Disclaimer: Nope, don't own any of the KP characters from the series. They belong to Disney. A few of the bit players are mine. This epic, along with the rest of my writing career is, unfortunately, a non-profit operation.
Chapter 7 – A Few Steps Behind
Nearly a week had passed since Shego's apprehension in the Caribbean lair. Wade had yet to come up with anything on her activities in Thailand. Several teams from Yamanouchi were in Bangkok searching for leads but coming up empty.
That evening in a Bangkok restaurant, a Yamanouchi graduate overheard two Thai sisters talking. The older was telling her sister about the strange little Englishman whose room she had cleaned the previous week. The mention of books in a strange language with drawings of monkeys caught the ninja's attention. When the two women left, he silently followed the elder sister. After spending the night in a tree across from the woman's home, he followed her to the Bangkok Tipton the next morning.
A few discrete inquiries led to discovering that the Tipton penthouse had been rented in the name of Lord Montgomery Fiske, paid for by a letter of credit on His Lordship's London accounts. No one remembered seeing Lord Fiske, but his man Bates was busy about His Lordship's business for nearly a week. Bates had left for Cambodia four days previous. Immediately after receiving this information, Sensei shifted the search to Cambodia. Now he knew who had the charms, and where they were. He still had no solid information concerning what Bates intended to do with them. He passed what information he had to Yori in Middleton.
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This was one of the rare occasions when circumstances reminded Wade he was not infallible. The information they needed had been right there but, as Wade detailed in his mission journal, the best data discovery skills (Wade will never admit to being a hacker) fail when the information required falls outside the parameters of any reasonable search. At the time, his comments were somewhat more succinct. "The guy is dead, Kim. Who looks for dead guys in hotels?"
"Not dead, petrified, Wade," Ron said in reply. "KP, Rufus and Sensei escaped that fate, along with several others." A rare insight flashed across the blonde's mind. "Awww man. That's what he's up to. He's gonna try to rescue his boss."
Kim and Yori looked at him, then at each other, and then Kim said, "I suppose that's possible. Monkey spells, monkey charms, so not my thing. Any ideas, Yori?"
"Sensei has the greatest knowledge of the ancient arts," Yori replied. "We must inform him of Stoppable-sama's theory at once. Still, there is nothing we can do until someone finds Bates-san."
"Awww come on, Yori. Enough with the Stoppable-sama. Makes me feel like somebody's grandfather."
"As you wish, Sensei," Yori replied causing Ron to do an impression of banging his head on the wall.
Kim could not resist adding, "remember, Sensei, we must show proper respect for The Chosen One, even if he does still lose his pants on occasion." Ron scowled while both girls laughed.
The kimmunicator beeped again. Wade informed them, "I now have tags on all of Fiske's accounts and known associates. If Bates contacts any of them, we'll know. Sorry about this, guys. I should have guessed it had something to do with Fiske."
"No big, Wade," Kim responded. "Nobody else thought of it either."
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Kim slipped on her mission clothes ready for practice. It had been two weeks since the doctor told her she could resume cheerleading and her martial arts training. She felt her coordination and strength were back to the level preceding the accident. She and Ron had begun some light sparring with Yori observing and coaching Ron.
Over the past several weeks she and Yori spent several evenings debating Ron's skills. Today, Kim studied him closely as she did her stretches. Ron was practicing in his usual clumsy style, but as she watched, a pattern emerged. 'Yori was right. I've seen those moves before. Monkey Fist's Tai Sheng Pek War - monkey kung fu. He actually looks like he knows what he's doing. Maybe I should amp it up a little today.'
"Hey KP," Ron called when he saw her.
"I see somebody's been practicing," she remarked. "You up for a little challenge?" Ron nodded and she continued, "How about best two out of three, winner gets to have her way with…"
"You believe the winner will be 'she?'" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow. Bowing to his opponent he continued, "It shall be my honor to defeat you and claim my prize," Ron said, then gave her a big Ron-grin. Yori couldn't help but giggle as she listened to the challenge and boasting.
Spirited competition ensued. Ron had watched Kim fight many times, but had only recently begun sparring with her. While Kim had been on the sidelines he had worked with Yori, learning to study his opponents. During the first round he merely defended himself, watching her style and looking for any tells that might give him an idea of her planned attack. Kim spun, kicked and hooked Ron's legs from under him. Round 1 to Kim.
Yori stood off to the side watching the match. Rufus was sitting on her shoulder wondering why his two humans were angry at each other. Glancing at the mole rat Yori whispered "my sushi against your gouda he takes her"
Rufus was nothing if not loyal to Ron, but he had seen too many fights not to take the bet. "Done," he squeaked.
Yori signaled the start of the next match. Ron became more aggressive, forcing Kim to defend. He watched, looking for an opportunity. It came when she went into the same stance she used previously to deliver her winning blow. Ron sidestepped, grabbed the leg and Kim went down. Round 2 to Ron.
As Ron helped Kim to her feet, Yori smiled at Rufus. "Double or nothing?"
Things were no longer certain in Rufus' world. Looking back at the ninja with a scowl on his face he squeaked "no way."
Kim had not anticipated there would even be a round three. Now she was asking herself 'why did I make such a stupid bet? Why not something like loser buys at Bueno Nacho? Oh well, what's done is done. Just don't lose, Possible.' Evil Kim whispered in her ear. 'Oh yeah, that sounds like a plan,' she thought.
Kim went on the offensive, causing Ron to fall back. She concentrated on moves that kept his guard high, then, when she saw an opportunity, she ducked under his guard, wrapped her arms around him and began to tickle. The sparing session quickly degenerated to a tickle fight. The tickle fight ended with Kim straddling Ron, who was crying "Uncle, Uncle, you win KP."
"Told ya the winner would be 'she'," Kim laughed. "Prepare to meet your fate." She leaned forward and kissed him. As Ron's arms wrapped around her, Kim noticed his rising passion, and broke the kiss. Ron looked into her eyes, smiling.
"You cheated. Tickle fu is not a martial art. But I'll let it go this once." Then he pulled her head down and whispered in her ear, "besides, if you like being on top it's OK with me." Kim's face quickly changed to a color matching her hair as she jumped off her partner. Yori raised an eyebrow wondering what Ron had done.
"I am not familiar with that last move," Yori remarked looking at Kim. "What did the Chosen One do to cause you to retreat so quickly?"
"Umm, uhhh, cramp?" Kim replied causing Yori to chuckle.
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The Land Rover had pulled into a small clearing. While his driver prepared lunch, he spread a large map on the folding table set up under the canopy. His Lordship had marked the location of the temple where he should find the monkey ninjas. Once there he would test the first of the charms. If it failed, all his efforts to this point would be for naught.
They could take the Land Rover no further. Packing all non-essential equipment into the vehicle, Bates told the driver to conceal it in the trees. While the driver was gone, he placed the first of the charms around his neck, opened the notebook containing the information gathered from the British Museum and began to read aloud. When the driver/porter returned Bates took one final compass reading. The two men set off into the jungle, each carrying a backpack, field rations, and water. The porter also carried a two-man tent and field desk.
His companion believed he was assisting in archeological research on the region's ancient cults. Once they reached their destination, Bates would find a way to keep his companion busy while he, hopefully, completed his first task. Once accomplished, it would take a short trek into the temple itself to complete the second task.
With his companion leading the way, chopping a trail through the dense jungle as necessary, the hike to the temple took most of the afternoon. While they were still some distance from their goal, Bates began to hear the screeches of a large number of monkeys. As he drew nearer, he began to understand the screeching. The monkeys were alerting each other to the intruders, falling back into the jungle to avoid contact. Years spent in the field with Lord Fiske paid off. Bates saw the ninja sentries in the trees and from their chatter deduced where the legion could be found. As he approached he began to call the leader. If the charm worked as the ancient writings described, the leader would understand.
The porter looked at his employer, wondering about the man's sanity. In the middle of the jungle he was calling someone and looked as if he were expecting a reply. The porter shook his head and continued driving their path through the jungle. The man might be crazy, but he paid well.
Bates noticed a small group of monkeys ahead to the left. He stopped, pretending to compare the map with his notes. He pointed off to the right, instructing the porter to continue in that direction until he reached the temple. Once there, he was to set up camp, as they would spend the night. When the porter moved off, Bates headed for the group of monkey ninjas.
When he began training the monkey ninjas, Fiske had given them all names. The alpha of the group he named Montgomery, after the World War II general. Considering His Lordship's respect for the American General Patton, Bates often suspected there was at least some irony in this particular name. Montgomery's screeches came to Bates' ear as intelligible if broken speech.
"Where Master?"was the first question.
"He is held captive," was the response.
"She who was monkey take?"
"No. One of the dark ones"
"No fight dark ones."
"The dark one has gone." Bates produced the golden banana from his pack. "We will go to the temple to consult the monk so we will know how to free the Master."
"If monk say go, we go. Monk say no we stay."
"That is all the Master asks. I will meet you there when the light begins to hide behind the trees."
His first task successfully completed, Bates followed the trail cut by his porter to the campsite. It was time for afternoon tea. Later he would seek out the Mystical Monkey Monk to determine how he must proceed. Truth be told, he was somewhat surprised. Despite all the unusual things observed in service of His Lordship, Bates had written most off to coincidence. Until now, he had never believed in the powers Lord Fiske insisted were real.
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However Bates entered Cambodia, he left no trail. After receiving instructions to shift the search, a small group of Yamanouchi ninjas sat around a low table in a private room behind one of Bangkok's many Japanese restaurants going over a map of Cambodia. The location of all known ruins of monkey cult temples was marked, along with an overlay of Monkey Fist sightings beginning with Kim Possible's first contact with the mutant English Lord.
The sites were fairly well disbursed. It was decided to concentrate first on places where Monkey Fist had been seen several times. Three locations claimed this dubious distinction. One ninja would go to each site, with the fourth remaining in Siem Reap to relay information to Sensei and The Chosen One.
With plans completed, they headed to guest rooms above the restaurant to get a good night's rest before their flight to Pochentong Airport outside Phnom Penh where a car and driver would be waiting.
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Back in Middleton, things were not going well, particularly from Kim's point of view. That afternoon when they completed practice, she and Ron had taken Yori to look at Wade's command center. After nearly an hour, Kim and Ron managed to excuse themselves, after Mrs. Load assured them she would be more that happy to give Yori a ride back to the Possible's.
While her leg healed Kim preferred to stay home, which meant evenings with Ron also included Yori. Tonight they made plans to go to Chez Middleton for dinner followed by dancing at a new club in Upperton, followed by other pursuits that might possibly cross their minds. Dessert had not been served when a familiar sound came from Ron's pocket. Ron started to answer, but Kim grabbed the device and keyed it. "This better be good, Wade," she growled at the tech guru.