Trials of The Heart

Chapter 11

The Sitch Continues.

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Ron held onto Kim as she lay in his arms. Her eyes were closed but he knew she was conscious. She would moan any time he moved her. He tried to check her out the best he could, but without any of their scanners it was impossible. She was breathing normally and her heart rate was good. A small smile would come to her face each time she looked up at him. The sunlight coming through the bars let him know that about 6 hours had passed when a key jiggled in the lock. He placed Kim on the floor and stood between her and the door. If they wanted Kim, they would have to kill him to get to her. Tri walked in with a few guards. They had what appeared to be orange suits and sneakers in their hands. The guards put the clothing down on the floor next to the pair and left. Tri motioned with his hand and four people walked in wearing medical scrubs.

"The medical staff will treat you before you will be given the opportunity to change. After you change, you will be transferred to another facility. At that facility you will be given the chance to meet with some embassy staff. Your preliminary trial before a military court will start the next day."

Kim moved slightly. "Military court?"

Tri nodded as he looked down at her.

"Yes, Miss Possible. You attacked a military installation on a military base. You will be tried by a Military Court. Now the medical staff will treat you. After they are through you may change."

Tri turned and left the room with the guards. The medical staff brought in some dividers and stools. One motioned for Kim to stand and follow them. She struggled to stand as Ron helped her up. Taking her arm, he guided her first steps in the direction of the two who were waiting for her. She stopped and patted his hand.

"I'm okay Ron. Let's get this over with."

Ron let go of her arm and watched as she walked behind the divider. Turning he faced the doctor and nurse looking at him. He walked over and sat down on the stool they had brought into the room. The nurse pulled his shirt up over his head and clucked as she examined his back. A small cry came from Kim's direction. He started to get up when the doctor put his hand on his shoulder.

"Do not be afraid for you companion. Dr. Wu is a fine doctor and will take care of her. Let us treat you so that you may make your way to the new facility."

Ron settled back down on his stool wincing as the doctor probed his ribs. "Where are they taking us? Or can you say?"

The doctor started to rub some ointment on his back as the nurse examined his head through his hair. The doctor kept talking.

"You are being taken to a military base outside of the Capital city. There is a small military prison there for holding special prisoners."

Ron sighed. "So we will be getting special treatment and I was just getting used to the accommodations here."

The nurse stifled a laugh as she started to wrap a bandage around his ribs. The doctor looked at Ron with a smile on his face.

"You have an interesting sense of humor young one. Let us hope that it can carry you through the coming days."

The doctor stood back and handed Ron his new clothes. "You may get dressed now. I will say that these garments will be more comfortable than what you had. The nurse and I will wait on the other side of the divider."

Ron stood unsteadily and proceeded to get dressed. The sneakers and socks felt wonderful to his feet. Tightening his belt, he stepped around the side of the divider to see Kim standing there waiting for him. She slowly walked over to where he was.

"The doctor said I am bruised up pretty good but that's about it. Two of them will be traveling with us to the new prison."

The door swung open as Tri and a number of guards walked into the room. The guards were carrying handcuffs and chains. Kim and Ron stood as the guard proceeded to lock them into the sets. One chain went around their waists and locked, and then their wrists were placed in the handcuffs hanging from the chains. This forced them to hold their hands close to their stomachs. Another pair of manacles were placed on their ankles, and a chain passed up and connected to the waist chain. The chain between their ankles was short forcing them to take short steps.

Tri motioned for them to walk out the door. Ron let Kim go first and followed behind her. Two guards were waiting for them outside the door. They were armed with assault rifles and backed slowly up the hallway as Kim and Ron made their way up the hall. The two guards backed out a door as another held it open. When Kim and Ron stepped out the door into the sun, they blinked in the sun's brightness as this was the first time they had been outside in a number of days. As soon as her eyes adjusted to the light, Kim noticed the guards waiting for them at the back of an army style truck. The truck was backed up to the loading dock where they were standing, and Kim took a moment to look around. They were inside a walled compound with guard towers at intervals along the walls. Barbed wire topped the brick walls of the enclosure.

One of the guards nudged her forward with the barrel of his rifle. Kim walked slowly forward and into the back of the truck. Looking around she took a seat on the left side on a bench that ran the length of the bed of the truck. There was a canvas roof over the back area of the truck, and the sides had slats of wood up to the height of her back. Ron took a seat next to her. Four guards took seats in positions on the bench directly opposite of them. Tri handed the keys of the shackles to one of the guards as he took his seat, and turned to the two teens.

"I will be leaving you to the care of the guards. They will escort you to the base where you will be held until we decide what to do with you and where you will have your first meeting with the consulate staff."

Tri turned and walked off to a waiting car with the engine running. It pulled off the moment he had closed the door. A truck full of guards followed behind his car. Their driver waited for a few moments then pulled off. Kim watched as they pulled out into the countryside. The jungle seemed to grow right up to the edge of the road. Ron noticed the guard with the keys was one of the guards that had captured them that night that seemed like a year ago. All the other guards seemed to be almost new recruits. Kim seemed to have noticed it too and just shrugged her shoulders.

After they had traveled for sometime the older guard got up to speak with the driver. Ron heard a jingle and noticed the shackle keys had fallen out of the guard's pocket and onto the floor of the truck. No one seemed to notice, so he slid his foot out and covered the keys. Sliding his foot back, he pulled the keys back under the bench he was sitting on. Kim had seen what was going on and had watched the other guards. They didn't seem to notice what happened either. The older guard turned to face them as the truck pulled to a stop at what looked like a checkpoint.

"I must leave you to the care of these guards. They and the driver will continue on to your destination. I will meet you there."

The older guard jumped off the truck and it passed through the checkpoint and continued down the road. The driver made a turn on to another road and sped up. This road seemed to be a little more remote than the one they had been traveling. Kim didn't like it. Something was not right. She was about to speak to Ron when there was a tremendous bang and the truck lurched to the side. Ron pulled Kim onto the floor of the truck and covered her with his body. Kim chanced a glance to the side. She saw one of the guards stand up and look to the side of the road. There was a rattle of gunfire and his shirt shredded. There was a roar of more guns and they could hear the bullets slamming into the cab of the truck. Then there was silence.

They waited for several moments to see if there would be any more shooting. After waiting for a few more minutes to make sure it was all over, they started to slowly move.

Ron chanced a look through the wooden slats on the side. "I can't see anyone or anything but jungle."

Kim poked her head up and looked around also. Then she reached under the bench where Ron had been sitting and retrieved the keys. She was about to unlock her cuffs when she stopped. Ron looked at her.

"Come on Kim! Let's get these things off of us."

Kim shook her head. "Ron, something about this stinks like your socks. Why would they put young guards with us when we are supposed to be so important? Why would the main guard "accidentally" lose the keys to our handcuffs and then leave the truck? Why would Tri not be with us the entire time, seeing as he was so proud of capturing us?"

Ron whispered. "Set-up!"

Kim nodded. She stood up and shuffled to the side of the truck and dropped the keys off the side of the truck. Turning to Ron, she pointed at small pouches attached to the downed guard's belts.

"Grab the first aid kits off these soldiers. Let's see if we can help some of them."

Ron pointed to the one closest to them. "I don't think we can help him very much at all."

Kim glanced down at the young soldier who gazed up at the ceiling with open unseeing eyes. She nodded. "Yeah, but maybe we can help the others."

She grabbed the first aid kit from the dead soldier and shuffled over to one of the others lying in the bottom of the truck. Ripping open the pack, she pressed a bandage onto the wound in his stomach. The soldier moaned at the pressure on his stomach. Ron opened another med-pack and began to wrap a bandage around the leg of another soldier. The two could have been more efficient if their wrists hadn't been chained, but Kim and Ron made do.

Within a few minutes a number of jeeps and trucks came flying down the road from the direction they had been going. The two teens recognized Tri sitting in the first jeep along with the older guard. The jeep slowed to a stop as the truck behind it slammed on it's brakes. Troops leapt out of the truck and disappeared into the jungle. Tri walked up to the truck.

"You are still here? I would have imagined you would have run. It appears someone attacked the truck in hopes of freeing the two of you. Luckily we were not too far away and only just arrived. Those subversive elements wishing to free you must have left you behind."

Kim slowly stood, hampered as she was by the chains. "Why should we run? We've been arrested by the proper authorities. Plus, how could we run? We're still shackled. Unless you had reason to believe that we had the opportunity to somehow become unshackled. I guess we're lucky that you were close. It would have been bad if we had escaped or been killed."

Tri's face twitched just a bit as he pulled a whistle from his pocket and blew it. The soldiers that had run into the woods came back out and jumped onto the truck. The older guard walked down the side of the truck and bent down to pick up the keys from a puddle of water. Kim looked down at him.

"It is really interesting that you just arrived and somehow you knew just where those keys were."

The older guard looked back at Tri so see him giving him a look that made him swallow in fear. Kim and Ron could tell that Tri was so angry he could barely hold his temper. Tri turned and yelled a curt order and some of the soldiers jumped onto the truck with Kim and Ron and removed the dead and wounded guards. Another group of guards jumped onto the truck with Kim and Ron and took seats next to the two of them. Kim noticed a distinct odor coming from the guns that the guards were holding. They had been fired and very recently. She glanced over to Ron who nodded telling her he smelled the same thing.

Tri jumped back into the jeep as it turned around and headed back the way it had come. The truck driver started the truck and followed Tri's jeep. Kim and Ron sat back and tried to make themselves as comfortable as possible for the remainder of the trip.

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As they entered town, the sides of the road were lined with a mass of people. Signs depicting the KP logo were marked with big red X's over the logo. Other signs said Murderer or Spy. There were even a number of the Kim and Ron dolls being hung from signs. Every so often a rotten fruit would come flying in from some unseen assailant. Everyone was screaming to the small caravan while camera crews recorded every moment. Kim and Ron did not see the soldiers standing behind the crowds with weapons leveled at the backs of the crowd.

Kim blinked her eyes from the light of the sun as they turned onto the road that approached the main gate of their destination. A shake of her head forced the remains of some unknown fruit that had hit the back of her head and slid down her back. There were no screaming crowds now as Kim surveyed the area. She thought back to all the lairs and labs that they had broken into chasing all the different villains. She also thought back on the security measures on the Senior's island. This place made the Billionaire's island look like a playground fence. There were multiple layers of fence with concertina wire on the tops of each barricade. Some of the fences had rolls of concertina on both sides at the bottom, and between the two fences was a sandy area. Kim had no doubt that area was mined.

The truck pulled up to the first set of gates and stopped. Tri got out of his jeep and walked up to the small structure. He showed some papers to the guard, who then saluted and turned back inside. Moments later the first set of gates opened and the truck pulled forward, following the jeep. Kim watched as the gate slid closed behind them. They went through two more gates, each more secure than the other. Finally, the truck pulled through a large garage door. The truck traveled into the garage and parked. She watched as the heavy door rolled shut behind them. The light of the sun shut off as the door reached the bottom and latched with a loud thud.

Tri appeared at the end of the truck as more guards appeared. Two were pushing a set of stairs on rollers. The stairs were pushed up to the rear of the truck and locked down. A camera crew appeared at the end of the truck and started to film. Tri motioned for Kim and Ron.

"Please stand and disembark the truck. You will be taken your new quarters, and you can clean up there."

Kim rolled her eyes at the way Tri was speaking. There was no doubt he was playing to the camera. Kim and Ron stood and shuffled to the end of the truck and moved carefully down the stairs with the aid of two guards. The camera crew then followed the two of them to a nearby door, and filmed them walking through.

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Dr. Director sat in a chair in the conference room. Both families were there as they waited for the news feed about their children. So far nothing had been made public, but that would end with this broadcast. The news that Team Possible had been arrested for murder would soon be splashed over the airwaves and there was not a thing they could do about it.

The newscaster on World News Network looked up at the camera and began his report.

"There is shocking news out of the Far East. The two teens of Team Possible have been captured and placed under arrest for the charges of murder and numerous other charges in the country of Vietnam."

The following video showed the crowd scene as the truck passed by the camera. Most of the signs that people were holding garnered close-up shots from the camera.. There was also a good closeup of some fruit smacking Kim in the back of the head. The video changed to the inside of the prison, where it showed Kim and Ron in orange jumpsuits climbing off of the truck. Their hands were cuffed in front of them while chains on their ankles made it difficult for them to walk.

Anne took her husband's hand as they watched the news-feed. Jean sniffed as she watched the two of them get off the truck in chains.

There was an announcer's voice speaking over the video "The government of Vietnam announced today the arrest of Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable. They claim that the two teens entered the country illegally to attack the lab of Dr. Drew Lipsky, who had recently been given asylum by this government. During their horrific attack on the lab, they murdered Dr. Lipsky and his assistant Sheila Go. The damage they inflicted on the lab caused the release of toxic fumes that killed nearly one hundred men, women and children in a nearby village. Full charges have not been leveled at the two teens at this time, barring communication with their government. The two teens have been well treated and given special prisoner status in a secure government facility, which was done for their own protection. The motorcade carrying the two teens was attacked while they were being transported to the prison, and several guards gave their lives protecting the two teens. It is unknown at this time if they will be turned over to the world court for war crimes or held in the country and tried locally."

Betty noticed a few things on the video that she would not share with the parents. Months before, Kim and Ron had come up with a plan to send messages in a very unnoticeable way. They sat down with her and she explained how it would work. Betty had watched both of them very closely. Mainly their eyes. Kim and Ron would blink in code. They would use the same code that had been taught to the pilots back in the Vietnam War, and it involved numbers. They would blink one number then another, with each number representing one letter. A short series of letters would mean a certain message. There was no doubt that both of them were blinking the message BGS. That meant they had been or were under going torture. Betty tried to catch another message but a guard stepped in front of the camera.

Dr. Director turned to the parents. "Well, at least they seem to be in better shape than when we last saw them. I really don't understand what is happening, but apparently the first officer who spoke about Kim and Ron didn't have the full approval of the government. They now are in the full custody of the government. Now that is good and bad. It's good as they will most likely be treated better. Bad, in the fact that the government is just as anxious to put them on trial. Whether it will be in the world court at the Hague or by the local government we don't know yet. The government has forbidden you to enter the country, but will allow someone from the embassy to see and talk with them. They will not allow the embassy to provide legal counsel. Apparently they would provide Kim and Ron with defense council."

Dean shook his head. "They won't have a chance. There is no way that they will be able to receive a fair trial like that."

Betty nodded in response. "Yes, I know. However there is little that we can do. I have already spoken with the State Department. However, they are not willing to place any pressure on the government at this time. Apparently with all the bad press Kim and Ron have been receiving turned several people against them. Right now it looks like they think Kim and Ron were just out to get Drakken and Shego. The fact that Drakken and Shego are reported dead, as well as those in that small village, does not make things look good. You know that they were set up, and I know that they were set up, but no one is going to believe us."

Anne Possible nodded and gripped her husband's hand. "I doubt that my outburst helped."

Betty winced. "No, probably not. This Tri has a lot of connections with the government. He is running the show, and until we can get in contact with your children we can only hope that they will be treated well."

The phone on the table buzzed and Betty snatched it up. "I gave orders that we were not to be disturbed. I….. WHAT? You MEAN……..? He has information on WHAT…..? Okay, I will be out there in just a minute."

The parents stared at Betty as she slowly placed the phone back on the cradle. She raised her face to look at them.

"We needed an act of God to help Kim and Ron… and I think we just got one. You will never believe what has happened."

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Kim and Ron continued to march down the hall of the prison, surrounded by the guards through a series of doors until they reached what would become their home. The guards opened the doors and prodded the two of them into a central room. It was sparsely furnished with a small table with four mismatched chairs, an old couch, one easy chair and a TV set placed on a couple of boards which were lying on cinder blocks. A VCR sat on the boards next to the TV.

The guards pulled Kim and Ron to a stop and proceeded to unlock the shackles on their wrists and ankles. The chains fell into piles in front of each of them and a guard knelt down and picked them up. He turned and left the room as Tri entered.

"This will be your quarters for the remainder of your stay. We have arranged for you to have separate rooms with their own baths. Sorry that the rooms are actually small cells themselves, but you will not be locked in the rooms each night. You will be free to move about your own rooms or in here. This will be your… entertainment room, as it were, and your meals will be delivered here. Some materials have been provided for your use. There is clothing in each of your rooms as well as personal and bath items."

Tri motioned cameras mounted in corners of the room that were enclosed with what appeared to be bullet proof, or tempered glass.

"You will be under twenty-four hour surveillance. You do not have to worry about privacy as the cameras in each of your rooms and baths will only be monitored by those of the appropriate sex. I would think that you both wish to bathe and change at this moment."

He turned and walked over to a phone mounted on the wall and continued. "This phone will connect you to the guards outside. If you have any needs please call and let them know. Please do not try to escape. You are in the center of this facility and you would have to get through several layers of guards to even reach the exterior of the building. All the air vents are only a few inches in size, so there is no way you would be able to crawl through those. Just do as you are asked, do not cause any problems, and your stay will be as comfortable as… possible." The corner of Tri's mouth ticked up at his own turn of phrase. "When you have cleaned up and wish something to eat, just ring the guards. The Swiss Embassy has offered to act on the behalf of both of you. There is someone here from their embassy at this time waiting to speak with you when you are finished cleaning up. As of this moment no one from the American Embassy will be allowed on the grounds. I will leave you now. Good day."

Tri spun and strode from the room motioning for the guards to leave as well. Kim and Ron watched as the heavy steel door swung shut with a dull thud and locked. They looked around the room and then at each other. No words passed between them for about a second, then the two embraced each other tightly. They separated with a small kiss and went to their separate rooms to clean up.

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Ron sat in front of the flickering TV watching a movie that was made before he was born. Kim came into the room rubbing a towel through her wet hair. She plopped down on the couch next to him. The springs squeaked and groaned as she bounced up and down. Ron put his hand on her leg.

"Be careful, this thing is not in that great a shape."

Kim stared at the screen. The movie was about a shipwrecked sea captain stuck in medieval Japan. It was full of fighting, ninjas, intrigue, and everything else you would see in a movie that was well over 12 hours long.

She shut her eyes and laid her head on his shoulder. "We are in SO much trouble. I really want to see mom and dad. At this point I would even love to see the Tweebs."

Ron gave the top of her head a kiss. "I feel the same way. Maybe they will let us at least call our folks."

The lock on the door clacked and the door swung open. The guards stepped into the room with a tall blond man following close behind, who stopped just before entering the room. The guard motioned for the man to enter and then closed the door behind him. The man approached the two teens carrying a briefcase.

"Miss Possible, Mr. Stoppable, I am Frans Delbrook. I am an attaché with the Swedish Embassy. We have been asked by your government to contact you and see how you have been treated, and to see if we could do anything for you."

Kim and Ron stood and motioned toward the table, and all three of them sat down. Delbrook pulled two envelopes from his bag, and set one in front of each of the teens. Kim's heart did a flip-flop as she immediately recognized the handwriting on the outside of the envelopes. They were letters from their parents. She grabbed the one in front of her and just looked at it for a bit, her eyes welling with unshed tears. Ron was gently thumbing his handwritten name on his envelope, as he recognized his own mother's handwriting. Delbrook smiled when he saw the reactions of the teens.

"We thought that you would like to hear from your parents. The letters came with the diplomatic pouch and I brought them in. I think you might want to go ahead and read the letters now, so I will wait."

Kim took her letter and opened it up. There was one sheet of paper inside which she gently unfolded and started to read.

"Kimmie, the Swiss Embassy allowed us to fax these letters to their office and said they would deliver them to you. I just hope they do find you. We were so shocked by the first video and so very concerned about your condition. We just saw the new tapes and could see that you were as well as could be expected. We are trying everything we can to get you some help, but the government is just not cooperating. They have concluded that you were vigilantes and entered the country to gain revenge on Drakken and Shego. They say that they cannot interfere with the lawful process of that country. That doesn't mean that we have given up. We have other ideas and are investigating them now.

Kimmie, we love you and Ron so much. I guess in hindsight we should have stopped this long ago, but what you two do is your calling. I don't think you could have lived your life in any other way. It comforts me to know that Ron is there at your side. That is right where he belongs. Never give up hope sweetie, never give up hope."

Squeezing the paper hard enough to crinkle it, Kim gently placed her hands on her lap, closed her eyes, and took a breath in an effort keep from crying.

At the same time that Kim was reading her letter, Ron was reading his. He immediately noticed that his mom was writing for her and his dad.

"Ronnie, I hope this letter finds you as well as you can be. We love you and miss you so much. We are all upset when we found out what had happened, and are so concerned for your safety. The government is not helping much and Dr. Director told us that there is not much she can do either. But we are exploring other avenues. Rufus is here with us and squeaks hello. Your sister calls out you name every night and won't go to sleep unless there is a picture of you in her room. (Ron could feel his eyes tearing at that point)

"We are here with Kim's parents, and they have been such a big help to us. Ronnie, I know that I tried to get you to see some Jewish girl, but that was just not to be. I guess I closed my eyes to what grew between Kim and you over the years. I could not have dreamed that you would have found someone that fits you as well as Kim does. The two of you grew up together, knew each other faults and strengths, trusted each other, hurt each other and forgave each other. You two built something that I am amazed and rejoice at. Both your father and I pray that what the two of you have will continue to grow. When the two of you are together I know all will be well. Give Kim our love."

Ron put down his letter and turned to Kim. Through his own tear-filled eyes, he could see that Kim had been crying as well.

"Can we keep these?" Kim asked, but Frans just slowly shook his head.

"I'm sorry Miss Possible, but I have to leave here with everything that I walked in with. The guards said no exceptions. I'm sorry."

Kim looked down at her letter as if was the most important possession in her life. She gently folded the letter back up, placed it back inside the envelope, and gave it a loving kiss. Ron handed his envelope back to her, and Kim handed both back to Frans.

"You okay KP?" Ron asked taking her hand in his.

Kim wiped the tears from her eyes, nodded with a sniff, and turned to Frans. "What happens now?"

Frans took the letters, gently placed them back into his bag, and then spoke. "We are working with the government here in an attempt to help with your defense. We do not know if they will try you themselves or send you to The Hague for war crimes. It all depends on how much publicity they want and how much they want to showcase your alleged crimes. If they send you to The Hague, you would be tried in a world court. You would most likely not receive any death sentence but an extended prison sentence if found guilty. There would be a great deal of publicity and it would be extremely embarrassing for both you and the U.S. government. If they try you here, then your chances of being found guilty are much greater and you would most likely receive a death sentence. However, most of the proceedings would most likely be kept from the public eye. It would simply be an internal matter. We can only hope for The Hague."

Kim gave Ron's hand a squeeze. "If we wrote letters, could you take them to our parents?"

Once again Frans winced. "Yes, I can. But they would have to clear them first. So I would not write anything that would cause them to destroy the letter, or keep me from leaving with it. Don't mention anything about what has happened. Talk about each other and try and be as upbeat as you can. I'll wait while you write."

Kim looked at Ron. "Why don't we write one together so we can get it done faster? Also they will only have one letter to go over."

Ron nodded. "You write KP, mom swears my writing looks like a chicken ran across the paper."

Kim giggled. At least she could count on his humor to help them through the overall situation.

Kim picked up a pen and some paper that Frans gave her and began to write.

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"Mom, Dad, Dean and Jean Stoppable,

Ron and I decided to write this letter together. We are okay and have been treated as well as we could expect. Please find out about the troops that were killed protecting us and try to send our thanks. The government as given us quarters here at the prison. Rufus would like to get in here, that is for sure.

We are so sorry for this happening. We know that it is hard on you, but know that we are together and okay. We are in good shape, just like the night we beat the Diablos. Tell Wade we don't blame him for his information getting us into this. Let Monique know that this whole thing was like the night Erik took me to the prom. We hope to write more later, but wanted to get this note out to you. We love you and miss you very much, that means the Tweebs too. We know that you will do all that you can for us. Let Betty know that we got into this with our eyes open.

Kim and Ron."

Anne's hand shook as she held the paper in her hand after reading the letter aloud. James sat at her side holding her other hand. Dean pulled Jean into a hug with his arm around her shoulders. The parents sat in the living room at the Possible's home. Tim and Jim sat on the floor in front of their parents, their own faces full of dismay. They glanced at each other and then to their parents. They knew their sister was in trouble, but she had been in trouble before and came back.

Jim looked up at his mom. "Mom? Is Kim going to be okay?"

Anne looked down at her two sons. "We hope so dear, but things are a little different this time. We can only hope that something will work out."

Jim and Tim looked at each other. They knew their mother pretty well. She had the coolest head of anyone in the family and right now they could tell she was barely holding it together. They knew if she was this worried, then things were really bad.

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Betty stared at her copy of the short letter from Kim and Ron that they had just received. Their parents were holding onto the original letter like it was the most precious thing in the world. Even though it was short, at least it was some form of communication from their children. Betty looked at the note in a totally different manner. It told her a lot more than she really wanted to know. She would not be telling the parents, yet that is, that the entire note was also a cryptic message.

Kim was one to make plans within plans. It was an idea Ron had that gave them for what to do if they were ever seriously captured or in a dangerous situation. Basically, she had to read the message in "reverse attitude." The note told her several things along with the message they had sent by the blinking. The two of them had gone through some serious beatings and or torture and the treatment had been bad up to this point. The situation with the guards and the shooting was a setup in an attempt to kill or injure them. The Rufus reference told her that they were in a very secure place with little to no chance of escape. The Wade reference told her that they knew the information given them had been false or doctored. The Diablo reference was another reference that they had been beaten. The Eric reference meant that they knew that they had been set up and that somehow Drakken was part of the set up. The last reference told her that they knew that bad information had come from GJ, and it was also another reference to them being set up. Betty sat back and pressed a button to bring her intelligence chief in. They had a lot of work to do, and little time to do it.

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Howdy everyone, I would like to apologize for the long time in updating. Its mostly my fault. I just got wrapped up in so many of my other stories. We are back on this one now and hope the updates will come a little more frequent. Whitem and I did this chapter together as we will on the rest of the chapters. Whitem is a great partner and showed a lot of patience with me on this chapter. We both thank all of you for reading and reviewing. Drop us a review, we would appreciate it.

The Captain.