First off, let me apologize for the horrendous amount of time it's taken me to update this story (2+ months... Jesus Christ!), I just relocated from Mendocino County to the San Francisco East Bay to pursue a job working with a much larger police department. These last two months have been torn between eighty-hour-a-week work shifts, and traveling six hours round-trip once a week to help get settled into my new department. Bottom line; I'm now settled in, working less hours (But getting more money), and slowly getting back into the swing of writing.

With that said... some reader responses:

Matri: Where'd I get the idea for the Bonnie situation? Let's just say it's based on a true story... I was Ron... no further comment.

noveler00: Ron is going to have some regrets over that prank, he's also going to run into some trouble next chapter because of it.

Godhand's Number: I'm familiar with the standard law enforcement Explorer programs that many departments sponsor... rest assured; The Middleton PD's Cadet Program is not going to be like the Boy Scouts... you'll see what I mean in the next few chapters.

Daft Strangus: So what, cops can't be heroes too?

mattb3671: Done...

And for those of you who are still reading this story: thanks for your patience, and enjoy the show...

Chapter Three

- Middleton High School -
(Tuesday)

It's funny how the tides of teenage gossip can sometimes switch direction literally overnight. What yesterday was considered a hot-topic, is today nothing more than old news…

On Monday morning the only thing worth talking about in the halls of Middleton High involved Kim Possible and her recent fall from "teen-hero" status. Such was made painfully clear to Kim herself as she walked those very halls and had to endure the penetrating stares and covert whispers of her fellow classmates.

But life -or more specifically, high school gossip- has an odd habit of shifting at the drop of a hat, and when she entered those very same halls Tuesday morning, Kim found that things had seemingly returned to normal… well, for her at least.

That morning all anyone seemed to be talking about was what had happened to Bonnie the day before. Just in the short time it took Kim to reach her locker, she had overheard rumors ranging from the humorous, to the downright bizarre. It seemed like the only thing any of them had in common was Ron and Bonnie's involvement.

Despite the overwhelming sense of relief Kim felt from her peers' change of venue in hallway gossip, she couldn't seem to fight off a nagging feeling of guilt and even pity for the brunette teen. While over ninety-eight percent of her mind was telling her that Ron's prank was completely justified and appropriate, there was still that two percent that kept asking the same question.

'Was it really?'

As the day wore on and the rumor-mill continued to turn out fresh lies, that two percent began to grow. Even Ron seemed to be a bit disturbed by the turn of events. This was evident in the fact that he seemed to skip most of the gloating that was customary to his personality in favor of a more subdued and even timid attitude.

By the end of the day the thought of what happened to Bonnie, coupled with her noticeable absence at cheer practice, was wearing so heavily on Kim that she completely forgot about her scheduled interview with Chief Davis. Fortunately Ron reminded her during a break in practice.

"You want me to go with?" he offered as they rested on the gym bleachers.

"Nah," Kim replied after a moment of thought. "He just wanted to talk to me today."

"Oh…" Ron said in a slightly dejected tone.

"Don't worry," she reassured her friend. "We're a team remember? They either take both of us, or it's an early retirement for Team Possible."

"Thanks KP," Ron smiled.

"No big."

---

- Middleton Police Department –

Since she didn't want to make a bad first-impression by being late to her interview, Kim made sure to wrap-up practice at exactly four o'clock so she would have plenty of time to walk to the police station from school. With Bonnie still nowhere to be found, she didn't get any arguments from the squad and was on her way out the door five minutes later.

Since the station was only a quarter-mile from school she made much better time than she had expected and walked through the front door of the Middleton Police Department at 4:20pm.

Even though she and Ron had handled more than a few missions that required the help of the Middleton Police, Kim had never actually been inside the police station. From the outside, it was nothing more than a simple one-story building nestled on the leg of a small business complex. There was a small parking lot at the front of the building that wrapped around to the back, which was where Kim surmised they parked their patrol cars since she could see none out front.

As she walked through the front door into the lobby, Kim realized that it wasn't as intimidating as she had expected a police station to be. On TV, the front lobby of a police station always seemed to be barren and uninviting; with a large oak desk in the center of a waxed-tile floor and a gruff-looking desk sergeant glaring down at whoever walked through the front door.

In reality, however, the front lobby of the Middleton Police Department looked more like the lobby in a doctor's office… only without the year-old People magazines. There were about a half-dozen chairs lined against the window facing a chest-level counter that separated the civilians who came in from the officers on the other side.

Behind the counter was a bookshelf containing what Kim could only guess were law-related publications, an open door that appeared to lead into the back of the station, and a standard office-style wooden desk behind which sat a young woman in a light-colored skirt and blouse who seemed to be more interested in her game of internet poker than intimidating anyone who entered the building.

The only way Kim was even sure she had the right place was from a series of police-related photos and posters hanging on the walls. Most notable among them was a large framed picture with the title Law Enforcement Code of Ethics. Below it was enscribed:

As a Law Enforcement Officer, my fundamental duty is to service mankind; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the Constitutional rights of all men to liberty, equality and justice.

I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all; maintain courageous calm in the face of danger, scorn or ridicule; develop self-restraint; and be constantly mindful of the welfare of others. Honest in thought and deed both in my personal and official life, I will be exemplary in obeying the laws of the land and the regulations of my Department. Whatever I see or hear of a confidential nature or is confided to me in my official capacity will be kept ever secret unless revelation is necessary in the performance of my duties.

I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, animosities or friendships to influence my decisions. With no compromise for crime and with relentless prosecution of criminals, I will enforce the laws courteously and appropriately without fear or favor, malice or ill will, never employing unnecessary force or violence and never accepting gratuities.

I recognize the badge of my office as a symbol of public faith, and I accept it as a public trust to be held so long as I am true to the ethics of police service. I will constantly strive to achieve these objectives and ideals, dedicating myself before God to my chosen profession... law enforcement.

"Can I help you?" A female voice asked.

Looking away from the picture, Kim saw the woman behind the desk looking over at her. "Hi," she greeted. "My name's Kim Possible, I'm here to meet with Chief Davis."

"Oh yeah," the woman replied cheerfully. "He said you were coming by." She stood up from her desk and walked to the counter. "My name's Cathy, I'm the Assistant to the Chief."

"Nice to meet you Cathy," Kim smiled, shaking the woman's hand. "Sorry if I'm too early."

"That's no problem. Unfortunately the Chief had a last minute Town Council meeting to go to, so he probably won't be back today, but our Cadet Lieutenant is on his way in to meet with you."

As if on cue, Kim heard a door somewhere in the back of the station open and close and the sound of heavy footsteps and creaking leather coming toward them.

"25-Q-5, copy your MDC traffic; 10-7S." The sound of the police dispatcher drifted through the door as a surprisingly familiar face entered the room.

Kim knew she had seen the Lieutenant before… but not as a cop. He was slightly over six feet tall, had a strong, but not overly muscular build with dark-brown hair, which he wore combed forward like Ron's, only shorter.

After a few seconds Kim finally remembered where she knew the guy from; he was a senior at Middleton High. She vaguely remembered his first name was Peter, but she wasn't sure of the last.

"Here you go Cathy," he announced, walking over and dropping a small stack of paperwork on the woman's desk. "The DA is refusing to file on Ruiz's 488."

"No surprise there," Cathy grumbled, walking back to her desk and tossing the paperwork next to her in-box. "You get that meth to the lab like Hobble wanted?"

"Most of it…" he joked, sitting on the edge of the desk and leaning back against the wall.

"Good," Cathy replied before gesturing toward Kim. "One of our new Cadets is here. The Chief wanted you to give her the rundown and figure out when she and her partner can start working."

"She's our new cadet?" the teen asked, looking from Kim to Cathy in surprised disbelief.

"Her and her partner," Cathy replied with a grin.

"Well I'll be damned," he chuckled, walking over to the counter. "Name's Peter Haas," he greeted, enthusiastically pumping her hand. "I'm the Cadet Lieutenant." Then with a slight smirk, he added, "I'm also your new boss."

---

Following Peter into the back of the station, Kim found that the rest of the Middleton Police Department was just as ordinary and un-intimidating as the front office had been. The door that Peter had first walked through to get into the front office led to an L shaped hallway, which then led to the rest of the station.

To the right, Haas informed her, was the backdoor, the booking room, and the computer room. To the left, which was the direction he led her, was the Chief's office, a bathroom, a kitchen/break room which had a big screen TV and a large oak table covered with various magazines and newspapers, a closed door labeled Equipment, a small co-ed locker room, and a small room Peter informed her was the patrol office as he entered it.

The patrol office had three desks lining the front and back wall, and a file cabinet with various names printed on each drawer. There was also a large whiteboard against the front wall, which was divided into three sections labeled Beat Info, BOLO/Ofc. Safety, and Jokes/Misc.

Each of the three desks had a computer in front of it and there was a uniformed police officer that Kim guessed to be in his mid-twenties sitting at the corner desk typing up a report of some kind.

"Get off the porn Ruiz," Peter teased as he gestured for Kim to take a seat and sat down across from the other officer.

"You're confusing me with you again bro," Ruiz shot back in a lightly accented voice.

"Hey," Peter said, reaching over and tapping him on the back. "Meet our new Cadet."

Ruiz spun around in his chair and, seeing who was sitting across the room from him, quickly did a double take. "No way… is that who I think it is?"

"Sure is," Peter said, grinning like a guy who was showing off his new sports car.

"Dude that's impossible," Ruiz said, turning his gaze toward Kim. "I thought you were working for Global Justice or something?"

"Actually, it's Kim Possible," Kim said proudly. "And I don't work for Global Justice anymore."

"Never did," Peter corrected. "Weren't you mostly freelancing until the UN shut you down?"

"Yeah," Kim replied with a detectable level of resentment.

"Oh well, local's better than federal anyway," Ruiz noted as he shook Kim's hand. "I'm Officer Ruiz Segovia, nice to be working with you."

"Thanks, same here," she replied.

"Ruiz is one of our swing-shift officers," Peter explained. "There's always two beat officers on duty during day, swing, and graveyard. The other beat officer on swing is David Brown. He's on a call right now, but you'll meet him eventually."

"Um, I know this is a ferociously dumb question to be asking," Kim said nervously. "But I take it I got the job, right?"

"If you want it."

"And my friend Ron?"

"If he wants it."

"Ok…" Kim said hesitantly.

"Something wrong?" Ruiz asked.

"No," Kim assured them. "I just… didn't expect to get hired on the spot like this."

"No kidding," Peter chuckled. "Took 'em almost four months to hire me. But then, I didn't have this…" He opened the file cabinet drawer and pulled out two three-inch-thick manila folders with Global Justice insignias on them.

Glancing at the files on the desk in front of her, Kim saw that they were labeled Kimberly A. Possible and Ronald D. Stoppable. They had CONFIDENTIAL stamped across the cover in red letters.

"What are these?" Kim asked, eyeing the top folder with her name on it.

"Global Justice Personnel files," Peter informed her. "Those things told us more about you two than any interview could have. You can take a look if you want, it's a bit creepy how detailed they are."

Creepy, as it turned out, was an understatement. Just the first page of the report was more than Kim was comfortable reading. It started off with the normal info…

Name – Kimberly Ann Possible
DOB – 01/17/1988
Age – 15
Sex - Female

Then it started getting a bit invasive, with family information like…

Parents – Dr.'s James Timothy Possible (43) and Andrea Kathryn Possible (42)
Siblings – James Michael Possible (10) and Timothy Edward Possible (10) Twins
Marital Status – Single

Finally there were several things that made her downright uncomfortable to see written on paper…

Boyfriend – Ronald D. Stoppable Unverified
Sexual Status – Virgin Unverified
Vices – See Pg. 3

"This is just available for anyone to look at?" Kim gasped.

"Not everyone," Ruiz reassured her. "That's for law enforcement and government only."

"And it's only released with the authorization of the GJ Director," Peter added.

"It's still a bit more than I want someone reading," Kim muttered bitterly.

"Nothing's a secret in this business Kim," Peter explained. "No info is beyond our grasp if we know how and where to get it."

"True that," said Ruiz.

"So," Peter said, leaning back in his chair. "Assuming we haven't scared you away already; do you and Stoppable want the job?"

"Yeah, sure," Kim nodded.

"Yes Sir?" Peter asked.

"Yes sir," Kim corrected.

"No, did you say 'yes sir'?" Peter asked, giving her a scrutinizing glare.

"I think she said 'yeah, sure'," Ruiz commented with a small grin.

"Well, I said 'yeah sure'," Kim explained nervously. "But that's just because…" She trailed off as Ruiz and Peter began laughing and gave each other a high-five. "I don't get it." Kim sighed.

"You've never seen Super Troopers?" Ruiz asked with a chuckle.

Kim shook her head.

"You poor depraved girl," he said, shaking his head with pity. "You wanna be a cop you gotta love Super Troopers."

"That is a fact," Peter affirmed. "But all joking aside, do you actually know what this Cadet Program is all about?"

"I've got a pretty good idea from what I read on the application," Kim answered. "We serve as support for the patrol officers and provide auxiliary assistance to the general public when needed, right?"

Peter and Ruiz both looked at each other and shrugged.

"Uh… sure," Peter replied hesitantly. "I guess that's kinda what I do, right Sego?"

"Pfft," Ruiz scoffed. "Hell if I know bro. Seems like you get to do more than me most of the time."

"Officially that's what Cadets do," Peter said, turning back to Kim. "You'll figure out all the specifics once you hit the street." He got up from his chair and once again offered Kim his hand. "Welcome to the Middleton Police Department… Cadet Possible."