Chapter 5: To the Egress
Kim pops to the surface gasping for air. As the air rushes back into her lungs, the ingested water causes her to cough. As if that wasn't bad enough, her thoughts turn to the monkey-piranhas. She feels brushes against her right ankle. Kim isn't one to go down without a fight so, with her right leg, she kicks at the horrible monstrosity brushing against her leg.
"Uh-oh", she mutters as she strikes something really solid, really big. Her mind instantly runs through the myriad of DNAmy creations that she possible just must very, very mad. All of a sudden, there is a swell of water behind her.
"Ow!" Ron rubs his head. "You kicked me on my head!"
"Ron! Are you OK?"
Ron rubs his head a little more. "I think I have a contusion."
"What about the Monkey-Piranhas? Have they attacked you?"
"No, not at all. I think they're actually scared of me."
"I guess that kinda makes sense. I remember from Zoology class that piranhas rarely attack anything larger than them and, if I remember correctly, most South American monkeys eat only fruit and nuts. It's the African monkeys that are carnivorous."
"April 9th?" Ron asks.
"Ron, don't start with that. We need to find a way out – now. Once Señor Senior Sr.'s Muertadora hits the control panel, I don't know what will happen. I really don't want to know, either."
"Follow me. I think I found an egress." Ron then mumbles, "February 4th."
"I heard that!"
Ron takes a deep breath and dives under water. Kim follows him. The two swim towards the near wall, where there is a Plexiglas wall leading to an outdoor reservoir that soon will carry all the shipping traffic the Panama Canal once handled. Kim removes her compact once again and presses the button twice. The mini-circular saw activates. Kim cuts a large circle in the clear plastic barrier.
Ron and Kim swim through and surface safely outside of the mansion. Both swim to shore and catch their breath. The ground starts to rumble and shake. They look back at the room in which they were imprisoned just a few minutes before as it crumbles and falls into the giant man-made canal.
"Gee", says Ron, "you think Señor Senior Sr. would've thought that one through a little better."
"Follow-through isn't really one of Señor Senior Sr.'s strengths." Kim scans the area. A six-story building, detached from the mansion, catches Kim's attention. At its peak sits a room that looks much like the bridge of a large cruise ship that overlooks the canal. There are several pipes running down an exterior wall of the building leading into the ground. Kim points to the room, "I think that room up there is the command center from where the ships will be navigated. I bet the controls for the locks and will be there, too. If we're lucky, so will Señor Senior Sr. and Junior."
Kim and Ron scamper over to the pipes and start to climb. "Ugh," Ron lets out, "not only did they take our grappling guns but my pants weigh a ton after getting all wet." Despite the added weight of the water, they quickly reach the roof of the building.
Standing on the roof, Kim and Ron look around for a way to get into the control room below them. "Do you have any rope left?" Ron asks.
"No. No rope. There's a ventilator shaft that might just be wide enough for us to fit. Let's try that."
The duo jogs over to the ventilator shaft and climbs into it. They crawl through the duct work and reach the canal's control room. Kim holds up her finger to her mouth in order to tell Ron to be quiet. She surveys the room and sees four men she guesses to be technicians, but there's no sign of the Seniors. Kim punches the screen and jumps into the room, quickly followed by Ron.
The technicians turn and examine the cause of the commotion. One of the technicians hits a red alarm button. A bell starts ringing and the technicians dart out a sliding door in the far wall. At the same time, three guards run into the room. The guards and the two teenagers square-off against each other. The quintet pace back and forth, sizing-up each other. Before any kicks or punches are thrown, the sliding door opens once again.
Señor Senior Sr. strolls into the room. Even with the aid of his cane, he still moves in an elegant manner befitting a man of his worldly, if not recently evil, accomplishments. Señor Senior Jr. follows lumbering in-tow, a stark contrast to the refinement of his father. "I see you have somehow escaped the Muertadora. It seems I have underestimated you once again." He turns to Junior, "Perhaps you were right. I tried to show you the classy manner in which to dispose of an arch-foe, Junior. Now, we will do it your way – the simple way. The provincial way."
Ron's face beams. He waves his hand in recognition, "Hey! I know what that means." In an instant, Ron realizes the context of Señor Senior Sr.'s use of the word and the role of the three large men standing in front of him and Kim. A sullen expression washes across his face, "It means we're going to be in a lot of pain, doesn't it?"
Señor Senior Sr. answers, "Yes, it does. Without a doubt. I would like you to meet Juan, Jorge, and the very large man directly in front of you is the one they call "El Ringo". They will be inflicting much physical pain upon you two before you are eventually disposed of. Vaya con dios."
Kim sternly replies, "No, Señor Senior Sr. Hasta pronto. Muy pronto."
Jorge lunges at Kim. Kim drops low and, using Jorge's momentum flips Jorge into the nearby wall. He hits the wall with a shattering "THUD" and slides head-first onto the floor, dazed momentarily. But the victory is short-lived as El Ringo pounces onto Kim and lifts her up off the floor. Kim is locked in El Ringo's dreaded "Abrazo Fuerte de Panama" – the Panamanian bear hug! Kim struggles and thrashes against it but realizes that she is only using up a now-limited supply of oxygen as El Ringo squeezes the rest out of her.
Juan slowly advances on Ron. Ron assumes the monkey kung-fu defensive posture. Juan and Ron circle counter-clockwise waiting for the other to offer an opening or make a crucial mistake. Ron notices Kim slowly losing her battle with consciousness at the hand of El Ringo's bear hug and slyly positions himself between Juan and El Ringo.
With El Ringo's back to Ron, Ron runs away from a surprised Juan towards the towering El Ringo. Juan realizes Ron's intention too late as Ron makes a running launch to the back of El Ringo's left knee. El Ringo's left leg is forced from under him and he falls backward. Kim slams hard into his chest, not only loosening El Ringo's grip but knocking the wind out of him at the same time.
Observing this, Señor Senior Sr. turns to Junior and advises, "Junior, this has turned against us. We need to make our way to the escape craft." Senior and Junior walk hastily to an elevator and disappear.
Juan, chasing after Ron, sees the dazed Kim Possible and redirects his pursuit towards her. Kim quickly regains her faculties and springs to her feet. Juan sees this and realizes he has lost any advantage he once may have possessed. He screeches to a halt and stops just outside Kim's kicking radius….or so he thought until a soggy, black rubber sole connects with his mid-section. Air instantly escapes his lungs and he is sent flying backwards. Years from now, his children and grandchildren will marvel at the imprinted scar on his upper abdomen shaped like the "Club Banana" logo.
Juan crashes into a technician's workstation and slumps over. Kim and Ron look around the room for the Seniors but they are nowhere to be found. Below them, the floor rumbles as a loud engine starts. Ron and Kim run to the windows overlooking the canal just in time to see a speedboat launch from a few floors below them, splash into the canal, and speed away towards the horizon. The speedboat's two unmistakable passengers are Señor Senior Sr. and Señor Senior Jr.
Ron asks, "What do we do now?"
"We can't catch-up with the Seniors. Quick, we need to find the controls for the locks." Kim and Ron survey the control panel until Kim finds switched labeled "Esclusa 1" through "Esclusa 7".
"Here they are, help me switch these to 'Vacío'," Kim instructs Ron.
Ron starts switching the dials as instructed. "I know vacío means empty but are you sure these are for the locks? I thought lock was cerradura."
"Cerradura is a door lock. These are canal locks."
"See? There's no need to flake over Miss Sanguillen, you do know Spanish better than me. I just don't understand why we are emptying the locks."
"For one thing, emptying all the locks at once will overflow any reserve runoff channels hopefully forcing the water to flow back to the real Panama Canal." Kim adds, "Plus, if we are quick enough…"
Señor Senior Sr. pilots the speedboat through his canal. Junior sits beside him letting the wind flow through his hair. Both sport stylish sunglasses and, despite the defeat by Kim Possible, both feel fortunate to have escaped to attempt another large-scale villainous plot.
Señor Senior Sr. notices the canal door in front of him start to close. He immediately steers the wheel to the left sending Junior flying overboard with a "KER-SPLASH!"
"Father!", Junior yells towards the boat as it speeds away.
Señor Senior Sr. completes the turn and races in the opposite direction as the canal door they just passed through closes. Senior cuts the throttle on the boat, turns the wheel again to the left, and makes his way back to Junior.
As Senior floats to Juniors side the water level starts decreasing. Junior tries to scramble on the boat but can't quite make it. "Father! Throw me a life vest! I can't get into the boat! Father, help me!"
Annoyed, Senior tells Junior, "save your energy. In a few seconds, not only will you be able to climb into the boat, you'll probably fall into it."
As all water disappears, the boat hits the bottom with a thud and, as predicted, Junior does a face-plant into the boat, his spindly legs flailing. The boat is mired in the mud that used to be the bottom of a canal lock number four.
Junior rights himself in the boat. "Father, what happened?"
"All the water was emptied from the lock. We're stuck."
"We're stuck?" Junior pulls his surfboard from the back of the boat and sets it down on the ground. "Well, while we're waiting for help, I'll take this time to practice some moves on my board."
"Junior?"
Junior looks up from his feet positioning on the board, "Yes, father?"
Senior sighs, "Nevermind, Junior. Nevermind."
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Chapter 6: Fortnight
Thanks to the XZ-77 Megasonic jet, Kim and Ron returned to Middleton early enough to get some decent study time in before today's Spanish final. Kim and Ron sit in their assigned seats working fastidiously on the exam as Miss Sanguillen says, "Five minutes left. Start wrapping up and be sure to check your work."
Five minutes pass and Miss Sanguillen announces, "That's time. Pencils down. Bring them up here and place them on my desk. Have a good vacation. I'll see you in two weeks. Dos semanas ¿no?"
Ron sports an ear-to-ear grin as he hands his test to Miss Sanguillen. He walks towards the door but his eyes and stare stay fixed to his pretty Spanish teacher until he runs straight into the wall. Ron rubs his head, chuckles and walks out the door where Kim waits on him.
"I forgot to ask you, what happened in your meeting with Barkin this morning? Was he angry?"
"Angry, Kim? I think angry is an understatement. Imagine an acrimonious, livid, and acerbic man. Now imagine one thousand bees stinging him one thousand times for one thousand days."
"Wow! That mad, huh?"
"Double that and, yeah, you pretty much have Mr. Barkin during our meeting."
"So, what's the damage?" Kim asks. Detention?"
"Yeah."
"How long?"
"I don't know," Ron responds, "what's a fortnight?"
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The End