There's no smoke without fire

Shego woke up feeling deliciously languid and relaxed. Her body was sore, but in the best possible way. She slowly opened her eyes and let her sight focus at the ceiling. From the daylight filtering in she knew she had slept in much later than she should have. She didn't feel guilty in the least.

Memories of the last night trickled in, and her mouth quirked in a smile. No wonder she felt so good this morning. She turned her head to look at the other person in her bed. Kim's bright green eyes looked back at her. Her hair was fetchingly mussed and she had a sweet smile on her lips that made Shego's heart, well, not flutter, since she wasn't a schoolgirl, but definitely add a little flourish to a beat or two.

"Good morning, Shego."

"Good morning, Pumpkin. Did you sleep well?"

"I did."

Kim stretched her arms over her head, causing the sheet to fall from her torso and reveal her perky breasts, artistically displayed by the move. Shego wasn't sure whether Kim was just utterly unconcerned by her nudity, or if she was an unrepentant tease. Shego could feel her cheeks heat up, the situation not helped by the marks on Kim's chest and neck.

Kim's eyes focused back on her. "Any regrets?"

"No. I think I did need that."

"Well, I'm glad I could give you a hand. And a tongue. And a..."

"Okay, enough."

"Prude." Kim's eyes twinkled and there was a note of fondness in her voice. She rolled over to drape one arm and half her body over Shego. Kim kissed her, which was nice, even if this kiss wasn't entirely ideal.

"Ugh, morning breath. I'll get back to that after we've both brushed our teeth." She laid her head down on Shego's chest. Kim's red hair tickled her nose. She wrapped the arm not trapped under Kim around the younger woman. Yeah, she'd definitely left some scratches last night.

"Comfy, are you?"

"Mmm. I don't want to move."

Kim's words were indistinct, murmured into her chest. She didn't really want to move, either, with Kim's warm weight on her. It was strange how comfortable she felt sharing this moment with Kim.

"It's going to be awkward when they come to make the bed. Actually, it's a wonder nobody's here to clean up yet."

"I put the 'do not disturb' sign on the door when we got in last night."

"But of course you did." Shego couldn't help a crooked smile. Kim really had been on a mission last night, and she wasn't going to be deterred by anything, up to and including a break-in. Oh, right; that had happened.

"Get up, Kimmie. We both have work to do." Even if her work would generally be easier if Kim didn't do hers.

"Didn't we establish that an essential part of our duties is to keep the other occupied? I'm sure you rested easily last night knowing I wasn't up to anything naughty."

"Not quite how I would have put it, but yes, I did rest pretty well. But I need to look into who searched our rooms and touch base with my client." And make sure they weren't the ones responsible.

"But if you get up, I'll need to get up, too."

"The dedication you have to your job is downright inspiring."

Kim was quiet for a while, not making any move to get up. Shego didn't have the heart to push her off.

"Can I tell you a secret?"

"Probably, but should you?"

"Do you know the reason I took this gig?"

"I have been wondering about that, it's not quite your usual type. What was it?"

"You. I was about to tell them I wasn't interested when they mentioned you were involved." Kim lazily trailed a finger along Shego's stomach. "I couldn't turn down the perfect excuse to see you again. I always kind of thought of you as the one that got away."

Shego froze as her heart sped up and icy fingers crept along her spine. "So, was I an item on your bucket list?" She kept her voice very controlled.

"No, nothing like that. I mentioned my attempts at a relationship haven't been very successful. I couldn't help thinking that maybe I'd already met the one person I could build something special with, and watched her walk away."

"I didn't realize I was on your mind that much." Shego calmed down, her worries mostly assuaged. Had Kim really pinned her hopes on her? She wasn't sure how to take that.

"Did you never think of me?"

"Well, it was hard not to. You still make the news on occasion." Shego fell silent for a while, stroking Kim's hair. "Why did you think it would work?"

"Mmh?"

"What made you think you had a shot at me? Until a few days ago I didn't even think I might be into women."

"I wasn't sure, but I had to at least try. But..."

"But?"

"I know it might have been just wishful thinking, but back in the day, towards the end, I got this feeling from you. That you might not have said no."

"You're right, it was wishful thinking." Shego had been certain she was straight then, or rather, it hadn't even occurred to her that she might not be. But Kim hadn't been wrong, in the end. Had there been something there she just hadn't recognized at the time?

This wasn't the time to dwell on it. Shego gently pushed Kim off her and sat up, holding a sheet to her chest. It was a little absurd, but she justified her bashfulness as an effort to discourage Kim from getting frisky. She had to get up and get to work. She looked around for a while before she found her hairbrush from where she'd stashed it when picking up the mess. She sat on the edge of the bed and started working on untangling her long hair. It was a little awkward one-handed.

"Are you brushing your hair before shower?"

"Yes, Kimmie. If you try to get the tangles out with your hair wet, you'll just damage it. Didn't anyone teach you haircare?"

"I never had hair as long as you. Is it a lot of work to take care of it?"

"Yes, but I think it's worth it." Shego had always been very proud of her hair.

"Definitely. I've always loved your hair." Shego could feel Kim gently brushing her hand along her tresses. "Why don't you let me help with that?"

"Go ahead." Shego held out the brush behind her. "Start from the bottom."

"I know that much."

Kim took the brush and started teasing the strands loose. It felt very nice. Shego wondered if this was what it felt like to have somebody in one's life. She wondered if she'd ever feel like this again. Her chest suddenly felt hollow. She was almost thirty and she'd never been in a real relationship. She and Kim had talked about maybe seeing what might develop, but neither of them had made any firm promises. Would she even know how to make it work? Kim's helpful ministrations were enjoyable, but the pleasure was tinged with melancholy.

"Were you serious, last night?"

"What about?"

"About us getting... involved?"

"I'd say we already are."

"You know what I mean. About, you know, dating."

"Yes. I mean, once I wrap up this case. It'll probably look better if we don't announce anything to the world just this second."

"Your sudden concern for appearances and conflict of interest is strangely not reassuring." Was she already distancing herself, preparing to let her down gently?

"I'm thinking about you. I'll be out of here soon enough, but you still have time on your contract."

"You really think you're going to succeed?"

"Tell me, Shego: if you'd been asked to steal incriminating documents from the FW suits at this trade show, would you have considered it a difficult job?"

"Back in the old days? No, not really. But I didn't have to worry about admissibility and all that."

"Oh, yeah, you're right. I can't do just anything, can I?"

Shego's spine went icy again. Kim wasn't this clueless; she was obviously dissembling. Had she inadvertently let slip that her mandate covered clandestine searches? If so, she had seriously misjudged the situation. Kim might have already secured what she was after. But what could Future Ways be up to that would justify such measures? She really, really needed to talk to her clients, but she also really, really needed to keep Kim under watch. Unless it was too late already.

"Are you hungry?" Kim raked the brush along her scalp, and she closed her eyes in pleasure. She wanted to purr, but that would have been too embarrassing.

"I could eat." She really should meet up with her clients, but there was no reason to do it on an empty stomach. As long as she kept close to Kim, a delay didn't really matter. "I think it's past breakfast time, though."

"I'm sure we can order room service."

"True. What do you want?"

"Cereal."

"Kim, you're a grownup now. I'm not letting you order cereal. You can have croissants and coffee."

"With marmalade?"

"Fine. Anything else?"

"An omelet."

"Are you sure you wouldn't prefer a full breakfast?"

"Hey, it's been a while since we ate." Her voice took on a playful tone. "And we did burn some calories last night."

"Okay, we can split an omelet." Shego reflected that with her lifestyle and physique Kim probably wasn't a dainty eater.

"Sounds good. Do we eat before or after shower?"

"How about you go take a shower while I order?"

"You don't want to shower together?"

"I really need to do things today, Kimmie."

"Can't one of those things be me?" Kim's voice close to her ear was low and seductive, and sent shivers down Shego's spine. She was aware of Kim's breasts pressing against her back.

"Maybe later. You go shower now." Before her composure failed her.

"Oh, very well. But I'll be thinking about you."

Kim handed her the brush and got up to walk to the bathroom. She didn't bother covering herself up, giving Shego a very good look at her body. She added a little swing to her hips that emphasized her delectable behind. Shego swallowed and fought down an urge to follow her; if she gave into temptation now, she'd never get out of the room.

Kim poked her head out of the bathroom. "Oh, and a glass of OJ."

"You want orange juice?"

"It's not a hotel breakfast without it."

"Fine, now go have that shower."

Shego had hoped that Kim would take a long shower and still be there when the breakfast arrived, but she was sitting on the edge of the bed in a bathrobe, toweling her hair when there was a knock on the door. Shego cast a critical glance at Kim as she went to open the door. Kim was showing quite a bit of leg, and some cleavage, but she was within the bounds of decency.

The young man carting in the food acted quite professionally, but Shego caught his eyes quickly scanning the room, lingering for a second on her in her pajamas and robe, Kim, and the unmade bed. She could practically see where his thoughts went despite his attempt at a poker face. She did her best to keep her embarrassment from showing. The embarrassment only intensified when she realized she didn't remember where she'd put her wallet last night. The young man waited silently, trying his best to not look around, especially at Kim.

"Uh, Kimmie, do you remember where my wallet is?"

"Did you take it out of your jacket?"

"Oh, right." Now, where was the jacket? Had she stuffed it into the closet, too?

"Well, if you can't find it, maybe we can come up with some other way to compensate our server."

Shego turned to look at Kim, who was running her finger along the edge of the robe by her cleavage while looking at the man. She wasn't sure if his expression was that of a deer in the headlights, or breathless hope. Shego finally found her wallet and fished out a note.

"Here." She planted the note on his palm and turned him towards the door. "Thank you. You can go now." Once he was out of the door, she turned to face Kim.

"What the hell was that about?"

"I was just teasing you. But did you see the look on his face?"

"I did. You'll be lucky if they don't file charges for sexual harassment."

"Oh, like he's going to complain."

"Is this going to be a thing? You flirting with everyone around, even though we're supposed to be..." What were they supposed to be? An item? They'd really only shared a couple of dates—depending on how many she was willing to acknowledge—and one night together. It just didn't feel like it.

"I wasn't flirting with him, Shego. I was messing with you. I told you: I've been a serial monogamist. I'm not going to fool around with other people while I'm with you." Kim got a mischievous glint in her eye. "Well, unless we invite somebody by mutual assent."

For reasons unknown an image of Cindy Winters popped into Shego's mind. What the hell?

"That's not going to happen. Just... can you tone it down?"

"I can." Kim gave an exaggerated dejected sigh. "Shall we eat now?"

"Lets." At least it would get them out of an awkward conversation.

The breakfast was soon finished, and Shego was left with a dilemma: she really needed a shower, and she also needed to keep an eye on Kim. She thought that maybe she should have just showered together with her, but she suspected it wasn't the tactically sound portion of her brain that suggested that.

"So, what are you doing today, Kimmie?"

"Oh, the usual. There's one interesting presentation I can still catch, and then I'll relieve Stacy at the booth. Well, I will need to see the manager at some point to sort some things out." Clearly she wasn't going to mention anything that wasn't related to Possible Solutions business.

"Do you need to get going right away? I'd like it if you were still here when I'm done with my shower."

"I'm sure you would." Kim offered her a knowing grin. "You should have just showered with me."

"We'd still be in there."

"Would that be a bad thing?"

"Will you wait for me to get ready?"

"Oh, fine. You go shower. I'll be here, trying to decide what to wear, maybe doing some stretches to limber up. Or maybe I'll get distracted and start thinking about you. Maybe you'll think of me?"

Shego hurried to the bathroom, more than a little worked up. Why hadn't she just showered with Kim?

Kim chose the exact moment Shego walked out of the bathroom to bend over to pull up her panties. The timing couldn't be anything but deliberate. Kim had obviously decided to tease her to death. Shego thought about looking away, but why should she? Kim clearly wanted her to watch.

"Oh, can you hand me my bra?"

"Is there something you're trying to keep me away from, Kimmie?" She picked up the bra laid out on the bed and lobbed it at Kim.

"No, there's something I'm trying to keep you close to. You're not bored with me already, are you?"

"I need to get some work done, Kimmie." Shego cursed herself for an insensitive idiot. She hadn't considered that her attempt to keep a stiff upper lip might come across as cold. "We can get back to us at the end of the day."

"Mm. I'll hold you to that."

"Will you stay here tonight, too?"

"Would you like me to?"

"Yes."

"I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be."

The palpable honesty in Kim's voice caused a warm glow to spread in Shego's chest. She stepped over to Kim and wrapped her arms around her. She could feel Kim snuggle against her, a warm and comforting presence.

"I'm not tired of you. I'd rather stay right here with you, but I do have a job to do."

"Fond of me, are you?"

"Apparently."

"Good. Because I'm not going anywhere."

Kim kissed her on the lips, this kiss minty fresh with the taste of toothpaste. Shego decided that a kiss or two wouldn't delay her too much.

Kim and Shego emerged into the corridor, dressed and ready for another day. Shego turned to remove the door hanger and close the door.

"Kim... uh, I really need to catch up on things with my crew, and talk with the higher ups. I've let you distract me from my responsibilities for too long already."

"I'm not stopping you."

"I know, but, well, it means I can't keep an eye on you personally. Could you promise to not do anything inconvenient while I'm in the meeting?"

"Shego, are you seriously asking me to not do my job to make your job easier?"

Shego realized she'd crossed a line. Kim was clearly willing to do much for her, in their private life. Business, however, was business.

"I'm sorry. Forget I said anything."

"I'm not sure why you think it's such a problem, anyway. You've had your minions watch me before."

"I still think you could lose them if you wanted to." Not to mention she now suspected Kim had more options available to her than she'd previously thought.

"While I wouldn't even want to lose you?"

"Will you at least tell me which presentation you'll be following?"

"So that you know where to send your henchman? I'm not sure I want to tell you, now."

"Please?" Shego felt a little dirty using a pout on Kim, but she reflected that all was fair in love and war. Kim had used one on her often enough.

"Maaaybe. If I tell you, will you send the cute one?"

"Wait, the cute one?"

"I think his name was Reynolds."

"What do you mean 'the cute one'?"

"Just what it sounds like. If it's not you stalking me, the least you can do is send me some eye candy."

"I'll send which ever one is on call for assignments like that. Will you tell me where you are going, or do I need to find out myself?"

"Fine. It's the one in Salon 5, set for one o'clock. Are you sharing an elevator with me?"

"No, sorry, the suit's suite is upstairs."

"Well, see you later, then."

Kim gave her a quick peck on the cheek and entered the elevator. Shego pulled out her phone as the doors closed.

"Johnson? How's things?"

"All quiet down here. No sign of the investigators yet. I think they might have given up."

"Good. Listen: you guys didn't get ordered to search Kim's room last night, did you?"

"Uh, were we supposed to?"

"No. Just making sure. Now I need you to get to Salon 5 to watch Kim during the presentation."

"Ma'am, I'm in the exhibition hall keeping an eye on things. Reynolds is the one on call today."

"I know; I made the schedule. Tell him to take over for you. I want you on Kim."

"Yes, Ma'am."

The Future Ways' Vice President of Sales had a nice suite at the top floor, which included a conference room. The centerpiece of the room was a table that was designed to seat many more than the three people arranged around it now. Shego sat next to the VP of Sales seated at the head of the table, with the executive from Research and Development sitting opposite from her.

"I would have preferred we schedule this meeting for earlier, Miss Green, but the timing is actually quite fortuitous. I have just received a piece of news I think should be relayed to you."

"Oh? What is it?"

"It concerns Miss Possible. My contact has just informed me that she is not working for United States Department of Justice, as you'd led us to believe, but rather Global Justice."

"Are you sure? My source seemed quite confident of their information." Chills were traveling along Shego's spine again. With Kim's earlier slip, that didn't seem impossible.

"Yes; he and I go way back, and he is in a position to hear about these things."

"My source must have fallen for a cover story, then."

"I am sure you will incorporate this new intelligence into your future plans, Miss Green."

"Already on it."

Now the big question was: just what had Future Ways done that not only got Global Justice's attention, but prompted them to recruit Kim Possible to go after them? This was way beyond the usual financial shenanigans or regulation dodging she'd expected. There was no way around it; she needed to know.

"Just why is Global Justice after you?"

"That organization is struggling to establish its relevance in this post-Invasion world. No doubt it is some self-important official on a misguided quest against us, possibly prompted by one of our rivals."

"No, I can't use this bullshit. I need to know." The men exchanged a glance before the VP continued.

"As you know, times have been tough all around after the Invasion. We here at Future Ways have been further hurt by some unnecessary and harmful export restrictions our short-sighted politicians have imposed on purely beneficial technology. In these dire straits we have needed to broaden our customer base to include clients whose political aims are not necessarily popular with the powers that be."

As he was talking, Shego slowly buried her head in her hands. She could feel another headache coming. While Future Ways didn't make weapons, a lot of their products could be put to perverse uses with some ingenuity. They were the kinds of things Drakken would have sent her to steal in the past.

"Please tell me you aren't selling dual-use tech to terrorists." Shego didn't receive an answer. Things were clicking together in her mind.

Future Ways was dealing with terrorists, or possibly a rogue nation. It could be a desperate effort to bolster their bottom line, or it could be a private scheme of the people in the room. Either way, they were obviously in over their heads. The government had found out and, because this was the kind of thing they took seriously, called in the big guns. There had been no arrests, so either there wasn't enough evidence yet, or they were hoping to catch the other party, too.

The surveillance was probably centered around Future Ways headquarters and production facilities, making it impossible to clandestinely deliver the goods to the buyer. What to do? Why, they needed to bring along demo samples for the trade show, thousands of miles away. If they loaded more than was quite reasonable and if some of it fell off the back of the truck, well, there was nothing nefarious about that. The right call would have been to kill the deal, but they were clearly either desperate, or complete idiots. Or possibly their new client was someone you just didn't disappoint.

It was conceivable the move had let them slip the surveillance for a while. Global Justice couldn't just relocate their operation within the borders of a sovereign nation without some red tape. So they reached out to Kim, a freelancer who everyone made allowances for. Her supporting cast was probably local DOJ drones, pencil pushers given a chance to live out their secret agent fantasies. The reason they were so toothless was probably that they had no authority to do anything; they'd just been scrambled to keep eyes on Future Ways while Global Justice moved the real investigators into place.

"Please tell me that it's a done deal. That whatever you were doing is done now, and everything from here on is above board."

"We... have contracted a third party to help us transport our technological products back to our facilities. What happens to them after they sign for them is unfortunately out of our control."

"At the end of the fucking expo? That's a week for GJ to get their shit together!"

"I'm not sure what you're referring to, Miss Green."

Of course they didn't. They were idiots. Shego had uncomfortable flashbacks to her days with Drakken. That line about new information had to be nonsense; they knew what the investigation was about, and had deliberately kept her in the dark until now. How was she supposed to keep their asses out of jail if she wasn't told these things? No doubt someone had felt very clever about arranging a deal under the very noses of the investigators in the middle of a media event. The smart thing to do would have been to dump the merchandize in a ditch somewhere on the way here and let the client pick it up.

"I'm not here because of the investigators, am I? I'm here in case your new clients get unruly."

"You are here because of your impressive resume, Miss Green."

Of course, she should have realized the handover was coming up. The new faces in the crowd, her and Kim's rooms being searched; the mystery clients were here, and they were suspicious. Still, if some unknown party made off with potentially dangerous technology, that didn't necessarily implicate Future Ways in any wrongdoing. Surely they weren't getting paid in cash on the spot, not in the middle of this circus. Were there any loose ends?

"Your laptop. You don't have anything related to this... transaction on it, do you?"

"It takes a lot of effort and planning to put together a deal like this, not to mention the delicacy needed in reporting the proceeds. You can't expect me to just handle it like a yard sale."

Of course. These weren't career criminals, they were businessmen in over their heads. Of course they'd have documentation for the whole thing.

"Delete it. All of it. In fact, scrap the whole laptop." Shego lit up one fist, causing the men to lean back in alarm. "Or better yet, let me do it. Where is it?"

"In my bedroom." The VP pointed towards the next room. "There is a lot of critical information on it. Surely you don't think it's necess..."

"If this is a terrorism investigation, it doesn't matter how they get the data, you aren't getting a lawyer to throw it out. You might not get a lawyer. If Kim gets her hands on that laptop, you're boned." If that hadn't happened already. Shego realized she might need an exit strategy of her own.

"I... I'll sanitize my laptop the minute we are done here, just to make sure there's nothing on it an overzealous official could find fault with."

"Make sure you're thorough." Shego's phone buzzed. "If you'll excuse me, I need to see what this is about."

"I think we were just about finished, anyway. You can return to your duties."

Shego mouthed 'laptop' as she walked out of the room.

"What is it, Reynolds?"

"I think you'd better get down here, Ma'am. There's some new faces here I'm getting a bad feeling from."

"More new investigators?" Please let them be Global Justice. That was the lesser of two evils.

"I don't think so, Ma'am. They look... rougher."

"I'll be there in a moment."

Shego walked back into the conference room.

"Miss Green?"

"The transaction was supposed to take place at the end of the week, correct? There was not going to be anything overt during the trade show?"

"I believe we already covered that."

"Something is going down in the exhibition hall, and my hunch is it's your new friends. I think they may be getting restless. This might get ugly."

"I don't see why they would. It should be a perfectly straightforward transaction."

"Did you tell them about the investigators?"

"I believe it was understood that discretion was advised."

Shego turned and walked out. If the shady clients checked out the scene and discovered the investigator presence, including Kim Possible, that their Future Ways contacts had neglected to warn them about, what would they conclude? That they were being set up, of course. The sensible thing would be to walk away, not double down. What kind of a criminal would seek to make a scene at a very public location?

A terrorist, of course. Shego's blood ran cold. She hurried for the elevator.

When Shego arrived to the exhibition hall things looked normal. While she made her way towards the Future Ways stand she tried to figure out what she was supposed to do. Was she expecting violence? Her instincts said 'yes', but was that enough to act on? She was short on solid evidence. What was the correct move here?

Her top priority was to keep Future Ways employees safe. Shego decided she needed to get them out of here first, then worry about the rest. But where to send them? Were the mystery clients looking to secure what they were promised, get payback on Future Ways for perceived betrayal, or to make a big scene in search of publicity? It might suffice to tell them to get in their rooms and stay there.

When Shego approached the Future Ways booth Cindy Winters looked up, her expression going from amused to uncertain. Reynolds stepped up to meet her.

"Reynolds. I don't see anyone out of place."

"They left the hall just a couple of minutes ago."

That could mean they were only here to check the situation. Were they happy? There was no sign of the federal investigators—fake investigators, as Shego suspected—or Kim. Perhaps they were mollified? She couldn't really count on that. Shego was aware the PR team was looking at her questioningly.

"You need to leave." Shego had made her mind up. "Reynolds, escort them out of here. There's a..."

"Miss Green!" A voice from behind interrupted Shego. She turned to see the R&D executive approach at a quick walk.

"What are you doing here?"

"Did we understand you correctly? Do you mean to imply that..." He paused and glanced at the PR team. "That our special clients are here and you believe they are not happy with... with the way we have handled the contract so far."

"I don't have time for double talk."

"The walls have ears, Miss Green."

He did have a point. This wasn't the moment to implicate oneself.

"I believe your clients feel you haven't kept up your end of the deal, and have come here to make sure they get whet they were promised. They might be pretty forceful about it."

"What do you base this belief on?"

"Call it an educated guess. I've dealt with these kinds of people before."

"Surely they can be reasoned with..." He was interrupted when Shego gave a short bark of laughter.

"You really have no idea what you're doing, do you?"

Shego herself was interrupted when an unexpected person walked into her view. Unexpected, because Johnson hadn't messaged her that Kim had left the presentation; yet there she was. Kim glanced at her as she passed her on her way towards Possible Solutions booth. There was no teasing smile. Her face was carefully neutral, maybe even worried, as her eyes met Shego's for a second. Shego thought she was trying to communicate something to her. She wasn't sure what it was, but Kim's serious demeanor put her on edge.

"Look, I have no time to argue. This is my call as the head of security: you all need to get out of this hall before it's... too late."

Shego's voice trailed off at the end of the sentence. It was too late. From the entrance Shego could see entered men in uniforms that screamed 'henchmen' to her. Whether terrorists or mundane criminals, the clients were here.