The Chase is on!
Later, in an old, Victorian style mansion rented for precisely that purpose, Monkey Fist stood before the crowd of rich people.
"You will pay me one half of your fortunes, or you will be destroyed, once I have achieved Mystical Monkey Power! " He cackled as Skippy finished supervising the positioning of the idols.
"Is this guy for real?" Josh whispered.
"Real enough to beat Ron." Kim whispered back, "Or beat him with some help." She finished, frowning. If she ever caught up to that woman…
"Silence!" Monkey Fist shouted. "I will now take you to your prison!" He paused. "Skippy?" The monkey looked up. "Where is the photographer for my victory?" The monkey chattered.
"What? No photographer! But the conjunction is coming… I can't wait another day!" Josh blinked, then grinned.
"I'm going to buy us some time." He told Kim. "Um… I'm an artist."
"You? An artist?" Monkey Fist asked.
"Yes, and I've had awards…" Josh paused, "Of course, if you don't want your victory recorded…" Monkey Fist paused and frowned.
"The world could not endure with such a loss." He said. "Very well, you will paint my victory!"
"Well, you also need to get my stuff from home…" Josh continued.
"Nonsense! Only the best. Skippy!" Monkey Fist called over the monkey. "Take this!" He continued, handing him a wallet.
Working at an art store paid the bills, but it was boring. Carl McCreedy sat, counting the minutes until his shift was over.
And then a monkey came walking in, grabbed a bunch of art stuff, and left, after putting the money down on the desk. Carl said the only thing he could think of.
"Don't you want your change?"
"Okay," Ron said, "Let me get this straight, a lunatic comes in, kidnaps half the people, steals a ton of valuable material and you're not going after him?"
"Um…well, you see, we believe he'll let them go, and in any case we…" The police officer looked very worried.
"What?" Ron said.
"weren't able to track the blimp."
"You weren't…able….to track a giant BANANA SHAPED BLIMP?" Bonnie shrieked, from where she was finishing flushing Ron's eyes out with the saline solution a paramedic had provided her.
"It's not exactly something that comes up every day." The police officer said defensively. "We also have orders from the mayor to not…pursue this one aggressively… the animal rights lobby might be upset if we have to shoot any of those monkey's and it's an election year…" Ron engaged in some calming exercises. Hyperventillating wouldn't help now in any case. Then suddenly he blinked and grinned.
"OK, officer, I understand." When the officer had left, Ron pulled out his celphone.
"HI…Dr. P? The police told you? They're not going to help…they think he's going to let everyone go. I know, it is stupid." Ron got a grin on his face, "Anyway… Remember when you said that the space center had access to every spy sat ever created? That they could see a bug on the sidewalk? What about giant yellow blimps?" He paused, "Excellent!"
"Ron?" Bonnie asked.
"Kim's dad can track it…and then I'm going to go get them."
"No…" Bonnie said, "We're going to go get them…"
Meanwhile, back at the mansion, the guests had been placed in their own individual rooms, except for Kim and Senior. Monkey Fist gestured, and Kim gave a squawk as she was pulled from her wheelchair and placed on the (very comfortable) couch.
"Hey!"
"Have you no respect for her handicap?" Senior said.
"More than you. She is differently abled!"
Oh for God's sake. Kim thought. Kidnapped and now she was listening to two men argue the politically correct term for her.
"In any case, that is no way to treat a lady!" Senior said angrily.
"I know that look in her eyes." Monkey Fist said, "And I rather think that she might make trouble if she could move around—now she can stay put on the couch and listen to you regale her with stories of your youth!" The door closed and his eyes appeared at the barred window. "And just in case you're thinking about trying to break the door, It is a solid steel door, without the key, you cannot escape…and just to be certain…" he pointed and a gorilla lumbered up to the door. "Grog will guard you—I did not only bring monkeys!"
Kim looked around the room. It had a nice carpet, nice paintings, a big, if somewhat old TV…and nothing to help her escape. She groaned and rubbed her eyes.
"What is wrong, young lady?" Senior asked, and Kim looked at him and suddenly realized that she was visibly trembling with anger and fear. She'd never been so furious at anyone in her life.
"Nothing…"
Except I can't move. She growled in anger. What could she do to get out of this place now... To say nothing otpunching Monkey Shines, or fist, or whatever he called himself in a very personal place...
"Ah, my dear… you are upset at your loss of mobility, yes?" Kim looked over at him.
"Yes." She said. "You know, the day this happened I was going to be a cheerleader?"
"And you have evidently not let it stop you…" Senior said, "I can tell you are not beaten down by your challenge." He smiled, "You were unable to walk…so how did you defeat that challenge."
"I did other stuff…."
"Exactly…now let us consider how we may escape." Kim paused, and nodded. Looking around, her eyes narrowed, energy in them. Then, they widened and she started to get a very nasty look on her face, looking from the TV, to the steel door and back again.
"Good thing he didn't take my purse." She said, pulling out a penknife. "Um… sir… could you help me get over to the back of the TV?"
"Certainly, young lady."
"OK…" Josh said, "It'll take some time to block this out… so let me know if I'm delaying you too much."
"We have a full hour… more than enough time for you to do the initial sketch, and later, if you need, I will return."
An hour. Not good. I was hoping for more. Ron was the kung-fu master, and Josh wasn't…so Josh had to use what he had.
"Ok, well stand here…"
"Yes, an hour of standing…and then, MYSTICAL MONKEY POWER WILL BE MINE!"
Man that laugh is getting annoying.
Ron had a bike, which he normally didn't take to school—Bonnie had her car after all, and in any case, the last thing Ron wanted was for the bike he'd paid for with every award he'd gotten in tournies to be messed with. Nope, it was for special occasions.
Like riding to the rescue of his friends. Bonnie was hanging on, arms around his waist, holding on for dear life. They'd broken the sound barrier about four lights ago.
"Ron… we won't help them if we wipe out and die…" She said, the wind whipping her words away. Ron grinned.
"Don't worry!" he shouted, "We'll get there in one piece!"
"Oh, thanks…" Bonnie gritted, trying to keep from closing her eyes.
Inside the room, Kim had managed to get the back of the TV off…and unlike newer plasma models, it had a picture tube.
"Spanking…" She said. Senior looked over at her, and raised an eyebrow.
"So, how does this…spanking…achievement assist our escapte?"
"Picture tubes are like big capacitors." Kim said, "And they keep a charge even when the TV's been turned off….so…" She continued, pulling out some wires, "If I hook up the wires just right…I should be able to shock the door guard…if we can get him close enough." She paused, "And if I don't electrocute myself."
"Remarkable…" the gentleman said, "But how do you intend to get the door open after that?"
"I was…going to work on that when I got to it." Senior chuckled.
"Then allow me to assist you, young lady." He smiled, "In my younger days, I had some experience with…entering into places I was not supposed to be."
"Oh."
"OK…" Ron said, "We have the blimp, and the old mansion where all the people are… and the front door, guarded by…man, those are big monkeys."
"I think they're gorillas."
"Mmmm probably." Ron paused, "Well, we don't' want to warn him, so lets go around to the back lawn." Several moments later, they were back in the foliage behind the mansion, looking in at the windows, all of them with curtains drawn.
"Lot of light coming in from the main room…maybe he's there."
"But what if the hostages aren't?" Bonnie asked. Ron nodded.
"Right, we'll sneak in and case the place before…" Bonnie was moving, and Ron grabbed her arm.
"Wait!" He hissed.
"What?"
"Guards on the front door, but none here? Doesn't that seem…weird?"
"He's an idiot, Ron…" The two teens looked up as a squeaking bat, chasing a moth flew over them, into the air above the back….and was promptly vaporized by some force.
"Or…he's just very, very confident in his death rays." Bonnie said, eyes wide.
TBC.