Double Entendre

by David Falkayn

An alternate universe take on the KP verse featuring Tara King. While it contains and mentions characters from the British TV series Avengers, it is not really a crossover. The story is rated M because of language and adult situations. No graphic sex, but it's clear what's going on and with whom. Multiple pairings-too many and varied to list. Story complete, posting in parts

6. Chapter 6: Monkeyshines

Double Entendre

Chapter 6 Monkeyshines and Kitty Kats

Middleton High

Spotting Kim and Ron standing by their lockers, Hope and Tara approached, "So…you two have fun saving the world last night?" Hope inquired with a chuckle.

"Nothing that dramatic." Kim smiled.

"This time." Ron chuckled as Kim told the story to her fellow cheerleaders about the mission, editing out the part where Ron lost his pants.

"An eagle chick fell out of its nest and landed on a rock outcropping."

"Kim saved the little thing." Ron interjected, his pride in his friend showing as he sighed inwardly in relief at her not bringing up his wardrobe malfunction in her story.

"That's great, Kim!" Tara exclaimed with a broad smile on her face. "So was the chick injured or anything?"

"No." Kim shook her head, "Just tired, hungry, and wanting its mother. I gave her to the ranger and then my Dad beeped me on my Kimmunicator and chewed me out for missing family game night." Turning to her fellow cheerleaders, Kim pleaded, "Would you girls wanna hang out with your nerd cousin who only talks about video games and going to science fiction conventions in costume?"

"Not exactly the first item on my to-do list." Tara replied with a chuckle.

"Heads up!"

Spotting the textbook flying towards Ron out of the corner of her eye, Tara called out, "Duck, Ron! Incoming!"

"Ouch!" Ron yelped as the book hit him on the back of the head.

"Wanker!" Tara yelled out at the laughing student who was at that moment receiving high-fives from two of his friends.

"Asshole!" Hope shouted at the student, giving him a good view of her middle finger as she did so.

"King! Rossi!"

Turning about, the two cheerleaders saw the imposing form of their homeroom teacher, Mr. Barkin standing before them.

"Detention?" Tara queried, flashing her sweetest smile.

"Detention—this afternoon." Mr. Barkin responded with just the slightest traces of a smile on his face. "You two know where it is." He then called out to the student who had thrown the book, "Haskell! Three days detention!"

"Sorry you two got stuck in detention because of me." Ron said as he massaged his scalp. "If I'd have ducked in time..."

Kim chimed in, her lips turned up in a warm smile, "Thank you for calling out a warning and I'm sorry about you two having to stay afterschool."

Shrugging her shoulders, Tara replied with a crooked grin, "No big. You'd do the same for us and detention's not that big a deal. Just means we get our homework done earlier."

"What my bestie said." Hope laughed, "I can't stand Haskell anyway." Seeing Barkin standing in the corridor, the raven-haired cheerleader lowered her voice, "That little shit's been a pain in the ass since he got here."

"Yeah…don't worry about it." Tara's lips turned up in an evil grin as she lowered her voice, "After Hope and I have had a word with Big Mike and the others, that little wuss is never gonna want to go back to detention again."

"I'm glad I'm on good terms with Big Mike and the Detention Gang." Kim laughed.

"Yeah." Ron agreed as he massaged his scalp, "Better to have them on your side than against you."

"So…" Hope said, changing the subject, "We were talking about video games and weird relatives, right? I can sympathize, Kim. My brother Nicky's into video games—especially WarMauler 200K."

"Lucky us." Kim let out a snort of laughter. "All Larry talks about is that stupid video game!"

"What video game?" Tara asked.

"Oh…I think it's called Fortress or something like that." Kim sighed in frustration.

"I love that game!" Ron exclaimed, bragging, "I spent six hours battling a really tough hilltop fortress! For a while, I didn't think I was gonna take it, but the Ron Man through his skill and determination won again!" Ron boasted as Kim let out an exasperated sigh while Hope rolled her eyes and Tara stifled a laugh.

"Hey Kim…Ron!" A young, chubby dark-skinned boy approached the group of teenagers. He then looked up at the other two teenage girls, "And you must be Tara and Hope. I've heard a lot of good stuff about you from Kim and Ron."

"Wade?" Both Kim cried out in surprise at seeing their tech genius in the flesh instead of just on a computer screen. "What are you doing here?"

So…Tara thought to herself as her eyes fell on the young boy, This is the mysterious Wade. Hmmm…

"You're here in person?" Ron exclaimed as he reached for the young boy's hand only to have it pass through him, "Whoa!" The blond sidekick exclaimed, "What the…"

"I'm not a ghost." Wade chuckled at the shocked expression on the blond sidekick's face, "This is just a holographic image of myself I'm testing it out." Derezzing, Wade apologized before fading away, "I've still got a few bugs to work out though." His image appearing on the computer screen in Kim's locker, he reported, seemingly ignoring the other two cheerleaders, "You got a hit on your site from Lord Monte Fiske. He needs your help with something."

"The famous archaeologist?" Kim inquired, "What does he want?"

"You know who he is?" A surprised Wade exclaimed with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah…" Kim replied, "I saw a documentary on him on the Knowing Channel."

"Do you know him?" Hope whispered to Tara.

"Met him once at a party I attended with Grandmama, Uncle John, and Auntie Emma recently. He was there to discuss some discoveries he had made regarding a lost temple in Southeast Asia supposedly dedicated to some sort of monkey god."

Rufus, on hearing the word monkey and knowing his master's issues with those primates, paid even closer attention to the two girls' conversation. "I didn't like what I saw." Tara whispered, "Neither did Grandmama, Uncle and Auntie—and when all four of us get bad vibes about something or someone at the same time, there's a problem—a big one."

"So…what was the problem?" Hope asked as Rufus listened.

"Nothing that any of us could put a finger on." Tara replied. Letting out a breath of air, the blonde adventuress explained, "There was just something about him struck us as being a little…off."

"Off?" Hope murmured, keeping their conversation barely audible, "Off as in Monty Python weird British eccentric off or off as in creepy serial killer off?"

"Off as in both." Tara answered back. "Fiske is well respected as an archaeologist, but I remember at that party all he talked about was looking for this lost monkey god temple. Some sort of rare artifact was supposed to be hidden there and he wanted it—bad. Uncle John and Auntie Emma told me that he reminded them of this lunatic they encountered once—a real nasty piece of work. They ended up having to kill him before he killed them."

"Uh Oh!" Rufus exclaimed a little too loudly on overhearing the two cheerleaders' conversation.

"I think we have an eavesdropper." Tara whispered as she pointed at Rufus. Seeing that Kim and Ron were busy talking with their friend on the computer, the lovely blonde whispered to the naked mole-rat, giving him her most charming smile, "You're not going to tell on us, are you, Rufus?"

Deciding that the two girls didn't intend any harm towards his best friend and his human's red haired friend, the naked mole-rat gave the two girls his cutest smile as he shook his head.

Smiling at the little rodent, the lovely blonde murmured to him as they overheard Kim and Ron making plans to travel to Cambodia to meet up with Monte Fiske. "Now…little guy…" Tara instructed, "Me and Hope can't be there if they get into trouble. That means someone has to look out for them and that someone has to be you. Can you do that for us, luv?"

Rufus smiled again in response and waved as he chittered, "On it!"

Watching as the little critter made his way back to his master's pocket, Hope chuckled as she spoke in a low voice, "Did he really understand what we're saying and did he really kinda sorta talk to us?"

"Yeah." Tara whispered back, "I found out before I started my mission here that he was genetically engineered. Somehow or other he escaped the lab that held him and ended up in the pet's section of a SmartyMart of all places where Ron found him."

"Helluva coincidence." Hope snorted, "Him making it to that particular SmartyMart and Ron deciding to pick him as a pet out of all the other animals there."

Shrugging her shoulders, Tara replied in an equally low voice, "Could have been set up that way by a mysterious time traveler." Seeing the skeptical look on her friend's face, the lovely blonde laughed, "Luv…we live in a world where superhumans, mad scientists with death rays and exploding nano-ticks and talking naked mole-rats exist…who's to say that someone didn't find a way to travel in time just to set things up where Ron and Rufus would find each other. Or…" Tara shrugged her shoulders, "…it's all just cosmic coincidence with those two just happening to both hit all sevens on their slot machines at the same time."

The two cheerleaders, on hearing Kim's raised voice, quickly turned in her direction, "Cool!" You ready for a trip to Cambodia, Ron?"

As Kim closed her locker and the two teens took off, Hope shook her head, "Must be nice to get free passes from school and not worry about staying out after curfew to go half way around the world to help some kooky archaeologist."

"Maybe…" Tara grinned, "But they've still got to make up their class work, so that's gonna wipe out a good chunk of their weekend at least."

"Good point." Hope chuckled, "Well…we don't get passes for being late so we better get our asses in gear."

"Yeah…we've already got one afternoon's detention, best not to tempt fate."

Middleton High—Cafeteria

"You two are in detention again?" Liz exclaimed as she, Marcella, and their posse leader, Bonnie, joined the other cheerleaders—with the exception of Kim—at the cheerleaders' table.

"Barkin catch you smoking again, Tara?" Jessica inquired with a giggle.

"Not this time." Tara laughed.

"Eddie Haskell threw a book and hit Stoppable with it and you know the rest." Hope grinned defiantly.

"I can't understand why the two of you even talk to that loser." Bonnie grumbled, "Much less be willing to do detention because of him." She then remarked in a disapproving tone of voice, "Until you and Kim, cheerleaders didn't do detention."

"We did it because he's a friend." Tara answered back, knowing full well that the chestnut-haired teenager she was talking to would not do the same for her, "We'd have your back if someone did that to you."

"Yeah.' Hope interjected, also knowing that Bonnie would not come to her aid in a similar situation, "That's what friends do for friends."

As the two rogue cheerleaders spoke, a certain redheaded cheerleader not named Kim Possible listened closely. As Hope and Tara's words hit home, Liz Magnusson, who, ever since elementary school, had been a hanger-on of the chestnut-haired queen bee found herself asking a very uncomfortable question and not for the first time. Would Bonnie be there for me?

Another cheerleader, this one with freckles and blonde hair, also listened intently to the exchange. Jessica Sundstrom, at once picking up on the outlaw cheerleaders' deliberate irony, found herself agreeing with them. Steve's right. Jessica at once decided, The food chain is stupid. It's time to cut loose. Glancing at Liz, the Swedish descended blonde saw the look of consternation in her fellow cheerleader's eyes. Steve's been nagging me to introduce Liz to Kevin, but I keep putting him off because I don't want to see Kevin hurt. Maybe one day I will…but not right now. She's not ready to make the break yet. But soon…might be…could be…we'll see.

Middleton High—Detention Room

Steve Barkin prided himself on being firm but fair where maintaining discipline in the school was concerned. This meant that while he wasn't liked by a lot of the students, most of them did respect him. As his gaze turned to the two cheerleaders in the room, he resisted the urge to smile. That urge vanished quickly as he shifted his attention to the new arrival, Eddie Haskell—a smarmy young bottom-feeding junior who didn't know when to keep his mouth shut and who liked to bully and humiliate students who were lower than him in the school hierarchy.

While he did not classify the two cheerleaders as part of his regulars, they were, as he once joked to the cheerleading coach, recurring guest stars. Tardies and the occasional dirty word were what usually landed them in his care. Although, he did have to haul Tara in a time or two because he'd caught her smoking, with Hope slipping out to join her. He didn't really want to give the two girls detention this time after they'd come to Stoppable's aid earlier this morning, but too many students heard what they had called Haskell and he was standing too close to pretend not to have heard them, so, because he was firm, but fair, he had to take action. The former Marine also recalled observing the two cheerleaders, before detention officially began, huddled together with Big Mike and the regulars. He also heard the stifled chuckles and whispers as Haskell entered the room and so had a good idea as to what they were planning. Well…he thought to himself, …as long as they keep it within bounds, I'll let them get away with a little barracks justice.

Glancing up at the clock, he saw that there was only five minutes left before the end of detention. Getting up and stretching, he growled, "I'm stepping out for two minutes…you all had better be here when I get back. He then gave Tara and Hope a pointed look, "Two minutes."

Picking up on their minder's hint, once the door had closed, Tara, flashing her most evil grin gave Haskell a pointed look as she called out to the large student who was also glaring at the newest inmate, "Mike, darling…could Hope and I ask you to put away the garbage. It's creating such a stench."

"Sure thing, Tara." The large student responded as he picked up the quivering and begging mass who was now Eddie and unceremoniously crammed him into the trash can near the door. "All done." Mike declared with a big grin on his face.

"Thanks, sweetie." Hope said with a sly grin as Mr. Barkin entered the classroom.

Doing a quick headcount, the stern teacher growled, "I see someone didn't take my warning seriously." He then noticed Eddie Haskell stuffed in the trash can next to the door. "Haskell! What are you doing in there?"

"Ummm…uhhh…" The hapless bully gulped as Big Mike, Junior, and Vinnie all glared at him, daring him to narc on them. "Uhhhh…"

"Abuse of school property's earned you another three days detention!" Barkin declared, passing sentence. "I'll see you and the rest of my regulars tomorrow. You two…" The teacher then glared at the two cheerleaders, "Do me, your coach, captain, and fellow cheerleaders a favor and try to stay out of here for at least a month."

"Yes, Mr. Barkin."

"Now…you all get outta here…after getting Haskell out of the trash can."

After Big Mike had lifted the textbook thrower out of the waste receptacle—none too gently—and the students had left, with Tara and Hope giving him a goodbye wave as they walked out the door, Steve Barkin sat back in his chair. Once he was sure the door was safely closed, the stern teacher took a deep breath and let out a deep hearty belly laugh as he tried to figure out just how Big Mike had managed to stuff Eddie Haskell into that trash can without actually hurting him.

Cambodia

"Thanks for the lift, Colonel." Kim, wearing helmet and parachute, looked up and smiled at Colonel Alonzo Bridges, Special Operations, US Army, grateful that the strike force commander had made room for her and her sidekick on their plane.

"Don't mention it, Ms. Possible." The colonel responded with a polite grin. "We were on our way to our staging area when your friend contacted us and informed me that you needed a lift. Besides…" His smile broadened, "I owed you one—a big one—for warning us about that assault. You saved a lot of lives."

Ron, sandwiched between two paratroopers, pleaded, "Anyone got gum?"

The soldier on his left, reaching into his pocket, pulled out a stick of chewing gum, "Here ya go, kid."

"Thanks." Ron replied as he popped the gum in his mouth and began to chew.

"Don't worry about it." The soldier responded. Then, inclining his head slightly towards Kim, cautioned, "It can get rough down there. Lots of predators of the no legged, four legged, and two legged varieties. You watch out for her."

"Always do." Ron quietly responded as Kim signaled that it was time to jump.

Hitting the ground, the pair quickly got out of their parachutes and began their hike towards the location where Lord Fiske had his camp. "Fun place, KP." The young man grumbled as the pair worked their way through the jungle, cutting with their machetes. "The vacation spot of Southeast Asia. Come for the humidity…stay for the leeches."

"Could be worse, Ron…" Kim giggled, "We could have landed on a volcano."

Swatting at a mosquito, the blond sidekick laughed, "Yeah…that would have been a heck of a hotfoot." Laughing harder, he quipped, "Can you imagine what Tara and Hope would be saying right now?"

"If my parents were to ever hear Tara cut loose…" Kim laughed, "I don't think she'd be allowed to live in the same city we live in—much less come into my house."

"Believe it or not…" Ron chuckled, "Hope's worse. You should have heard her when she found out that Barkin had assigned an extra essay on the same day she was planning on going out somewhere with Donny."

"The captain of the track team?" Kim exclaimed, "I didn't know those two were dating."

"I don't think it's serious." Ron answered back. "I heard on the grapevine that Donny and a couple of the other boys ran into the Dirty Pair at Bueno Nachos and they both had on the same outfit. Made a comment about their outfits showing off all the right curves in all the right places."

The redheaded hero's laughter turned to a gasp as she pointed at the large structure in the distance. "That must be where we're going. I don't believe it! It's a…it's a…monkey temple."

"M…m…m…m…m…monkey?" Ron gibbered, his body quaking and quivering as he gazed on the building. "No…" He shook his head violently as horrible memories rushed unbidden in his mind, "NoNoNoNoNO!"

FLASH!

Camp Wannaweep

Ron was in his cabin when the lights went out. Freezing in place, he heard the door open as something came in and then heard the door close and the latch click as someone locked him in. Then he heard it. Something in the cabin with him, moving in the dark. High pitched howling and screaming as the light suddenly came on, revealing a large chimpanzee, it's mouth gaping open, it's long white canines and teeth ready to sink themselves into his body. Quickly, he retreated to a corner and covered his head and face with his hands as he curled up in a fetal position while the creature howled and threw books and toys, plates, a lamp and any other object it could get its hands on, hitting the poor child more than once.

"Make it stop…" Ron whimpered, "Please…I'll be good…I'm sorry…Please…take it away…"

FLASH!

Cambodia

"Kim Possible, I presume?" A tall dark-haired man with a long face appeared along with another man. "I'm Lord Montgomery Fiske and this is my valet, Bates."

"Just a moment, please, Sir." Kim pleaded as she turned to her distressed friend, snapping her fingers, "It's okay Ron. Bobo's gone." She took her best friend into her arms and hugged him closely, "There are no monkeys here. Come back to me."

Slowly recovering, Ron began to regain some of his lost humor. "Thanks Kim. It felt so real."

Turning to the two newcomers, Kim explained, apologizing, "I'm sorry, Lord Fiske. Ron suffered a traumatic experience when he was a child. The camp councilors locked him in a room with Bobo, the camp mascot who was a chimpanzee and Bobo was scared as was Ron and…"

"They fed off each other's fears." Fiske concluded as Kim nodded her head in confirmation. "Understandable. The councilors should not have done that. Chimpanzees are far stronger than humans."

"That was one crazy monkey." Ron whimpered.

"You won't find any chimps here, young man." Fiske assured, "In any event chimpanzees are apes, not monkeys."

"They hold stuff with their feet!" Ron sobbed as another memory pushed itself into his mind, "They're freaks of nature."

Giving Ron a harsh look, the British aristocrat and his butler headed off towards the temple, leaving the two teens to follow them.

"Ron?" Kim reproached, "You need to get a grip."

"I just got a feeling Kim…" Ron growled in a low voice as he tilted his head once in the direction of the English lord, "This guy is bad news…real bad news."

"Ron!" Kim let out a sigh of exasperation, "Lord Fiske is a noted explorer, archaeologist, and scholar."

"Bad news!" Ron growled, loud enough for the Englishman to hear as the two teens approached the lord and his butler.

"I believe I shall direct all future correspondence to you Ms. Possible as your companion appears to be quite…irrational." Fiske declared haughtily, dismissing Ron. Motioning for Kim to join him at the side of the road, the British aristocrat showed a parchment to her. "According to this map, the jade statue should be here." Ignoring the blond sidekick's shudder at being informed that the statue was that of a monkey, Fiske continued to brief Kim, "According to local legend, the statue, when placed in exact alignment with three of its siblings, will generate a mystical monkey power. It's all utter nonsense of course, but the statue itself would be a tremendous archaeological find and could very well tell us much of the culture that built this temple."

"I can see why you would want it." Kim nodded her head in understanding. "What do you plan to do with the artifact after you get it?"

"Why study it of course…" Seeing the look of concern on the young teen's face, the British lord chuckled, "With the consent of the Cambodian government, naturally. Don't worry, Ms. Possible. I'm no Lord Elgin. I have no intention of removing a piece of Cambodia's cultural heritage from the country."

Her concerns allayed by the lord's smooth words, Kim smiled as she entered the temple, "Ready Ron?"

"Kim…" Ron cautioned, Rufus nodding his head in agreement, "Maybe we should…I don't know…scout the place out first? There might be a back way."

"Ron!" Kim exclaimed confidently, "There's nothing to wor…." Before she finish her statement, a trapdoor opened, dropping her down.

"Kim!" Ron screamed as he rushed to the pit and looked down, "Are you all right?"

"I'm okay, Ron!" Kim called back as she saw the mouths to the monkeys on the wall begin to move, followed soon by the walls. "Oh crap!" The young teen exclaimed as she quickly dashed across the room. "I imagine Tara and Hope would be cussing up a storm right now if they were here. "Goddamn…" Kim cursed, dodging a flame trap, "Motherfucking…" She growled barely averting stepping on poisoned spikes, "Shit eating…" Dodging one last trap, the young teen spied her goal surrounded by snakes, "Cock sucking traps!" Spying a cable hanging across the room, Kim grabbed it and inched her way over the statue. Hanging upside down, she grabbed the statue, barely avoiding being bitten by a cobra. Holding on to the statue with one hand, the athletic teen managed to scoot her way across the room to the safety of the other side where she dropped down, only to find a secret door. Opening the door, she found herself about twenty yards from the temple entrance.

"Ron was right." Kim admitted to herself as she clutched the idol. "We should have scouted."

Settling into their sleeping bags after an eventful day, Ron muttered to his friend, "Kim…Fiske is bad news…I'm telling you."

"Ron!" The redheaded teen sighed, "He's got a royal title."

"So what." The blond sidekick grumbled, "You can buy one for fifty cents on E-Bay."

"Go to sleep, Ron!"

Seeing the shadow of his greatest foe, Ron whispered in an urgent voice, "There's a monkey in the camp."

"Go to sleep!"

Seeing the monkey entering Fiske's tent, Ron hid under the covers, peeking out a few moments later to see a ninja sneaking out. "Whew!" The young man sighed in relief, "It's only a ninja."

"He's got the statue!" Kim shouted as she leaped to attack beginning a brief, but ferocious fight that ultimately ended with the ninja getting away with the statue.

Awakened by the fight, Fiske emerged from his tent, "What's all this?"

"I'm sorry, Lord Fiske." Kim apologized, "A ninja snuck into the camp and stole the statue."

"How awful!" Fiske replied, seemingly not too terribly upset.

"Yeah." Ron, noting the apparent unconcern being shown by the British aristocrat on hearing the news that the artifact he had been searching for years for had been snatched from his grasp, "Awful."

"You did your best Ms. Possible." The British aristocrat declared magnanimously. "It's the least I can do to see that you make it back home again. I have taken the liberty of purchasing a pair of first class tickets for you and your…companion. My man Bates will be happy to take you to the airport."

"Thank you, Sir." Kim replied politely.

"Yeah…" Ron replied in a guarded tone, "Thanks."

Tara's House

"Hello?" Tara said, speaking into her phone as she lit a cigarette while leaning back in her black leather easy chair.

"Hey Cutie."

"Cheeky?" Tara chuckled as she took a drag from her cigarette. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Coming straight to the point, the green-skinned villainess requested, "I need your help with something and you might want to bring your partner along—it's probably going to take all three of us for this job."

"Sounds like something big. Kitty-Kat Club tonight? You can fill us in away from any eavesdroppers."

"Good idea." Shego replied, "See you and your partner in two hours."

Dialing up Hope on the speed dial, Tara quipped, "You're working on Ms. Culver's science project at my house tonight. I'll get my cover guardians on standby to back you up if your parents put up a fuss."

"Just a moment." Hope said as she called out to her mother, "Mom? Can I go over to Tara's tonight? We've got a science project coming up and we want to get an early start on it so we can get a good grade. I can ask her guardians to talk to you if you want. Okay…thanks…I'll be home by midnight. Promise!" Returning to the phone, she informed her friend, "I cleared it with Mom, but I've got to be back by midnight curfew."

"Not a problem." Tara replied with a grin, "I wasn't planning on staying out too late anyway—we've got Barkin's test tomorrow morning."

"Don't remind me!" Hope sighed, "Mom said she'd drop me off at your house, but you're going to have to bring me back."

"Okay." Tara laughed, "Bring something to go to the club in. You can change over here. See you in a few."

Kitty-Kat Club

After dropping her car off with Big Mike to park—and leaving him a good tip—Tara and Hope entered the nightclub. Scanning the dance floor and bar, the lovely blonde quickly found the person they were to meet leaning against the bar, drinking a bourbon and coke, and smoking a cigarette. Approaching, Tara lit up a cigarette of her own as Max poured her usual gin and tonic as well as a cola for Hope. "What's up, Max?" Tara asked as she took the stool to the right of the supervillainess while Hope took the one on the left.

"I'll let Sheila fill you in. She's the one who tipped me off." The bartender replied, inclining his head towards the supervillainess who smiled at the new arrivals.

"It involves one of those little warheads you kept the Iranians from purchasing in Moscow a few months ago." The green-skinned villainess explained as she took a sip of her drink. "Someone managed to get their hands on one of them and smuggled it into the States."

"Not that difficult to do." Tara shook her head, "Odds are they got it in through the Mexican border, although I wouldn't rule out a container ship or even underwater—the cartels and other bad guys use subs."

"Possible." Shego nodded her head then let out a snort of laughter, "And no…I'm not talking about a certain redheaded princess. No matter how much of a pain in the ass she is, she's not worth dropping a nuke on. But no. In this case, it's not one of the cartels. At least the intel I've gotten isn't pointing that way."

"That still leaves a lot of potential candidates." Hope chimed in. "Terrorists? A foreign intel agency? One of the Middle Eastern groups or maybe a fringe right or left wing domestic group? Or could it be a large gang like MS-13?"

"Someone's been doing their homework." Shego chuckled.

"Someone's been giving me a ton of extra work." Hope mock-pouted as she glanced at Tara who simply laughed in response.

"Gotta know the players if you're gonna play the game, luv." The blonde laughed as she took a sip from her drink. "Terrorists—either foreign or domestic—are possibilities." Tara then remarked, getting back to the discussion at hand, "I doubt it's gang related though—at least not a gang like MS-13."

"Yeah.' Shego agreed, "It's not their style. They like getting up close and personal. Can't be Drakken…I'd know and he knows that I wouldn't go along with something like this." She elaborated, lighting a fresh cigarette, her remarks intended more towards the raven-haired cheerleader than the others in the conversation. "Don't mistake me as being the bad-girl with a heart of gold. If I have to take someone down hard and permanent who's in the game to get the job done, I will. But I draw the line at killing innocents and especially at mass murder."

"What about Stumpy?" Tara asked, referring to Dr. Dementor.

"Demenz?" Chuckling, Shego sipped her drink and smoked her cigarette as she shook her head, chuckling. "He's ruthless enough, but he's currently running into cash-flow problems. Partly your doing." "He was all set to sell the Ruritanian crown jewels to the exiled prince until you snatched them away from him, but I think it's mostly because he's on the run."

"Yeah, you're right." Tara nodded her head and then explained to Hope with a throaty laugh, "Our dear Professor Dementor made the major mistake of pissing off too many of the big players at the same time. He managed to get GJ, the French DGSE, and the Russian FSB mad at him."

"The DGSE are the ones who blew up the Rainbow Warrior several years ago—right?" Hope recalled from her extra reading assignments.

"Right." Shego nodded her head, "They're also involved in a lot of other intelligence and counter-terrorist operations. You do not want to get on their bad side." The dark-haired villainess warned, "And we all know what the FSB is capable of if it gets pissed off enough at you."

"So…how did Dementor manage to get these guys mad at him at the same time?" Hope chuckled as she drank her coke.

"When Mother leaked word out about what he'd planned to do with that death ray of his, the major players decided it was time to teach him a lesson so they hit several of his lairs simultaneously." Tara explained as Shego concluded the blonde's train of thought.

"He's lying low until the heat dies down. He's not going to be a factor for at least six months—maybe a year."

Taking a deep breath, the blonde adventuress queried the other woman, "So…who do you think's behind this? New player?"

"That…" Shego nodded her head, "Or an old player coming back into the game." Putting out her cigarette in an ashtray thoughtfully provided by Max, The supervillainess inquired, "What do you know about an organization called MALUS?"

"Not a whole lot." Tara admitted as she placed a finger to her temple, "I know Grandmama and Uncle John tangled with them a time or two back in the day, but that was what…about fifty years ago. Why?"

"Word from my side of the tracks is that it might be preparing to make a comeback." Shego replied with a grimace. "If it is…then we've all got problems."

"I gotta admit I'm curious…" Hope interjected, "Why would you want to help us take them down if they are coming back? I'd think you'd want to join them. After all, they are villains…"

"Contrary to what Possible, Stoppable, and a few others think, not all of us who hang out on the bad side of the tracks are the same." Shego sighed. "Some of us are just plain psycho. You run into one of those lunatics, do yourself and the world a favor and put 'em down hard and fast. Then you got ones like Dr. D and Demenz. Yeah, they can hurt you, but they generally don't go out of their way to hurt innocents. Dr. D's got some issues he needs to work out—most of 'em having to do with recognition. That's why he comes up with all of his crazy world conquering schemes which usually end up with me going a few rounds with Kimmie and then getting sat upon by a mountain of a high school student or washing cheese out of my hair and privates." The dark-haired woman complained, "Just wait until you have to wash melted cheese out of your happy fun place—it's loads of fun, believe me. Dementor wants to rule the world, and he's got issues too, but he's like Dr. D…he mostly just wants recognition. Then, you got the mercs and freelancers . We each have our own codes and limits on what we will and won't do."

"So…what's different about MALUS and those other groups?" Hope pressed.

"The old school groups like SPECTRE, THRUSH, and MALUS want control and not just control in the sense of dominating the world. I mean control in the sense of determining what you eat, where you go, how you dress, how you think…everything." Shego grimly stated. "I like my freedom, thank you very much. Yeah…I'm a thief and if there's something I want, I'm not too concerned about how I go about getting it, and I might or might not have done a contract hit or two on someone who really…really…deserved it. But, as far as the average person on the street is concerned, I'm usually happy to just live and let live. Give me my luxury apartment, fat Swiss bank account, fast car and motorbike, booze, cigarettes, nightclubs, and the occasional boy or girl or both and I'm happy—kinda like Cutie over here…" she smirked as she gave the blonde adventuress a peck on the cheek, "…except Blondie's still got this nasty streak of morality that gets in the way."

"Blame my uncle and aunt and grandmama." Tara chuckled.

Pausing for a moment, Shego seemed to almost plead as she spoke in a grim voice, "If I ever get like MALUS or THRUSH, or those people who want to control everything and everyone, I want you to promise me that you guys or even Possible and Stoppable will take me out quick and clean. I…" The green-hued supervillainess stammered momentarily before recovering, "I don't want to live in that sort of world and I don't want to live being some sort of Supreme One and remembering all the while what I once was, the freedom I once had, and that the world was once my playground before I crapped on it and ruined it."

"That's not going to happen to you, Cheeky." Tara said consolingly as she placed a gentle hand on the other woman's. "You're too stubborn to let it happen." Her lips turning up in an impish grin, the blonde adventuress tempted, "Of course, you could come a bit more towards the lighter side and join us. We have cookies…"

Chuckling, Shego responded, "Or you two could join me. We'd be hell on wheels."

Getting back to business, Tara lit a fresh cigarette, "So…we know what the job is. Where is it, when's it going down, and how much does it pay?"

"I don't have a precise date yet and my source isn't completely sure about the target—he thinks it might be Middleton Space Center though because of its scientific and military significance. I think he's probably right, but I'm still waiting on intelligence to confirm it." Shego replied with a grimace, "I should find out something in the next few days. That actually works out better for us. It'll give us time to prep and…" She looked pointedly at Hope, "Time for you to learn how to shoot a gun."

"You think it'll come down to…" Seeing the look on the other mercenary's face, Tara nodded her head, "Yeah…it will. Well…there goes my consecutive record without having to kill anyone."

Addressing Hope, Shego declared in a no-nonsense tone of voice, "Your primary role in this caper will be surveillance, communications, and networking. You most likely won't be in the line of fire, but I can't guarantee it. There's always a chance you'll get involved in the shooting and you need to be ready. We're not going to be able to babysit you."

"Shego's right, Hope." Tara interjected, "You might want to sit this one out."

"I've got a couple of solid mercs I can call on if you decide not to come along on the ride." Shego said, "And I wouldn't blame you if you do decide to pass on this. Like I said, you shouldn't get involved in the shooting, but there is a chance and…"

"Killing someone isn't something to be taken lightly." Tara said, concluding the other woman's thoughts.

After several moments of careful thought while she sipped her coke, Hope took a deep breath and exhaled, "If I continue doing this, sooner or later, I'm gonna have to deal with something like this, right?" As both of the other women nodded their heads grimly in confirmation, the young cheerleader continued, "What was it Barkin said about the men who fought in the Civil War? What was that phrase he used when they talked about going into a fight for the first time?"

"Seeing the elephant." Tara replied with a sad smile.

"Yeah." Hope nodded her head, "Sooner or later, I'm going to need to see that elephant. Now's as good a time as any I guess."

Nodding her head approvingly, Shego replied, "Okay…you're in…after you show me and Tara what you can do on the range. Tomorrow…after school. Target practice."

"Now that we got that out of the way." Tara said as she put out her cigarette, "What's the pay?"

"Twenty thousand dollars…" Shego replied with a predatory grin, "Each. And that's after Max and my intel source get their cuts."

"Damn." Hope gasped, "That's a year of college."

"And you're going to earn every penny of it." Shego declared with a frown.

"One last drink, Hope…" Tara announced with a crooked grin, "Then we've got to get going if we're gonna make it back to your place by curfew."

Middleton Gun Range—The next day

"Okay, Hope…" Tara instructed as Shego looked on, "This is a Smith and Wesson Model 1066 10 millimeter semi-automatic pistol. I don't normally like to carry guns, but there are jobs where you have to carry. Even Sheila carries when she has to."

"But you have powers, don't you Shego?" Hope inquired, "Why do you need to carry a gun?"

"I carry just in case I get into a situation where my powers might not work. I also a carry a knife." She said as she took a serrated-bladed combat knife from her boot. "Never know when you might need one."

"Pick it up and get a feel for it, but always point it downrange." Tara directed, "…and keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot. You don't want to accidently shoot someone or yourself."

"Okay." Hope replied as she carefully picked up the pistol.

"Take your time and get used to it." Shego advised as both she and Tara put on their ear protection and goggles. After giving their student plenty of time to familiarize herself with her new weapon, the dark-haired villainess instructed, "Now, set the pistol down and remember…keep it pointed downrange. Put on your ear protection and goggles and then watch me and Cutie as we shoot at our targets. Pay attention to how we stand and how we squeeze the trigger."

Hope watched as the two older women took careful aim at the paper targets set about twenty-five yards back and then her heat skipped a beat as she nearly jumped up. Catching her breath, she paid careful attention as the other women shot at their targets until they had emptied their magazines. Then, retrieving their targets, they compared results.

"Not bad, Cutie." Shego smirked as Hope noticed that all of Tara's shots had landed within what would have been the torso of a living person. "But mine are better." Shego then showed her target. Like Tara, all her rounds hit center mass, but the green-skinned villainess's grouping was tighter and closer to what would have been the heart. "You've been slacking off."

Shaking her head, Tara smirked as she pulled out three throwing knives and threw them at a fresh target, all three knives hitting what would have been the heart of an opponent, "Nah. I've just been practicing more with these." Smiling at her best friend, the blonde adventuress quipped, "All right, Hope. You ready to show us what you've got."

Picking up the pistol, the raven-haired cheerleader took a deep breath and exhaled, "Let's do it."

After shooting through several magazines, Shego called a halt to the practice. Examining Hope's targets, she remarked, "Started off sloppy but got a lot better with the last five. What do you think Cutie? She's your partner. Think she's ready?"

Turning to Hope, Tara inquired, "You ready for this, Hope? One thing to remember, when we're on the job, you won't be using any ear or eye protection and we won't be using suppressors either, so if you have to shoot that thing, it's going to be loud."

Her eyes gazing down first on the pistol, then at her friend and the dark-haired villainess, then back to the pistol, Hope taking a deep breath, decided she was ready to take the plunge, "Yeah. I'm ready. Count me in."

"Okay, Cheerleader." Shego replied as Tara nodded her head, "You're in."

Middleton High

"So…what now?" Hope whispered as the pair walked down the hallway to their locker.

"We wait until Cheeky gets the intel we need." Tara replied as she spotted Ron and Kim hanging out by their locker. "Worst part about this business is having to wait." Gesturing in the direction of their friends, the blonde cheerleader urged, "Come on…let's see what happened with Kim and Ron."

"Hey!" Hope called out as the two cheerleaders joined the redhead and her sidekick at her locker where Kim was busy talking to the image of the dark-skinned young Team Possible.

"Got that info you wanted on the jade monkey." Wade said as Ron cried out in alarm.

"No monkey stuff! No monkey stuff!"

"What's his problem?" Tara asked as an increasingly irritated Kim put her hand over her sidekick's mouth, temporarily shutting him up.

Sighing, Kim replied, "Ron's got a phobia where monkeys are concerned. It goes back to his childhood when his parents sent him to Camp Wannaweep. Look…" The redhead glanced at Wade, patiently waiting before continuing his report, "I'm kinda tied up right now. I'll tell you all about it at lunch—okay."

"Fine." Tara replied as she gave the blond sidekick next to Kim a concerned look, "We can discuss it later." Turning to her friend, the blonde cheerleader motioned towards their lockers, "C'mon Hope…let's give them some space to talk."

"Sure." The raven-haired cheerleader responded.

"Talk to you later, Ron." Tara whispered as she placed a gentle hand on young man's arm before departing.

A preoccupied Kim, already forgetting the presence of her fellow cheerleaders, turned her attention back to her tech genius, "Sorry about that, Wade, go on."

"Right." Wade replied and then explained primarily to Kim about the monkey school of kung fu and its followers and that it supposedly possessed some sort of mystic power. Put the four monkey statues together, and they give some sort of magical monkey power.

Her curiosity aroused, Kim asked her tech friend, "Why did they separate out the statues if it gave them power? You'd think they'd want that power."

"Maybe it's because it's sick and wrong!" Ron exclaimed with a look of disgust on his face.

"Hush, Ron." Kim commanded as Wade attempted to answer the redhead's question.

"In a way, Ron might be on to something." Wade conjectured, "It's possible that they felt that it was too dangerous to risk the wrong person or persons possessing it."

"Could be." Kim nodded her head in agreement and then requested, "Keep me updated if something else comes up, would you, Wade? Please and thank you."

"Not a problem, Kim." The techie responded. I'll keep you in the loop."

"Thanks Wade." Kim replied, and then, spotting Josh Mankey hanging out in front of his locker talking to his friend, let out a longing sigh, "Oh…he's soooooo cute…" She gushed as she ogled the young artist.

Rolling his eyes, Ron grumbled under his breath, "Here we go again."

Rufus, unknown to both Kim and her best friend, on seeing his master/friend's distress, had slipped out of Ron's pocket where he normally hid and skittered over to where Tara and Hope were talking. Pulling down on the jeans leg of the blonde girl until he caught her attention, the little naked mole rat pointed to Ron and sniffled.

Feeling the tugging at her leg, Tara spotted Rufus. Bending down, she gently picked up the little rodent and, holding him in the palm of her hand, noticed how he was pointing urgently at Ron. "You're telling us you're worried about Ron, little guy?" Tara whispered.

Rufus vigorously nodded his head in answer to the girl's question.

"Want us to go and have a talk with him?" Tara asked, receiving as an answer, a big smile on the face of the rodent as Rufus nodded his head even more enthusiastically.

"Okay, little guy. Let's go and grab your human." Tara smiled as she and Hope drew closer to Ron. Seeing at once that Kim was in the middle of what appeared to be a Mankey-centered fantasy, Tara shook her head as she took her place on one side of Ron while Hope took the other side, "Come on, Stoppable." The blonde adventuress quipped as she and her dark-haired friend firmly but gently guided the blond sidekick away from Kim and towards a side exit, "Kimmie's gonna be lost to the world for the next five minutes or so and I wanna grab a quick smoke before class. Gives us the perfect chance to talk."

Exiting the building, The three humans and naked mole rat, now once again safely ensconced in his master's pocket, made their way to an isolated alcove. "It's safe…" Hope said as she took position where she had a clear line of sight, "Go ahead and light up."

"Thanks." Leaning against the wall, Tara took a cigarette out of her cigarette case and lit it. Turning to Ron, she asked as she took a drag from her cigarette and exhaled, "What happened?"

"You know that's not good for you." Ron remarked, evading the blonde's question as he pointed to the cigarette in Tara's hand. "Smoking…that is. You shouldn't do it. Besides…if Barkin or some other teacher catches you..."

"That's why I'm here." Hope interjected. "I'm on lookout duty."

"And you're dodging the question." Tara declared, "So…what happened?"

"You heard us talking about Cambodia and the temple…I don't…" Ron replied as Tara shook her head.

"That's not what I'm talking about." The blonde adventuress interrupted, "What caused your phobia of monkeys? I know it has something to do with Camp Wannaweep. So…what happened there?" Seeing the hesitant look on the young man's face, Tara confessed as she took Ron's hand in hers, "I'm scared of spiders. Hate 'em. Creepy crawly monsters."

"I can't stand snakes." Hope declared. "Slithering so quietly that they sneak up on you and bite you before you can even see them."

"Camp Wannaweep." Ron whispered. "If there's a hell on earth, it's that place. My parents sent me there for summer camp. They said it would be fun. That I'd meet new friends and do all sorts of neat and fun stuff. Really, they sent me there because it got me out of their hair for six weeks."

"I'm sorry, Ron." Tara said sympathetically as she took another drag from her cigarette. "What happened there?"

"The bigger kids would pick on me all the time. So did the councilors." Ron replied in a soft voice.

"The councilors?" Hope shook her head, then tapped her temple with her index finger, "Hmmm…Yeah…I remember now! There was some sort of government investigation of that camp a few years ago and they shut it down, but they never explained why. Maybe it had something to do with child abuse?"

"While there was definitely child abuse going on there. I don't think that's all. It sounds like there was a coverup for something else." Tara conjectured as she squeezed Ron's hand, gently encouraging him to continue his tale. "Go on, Ron."

"The councilors locked me in with the camp mascot, a chimpanzee." Ron visibly shivered as he recounted the story of his terrible experience in that locked cabin that night.

"Those bastards." Tara cursed as Hope also began to see the boy Bonnie, and she, she shamefully admitted to herself, had always called a loser, in a whole new light. "You could have been seriously hurt or killed, Ron. They should have been tossed in a jail cell for that alone."

"One kid was worse than the others." Ron recalled, wiping the tears from his eyes as the horrible memories of that time flooded his mind. "His name was Gil. He picked on me all the time." Ron took a deep breath and exhaled, "When I first arrived at camp, I had a picture of Kim. Gil took it from me and shredded it into tiny pieces. When I asked the counselors for help, they all laughed."

"Shit." Hope murmured as she lowered her head, "I…I don't know what to say, Ron, except to say I'm sorry for all the grief I've put you through."

"It's okay, Hope." Ron's lips turned up in a sad smile, "I know you didn't mean it."

"There's more…isn't there, Ron?" Tara prompted as she gently urged the young man to unburden himself.

"Yeah." Ron nodded his head, recalling, "I used to love it when it was time for arts and crafts. I remember making a necklace for Kim…" His lips turned up in a sad, winsome smile, "I was going to give it to her when I got back, but Gil snatched it from me and tore it to pieces and then pushed me down the stairs when I begged him to give it back. I twisted my ankle and bruised my arm, but the councilor just told me to walk it off."

"Teacher!" Hope warned as Tara quickly put out her cigarette at the same time the change of class bell rang.

"Come on, Ron…" Tara gently urged as he and Hope both took an arm each and gently guided him back to into the school. "We need to get to class. Oh…and Ron…" The blonde said with a gentle smile on her face, "As far as we're concerned, Bonnie can take her food chain crap and stuff it up that tight arse of hers. If you ever need to talk to someone for whatever reason and you can't get to Kim or don't feel like talking to her…come get either or both of us and we'll listen."

Monday after the duel with Monkey Fist—Middleton High

"Dirty Pair incoming." Ron laughed as Hope and Tara approached the locker where he and Kim were hanging out. "Hi, girls!" The blond sidekick grinned at the two cheerleaders.

"Hi." Kim smiled at her fellow cheerleaders, "You two have a good weekend?"

"Did some clubbing and partying." Tara replied with a wicked grin, "What about you two?"

"We took a little trip to Lord Monte Fiske's castle and discovered…"

"Monkeys." Ron growled in a mixture of fear and anger.

"So…" Hope prompted, "What happened?"

"Besides me having to be in two places at the same time?" Kim laughed.

"Wait…what are you…" Tara rolled her eyes, "Does this have to do with that hologram your friend was working on?"

"Yeah." Kim nodded her head, "Aunt June invited us to dinner last Saturday which meant being stuck with my cousin Larry…"

"Come on now, Kim!" Ron grinned, "You're being too hard on your cousin. He doesn't sound like such a bad guy. I mean anyone who plays Fortress and Ios sounds like a majorly fun guy."

"Yeah…majorly fun." Rufus chittered as he popped up out of Ron's pocket and gave Hope and Tara a friendly wave.

"Whatever!" Kim sighed with an exasperated snort. "Anyway, Wade suggested that we use a holo-Kim so that I could…so to speak…be in two places at once."

Nodding her head approvingly, Tara smirked, "Not bad. So…holo-Kim kept Larry happy while you and Ron paid Lord Monte a visit."

"Not quite…" Kim grinned, "You see, I actually went to Aunt June's while my hologram…"

"Went to Fiske's castle with me." Ron interjected with a snort, "You know…I should have recognized that I was with the hologram when you insisted that I ring the bell to the front door."

"Fooled Fiske completely." Kim said, picking up the narrative. "He was obsessed by this really weird form of kung-fu called Tai-Shing Pek War."

"Monkey kung-fu." Ron frowned.

"Yeah." Kim nodded her head, "Right."

Taking over the narrative, Ron recalled, "Fiske found out that the Kim I was with was a hologram and I gotta admit…I thought I was toast…I mean all those monkeys and Fiske was now calling himself Monkey Fist…" The blond sidekick shuddered, "Anyway, a hologram of Kim's cousin Larry showed up and reminded me about the ninth level of Fortress—the level where you have this big boss battle with the Cloud Guardian. Larry reminded me that the only way to beat him is to drink from his enchanted well." Seeing the confused expressions on the Dirty Pair's faces Ron chuckled, "You've got to be a geek to understand."

"Then Ron did a brave and wonderfully stupid thing." Kim grinned, taking her best friend's hand in hers and squeezing it. "He runs into that room where Fiske had those jade monkeys and activated them. He…" The lovely redhead shook her head, the smile on her face growing wider, "He allowed himself to get hit full force by whatever mystical energy those monkeys were supposed to have." Turning to Ron, she gently reproved, "You could have gotten yourself killed."

"But I didn't." Ron smiled back. "While my main man Rufus was busy with Bates…" The little naked mole-rat popped out of Ron's pocket and did a quick kata on the floor, "…I tangled with Monkey Fist. After Rufus took out the butler, I just told the little guy to search and destroy and while he kept Monkey Fist busy trying to catch all the idols he was pushing off their pedestals, that gave me a chance to knock that weirdo out."

"Way to go, Rufus!" Tara and Hope cheered as the little rodent bowed in thanks. "And you did good too, Ron." The two cheerleaders both said in unison as they kissed the blond sidekick's cheeks, much to the revulsion of Bonnie and her posse who was walking by them in the hall.

"Ewwww…gross!" Bonnie groaned with a look of disgust on her face. Turning to her posse, the brown-haired queen bee snorted, "Come on girls, let's leave little Kimmie and the Dirty Pair alone with their pet loser."

"Looks like we got us a nickname, bestie." Hope giggled.

"I've heard worse." Tara laughed as the bell rang, "Oh well…Barkin awaits."

Tara's Home after school

Hearing the jazz ringtone coming from her phone, the lovely young blonde answered, Hullo Grandmama. It's great hearing from you too. Yeah, I did. Did you, Uncle John, and Auntie Emma read my report on dear psychopathic Monte?"

"Yes, Dear." The voice of the older Tara King came through the speaker, "I must admit, it has us worried. Monte's in custody, but, frankly speaking, I'm concerned about whether any normal cell can hold him. I do wish Global Justice would complete work on that new prison they're building to house superhumans and other really dangerous individuals. It can't get done too quickly for my tastes."

"I'm also concerned about Ron." Tara admitted. "From what he said, he absorbed all that energy and I'm not sure…"

"You're not sure he can handle it." The older woman interrupted, completing her granddaughter's thoughts. "I share your concerns, dear. While he seems like a fine young man from what you've told me and from what I've read, he is so young and to be given so much power so suddenly could be dangerous should he lose control."

"I could perhaps direct him to someone for training." Tara pondered, "It'd have to be someone other than me though I'm nowhere near qualified enough for this shite."

"It would have to be someone very learned in that discipline." The older woman agreed, "Fortunately, I believe there is such a person, but contacting him is not easy. Although…we might not need to contact him as there is a strong probability that he will contact your friend first. Now…as to that other…potentially explosive matter…any word on that front yet?"

"She's still awaiting word from her contact." Tara replied, "Once we get everything nailed down. Then we move."

"Sounds like you've got everything well in hand, darling." The older Tara declared approvingly, "Oh…one other thing…a…rather close acquaintance of yours should be contacting you very soon about a matter of grave importance. He'll fill you in on the details when you meet. Oh…by the way, Sweetie…you're going to love the cover story we've come up with for him and you."

On hearing the details from her grandmother, Tara's lips turned up in a wicked grin. Chuckling, she sat back in her chair and lit one of her Davidoff cigars, "You're right, Grandmama, I do. Now…enough shop talk…tell me about everything going on back home and don't leave out any juicy details."