He would have liked to scream, stamp his feet, and slam something. Nope, nothing appropriate to do. Best to take his mind off it. Poor Kim. And poor Shego, too. Stupid girls, the both of 'em.
"------------------------------------------------------"
"They were using the mountains to lose us..." Dr. Director thought out loud, "That doesn't mean their destination is in that area."
"Nope" Wade agreed curtly, glancing at a satellite image to look for the tell-tale infra-red signature. He had recorded that signature, and was in the process of scripting the code that would analyze any image for it.
"... And we have no idea what their destination might be. But we may surmise – based on the fact that they've stolen a digging machine – that they intend to dig someplace where they can do damage. The San Andreas fault, perhaps – though there are lots of other faults... and to get to San Andreas, they'll have to cross open desert. No place to hide."
"Nope."
"Thank you for your input, Mr. Load. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Yep" Wade said, fingers still flying at his keyboard.
"They can only use the Rockies to go north-south. Once they leave the mountains, the Air Traffic Control Radars will pick them up. The OPT has no stealth technology."
"Nope."
It was easy to see how the boy could befriend computers – apparently having a binary, on/off, yes/no mind-set was natural for him. Well, he had his place. And she had hers.
"ATC radars cover the whole country?"
"Yep."
"Could I see a map of the United... make it, this whole hemisphere, with the ATC radars and their effective ranges overlaid?"
"Yep." One of Wade's hands moved to another keyboard slowly, by feel. Then he glanced over at it, entered a dozen commands, and went back to what he was doing. The computer took a while to catch up.
The ATC radars over the U.S. left very few holes in between them, most places, no holes at all. What holes did exist seemed to be mostly in the deserts west of the Rockies. Still, there was no possible way to get from one hole to the next without showing up on something, somewhere. Canada had fewer radars, but still, it would be had to get anywhere without being noticed. Mexico, on the other hand, was devoid of any overlays at all.
"Does Mexico not have any ATC radar facilities? Wade?" she asked.
"Nope – uh, yes, actually they do, but they're not on the international system. Their data is incompatible with it. So they don't share..." One could almost see the lightbulb over the boy's head.
But the Director beat him to it - "... and we can't legally follow them there with military or government aircraft, anyway, can we... international incident and all."
"Damn!" Wade said.
"Excuse me, Mr. Load?"
It's hard being a boy genius. Genius or not, it's still the "boy" part that people see. "I mean, Gosh! Of course! They'll be following the Rocky Mountain chain down to Mexico! Once they're there, we can't see 'em, we can't follow 'em... all they would have to do is buy off a few Mexican Air Traffic Controllers and no one will ever know where they land! I'm sorry, Dr. Director... I was kind of caught up in this idea I had, and -"
The Director smiled down at him, "Don't worry about it, Wade. Actually, it's good to know that I'm still good for something, at my advanced age" she joked. Working with a ten-year-old did make her feel kind of ancient. "But I don't believe Mexico is their destination. Not enough money to be made there. They're after bigger fish. And there's no ATC over the ocean, either. I believe they'll head west across the Pacific. The question is: to where?" She tapped her fingers and adjusted her eyepatch as she thought. Where would they go. Where there's lots of money to extort. Where a digging-machine would be a threat... "Wade? Mr. Load, I mean – get Shego on the line. I need someone who can think like a villain."
"------------------------------------------------------"
Monique handed her one of the wireless head-sets, "Call for you" she said simply. Shego broke out her angry reverie and looked up at the black girl's face, expecting to see... well, something, though she wasn't quite sure what. But Monique was only looking at her a little impatiently as she held out the head-set. She took it and put it on.
"Hello?" Shego's unfamiliarity with the new communication gear showed. Had been comfortable with it, she probably would have said What the hell do YOU want? Such was her mood.
"Shego – Betty here. I need a villain's advice on something. We think that the OPT is heading for -"
"Someone should have told you, Dr. Director – I quit. I've had it with... all of you. I'm getting off this damn plane the minute it lands somewhere – I don't care where. So don't expect any help from me."
The Director thought, Ah, trouble in paradise... That's the problem with couples working together... Sometimes it's a good thing, but sometimes you have to deal with their quarrels. I wasn't really expecting this from Kim and Shego though... they seemed like a perfect match, in their dramatically disparate way...
But this wasn't the time to argue, nor did the Director have time to play Relationship Counselor. "Very well, Shego – you're out, you're off, you quit. Now, as I recall, you still owe me for showing you the Belarus Defense. Do you remember that?"
Shego did. It had allowed her to trade three pawns for a second Queen. She'd still lost the game – Betty was good – but it had taken her an extra twenty minutes to do it, at least. "Fine. Call in your favor. Just remember you only have two left, now, right?"
"I'll write you a receipt. Now, as I was saying; whomever has taken the OPT will be heading west over the Pacific. What sorts of places would a villain be likely to extort money west CONUS?"
"That's pretty much half of the world, Betty..." Shego replied sarcastically.
"I'm aware of that. But some places are more attractive than others, especially to someone who can dig deep tunnels. I shouldn't really have to tell you this, yes?"
"Yeah. Uhm... right. Digs tunnels. Well, Hawaii is volcanic – hot lava and all that. Could do some damage there, I imagine... lots of military around, too. Weapons to steal..."
"But not much money to be extorted. The OPT is worth almost a billion dollars, Shego – the target will be an entire nation. A rich nation."
"Japan, then. Volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, land-slides... it's kind of a dangerous place."
"True – but it's also very populated and throughly protected with high-tech military toys. I find it hard to believe they'd pick on Japan. Maybe Korea, or further down to Brunei... but not Japan."
"Okay, I'll give ya that. But villains like to think about Japan – I wouldn't dismiss it so casually. Maybe they intend to use Hawaii as a base to strike from... Or – how about – blow up a volcano in Hawaii and make a tsunami that will hit Tokyo? I gotta tell ya, Betty: villains love Tokyo. Every one of 'em is a monster-movie fan. And they all have movie-star egos, too. Now that I think about it... I'd put money on Japan as the target, and Hawaii as the base of operations."
"I do believe you may be right, Shego... Monique? Have Krache start heading that way now. They have a head-start of... Wade?"
"About six hours."
"About six hours on you – but you're faster. So you should arrive..."
"About two hours."
"About two hours after they do. And Monique – give me a private channel with Shego, please."
Shego's eyes narrowed suspiciously; Kim and Dr. Director were both itinerant do-gooders... and the Director knew about Shego's condition. "Why a private channel? ... I don't like the sound of that."
"Don't you trust me?" the Director asked.
"I... I don't know who to trust anymore..."
That was what Dr. Director needed to hear. That explained it all. "Never mind the private channel, Monique. Want to tell me why you've decided to quit Team Possible and join us in our fine facilities here instead? Mind you, I look forward to our games – until you break out, anyway."
"Still got the onyx set?"
"Hasn't been touched since your last incarceration."
"I like the onyx set... they just feel so... cool..."
"Don't trust Ms. Possible either, do you..." The Director was using a familiar tactic – let the other party think they'd changed the subject – then hit them directly in the heart while they were distracted. Even if they didn't answer (and they usually didn't), it would at least get them thinking about it. Step one.
After a pause, Shego finally said, "No."
"Because she valued your life over her own?" Step two: direct to the Root Cause – ignore the consequence. People always dwell on consequences and ignore Root Causes. Normally, the Director wouldn't proceed through this game so quickly, but she knew her opponent well – Shego would respond to directness and clarity. She would know that Dr. Director had a plan for this conversation, and Shego liked things to be Planned.
"Because she did something stupid and I couldn't stop her. And she wouldn't even listen to me!"
"You'd have done the same thing in her situation." As a statement, not a question, this would be Step three: re-consideration of the guilt of the offending party.
Shego didn't reply. Good. That meant the Plan had worked.
"Well, as you wish then. Since you won't give her another chance, I'll have an agent waiting in Hawaii to escort you back here via commercial airline – budget, you know. Meanwhile I suggest you – all of you – get some sleep. It's been a long day. As for me; it's lunchtime. Mr. Dr. Director is taking me to The Wild Fork – he's on some sort of salad kick lately – I have to pretend to like it. See you tomorrow, Shego. Monique? I'm done here, you may close the connection."
"Roger, Director" Monique replied immediately, shutting off Shego's headset remotely.
As the Director had intended, Shego had been cut off – there was more she'd wanted to say... She would have liked to talk to Betty longer. Deep down, she wanted to be convinced that she'd been wrong about Kim and her motives. But that was very deep down. She took off the headset and got up to give it back to Monique in the front of the cabin. She needed to stretch her legs anyway.
After handing it to the new (apparently) Team Possible Communications Coordinator, she turned around and there was Kim, first row, window-seat next to Ron, staring up at her expressionlessly while her sidekick played with something that looked like a hand-held poker game with antennas.
Shego stared back. Kim's eyelids were still a bit puffy, her nose reddish - But her eyes were as green as ever. And she was as beautiful as ever, too, despite everything. They stared at each other in private silence for a full minute. Shego had wanted to kill her only a little while ago. Well, she was over that. But she still wanted to get away. Didn't she? They would be waiting to take her away at the airport in Hawaii, and Betty was dusting off the onyx chess-set in preparation. Shego liked the Director. She respected her. Even if they were on opposite sides of the fence – that was just how it was, how she was. She could forgive Betty for being a good-guy...
She went back to her seat and laid it back. Yes, sleep would be good about now. She yawned, stretching out her arms and legs as best she could, careful to keep her hands away from anything – she had a habit of involuntarily lighting up her plasma when she yawned deeply like that. She fell asleep within moments.
"------------------------------------------------------"
And woke up five hours later, probably because she'd felt the hour-long descent begin. Something about the change in the roar of the engines, something a pilot would notice. Everyone else was still asleep, leaned back in their seats. For lack of anything better to do, she wrapped her blanket around her and got up to go through the overhead bins, see if she could find something to wear. She worked her way to the front, quietly going through each one. Pillows, blankets, magazines... someone's backpack, a carton of bottled water...
And finally, in the front bin – right above Monique's sleeping head – a blue jumpsuit. Medium. It would have to do. She turned around intending to change in the bathroom, but there was Kim again, asleep in her chair.
Everyone was asleep; she could stare her heart out. That's what she did.
Kim looked... angelic. That was the very word that popped into Shego's mind as she stood there holding the jumpsuit, looking at her. They'd never – so far – had the chance to actually sleep together, but Shego had thought about it. A lot. Sex was one thing, love-making would be another – would have been another – but to just share a bed and sleep with Kim would be – would have been – memorable. A light sleeper, Shego knew she'd be able to stare at Kim for hours - nuzzle her hair, listen to her sleep-breath, watch her drool – anything Kim did would be beautiful to see, and Shego was looking forward to whole nights together. Had been looking forward to whole nights together...
Had been looking forward to a lot of things.
Kim had done a stupid thing. Kim had used her power over Shego to prevent her from doing anything about it. Kim had done that knowing full well how it would make Shego feel. Kim didn't care. Kim was going to control her whenever it was convenient. There was nothing Shego could do to prevent that except leave. Have nothing to do with her. Get out of her life. Go away. Maybe someday there'd be someone else she could watch sleep.
Yeah. How likely was that? She'd never felt about anyone like she'd felt about Kim Possible. Not even in fantasy. Kim was her fantasy! Kim was what made life worth... living... and, she suddenly realized, always had been, since the first time they'd met. She could still remember that fight, the first of so many. The expressions of her face, the tone of her voice... the look in her eyes. A look that sometimes said "Please can't we stop this?"
She made her way to the bathroom to change in the darkened and quiet cabin, eyes straight ahead, afraid to look anywhere else but not knowing why.
In the bright fluorescent lights of the Gulfstream's bathroom she folded up her blanket and began peeling off her bandages. Her comet powers hadn't quite healed her scratches and cuts completely, but she welcomed the pain. She could thank Kim for that, she could try to build up her hatred again. It had felt oddly good to hate the girl, because everything had been so clear and easy: leave. Get out. Get away. Everything would be all better if only she could get away. It was so obvious. Flush the whole problem away. Schllluuup!
"Since you're not going to give her another chance" Dr. Director had said. The words were echoing in her mind, alongside images of trudging through dreary airports escorted by dreary agents onto dreary airplanes to go back to her dreary cell and resume her dreary life. She would break out, of course. After a rest. When it got too dreary. Kim wasn't going to stop her, she knew that.
She did know that... She knew it! In her heart – as well as her head – there was absolutely no question.
I could give her another chance...
I could. I can... forgive her. I can forgive her for doing something stupid because she... because she... Because she loves me. Shego took a deep breath.
I forgive you, Kim. Kimmie.
Pumpkin.
And with that single-word thought, all her problems were flushed away. Schllluuup! She smiled. No one could have been more amazed than Shego herself.
"------------------------------------------------------"
She poked Ron in the ribs. Several times. Hard. Finally, she just grabbed his hair and shook his blonde head awake.
"Uhhhhhmm... What? Shego -"
Shego put her finger to her lips in a universal gesture of "be quiet", then nodded towards the empty seats on the other side. He looked at her questioningly. She rolled her eyes and made a point of looking at the girl next to him, then at Ron again, then at the empty row of seats. He stared at her blankly for a moment as the sleep wore off, then his eyebrows rose and he turned his head slightly - "Yeah?" She couldn't help but smile as she nodded back - "Yeah." He smiled too - "Okay!"
"------------------------------------------------------"
"See anything?" Cin asked, keeping her back to the open door while Bonnie looked out.
"Water. As far as I can see. And..." she considered saying, and we're WAY up, so that's pretty far, but thought better of it, "And that's pretty far. I think we're over the ocean."
"The ocean? Which one?"
"How should I know? It's blue. Does that help?"
"Don't quit your day job, sweet-heart. Where's the sun?"
Bonnie pointed, "Uhm, that way. In front of us."
Cin drew herself a mental map, "Okay, and it's after noon, so we're going west. Probably the Pacific then. We may be in for a long ride, Bon. Okay, could you please close the door now? It's giving me the creeps just knowing you're standing there..."
Bonnie closed and re-sealed the door, and sat beside Cin at the Directional Control and Navigation console. "Gawd, I wish we had some more of those strawberries. I'm starving!"
"Try to think about something else, or it'll just get worse. Besides, if it comes down to that, we'll die of dehydration before lack of food gets to be a problem."
"Thanks, Cin. I feel so much better now." She turned to study her girlfriend, who in turn seemed to be studying the console in front of her. Cin seemed to be doing a hundred percent better now: they'd found a bright orange jumpsuit in one of the lockers, and she'd cleaned up a little with Bonnie's moistened towelettes. Since the OPT wasn't swaying and diving anymore, Cin had pretty much adjusted to the fact that they were actually airborne. Still, Bonnie was making a point of not reminding her.
Suddenly, one of the display screens in front of Cin lit up by itself, displaying the message "Battery Low – Switch to Fuel Cell Power" in blinking red letters. Battery? The only thing on was the interior lights... But they had been on quite a while. Then Cin had an idea:
"Bon? Let's fire this thing up."
Bonnie had a little trouble registering what her girlfriend had just said. They were in hiding! They were in trouble! They were not supposed to be there!
"Are you insane? Cin! We're in deep shit here! We don't-"
"What are they gonna do? Are we going to be in worse trouble for lighting this thing off? Do ya think they're gonna come scampering down the ropes to find out who's down here? Besides, maybe we'll be able to find a radio or something... some way to call for help. Or, would you rather sit here in the dark... And cold. You notice it's getting cold?"
It was getting cold. Away from the radars, the custom cargo jet hauling them was heading for thinner air in order to make more speed. Unfortunately, thin air is cold air, and cold was not something the OPT was made to deal with. It had a/c, but no heater. Bonnie considered.
"You think it would actually do any good?"
"Not really. But it's something to do, and who knows what we'll find. Beats sitting here thinking about food..."
"You had to say that" Bonnie smirked at her.
" It's my evil nature. I was actually thinking of becoming a villain, y'know. The Butch Avenger! My sleeve-less plaid shirt and jungle boots would strike fear into the hearts of -"
"Okay Cin... You can stop now. Fire it up if you want to – I can see you're loving this a little too much. Uh... you don't really have a plaid shirt, do you? That's just so... tacky..."
"Just the one. Y'know... for church."
Bonnie had to grin at that, despite herself. "I suppose I have to be the sidekick then..."
"Yeah! I was thinking you should go the corset and garter-belt route. Silver and black. Sound good?"
"Do I get a whip?" Bonnie asked, beginning to get into it. The idea of being the femme sidekick to The Butch Avenger did have a certain... appeal...
"First handcuffs, and now a whip. You are going to be SO much fun, Bon-Bon!"
"Just turn on the damn machine. And don't call me 'Bon-Bon'. Ever."
"------------------------------------------------------"
All power-generation methods generate waste heat that has to be disposed of. In the case of the OPT, intended to be surrounded by rock, the waste-heat radiators were built into the top of the aft portion of the hull. Which extended beyond the tail of the aircraft above. They lit up the infra-red spy satellites like a torch against the cool sea.
"We got 'em!" Wade shouted.
"------------------------------------------------------"