I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters in that series, or those from other media I may reference.
Have begun to get frustrated with serious life problems which seem to have made me less inclined to write more for any of more humorous stories, so I'm trying do something with my most serious current story to try and excise my angst. Or something.
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Perry emerged from the Bolts Hole totally focused on his immediate plan, ignoring his surroundings. Even ignoring the fact that the rain had dropped considerably in intensity now, barely even qualifying as a nuisance. He headed straight for his car, pulling out his keys and muttering a variety of imprecations.
Going to the trunk he popped it open and smiled grimly as he beheld a wrapped object with a sinister shape. "Shego or Kim Possible doesn't matter, this baby will deal with them!" He quickly seized and began to unwrap the object, somehow making it twice as hard as necessary to accomplish that simple feat, but finally unveiled his prize.
It was a shotgun manufactured in South Africa, and currently illegal to own in the United States. It was compact and held 12 rounds, both of which contributed to Perry's confidence. And even if he got caught with it, taking Shego out would be worth the fine or jail time.
He was careful not to bring the weapon out into full view of any passersby, and leaned into the trunk to look for something better to conceal it. At which point something impacted solidly with the back of his head, and the lights went out.
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Back inside the bar, Griff the proprietor was dialing the police, while keeping a wary eye on a groaning Mitchell, who had only briefly risen before dropping into the nearest seat while holding his head in his hands. Griff might have preferred to avoid police involvement where trouble in his bar was concerned, but Shego...and admittedly he was concerned at the appearance of a gun. So, he decided to cover his backside, basically.
But then the front door opened to admit Samantha McCarron, who headed straight for him. She had her braid tucked under a rain coat which was barely wet at all, and a smirk on her face as she stepped up to the bar and dropped a set of car keys on it.
Griff's eyes went to them as Sam addressed him. "When the cops show up to look into this ruckus, tell them to check the trunk of a blue 2006 Ford sedan out front, they should find things of interest to them inside." She smiled cheerily at him as she started to turn away, then paused, "Oh, and tell them the shotgun he's got is no longer loaded, if that idiot actually regains consciousness and tries something!" She sighed, "Sweet gun, just my style, but gotta stay legal!" She then turned and exited, leaving Griff looking after her somewhat dumbstruck.
Then he became aware that his call had gone through, and started talking rapidly into the phone.
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Once outside, Sam turned and walked to the corner of the building at the opposite end from the alley that Tom Frailey, Shego, and Kim Possible had exited into. Just as she reached it, the SUV they had rented rolled up in front of her, Jen at the wheel. More surprisingly, the back seat was full, with Frailey sandwiched uncomfortably between a tense Kim and an obviously angry Shego.
Having expected to be in the back herself to keep an eye on Frailey, Sam raised an eyebrow. "Collected them all yourself, I see!" She observed wryly. That only drew an eyeroll from her partner, and a fresh burst of rain caused the blonde to grimace and clamber hastily inside. But she couldn't help adding, "Not lost your powers of persuasion either, apparently!" And that gained her nothing, Jen's face remaining set in a fierce frown as they pulled away from the bar.
It took five blocks and one red light for Tom Frailey to get up his nerve to speak. "Lis...listen! I don't know who you are, but unless you have a badge, I want out of this car, right now!" He flinched as he saw Jen's eyes in the mirror, regarding him in a decidedly unsympathetic manner. Then she shrugged.
"Well, I can pull over to the curb and let you out, but Shego would have to get out first so that you can get out, and I can't guarantee she'll get back in, Mister Frailey." At that, the man's head snapped around to view the decidedly hostile look he was getting from his right side. Then he looked left to see a frowning Kim Possible watching him. He might even have entertained the thought of trying to get over the girl and out the left passenger door, but they were in moderate traffic now, so such a stunt was far outside his comfort zone. And in no way a wise move, anyway!
As the man subsided, Jen addressed him. "So, you want to tell us why someone sent those two men after you?" She paused, "And made them willing to take Shego on to get you?"
Frailey involuntarily glanced at the thief, who's expression hadn't changed a bit. Then he fell back on cliché. "I got nothing to say to you, those guys were just trying to make a rep for themselves!"
"Hmm." Was the only initial response as Jen turned a corner and began heading in the general direction of downtown Go City, a fact that actually caused Shego to stop staring at Frailey. But her scowl if anything grew deeper.
"As it happens..." Sam spoke up, "We think we know why Macheles wants to talk to you." The name got Shego's attention, but not so much that she didn't check Frailey's reaction, which was substantial. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped wide open. Shego noted with no surprise that Kim was taking note as well, though maintaining a neutral expression. "Damn, when did she get so good at that?" Shego wondered. Then all three backseat passengers had their attention drawn to Sam as she continued.
"We have a hacker, one whose performance sometimes borders on the genius, and other times I want to ask him to stand with an apple on his head for me to shoot off! But anyway, he found a certain video..." As she trailed off, both Kim and Shego saw Frailey's face lose all it's color. "...which depicts a live BDSM show featuring teenagers on the receiving end of the abuse. And he managed to place the location because of live television broadcasts made years ago from the same venue that were on the local channels. Mostly musicals, maybe even a Shakespeare play once."
Kim saw Shego's lips move, forming the the word "Othello" as she seemed briefly to absent herself from their presence mentally if not physically. Then she shook her head, but as she began to speak, Jen Paladin preempted her.
"The theater in question is called the Youngman, and is located on the City's west side. However, it does not appear to be the permanent venue for these 'shows', we learned that from another source which will remain anonymous." She paused to navigate another corner. "And what we need is to find out the precise location of tonight's show, Mister Frailey."
"And if it's not obvious why you should help us and the authorities, then you are really dense, Tommy!" Sam McCarron added, "Because it seems likely there's a witch hunt on for whoever posted that video where it might be seen, and I think you're one of the witches!"
Frailey looked to each side at the two women flanking him, then nervously around the car in general. "I c-can't h-h-help you, I haven't got the word, yet!" His survival instinct was overriding all other considerations, as it suddenly occurred to him that pointing these ladies at Macheles might increase his chances substantially. He knew how well-connected Macheles was, and didn't think he had a single acquaintance that wouldn't shop him to the villain.
"And what about your uncle, would he know, by any chance?" Jen asked.
Frailey shook his head violently. "No way! Once he arranged those adoptions, he wanted to know nothing about what happened after that!" Then he shrugged, "But I can't see him remaining completely in the dark, whether he wanted to be or not! It's probably why he's having troubles lately, nightmares and such. A couple of his friends who learned about them actually found me just to ask if I knew what the problem was."
His shoulders sagged and he scoffed. "And if those people could find me, Macheles certainly can! I don't know anyone who wouldn't sell me out to him!"
Shego was having a hard time not interrupting the man, most likely in a way that would have ended the interrogation quite permanently. Even Drakken early in their relationship had been unable to strain her self-control to this degree!
"What's security like at these events? Has to have some people to transport and keep an eye on the kids they use, how many like that?" Sam took up the questioning.
"Uh, usually eight or nine, but only one or two are real hardcases, the rest would focus on the nearest exit if trouble started. He has two or three of his own guys, plus his bodyguard, Tony Belk...and Pseudo-Sumo, but he just watches the back door...usually from the outside!"
Now Shego's frown became doubtful. "Johnny Sutekichi getting involved with something like that? Makes no sense to me, Tommy boy!"
Frailey tried to shift away from the woman. "Think he's got financial problems, overheard two phone conversations he had backstage, and he called whoever he was talking to 'doctor' each time." Painful pressure delivered by Kim caused him to shift somewhat back to his original position as he shrugged. "Think it's about a member of his family, not sure!" Shego's frown remained doubtful, but not as certain.
Sam meanwhile addressed a question to her partner. "Tony Belk sounds familiar?"
Jen nodded. "Anthony Belacost, wannabe pro football lineman that packs a pair of Dirty Harry specials in shoulder holsters and can occasionally hit what he aims at! Definitely no moral limitations on that one." Sam nodded in response before taking note of where they were heading. "Hoo, boy!"
Tom Frailey was the next to notice, and the sudden clenching of his fists caused both Kim and Shego to take note as well. As Shego tensed up herself at the sight of the Go City Federal Building, Jen spoke over her shoulder. "Kim, I'm pulling into the lot so he can get out on your side, don't want our other passenger to risk being recognized."
Frailey appeared to have shifted to panic mode. "Why are you bringing me here!?" He shouted, "I didn't agree to anything! I-" Then he caught the look in Jen's eyes in the rear view mirror, and his jaw snapped shut with a loud 'clack'.
But her tone was entirely reasonable. "Because this is the safest place for you to be, where none of the people who want a piece of you, present company included, are likely to get to you. We know the people running these shows have some policemen obedient to them, so GCPD isn't a wise choice, agreed?" A flicker of movement in his peripheral vision, which was merely Shego's eyebrows raising at Jen's reference to her, caused him to crowd against Kim again.
Jen's look soured. "Now, my biggest regret about this is that you might mitigate your punishment depending on how cooperative you are with the FBI. But I don't think there's time to acquire more conclusive evidence sufficient to convince a certain stiff-necked SAC in residence then you, and if the next show is tonight, it needs to be stopped tonight!"
"There's a couple of the more reasonable agents over there, Jen." Sam pointed to two men standing just to the right of the main entrance talking.
Jen nodded. "I see them. Mister Frailey, those two men talking over there are FBI Agents. Tell them we brought you, and then decide how badly you want to reduce your sentence. Not going to force you to talk to them in public, but I think you share my opinion that this is now your safest option." She pulled into a parking space as she finished with an open space to their left.
Without being cued, Kim opened her door and got out, finding herself in one of those rare moods where she actually hoped Frailey would do something stupid, and give her a chance to stop him. But the man didn't, he merely climbed out of the vehicle with a resigned air. He hesitated when he saw that the two agents had apparently recognized the SUV and were watching him. But after a final grimace, he started towards them, with abrupt thoughts of snipers causing to pick up his pace to a fast walk.
Shego glared after him briefly, emotions churning within her. Then she saw the pair in the front seat scanning the vicinity, apparently for threats. A glance to her left showed Kim was doing the same even as she reentered the vehicle. So she found herself checking her side, while various motivations for this action warred within her.
Only after Frailey and the two Agents vanished into the building after one sent her an acknowledging wave did Jen put the vehicle in gear and back out. Shego kept her eyes on the building fading behind her for some time, then turned around and spoke her mind.
"You cannot imagine how I feel about that bastard getting any kind of break not involving his skeletal system!" She declared heatedly. Though she directed it at Jen, it was Sam who answered her.
"Would you care to make a bet on that, Shego?" She spoke mildly, but something about her delivery actually caused her subject to subside...sullenly.
Kim decided to change the subject. "Where are we going, now?"
Sam grinned at her. "Well, you two need to dry out, literally! And we need to share information, and decide what we'll be doing while Everett Deal tries to decide what course of action will help his image with his superiors! So, back to our hotel. It has several discreet entrances, fortunately!"
Shego appeared to be sulking, but his mind was racing. She had never heard the name Macheles before, and wasn't sure where she could get reliable information on him. Plus, at least one of his men had gotten away back at the Bolts Hole, so he might know about her personal interest in the matter.
All in all, she decided that sticking with this team a little longer to learn more was the smarter move. But she turned to gaze out the window as the rain began to resume with another thought in her mind.
Why had she had the sensation of being watched most of the day?
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Well, that's that, now I actually want to write the next chapter of this rather then the other stories. And write things that don't match my own personal 'canon' in the process. Anyway, Please Read and Review.