EPILOGUE

One year later….

"You, my friends, had said your goodbyes, beckoned your farewells to me."

Ronald couldn't help but remember, speaking memories into the microphone of the mini-cassette recorder in hand. Irrelevancy drowned in the deluge of memories, the simple snapshot pinched in his hand the keeper of the floodgates. Two faces stared back at him with glossy eyes, locked in time until the day the when picture dimmed irreparably. A boy with a mat of dirty blond hair and a fiery auburn standing together, holding each other in a playful embrace.

The auburn's eyes most striking, two large emerald gems that he could never push out of his mind. Ah… the good old days.

"Yune and Tara had left from me not a moment later." He said. "He clasped a hand onto my shoulder, giving it a shake. He had shot me a smile.

"'Do us proud.' He had said.

"Tara gave me a peck on the cheek, and a tight hug around the neck. She had wished me good luck, and said that she was missing me already. Basketball or football would never be as memorable without Middleton's own Mad Dog scampering about. Somehow, I believe that.

"I heard the relationship between Yune and her had gotten serious. Talks of marriage had been circling about, isn't that right?

"I'll have you know that Wade eventually had gotten out of juvenile hall, thanks to Ms. Hershel of course. His case had been permanently sealed due to his age, but that didn't keep the State Department off his ass. Last I heard he was still under close surveillance, a real blow to your future operations.

"Rufus stayed by my side, always the warm, squishy lump against my leg. Not that he had any choice in the matter.

"Kimberly… my Kimberly, the reason I'm making this tape. You'd been wheeled out on a gurney, your final call one of your love. At least that's what Hershel had said. Oh - how I longed for that. It was a real drag that I couldn't hear it, KP. The acoustics of the Dome of the Rock were screwy. But it was true! I knew that deep down in the bottomless pit that was my stomach. If only I had called back to you…. Hell - you probably hate me now.

"Israel had gotten back on its feet with much help from the US, much to the dissatisfaction of its neighbors. Even Russia cringed at our recovery. Their warm water port and the chance for oil denied yet again! Our country bumpkin cousins complain about us still, despite the efforts of Chairman Habib Abd-al-Latif. Chatter suggests he's about to be overthrown in favor of a hardliner, some rabid bastard from Syria. Not that the UN or EU give a damn. Back to normalcy alright!

"Dr. Phil spilled the beans when corrupted files of an OS were found in the siege weapon's hard drives - the most important OS in a sense. MAT, the Mobile Automated Turret system ripped off from Sadie's source code was designed to be the core of their organization, entrusted with tactics and decision making when Drazen passed on. But with the detonation above Megiddo, the resulting EMP practically wiped the hard disks clean.

"On that note, I'm pleased to say that you don't have to worry about the VSA anymore. Against a large attack force - say… the Israeli Defense Forces - without the MAT program, the VSA is nothing but rebels without a clue. How true that is! Nowadays, they're nothing but a vindictive watchdog group - with a bigger government pit-bull watching them on threadbare leash. Word from the Knesset suggests they're about to be disbanded for good.

"Through a mess of international PR and oversight comities, Uzziel Lichtenfeld Drazen's better half had been exhumed from the rubble. You probably saw it on the news back in Middleton, I'm sure. His legs ignored, not important strangely enough. His remains are being currently held in an undisclosed location. Most likely they torched it, finishing the work we started on the Temple Mount.

"Then again, Hershel did mention something called the 'Unknown's Legacy' yet it was only in passing. I don't know what the hell that's supposed to mean. Does it have something to do with that character Dr. Phil mentioned back in the Organ Grinder? Bin-Mok, Stark, and you haven't returned my calls and no one I've spoken to know what it is or where it is. The higher ups around are being purposefully vague, dancing around the issue at every pass. It seems no one wants to talk about it, like Israel's dirty little secret. I was hoping you could help.

"It doesn't matter anymore. Israel's still alive. I'm still alive, carrying on the traditions of Team Possible on my half of the globe. After Drazen's bloody defeat, I was given government training - the sort of training best kept off the record for security reasons. Though officially freelance, I do... -work- occasionally for Mossad and even Shin Bet. People across the globe probably have seen my handiwork though they wouldn't suspect it was I. Officially, I died when the trauma to my head overwhelmed me. You know, when Drazen smacked my head into the ground. Swelling of the brain or some -dreck-, I don't know.

"Don't cry for me, KP. Even as a child, somehow I knew I wasn't meant to be anywhere else but here. Israel: land of the great God that had proven Himself in May of '48. After two thousand years in Diaspora, my people finally had a place to call home, in the very same place the good Lord had promised the ancient patriarch millennia ago. I am proud to call this place my home.

"I am finally home, KP. I am still alive, regardless of what Mossad fed to the news agencies around the globe. You're the reason I made this tape, KP, as I said before. It's been a long time, KP, and my love for you has never been stronger. If you get anything from this tape, should you've made it this far, I just wanted you to know that. What happens after you get this tape, play it hopefully, is a choice that I leave up to you.

Time always his enemy, jerking black hands of the clock chopping a little more away at his free time. With his next assignment just several jerks of the long hand away, he feathered firm pressure upon the stop button.

"Till we meet again, Kimberly."

Click! –

He couldn't have said the whole tape better himself.

XXX

After half a workday idle on her desktop, her phone had found time to ring off its cradle. It was about time. Her drumming fingers could use the break from the faux wood.

"Yell-o…!" she said.

"'Yell-o' to you too, you skinny bitch." The growl rough and boisterous was like music to her waiting ears. After half a day with the empty howl of the AC hollering overhead, even Schoenberg could pass off for Rossini easily. "My you sound garbled today!"

"Never mind the voice alteration, Mr. Titus." She leaned back against her high-back chair, the foam engulfing her backside. "I'm surprised though, you're a little bit early. It'd be a lie to say that I wasn't expecting you, but that's beside the point. May I ask why you're reporting just now?"

"Time, for one thing." The man replied gruffly. "Did you know that Israel goes from sunset to sunset? I didn't. And I can tell you that it gets quite confusing!"

"The world has GMT for that exact reason." She frowned. "You should know that you're GMT+1 over in Tel Aviv."

"And to think that I was running a little late." Titus' sigh was hoarse.

"It doesn't matter anymore." She said. "What have you to report?"

"As you well know, it's been about one year since the travesty on Temple Mount." Vespasian replied. "Uzziel Lichtenfeld Drazen is finally dead, his army detained and his remains buried underneath a ton of rubble that used to the be second bulge on the mount's eastern wall.

"Since that day, Palestinian Chairman Abd-al-Latif had amazingly denied Israeli Prime Minister Irit's offer of the Temple Mount. Safe to say that it threw the Palestinians in an uproar. Pursuing a policy of peaceful coexistence with Israel despite hawks and critics in the Palestinian Authority, he's practically out on his ass. It won't be long till his health is scheduled to fail him."

"Yes," the tip of her finger rubbed at her chin, "flocking for the 'candidate' from Syria."

"Precisely." Titus said. "Just as we predicted. Just like Habib's predecessor, this guy's a hardliner. Trust me, this guy wont stop till Israel's thrown into the Mediterranean. But whatever you do, just don't touch him. He's copasetic with us. Scratch his back and he'll scratch ours."

"Good." A smirk crept across her face. "That could further our cause in the Middle East sooner than we expected. With Apollyon and certain initiatives coming to the intelligence community's light, we have queen daffodil by his balls. We'll dangle him over the sidewinders' nest when America's finally out of The Quartet! Of course we dare not speak of this to Prime Minister Irit, shall we?"

"Biting the hand that feeds you?" Titus asked. "Despite the fact they're secretly one of your biggest contributors? Going against the US isn't exactly a smart move, especially in this political climate. You've seen what they were willing to do to get their greedy hands on Colonel Drazen's kid."

"I know." She nodded. "Considering Gladius, we couldn't let America hog Uzziel all for themselves. That would put everything in jeopardy, everything we've been planning for the past 50 years. They've had their turn being king of the world. It's time for someone else to have a turn. Uzziel shall be our atom bomb. America and Israel as Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

"Yes." Titus agreed. "America and Israel are finished. They've had their fun. Our time has finally arrived."

"There's only one thing that can stop us, despite all efforts to prevent." She took in a breath. "Anything can unravel like a cheap scarf regardless of its tight weaves. Tell me, Mr. Titus, what exactly is being done about this free-radical?"

"If you're speaking of Team Possible, I wouldn't lose much sleep over it." The man replied. "Kimberly still is furthering justice's cause despite what she's seen and felt during her time in Israel. But it's strictly small time, just a stubborn bank robber or mugger. A single person can do only so much. A single person can do jack shit to make a shred of difference, regardless of what the TV says. I think she learned that lesson quite well - in Drazen's torture room."

"Oh?" She nodded thoughtfully. "Are you the one who got her in that mess?"

"Not really." Titus said. "I was still planning her demise at the time, making it look like a victim of a suicide bombing. Her capture by the VSA was far better than what I could come up with. Lady Luck smiled down on me that day, and it worked well considering the result. No more saving a world that doesn't need it. That's our job, after all."

"What about her boyfriend?" she asked. "The blond?"

"I've lost track of him." He replied. "Most likely Mossad or Shin Bet recruited him. Considering the list of people that died recently, they were all at Israel's convenience. Still, I am confident that he does not pose a threat. As far as I know, Israel is still in the dark about us."

"Don't get cocky!" She said warningly. "You're talking about one of the best intelligence networks on the planet, Mr. Titus. This is probably the reason why I've considering moving our TOC. What's word on the Organ Grinder?"

"I am sorry to report that Organ Grinder has completely collapsed." He replied. "I know it was an option when the VSA had gone, but the grotto's far too small for what we've planned. Besides, Israel's antiquity authority is throwing a fit over the destruction of King Solomon's Mine. Besides, I heard the lowest levels are like a third world slaughterhouse. Fitting not of our great organization!"

Utensils clattered like silverware when her fist met the desk.

"Another thing we can thank Possible for." She growled. "Shit."

"Don't frown just yet." He replied. "There's some good news that I have to report today."

"What's that?" she asked.

"Today I can report to you that Unknown's Legacy is safely with us, ma'am." He said coolly. "In the world's hands, where it belongs. "

Wheels underneath squealed when she sprang forward, elbows her support on her desk.

"Truly?" she blinked.

"Yes," he replied, "It took some doing, but I've managed to have it sneaked out from under little missy's nose. Everyone has a price and it seems that Israelis are no exception.

"Unknown's Legacy, the genomic code of one of the greatest soldiers that World War II had to offer. Uzziel's body is the 95 percent reproduction of that genomic code. Hell - it wouldn't be wrong to say that Drazen's body -is- the Unknown's Legacy. This will put our research ahead by at least 50 years overnight. But we've hit a snag: Uzziel's body only offers over 90 percent of the code. Part of the genome is still missing. I'm sure his twin has the remaining 5 percent. If only we could find his twin, that is."

"It doesn't matter." She ran a hand through her short hair, her cold palm refreshing on her scalp. "Unknown's Legacy is what I've been waiting for over a year! With it in our custody, I can sleep a little easier. There's nothing Israel can do to stop us - not even the United States! You've done well, Vespasian Titus. Expect a briefcase packed full of euros on your doorstep within the week."

"Thank you." He replied. "With money as good as yours, I'm always at Global Justice's disposal…"

A wide smirk pulled at her lips firmly; it was undeniable!

"Doctor Director."

THE END

"For Zion's sake, I cannot keep silent…." - Isaiah 62:1

(YES! It's finally DONE! I wish to thank all those who've supported me over the course of this work; Hyperactive Hamster of Doom, Yamal, Forgotten466, Continental-Line, CaptainKodak1, and all others who've supported me. Hopefully, this will not be the last entry in the KP universe, but still I need time to recooperate and think of fresh ideas.

(On that note, if any fan-sequels are actually in the works - by all means LET THEM COMMENCE!

(Thank you,

(-Godhand's Number-)