And the spawn of the Old Ones covered the Earth, and Their children endureth throughout the ages.
Abdul Al-hazred, Necronomicon
"Welcome back, to my humble abode," John said with a flourish as he opened the door to his house. Mim stepped with a slight look of amusement on her face. It was still as she had remembered it: slightly untidy with books left open on the table, empty dishes on the dining table and…piles of newspapers with black circles on them.
"What's this?" she asked as she reached towards a sheet of paper and picked it up. Mysterious object found in Middleton sewer, the headline read and Mim turned to look at John. "Since when were you interested in these?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Since the World Fair last year," John said, giving her a shrug. He removed his coat and vest and dropped them on a chair. "Do you want your bath now or later?" he asked.
"Now is wonderful," she replied absently as she continued reading the article. It was written by Monica Rockwaller, her rival when she was working at the Middleton Daily. It seems that she was still covering all the strange and unusual reports…good for her. Mim smiled at the thought of Monica chasing all kinds of lunatics in order to get her story.
Then she noticed the footnote which John had scribbled at the bottom of the page. Not the proof I need, he had scrawled there. Mim frowned in puzzlement. What proof? She thought.
She picked up another newspaper sheet and looked at it. Again it was about another strange object and another footnote at the end of the article that read, Not this one either
She placed down the article and turned to stare towards the kitchen where John was busy stoking up the fire on his stove. A faint smile played at her lips as she realised what he had been doing for her in the past year. He really is the best friend a person can have, she thought fondly. If only she could just repay him for the effort that he was putting into this search…
John looked up from his task and smiled at her when he noticed that she was watching him. "Don't worry. I'll get this fire up and started and then you can have your bath," he said.
"Thank you," she said weakly and she sat down on one of John's chair. What could she do for him?
"This is…paradise," Ron Stoppable said as he gazed in awe at the rows and rows of booth before him.
Kim Possible shook her head in mock despair as she glanced at her best friend. "Explain to me why I am here again," she said.
"Because this is the most bon diggity place in the whole wide world at the moment," Ron flashed Kim a wide grin. In truth, he had begged her to come with him and Felix to the Grand Gaming Gallery or G3 as it was commonly called. He was surprised when she actually said yes. Usually she'd be all, "Ron, I am so not going to game convention" and all that. He was glad, of course, that she had accepted his invitation especially since Felix had to bail out at the last moment because he had some physiotherapy session to attend.
"Hey, Rufus, little buddy, wake up! You're missing out on all the fun stuff!" he patted one his cargo pants' pockets gently. A tiny pink head emerged from the pocket and glanced around furtively.
"G3!" Rufus squeaked in joy and he scrambled up onto Ron's shoulder to get a better view of the area.
Kim gave the two of them a wry look of amusement as they began to explore the huge hall where the convention was being held. "So what is it that people do in this kind of exhibitions anyway?" she asked curiously.
"Check out the new games, watch trailers and movies, watch the hot bodies on display…" Ron rattled off.
"Hot bodies? What hot…" Kim's voice trailed off as she stared open-mouthed at a young man with brown dreadlocks, slim but muscular body and a plastic sword as tall as she was walk by her.
"Not exactly what I had in mind about the hot bodies but that's the idea," Ron said with a large grin as he pushed her mouth back in place.
"Ron. Camera. Now," Kim ordered. He dutifully placed his digi-cam on her waiting hand and she quickly took a quick snap of the young man who had just caught her eye earlier.
"Rufus, another has come over to the G3 side," Ron said solemnly to his pet.
"Uh huh uh huh."
"So not the convert, Ron," Kim retorted as she hung his camera around her neck. "Now, let's do some scouting," she said with a grin and she grabbed his hand as she started off in search of the hunk whose picture she had just taken.
It felt good to have taken a proper bath again, Mim reflected as she took the towel that John had prepared for her and began drying herself with it. Not like the cold hasty ones which she had had in the past year where she was constantly on the move and couldn't afford the luxury of a decent hot bath.
There was a knock on the door. "Are you finished?" John called out.
"Yes!" Mim replied as she continued to rub herself dry.
"Okay…I'll just leave some clothes outside and I'll meet you downstairs. Are you feeling hungry?" John asked.
"Yes please," she replied. She knew that he would understand her reply and sure enough, he answered, "Okay Mim. Do you want some tea to wash it down with?"
"Whiskey," she called out.
There was silence for a moment, before John asked in a slightly surprised voice, "Since when did you started to drink?"
Mim smiled sadly to herself as she continued to dry herself. Since a year ago, she thought to herself. Aloud, she said, "Does it really matter? I haven't asked you when you started drinking, did I?"
She heard chuckle out loud and he replied, "Alright, you win. It's good to have a drinking partner anyway." Then she heard his footsteps fade off as he walked towards the kitchen.
When his footsteps had died away completely, she wrapped her towel around her body and she headed towards the door. Opening it, she noticed that he had left a pile of neatly folded clothes on the floor, including a dress which she recognised as belonging to John's late mother. She picked up the clothes he had left and closed the door so that she could change her clothes.
Five minutes later, she walked into John's kitchen, in time to see him put the finishing touches on her favourite turkey and egg sandwich. On the dining table, there was a bottle scotch and of two empty drinking glasses. Mim couldn't decide which one was more tempting, the sandwich or the scotch.
"No drinking on an empty stomach," John said sternly, taking the decision out of her hand as he handed her the finished sandwich. She smiled at him and bit down on the sandwich.
"How is it?" John asked, watching her as she chewed thoughtfully on her sandwich.
"It's good. Now hand me the scotch," she said with a menacing tone in her voice and she made a grab at him with her free hand. He evaded her hand easily and he reached for the bottle and the glasses.
"Alright, since you asked for it," he said with a grin as he opened up the bottle and began pouring some of its' contents into the two glasses.
"Ron, you never told me G3 was a hunk fest," Kim said with a smile on her face as she watched several male models walk past her. They noticed her gaze upon her and they waved at her, causing her to blush slightly and she waved back at them before she took a picture of them with Ron's digital camera.
"It is? 'Cause I never really noticed it before, KP. Maybe I need to check my oestrogen level just to make sure I'm still interested in men," Ron said with an amused look on his face.
She gave him a punch on his shoulder in reply to his remark. "Ow! That hurt, KP," Ron complained as he rubbed his shoulder.
"Serves you right," she said with a smirk on her lips. "You know, maybe I should…"
Her Kimmunicator beeped its familiar four beeps and she reached into her pocket to take it out. "Hey Wade. What's the sitch?" she asked.
Wade Load looked at her from the Kimmunicator's screen with a slight look of envy on his face. "How's G3, guys?" he asked.
"Never been better! We're having a bon diggity blast!" Ron said with a slight grin as he peered at Wade from behind Kim's shoulder.
Kim caught herself before her head nodded and she said, "Wade, is there anything going on or did you just call to say hi?"
"Right. You've got a hit on your site, Kim. Apparently, three men from Goldenton had gone up into the Gold Mountains range about a week ago and they haven't come back ever since. A search party has already been organised but they hadn't had any luck yet, so their families decided to call you in as their last resort," Wade explained in his business voice.
"Do you have their pictures?" Kim asked.
"Already uploaded them into the Kimmunicator. You'll be needing some equipment when you head to the mountain range so go to your hotel and wait there for an hour or so. I'll drop off some of the things that you'll need," Wade said before he took a sip from his drink.
"Thanks Wade. Alright Ron, we've got a job to do," Kim said to her best friend as she slipped the Kimmunicator into her pocket.
"Got it…although we might want to hurry on the whole rescue thingy since G3's gonna end in about two more days and I'd hate to miss the grand finale," he said as he followed her out of the exhibition hall.
"What grand finale?"
"Oh…no one knows how G3 ends every year. But it always goes out with a bang!" Ron said as mysteriously as he could.
"Uh huh uh huh," Rufus chattered excitedly as he stood on Ron's shoulder and mimed a big explosion with his two forepaws, complete with sound effects.
After they had two drinks, John's face turned serious as he placed his empty glass on his table and he asked, "Who is it?"
Mim raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?"
"You said you came here because an acquaintance of ours asked you to him. Who is it?" John asked.
Mim grinned widely at him. "John, you'll never believe it…not in a hundred years," she declared.
"Oh…who is it?"
"Inspector Barkin."
John blinked three times in response to her answer while Mim did her best to stifle her laugh. "You're joking, right?" he asked incredulously.
She nodded as the memory of his telephone call loomed in her mind. She hadn't quite believed it herself when Barkin called her and immediately suspected that it was merely a simple plan to lure her back to Middleton so that he could arrest her but he had pleaded otherwise and he sounded sincere so she had given him the benefit of the doubt…for now. There was something else she needed though…
"John…I need your help," she said firmly.
"Yes. Where's your suitcase?"
This time it was Mim's turn to be surprise. "What?"
"Because you are going to pack and you are going to leave Middleton before Barkin finds out that you're here. It's a trap, I tell you!" John said in a panic as he rose up from his seat, his face flushed.
"John, please…be calm. I think that Barkin is telling the truth about needing my help…" Mim started to say in her most reassuring voice.
"Oh? This, coming from Inspector Barkin who used to say that you should be locked up in a kitchen and never be allowed to write another article again? I think not! Mim, how could you be so naïve? Do you really think Barkin would not take the chance to arrest you the moment he sees you and lock you up in a prison cell for the rest of your life?" he interrupted her, his voice getting higher with each word that he said.
"I realised that John. That's why I need to calm down and listen to what I have to tell you," Mim said in an iritable voice.
John stopped his ranting and he looked at Mim, as though he thought that whatever brilliant plan she might concocted, it was still stupid of her to walk into a possible trap in the first place. "Go on…I'm listening," he said quietly.
"Good. John, I want you to come with me when I meet with Barkin tomorrow," she said, causing him to raise an eyebrow.
"Why?"
She explained her plan to him and John listened to it without interrupting once. When she had finished, he reached out for the bottle of scotch and poured himself another drink. "Mim, if it were up to me, I would knock you unconscious right now and put you on the first train to New City…" he said.
"But it's not up to you, John. So would you please do as I told you to do?" Mim asked.
John lifted his glass to his lips and took a long sip from his scotch before he placed his glass back onto the table. "No," he said quietly.
There was an awkward silence at the table. Finally Mim stood up and said, "Well…I'll be going to my room right now."
"Mim, I…"
"Good night, John," she said curtly as she left the kitchen and went upstairs to her room, leaving him alone with his thoughts and his bottle.
Within the hour, a yellow van stopped in front of the hotel where Kim and Ron were staying in Goldenton. The two of them were already waiting there, dressed in their mission clothes and were in the midst of discussing what to do after receiving their equipment.
A young man stepped out of the van with a huge parcel and walked towards them. "Kim Possible and sidekick?" he asked.
"That's Ron Stoppable," Ron said with a slightly annoyed tone in his voice.
Kim nodded and asked the man "Is that for us?" as she pointed at the parcel.
"Yup," he replied and he handed the parcel over to her. "Now if you would just sign here," he said as he motioned towards a clipboard with an attached piece of paper and pen that was placed on top of the parcel.
Kim took the pen and scanned the paper quickly before she signed it and said, "Thanks for the delivery…" she glanced at the man's nametag, "…Carl."
"Don't worry about it. It's the least FastDelv can do for you after you saved our reputation by delivering that top secret package to the president before he could leave for Iraq last year," he said with a grin.
"Aw, it was no big. Anyone could have gotten through the laser turrets they equipped Air Force One with," Kim said with a light tone in her voice.
"Right…" Cal said cautiously before he got into his van and drove off; leaving the two teens behind to check out the parcel he had left behind. The Kimmunicator beeped again and Kim reached into her pocket to retrieve it.
"Go, Wade," she said while Ron began to rip the parcel's brown paper apart.
"Thought you might want to know what I stuffed into the package I sent you two. There're two survival kits with enough rations for a whole week, your grapple guns, a handheld biometric scanner, two sets of climbing gear and my latest invention, a pair of shock gloves. One punch from this baby could knock out a grizzly bear!" Wade gushed excitedly.
"Sweet! How does it work?" Ron asked as he rummaged through the parcel's contents and pulled out the shock gloves. They looked like gloves which were made from Kevlar except that the knuckle area was padded with a metal strip that was about half an inch in thickness.
"Just put it on and punch away. The shock effect will last about fifty times and then the batteries are dead," the boy genius explained.
"Got it, Wade. Though why did you sent the shock gloves to us? It's not like we're gonna be using it during this mission anyway," Kim said with a slight frown.
Wade grinned at her. "Thought you'd never ask," he said and typed rapidly on his keyboard. The screen on the Kimmunicator changed to show the schematics of the shock gloves. Kim stared at it for a moment and she noticed something. "Is that a…"
"It's a short distance shock discharger that I'm trying to incorporate into the gloves' basic design. I want you to field test that if you get a chance during the mission," Wade said as the Kimmunicator switched back to his image.
"How does it work?" Ron asked.
"You watched the Arachnid-Guy movies? That's how it works," Wade said as he imitated the movie character's actions on screen for Kim and Ron to see.
Kim nodded once. "Got it, Wade. Thanks for the gear and by the way, did you arrange a ride for us?" she asked.
"Already did. A helicopter should be arriving right about…" the sounds of an approaching helicopter could be heard in the distance, drowning off whatever he wanted to say. Kim flashed him a smile of gratitude and he returned it with his own and a thumbs-up sign.
Quickly she and Ron gathered up the gear which Wade had sent them as a rope ladder dropped down from the sky about ten metres away from them. Once the two teens had climbed up the rope ladder and boarded the helicopter, it began to head off in the direction of the Golden Mountain range, where they had three lost men to rescue.
Hal tried to open his eyes but all he could see what darkness. Am I dead? he thought but the fresh searing pain that lanced through his right arm told him otherwise. He could test something in his mouth but he couldn't quite place the taste; it eluded him and for some strange reason, it annoyed him.
Somewhere, in the dark distance, he could hear a strange chant. It was a disturbing chant, even though he couldn't quite make out what it was, though it was getting louder as the seconds ticked by.
It took a while to realise why the chant was so disturbing to him: he could hear John's and Dave's voices amongst the chant and they were chanting as if they had done it for most of their entire lives.
