"Big Time"
Story Written by Freedom Fighter
So, the tension continues to build to the big climax! Enjoy this one, as it's the 'calm before the storm' that's about to come!
Disclaimer: The characters and places of the TV show 'Kim Possible' do not belong to me. They are property of Disney and the show's creative staff.
Part Thirteen - Two? No, Three... it's Three, Isn't it? (06.14.07)
Near San Mateo, California
12 Hours Until the Senior Class Graduation from Middleton High...
Despite their best efforts, night had already long fallen by the time Kim and Ron arrived on the West Coast. Several thousand feet above the ground, the crimefighting duo was preparing to exit the jet they were flying in.
"Based on the surveillance I've been able to gather, in order to achieve the best landing trajectory near Noirish Pak Incorporated Headquarters, you'll need to launch out in 27 seconds."
"Thanks, Wade! And make sure to give our regards to Commander Briggs for us. He deserves it after we helped him figure out why recruits were refusing to take part in physical training!"
"You'd think they'd notice the toxic sludge... IT WAS LIKE CAMP WANNAWEEP ALL OVER AGAIN!" yelled Ron.
Kim pocketed the Kimmunicator and double-checked her belts before reaching for the jet's instrumentation panel.
"Ready, Ron?"
"Is there any answer I can give that'll result in me being flown home safely?"
Kim smirked as she reached over and flipped the switch that opened the cockpit cover, which immediately flew off, carried away hastily by the wind.
"I guess that's a noOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOHO!" Ron yelled as Kim pressed the 'eject' button, launching them both into the air.
Once their ejector seats were clear of the jet, Kim and Ron both turned on the rocket jetpacks, and unbuckled themselves from the seats as the two began a controlled descent towards the ground below. As soon as they had gotten underneath the clouds, they guided themselves towards an empty field about a quarter of a mile away from the grounds' southern gate.
"Soon..." Kim thought to herself. "I'll get to the bottom of this."
Meanwhile, Agent Du and his group of Global Justice operatives had already arrived long beforehand, and had been preparing for their own infiltration operation near the northern gate. They were waiting to get a 'go' signal from HQ.
"What could be taking so long?" Agent Du mumbled as he peered down at the gate through a set of binoculars.
Peeking through, Will saw that two uniformed guards were talking to the lone guy guarding the gate. Suddenly, the loner left his post to the duo, presumably heading home as he walked to the mostly empty parking lot.
"Bad news!" Du said over his com unit to the other agents. "It seems the normal guard has been replaced by two armed ones. And they look like professionals. Darn it... what's taking so long with those surveillance reports?"
"Agent Du?" crackled a familiar voice. "This is Dr. Director. The reports have been uploaded to your PDA. The mission is a go... proceed whenever you're ready."
"Roger, that. Agent Du, over and out."
Kim and Ron walked up to the southern gate, dressed in outfits resembling police uniforms. A man in a security outfit was sitting in a small booth next to the entrance, watching a video on a small TV pinned up on the wall.
"Um, excuse me," Kim carefully interrupted him.
"About time you got here!" the guard shouted, jumping out of his seat rather enthusiastically.
Kim and Ron looked at each other, confused.
"I was wondering when the boss was gonna fire me for all of my slacking! I swear, the longest I've lasted before getting fired was three days! And I've been working here for THREE WEEKS!"
The guard took off his security hat and plopped it on Ron's head. He then waved goodbye as he walked to his car in the nearby parking lot.
"Unemployment benefits, here I come!"
"O-kayyy..." Kim shrugged, a little stupefied at what had just happened.
"Man, that was easier than I thought," admitted Ron matter-of-factly.
The two then ducked under the gate's entrance bar and ran towards the closest building... a warehouse with a big letter 'C' painted on it.
Once inside the warehouse, Kim pulled out a flashlight and turned it on in order to illuminate the path in front of her and Ron. As far as the eye could see, there were boxes and crates everywhere, most of them covered in cobwebs.
"Wow... it's like nobody's been in here in ages," commented Ron.
"Ages," Rufus repeated, nodding in agreement.
"And yet the door coming into the warehouse was brand new..." Kim noted, remembering how they got in.
All of a sudden, the flashlight shined upon a stack that was completely devoid of dust or webs or anything else of the sort. The duo walked over towards it and started searching around it for something out of the ordinary.
"If I were a secret entrance," Kim muttered, "where would I be hiding?"
"Probably somewhere where I wouldn't be found?" replied Ron.
Kim's flashlight then shined upon a gap in the crates, one big enough to squeeze through without much problem. Kim started sidestepping into it, and Ron followed behind without question. Rufus leaped from Ron's pants pocket and ran through, quickly getting to the other side in just a matter of seconds. Upon getting there, though, he started jumping up and down hastily, pointing forward at a door on the floor. Once Kim emerged from the crate passage, she noticed it too and immediately reached for her Kimmunicator.
"Wade, are you there?" she asked as she dialed up her favorite genius.
"Ready and waiting!" Wade quickly answered, appearing on-screen.
"We've got a lock that has a numeric keypad and a card swipe. Think you can crack it?"
"Just plug me in! It shouldn't take me long!"
As Kim did as she was told, Ron emerged from the crates, nearly falling over as he tripped over his own two feet. Kim casually ignored her boyfriend as Wade typed away at his computer.
"Aaaaaand... done!"
"You're the best, Wade!"
Kim signed off and reached for the door handle. She lifted the door up and open, revealing a passageway that headed on a downwards slant.
"Let's go!" she exclaimed, jumping in and heading down the passage.
"Hey!" Ron screamed, putting Rufus back in his pocket and following Kim's lead. "Wait up!"
A few minutes later, Kim and Ron found themselves on an elevator car descending even further underground. The pitch black darkness of the car's interior was frightful, to be sure, until the back side of the car opened up to reveal a fully lit cavern. One that included a four-floor structure with glass walls, allowing one easily to see inside. Realizing the openness of the situation, Kim quickly ducked down to the floor, lying flat against it.
"Kim, what are you... WHA!"
Kim pulled Ron down just as the elevator car drew even with the top floor of the indoor structure. The car continued to descend towards the bottom floor, and Kim could see loads of scientists scattered about the floors, working on various experiments busily. Too busy to really take notice of the elevator car, to Kim's relief.
The car finally reached its destination on the bottom floor, as the doors swung open to reveal a 'lobby' with men and women in lab coats walking to and from all parts of the facility. Kim cautiously took a step out, then two. Upon noticing no one really paying attention to them, she casually walked out. Ron nervously followed, not knowing exactly what to do.
"How are we supposed to find this guy in this place?" Ron asked.
"Can I help you two?" asked a tall, white guy dressed in a red jumpsuit as he approached the duo.
Ron quickly ducked behind Kim.
"I knew this was a bad idea..." he uttered.
"Shhh!" shushed Kim before turning to look at the agent before her. "We're here..."
"Wait a second," cut in the agent. "Are you from Hench Co.?"
Kim and Ron glanced at each other, then at the agent, giving nods of confirmation as they did.
"That was quick... I thought they said they weren't going to be able to get anywhere here until tomorrow afternoon."
"Well, we just couldn't wait that long to become of the Worldwide Evil Empire!"
"Just one thing," the agent wondered as he rubbed his chin. "You two look to be a bit stringy to be henchmen. 'Specially you."
He pointed to Ron in particular.
"Hey! I'll have you know that I've been trying to gain weight recently!"
Kim chuckled as she cut off Ron. "What he meant to say is that we're part of Hench Co.'s new henchmen corp. division... uh, 'Thin is In!'"
"It's for villains who are tired of the run-of-the-mill muscle-bound henchmen with noodles for brains!"
"Ha ha!" laughed the agent. "Man, that Hench knows what he's doing. I swear, we have so many of those types of guys around here, it's not even funny! They can break down doors with ease, but none of them know the square root of 16!"
"Two? No, three... it's three, isn't it?" Ron wondered out loud, before being elbowed in the stomach by Kim.
The agent laughed hysterically. "Yeah, yeah! Just like that!"
He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a somewhat crumpled and partially torn brochure and handed it to Kim. Despite its condition, she was still able to read its title out aloud.
"A Map of WEE: The Fold-Out Edition."
"We used to give tours to potential recruits, to show them what we were all about before they got into the whole process and stuff. But we stopped doing them when we realized agents of rival evil organizations were using the tours as intel so they could swoop in and steal our hyper-advanced technology."
"Imagine that," Kim said with a smirk.
"Nowadays, we give them only to full-fledged agents and recruits who we know are going to become agents... like you two!"
"Exactly!" Ron smiled in agreement. "Gotta keep things safe!"
"I like the way you think!" the agent exclaimed, giving Ron a hearty pat on the back. "Maybe you'll fit in here after all!"
Kim opened it up so she could see the entire lair laid out before her very eyes.
"Go to Room 208. I'll call ahead to get someone up there to do the briefing, take your measurements for your uniforms, yada yada yada..."
"Thanks for the help!" thanked Kim, immediately turning about and walking to her left. "C'mon Ron... we've got work to do."
Ron followed her partner and they had started walking away, when all of a sudden...
"One more thing!"
Kim and Ron froze in their tracks and slowly turned around, fearing the worst had happened and their ruse had been discovered.
"You forgot THESE!"
The agent pulled out two security keycards and handed one to each of them.
"Level 1 clearance cards. Can't use the elevator at all without at least those."
"Oh... right!" Kim agreed, breathing a sigh of relief. "You had me worried for a second there..."
"Yeah..." laughed Ron nervously. "For a minute there, I thought you were gonna put us in detention for being spies."
"Ha ha!" chuckled the agent. "Yeah, right! You think anyone would be stupid enough to try that? This is the Worldwide Evil Empire, after all... the most ruthless evil organization in the world!"
"Of course it is," Ron remarked sarcastically, in a low voice.
Kim then pulled Ron away, and the two headed off.
"I think he likes me. He says I may fit in here after all!"
"Ron! We're not here to join up with WEE! We're here to find their ringleader and give him what he deserves for trying to ruin my life!"
"But shouldn't we at least inquire about benefits? Maybe they have a great health plan. After all, we are going to be henchmen..."
Soon afterwards, Kim and Ron reached the building's elevator lobby.
"And another thing! I wonder if it pays to be an actual operative..."
Kim elbowed Ron in the stomach once again, then pressed the call button for the elevator.
"C'mon, KP! I know we're against evil, but it doesn't hurt to look!"
Kim glared at her boyfriend, giving off a 'Are you kidding?' look.
"Right," Ron relented, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Dropping the idea."
DING!
Kim and Ron turned to the doors and stood still as they slid open to reveal four more uniformed agents... big and burly ones. And they all seemed to be very angry at the site of two young teenagers whom none of them had seen before...
"Oh boy..." gulped Ron.
To be continued in Part 14 - Coming in two weeks!