cleared his throat loudly. "Mr. Collins has taken care of the living arrangements and expenses for the time that we would be working for him." Nice change of subject, abrupt, but getting things of off something that Mike clearly didn't want Eric to start talking about.
"You said," she replied, glancing back to Eric. He had a bulky watch on his left wrist… no, it wasn't a watch. It was a morpher. She and the other Dino Thunder Rangers had watched the archives at Doctor O's house and gotten to the point where they could recognize all the different types of morphers. Of course, it wasn't like any of them actually ran into someone with a morpher, except for their brief encounter with the Ninja Storm Rangers.
"Your primary task would be a field agent—doing surveillance and helping with takedowns."
She nodded absently at Mike, trying to remember what kind of morpher the one Eric was wearing was. "You were the Quantum Ranger!" she blurted out at Eric.
He turned towards her, his cold, black eyes giving her an appraising look. "Most people in Silver Hills know I'm the Quantum Ranger," he replied carefully.
"But you helped the Time Force Rangers."
"I saved their asses," he muttered.
"I thought you were from Reefside," Kendrix said with a frown. "How do you know that Eric is a ranger?"
"But you're all rangers," Kira replied. "Aren't you?"
Eric gave Kendrix and Mike mild looks. Mike frowned and looked at her. Kendrix's jaw was hanging open and her eyes looked slightly glazed. "Are you?" Eric countered.
"I used to be," she said in a small voice. "But our gems lost their powers."
"I lost my powers too," Mike added. "I wouldn't worry about it."
"Wait a minute!" Kendrix jumped in. "You mean we're all Power Rangers?"
"It looks like it," Mike said slowly. "You were the Pink Galaxy Ranger and I was the Magna Defender. Eric's the Quantum Ranger. And Kira…" He trailed off and looked at her.
"The Yellow Dino Ranger," she supplied.
"So I guess Cam's the only one who wasn't a ranger," Kendrix stated.
Kira snapped to attention at the name 'Cam'. "What's his last name?" she asked.
"Wantanabe."
There was only one person Kira knew with the name Cam Wantanabe and she had met him when the Ninja Storm Rangers helped the Dino Thunder Rangers. "He was a ranger too—the Green Samurai Ranger. He doesn't have his powers though."
Eric gave Mike a sharp look. He raised his hands in surrender. "Don't look at me," he said. "I didn't plan this."
"Neither did Collins, apparently," Kendrix added.
"What a coincidence," Eric muttered sarcastically.
Mike stood up and held his hand out to Kira. "We'll pass your name onto Mr. Collins and you should have an interview by the end of the week." He paused. "We'll see you when you move in."
Kira stood as well and grasped his hand, shaking it slowly. "Thanks," she said with a smile.
She watched as the three of them filed from the room and disappeared down the hall that was now blessedly absent of salesmen and reporters. This was odd. Of a random choice of people, Mr. Collins had managed to recruit three former rangers and, in turn, the three former rangers recruited two more former rangers. What were the chances?
Well, at least the five of them would have some common ground to stand on. It was already going to be awkward enough, living with four virtual strangers and rooming with Kendrix. Mike had explained a lot of the procedures on the phone. Her manager opened the door and slipped into the dressing room, looking exhausted.
"Did you take the job with Bio-Lab?" he asked.
She nodded. "It seems like the best thing to do."
"Kira," he cried. "Do you understand all that you're giving up? Albums, tours… you could have more platinum albums and Grammies. Why? How is being a bounty hunter better than all of this?" He looked exasperated.
Kira gave him a level look. "Because I'll be no one's lapdog," she snapped. "I'm tired of doing what people tell me. I had eighteen years of my life where my parents or the school system was telling me what to do. I just want to be in charge of my own life!"
He looked defeated. "If you feel that way…"
"I do!"To Be Continued...
Cheesy Dramatization: Mr. Collins is a bail bondsman (among other things), which means he loans people money to post the bond set by the court. The bond's purpose is to make it economically unpleasant for the suspect to skip town. Once the bond is posted, the incarcerated suspect is set free, thus enabling him to sleep in his own bed while awaiting trial. The price for using Collins' service is fifteen percent of the bond and is nonrefundable no matter what the outcome of the charges. If the bailee fails to appear for his court appearance, the court keeps Mr. Collins' money. Not just the fifteen percent profit. The court keeps the entire bail bond amount. This does not make Mr. Collins happy, so he forms a squad of bounty hunters to bring in bail jumpers. Their purpose is to bring the bailee back into the system, who is at this point officially a felon. If they find the FTA (Failure to Appear) in a timely fashion, then the court gives Mr. Collins his money back. For the purposes of this story, the people posting bail and the bailees all happen through the Silver Guardians. (Adapted from Janet Evanovich's "Three To Get Deadly". I realize this is kind of cheesy, but it's the easiest way to explain it.)
Author's Note: (b) To answer some of the general concerns in the reviews, no, this is not part of any of my other stories. If it was, then Eric would know Kendrix beyond a purely professional nature, but he doesn't. I'm trying to get back to the stories around 'Roaring On the Wind', but this isn't one of them. The associations are purely cannon (or what I feel the characters would know about each other given the cannon.) As for the inclusion of Kira, people have brought up really good reasons not to include her, but I feel she's a little more athletic than people give her credit for. Plus, it seems to me that she would get into the spirit of things faster than some of the other characters who tend to go by the rule book (Cam, Kendrix...) With that, enough of me rambling! I've gone on quite enough. Keep leaving the great feedback!
