"Mr. McDougall will see you now."
Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, both seated on an elegant, crimson-colored divan, looked up from the patterned rug they had been staring at for the past ten minutes.
"This way, please" said the short, chubby bespectacled man under a thick mop of brown hair in an ill-fitting suit as he motioned them through a tall set of richly carved wooden doors. Kim and Ron silently followed as classical music was played softly from hidden speakers in every room they passed through.
Mr. Silas McDougall, a wealthy industrialist whose net worth lay somewhere in the billions, owned the largest mansion in all of Middleton - and maybe even all of North America, owing largely to the local legend that his estate could supposedly be seen from outer space. True or not, the place was a literal 'Xanadu', featuring some of the finest architecture and most splendidly landscaped gardens that the world had ever seen. Most European palazzos would have been put to shame.
Not even an hour earlier, Kim Possible had received a frenetic call from Klaus, Silas McDougall's personal assistant, that his employer, the ESTEEMED Mr. McDougall, had a most important mission that only someone of Kim's intellect, wit and skill could possibly fulfill. After beating a hasty path towards the estate, located just outside the proper city limits, Kim and Ron had been escorted to the posh reception room, which didn't seem much smaller than the high school gymnasium. The things that wealth could buy...
"What does this guy DO, KP?" Ron had asked, flabbergasted at his gilded surroundings.
"I have no idea!" had answered Kim, equally awestruck. "Ron...what are you looking at?"
"Wooooooowww..." had said Ron, as he gazed at an extremely top-heavy nude statue of the goddess Venus. Kim had to pull him away as if he were a stubborn hound on a scent.
Now they were being led down a long, high-ceilinged hallway behind Klaus, his small, plump hands folded primly behind his back as they walked past walls adorned with beautiful paintings and richly detailed tapestries, interspersed between enormous windows that flooded the halls with sunlight from the gorgeous Summer's day outside. Dmitri Shostakovich's "Waltz No. 2" continued to play over the concealed speaker system, lending a further air of sophistication to an environment that was already exceedingly elegant.
With Klaus several paces ahead and hopefully out of earshot, Kim and Ron began to furtively whisper to each other.
"I've never seen wealth like this!" said Kim, still wide-eyed with astonishment as she turned to face Ron. "Not even the Senor-Seniors had extravagance like this, Ron!...Ron?"
"S-sorry, KP, I am diiiiiizzzzzyyyyyy..." said Ron as he staggered alongside her, his eyes crossed and his balance thrown-off.
"Ron, just how long were you staring at that carpet?"
"KP, that thing was trying to hypnotize me! I'm telling you, it's ALIVE and it's out for blood..."
"Oh, stop it, Ron!"
Trying to steady himself, Ron looked straight forward at the back of Klaus' head as it bobbed up and down in cadence with his odd, shuffling walk. Ron's expression suddenly turned comical as he leaned over to Kim.
"Kim...does that look like a toupee to you?" he whispered.
Kim's face flushed with annoyance. "Shhh, Ron, he'll hear you!"
"Yeah, that's DEFINITELY a toupee" said Ron, ignoring her stern countenance altogether. "I can ALWAYS tell-"
"Ron, we're surrounded with some of the finest art and architecture in the world, but you're spellbound by the rug on Mr. Klaus' head?" asked Kim, exasperatedly.
"Yeah, it's definitely not as interesting as that rug on the FLOOR" mused Ron, as his balance suddenly went wobbly again.
"Ughhhhh" said Kim as she slapped herself in the face.
"We're here!" said Klaus, as they paused in front of another heavy set of ornate wooden doors, flanked by full suits of medieval armor on each side.
"Miss Possible and...ah...whomever you are" said Klaus as he motioned towards the mildly offended Ron, "I just wanted you to know how terribly grateful Mr. McDougall is for accepting his task! He really is very pleased!"
"It's no big!" said Kim, cheerfully. "But what exactly is this 'task' that's so important? When we spoke earlier, you sounded awfully urgent...like, life-or-death urgent. That's why we got here so fast."
"Oh, my employer, the illustrious Mr. McDougall, will be more than happy to fill you in!" said Klaus with a creepy, porcine smile, unsettling both Kim and Ron as they grinned nervously in response. Klaus gripped the door handles tightly and pulled them outwards, revealing a dark, cavernous chamber even more spacious than the previous one.
Klaus bowed courteously and motioned them forward. "After you!" he said in a genteel tone as Kim and Ron both filed past him into the stately room. As Klaus closed the doors behind them, Ron's pants were nearly caught between them, the boy glancing backwards and noticing at the last possible second as he jumped forward out of harm's way.
"Ha! Not THIS time!" said a beaming Ron, feeling very pleased with himself. Kim rolled her eyes and sighed. Even though they had officially been a couple for quite some time now, and there really was genuine, mutual affection between the two of them, there were still instances when she felt the urge to roll up a newspaper and smack him hard over the head - not VERY hard...but just hard enough to sting.
"Welcome!" said a rich, powerful voice from the head of the room, snapping both Kim and Ron back to attention. They took in their surroundings: A high, filigreed ceiling hung with an enormous chandelier loomed over their heads, supported by oak-paneled walls lined with shelves laden with books, statuettes, globes, minerals and all other imaginable rare and pricy curios. In spite of the warm June afternoon, the enormous fireplace to their left was blazing, and was functioning as the only source of light in the room, as the tall windows at the far end of the chamber were obscured by heavy green drapes on long brass runners. Beneath the windows and before the two of them was a gigantic mahogany desk, behind which sat a tall man in a shadow-dappled, high-backed leather chair.
"Please, come sit down!" he continued in a courtly timbre.
Two smaller leather chairs had been placed in front of the large desk, all of which were set upon an enormous, multi-hued Persian rug.
"Try not to look at the carpet this time, Ron" joked Kim in a whisper as they walked forward.
"Pshaw" said Ron, good-humoredly.
Taking their seats, they faced the shadowy master of the estate, his face obscured in the gloom, save for the warm glow of a Cuban cigar on his lips, small wisps of fragrant smoke coiling upwards in hazy trails.
"Welcome to my home! Kim Possible, I presume?" asked the voice in the chair.
"Yes, sir! Wonderful to meet you!" said Kim as she reached out her hand, McDougalls' hand meeting hers halfway and enveloping it in a firm, gracious shake.
"Likewise" answered Silas. "I am Silas McDougall. My assistant Klaus contacted you earlier concerning a matter most urgent. I knew I would be in good hands with you on the case!"
"Oh, it's no big" answered Kim with her trademark response. "I always do my best, but I never THINK of myself as the best."
"Ah, but your reputation precedes you, my dear! You're FAR too humble!" answered Silas. "Rescuing dignitaries, foiling the plans of nefarious mad scientists, saving the common folk from natural disasters-"
"Don't forget putting Jason Voorhees knockoffs in their place!" interjected Ron.
Both Silas and Kim turned to face Ron. "Come again?" asked Silas.
Kim looked pleadingly at Ron with terrified eyes.
"Ron...don't-"
"Oh, you should have SEEN it, Mr. McDougall!" cried Ron, excitedly. "Only a week ago, there I was at Bueno Nacho, chowing down on some FINE eats, when all of a sudden, this crazy guy wearing a hockey mask and a muumuu kicked down the door! He came at me swinging an axe, yelling something about how 'a fool and his money and his limbs are soon parted' when out of nowhere, Kim just comes FLYING in, and-"
"Oh, he gives me FAR too much credit, sir!" interrupted Kim, in a panic. "And he's TOTALLY embellishing!...AREN'T YOU, RON?" she said through clenched teeth as she slowly turned her head to face him with a withering stare of death. As usual, Ron was oblivious as he continued the bizarre recollection without missing a beat.
"Turns out, the poor guy had just overdosed on cough drops and had temporarily lost his mind-"
"Yes, that's quite impressive..." interrupted McDougall, sternly.
Kim stared at the floor, mortified. She wanted to tear a hole in it, jump into it and die - and hopefully, take Ron along with her...
"At any rate" continued Silas as he puffed on his cigar. "I own a vast collection of art, antiques and jewelry, some of which you've likely already seen as you walked the mansion's grounds."
"Yeah, it's a really impressive collection you own, Mr. McDougall!" answered Kim, trying very hard to force the embarrassment out of her system. "Where and when did you acquire most of your pieces?" she asked with genuine interest.
"Oh, here and there" laughed Silas, "though many of the pieces I own are family heirlooms, and I am simply the humble caretaker until the next generation comes along. However, there is one special object of mine that I am particularly fond of, and as a matter of fact, is the crux of the matter at hand."
"What is it?" asked Kim and Ron in unison, surprising each other.
"It is a gemstone most beautiful, rare and perfect" answered Silas, with a chuckle. "But not long ago, I thought to myself, 'why should something so amazing and one-of-a-kind be kept hidden in my vaults, when the whole world should have the chance - nay, the RIGHT - to gaze upon it with their own eyes?' It would be terribly selfish of me to keep it all to myself!"
"Mr. McDougall is a very generous man!" said Klaus, who had suddenly appeared behind Kim and Ron.
"AHHHH!" they cried as they nearly jumped from their seats in surprise.
"Geez, did this guy just TELEPORT?" thought Ron as he looked up at the strange, grinning man, the firelight reflected eerily in his thick, coke bottle lenses. He hadn't even heard the doors open behind them.
A thin aura of trepidation had begun to settle over Kim, not just because of 'Kreepy Klaus' as she now inwardly referred to him, but something else...something harder to put her finger on...
"Stop it, you're just being paranoid" thought Kim to herself as she brushed it off. "Focus!"
"Ah, Klaus!" said McDougall, happily. "Have you brought the laptop?"
"Yes, Mr. McDougall!" replied Klaus dutifully as he placed a large, steel-colored laptop on the desk and opened it up.
Ron noticed a dish of hard candy on Silas' desk. He hadn't eaten for nearly fifteen minutes and he was famished. Kim noticed what Ron was staring at and shot a severe glance at him.
"No!" said Kim's glance.
"But Kiiiiiiiiiiimmmm!" said Ron's desperate counter-glance.
"My, isn't it shady in here?" said Silas to himself. "Klaus, would you please draw the curtains?"
"Yes, sir. Right away, sir" answered Klaus as he strode quickly to the end of the room, grabbed a long, golden tassel and pulled hard, sweeping the gigantic curtains to each side and flooding the room with a blinding light.
Kim and Ron winced painfully in the brilliant sunshine, as they had become so comfortably accustomed to the warm darkness of the chamber. If anything, Ron's suspicions of Silas being a vampire were at last extinguished as the mysterious man's visage was now finally clear to see.
As Klaus returned to the desk and turned on the computer, Kim finally got a good look at the 'lord of the manor'. He was tall - very tall - an older gentleman impeccably dressed in a high-end suit who bore a striking resemblance to the English actor Christopher Lee (speaking of vampires...), with thick, steel gray hair swept back from a high forehead, punctuated with thick, dark eyebrows, a van dyke beard, and most prominently, a menacing pair of eyes that almost appeared maroon in the sunlight.
"Kinda weird that such a friendly voice would come paired with such terrifying peepers", thought Kim to herself. Ron's thoughts mirrored Kim's as he sucked on three pieces of candy simultaneously - he had eaten roughly half the dish while Kim wasn't looking.
"Ah, and here we are!" said Silas as Klaus opened a file on the laptop. "Now, you two, lean in a bit closer and take a good look at your charge!"
Kim and Ron inclined themselves forward as Klaus double-clicked a small blue icon.
"Young lady, young man, I present to you...the Neptune Diamond!"
An instant later, the most beautiful gemstone that Kim or Ron had ever seen filled the screen entirely from top to bottom. Their eyes wide, their mouths agape, their faces bathed in a pale blue light from the computer's glow, they were completely and utterly lost for words at the dazzling sight. Being a young woman, Kim naturally had a predilection for rocks of the shinier persuasion, but this was something beyond anything she had ever conceived. It was like gazing down at the deep ocean floor through transparent turquoise waves...or were they blue? Purple? The colors seemed to shift and undulate, bewildering both the eye and the psyche.
"It almost seems..." began Kim.
"...alive" finished Ron, equally dumbstruck as he surreptitiously unwrapped another bit of candy.
Silas gently laughed. "My young friends, that is what EVERYONE says! And mind you, this is only a photograph on a computer screen! Just wait until you see the real McCoy in person! Until Monday, the diamond is in a safe, undisclosed location...otherwise I would have been more than happy to show it off! You'll just have to be patient..."
Silas glanced at the still-grinning Klaus who suddenly shut the laptop with a loud *click*, snapping Kim and Ron out of their blue-shaded reverie.
"As I was saying", continued Mr. McDougall as he tapped cigar ash into an ornate copper tray shaped like a lotus, "I thought it would be extremely uncharitable of myself to keep such a wonder locked away in my private collection forever. That is why I have struck a deal with the Middleton Museum of Nature and Science to hold an exhibition of the Neptune Diamond for an entire month so that EVERYONE can come and gaze upon its beauty in person!"
"And that is where you two come in!" said Klaus, whose face seemed to be stuck in a perpetual smile.
While Kim had been paying most of her attention to Silas, Ron had been paying most of his to Klaus, whom he had come to believe was some kind of android.
"Okay, get a grip, Ron" he said to himself, internally. "Just because this dude wears a hairpiece and doesn't blink doesn't mean he's some kind of murderous cyborg. I mean, he still BREATHES, doesn't he?...DOESN'T HE?!"
Ron narrowed his eyes as he looked for subtle signs of Klaus' chest rising and falling with alternating inhales and exhales, but he saw nothing. Klaus stood statue-still without a sign of movement ANYWHERE.
"Ohhhhh nooooooo..." thought Ron, blanching.
"Now obviously, security will be VERY tight, given the near-infinite value of the diamond" continued Silas, "but I don't believe that the museum guards or even the police will suffice, entirely."
"So..." said Kim, as she pieced it together. "You want Ron and I to-"
"Act as guards, yes" answered McDougall, with a slight smile on his lips.
"Well..." said Kim, as she slowly turned it over in her mind. "I...don't see why NOT..."
"You WILL be paid, of course" said Silas as Klaus nodded in agreement.
"Paid?" asked Ron excitedly, as he turned to face Kim with a pleased grin.
"A paying job?" asked Kim as she cocked an eyebrow. "Well, I really appreciate the offer, Mr. McDougall...I mean, we don't usually take payment for our services..."
"Kim" said Ron in a deep, serious tone - serious enough to actually startle her.
"Seeing as how it's Summer and you won't have any distractions from schoolwork" said Klaus - still grinning strangely - "Mr. McDougall and I figured that it would be perfect for you, provided you were looking for a stable Summer job of sorts."
"The diamond will be displayed for only eight hours a day, from Monday through Friday from June 15 - that's in three days - through July 15" continued McDougall. "I WILL be candid with you two - this is potentially DANGEROUS work, since there is the high possibility of attempted theft by vicious criminal minds from all over the world. There is no telling what sort of violent riff-raff this exhibition might attract."
"That is why the compensation is so high!" said Klaus, cheerfully.
Ron's eyes got even wider. "Oh REALLY?" he asked.
"Just out of curiosity, sir" asked Kim, shrewdly, "just HOW high?"
"I was thinking along the lines of one thousand dollars per day" answered Silas.
"ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS PER DAY?!" shouted Kim and Ron at once, in shock.
"Now, since there's TWO of you" said Silas in a kindly tone, "I believe it is only fair that you are both paid a thousand dollars for each completed workday. Would that be a fair transaction?"
"F-f-f-fair?" babbled Kim incoherently, her green eyes as wide as saucers. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. A thousand dollars...EACH DAY? Unreal...
While the hyper-ecstatic Ron made some very strange Daffy Duck-esque noises to her right, she quickly did the math in her head - after a month's work, that would be roughly twenty five thousand dollars for BOTH her and Ron. Enough for a car. Or a whole new wardrobe. Or a college semester. Or, or...or... The possibilities danced crazily through her mind in a whirled frenzy as she began to zone out completely, her inner thoughts shaded in dark blue as though the diamond had left a cold patina on them.
Ron's mind, on the other hand, was mostly a shade of yellow, as he imagined nacos by the truckload. Semi truckload, even.
Silas and Klaus, unnoticed by Kim or Ron, exchanged curious glances once again.
"Do you accept?" asked Mr. McDougall in his friendly tone. "I know it's not nearly as exciting as rescuing a foreign princess from an undersea terrorist's stronghold, but at least you'll both walk away with deeper pockets a month from now."
"Well, THIS guy accepts!" said a euphoric Ron, as he reached out and grabbed Silas' hand in a death grip and shook it wildly.
"Very good, young man!" laughed Silas, heartily. "But what of your lovely associate? Has she yet reached a resolution on the matter?"
"Kim, you still with us?" asked Ron. "Kiiiiiimbeeeeerlllyyyyyy...!" he asked again in a long drawl as he waved his hand before her face.
"Wh...wh-what?" asked Kim as she broke back into reality, her head swimming.
Ron's face filled her entire field of vision - "Hey, are we doin' this or not, KP? Call me crazy, but I think it's worth our while..."
"Indeed, it would be!" said Klaus. Ron shot him a suspicious look as Kim collected herself.
While the three of them stared her down, Kim was fighting a fierce internal battle; she still felt a strange, dark feeling lingering over her for some reason. Still, why not, though? So far, things had been pretty slow this Summer, and as far as compensated work went, this would sure beat the hell out of babysitting. However...she would still tread lightly and proceed with caution. Always best to err on that side, after all.
That...and it all just sounded too good to be true.
She looked at Silas. Then to Klaus. Then back to Silas. That feeling of foreboding just wouldn't go away.
Regardless, she plunged.
"We accept!" said Kim, as a pleasant, fatherly smile spread across Silas' face, his eyes still remaining somewhat frightening.
"Boo-yah!" whispered Ron with a vigorous fist pump.
"Excellent!" said Silas. "You cannot fathom the depths of my gratitude! For the next month, I shall sleep well, knowing that you'll be on watch!"
"We won't let you down, sir!" said Ron as he did a mock salute.
Silas and Klaus laughed at Ron's humorous theatrics as Kim forced a smile and tried to join in with the mirth, but try as she could, was simply unable to block out the dark, intrusive thoughts. For a moment, she actually considered grabbing Ron by the wrist and then just RUNNING for their lives at light speed - and NEVER looking back, for fear of pursuit...
...pursuit from what? Why was she thinking of things like this?
"No, it's too late" she thought to herself with a feeling of heavy resignation. "Gonna have to see this through, somehow..."
"Well, now, let's speak business!" said Mr. McDougall, as he opened his desk drawer and pulled out two slim, pale blue sheets of paper. Ron's pupils disappeared and were replaced with dollar signs. He knew what was coming.
"Mr. McDougall is a very generous man!" said Klaus, again. Kim flinched uncomfortably but Ron took zero notice.
"Here is your advance, you two!" said Silas as he slid a check for one thousand dollars each in front of Kim and Ron. "I look forward to working together!"
"Thank you very much, Mr. McDougall" said Kim in a professional tone as Ron cradled his check like a cherished newborn. Taking her own check, she rose from her seat and collected Ron none-too-gently from his. Money or not, she couldn't wait to leave.
"So...see you in three days, sir?" asked Kim, still doing her best to imply courtesy without revealing her fear, which just kept coming in waves. Ron just kept making cash register noises.
"Eight a.m. sharp, Monday morning at the Middleton Museum of Nature and Science!" answered Silas, pleasantly. "And don't forget, you won't be COMPLETELY alone - there will be a literal small army of armed personnel in addition to the two of you, so don't think that you'll be carrying the whole world on your backs or anything!"
"...understood, Mr. McDougall" answered Kim, solemnly. She almost felt bad for feeling so scared, as Silas came across as so genial and kindhearted. Conversely, she couldn't help but feel that Silas was only playing a part - and playing it very well. The classic, proverbial timber wolf in sheep's clothing...
"Thank you both SO much for taking on this enormous responsibility at such short notice!" said Silas, his manner coming across like your favorite uncle who would excuse you from school so he could secretly take you fishing. Ron seemed to have fallen for it, utterly.
"You bet!" said Ron, brightly, whose dark misgivings towards Silas and Klaus had seemingly vanished - especially after raking in one thousand clams for doing literally nothing.
Silas turned to face Klaus who remained standing stock-still in front of the rear windows.
"Klaus, would you please be so kind as to escort these two upstanding young citizens back to the main gate? After all, I wouldn't want them to get lost!"
"Nope" thought Kim. She wouldn't stay here a moment longer than she had to.
"Yes, sir! Right away, sir!" answered Klaus, stepping forward.
"Oh-Ohhhhhh, that's alright!" said Kim frantically, as she grabbed the surprised Ron by the back of his shirt collar and began to drag him alongside her, slowly backing their way towards the doors. Why was she feeling so frightened all of a sudden? Her heart felt like it was going to burst from her chest and then go off like a bomb.
As she backed up, she noticed that Silas and Klaus both continued to smile grimly at her. With those...strange eyes. She began to feel dizzy.
"We'll, uh, we'll just see ourselves out! H-have a good afternoon!...BYE!" She practically tucked Ron under her arm and then bolted out of the room like the roadrunner, even leaving a thick, billowing dust trail in her wake.
"K-Kim what's UP with you?" yowled Ron in a shrill tone as she literally dragged him behind her, sprinting like a madwoman through the halls, chambers and galleries back towards the main entrance, her face pallid with unease and slicked with sweat. She felt nauseous as well.
"KIM, IF YOU RUN ANY FASTER, WE'RE GONNA' WIND UP BACK IN 1955!" shouted Ron, as all of the maids, butlers and caretakers they passed stared at them with quizzical, goggle-eyed expressions.
"What is going on with me?!" she thought.
Minutes later, after the pair had reached the main gate and been hailed through by the guards, Kim's stamina finally gave out and she sank to her knees, coughing and gasping. She heard a frightened Ron calling her name just behind her, but his voice sounded distant and muddled, like it was coming from deep underground.
"I have to lie down" she thought.
Just across from the McDougall estate was a large, rural park with long stretches of grass and old, enormous trees that dotted the landscape with deep pools of shade. Kim managed to drag herself into one such pool of shade and collapsed onto her back, exhausted. She closed her eyes and took deep, calculated breaths as her mind began to replay the images from the last hour...Silas' infernal red eyes...the firelight reflected in Klaus' glasses...the thousand-dollar checks with much more promised to come...
Something was off about all of this. VERY off.
"Kim! KIM!" cried Ron, standing over her, practically in hysterics with his big brown eyes nearly dilated to tiny pinpoints. "Are you alright?!" he panted.
Kim opened her eyes and looked up to meet Ron's, her vision blurry, a strange metallic taste in her mouth. She pulled herself into a sitting position and exhaled sharply. The 'sick' feeling was beginning to leave her, but her feeling of regret was only growing.
"Ron...I have a very...VERY bad feeling about this. I think we just might have made a mistake in accepting this mission..."
"A...mistake?" said Ron, looking very puzzled.
Meanwhile, back in the vast drawing room of the McDougall mansion, Silas put out his cigar and exchanged yet another eerie glance with Klaus, who had never stopped grinning the entire time.
