Ron ran through the overhanging walls of the valley and down the gentle slope of the path to the village.
Now that he was a bit closer, he could see where the river above was beginning to break through. He had to get everyone out, NOW!
"HEY! EVERYONE! YOU NEED TO LEAVE, NOW!" he shouted. Faces appeared at windows, and doors opened a crack, then closed again.
Ron pointed up at the beginnings of the waterfall. "I'M SERIOUS, PEOPLE! WE NEED TO GO!"
There was no response at all. He looked down at Rufus, who shrugged.
He pulled out the Ronnunicator, and thumbed the connect button. "Wade?" There was no reply,
only static.
'What to do, what to do...' he thought. He looked up at the wall and saw the flow of water increase a bit. The rock wouldn't last much longer. He had to ACT. But what? He didn't speak the language, and the natives probably thought he was one of the bandits.
Wait a minute... Of course, the language translator in the Ronnunicator! He pulled it out,
ran through the main menu, and found "English to Spanish". He hit the 'record' button, and spoke into the speaker.
"Attention! I am a member of Team Possible! The bandits have been defeated, and the Red Cross is waiting to evacuate this village! It is not safe here! The wall above is about to break!"
He hit the 'translate' button, then turned the volume up as loud as he could. He held the unit over his head, and his voice, now in Spanish, boomed loud above the rain. He repeated the message several times, then waited, glancing up at the beginnings of the waterfall.
Doors opened, and people with mixed expressions of suspicion and hope came out of their houses. They peppered Ron with questions, none of which he could understand. Finally, he pointed at the wall, and everyone looked. Eyes got big.
Ron pointed up the trail to the exit, and repeated the message on the Ronnunicator. It was finally enough. People left behind their belongings, and started running up the trail. Ron stood and watched, to make sure everyone got out.
He glanced at the increasingly-dangerous waterfall, and made a quick circuit of the village,
to be sure everyone was gone. He was alone. Stopping to catch his breath, he glanced down at the foot of a door to one of the houses. A little girl's doll lay there. For no reason he could think of, he picked it up, and turned toward the trail to the cleft.
Just then there was an ear-splitting roar behind and above him. He turned, and saw the rock had finally given way. The waterfall had increased in size manyfold, and it was heading in his direction. He took off for the exit, water pooling and trailing after him.
kpkpkp
Kim stood and watched as the locals streamed through the rocky opening. GJ agents had taken the bandits into custody, and Red Cross workers were helping get the people toward the trucks. She was looking for Ron, but hadn't seen him yet. As usual, he had managed to come through at the very last second.
As the last local left the opening, Kim heard a loud rumble, and the sound of water got much louder. She ran through to the top of the trail, and gasped. The rock had broken, and the water was cascading down, and already beginning to fill the valley. But where was Ron?
"KP!" she heard a familiar voice call. Squinting, she finally saw him. Because of the pouring rain and his camo poncho, he was hardly to be seen. Then she realized the water was about to catch him!
Acting on instinct, she pulled out her hair dryer grappling gun, and shot it up into a tree over Ron's head. She jumped and swung out past Ron and over the surging water. As she swung back, she grabbed Ron around the waist, and pulled him from knee-deep water. The swing ended where it began. Kim landed neatly, while Ron sprawled on the ground.
"Thanks, Kim," he gasped, the doll still in his hand.
kpkpkp
Above the river, Jinx studied the breach and the shape of the river. It had a sharp bend in it, like a 'snake' river, and the breach was at the middle of the bend. The entire river would be diverted down into that valley if she couldn't do something.
She got an idea. "Move back away from the wall. I need a clear shot at the river itself," she instructed the pilot.
"What are you going to do?" he asked, complying with the order.
"Try and divert the river away from the breach in the wall," she replied.
The pilot had been briefed on Agent Jinx and her ability, but he hadn't believed it. But he was under orders to obey agents of Team Possible, so didn't argue.
"This is fine, hold here," she said, sliding the main side hatch open. The rain whipped by the chopper's rotors slapped her in the face, but she ignored it. She aimed at the spot where the bend began, and started throwing hexes at it.
The ground at that spot began to soften, allowing the water to move in that direction. She kept up the barrage of hexes until she met the other end of the bend. The water continued to follow the path of least resistance, and joined itself. The amount of water in the bend lessened, and she threw hexes at the ground until it pushed itself up and against where the breach was. The river carved out a new course in the softened rock, and the bend filled with sand until there was no more water in it. The danger was over.
Jinx closed the hatch, and exchanged a high five with the pilot. Then she settled in the copilot's seat again as they flew back to the waiting Red Cross trucks.
kpkpkp
Ron, with Kim by his side, saw the waterfall end, and they knew what had happened. They turned and followed the line of locals, GJ agents, captured bandits, and Red Cross personnel. Ron worked his way up the line, holding up the doll. Finally a little girl crying on Momma's shoulder held out her hands. Ron gave it to her, and received a smile of thanks from both her and her mother.
Ron stood and watched them move on, that goofy grin on his face. Kim squeezed his hand,
and kissed him on the cheek. "That's my man," she said, softly.
kpkpkp
They met up with Jinx, and several hours later found themselves showered, dry, and on the way home in a GJ jet. They spent the trip asleep.
kpkpkp
Back in Middleton, it was 2 AM on Saturday, and less-than-friendly people were wide awake. Sir Monty Fiske stood by the bicycle racks at Middleton High School, and studied the darkened building. Six monkey ninjas were by his side. In his hand was a bag containing the statue. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for; Team Possible to be out of town so he could work unhindered.
"Come, my monkey minions, and we can have this trap set in short order," he said, and leapt for a tree limb. He was followed by his loyal ninjas, and they ended on the roof. He had studied blueprints of the school, and had a good spot picked out to set up the statue.
Opening a skylight, they jumped down and found themselves in the darkened corridor. Lockers were on the walls, the pattern broken occasionally by a door or water fountain or bulletin board.
Fiske got his bearings and went to a little-used utility room right across from the main inside entrance to the gym. Fiske didn't know it, but it was the same room Ron had been locked in for a weekend two years earlier.
In a far corner he opened the bag and pulled out the statue. He sat it down in a corner, pulled out a compass and oriented the statue by it. He spoke some words in a very old language, and the eyes of the monkeys on the statue suddenly began to glow. He grinned. It was working!
He spoke some more, and suddenly there was a flash from the large jewel the monkeys were holding, and it began to glow a soft pink. The trap was set!
He looked around to discover himself alone. The magic had been too much for the monkey ninjas, and they had fled. He knew they would wait for him outside.
He draped a black cloth over the statue, so it wouldn't be seen easily, and left the room.
He retraced his steps and went back up through the skylight, closing it behind him. A moment later he landed beside the bicycle racks, where he found, as expected, his ninjas.
"The trap is set! Now it's only a matter of time before we have a new ally! Let us return to the hotel, and see how things develop," he said, and they slipped away into the night.