Chapter 7. Fallen
The new guy was supposed to be good. That is at least what Starler had told Tybor. He was supposed to be a decorated soldier, an Air Force Combat Controller, fresh from duty in Iraq. He was tall, taller than anyone else in the squad and, unlike most of the former soldiers that made up the Special Unit's strike team, he almost never wiped that silly grin off his face. Between that stupid smile and his predilection for wearing freaking sunglasses everywhere, the man was demonstrating his best talents lie in ticking Special Agent Jacob Tybor off.
A smile didn't decorate the one-time sergeant at the moment.
"I can't believe they tolerated this kind of incompetence in the Air Force, Bedarest!" Tybor seethed at the taller man.
"Sir, we were tracking an individual who have made it her life's work to avoid capture. She is just proving more elusive than we first expected."
"Elusive? Jones' Bones Bedarest! All you had to do was follow that car once it entered the city."
"I don't have an answer for you, sir. It entered the parking deck and disappeared. We've searched that deck three times and posted guards on each exit. It's like the car just vanished into thin air." Bedarest spoke as if simply stating a fact. There was no hint of pleading in his voice.
"Sergeant, what did you wear in Iraq?"
"Sir, the majority of the time I wore clothing cobbled together from local sources. When I was on base I wore standard issue three colored desert DCUs."
"And…what was the point of that special clothing?"
"Camouflage. To blend in."
"Precisely."
"I don't see your point, Sir. A maroon two thousand six Chrysler PT Cruiser with a wing-spoiler may not be unique, but there are not so many of them on the road. It is a pretty distinctive car."
"A car belonging to a girl with access to cutting edge technology. A car that can do this…" he pointed at the monitor on his desk.
The footage didn't have any sound, but it was obviously a party being held for a red-headed young woman. There was a shot of her being presented with the car, huge pink bow on top and everything. Then the footage changed. She was inside the car, talking animatedly into some kind of video cell phone. As she spoke, the exterior of the car shifted slightly, the maroon paint swirling, the color finally settling on forest green. Moments later a tiny hatch opened at the rear and a wing unfolded.
He realized then he had seen a silver PT Cruiser leaving the parking deck as his team approached. There was a momentary flash of anger in his eyes. "She would not have gotten away if we had been properly briefed. I was unaware their vehicle had these kind of capabilities."
"Maybe you weren't paying attention when you were briefed on our many targets. Volkswagen van, known to have changed color to avoid capture at any time. Think that might apply to other targets as well, Sergeant. It's pretty clear why they turned you down for officer's candidate school. Find that car, find those or I'm going to make certain you are on the next plane out of the states to Iraq…to serve in the regular army. Am I clear?"
"Yes sir!" The man turned on his heels, obviously fighting down the habit of saluting his superior.
Stupid, stupid man. It was always so hard to break the new ones in. They always seemed to think so conventionally.
It never occurred to him that he might have fallen for the trick himself. It wasn't until later he discovered the secretly recorded footage of Kim Possible's graduation party.
Hospitals always seemed to smell the same, no matter how modern they tried to appear. Something about rubbing alcohol seemed to penetrate the very brick and stone they were built of. Shego hated the smell.
Her hair was done up in a simple ponytail. It was now down to the middle of her back, though at the moment it was pushed to one side of the pillow where her head lay. She looked to the side as the pastel colored door swung open silently.
"Hey, you." She said weakly, smiling as she recognized her visitor.
Neil had bulked up some in the last year. Secretly fighting super-criminals by night and maintaining decent grades by day could do that to a young man. He brought his hand from behind his back and presented his girlfriend with flowers.
"I'm not even going to ask where you got green roses." A smile fluttered across her face as he set the vase on the stand near her bed.
"Hey, folks like me, we can do anything!" He bragged cheerily. "Oh, and I'm happy to report, a certain bird is back in his cage, finally."
"You sound like Hego." Her smile brightened a little more, though she didn't break into the wide grin she was famous for.
"Yeah, he did say the line. Just like the last time, and the time before and…"
"I get the picture."
"So, what did the doctor's say?"
"To leave the flying to the superheroes who can." She winced as she tried to sit up. "I've got two broken ribs, two more cracked and a severe deep bruise on my hip, a 'hip-pointer'. Still, they want to keep me for another night."
"Huh? I don't get it. That's not so bad. Sounds like you're going to live and all."
"I am, at least." Her smile disappeared and she looked away from him.
"Wha? That's a good thing, isn't it. Shego?... Sherry?" His relieved smile faded in the silence that followed.
"They want to keep me another night because my injuries caused a miscarriage." She said, squinting tears from her eyes, her voice breaking ever so slightly.
"Miss…what? You were….I mean…we were gonna? You didn't tell me!" He finally blurted out.
"Neil, I didn't know until afterwards."
He rushed forward and put his hand behind her head, taking hers in the other. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Uh, it was mine, wasn't it?"
"NEIL? Geez you know how to make a girl feel special."
"Kidding, sorry. I mean, wow, we, uh, just that once.."
"Okay, mister straight A student who must have slept through 'Personal Issues' class. It only takes once."
"I know, I know. Gimme a break, I'm kind of shell shocked here Sher. What did your brothers have to say?"
"They don't know. I told the docs to tell 'em I was just a little more banged up than they liked. I'm sure as hell not telling Hego. He was just starting to warm up to you a little."
"If that's warming up, I don't want to be on his S-list again."
"Neil!"
"Okay. So, they're letting you come home tomorrow?"
"Unless something else complicates things, yes."
"Then I'll be right there waiting for you, no matter what your brothers say."
"Hego won't like that." She said, chuckling slightly.
"Won't matter. GJ just named me as your new liaison officer."
"They what? Neil? You're not even officially part of GJ!"
"No, but after this Aviarius caper, they wanted somebody experienced handling it. Gave me a special pass-key into the tower and everything."
"So, if you're waiting for me there, does that mean you're leaving now?"
"Hell no. I'll be right here for you. I love you too much."
"I know." The smile reappeared on her face, at least a small one. A laugh almost escaped from his gut as he recognized the movie line she was using. He kissed her then, first on her forehead, then gently on her lips. They held each other as best they could, considering the pain she was still in from her fall.
She never told him of the face that started tormenting her dreams that night. The face of the child she would now never bear. Even though the doctors told her after many tests that she would recover fully and be able to bear children in the future, that lost child became a phantom, giving face to her doubts and regrets. Despite never knowing whether it would have been a boy or a girl that cherubic round face made its home in her subconscious.
Seventeen year-olds shouldn't have such dreams.
Corridor after corridor passed under Liz Evans' feet. The men had brought Max down before she could even react. Panic set in and even the rush of adrenaline couldn't force her intermittent powers to work. All she could see in her mind was the word that passed soundlessly from Max's lips as he fell.
"Run."
She prayed the others had not been caught. They were supposed to wait outside, away from any prying eyes. Obviously somebody had recognized one of them. How else would they have even known they were there? They had traveled from Southern California, straight to Colorado, not stopping except to buy gas for the van. They even took the precaution of changing the paint color again. No, somehow their discovery had been an accident. It had to be.
Dead end! The corridor turned and abruptly stopped. No, it wasn't a dead end! The wall was split in the middle, with an access panel situated in the center. How did Max do this? She though furiously. He just put his hand over the lock and with a quick burst of his power accompanied by a red glow a lock would burst open.
Liz was pondering that question when the door opened, admitting a tall man in a beige shirt, brown slacks and matching brown tie. His short hair was turning gray at the temples. Something about him just screamed "Rocket scientist" and not G-man. Still, she ducked under his arm and ran out into the yard where the various rockets were stored.
"Hey, you can't go out there!" he shouted before breaking into a jog to pursue her. "Miss?"
Panic was setting in again. The man might not be one of the FBI agents stalking her but he could just as easily call security. If that happened they would have no choice but to turn her over to the members of the 'Special Unit.' It wouldn't matter the federal agents were acting without authorization, to the rent-a-cops employed by the center they were simply the 'proper authority.'
She realized too late the storage yard offered no easy escape. Of course not! This was supposed to be a secure area, off-limits to all but the scientists and workers preparing the vehicles. She dashed between the curving hulls of two rockets sitting on their sides, waiting for huge liquid fuel engines to be mounted at their base. There, off to the side, she noticed a ramp, leading up into another space craft. It was the same dull gray metal as the rest but the shape was just a little different. It had two engines at the rear, with stainless steel shrouds tapering behind its bulk. The rest of the rockets had the more familiar bell shaped engine outlets. This looked somehow cleaner, more advanced than all the others. She spared a glance. The man was still standing in the doorway, trying to determine where she had gone in the gathering gloom of the evening.
She waited until he looked in another direction and darted toward the ramp. She hoped against hope there would be ample space to hide in the interior of the ship. It was large, larger than most of the craft in the yard, being more than two hundred feet long by her estimation. She mounted the ramp and tore down the short hallway, taking the short flight of stairs onto the main deck. She pulled up short as her eyes started adjusting to the dim light inside.
Liz was expecting some kind of control center. Instead she found herself looking at what could only be described as a sumptuous living room with an adjoining dining room and kitchenette. It was something she would have expected on a luxury yacht, not on a space ship. A single dim light glowed from the counter at the small stove, providing just enough light to barely make out the details of the room. A large screen dominated one wall, most of the furniture arranged to have an unrestricted view. It seemed much more like a television set than a monitor. It was completely dark at the moment, though a tiny yellow tell-tale glowed from the bottom corner.
As her vision cleared she could make out the twin spiral staircases in alcoves on opposite sides of the kitchenette. Taking the closest one, she found herself in the real control center of the ship. A kernel of an idea was starting to form in her mind. Was this the ship Max brought us here to find?
She was lost in thought, staring at the control console when she heard "Miss, what are you doing here?"
"Allright, Princess. What's our next move?"
Kim held her Kimmunicator, repeatedly pressing the send button. The screen remained blank. Frustrated, she opened the panel on the front, revealing the cell phone style keypad. She tried several numbers in the pre-programs, to no avail. It was like it was receiving no signal whatsoever. She grimly realized that the majority of its functions only worked when controlled from afar by Wade.
The battery meter checked out fine. That meant it wasn't her unit (or Ron's for that matter) that was malfunctioning, it meant somehow the satellite signal was interrupted for some reason or another. She hoped against hope that it was because Wade had to do it to protect them somehow, and that nothing had happened to her friend.
"We can't stay here. Even if we're incommunicado, they will eventually figure some way of tracking us. We have to keep moving."
"That I agree with. For all your shortcomings Kimmie, brains was never your problem."
"I'll let that slip for the moment." She shot the older woman a hooded eye glare.
"KP, if Wade can't contact us, does that mean he is still doing the jamming thingy with the bugs in the car?" Ron wondered.
Kim breathed in sharply. She hadn't considered that. The car was hidden inside the abandoned warehouse adjacent to the container yard. Shego jumped up from her position on the cot and cut the power to the lights. It was suddenly pitch black inside the container. Despite the air conditioning being on for several hours, the moment the cooled air stopped moving it was instantly stuffy again. The heated metal of the container's exterior would have it stifling in minutes.
A tiny point of light opened as Shego found her spy-hole. The light was obscured as the mercenary peered outside. The hole was situated do she could see the best approach to their position.
"I don't see…wait." Shego barely whispered. Damn, I shouldn't have turned off the AC! She thought. There were at least two shadowy figures patrolling the yard. The motor for the air system was nowhere near the container, but the sudden silence might have drawn their attention..
"What?" Kim whispered.
"Two, no, make that three men. They've got night vision and they're armed with P90s, just like the team that hit the house." Shego hissed.
"What is this, they buy their weapons at a Stargate SG-1 surplus sale?" Ron asked in a low voice.
"Quiet boy." Shego's whisper was barely audible. Somehow in the pitch black her hand found his mouth and clamped over it. He said a silent thank you that she was wearing plain leather gloves and not her former claw tipped fighters. "We've got a problem. If they make our position, we're effectively trapped. This is supposed to be a fall-back position for me, I never intended it as an effective hiding place."
"What about the night vision?" Kim asked. "Won't they be able to see our heat signatures?
"I hope not. I figure we may have a chance to remain undetected since the outer skins of these containers have been baking in the summer sun all day long. Night vision, for the most part, work by gathering ambient light. Some of them are designed to see infra-red, but not with much detail. It would take a computerized heat scanner to pick out our bodies against all this heated metal. No, they're going to rely on a star-light setting…"
"Oh, snap!" Shego hissed. "Stoppable, get over there and grab the door release handle, but don't pull on it until I tell you. Princess, when I say go, make a break for it. Take the clearest path you can."
"Did they see us?"
"They saw something. One of them put his hand to his ear and they all split up, taking cover. I can't see any of them any more."
There was a faint scraping sound from the direction of the bed. In the barest of light Kim could make out a shape moving from there, past her. It brushed against her and she realized it was Shego. She had taken something from under the cot, but it was far to dark to determine what it was."
"Go." She poured as much urgency as she could into the harsh whisper.
Ron yanked on the handle, which still responded silently. Shego's sudden kick slamming the two halves outward wasn't. Kim was the first off the container, somersaulting twice before landing on the pavement in a crouch. The rifle toting goon didn't even have time to turn as she spun on one foot, sending the other leg out, knocking the man's feet from under him.
Instead of jumping to the ground, Shego made her way up to the third level of containers. Her hands were fully ablaze. Sparks flew as automatic weapons fire sought to bring her down.
These guys were playing for keeps.
Kim sprang upwards, catching another man in the mid-section just as he rounded the corner of the large metal crate. He went down with an audible 'oomph'. She could sense another man coming up behind her. She didn't turn to face him, but heard the crunch as Ron landed on him with a flying kick. So many times he tried that before, finally he got to land it. A secret smile played across her lips showing the pride she felt in her man Ron. He had a long way to go to catch up to her in ability, but he was no longer just the distraction. He was her partner. Partner for missions, partner in love.
Partner for life! She could feel the tiny ring under her mission glove. It was their little secret for now, but here, on their now interrupted vacation she wore it openly. It's a wonder that Neil and Shego hadn't seen it and commented on it yet. It really was a small ring, but it carried with it all the meaning and love that a gaudy chunk of super-hard compacted carbon that could weigh down an arm did. It wasn't the size of the rock, but the question and answer that went with it.
She still made him promise to ask her again in front of her parents…when the time was right.
There was a horrible metal on metal crunch some several rows down from where they stood their ground, followed by flashes of distinctly green light. She certainly hoped Shego wasn't killing their attackers, but she held onto the fact they had never heard of her actually murdering anyone. Knocking out, hurting, maiming, but never killing. Of course, it was a fine distinction between trying to cause one to wink out of existence due to embarrassment and actually outright trying to kill you, but there was a sort of hesitancy in such an act like they actually didn't intend for it to work. Add the fact that it was mostly Drakken involved in that one too.
She dropped another opponent as she heard the gun go off. There was a startled yelp just behind her…
…and she saw Ron go down out of the corner of her eye.
A red haze enveloped her, filling her vision. The first man she had taken down had recovered. Now he was leveling his weapon at her. Instinct and experience took over. Her mind didn't plan the attack, it just simply came of its own volition. In the blink of an eye the man was unconscious, his helmet rolling away, the straps snapped from their anchors.
She grabbed Ron's shoulders. He moaned loudly and she realized late that at least one of the bullets had ripped through his left shoulder. His black shirt was wet, matted with his blood. She had to get him away. This was different and far more dangerous than the usual goons and henchmen she faced. These people didn't seem intent on capturing them, they seemed to want them dead. Pain or no, she had to get him away. She had to get to the car, it was her only hope. Where had Shego gone? Had she taken her usual tack and abandoned them? Well, to hell with her. Ron came first.
What was that high pitched whine?
Before she could identify the sound, four men appeared in front of her, their rifles leveled at her. Half a second stretched into eternity. She thought she could hear their fingers tightening on the triggers of the peculiar rifles they carried. One of them spoke, his voice sounding like a record being slowed by a restraining thumb.
"Kim possible, you are under arrest!"
As the man finished the word arrest, the whine grew louder and something slammed into Kim's mid-section. She rocketed straight through the picket of black-clad men, then was carried upwards, up, over the darkened waters of the Savannah River. Downriver lay the brilliant lights illuminating the bridge and the twinkling lights of the tourists and city dwellers out for a night on River Street. They were too far away to hear her screaming.
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!"
to be continued!