Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible or any of the characters affiliated with it. I do own Cornelius Cardigan and this story.
Chapter 5: Theft and Theft Again!
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Defteen Records looked no different then it had the last time Kim had been here a year ago, same big blue building, same pictures of their recording artists on walls of the hallway, nothing had changed much since she'd first helped them. The only thing that had thankfully been removed was Roland.
She pushed open the door of the manager's office and looked around awkwardly as a stocky, kind looking man with salt-and-pepper colored hair approached her, a grateful smile appeared on his face from behind a pair of oversized glasses.
"Kim Possible! Thank goodness you're here! The Boyz said you were quick, but I just had no idea!" he said, shaking her hand vigorously. Kim did her best to smile back.
"We told you she was good, sir," a familiar young voice said. Kim was surprised to see Robby, Dexter, Ryan, and Nicky-Nick coming up behind the short man, all grinning when they noticed the young teen hero there.
"Hey Kim!" Robby was the first to say, giving her a warm wave in greeting.
The redhead smiled back. "Hi Boyz! Good to see you again!" She looked down her original greeter. "And you must be..."
The short man cleared his throat and spoke proudly. "Cornelius Cardigan, the new manager for Defteen Records."
Kim smirked. He seemed much more caring then Roland was, and this was good news to her. With a feeling of relief leaving her body, she turned all business again.
"So, Wade tells me you're missing a single," she spoke to Cornelius, who nodded timidly. It was apparent that his nerves were quite rattled by the theft. He really was new at this.
With what calm he could muster, he began explaining as he led Kim to his desk.
"They broke in while I was at lunch with Jimmy Blammhammer," he stuttered, sitting in his large leather chair. He looked like a child in a king's overly sized throne, "and took the lyrics! The first single off The Boyz Are Back! I caught it all on the security camera!" At once, Kim figured that he was referring to the next Oh Boyz album, their first one in a couple years too. She'd heard about it somewhere on the Internet.
She watched quietly as Mr. Cardigan switched on his desk computer. He typed in several things with a speed that surprised Kim, and then suddenly, the wide screen filled with a video very similar to the one she'd seen the night before, this time filmed from the prospective from what she assumed was the desk. Five men entered the room through the door very quietly. Amongst the group was Junior, this time dressed entirely in black. He snuck across the room with precision that almost stunned the teenager all over again. Since when has Junior been this good?
The group busied themselves with deactivating several well placed cameras and digging around the room for the object of their interest, carefully looking around Cardigan's office.
At last, there was a break in the silence.
"Hey boss! I found it!" It was the voice of one of the almost identical henchmen. The view of the camera was suddenly blocked by a thick covering of black fabric. One of the men had stepped right in front of the hidden device, how typically annoying was that?
"Most excellent… erm… what was your name again?" Junior voice chimed.
"Ted," answered the unseen henchmen.
"Ah, yes, thank you, Ted!" answered the young billionaire. "Phase two of my plan is complete! Let's move out, men!"
There was a bustling sound of running feet and, unfortunately, Junior's now overused evil laugh. As the vision returned to the camera lens, the last of the men could be seen leaving the room through the door they'd entered in, with no sign of the young Senior, or the lyrics.
The video stopped and Cardigan minimized the screen, turning to Kim as his Space Passage desktop appeared on the monitor.
"The Boyz haven't even gotten a chance to record this song, and there's a deadline with the company! We were all set up for this afternoon, and then this happens!" The distress in his voice was more then a little apparent now.
Nicky-Nick broke in suddenly, forcing Kim and Cornelius' attention to him. "And if we don't get it finished soon, we could lose the entire comeback album!"
The redhead's face contorted with concern as she looked back to the newly deputized manager. "Don't you have another copy somewhere?"
Cornelius shook his head sadly. "Only the stolen original, and only person that could possibly know it is the one who wrote it, Ryan Sunset."
He quickly pointed into the center of the boy band, where young Ryan stood. Not much older than Kim herself, with spiky brown hair and a reversed sunhat on his head. He smiled awkwardly before approaching the desk on the opposite side of the teen hero.
"So, why can't he just teach the others the song?" Kim wasn't missing a beat.
Cornelius was about to reply (and agree with Kim's suggestion) when they both heard Ryan nervously grunt, the young man's smile grew all the more awkward and he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah, about that… I can't… really remember the song," the poor teenager looked as though he wanted to disappear into his orange jacket from the embarrassment, and it seemed that his fellow group members were none too happy to express their shock and disappointment.
"What!"
"How'd you do that, man? It's your song!"
"Not cool, Ryan!"
Mr. Cardigan stood in his seat, raising his stubby hands in reverence. "Okay, okay, that's enough now, please!"
The four boys, despite their frustration with the youngest of the group, quickly quieted down, leaving only their strong glares to berate Ryan.
Kim came to the teenager's side, while she was not angry, she certainly seemed confused. "You forgot your own song?"
Ryan shrugged, obviously unsure as to what he should say. "It was late, and I was half asleep while writing it."
Kim's expression became even more bewildered. "And they're making this your first single?" It seemed highly unlikely to reach any lyrical genius at three in the morning, facing near collapse from lack of sleep. At least, it didn't sound likely to Kim.
"The record executives read it over and loved it, said it was the best track written for the album so far! But it's not like they can remember it either!" Roby's voice broke in, slightly bitter and very matter-of-fact.
Kim sighed in defeat and turned back to Mr. Cardigan, who was seated once more, his fingers twisted together like brambles. "So you see, Miss Possible, we must get those lyrics back, for the Boyz and the company's sake."
"I understand," stated the redhead, "I'll have those lyrics back to you before the deadline or Junior does any harm with them." If he can, she added in her thoughts. The worst she could imagine Junior pulling off with this 'evil plan' was singing people to death, and even he hadn't gotten smart enough for that.
Beep Beep Be Deep!
Somehow unsurprised, Kim turned away from Cardigan as she lifted her wrist and quickly pressed a button on her watch-styled Kimmicator, activating it.
Wade's serious face appeared on the mini screen at once.
"Gotta another lead on Junior! He just hit and left a dance club three miles from you! And I don't mean to party!"
"A dance club?" Kim did her best to contain her shock. He was already striking?
"Yep," stated the young computer-savvy boy as he looked off to another screen. "According to eye-witnesses, he stole six of their stage lights, their amplification system…" there was pause as Wade squinted, as if to make sure he was reading correctly, then looked back at Kim with a nod of his head, "and one bottle of merlot."
The redhead groaned in sudden frustration, catching both her young friend and the company surrounding her off guard. "Diamonds, dance lights, and wine? What is he up to? It sounds more like he's throwing a party then making evil plans!"
"I know," Wade agreed, a look of uncertainty in his brown eyes, "but a theft is a theft, he can't let him-"
"Get away with it, I know!" Kim's voice almost snapped. It was obvious that this case was starting to play on her last nerve. Despite all of her earlier notions about this, she felt as if Junior was up to something bigger than a party, but somehow, he was slipping through her fingers and avoiding her usual detective work with these bizarre and mismatched thefts… and then the Ron thing, that couldn't be a conscience in happening like it did. Junior was almost… outsmarting her, or bumbling enough in his plan that he got lucky. Either way, it didn't fit him in the slightest! And boy, did she hate this case for that right now!
She caught the worried expression set upon the face of Cornelius out of the corner of her eye, and suddenly realized how over-the-top her reaction must've seemed. Kim quickly looked back into her Kimmicator screen, where Wade sat, rather concerned.
Kim sighed, the annoyance still in her eyes. "I'm gonna need some transportation, Wade. I've got a spoiled rich boy to take down!"
Before Wade could state a word of protest, he saw the look in his older friend's eyes. She was dead serious.
He grimaced before speaking. "You really aren't happy with Junior this time, are you?"
"He's bested me on a few simple robberies, and he seems to be the reason Ron won't speak to me again. I'm not about to take that lightly, no matter what he's doing." There was a certain determination in her voice, newfound and powerful.
Wade nodded gravely, still very worried for his friend and what she was considering on doing. "Gotcha. I'll have the Sloth outside Defteen Records in five minutes tops!"
"You're the best, Wade," a soft smile erased the teen hero's previously irritated expression for a moment, sending a feeling of ease through Wade before he waved goodbye and switched off the screen.
Kim breathed out heavily in the sad anticipation for another session of interviewing often confused pedestrians and searching for clues in a case that made no sense no matter what she learned.
She turned back to Cardigan, who looked just as tense as he had upon their meeting. Kim gave an uneasy smile, great, now I've freaked him out even more, she thought.
"Don't worry," she said as she began making her way to the door, easing past The Oh Boyz, who all watched her with bewildered faces, "I'll be back with the lyrics in no time, Mr. Cardigan!"
It wasn't until Kim had given him an awkward thumbs up and raced out the door that Cardigan finally spoke in his stuttering voice. "So, does she always get that tense?"
Nicky-Nick didn't move, his confused expression remaining steadfast. "Not usually," he replied.
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Thanks to chapter 4 reviewers Darth Comrade, Iffert's Flame, Slyrr, Cody MacArthur Fett, CajanBear73, Ace Ian Combat, and Arya MageFire. And another thanks to Ace Ian Combat for proofreading everything so far, because I'm not perfect in my writing, and she's caught those little errors and typos that I missed. Thanks girl!
And a very fond thanks to everyone who nominated this story for The Fannie Awards! Don't forget to vote, guys!
Any errors you may have found, please bring them up in your review.
Sorry for the little hiatus and the very short new chapter, I was a bit played on time. Writer's block knows where to hit hardest, and I was far too pressured to get something out before voting ends.
Please review!