Having talked Kim into going on the date, Gary realized that he had another problem. He didn't have anything nice to wear. His years as a henchman had never called for a suit and tie, And since it would be a few more days before his first OSI paycheck he didn't have enough money for both the date and to buy a new suit. He spent some time pacing the guard shack wondering what to do. Dare he raid Broc Samson's closet? Besides being totally wrong, there was the likelihood that nothing would fit.

His eyes turned to the bag at the bottom of the closet. Inside was his graduation suit, His mother had bought it years ago. He'd worn it once but had carried it every where with him because his mother had always impressed on him the need to have a good, dark suit for weddings and funerals. He pulled the suitcase out and dug through it to the pile at the bottom. He shook out a shiny, dark polyester suit. It was massvely wrinkled. He tried on the coat. Surprisingly, it fit. Not well, but then it hadn't fit well the other time, either. Only then it was loose across the shoulders and tight around the waist. Now it was tight above and, if not loose, then at least less tight below.

Now where was he going to find an iron?

Gary wandered over to the Residence. His stomach churned when he saw Dean. The clone Dean. But he forced himself to ignore that and talk to him in a normal voice. Dean not only knew where an iron was but offered to iron Gary's suit. Watching him setup the ironing board, spread out the coat, spritz it down for ironing Gary couldn't help but think of the old line - some day Dean was going to make someone a great wife. He was instantly embarrassed by the thought. There was nothing about Dean to suggest he was gay. But with no mother in the house the boys had had to learn off the domestic skills that Gary had left for his mom. That was all.

"So what's the big occasion?" Dean asked and taken by surprise, Gary answered truthfully. "I'm taking my date to see a movie."

"You're going to a movie? Can I come?"

"It's a date."

"Oh, right. I could ask Triana to come along. Then it would be a double date!"

Rather than say that Triana would never go on a date, single or double, with Dean Venture, Gary tried to explain that this was supposed to be a romantic date and not the sort of thing for double dates. But Dean wasn't listening he already had his two-way communicator out and tuning in Triana's number. Triana must have been screening her calls because she did not answer. The two-way communicator, made in the 60s by Jonas Venture, Senior, used an analog tuner control to change contact numbers.

"I know, I'll call Gloria," Dean fiddled with his communicator again.

"Who's Gloria?" Gary asked.

"Oh she's this great girl I meet earlier this week, when you took us to the mall. She loves Giant Boy Detective, too. I gave her my email and we've been chatting ever since." Gary remembered the mousy little girl Dean had been talking to. Security threat? No, Dean meeting her was entirely too random for her to have been a plant. Gary cut his reflexive thought off in its track.

"Look, I'm sure Gloria is a nice girl but this is not going to be a double date."

"Why not?"

Gary thought quickly for an answer, then realized it was staring him in the face. "Because if I let you come along Hank will find out and then he'll want to come along, and he doesn't have a girlfriend. And, no, Dermott doesn't count. Especially since he's a boy."

"Maybe Gloria has a friend..."

"Dean, I want this to be just a quiet night between me and my gal so we can get to know each other better. Besides we're going to see a chick-flick. I doubt that you would care for it."

"A chick-flick? Oh-." He handed Gary the pressed coat. Gary tried it on. He looked at himself in the full length mirror in the boys' closet and admired what he saw. He fluffed his coat and practiced say "Bond, James Bond."

"So, are you going to have sex with her, Mr. Double-Oh-Ought?" Dean asked as his pressed the pants.

"We already did that. I'm trying to get to know her better."

"You had sex with her? But you're not even married!" Dean's shock. "What would Brock say?"

"I imagine that Brock has had a lot of sex with woman he's not married to."

"But, but - it's immoral."

"Dean a moment ago you were wondering if we were going to have sex and now you're shocked to find out that we already have. What gives?"

Dean looked at him blankly. Gary had noticed that look a couple times now, when the boys had said something incongruous. It was almost like they were were flipping between personalities, one what was smart and almost with it and the other naive and almost retarded. They were strange kids.

Because Kim couldn't get away from her work early they went to the movie first. Shopton tended to roll up the carpet early and the theater was one such place. The movie they had agreed on was called "He's Dead to Me," a comedy about a girl who falls in love the Undead. There were some big laughs, but also unexpected shocks and gory bits. Kim thought it was great movie, which was all Gary had been hoping for. When they'd first got to the theater Kim had been kind of frisky, trying to make out with him in the darkened room but as the movie got going she had settled down. When they left she was holding on to him tightly, but was talking only about the movie.

The restaurant they went to was out of town somewhat, an old roadhouse that had remained in business since Prohibition. They found a large padded booth towards the rear. It was funny how they both wanted to sit with their backs to a wall. Gary, from years of watching gangster movies knew that hit men always tried to come up from behind. A back to the wall and there was no behind to come up. If he had known that Kim made the decision for the same reason he might have wondered more about her employer - United Conflict Resolution Systems.

They ordered drinks and sat back to watch the band play. When the band began playing a slow number Gary took Kim out to the dance floor. He didn't know much about dancing. It wasn't something henchmen had much experience with. But he figured he could fake a slow dance. When she laid her head on his shoulders he was about as much in heaven as the first time they crawled into the back of Brock's car.

Kim remembered when she had gone to dances and parties all the time. It had been like this. It felt good to have a strong arm around her, claiming her. It make her want to jump his bones even more but it also made her want to have more long, leisurely evening when nothing mattered but having a good time with a likeable guy. You didn't get to do that when you were a Blackheart. Men were not allowed in a Blackheart's life. They were a distraction, a source of weakness. Molotov Cocktease had made that clear from the start. Men were to be used. Sex was merely a tool for getting at the target. Kim liked sex. And she had used sex a time or two to get what she wanted but she liked sex with guys she liked, like this lug, Gary. Blachearts had sex with anyone so long as it advanced the mission. Kim couldn't see doing some creepy old man for "the mission." It was a sticking point for her continuing to be a Blackheart. Eventually she would have to prove her ability at seduction. She wasn't looking forward to that.

When the song was over they went back to their table. While their waiter laid out the plate of appetizers Kim smiled at Gary and told him, "For someone who can't dance, you do a pretty good job of not stepping on my feet."

"That's not a very nice thing to say."

"Oh, come on, it was a compliment!" Kim laughed. "You would not believe the number of guys who claimed to be great dancers who walked all over my feet. There have been times when I wished they made were steel-toed pumps. I was complimenting you, you big lug."

"Oh." Gary still wasn't sure about it being a compliment. "Dances. I guess a pretty girl like you have been to lots of dances."

"Not lately, but back in high school, yeah, I went out a lot. You?"

"Nah. I was a nerd. A nerd's nerd."

"Really? Were you a Star Wars nerd, or Star Trek? LOTR, or BG? Don't tell me you were a LIS fan because that would be so gay."

"What's gay about Lost in Space? When Penny Robinson get her breasts in the third season that was so hot. At least to other 12 year old boys."

"That Professor Smith, though, he was such a pedophile." Kim replied.

"Danger, Danger, Will Robinson. Pedophile at twenty paces!" Gary intoned in a mechanical voice.

Kim started laughing so hard she had to put down her drink and cover her mouth. "You were a nerd!" she said.

"Takes one to know one."

"Does not," Kim repled. "I knew nerds because I hung out with the Goth crowd for a while. That Goth crap is kind of role-playing but I was mostly into music. Techno stuff. The Goths could understand that unlike most of the rest of the school body."

They had come to the last appetizer and argued over who should have it. Gary insisted on Kim having the last piece while Kim argued that a big guy like Gary needed the extra protein. As the debate grew stale, Gary a knife and cut it in half.

Kim had grown distracted as they had argued. As she picked up her piece she casually mentioned, "Don't look, but there's a man over there who keeps staring at us."

"Really?" Gary picked up his knife again and polished it on his napkin. While admiring the polish afterwards he was lookinig past the knife at the table Kim had indicated. There was a man there, seated by himself. He was wearing a brown suit. Gary studied his face intensely but it didn't register as anyone he knew.

What would Brock Do, Gary wondered in a situation like this?

"Kim, why don't you go powder your nose," he suggested.

"Why, so you go over there and beat him up?"

"No, I don't want to make a scene. I just want to see who he's really watching. If he watches you go to the Ladies room that tells me he's watching you."

"More like, if he doesn't watch me go to the Ladies room he's dead or gay."

Kim got up and sashayed away. Her hips were swinging so hard Gary wondered if she was going to throw her back out. It took him a minute to remember to watch their spy and not her fanny. The man had wasn't watching the show Kim was putting on.

Gary got up and walked over to the other table. He pulled out a chair and sat down without asking. "How are things in the Cocoon?" he asked. Gary had finally recognized the man as he got closer.

"21, is that really you?"

"My name's Gary, 57." He said the man's number to rub in the fact that he was a man, not a number. "I'm not a henchman any more. So what brings you here? Monarch send you out to spy on me?"

"No! It's my birthday. The boss gave me some leave to have a little celebration."

"By yourself? That's kind of boring?"

"OK, the Missus sent me out to pick up some feminine products. It's her time of the month. And I thought I'd take advantage of the situation to have a decent supper for once."

"That's Dr. Mrs. The Monarch to you."

"What do you care, you quit, remember?"

"Always respect authority. Where's your shopping bag?" Gary asked it casually but he still wasn't buying it.

Reluctantly 57 raised a plastic bag from a near-by drugstore. Gary took it from him and looked inside. There was an assortment of tampons and sanitary napkins. "You forgot her lavender douche." He gave it back to the henchman. "Why were you staring at us?"

"I thought I recognized you but I had never seen you without your mask so I couldn't be sure. I didn't realize I was staring so hard."

"Is the Monarch still screaming about my perfidy?"

"Your what?"

"Perfidy. Has he gotten over my quitting."

"Oh, that." 57 took a sip of water and licked his lips. "Yeah, I guess. I haven't heard a rant about that in a week."

"Shame about 130."

"Yeah."

Gary looked to see if Kim had returned yet. She hadn't. "Look, 57, I kind of departed on short notice," Gary leaned in conspiratorially, "so I didn't have time to clear out my stuff. Do you have any idea if its still there?"

57 vividly recalled the bonfire they had had. "Yeah, it's all still there."

" 'Cause I'd like to get it back. I was wondering - we go back a long way. I've covered for you from time to time. I want to call in that favor."

"Uh huh..."

"I wonder if you can sneak my stuff out of the Cocoon. Here's a number you can call when you get it out and I'll come around and pick it up. No one will be the wiser and the next time you come around henching the Ventures I'll go easy on ya."

"I don't know that the Monarch has any plans for attacking any time soon..."

"He's always planning something. I'm just saying, do this thing for me and I'll owe you one the next time we meet."

Gary watched 57's eyes as he considered the offer. 57 was a good poker player, something Gary didn't know since cards was never one of his things. "Sure, I can do it." he said. "It'll take me a couple days to sneak everything out. Then I'll call and you can pick it up."

"Great. You're a brick, 57. I knew I could count on you." Gary scribbled out the number for his OSI cellphone. He'd have to remember to plug it in the charger later. Since working at the Venture's he'd used their wrist two-way for everything but he didn't want this call coming up with a Venture ID. He got up, shook hands and went back to his table.

Kim arrived moments later. Gary didn't consider that she'd been waiting and watching his conversation with 57. It wasn't because she suspected Gary of double-dealing, but it was something trained into her by the Blackhearts. Watch and observe. Watch and observe.

"So, who was he watching?" She asked as she slid into her seat.

"He was an old friend from my former place of employment. He didn't realize it was me. We talked for a moment. He's OK."

Kim looked towards the table and saw that 57 had already left. "Sure you didn't threaten to break a leg?"

"Nah. Fif- Fred is a good friend." Their waiter must have been watching as well because he arrived just them with the main course.

"God, I'm hungry!" Kim exclaimed as she cut off a piece of her steak. "I was busy all day yesterday and didn't get a change for more than a snack."

"With United Conflict Resolution Systems?"

"Yeah," Kim mumbled through another piece of steak. "They sent me out on a mission yesterday. Just back-up support but it turned out to be a whole day of running around. Man, I was bushed."

"I didn't realize that arbitration was that strenuous."

"Arbitration?" Kim, for a moment had forgotten her cover story. The target had run and stayed ahead of the team for most of the day. "Well, you know, paperwork. Running off to make copies, get stuff notarized. Lots of negotiations." She smiled, hoping that he wouldn't pry any deeper. He was nodding sympathetically.

"I've been pretty busy, too. Maintenance at the place has been pretty slack. I've had to run all over the place looking for what needs to be replaced then try to get my tightwad boss to cough up the money for repairs. You know, I quit my last job because I wanted to make a difference in this world. And I really feel like I am. I kind of got thrown in over my head but I'm swimming. I see real progress in what I do. Quitting the Mon- my old boss was the smartest thing ever did."

Kim studied him for a moment, surprised by this declaration. She wasn't entirely sure that Arching Hank Venture was the smartest thing she ever decided to do. She had made a lot of bad decisions in her life. It made her feel small to sit next to someone who felt so good about himself.

"What made you pick me up at Nightingales last week?" Gary asked.

"Me? I thought you picked me up." She laughed.

"I've never flirted with a girl in my life before. You're the one that started talking to me."

"I did not ... oh, wait,so I did. You looked cute and so perplexed because we kept stepping the same way to get out of the other's way."

"Yeah, I remember. And I thought you were a stripper."

"But you blushed when I told you I wasn't. I think that when I knew you were all right. Most of the dicks I've run into would have refused to admit that they were wrong."

"I gather you've run into a lot of them."

"Yeah," Kim reluctantly admitted. The last year in school I started hanging out with some of the rich kids. I was mesmerized by the life-style. Fancy dinners, elaborate parties and then the drugs. At first I thought I was doing it just to fit in but soon I became hooked. Stole from friends. They didn't seem to mind, probably because they were stealing from their parents already. Then one day I staggered home about 4 am. I'd spent half the night looking for a hit. I come in and the light comes on in the living room. I thought I was going to catch hell from my mother, but everyone was there. My parents, my brother and sisters, some of my friends, even an aunt I barely know. It was an intervention. Did you ever see the show Intervention?"

Gary hadn't.

"It was just like that. Every one was teary eyed. They read letters telling me how much they loved me and didn't want to see me die. I was crying. And to be honest I was so embarrassed that things had come to this that I wanted to die.

"So I did the rehab. That was a rough time. I think I cried constantly for the first month. By then the coke was out of my system but I still craved the stuff. Group therapy talked me out of that. And I've been clean since. For a while I after I finished the rehab I hooked up with a religious group that specialized in post-rehab therapy. I spent most of a year with them. Then one day a month ago I was kneeling for 6 am prayers when I realized that I was not cut up for praying at all hours of the day and night. I used to come in from raves at 6 am. So I came back here. Hooked up with United, then met you. I hadn't been with a man for over a year.

"So it wasn't my charming self, after all"

"No, that's not true. I mean, maybe the first time, but I wouldn't have asked you to call if I didn't think this was the right thing to do." All that was left on her plate was the bone from her steak. "I know you wanted to get to know me better, and there it is. I thought about it and decided that you ought to know just what kind of a girl you're hooking up with. You must hate me by now."

Gary was disquieted by the extent of her wild past. Aside for the {very} occasional hooker he hadn't had any sex in the last ten years. He had been as desperate to hook up with Kim as she had been. The drugs and stealing was disturbing but as a former henchman not really no worse than anything he had done. He wondered if he should tell her his story? He wondered just what sort of a response she was waiting for. He'd seen a lot of movies where people make big confessions like this but there was no consistent response to guide him here. And the "What Would Brock Do" mantra didn't help here because would never listen to such a long confession. He was on his own here.

"So what do you want for dessert?" He asked.

"Dessert?" Kim wasn't sure what she was hearing.

"Yeah. The Hot Fudge Creampuff looks very good.

"I'd put on five pounds just looking at it." Km looked at him. "You don't mind that I'm a junkie?"

"Ex-junkie. That's all in the past, that's good enough for me. Both of us have made breaks with our past and I think - as long as we are good to each other we ought to leave the past behind."

Kim thought 'you naive bastard.' She blushed because Gary's sincerity was more than she deserved. But she wasn't going to let it go either. She lay down the desserts menu she had been looking at. "I know what I want for dessert, and it isn't on this menu!"

Now it was Gary's turn to blush.

Later, laying in Gary's arms Kim considered her future. Molotov Cocktease had always insisted men were tools, easily mislead by sex. A true mercenary, she argued would do anything to fulfill their contract,even if it meant sleeping with some stranger to get information out of him. While Kim had slept with a lot of men, and who knows how many total strangers when she was a drug addict (her memory was fragmented the last couple months before the Intervention) she didn't like the idea now. Where Cocktease felt that sex was no different from shaking hands, Kim felt it was something deeply personal. If a man was going to invade her body it was going to be someone she at least approved of.

So she had been putting off one of the required demonstrations of the Blackhearts - seducing a stranger and stealing something from him. Gary, thought... Cocktease didn't know about him. So if she could make it appear like she was seducing Gary she could pass Cocktease's requirement. And once she graduated from the Blackhearts academy she would be free to Arch Hank Venture the way he deserved to be. But would Gary go along with her idea? He seemed willing to do about anything for her, including forgetting her past. Maybe he'd be willing to go a little it further and do some role-playing. He could be Luke to her Leia, or something.

She rehearsed her story a couple times then nudge him awake. Yes, her future looked bright, with Hank Venture centered in her sights.