Double Entendre
Chapter 7
Possible House
"It's been a busy couple of weeks, hasn't it?" Kim Possible said, a warm smile crossing her face as her eyes fell on her best friend, currently stuffing his face with a big bite of Mrs. Dr. Possible's killer pancakes.
"NomNomNomNom…Uh…" Ron Stoppable, distracted from his primary mission of breaking the current record for pancake consumption—also held by him, looked up to see his best friend smiling at him. "What was that KP?"
"I said it's been a helluva a couple of weeks." Kim laughed gently as she reached across the table with a napkin and wiped a smudge of maple syrup from her friend's face. "There…that's better."
"Thanks, KP." The blond teenage boy grinned as he took a sip of soda, "Yeah." He said, his smile vanishing as he replayed the events of the last couple of weeks in his mind, "A lot's happened."
"Tell me about it!" Kim said, the smile still on her face, "We stopped a crazy archaeologist and another one of Drakken's stupid schemes all within two weeks." Laughing, she quipped, "Killer sexbots! How desperate could Drakken get?" Her smile vanishing she sighed, "And it was all to get back at my father and his friends because they laughed at him in college." Her lips turned down into a worried frown, the young redhead reached across the table, grabbing both her best friend's hands in hers. "Thankfully, everything turned out good and I'm sorry, Ron, for not believing in you. I should have known better than to listen to Bonnie. I should have supported you, but I let you down."
"No, you didn't, Kim." Ron replied with a warm grin on his face. "You backed me up in the end and tonight the Mad Dog makes his big debut."
"But I should have had your back from the beginning." A still apologetic Kim declared, "I'll try to be a better friend in the future—I promise."
"You're already a great friend, Kim." Ron answered back, "So…like they say…onwards and upwards!"
"Onwards and upwards!" Kim repeated, laughing merrily as Rufus, popping out of Ron's pocket and seeing two of his favorite humans now friends again, smiled contentedly.
"Awwwww…." The little rodent cooed before munching on a piece of bacon lying on the table. "Yum!"
Smiling warmly as she saw her daughter and Ron make up, Ann entered the dining room bearing a pot of coffee as she caught snippets of their conversation.
"So…" Ron chuckled as he watched his little friend devouring the bacon strip sitting on the table. "What exactly did the Dirty Pair text to you yesterday when they told you they weren't going to that last-minute emergency practice you called?"
"Dirty Pair?" Ann Possible queried as she joined her daughter and friend at the table. "Who are they? With a name like that, they don't sound like the sort of people you should be associating with."
"It's just a nickname for Tara and Hope." Kim laughed. "They got the name because they're best buds. Where you find one, you'll almost always find the other and when you put the two of them together they tend to go a little crazy." Making sure her mother wasn't looking, she handed her Kimmunicator to Ron, pointing to the texts the two cheerleaders had sent her.
His eyes opening in astonishment, Ron, mindful that Mrs. Dr. P was now joined at the table by Mr. Dr. P chuckled, "One thing you gotta say for them, they're very creative."
"Tell me about it." Kim replied, still blushing, "So…have you talked with them recently? I kinda need to apologize to them too."
"I called Tara this morning before coming over here. Hope was with her—I think they were out last night…ummm…studying." Ron squirmed in his seat as Mrs. Dr. P raised a suspicious eyebrow, causing the young man's face to grow even more crimson, "I don't think she's a morning person or was feeling too good 'cause she threatened to do something to me that wouldn't have been a very pleasant experience."
"Sounds like Tara's got a temper." Mrs. Possible noted with a knowing expression on her face.
"Hmmm…at times." Kim admitted, "But she's usually pretty friendly and outgoing. Hope used to be kinda quiet, but since she started hanging out with Tara she's gotten more extroverted. Put the two of them together and they sorta feed off of each other."
"Yeah…" Ron laughed, "Like nitro and glycerin."
"Well…you ought to invite them over sometime." Ann, remembering from the few times she'd interacted with Hope, recalled her as being a rather quiet girl who tended to remain in the Rockwaller girl's shadow. The redheaded neurosurgeon was also more than a little curious to what sort of person this Tara was to bring the shy girl out of her shell.
"Sure, Mom." Kim promised, her tone and body language revealing that this was one promise she didn't really want to deliver on. Then, turning her attention to Ron, she informed him, "We'll catch 'em at practice today. I texted them to remind them about the pre-game warmup and this time they said they'd show up and without making any ummm…suggestions." Kim laughed, as he mother once again raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Mad Dog." Kim smiled affectionately at her friend, "We've got to get to school."
"Arrrooo! Ruff! Ruff!"
"You kids have a good day at school!" James and Ann waved as the teenagers exited the house. Once the door had closed behind them Ann handed her husband a cup of coffee.
"I can't believe Drew went the evil mad scientist route just because you made fun of him that one time." Ann said as she poured cream and sugar into her coffee.
"I know." James shook his head. "Drew was always very sensitive, but I got a feeling it was more than just that one blowup that sent him down that path. I remember he always kept to himself in the dorms. We'd try to draw him out into stuff like intramurals and dorm activities, but he either said no or just hung out in the background." Shaking his head, James recalled, "I met his mother once. She seemed like a nice person, but to me it seemed that Drew didn't want her around him. He wasn't cruel to her or anything like that and genuinely seemed to love her, but it seemed that he just couldn't get rid of her fast enough."
"Sounds like his family life growing up wasn't that good." Ann noted sympathetically.
"Apparently not." James agreed, "Add to that, Drew had a really bad sense of timing."
"What do you mean?" Ann asked.
"You know how sometimes we'd get into all sorts of crazy stuff like shaving cream fights and the like?" James replied with a grin.
"Yeah." Ann chuckled, "I remember being in a few of those…"
"Well…" James recalled, "Drew was the sort who'd come in after the fight was over and everyone was getting cleaned up and then squirt a can of shaving cream at everyone. He never really fit in well." Letting out a small chuckle, James admitted, "Not that I was much better. Like I told Kim…" The rocket scientist blushed, "Back then I wasn't exactly a ladies' man…"
"You're more than enough man for me…" Ann growled sensuously.
"Grrrrr…" James playfully responded and then the Tweebs came rushing down the stairs.
"Hicka…Bicka…Boo…"
"Hoosha!"
"Let's table this discussion for another time." Ann winked as her husband gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Count on it, dear." He quipped and then said in a more serious tone of voice, "The thing with Drew wasn't the only incident at the Space Center yesterday. Believe it or not, there was a gunfight in one of the warehouses on the opposite side of the compound from where we were."
"A gunfight?" Ann exclaimed with a look of shock on her face.
"Yeah." James nodded his head. "I heard that it might have involved that woman who's in with Drew. You know…the woman with green-skin that Kim's fought against?"
"Yeah." Ann nodded her head, "I believe her name is Shego. What was she doing there?"
"I'm not really sure on all the details." James confessed, "Security put a tight lid on it. I do know that Global Justice and at least one other intelligence agency's involved as is the military. They came in and secured the area fast." Lowering his voice to a whisper, he remarked to his wife, "Keep this between you and me, Honey, but I also saw what looked like a nuclear weapons unit."
"Hell of a world we're living in now." Ann sighed as she put on her lab coat.
"Tell me about it." Her husband replied as he also slipped on his coat and then, the couple, realizing that they had put on each other's coats again, laughed and switched to the correct coat. Ann then called out to the Tweebs, "Jim…Tim…time for school!"
"See you this afternoon, honey!" James said as he gave his wife a kiss before walking out the door.
"Don't forget…Kim's cheering tonight and Ron's making his debut as the team mascot!" Ann shouted to her departing husband.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world!"
Tara's Residence—earlier that morning
"My head feels like it was hit by a bloody sledgehammer!" Tara grumbled as she pushed the man next to her out of her bed. "Right…Lex is it? It was a fun romp and all, but time for you to go."
"All right…all right!" An auburn-haired man after staggering out of Tara's bed, rummaged about the floor for his underwear and clothes. "Give me a few minutes to get dressed will you!"
"Hurry up." Tara urged, "I've got a load of shite to do today. Hearing rustling in the kitchen she called out, "Hope, luv…is that you?"
"Not so loud!" The olive-skinned teen called back, "Too much wine last night. Yeah…it's me. I'm just putting on some coffee."
"You send….what his name…away?"
"Brad? I think that was his name." Hope replied, "Yeah…he's gone. What about…"
Glancing at the man in her room getting dressed, Tara received an answer to her unasked query, "Lex."
"Lex. He's on his way out the door now."
"What about Sheila?" Hope asked.
"She's gone already." Tara replied seeing the white rose on the table next to her bed and a note saying Thanks for the fun time and your help on the caper. Tell the Cheerleader she did a good job. We gotta get together and do it again sometime soon. XOXOXOXO, Cheeky. PS: Tell what's his name he was okay…not great…but okay. And as for you…nomnomnom…
"My mouth tastes like cotton." Hope, wearing a black negligee remarked as she poured two cups of coffee, handing one of the cups to her best friend who had just come out of her bedroom wearing a silk robe and nothing else.
"That's because you smoked one of my cigars last night." Tara chuckled as she sat down with her friend at the snack bar.
"I did?" Hope exclaimed, "When?"
"After your third glass of wine. Or was it your fourth?" Tara replied with a grin, followed rapidly by her putting her hand to her forehead, "I hate bloody hangovers." Then, just as Lex or whatever his name walked out the door, the ringtone to Tara's phone rang. Taking out the phone, she let out a breath of air as she recognized the name on the caller id.
"Yeah…what is it, Stoppable?" Tara growled into the phone.
"Wow…someone's grouchy." The blond sidekick said with a laugh.
"And someone's about to have his dick tied up into a bow knot if he doesn't have a good reason for calling me before I've had my morning coffee and cigarette." Lighting up her cigarette and taking a sip of coffee, Tara asked in a more civil…relatively speaking…tone, "Something wrong, Ron?"
"I didn't mean to catch you at a bad time." Ron said apologetically, "I just wanted to let you know that Kim's on board with me being the mascot and I wanted to thank the two of you for being in my corner."
"Don't mention it, Ron." Tara replied, gentling her tone as she held the phone out for Hope. "I'm just glad that you and Kim worked things out."
"Yeah, Ron." The dark-haired cheerleader said, "We were glad to help and we can't wait to see the Mad Dog tonight."
"Well…I'm off to Kim's. I'll see you two at school and again…thanks!" Ron said before hanging up.
"Urgh." Hope grumbled, 'Why did he have to say school?"
"Because he's a bloody sadist." Tara responded as she put out her cigarette. "Your folks give you a hassle for staying over?"
"Nah." Hope grinned as she sipped her coffee, "They were cool after talking to your 'foster parents'. Would you please thank them for covering for me the next time you talk to them?"
"Sure." Tara laughed, "I think they had fun doing it. Well…after cleaning up the living room, I'm gonna grab a shower, get my bedroom in some sort of order, and then get dressed. You know where everything is."
"Yeah." Hope replied with a smile. "I'll clean up here, and then give you a hand in the living room. Then I better get my ass ready too."
"Thanks, luv" Looking at the mess that was her living room, Tara sighed, "Come on…let's get started. This mess isn't going to clean itself up."
Drakken's Lair
"Where have you been, Shego!" Drakken yelled as his assistant entered his Middleton lair.
"Not so loud, Dr. D." The green-skinned supervillainess groaned as she placed a hand on her forehead.
"Have you been out carousing again?" The mad scientist, rolling his eyes, snorted in derision.
"Had things to do…stuff to wreck." Shego bit back as she tossed a low powered plasma ball at her employer, "I heard about your sexbots too—PIG!"
"They weren't sexbots!" Drakken protested as he took cover behind a couch. "They were my bebes and they were perfect!"
"Your babies!" Shego shouted, wincing at the sound of her own voice, before launching another plasma ball.
"Not babies!" Drakken whined as he dodged his assistant's green projectile. "Bebes! Be…bes! And they weren't sexbots! What do you think I am? Some sort of pervert?"
"YES!" Grimacing again, Shego made her way to the medicine chest and took some aspirin with a glass of water. Sighing with relief after she drank down the cool liquid, the dark-haired villainess made her way to her room. "I'm gonna take a nap until tomorrow. If you know what's good for you, Dr. D., you won't wake me up."
Middleton High
His lips turning up in an amused grin as he saw the hang-dog looks on the faces of the two cheerleaders, one with blonde hair and the other with luxurious dark hair, making their way up the steps towards the main entrance of the school, Steve Barkin deliberately spoke in a louder than usual voice when he greeted the two girls.
"Mornin' ladies! Ready to start another fun day of classes at Middleton High?"
"Grrrrr…cut your balls off and hang them on my wall…" Tara muttered in a soft, barely audible voice.
"Stick a red hot poker up your ass and twist it slowly." Hope murmured in an equally low voice.
"What was that, girls?" Barkin grinned, "Did you say 'Yes, Mr. Barkin it's a wonderful day for school today'?"
"Yes, Mr. Barkin…" Both girls repeated in a sing-song voice, "It's a wonderful day for school today. We can't wait to learn all sorts of fun stuff."
"That's what I thought you said." Barkin chuckled, then lowering his voice, recommended, "You two get your asses over to the cafeteria and get some water and juice into your systems and I hope what you did last night is worth the hangover you've got right now."
Her lips turned up in a sly grin, Tara whispered back, "Oh…it was, Sir."
"Better believe it was." Hope murmured to the substitute teacher in an equally low voice.
"Ok, you Dirty Pair…" Barkin chuckled, "Get going before I give you detention!"
Watching as the Dirty Pair shuffled off to the cafeteria, Jessica, walking down the hall with her fellow cheerleader Liz Magnusson, snorted, "Must have been some night." Her laughter fading, the freckle-faced blonde gave the girl next to her a stern look, "You didn't have to be so rude to Kevin yesterday."
"Who?" Liz asked, genuinely confused. Racking her brain, the curly haired redhead finally placed a face with the name. "Oh! Him!" Shrugging her shoulders, she remarked caustically, "He's just a nerd from the chess club. So I told him to get lost. So what? He had no business even coming up and talking to me."
Barely restraining herself from slapping the girl standing in front of her, Jessica growled, "He's mine and Steve's friend. All he did was say hello to you. It's not like he was going to ask you out on a date—although if he did, you'd be smart to say yes. He's a good guy—not like Jason Walker and some of the others around here."
Barely believing the other cheerleader's words, Liz haughtily protested, "It's part of the food chain. We go out with those boys who are our level like you going out with Steve…"
"Hey!" Jessica quickly cut the other girl off as the pair reached their classroom, "I'm not going out with Steve because he's a jock or high up on the food chain or any of that shit. I'm going out with him because he's a kind, sweet, and smart boy. Not to mention the fact that he can carry out a conversation using words with more than two syllables and he's genuinely interested in me and in how I feel about things. And as far as food chain goes, Bonnie can take it and shove it up her tight ass." Entering the classroom, the freckle-faced blonde delivered a parting shot to her fellow cheerleader, "And if you don't have the brains to figure that out, then you can shove it up your tight ass too!"
Silently entering the classroom behind her still seething squad mate, Liz pondered her words, again forcing herself to answer some very uncomfortable questions. Taking her seat and glancing out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kevin Guberman sitting down next to his friend and fellow chess club member, Dave Ponder, talking quietly to each other, her alert eyes not missing the look of scorn sent her way by the boy talking to Kevin.
"Attention class!" Mr. Barkin's voice carried throughout the room. "Clear your desks and take out a sheet of paper. We're having a pop quiz."
Middleton High—the hallway between classes
"Anything on the board, Wade?" Kim asked the computer techie whose face now appeared on the computer monitor in her locker.
"Yeah." Wade responded, "While we were taking care of Drakken, there was another incident at the Space Center."
"Oh? What's the sitch?"
"Apparently there was a gunfight in a warehouse." The young techie reported. "I've got some security footage, but it's incomplete. They used some sort of grenade that acted as a smoke grenade, but also messed up the cameras and it acted as an incapacitating agent."
"Incapacitating?" Ron interjected, "What did it do? Knock 'em out?"
"No." Wade shook his head, "It caused them to start puking."
"Ewwww…" Ron exclaimed, "Gross!
"Really." Kim agreed and then inquired, "Anything else?"
"Yeah." Wade responded, "Let me show you what I was able to pick up."
"That's Shego!" Kim cried out, pointing to the green and black suited woman crashing down from the skylight throwing plasma balls.
"Yeah." Wade observed, pointing out, "And it doesn't look like she was holding back much either."
"Those two men with guns…" Ron gulped, "Did she just…"
"Fry them with her plasma? Yeah." Kim said in a soft voice, her eyes widening in both astonishment and fear. "Makes you wonder how much she's pulling her punches in her fights with us."
"And why she's pulling them." Wade commented, "There's got to be a reason she's not going all out against the two of you if this is any indication of what she's capable of doing." The camera footage then showed her quickly donning a gas mask and taking out two other gunmen with vicious claw strikes, easily cutting through their body armor to lay bare their chests. "And those two survived." Wade noted, "Along with four others—two of them hit in the legs by gunshots, the other two incapacitated by the gas."
"Any ID on the others?" Kim asked.
"No." Wade shook his head. "They weren't in the field of view of the cameras and by the time they most likely did come in, the security cameras had been fried due to Shego and those grenades they were using." He then added as an aside, "Whoever did this didn't seem to want a massacre."
"Tell that to those two men who were fried." Kim replied tersely through clenched teeth. "Shego murdered them."
"Looked more like self-defense to me." Ron objected, asking the Team Possible techie, "Wade, can you back that up a couple of frames?"
"Sure." Wade replied.
"Freeze it here." Ron exclaimed, "See?" The blond sidekick said, pointing to both of the gunmen, who had their fingers on the triggers and were about to fire. "They were going to fire first. Also…" He then pointed to one of the gunmen and asked the tech genius, "Do you know what sorta gun that is, Wade?"
"Give me a second, I'll look it up on the 'net." Wade responded, coming back moments later, "That's a Russian made RPG. Easily available on the arms market. It would have made a mess had he fired it."
"And that other man looked like he was ready to go full auto with his assault rifle." Ron noted. "I don't think Shego had a choice here."
"Maybe…" Kim conceded, "But still…"
"Yeah." Ron nodded his head, "It shows just how dangerous she is—as if we needed anything else to remind us of that."
"The two hit by bullets also had their wounds bandaged." Wade added. "Before the cameras cut out, I got enough to run their faces through various law enforcement databanks. These were very dangerous men, Kim. They're wanted for acts of terrorism, mass murder, and a variety of other crimes. They weren't your standard HenchCo thugs for hire."
"Any idea why they were there?" Kim asked.
"I think it might have involved those nuclear weapons that were stolen a few months ago." Wade said with a nervous gulp. "The outside security cameras picked up on military and Global Justice and also what looks like nuclear weapons specialists going into the warehouse and then coming out later with a sealed crate."
"Why do I not want to know what might be in that crate?" Ron asked with a nervous hiccup.
"You're not the only one who's scared, Ron." Kim replied in a hushed tone and then asked Wade, "Do we know why Shego was there?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Ron exclaimed, "She was there to steal the nuke for Drakken!"
"Maybe." Kim nodded her head in agreement. "If that's so, then the thought of Dr. Drakken getting access to a nuke…scary."
"Tell me about it." Ron said through gritted teeth.
"There is another possibility…" Wade postulated, "What if she and those people with her were trying to keep the bad guys from getting or using that bomb?"
"You mean Shego joining the good guys?" Ron laughed. "Fat chance of that happening!"
"Yeah." Kim agreed, "I gotta agree with Ron here on this. I don't see that happening." Seeing the Dirty Pair approaching from one side and Bonnie, accompanied by Liz and Marcella on the other, Kim smiled at her computer genius, "Gotta go now, Wade. Keep us updated, please and thank you."
"Will do, Kim."
"Hey guys!" Ron called out to the two cheerleaders, both with bottles of water in their hands.
"Not so loud." Tara said as she took a gulp of water.
"Yeah…still dealing with a headache." Hope grumbled.
"Ohhhh…" Bonnie jibed, "What's the matter with the Dirty Pair? Hung over after too much partying last night?"
Responding to the chestnut-haired cheerleader's taunts, Tara and Hope both held up their middle fingers in a universally known gesture. "Spin around on it, Bon-Bon!" Hope quipped.
"Barkin!" Kim warned in a stage whisper, shutting up Bonnie before she could deliver her counter.
"We're outta here." Bonnie sniffed as she and her court turned around and flounced away.
Waiting until her rival and Marcella and Liz had safely made their way down the hall, Kim smiled at the other two cheerleaders, "Ummm…Tara…Hope…I think I owe you an apology and I want to thank you for working with Ron on his routine. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it." Tara replied with a smile.
"Yeah." Hope grinned at the redhead, "It's all good."
"Thanks, girls." Kim's smile grew wider, "I gotta admit, I'm looking forward to tonight."
"It's gonna be a bon-diggedty good show." Ron declared with a big grin on his face as the bell rang.
"Better get a move on." Kim sighed as she pointed at Barkin already waiting at the classroom door.
"Another day…" Tara sighed.
"Another headache." Hope groaned as the teens entered the classroom.
After he'd ended his chat with Kim, Wade again played the security cam footage of the warehouse shootout, this time playing the portions that he did not show his friend. At first, he was going to show Kim all of the footage—even the segments with Tara and Hope. But, the more he thought about it as he analyzed the images before contacting his teammates, the more he realized that it would not have been a good idea for him to have done that. Ron and Kim's reaction on his suggesting that Shego, along with the two cheerleaders, one of whom, namely the blonde, Wade had deduced had to be the mysterious cat-burglar, were, in fact, working with Global Justice and the authorities, confirmed him in his decision.
An investigation of Tara King that he attempted after analyzing the combat footage proved…difficult…to say the least for the young hacker. Whoever had provided her cover was very good at their jobs as it was buried under so many layers of encryption and hidden traps and alarms that it challenged even his considerable talents. Ultimately though, he was able to piece together an incomplete dossier.
"Tara King…" He noted, "Born…London, England, United Kingdom. Age approximately twenty. Mother and Father killed in a plane crash when she was an infant. Grandmother also going by the name of Tara King named legal guardian after parents' deaths. Ms. King was assisted in raising her granddaughter by John Steed, listed as uncle, and Emma Peel who seems to be something of an honorary aunt and close friend of the family. Next to no information on those three except that they're all retired and living in England. Not really that big a surprise." Wade said to himself, "Most of their records would be hard copy and probably haven't been digitized." Although, he did spot a few old Times of London articles with Emma Peel and John Steed's pictures from the 1960s that had been digitized and archived that caught his interest.
"I don't think she's planning to hurt Kim or Ron." Wade concluded, "If anything, it looks like she's here to help them. All of her burglaries have been against the bad guys and she's not appearing on any warrant listings by Global Justice, Interpol, or other law enforcement with the exception of some countries like Iran and North Korea which, if anything, works even more in her favor. It also looks like she's working with Hope like Kim with Ron except Hope seems to be…" The young boy didn't want to belittle Ron by saying that Hope appeared more competent than the young man, instead, he chuckled, "At least she doesn't lose her pants."
Making a decision, the youthful tech genius took two improved Kimmunicators he'd been working on and put them in a box along with a note that read simply "Switch us on." He then sealed and addressed the package and called out to his mother, "Mom? Can I get you to call UPS? I've got a package I need to send—Priority delivery." Setting back in his chair, the computer genius fired up Zombie Mayhem and began playing. Next move was Tara's.
"This is stupid." Bonnie grumbled as the cheerleaders and their new mascot began to practice their first routine together. "When everyone starts laughing at us, Kim, I'm so blaming you."
"It'll be okay, Bonnie." Kim said in as soothing a voice as she could. "Just keep to the routine and we'll be fine." Turning to her best friend, now dressed up as the school mascot, she instructed, "Ron, do it just like we rehearsed earlier, right."
"Right, KP." Ron grinned as he put on the head mask. "The Ron-Man's got it covered."
"All right everyone!" Kim called out, not noticing the extra person, a young handsome, dark-haired man wearing a stylish shirt, jeans, and denim jacket combination watching with keen interest one of the cheerleaders, namely a certain blonde girl. "On three! One…Two…Three!"
On cue, Ron came out as the cheerleaders did their routine, his dancing and weaving in between the girls both humorous and graceful as he never once nudged or upstaged any of the cheerleaders until, with a final flourish, he went into his Mad Dawg routine, playfully chasing first Tara, then Hope, and finally Kim around the court.
"Okay everyone I think that's good enough. I don't want us to burn ourselves out before the game!" Kim shouted as the girls and Ron all caught their breaths. "Hit the showers and get changed and thank you!"
"Good job, Ron!" Tara and Hope both said as Kim nodded her head in agreement.
"Yeah, Ron. You looked good."
"Really, KP?" Ron asked with a wide grin on his face.
"Really, Ron." Kim smiled back only to quickly wheel about as she heard a shout.
"Ra-Boom-De-Ay!"
Turning about at the use of her pet name, Tara squealed with excitement on seeing the dark haired young man who had been watching the practice earlier.
"David!" She cried out as she literally leaped into the man's arms, giving him a long, lingering kiss.
"Woah!" Ron chuckled, "I guess someone's glad to see someone. Anyone know who he is?"
Shaking her head, Kim momentarily forgot her crush on Josh Mankey, "I've got no idea…" She said in a soft voice.
"I don't know who he is", Liz sighed, "But I want a piece of him."
"Uh Huh!" Bonnie declared, flashing a lascivious leer, "Stand in line. I get first dibs."
"Sorry girls…" Hope smirked, "You're all outta luck."
Smoothly catching his blonde lover, David whispered in her ear, "I've got the package in my jacket pocket."
"That's not the package I'm interested in at the moment." Tara whispered back and then, getting serious, told him, "Grandmama said you were coming and what your cover story is."
"Ahem." Kim coughed as she, Ron, Hope and the other cheerleaders looked on curiously.
"Oh…sorry!" Tara grinned as her boyfriend let her gently down to the floor. "This is my boyfriend, David."
"Damn." Marcella muttered under her breath on hearing the word 'boyfriend'.
"He's an exchange student from Oxford University and will be studying at Upperton U. for at least a semester."
"Hello." David smiled at the girls, receiving in return swoons from Liz and Marcella while Bonnie licked her lips
"David…these are the girls…and Ron." Tara continued the introductions. "This is Kim and Ron and my best friend, Hope."
"So…we finally get to meet in the flesh." Hope winked at the secret agent.
"And you're the excellent photographer." David quipped with a smile. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you." Turning to Tara, the spy took her hands in his, palming the house key concealed in her hand, smoothly slipping it into his pocket. "I'm afraid that I have to get settled into my dorm now, love, but I can give you a lift home and then…dinner tonight after the game?"
"Go for it, girlfriend." Hope whispered, "I'm stuck babysitting the brats after the game anyway. But tomorrow—I want details."
"Okay, baby." Tara replied as she gave her boyfriend a kiss on the lips. "See ya tonight." She then whispered in his ear, "I got a feeling you're going to be the main topic of conversation in the locker room."
Sure enough, Tara's boyfriend was indeed the chief topic of discussion as the other girls literally bombarded the blonde cheerleader with questions about him.
"Where did you two meet?
"We met on a study trip to Vienna."
"How old is he?"
"Twenty-one." Here Tara lied by a couple of years as David's real age was closer to twenty-three.
"Have you two done the deed?"
"I don't kiss and tell."
Finally, exiting the locker room, Tara laughed as her best friend walked beside her. "Damn. I've been through police interrogations that were less brutal."
"Can't blame 'em for being curious." Hope laughed. "And, bestie…he is a hottie. Did you see Liz and Marcella drooling?"
"Yeah." Tara replied with a canary-eating grin on her face. "I thought for a moment we were going to have to put buckets under their chins.
Seeing her mother's car and David's Porsche in the parking lot, Hope sighed, "Sure we can't trade rides? No? Oh well…no harm trying. See you at the game." She grinned as she said goodbye to her friend.
"Later, Hope." Tara waved back as she made her way to David waiting for her by his car.
"Home?" David asked as the couple got in the car and Tara lit a cigarette.
"Home." Tara replied. "You got the disks?"
"Yeah." The dark-haired man driving the car said as he patted his shirt pocket. "You think we'll have a problem getting this Wade Lode's cooperation?"
"No." Tara shook her head, "I don't think we'll have a problem once we make contact with him. The trick is making initial contact though. He's very good at covering his traces."
"Hmmm…" David pondered the question for a few moments, "You know…he might be the one who initiates contact."
"Oh?" A curious Tara exclaimed as she exhaled a plume of smoke, "Do go on, luv."
"Mother reported an attempt to hack into your dossier from a location in this area. Looks like our Mr. Lode has taken an interest in you."
"Must be from our last caper at the Space Center." Tara surmised. "There's a good chance he tapped into the security cameras. If he did, he'd have caught a few brief glimpses of me and Hope before we put the masks on."
"Probably." David agreed. "Mother let him into part of your file as a…well…let's say ice-breaker."
As they pulled into the driveway of Tara's home, Tara tempted, "Sure I can't talk you into coming in?"
"Not now, I'm afraid." David sighed, "I really do have to get moved in. But definitely after dinner tonight if that's all right with you."
"Of course it is, luv." Tara replied, adding, "Hope will be by tomorrow. We've got a workout session in the gym planned and then we're going to hit the range before getting changed and going to the mall to do some shopping and all. You're welcome to come with us if you'd like."
"I might just take you up on that." David grinned.
"Smashing." Tara exclaimed as she gave her lover a kiss. "Also hopefully, we'll hear something from our friend Wade this weekend." Getting out of the car, she waved, "Pick me up tonight for the game?"
"It's a date."
The Game: Lowerton Lemurs vs. Middleton Mad Dogs
"I don't believe it!" Bonnie shook her head in amazement. "The crowd loved him."
"Of course they did." Tara replied with a big grin as she blew a kiss at the mascot.
"We told you they would." Hope quipped as she waved her pom-poms.
"Well…for what it's worth, I'm glad to be proven wrong." Kim said as she gave her best friend a hug, "You did great, Ron."
"Thanks, KP!" An out of breath Ron Stoppable said as, staying in persona, he waved to the crowd.
"And that's the game." Kim and the other cheerleaders cheered as the victorious Middleton High Mad Dogs ran to their lockers. "So…what are everybody's plans?"
"Going out with Brick." Bonnie replied.
"Babysitting." Hope sighed.
Seeing David in the stands, Tara smirked, "Dinner at Chalet Quesette."
"Ooooooohhhhh…" Jessica sighed, "Lucky girl."
Smirking, Hope quipped to her best friend, "Don't forget…I want a full report tomorrow."
"I was wrong, Ron." Kim said to her best friend as they walked together off the field, "Let me make it up to you—at least a little bit. What about letting me buy all the nacos you can eat at Bueno Nacho tonight?"
"Booyah!" Ron exclaimed, "Lead the way, KP!"
Watching with concern an uncharacteristically quiet and subdued Liz walking alone to the locker, Jessica dashed to catch up with her. "Hey, Liz. Liz!" Jessica repeated as the other cheerleader seemed to not hear her.
"Oh…" The curly-haired redhead started, "Jess. I'm sorry. My mind was on…stuff."
"Hey…" Jessica apologized as the two girls walked together into the locker room. "I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier in the week. I shouldn't have said those things…"
"No." Liz shook her head, "You were right. I was being a jerk. I should have at least been polite to Kevin. Would you please tell him I'm sorry when you see him?"
"Why don't you tell him yourself?" Jessica smiled, "He's waiting outside with Steve."
The parking lot after the game
"Jess wanted me to tell you she's sorry she wasn't able to fix you up with Tara." Steve confided to his friend as the pair waited outside the girls locker room. "It seems she has a boyfriend…" The baseball shortstop remarked as he inclined his head towards where a handsome dark haired man wearing a pullover sweater and jeans stood.
As the doors opened to reveal Tara and Hope, the man called out in an accented voice, "Ra-Boom-De-Ay!"
"David! Be with you in a sec, luv!" Tara called back, "Until then I'll let Hope keep you company!"
Flashing a leer, the raven-haired cheerleader quipped, "My pleasure, bestie. Take your time. No rush."
Approaching Steve and Kevin, the blonde Englishwoman, now wearing jeans, a Union Jack t-shirt, and a leather jacket, smiled, "Hullo boys. Jess should be out shortly, Steve. When we left, it looked like she was having a serious conversation with Liz." Favoring the chess club captain with a warm grin, Tara commented, "I think it was about you."
"About how low down on the food chain I am, I'll bet." Kevin murmured in a barely audible tone.
"Hey, G-Man!" Steve interjected, clasping his friend's shoulder, "What did I tell you? Any girl would be lucky to date you. If Liz is too stupid to see that, then screw her! There are other fish in the sea."
"Steve's right, luv." Tara seconded before continuing in a gentle, encouraging tone of voice, "But I'm getting the feeling that she's starting to have second thoughts about all this food chain rot. Maybe you should give her another chance?"
"Maybe." Steve conceded, "Could be you just caught her off-guard."
"Yeah." Tara pressed, "It wouldn't hurt to give it one more go, would it? What have you got to lose?"
Sighing, Kevin replied, "Just what's left of my pride." Wincing as he took in the looks his friend and his blonde chess opponent were giving him, Kevin sighed again, "All right. I guess it couldn't hurt to try one more time."
"That's the spirit!" Steve grinned, slapping his friend on the back of his shoulders. "Go get her!"
"Vienna Game, Kevin!" Tara chuckled as she waved goodbye, "Good luck!"
"Vienna Game?" Steve raised his eyebrows as the two boys watched Tara and Hope walking away with Tara's boyfriend, the girls on either side of him with his arms around both their waists.
"She suckered me with that the last game we played." Kevin replied with a laugh. "She usually plays Queen's Gambit or King's Indian with white against me, but she threw me off completely when she opened with the Vienna Game. I never saw it coming."
"You sure you'll be okay by yourself, Liz?" Jessica asked as the two girls walked to where the two boys were standing.
"Yeah." The other redheaded cheerleader replied with a sigh, "I'll be fine. I just have to…" She let out another breath of air as she saw Kevin standing next to Jessica's boyfriend. "I just have to…"
Pausing for a moment, the normally vivacious, now subdued, cheerleader gazed at the slender boy standing next to his friend. Her feet seemed rooted to the ground as she stood, almost motionless, all but staring at the boy. She knew as her eyes fell first on Jessica, then Steve, then back to Kevin, that she had to make a decision and make it now and that no matter what the decision was, there was no way she could turn back. Behind Door Number One there was Bonnie and the food chain. Behind that door lay safety—at least until she graduated. She would continue to bask within the glow cast by the chestnut-haired prima donna's popularity. Her place in the food chain would be secure. Behind Door Number Two there was…she didn't know. If she apologized to Kevin, would he accept her apology or reject her out of hand. And if he did accept her apology…what then? Bonnie, Marcella, and Amelia would disapprove. Her place in the food chain would be in jeopardy, and with it, the safety and stability that came with being within Bonnie's orbit would disappear. Which way? Which door? The choice had to be made and it had to be made now.
"Liz? Liz!" Jessica called out as she almost shook the other girl to get her attention. "Are you okay? Are you feeling all right? Do you want me to get someone?"
"No." Liz shook her head, "No. I'm okay. I was…I was thinking." Taking a deep breath and exhaling, the redhead prompted, "We should go. Steve's waiting for you."
As the two girls drew closer to the boys, Steve gave his girlfriend a kiss. "Great game. And Ron was terrific as the mascot."
"Yeah." Jessica smiled back, "He surprised everyone—well everyone except for Tara and Hope." She shook her head, "Those two were the only ones who backed him from start to finish. Even Kim tried to talk him out of it." Glancing at the redhead standing next to her and then at the slender, wiry-framed boy standing next to her boyfriend, the freckle-faced blonde pointedly remarked, "He had the guts to go for it—even though he was thinking the whole time that he was gonna fall flat on his face."
"Yeah." Liz murmured in a low voice, "I guess I better get to the bus stop. This is the last bus, if I miss it, I'll be late for curfew."
As the redhead began to turn away, Jessica nudged her boyfriend who in turn gave his best friend a nudge to his ribs, accompanying the nudge with a quick jerk of his head towards Liz. "Go on." He whispered in a barely audible tone, "Now or never."
"Ummm…Liz…" Kevin stammered, urged on by the other pair's silent encouragement, "Uhhhh…I could walk you to the bus stop…if you don't mind."
"It's getting dark, Liz." Jessica chimed in, "I'd feel better if you let Kevin go with you."
Pausing for a moment, Liz, finally coming to a decision, opened one of the two doors. "Thank you, Kevin. I'd like that."
Watching as her fellow cheerleader walked away with Kevin, Jessica let out a sigh of relief. "For a while, I wasn't sure which way she was gonna jump."
"Yeah." Steve replied as he guided his girlfriend to his truck. "I wasn't sure either."
"I hope the two of them can work it out." Jessica remarked, "Liz isn't a bad person…it's just that…you know."
Nodding his head as he opened the passenger side door for his lovely blonde companion, Steve acknowledged, "I know. Sometimes that first step's the toughest.
Unsure of what to say to each other, the pair walked silently through the parking lot until they heard a loud voice calling out to them. "Hey! Red!"
Turning towards the voice, Kevin and Liz saw a husky boy wearing a Lowton jersey, with a can of beer in one hand approaching them. "Let's go, Kevin." Liz murmured as the boy walking with her muttered his agreement.
"Good idea." Kevin replied as the pair picked up their pace.
"Hey! Red! I said hold on!" The Lowton jock shouted, his voice slurred from the effects of the alcohol he had been drinking. "I just wanna talk to ya!" He grinned as he got close enough to grab the redheaded cheerleader by her arm. "Why don't you ditch nerd-boy and come with me? Me and some pals are having ourselves a little party at Lake Middleton. Beer…tunes…" Sneering at Kevin, he growled, "No nerds."
"No thanks!" Liz replied with a scowl as she tried in vain to break away from the larger man's hold.
"You know you wanna!" The jock laughed as he tried to pull the cheerleader with him, "C'mon! It's party time! And after the party…"
"Hey!" Kevin growled, "She told you to leave her alone! Back off, creep!"
Laughing, the jock's lips turned up in a sneer, "Or what? You gonna make me nerd?" Pulling back his arm, the football player swung his fist at the smaller boy with a haymaker punch.
Ducking quickly as he saw the blow coming, Kevin lashed out with his foot, giving the jock a solid kick in the shins causing the larger boy to drop his beer can and, screaming in pain, hop on foot.
Taking advantage of the jock's momentary weakness, Kevin grabbed Liz by the hand, urging her as the pair began running, "Let's go!"
Quickly losing the masher, the pair arrived at the bus stop only to see the bus leave. "Dammit." Liz sighed, "I've missed the bus. Now I'm gonna have to call my folks and they're gonna ground me for sure."
"Ummm…" Kevin stammered as he took out his cell phone, "I can call my Mom. She should be here soon to pick me up. I'm sure she wouldn't mind dropping you off at your house on the way. That is…if it's okay with you."
"Thanks." Liz's lips turned up in a gentle smile, "I appreciate that…Kevin."
"Don't mention it." Kevin smiled as he dialed his mother's number. "Hey Mom? Would you mind if we gave a friend of mine a lift back to her house? She missed the bus and if she calls her parents, they'll ground her. You will? Thanks. See you in a bit."
"Mom says it's okay." The chess club captain smiled at the redhead standing next him. "She's on her way. She'll be here in a few minutes."
"Thanks again, Kevin." Liz said in a soft voice, "And Kevin…I uhhh…I want to apologize…for the way I treated you."
"It's okay." Kevin replied with a grin, "I guess I kinda caught you off guard."
"Yeah." Liz smiled back. "So…" She ventured, "…what did you think of Ron's last routine where he chased Tara and Hope around?"
Laughing, the pair talked until Kevin's mother arrived, and then talked some more on the way to the redheaded cheerleader's house until, arriving just before curfew, Liz exited the car and, after thanking both Kevin and Mrs. Guberman for the lift, said to Kevin, "I'll see you at school tomorrow, Kevin."
"See you, Liz." Kevin smiled back as his mother drove away.
"So…Kevin…" Mrs. Guberman grinned, "Who's the young lady?"
Tara's House the next morning
"Morning, David." Hope grinned as she entered Tara's house, waving to the secret agent who was currently sitting at the counter drinking a cup of coffee. "Where's my bestie?"
"Grabbing a shower." David replied with a smile. "Help yourself to some coffee."
"Thanks." Hope said as she poured coffee into a cup and added cream and sugar. "Did Tara tell you that…"
"She's working with you now?" David nodded his head, "She also told me that you're coming along nicely." The trained agent then added in a serious tone of voice, "Tara doesn't impress easily."
"If I can ask…how long have you two known each other?" Hope asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"The better part of two years now." David replied. "We met through Tara's uncle and we worked a couple of jobs together. Normally, she likes to work alone…" He then stated in a sincere tone of voice, "I'm glad she's got someone she can trust backing her up now. She'll be less likely to take risks while you're working with her."
"You joining us for our workout and all?"
"Yeah." David grinned as Tara joined her friends at the snack bar and after pouring a cup of coffee, lit her morning cigarette. "I'm curious to see what Tara has taught you."
"I think you'll like what you see, David, luv." Tara grinned as she exhaled a stream of smoke. "She's got good technique. We just need to work a bit more on her tendency to telegraph.
"What do you mean telegraph?" Hope exclaimed, "How am I telegraphing my moves?"
"Oh…it's nothing obvious." Tara replied, "Just subtle motions that an expert will pick up on."
"That is something that needs to be worked on." David agreed. "While you'll get through a regular dust up okay, run up against a real pro and those slight tells could do you in."
"Well…" Hope asked as she sipped her coffee, "When do we get started?"
"Soon as I finish my coffee and cigarette." Tara replied as she took a sip of coffee.
"So…" Hope asked her best friend, dropping her voice to a whisper so as not to be overheard by the attractive man loosening up near them while they stretched before starting their morning workout, "Are you and David…"
"Exclusive?" Tara quipped, shaking her head, "No. We have what you could call an open relationship. Works better that way in this business." Her lips turned up in a wicked grin, "You want to have a go at him…feel free. Hell…if it's okay with you, I might just join you."
"You're joking!" Hope exclaimed with a laugh. Then, seeing the grin on her best friend's face, she let out a breath. "You're not kidding…are you? You're serious." As Tara nodded her head, the raven-haired cheerleader stammered, "Ummm…Like we were talking about when you first told me that you were…"
Tara smirked, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm not looking to put the moves on you either. You're my best friend and I feel the same way you do-I want it to stay that way. But, I don't have a problem sharing if you don't since you're legal now. So…we all right?"
"Yeah." Hope smiled back at her best friend, "We're okay, bestie. And…FYI…If you don't mind sharing then I don't. I just need to get used to the idea a little."
"Cool." Tara replied as she went into a combat stance, challenging her sparring partner, "Now…show me what you've got."
Watching as the two women sparred, David paused the bout in places to offer constructive criticism to Hope where he caught her telegraphing. "It's almost impossible to catch, but a pro will catch how your shoulder dips that little bit before you lunge and will have a counter set up." He then smiled at the blonde girl standing by, "May I?""
"Be my guest." Tara smirked as she stood aside and David and Hope took on guard stances.
"Okay, Hope. Now…"
Her lunge smoothly countered by the secret agent who then threw her to the floor, Hope took the offered hand and got back to her feet. "All right…how do I make sure I don't do that?"
"Let me show you a trick I learned." David replied as he walked the olive-skinned cheerleader through a set of maneuvers. "Now…try it yourself." As Hope went through the kata on her own, both Tara and David nodded their heads approvingly. "Good. You've got it."
"So…just out of curiosity, how would you say I compare to Kim?" Hope asked as the trio toweled off, their workout completed.
"Kim's got you on speed, you're a touch more agile, and she's stronger—but not by much. Plus, she's got a lot more experience than you." Tara replied, giving her friend an honest opinion. "Don't feel bad though. She's got me on strength and speed. I'm more agile than she is and I've been in the game longer. The way to beat Kim is through technique and precision. Don't believe that bullshit about her knowing sixteen different styles of kung-fu. She's just blowing smoke up peoples' asses when she says that. Do you know how much time and training it would take to master even one form—much less sixteen? I know it, Sheila knows it, and Betty knows it. Really, she takes more of an MMA approach—which isn't bad in and of itself. It gives her an element of unpredictability that can give her an edge. Key to beating her is to watch her tells and strike true when you get an opening and above all, keep your guard up and watch out for surprises."
"What about Sheila?" Hope inquired.
"Her temper gets Sheila in trouble." David replied. "When she gets mad, she gets careless, giving you plenty of openings if you can keep your wits about you."
"But watch out." Tara advised, "When she loses her cool, those plasma balls get hotter and she gets wilder with those claws of hers. You saw what happened to those plonkers in the warehouse and I've got a really nice scar on my leg when she grazed me during one of our little dustups. Of course, I gave her a nice one with one of my shuriken, so it balances out. Be ready to move and move quickly when you're dancing with her."
"So…gun range next?" Hope asked as the trio exited the gym.
"Gun range and then…shopping!"
As they waved goodbye to David after he dropped them off at Tara's house, the two girls, both carrying packages, noticed the parcel left at the front. "Curious." Tara murmured, "I'm not expecting a shipment or package."
"Think there might be something that goes boom inside?" Hope asked as she felt a weight at the pit of her stomach.
"Could be." Tara nodded her head, "Let's take it slow. If we have a return address, then I'll have a better idea. No return address, we back off and call Global Justice from a safe distance in case there is a bomb and it's got a wireless trigger." Cautiously advancing, Tara at once recognized the UPS shipping label and an address with a name, Wade Lode. "Looks like our Mr. Lode has decided to contact us."
"So…you think it's safe?" Hope asked as Tara carefully picked up the package.
"Yeah." Tara responded, "Let's get in the house and open it, shall we?"
Entering the house, Tara placed the package on the snack bar counter and opened it.
"Aren't those the special phones Kim and Ron have?" Hope asked as she pointed to the two Kimmunicators.
"Yeah." Tara nodded her head, "Only it looks like Wade's made some improvements in the design. They're flatter and have a bigger screen." Noticing the post it note, the blonde's lips turned up in a sly grin as she handed one of the devices to her friend. "Shall we?"
"Let's." Hope responded with a grin of her own as both girls turned on their Kimmunicators.
As the devices booted up, the image of a chubby dark-skinned young boy appeared on their screens. "Tara…Hope? I'm sure you know who I am. I think we need to talk."