Chapter 8

The next Saturday morning, the Kimmunicator beeped. Kim picked it up.

"What up, Wade?" she asked.

"I know you don't want any missions for the time being, but I thought you might make an exception for this one," he answered.

"Well, what is it?" said Kim.

"It's Drakken. He's up to something, apparently pretty big. I've found him on an island in the Pacific. It's a dormant volcano, but since he's been there, seismic activity in the area has increased dramatically," answered Wade.

"Hm. Sounds like something we SHOULD check out. Can you get us a ride?" asked Kim.

"It'll be there in forty-five minutes," said Wade.

"You were pretty confident we'd take it, weren't you?" asked Kim, and the boy genius grinned and signed off.

She changed into her mission clothes and went downstairs. Shego was in front of the TV, watching an exercise program. She was still in her bathrobe, and drinking a cup of coffee.

"Got a mission," said Kim, "Want to come along?"

Shego looked at her. "I don't work for free, Kim."

"I thought you gave up evil," said Kim.

"Nothing to do with evil, everything with economics. I work for hire," said Shego.

"It's Drakken..." said Kim.

Shego shrugged, eyes on the TV.

"Oookay... then how much do-" began Kim.

Shego glared at Kim, the look telling her in no uncertain terms not to finish that question.

Kim thought about it for a minute, then smiled. "I'll pay you what I can afford."

"And that would be...?" asked the older girl.

Kim pulled her wallet from her cargo pants and looked in it. "Uh, twenty dollars."

For a second, Kim thought Shego would either explode or fall over laughing. Instead, she gave a wide grin. "Agreed!" She turned off the TV and stood up. "What's going on, boss?"

Kim paused. THAT felt wierd. "Get dressed and ready to go. I need to call Ron. Our ride will be here in forty minutes. We'll be briefed on the way." She handed Shego the twenty.

"You got it," said Shego, and headed for the guest room, folding the bill in her hand.

Just then Mrs. Possible came in. "Did I hear right? She's going with you on a mission?"

"Yeah, Mom, Drakken is up to something," Kim answered.

Mrs. Possible sighed. "I wish she wouldn't do this, but one thing I have learned about her is that once her mind is made up, nothing stops her."

Kim grinned. "How well I know!"

"Take these with you, just in case," her mom said, handing Kim a small plastic box with four pills in it. "The white ones are for pain, the blue ones in case she gets weak."

"White ones for pain, blue ones for weakness. Thanks, Mom," said Kim, hugging her. Then she put the box in her utility belt.

Hours later found Kim, Ron, Rufus, and Shego on a cargo plane over the Pacific Ocean. Ron was asleep, as was Rufus in his pocket. Kim and Shego were talking in low voices.

"So the only benefit you get for what you do is a free ride to your destination?" asked Shego.

"That's right," answered Kim.

Shego shook her head. "When we get back, you and I are going to have a long talk about that."

"Let me ask you something," said Kim, changing the subject, "If your services are so expensive, why did you agree to work for me for practically nothing?"

"Several reasons. First, I would really like to take down Drakken. Payback, you know. Second, my evil career is pretty much shot, but I AM still a mercenary for hire. You paying me keeps that intact. Third, I knew you couldn't afford my regular fee," was the answer.

"What IS your regular fee?" asked Kim, tilting her head slightly.

Shego grinned. "Ever heard the old saying, 'If you have to ask...'"

"...you can't afford it," finished Kim. "Fair enough." Then Kim turned serious. "One thing. As long as you work for me, no killing."

Shego looked at her, genuinely shocked. "Kim, I have NEVER killed! Hurt people, sure, that comes with the job. But take a life?" She shook her head. "That's a line I will not cross."

"Glad to hear it," said Kim. She started to ask about all the times Shego had tried to kill her, but was prevented by the Kimmunicator's beep.

"Go, Wade," she said, when his face appeared on the screen.

"Ready for a briefing?" he asked.

"Sure," said Kim, nudging Ron awake.

"Okay. The island he's on is a dormant volcano. The last time it erupted was in 1786. Since he's been there, a major increase in earthquakes has hit the region," said Wade, showing a satellite view of the island.

"Any casualties?" asked Kim.

"No, all the quakes took place deep under water. They didn't even stir up a tsunami," was the answer, and Wade took a drink from a can of Coke.

"That's good news, anyway," said Ron. Rufus agreed.

"According to the records of the ship that took him there, he had only camping equipment and a few boxes, so I don't think this is a new lair," said Wade.

Shego nodded. "I agree. Sounds like one of his research expeditions."

"So we won't have to fight many guards," said Ron.

"No guards, but he usually took me along," said Shego.

"Well, also according to the report, he DID have someone with him, a woman," said Wade.

At that, Shego's eyes grew wide. "Who could he have found to replace me already?" she murmured.

"We'll find out soon enough. Aren't we nearly there?" asked Kim.

Just then a man stuck his head out of the cabin. "We're almost over your drop point, Kim," said the man.

"Thanks for the ride, Jim," said Kim, and grinned. She got up to put on her parachute.

"Nonsense, Kim, it's the least I could do after you saved that elephant I was transporting," he answered with a smile.

"No big, it was just a LITTLE elephant," said Kim, and stepped to the hatch.

Twenty minutes later, Team Possible (plus one) landed safely on the beach of the island. Discarding their parachutes, they looked around. It was a typical tropical island, with palm trees and undergrowth. The sky was dominated by the volcano itself, a forboding mass of dark rock.

Kim pulled out the Kimmunicator. "Tech scan it, please, Wade," she said.

"Well, there's something there. I'm reading what is probably a generator, and a few electronic signals, but nothing else," he said.

"Good enough. Let's find a way in," said Kim.

"There's a tunnel about a hundred yards to your left. That's probably the way," said Wade.

"Thanks," said Kim, putting away the Kimmunicator.

A few minutes walking, and they found the tunnel. It was a jagged hole, wreathed in darkness.

"Well, it's better than finding monkeys," muttered Ron.