Chapter 8: The Contest, Day Two.
Kim kicked Ron out of bed early for the second day of the contest. Kim insisted on a workout and sparring session. They had to keep in shape and on top of their game, since self-professed criminals surrounded them. While Senior's gym facilities weren't available to Kim and Ron, being an entourage, the servant's gym was. As such, the teens were able to put in a fairly intense workout and leave enough time to clean up and eat before the breakfast feast. Returning to their quarters, they were surprised to find Bonnie waiting for them.
"Boy, you two are up and at it early," she commented.
"Gotta keep on our game, Bon-Bon," Ron answered. "If one of the other contestants tries to take you out, it will take our best efforts to keep you safe."
"That's why one of us has to stay with you whenever you're out of your room," Kim added, the frowned. "How did you get in our suite, anyway?"
"Senior gave the contestants access to our entourages' suites," Bonnie told them. "Why don't the two of you get cleaned up so we can talk some more strategy before breakfast?"
Kim and Ron complied, with Kim noting that the brunette was watching them closely, clearly curious if they were going to use the same shower or not. Kim glared at her formal rival as she went into her room and Ron went into his. Kim showered and dressed quickly, returning to the suite's main room at roughly the same time Ron did. Bonnie had a pot of coffee waiting for them.
"This is out of character for you," Kim commented, as she poured herself a cup. Ron busied himself in the kitchen area.
"I don't have quite your misadventures in the kitchen," the brunette teased, with a friendly grin. "But I can make coffee. Anyway, why don't we talk about how we're going to deal with the competition today?"
"Sounds like a good suggest to me," Kim agreed, after taking a sip of coffee. "What do you have in mind?"
"Absolutely nothing," Bonnie told her.
"I'll admit that, were someone to actually offer such a course, I'd score a gentleman's C in 'Devious Tactics," Ron commented, over his shoulder. "But isn't the idea to eliminate the other contestants, not to sit around and watch them?"
"Usually, yes," Bonnie told her guardians. "But I think I made myself too much of a target yesterday."
"How do you figure?" Kim asked, starting to get a little distracted by the smells coming from the oven.
"I eliminated one of the competitors," Bonnie told Kim. "Or, more to the point, I manipulated Lynn to the point she did something stupid. Anyway, I had set myself up as the front runner and Lynn and Leon teamed up to derail me."
"Yeah, it must have been Camille impersonating me, who fooled Ron," Kim nodded.
"Anyway, everyone wants to take down number one," Bonnie continued her lecture. "And right now, that's me. I think it's time to back off, play defense and let someone else become number one."
"And become the target," Kim concluded. "It sounds sick and wrong to compliment you, but that makes sense."
"Thanks…I think," Bonnie quipped back. "Now, I'll leave the two of you to get breakfast. Pick me up in about a half hour."
"Aren't you going to be eating with us, Bon-Bon?" Ron asked.
"No, I'll be dining with my fellow competitors today," she told him. "It's all part of the act." With that, the brunette was out the door.
"I don't know if I should be scared or happy that she's so good at playing this little game," Ron commented.
Kim couldn't help but agree.
Kim and Ron picked up their charge at the appointed time and escorted her to the Dining Lair. Trudy Dementor and Camille Leon were already present when Bonnie arrived and Elly showed up soon afterwards. The contestants seemed to have called a truce, at least long enough to get some breakfast. As such, Junior was happily stuffing his face this morning. As the meal wound down, Senior stood and addressed the group.
"I fear I must interrupt this pleasant repast by announcing the challenge for today," the old man declared. "But first, I must extend my warmest congratulations to Miss Bonnie Rockwaller. I did not expect any of the contestants to eliminate one of the competitors before the contest truly began. I must also offer lesser, but no less sincere, congratulations to Miss Camille Leon. It was undoubtedly you who fooled Miss Rockwaller's attendant into leaving the boat. I am most impressed with both of your deceitfulness."
Elly and Trudy simply glared at the other two girls.
"Very well, allow me to continue. My daughter-in-law will need to be much more than attractive and devious. She will need to be able to manage, in a villainous manner, the vast wealth I leave behind. Our contest today will reflect this necessity. I have commissioned the services of Mr. Richard Rotiffle, who has created an interactive simulation on my lair's central computer system. Each of you will be given control of a virtual villainous enterprise. Your goal will be to expand this financial and criminal empire. At the end of the day, each of you will present your virtual activities, and results, to my son and myself. The girl who proves the least successful in this endeavor will leave the island."
"Beware," Senior continued. "The virtual world Mr. Rotiflle has constructed has the same dangers that we villains encounter in the real world. You will find yourselves dealing with the virtual equivalent of law enforcement, corrupt officials seeking bribes and rival villainous organizations. Each of you will have a tutor, who will assist you when you give your virtual underlings commands. However, the decisions will be yours to make."
"You may consult with your entourages for the next hour," Senior concluded. "Exactly one hour from now, we will meet in my Technology Lair, where you will spend the remainder of the day directing your criminal endeavors. I wish you all luck, and bid you all a temporary farewell."
With that, Senior and Junior left the Dining Lair, and the contestants. Kim gave the contestants a quick survey. Bonnie and Dementor looked a little nervous, Elly looked confident and Camille looked like she was on the verge of panic. As soon as the Seniors left the room, the contestants, accompanied by their entourages, made their way back to their quarters for a little bit of strategizing. Bonnie invited Kim and Ron into her opulent suite.
"What do you think?" The brunette asked. "I mean, you take these people down all the time, what do the successful ones do?"
"We usually deal with the 'take over the world bunch' not the 'make a profit' bunch," Kim explained. "But I will say this; the quiet, steady bunch are harder to take down than the flamboyant, visible bunch."
"How about you, Ron?" Bonnie asked the blonde boy. "I heard that you turned into a villain once."
"That didn't last very long," Ron told her. "Kim took me down pretty quickly and I wasn't in it for the cash, I was in it for the nacos."
"What?" Bonnie stated at him, dumfounded.
"Long story," Kim interrupted. "The way I see it, your best bet is to not do anything stupid. Don't make any vanity purchases and work steady, discrete things like smuggling and racketeering. Camille Leon will be your safety net."
"How's that?"
"She's an idiot!" Kim exclaimed. "She's all about the bling and the attention."
"You're starting to describe me," Bonnie pointed out.
"Yeah, but you graduated high school," Kim corrected her. "Camille dropped out to spend her time partying and being seen. I don't think she could pass a GED if she had to."
"She can't be that bad," Bonnie protested. "I mean, look at her life."
"Which was paid for by her trust fund until her parents disowned her," Kim pointed out. "Ever since, she's been living off of theft. With her morphing abilities, she should be unstoppable but Ron and I caught her after only a couple of thefts. Granted, the tweebs helped but if she would have used a little intelligence, she would have gotten away with everything."
"She's that much of a ditz?" Bonnie asked.
"Bonnie, a celebrity gossip rag once asked her some simple grammar questions," Kim told her, shaking her head. "She thought that a conjunction was a road intersection where swindlers met."
"So she never saw those 'Grammar Rock' cartoons," Bonnie chuckled.
"I always liked those shows," Ron interjected, then started to quietly sing…"conjunction junction, what's your function? Hookin' up words and phrases and clauses…"
"Okay, we're getting distracted," Kim declared. "The point is, you don't have to do really well, Camille is airheaded enough that she should lose this contest."
"Do you think I have any chance against the other two?"
"If Elly's guard told me the truth, she does this at home, so you probably aren't going to beat her. I had Wade check on Dementor. Even though she's not much older than we are, she has the equivalent of a master's degree in physics. While this isn't her cup of tea, she has an impressive analytical mind. No, your best bet is to avoid the stupid mistakes and let Camille take the fall." Kim frowned, "of course, Camille knows this, so she might get desperate. She might be dumb, but she's not stupid, if you understand the sitch. We're going to have to keep our eyes on her."
"I'm going to leave that up to the two of you," Bonnie declared. "In the meantime, do you have any tips for me?"
Kim and Ron spent the next several minutes describing the mistakes that several of their foes had made, which had allowed the teens to bring them down. They stressed that excessive violence and flamboyant actions caused more trouble than they were worth. Bonnie was no idiot, she understood the concepts and decided that cutting her losses would be better than taking risks. All to soon it was time to go to the Technology Lair, so that Bonnie could match her wits against her competitors. Senior met them, and the rest of the contestants, just outside of their destination.
"Only the competitors will be allowed inside the Technology Lair," the old main explained. "I understand that the rest of you are charged with the contestants' safety, so I have arranged a room for you to observe them. This room is equipped with one-way glass, so you can assure yourselves that they remain safe, but you will be unable to signal them and offer them advice. I have even provided a scoreboard of sorts, so that you will know how your charges are doing. I will allow you to discuss tactics for a half-hour, when we break for the midday meal. Very well, contestants follow me while your attendants accompany my servant."
Kim and Ron soon found themselves ushered into a small, efficient, yet comfortable observation room, along with the other two guards. Strangely, Camille still didn't have an attendant. The four attendants listened as Ricky explained the contest. Each girl was placed in control of a virtual, legitimate business. The goal was to branch off into villainous activities and make obscene profits, while avoiding the authorities and rivals. Each girl had an assistant, to help her input commands, but the contestants had to make their own decisions.
Soon, the contest was on. As the teens had expected, Elly took an early lead and started to expand upon it. She had a very sharp mind which, combined with her experience, left Senior mesmerized with her capability. Soon, the elderly man was spending most of his time at her workstation, while she pointed out the finer aspects of her strategy.
Trudy Dementor slid into a distant second place, concentrating on enhancing her own business activities through villainous means. The blonde girl devoted considerable resources to corporate espionage and used the results to gain advantages over her virtual competitors. Bonnie was very close behind Trudy. The brunette kept a low profile, supplementing her business's activities with villainy: she smuggled things on her shipping trucks, sold some products under the table and engaged in some moderate money laundering.
Camille Leon, as Kim and Ron had suspected, was a complete spaz in the virtual world. The fallen socialite had started by arguing with her tutor, demanding to know why she couldn't just 'do that liquid thing' to her company and party with the cash. After all, since the company was worth a couple million, she could live comfortably for almost a full year.
Senior had intervened, patiently asking her what she would do when the money ran out. At first, she simply stared at him in shock, insisting that she was too busy to worry about it at the time. The ever patient, elderly man then pointed out that her competitors were building their leads over her while she argued. At that point, she went to work, squandering most of her company's wealth on extravagant parties. Just before her virtual company went completely bankrupt, Camille made a rally of sorts, prompting the guards to think that she wasn't as idiotic as they thought.
Camille's virtual parties had attracted the famous and/or powerful in her virtual world, and the attendees had worn expensive jewelry to the events. The virtual Camille then went on a crime spree, using her morphing ability to obtain a fortune in gold and gems. Just when Kim and Ron thought that the underfed socialite would manage to overtake Bonnie and Trudy, the whole setup collapsed upon her.
Much as in real life, the authorities in Ricky Rotiffle's virtual reality were no fools. Since the objects Camille had stolen were all high profile items, taken from powerful people who had all attended her parties, the authorities were on to her. Not long before noon, she found her virtual self under intense investigations. Her crime spree came to a screeching halt while Bonnie and Trudy re-established their leads. About this time, Ron's stomach informed him that it was getting close to noon and that it was feeling neglected.
"Hey KP," Ron asked. "It's getting close to lunchtime. Why don't you keep an eye on Bonnie while I go make us something?" After looking at the other two attendants for a moment, he asked, "I know that we're not supposed to trust each other, but would the two of you like anything?"
"Actually, that's quite generous of you," Elly's guard replied, not taking his eyes off of the contest on the other side of the glass. "Since Senior's rules will disqualify your contestant if you attempt to…tamper…with me, I can trust you. My culinary skills leave a great deal to be desired."
Dementor's guard nodded his agreement.
So Ron excused himself, returned to his suite and prepared lunch for four. Upon his return, he saw that KP and the other two guards were quite relaxed, Elly looked smug and both Bonnie and Trudy looked relieved.
"What's going on?" Ron asked, dolling out lunch (sandwiches, nacos and a pitcher of iced tea).
"Camille is going to be facing some virtual trials," Kim informed him, with a smirk. "The virtual authorities have enough evidence to try her for several of her thefts."
"In this scenario, she can run a criminal enterprise from prison," Elly's bodyguard chimed in. "But I don't see her as having the wits to do so effectively. We've come to the conclusion that she cannot help but place last in this competition."
"Ve just vant to keep her away from our contestants," Dementor's guard explained. "De tree of us haff agreed dat as long as der Fraulien Leon can't pull zhome zhtunt in der real vorld, zshe's gone at de end of der day."
"We don't really care if Trudy or Bonnie comes in second," Kim concluded. "We'll get defensive with each other tomorrow. For right now, it's just watch Camille blow it."
The four guardians spent the next few minutes eating lunch and watching their charges. At twelve-o'clock sharp, Senior called a halt.
"It is time for our midday meal," he announced. "We will take a forty-five minute break. You can use the time to refresh yourselves, dine, or consult with your entourages. Should any of you fail to return for the remainder of this simulation, you will be disqualified. As soon as you leave this room, my servants will lock it, so that nobody can sabotage your work. Myself, I am going to the Dining Lair, I hope to see all of you there."
"So what's your take?" Bonnie asked Kim and Ron, as soon as they were out of the other contestants' earshot.
"So far, so good," Kim told her. "The sitch is going down about how we described this morning. Camille is taking herself out of the competition. Just don't do anything stupid, don't worry about beating Trudy. Just keep doing what you're doing and you'll be here tomorrow."
"She had me worried for a little while," Bonnie admitted. "But I remembered what you had said about a low profile. Elly, on the other hand, is tearing us all apart."
"Don't worry about finishing first," Kim advised her. "This is her game, so just hang in there and we'll deal with tomorrow, tomorrow. Now, why don't you get something to eat? Fainting from hunger is one of the few ways you're going to lose this contest, so let's not take any chances." Bonnie and Kim actually shared a conspiratorial giggle as they walked towards the Dining Lair.
Elly and Trudy joined Bonnie at the buffet. The three girls were in good spirits, laughing and joking with the two Seniors. They weren't even catty towards each other, although Bonnie and Trudy appeared to resent the amount of time Senior spent chatting with the mystery girl. Trudy left partway through the meal, motioning for her guard to watch the other two contestants. Just before the meal was scheduled to end, Ron made a short trip back to his and Kim's suite, to drop the lunch dishes off in the sink. On the way back, he spotted Trudy in a whispered conversation with her guardian. Ron politely cleared his throat, so that they wouldn't divulge anything they wanted to keep secret, and slipped past them as quickly as he could.
Ron returned to the Dining Lair, to see that the contestants and guards had already left for the Technology Lair. He quickly went that way himself, and was shocked to find Trudy's guard already in the observation room, with Kim and Elly's guard.
"You move fast," he complimented the man, since he now felt comfortable enough to chat with him.
"Vhat is dhas?" The man asked.
"I went by you talking with Frau Dementor just a few minutes ago, when I passed you in the guest wing. I only made a short side trip to the Dining Lair and you still beat me here."
"I vhasn't in zhe guest ving since dis morning!" The man declared. "Vhat are you zpeaking about?"
"Dude! No need to get uptight," Ron protested, holding his hands up in front of him. "I just thought I'd compliment you."
"Really, Ron," Kim interjected. "He's been with us the entire time."
"JA," he agreed. "And I am not tightening up anyzhing! You zhay you zaw zomebody zpeaking vit mine charge?"
"Yeah, you!" Ron said.
"Wait," Elly's guard chimed in. "The contestants are arriving right now."
The four guardians watched Elly, Trudy and Bonnie all enter the Technology Lair and take their seats. Camille showed up a few moments later, looking flushed and out of breath. The former heiress barely made it back into the room before Senior ordered the door locked.
"Ah, I see that Miss Leon believes in the dramatic, last minute entrance," Senior commented. "Now that we are all here, let us continue with the contest."
"I believe I know what happed," Elly's guard told Trudy's guard, while the contestants returned to their stations. "I believe that Miss Leon impersonated you and had some words with Frauline Dementor. Mr. Stoppable observed the conversation."
"To vhat end?" The guard demanded.
"I do not know," Elly's guard replied. "But it would be wise to keep an eye on both of them."
The afternoon competition began with the guards paying close attention to their charges. For the most part, the girls behaved much the way they had during the morning session. Bonnie concentrated on keeping a low profile and enhancing her legitimate activities with a little larceny. Trudy Dementor concentrated on corporate espionage and Camille Leon concentrated on hiring lawyers and trying to beat the charges she had accumulated during the morning. Elly, to nobody's surprise, continued to wipe the floor with the competition. The mystery girl grew even more inventive, clearly capturing Senior's admiration. Kim grew a little bored with the spectacle and slipped out of the Observation Room for a private talk with Wade.
"How's the contest going, Kim?" Wade asked, obviously having just gotten out of bed.
"Sorry about the wake up," Kim apologized. "The different time zones make for a rough sitch. Anyway, I need you to check up on someone for me."
"Who is it?"
"I only know her first name, Elly," Kim explained. "Her father runs shipping on the Baltic, and he's involved in smuggling…" Kim told Wade everything she knew about Elly. It wasn't much to work with, but Wade wasn't irritated in the slightest. Instead, he seemed to almost salivate at the challenge.
It only took Wade twenty minutes to come up with an answer.
"Miss Elizabeth Minated," he answered. "Age twenty-three. Her father is one Mr. Terrance Minated. He runs a local shipping company, based in Oslo. Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Danish and German officials have all suspected him of underhanded activities, but none of them have ever found any evidence. He's very fond of his daughter. In fact, he has had an office built, just for her, at his headquarters. For the past several years, she has accompanied him to all of his business functions."
"That seems to fit the sitch here," Kim nodded.
"Do you need anything else, Kim?"
"One thing," Kim suddenly remembered what Camille had been up to. "Camille Leon has been playing her usual games. We think that she impersonated me once, and one of Dementor's hired goons another time. Is there any way that we can detect her when she's wearing someone else's face?"
"I have a theoretical method," Wade answered. "I'll set up the Kimmunicator to take care of it. It's based on the scan I used on Oscar and Cindy the night you stopped the diablos."
"They didn't enjoy it very much, if I recall correctly."
"It isn't very pleasant," Wade admitted. "It projects an electrical shock upon the subject, resulting in minor, involuntary muscle contractions. Since Camille mimics others through microscopic muscle manipulation, this procedure will, in theory, leave her unable to maintain the detailed muscle control this requires."
"Okay, that takes care of when we're already suspicious," Kim mused. "Do you have any safeguards that will reveal her at any time?"
"I can't do that remotely," Wade confessed. "You'll have to rely on your wits to know when to check."
"Okay Wade, that's totally high speed anyway," Kim told him. "You rock."
"Do you want me to set Ron's Kimmunicator up as well?"
"Please and thank you," Kim replied. "I better get back and see what's going on. Kim out."
The redhead returned to the Observation Room to find that the atmosphere had become a great deal tenser.
"What's the sitch?" She asked Ron.
"Trudy Dementor just did something," Ron told her. "Look at her left hand really closely and you'll see a fine wire coming out of her sleeve. While nobody in there was watching, she plugged some kind of jack into her workstation. She must have some sort of device hidden under her clothing. Professional ethics prevent us from demanding answers from her guardian."
"I vouldn't know vhat it is anyvay," the burly henchman informed them. "Der Dementor's don't let us know vhat dey're building."
"But why would she be trying to cheat on this contest?" Kim demanded. "Sure, she isn't winning, but she was nowhere near losing. Why risk getting caught?"
"I don't know," Elly's guard commented, never taking his eyes from the contest. "But I think that Miss Leon influenced Miss Dementor in some way."
The contest wore on for the next couple of hours with Dementor and Bonnie trading off second place. Camille managed to avoid prison time, but she was on probation, under investigation, and unable to continue any sort of illegal activities. Elly, on the other hand, started to show an incredible flair at her craft.
"Wow," Ron commented, at roughly three thirty in the afternoon.
"Ron," Kim snapped at him. "That's just wrong! Why are you complimenting her for doing…that?"
"I cant' help it, KP," Ron argued. "Whenever someone does something really well, I have to admire it."
Kim reluctantly had to agree that Elly's last maneuver was a masterstroke. The girl had agreed to transport a shipload of counterfeit home electronics between nations. The girl sold the legitimate cargo, from a registered shipment, off on the black market and used the ship to transport the illicit items. She unloaded the imitation items, then sailed the ship into a storm. The skeleton crew on board abandoned ship just before entering the worst of the storm, to be picked up by another of Elly's ships. At the end, Elly made a profit on the black market sale, made money by transporting the counterfeit goods, and then collected the insurance on the ship and the original cargo.
"I don't suppose you'd tell us if she ever did this in real life?" Kim asked Elly's guard.
"That's personal information, Miss Possible," he replied, with just a ghost of a smile on his face.
"Didn't think so," Ron concluded, returning his attention to the contest.
Moments later, Elly's eye's flew open in shock. The current score on the Observation Room's monitors showed Elly's score as plunging.
"What happened?" Ron demanded.
"According to the monitors, Elly just confessed all of her nefarious activities to the authorities and provided them with corroborating evidence," Kim replied, after a moment to examine the readouts.
"Why would she do that?" Ron was confused. "She was winning! If she didn't want to win, why did she even show up for this contest?"
"I don't think she threw the contest," Kim answered.
"Did one of the other contestants report her, virtually?" Ron suggested.
"Impossible," Kim replied. "Each of the contestants is working in an isolated, virtual world. Senior knew that they might stab each other in the back, so he made sure that each girl's reality is separate."
"There's the answer!" Elly's guard snapped, pointing at Dementor. The contestant had just removed her plug from the workstation's jack and was carefully concealing it in her sleeve. "She must have hacked into Elly's station and planted a false confession."
"Why would she do that?" Ron demanded. "There isn't any prize for first place! The only thing you get by not finishing last is another day in the contest. She was nowhere near losing, so why take the risk of getting caught?"
"I'm willing to bet that it has something to do with the talk Camille had with her, during the lunch break," Elly's guard mused. "What sort of deal did she cut?"
"I vhouldn't know," the henchman insisted, in response to the man's intense glare. "I'm only here to protect her person! Vhat she does to vin der contest is up to her!"
"I'm willing to bet it wasn't a deal," Ron said, stepping in between the two. "I'm willing to bet that Camille played her."
"This may be true," Elly's guard commented. "Let's see how the last half-hour plays out."
Elly did her best, but it wasn't enough. Despite her sharp mind, the authorities in her virtual world had all the evidence they needed to place her in custody. Despite the girl's frantic, brilliant attempts, the continued investigation systematically uncovered all of her activities.
"This contest has come to an end," Senior announced at four P.M. "Let's investigate the results. Miss Trudy Dementor is in first place, having used corporate espionage and sabotage to enhance her legitimate business activities. Miss Bonnie Rockwaller is in second place, by less than a half of a percentage point, also by using villainous means to enhance her legitimate business activities."
"Miss Camille Leon is in a distant third place," Senior continued. "She used her high-profile contacts to gain access to expensive jewelry and other items. Unfortunately, the authorities caught her and placed her on probation. While she is unable to conduct additional crimes at this time, she retains the potential to resume villainy at a later date."
"Finally, despite holding a most impressive lead for most of the contest, Miss Elizabeth Minated's nefarious empire collapsed under her confession at nearly the last possible moment."
"But…I…didn't…" Elly protested.
"Since both her legitimate and villainous empires have collapsed, and her virtual person is in custody and facing a long list of charges, I must conclude that she had lost this contest. It gives me great sadness to announce that I must remove Miss Elly Minated from the contest."
A/N: Okay, the word play was sad, but I couldn't resist. Thanks again to Joe Stoppinghem for his ever-patient beta services.
Until my next update, best wishes;
daccu65