3. Preliminary Stages

On Sunday night, after Kim spelled out what Misty had proposed to her, Kim and William expressed their desires to return to work for at least the following day. Marcy would have none of it, saying that she and the other Board members insist they take another week off at the very least, to recuperate further from their recent ordeal. Marcy then could not hold back relating the excitement welling inside her at the thought of actually being a witness to the process that first brought Kim to Eastgate, and into the lives of so many people.

As the evening progressed, Mark and Misty continued their work on the phone, initiating and instructing different elements of the operation that was to take place on Tuesday night. When they had completed initial groundwork, Mark and Misty announced their intent to meet with Mayor Garello first thing in the morning to further lay out and coordinate plans with city and law enforcement agencies. Mark had already drawn up a timeline for transporting people from the initial announced meeting point of Eastgate Airport to the location where the Cross was scheduled to take place. He also laid out guidelines for the law enforcement sector not only in security measures, but what to expect during the actual event.

Late that night, Mark and Misty went to the hotel near the airport to get some much-needed rest before what would prove to be a very busy couple of days. As she lay in the bed in her room, Misty's mind went through the events of the last few days - the last month - and the years since the loss of Angelica. She also thought about the "dreams" that Kim had related to her in years past, in which she claimed to have actually held conversations with the deceased Cross Agent. Even though Misty had tried to explain them away as Kim's attempt to hold onto her dear friend - in any form, even if a recurring relationship in her subconscious - Misty couldn't lend any controvert that refuted how well each of the "dreams" fit into the situations which they surrounded. When Kim first brought the incidents to Misty, she asked her to recount as closely as she could what Angelica "told" her in those dreams. That only served to lend a further air of mystery to the incidents. To Misty, what Angelica "told" Kim sounded eerily exact, as if Angelica had actually said it herself - as if Angelica were speaking from the beyond.

As Misty drifted off to sleep, her thoughts remained in the process of rationalizing dreams; but they gravitated away from dreams of the past--

Misty now focused on a dream of the future.

Angelica's dream for the future of all Cellers.

It was a relatively quiet Monday morning for Kim and William. After breakfast, they worked on unpacking the rest of their things from the trip to Cairo. In her cleaning, Marcy had thought about the luggage near the front door, but she left them there with the thought of their coming home to unpack them, and it served as a comfort of sorts, mostly keeping her from dwelling on the worst.

After a satisfying lunch, Kim and William sat on the living room couch for a few games of backgammon, of which William surprisingly won the lion's share.

Monday, July 15th, 2019, 2:41 PM.

TFOC -33 Hours, 19 Minutes

William smiled as he reached for his four remaining pieces. Kim slid her eyes from the board to him, her brow lowered. "I think that's the fifth or sixth time you've had doubles just in this game," she said, tossing her dice cup to clatter on the board. She then picked up one of William's dice, turning it slowly in her hand. "I'm not so sure you didn't do something to these while I wasn't here."

William uttered a quick chuckle. "I didn't do anything to the dice," he said. "Remember, I was away from the house as long as you were." He reached for the die on the board, and then the one between his wife's fingers. "It's just a case of Lady Luck being with me today."

As his fingers touched to hers, Kim gave a slight tug on the die she was holding, moving their hands near her mouth. "Lady Luck, huh…" She began to place a light kiss along each of his knuckles. "Just make sure you leave a little room for Lady Kim to be with you tonight."

William grinned into Kim's eyes at this. "After that, I don't think that Lady Luck has a chance of--" William was cut short as the portable phone on the end table rang. He tipped a finger past Kim's shoulder, in the direction of the phone "--not even this person would stand a chance."

Kim burst into a giggle. "Maybe it's Lady Luck calling to take the rest of the day off," she smirked.

William now echoed the smirk. "Maybe you should talk to her," he said, motioning to the phone.

Kim laid a light pat on William's knee and turned back, leaning to reach for the phone. "Hello?"

"Kim, it's Marc," came a rather excited voice through the phone. "You have to get to a computer."

"Why, Marcy? What's up?" Kim asked, looking back to her husband with an expression of slight concern.

"Get to your computer and check out the online edition of a national newspaper," said Marcy.

Kim slowly rose from the couch, motioning William to follow. "Umm…okay. Which one?"

"Doesn't matter," Marcy replied. "USAToday…New York Times…Wall Street Journal…They all have the same ad in them."

Kim and William entered his office from the hall. Kim sat at the desk, cradling the phone against her shoulder, and gave the mouse a slight jiggle to bring the computer out of hibernation mode. When the screen came to life, she opened the system menu, clicking on the "Run" command and typing the address for the first paper Marcy mentioned into the dialogue box, then tapping the "enter" key.

The browser opened and the screen filled with the home page of the national publication. William crouched next to the chair as Kim took a quick scan of the page. "Okay, Marcy," she said, "I'm at the USAToday site…what am I looking for?"

"Go to the search box at the top and type in 'Celler'," said Marcy. Kim clicked in the box and entered as she was told. One result came up, and Kim clicked on the link. Marcy didn't need Kim to tell her when the full-page ad popped onto the screen - the slow gasp she heard through the phone was enough:

Ever Meet a Celler?

Know Any Friends Who Have?

What's a Celler?

Squash Your Skepticism

Suspend Your Disbelief

Satisfy Your Curiosity

Fly - Drive - Swim - Walk - Crawl

To

Eastgate, Pennsylvania International Airport

By Tuesday, July 16th

Because of Security Measures,

Those Arriving After 8 P.M. on Tuesday Evening

Will Be Turned Away

"I'm guessing that you're seeing it," Marcy said in a low voice.

"Seeing it…but not believing it," Kim drew out. "And you say that the same ad is in every national newspaper?"

"Every one I've looked at so far. Cheryl brought me a copy of the Wall Street Journal just after lunch and showed me the ad. I started checking other papers online…and in every one, I found the same ad. That's when I called you."

"I know what Misty meant about a Cross being viewed by other than an intended recipient," said Kim, "but I had no idea she was talking about this many. She did say it would be a 'big' place. This could bring in hundreds of people."

"Sounds like that's what she had in mind all along. This must have been what she was doing with the phone last night…calling the ad to newspapers all over the country to run the ad today."

Kim spun in the chair, turning from the screen. "I haven't heard from her all day," she said. "There's no telling what else she has in mind."

"Did you try calling the hotel?"
"Tried that early this morning…they said she had already left."

"How about Mark?" Marcy asked. "He's got a cell…he'll be easier to reach."

"Misty might be with him, too," Kim said. "I'll try him. I'll call you later if I find anything out." Kim turned back to the desk. "And thanks for letting us know about the ad."

"Sure thing, Kim…let me know. Bye."

Kim pressed the "talk" button on the phone and turned to William. "Where did we write down the number for Mark's cell?"

"It's in the kitchen," said William, rising to stand. "I put the note on the refrigerator."

After a morning conference with the Mayor and the Chiefs of the police and fire departments, Misty and Mark left Eastgate City Hall to further their preparations. Mark arranged transportation for the day for Misty, and he went immediately to the airport for a mid-morning meeting with administration and air traffic controllers to coordinate an area to be used for transport and housing of the Guard troops arriving from Willow Grove.

While normal commercial passenger traffic continued throughout the day, the southwest corner of the airport became a hive of military and official activity.

Eastgate International Airport

Runway 2-5 Southwest - Hangar Group 3

2:55 PM.

A uniformed police officer looked toward the far end of a runway to the east of the one they were on as Mark pointed out an approaching plane. "That's the last transport," he said to the officer. "100 men, tents and equipment."

Small clouds of smoke curled from each of the C-130 Transport's tires as they touched to the tarmac. The earpiece in Mark's left ear sparked to life.

:TFOC-Ops, Tower…you should see your seventh and final unit on 2-3 Southwest and preparing to taxi to your position:

Mark tapped a device on his shoulder that the earpiece was connected to. "Copy that…seventh unit touched down and en route here. Thanks for the clearance and airspace, Tower." Mark then glanced at his watch and grinned. "Not even 1500 yet…good work, Dan."

Mark turned toward a group of large hangars behind him, accompanied by four more of the same transport planes and two enormous C-5 Galaxy transports, which had landed at ten-minute intervals in the last hour or so. Each of them had the large ramp at the rear lowered and a mass of personnel were going to and from the aircraft, moving a steady stream of tent pallets, communications equipment and food. I love it when a plan comes together, he thought.

The cell in Mark's shirt pocket buzzed. He reached in, flipping it open. "Broderson."

"Hi, Mark," said Kim.

"Oh hey, Kim…what's up?"

"I was wondering if Misty might be with you."

"Nope," Mark said. "I haven't seen her since we left the meeting at City Hall this morning…about 10, I think. She said she still had quite a bit to take care of. Is there anything I might be able to help you with until she gets back?"

Kim brought up the website for the online edition of the Eastgate Herald-Tribune and found another of the large ads. "Did she mention anything to you about putting ads in newspapers about people attending Kimi's Cross? Someone called to tell us about an ad in the USAToday. I've been looking in other papers, and the same ad is in all of them."

"That's what she was working on last night," said Mark. "I haven't seen any papers today, but I know that was something she had planned…something about 'volume exposure'."

"I wish she had told me about this," Kim sighed. "I know she wants this to be a chance to introduce more Fleshers to Cellers and the Cross. When she first told me, she said that she already had a place picked out for the Cross…a 'big' place. Did she tell you where that is?"

"She did," Mark said. "She also asked me to keep it kind of secret."

"Not from me, though, right?"

Mark paused for a few seconds. "…even from you."

A gasp and a blurted "What?" from the phone caused Mark to continue. "Kim…I can understand you're kind of worried about this…I can't say I blame you…but you have to keep faith and trust in Misty. You know she wouldn't do anything to put Kimi in any danger or let you down. I know that from working with her for so many years…I also know that Misty is quite a bit like Angelica in that she wouldn't let anything negative happen to Kimi, or you, or any other Celler."

Kim sighed again. "I know. It's just that…you know…this is my daughter we're talking about. It's just strange that she would even keep the location of the Cross secret from me. Do you know when you'll talk with her?"

"She said that she might call me later today…she also said to tell you that, for right now, 'you're Aimee Mann'."

Kim turned her head to give William a puzzled look. "…Aimee Mann?" she repeated.

"That's the message she gave," said Mark. "Listen…I've got some people coming in, and I have to meet with them. I can call you when Misty checks in."

Kim's expression remained quizzical. "O…kay, Mark," she said with a slight resignedness to her tone, "thanks for your help…and yes, have Misty call me when you hear from her." Kim pushed the "talk" button and let her hand holding the phone drop to her lap.

"What was with 'Aimee Mann'?" asked William.

"That's the message Misty gave Mark to give to me," Kim said, "if I were to ask about things. She said I'm 'Aimee Mann'."

William gave a quick smirk after a few seconds. "Aimee Mann was the singer in a band called, 'Til Tuesday'."

Kim's expression jumped in a second of surprised discovery at that fact - then soured into a sneer of slight frustration. "…Sneak," she huffed. "She's not going to tell me anything until Tuesday." She then suddenly perked, moving quickly from the chair and toward the bedroom. "Ki will tell me!"

William walked into the bedroom as Kim retrieved the Kimmunicator from the nightstand and sat on the bed. She pressed the center button and the screen fizzed to life, showing an empty table and chairs. "Ki…" Kim chimed. "Kiiii, pick up."

William sat next to Kim and leaned to look as the screen suddenly turned pink.

A rather excited scolding voice came over the speaker. "Rufus! Don't sit on the Kimmunicator!"

While not that of her daughter, the voice still registered a note of recognition in Kim's mind.

The pink was pulled away, with a small tail waving out of sight, and was replaced by a freckle-faced boy dressed in jeans and a t-shirt displaying a picture of the Celler flag Kim had described the previous day. His head of tossled blond hair was topped by a baseball cap with the "Kim Possible" show logo emblazoned across the front in the familiar green and black style, the "M" covered by a strip of black tape. He was now holding the small rodent that had previously covered up the view.

The boy looked into the screen and threw up a hand of greeting "Hey, KP--" he said nonchalantly. This was followed by an instant double take and a closer look at the screen as his eyes and his smile shot wide open "--KP!" he burst.

"Hey Ron!" Kim perked into a wide grin. "I thought that sounded like you. What up?"

Ron caught sight of William sitting to Kim's left. He threw up a wave and another smile. "Heya Mr. H…welcome home."

"Hi there, Ron," said William. "Thanks…good to be home."

Kim looked a little closer into the screen at the boy's crown. "Ron…what's with the editing job on the cap?"

Ron flicked a finger against the brim of the cap. "Just following the latest craze, Kim," he said. "Your daughter. All about 'Ki Possible'. She tsunami rocks!"

Kim shot a look of slight frustration at the device. "…'All about'? Following to the point of Ki-speak, Ron?"

"Forming the leading edge of the following," Ron grinned. "Ki is a big hit here…as big as your remade iteration--" Ron looked slightly downward, tapping his thumb against his fingers "--speaking of iterations, that's two KP's I've welcomed home today…"

"Remade iteration…" Kim mused. "The Celler me is back? So that's where Misty's been all day."

"Yeah," Ron replied, "she's been pretty busy. Used the DNA sample from your hair to bring back your iteration here…told us all about the UN vote to drop that pact thing…worked on the incantation and the crystal for Ki's Cross…oh, and she told us all not to tell you where the Cross is gonna be, in case you asked."

Kim clutched the Kimmunicator tightly and slapped her other hand against her forehead. "URRGGH! Why is she doing this?"

"She said it was to keep the '--air of mystery'," Ron said, his hand up with two fingers curling in an "air quote", "…not even Ki knows where it's gonna be."

"Where is Ki now?" asked Kim.

Ron couldn't help but utter a quick chuckle at the inquiry. "Actually? She's out with, err…you. She and Misty are getting the new 'you' up to speed on, well…your life."

"You mean my life in the Flesher environment, right?"

"Yep." Ron's expression now became more serious, and he edged his face closer to the Kimmunicator's screen. "KP…you and I have known each other for over 25 years…and you've always had my back…even from the Flesher environment. You were there for me way back when Angelica was killed." He then looked to either side, as if checking if anyone were approaching. "Misty told me not to tell you where the Cross will happen," he said, "but she didn't tell me I couldn't drop a hint."

Kim's expression brightened somewhat. "A hint? Make it a good one, Ron."

Ron looked from side to side again. "The Cross to bring Ki back…will involve the largest mirrors in Eastgate." Kim raised an eyebrow at the screen. "That's how Misty described it," Ron said.

Kim thought for a moment, a finger against her cheek. "Hmm…not a great hint…but something I might be able to work with." She then broadened into a smile. "Thanks, Ron."

"No prob, KP," said Ron. "I can tell you something else about Ki's Cross, too…with all the Fleshers that will be there to view it? It's…gonna be BADICAL!" he burst at the screen.

Rufus echoed this with a wide smile and a, "Mmm-hmm, badical!"

Kim flashed a look of disgust at the small screen. "That's a hint?"

"Noo, that's the truth!" Ron perked, grinning ear to ear. His head then turned to the right for a second, then back to the screen. "I better jet, KP…I need to catch up to Misty and the Ki-ster to orient the new 'you'."

Kim's eyes widened in shock. "Ron! Don't call her that! She hates that nickname!"

"Why? It sure sounds cooler than 'The Ki-inator'."

Kim steeled a look into the screen. "Because 'Ki-ster' sounds just like 'keester'…which is another word for-ass."

"Ooo…good point," Ron said. "I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for the heads-up. Later, Kim…glad you're safe and home…both homes."

"Thanks, Ron," Kim smiled. "And thanks for the hint. I'll see what I can make of it."

The screen went blank. Kim set the device on the nightstand and turned back to William. "Any ideas?"

William's eyes shifted slightly downward and to the side. "Large mirrors…about the only place that comes to mind is the RoomStore over on Pauline Drive. It's certainly large enough to hold a few hundred people…but having a Cross in a furniture store might cause quite a bit of damage. It doesn't make much sense."

"No, it sure doesn't," Kim sighed, and her expression became one of resigned frustration as she slowly leaned to her left until her head nudged against her husband's shoulder. "In fact, it fits in with everything else this afternoon."

William brought his arm over Kim's shoulders. He thought that voicing his inner feelings might just compound his wife's current vexation, but William, too was embroiled in the effect of the "air of mystery" being presented. From the second Ron mentioned the name of Angelica, William's mind raced into the past to highlights of his two short encounters with the diminutive, artful blonde who so completely changed his life nearly sixteen years ago.

It also swirled around a similarity between the two occurrences - a Cross Agent employing an "air of mystery" to fog rationality preceding a Cross - but this Cross included elements of both environments in the list of "intended recipients".

The two were still arm-in-arm as they rose and headed for the kitchen to brainstorm dinner ideas.

Kim and William spent the rest of the evening catching up on after-dinner dishes and a few quiet hours on the living room couch, listening to music. Lurking deep in both of their minds was the continuing, gnawing concern about the extent of Misty's "sensationalism" surrounding the next day's Cross.

11:51 PM.

TFOC -24 Hours, 9 Minutes

Kim moved her head slowly until she could see the display of the clock radio. Almost midnight, she thought. Tomorrow, about this time, I'll be welcoming home our daughter…if she isn't scared out of her wits. She turned again, settling into the warmth of her husband's arms. "Honey…?" she whispered. "…You asleep yet?"

"About as much as you are," came the soft reply next to her.

Kim slid slightly against William and slowly exhaled a bit of her ongoing annoyance. "Tell me I'm doing the right thing…tell me I didn't just jump at a dream at Ki's expense. Even if it turns out to be the right thing, and Angelica's dream comes true…something tells me that tomorrow is going to be major worry time until Ki is home. I'm going to need all the sleep I can get tonight."

William brought up a hand to softly stroke the top of Kim's head. "Well…from what Misty told you, the incident with the portal didn't cause her any harm…sooo, I don't think we'll have to worry about Ki from a physical standpoint." He picked up a lock of Kim's hair between two fingers, slowly studying it by touch in the darkened room. "To tell you the truth, I think you're thinking about the same thing I've been thinking about since you talked with Ron this afternoon."

Kim hesitated for a few seconds before speaking. "…Sensationalism."

A quiet "Me too" came from William. "Sounds like Misty is really going all out with this opportunity to increase the exposure of Cellers."

"But she did say that she already talked to Ki about this," Kim said, "and it sounds like she's alright with it." She then nuzzled further against William. "I…guess I'm just worried about what else Misty might have planned…and how or when we'll find out about it."

"My suggestion?" said William. "Use tonight for sleep. Everything else there is to find out will all come tomorrow."

Kim eventually tipped into sleep, her head still simmering with thoughts about the events of the next day, what they would bring - and how far they might go in bringing about the dream long-held by her late friend - and also wished for by most of the rest of the Celler community.

to be continued…