Chapter III: Starting the Party

The cold metal steps of the fire escape stung Ron's feet. In his haste to escape Bonnie's office, he forgot one simple thing: He forgot his shoes. A hindsight that didn't bode well with him.

He had barely made it out of the office when the two armed men turned towards it. Talk about close calls. Ron heard and felt his heart pound as he ran up the steps to the thirty first floor, still grumbling at the touch of the cold floor on his soles. Opening the door slightly, he watched men carrying equipment towards a room. He closed the door before he was seen and went up the next level.

At the 32nd floor, Ron had his Beretta ready as he opened the door. He checked if anyone was there. The floor was being renovated and seemed clear, actually aside from a few wooden frames the floor seemed clear. But Ron, with his training knew that thinking it was clear and knowing it was clear were two different things.

He still had his Beretta up, ready to face unwanted guests, as he quickly made his way towards a workbench. To his relief there was a phone. Picking it up, his relief turned to dismay when the found out the line was dead.

"Shit!" he slammed the receiver and cringed, praying that no one had heard him. But no one came. Still pointing the gun at the emergency exit, he cursed. "goddammit son of a bitch! Think Ron, think!" If he had his Ronmunicator he could call Wade for help. The problem was, it was in his bag, in Nathan's Limo.

Ron's training took away his impulsiveness, some of it actually. He knew he was outnumbered and outgunned. If he had charged out trying to be a hero he'd be dead and probably Tara and Bonnie.

"Bonnie," Ron whispered in worry. He hoped that in her years in corporate life taught her when to be prudent.

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It took all of Bonnie's self control, and Tara's arm gripping hers, not to charge and slap the leader silly. Thinking about it, it wouldn't have been a good idea. Most of the men were packing MP5s and where shooting to heard them. How degrading! Were they a bunch of cattle to them?

Looking at the crowd, she didn't find Ron anywhere, which was a good sign or not depending on how he would react in a situation like this. Bonnie sighed as she shook her head. She was more worried about Ron rather than herself. She must really like him to do that. And when she sees him again she would let him know how worried she was by giving him a piece of her mind.

But she sighed. She'd rather give him her heart. Bonnie groaned. What was happening to her? Why was she falling for the last person in the world she would associate with?

"Ladies and gentlemen," the leader of the terrorists spoke. After a few moments, everyone was calm enough to pay attention. "Ladies and gentlemen. Due to the Nakasumi Corporation's legacy of success around the world, you're about to have a lesson about real use of power." That voice! Bonnie looked at the short man in shock. She knew that voice, the heavy accent. Sure he was no longer wearing that silly executioner's mask but it was him all the same. "You are about to be witnesses. Where is Mr. Takagi?"

Bonnie gave a sidelong glance to her boss, Mr. Takagi. Takagi was a man in his fifties, standing tall and proud like a Samurai warrior. All Japanese businessmen were taught this type of discipline. And above all, they were known for their loyalty.

"Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi," the small man said as he walked around the people. "Born: Kyoto 1947. Scholarship to University of California, 1965," he looked around, searching for Takagi. "Law degree, Stanford, 1972. MBA, Harvard 1980. President, Nakasumi Trading. Vice-Chairman, Nakasumi trading group…."

"Enough!" Mr. Takagi stepped forward, much to the small man's delight.

"And father of five," the small man smiled and shook the man's hand. "Nice to meet you," with a nod to his men, Mr. Takagi was escorted towards the elevator.

What was going on? Bonnie was confused. Mr. Takagi was their boss and she knew that the man knew about company secrets. But why was that short man here? Was this how it was done?

"What's wrong?" Tara asked as she noticed Bonnie's confused expression. "What's happening?"

"I know that man," Bonnie whispered back peaking Tara's interest.

"Who is he?" Tara watched as their boss entered the elevator with the leader of the group that held them hostage.

"His name is Professor Dementor," Bonnie almost growled. And how she knew his name was one of the few reasons why she didn't like Kim Possible very much.

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Ron Stoppable went back to the emergency stairs and climbed the next floor. One of the things a good soldier needed was information. But he wasn't technically a soldier and he knew jack shit. A sudden feeling of dread entered his mind. He was entering unknown territory.

Reaching the 33rd floor, he opened the door slightly and saw that it was filled with computers. A large mainframe sat near the exit and numerous terminals were scattered throughout the room. Ron was wishing that he had his Ronmunicator. Wade was the best at data gathering and he really needed his input and his computers.

Sighing, Ron knew that he was really alone. But it didn't hurt to dream. "32nd construction, 33rd computers…" Ron ran up the stairs, bypassing the 34th and reached the 35th. "Damn!" Ron said in awe. "I misjudged the damn thing by two floors." Opening the door, he saw three men rolling large cases from the elevator. As they rolled by, Ron caught a glimpse and his eyes widened in shock.

"Guided missiles?" Ron closed the door gently and walked back down. Ron was thankful that he was barefoot since he was quiet on the steel steps. When he reached the 34th floor, he cautiously opened the door and immediately heard voices. Looking in what seemed to be a conference room, Ron saw a Japanese man arguing with a rather short individual. Looking around, Ron guessed that this was the executive's floor.

The floor was filled with models from building projects they had for the different offices of Nakasumi Industries around the world. As he crept under the tables, one project caught his attention. Nakasumi Middleton. Suddenly, images of Bonnie in Middleton entered his mind. How it would be nice to have her near.

"Stop it Stoppable," Ron ordered his mind. This was not the time to dream. He was not even sure how his current relationship was going. No, scratch that. He knew where he stood with Kim or rather where Kim stood. She was standing on him.

Ron shook his head. He needed to keep his mind on the game and things were not that good. He hid underneath one of the tables, it was close enough to eavesdrop and far enough not to be seen directly. But the couldn't hear well since the conference room's doors were closed. He needed to get closer

"What the hell's going on?" Ron asked as he watched the proceedings. This truly does not bode well.

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"You wanted my codes?" Mr. Takagi said to a rather short man.. "Even if you get it, the people in Japan will immediately find out and the codes will be changed. You cannot use the information to blackmail the board members."

"Mr. Takagi," the short man said. "We do not want the codes for the mainframe. We simply wanted the codekey to open the vault where there are 640 million dollars in negotiablebearer bonds. And the computer controls the vault." Mr. Takagi frowned in confusion.

"Money?" he asked, looking at him like he was crazy. "What kind of terrorists are you?" the short man chuckled.

"Who said we were terrorists?"

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Ron was close enough to hear them, the problem was he was also close to be seen if he wasn't careful.

"We need the codekey," Ron blinked in surprise. He knew that voice! He couldn't place the voice to a name nor a face since Mr. Takagi was blocking the view.

"It would do you no good," he heard Mr. Takagi said. Ron knew Takagi. He was extremely loyal to Mr. Nakasumi. And extremely stubborn too. Somehow he felt that this was not going to end well. "The codekey is only the first safeguard in the vault. You'll have to deal with the other six."

"Mr. Takagi, please don't make it difficult," the man said. "You have three seconds to tell me the code. One…"

"I don't know the code," Mr. Takagi was adamant. "You'll just have to kill me." Ron heard the man sigh.

"Very well then," a single shot rang throughout the room and the glass door of the conference room was suddenly decorated with Mr. Takagi's brains. In Ron's surprise, he bumped into the table creating a sounding thunk.

"Holy shit," Ron said and moved.

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The people in the conference room heard the thunk and went out to investigate. Checking the other doors they found nothing and when they checked one door it was locked.

"Nothing," the man named Karl said. Professor Dementor walked out of the conference room all business.

"See to the body," he ordered. "Tell Marco to set the charges." With a nod, they were gone, leaving only Dementor and the young man who hacked into the computers earlier. "Now, Theo. You can break the locks?" Theo smiled in pride.

"You didn't bring me here for my charming personality," with that Dementor and Theo went to the 31st floor to see to the vault. "So, my friend. How are we going to get in?"

"The code I could hack into 30 minutes the most. Then 2 hours maybe 2 and a half to cut to the remaining five. It's the 7th that's the killer.

""I'm sorry," Dementor wasn't paying attention as his focus was momentarily diverted to the vault in question.

"The 7th lock uses an electromagnetic lock which we could not cut locally," Theo explained. But Dementor merely smiled and walked back to the hostages in the other part of the floor.

"Trust me," he said. Theo did just that and proceeded to work.

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Ron Stoppable was grateful that the men didn't force the locked door open. He was tense for a few moments and when he heard nothing, proceeded to the 32nd floor. When he saw that it was clear, Ron's knees gave and he fell to the floor.

Ron felt sick. In all of his years as a Police Officer he had never seen a murder took place right in front of him. Actually, he had never seen even a murder scene. Middleton never had a murder in about twenty years. Sure he had seen dead bodies before but still they made him squeamish.

Ron was cold. He felt chilled after seeing the murder of Mr. Takagi.

"Why the fuck didn't you do something Ron?" Ron asked himself, trying to make sense of it all. But after he questioned himself he knew the answer. "Because you'd get killed, asshole. Damn!" Ron struck his fist on the floor. "What am I going to do?" Ron got up, his legs still shaking. Takagi was dead but the others were still alive. He had sworn to protect the innocent. How could he do his job if he was scared as hell?

Maybe they were right. Maybe he was a loser. Maybe he was just a hindrance rather than being helpful. Too many maybes.

Ron took a deep breath and expelled it in one huff. No! No self-doubting! He was alone yes but he was free. He was the only one those poor souls at the 30th got. But still he needed help.

He looked up in inspiration, seeking help from the powers above. Suddenly, his eyes widened in hope. He was inspired all right but by another source. Ron saw a fire sprinkler. Smiling, Ron saw a fire alarm on the wall and pulled it. Sometimes, all you had to do was look up.

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The guard at the lobby noticed that the fire alarms in the 32nd floor were activated. By who or what he did not know. He immediately deactivated the alarms and informed Professor Dementor about their little problem.

He took it quite well.

"Who in hell activated the alarms!" he shouted at the top of his voice, making most of the people outside the office cringe in fear. But one of the people smiled at the man's ire. "Take care of it."

"Smart," Bonnie smiled, figuring out who pulled the alarm. "Now that's thinking on his feet."

"Do you think he's got a chance?" Tara whispered making Bonnie turn to face her with a mischievous smile.

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Ron saw from the window the column of fire trucks heading towards the Nakasumi Plaza.

"Boo-yah!" he cheered. "Score one for the Ron-man." But his moment of delight was short lived when he saw the fire trucks turn off their sirens and turn around. "No!" Ron pounded the glass in frustration. What had happened? What did those bastards do?

Suddenly, the lights in the entire floor lit. Ron reacted immediately and hid behind one of the construction tables that held an electric saw. Just his luck. His brilliant plan, to him anyway, was thwarted and they sent someone to do him in. He checked the safety of his Beretta and waited. Who ever it was he was being cautious.

"Help will not arrive, my friend," the voice taunted making Ron sigh. Well, there goes that plan. "Why not give up now and make it easier." How the hell did they call off the Calvary? "It is simple to tell them that the system has a glitch." Why was this man telling him this? Was there some universal bad guy handbook that instructs them to tell your enemies how you thwarted them?

For the likes of him, he couldn't figure out why he always came across a villain that brags about their plans It was like their giving them a chance to stop them. Ron sighed and looked at the electric saw. He was alone and he needed to trust his luck would hold.

The gunman heard the whine of the electric saw and followed the sound to its source. The man turned a corner only to find the place empty, only the dying whirl of the electric saw met him. Suddenly, the man felt the cold steel of a barrel on the side of his head and mentally cursed himself for his folly.

"Dude. That was way too obvious," Ron said as he kept the gun at the man's head. "Drop the gun." But the man suddenly moved to grab Ron's gun away from him. Ron, knowing that they always resisted was expecting the move. He did not expect, however, was the speed the man had.

Ron was barely able to dodge the fist what the man unleashed. Thankful for his training at Yamanuchi, he dodged the other attacks, infuriating the man with his monkey kung fu.

"Why do you guys always do it the hard way?" he asked. The man, in a sudden fit or rage, charged at him with all his speed. Unprepared for the onslaught, Ron was tackled through one of the walls.

Ron immediately got up and tried to counter the man's moves. The man was so angry that the tried to overpower his opponent. Ron did his best to stop the man. He first tripped the man causing him to stumble. When he did, Ron guided the falling man through another wall.

When Ron was about to grab the man, he took Ron by surprise and grabbed Ron by the waist and charged blindly through the fire exit. Both men came tumbling down the stairway and a sickening crack was heard. For a moment, no one moved. It took a few moments to compose himself and the victor slowly sat up and groaned in agony.

It was not because he was wounded. The fight gave him a few cuts with dripped onto his white undershirt. His agony came from the fact, when he checked the unmoving man's neck for a pulse, that he had inadvertently killed a man.

"FUCK!" Ron Stoppable said as he pounded his head on the wall behind him. Ron didn't like to have the blood of others in his hands. He was even remorseful when he hurt someone. He knew that it needed to be done but still it felt wrong. He didn't want anyone to die. It hurt him more that the man was killed by his own hands, even though it was an accident.

Ron tried to compose himself, trying to remember why he was doing this. It didn't take him long to remember. He was doing it to save the lives of the people downstairs. He was doing it to save his friends.

He was doing it to save Bonnie.

That thought alone, however foreign it was, fueled his desire to protect. Sighing, Ron kneeled and checked the man for clues. Opening the bag that was slung over the man's shoulder, he found two magazines of the MP5 that he had. He also found a cigarette lighter and a hand radio.

"Sorry Pal," Ron said as he frisked the man, checking his clothes and finding his wallet. The wallet was surprisingly empty aside from a driver's license, which he doubted was real.

Ron shook his head and took a deep breath. Ron was alone, he needed to get reinforcements to the site. But first things first. He needed to do a little psychological warfare.

It wasn't easy but Ron had dragged the man to the elevator on a chair. Before attempting to carry the corpse, Ron removed the man's shoes. He won't be needing it anymore. Unfortunately, Ron found out something about the man he didn't like.

"About a million terrorists in the world and I have to kill one who has feet smaller than my sister's," Ron said as he tossed the shoe aside. His feet weren't a burden to him then but he never realized that they would be a problem. As he tossed the shoes aside, he saw a small table filled with party favors.

This gave Ron an idea.

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Professor was in front of the hostages as he ate from one of the buffet plates. Bonnie glared at the man but as far as he was concerned, she was another face in the crowd.

"You're Mr. Takagi thought that he could be difficult so he won't be joining us for the rest of your entire life," this came to a shock to Bonnie. Mr. Takagi was dead? What would happen to them now? "You can get out of here in two ways. You can walk out, or you could be carried out. Now there's no need for this to be difficult…" his voice drowned out of Bonnie's hearing, too shocked to function anymore. But she heard something else, the chime of the elevator.

The guard nearest the elevator turned around as the doors opened and his eyes widened at the sight. One of his comrades was sitting in the middle of the car, dead and wearing a Santa's hat. One of the ladies noticed this and screamed, alerting everyone.

"Professor!" the guard said. Dementor quickly came to the elevator and was shocked to see one of his own dead. However, he blinked when he noticed something written on the man's shirt.

"I know have a machinegun," Dementor read and stretched the shirt downward. "Ho-ho-ho. P.S. Boo-yah!" Dementor frowned in thought. Who could have done this?

"Do you think it's a security guard we missed?" the man behind Dementor said.

"With my full attention to detail, no. This is something else."

"What are we going to do, Professor Dementor," the man asked.

"Call Karl down and tell him his brother is dead," Dementor left the elevator. Not knowing that the person who did the man in was on his belly on the elevator car's roof, watching their every move.

"Dementor," Ron mouthed finally recognizing the man. Now he really needed backup. Ron may have started something he could not finish. But damn it to hell, he'll see it through.

(End of 3)

A/n: You saw that coming a mile away. Admit it, you even read the famous quote out loud. Anyway, I need your help. My other selves and I were debating on whether to put Kim in this as an active participant. Though positive or negative I don't know. It's up to you guys. If the story's fine as it is, I'll keep it Ron/Bon. I must warn you, this will not turn out as a Ron/Kim what ever the suggestions of the readers are. Anyway, thanks for reviewing.