It's been a while, but we're baccccck. Welcome again to Sentinel's little shop of horrors.
I want to thank everyone who has read, faved, alerted, followed and/or reviewed in this arc. And here is where I can answer some reviews: Uberscribbler, yes 'things' ARE moving towards something, something of what I can't reveal yet though. These strands, when you step back, looks like a plate of spaghetti although some of the noodles are starting to untangle. As for Yono, there will be a surprise (for him); Bobtrumpet, Monique got off light for now; CB73, Hans'/Eric's plans look like they are working. Will the total plan end up in a win for him? Speaking of Ron, the sidekick slash running back slash covert American ninja seems to have quite a load on his shoulders. Will the teen crack like the villain wants?
ClassyUlysses, Eric/Hans is an egotistical retard, and he thinks he can get what he wants. He doesn't really know the American legal system and doesn't care that he doesn't know. Much later Kim will get some of her memories back (like in book 3). The whole point of trying to take Ron's sister away is not to get said sister it is to put pressure on the blond teen and get Kim to side with Eric; Jimmy1201, yeah about alone. Oh, already researched where Eric's group is going to hide after this is all over. I hope you like it and yes, it's a real place. Sooooo, I am halfway through chapter 91, and I expect to be able to finish at chapter 96. So, 91 is the beginning of 'graduation'. As for 'Eric's' final thoughts…..welllll I have thought about that but it will be in book 3 near the end; Darksidewrangler, thanks for the holiday wishes from Canada. My son and his family live north of Toronto.
I also want to thank CajunBear73 for all of his support over the years, his editing skills make my storytelling skills a lot easier.
Now like I mentioned before, I am writing chapter 91 at the moment, and I am nearing the end of this part of the tale and I expect it to finish about chapter 96. Knowing me however, it might go to 98. I do have an ending point and I am nearing it and am getting ready to transition into book 3. Just so everyone understands that I am 17 chapters into another story and will post it before book 3 comes out. The title of that one is 'Specter of Justice' and is another Kim/Ron tale set in post high school. A few more chapters and I will be in the 'meat' of it. The chapters are not huge too.
Oh, for those who want to know…..no bloodletting in this chapter.
Anywho, let's get this show on the road,
ST-103
The Hunter: Book Two
Chapter 27
The Middleton High Library:
"Calm down Stoppable.", Justine Flanner told the head of the Stoppable household in Middleton, "You know this, and you are trying too hard."
(Taking a much-needed break, Justine and Mike relaxed as they had been busy for the last several weeks babysitting Hanna and helping Ron study very much. Others filled in for them…AN)
"Sorry.", he sighed, "Thanks Brain Girl, my mind keeps going back to Mom's service. It's hard to get outta my head.
The genius girl inquired, "I understand that the school would only give you a week for…what is that called?"
"Shiva, or official mourning.", Ron informed her, "Barkin didn't even want to give me that."
"Mike said he wanted to drag you back to school, what happened?"
"Tara's Mom was at the house giving me a hand when he showed up. She called the cops on him for harassment. My Rabbi backed her up.", Ron informed the genius.
"So, is that why that imbecil is leaving you alone? It must've been a shock to his system to find you on the good side of a school board member.", Justine asked as she pointed to the problem.
"Sarge isn't leaving me alone, he still picks on me in gym class, but he sorta got off the self-defense thing after I cleaned his clock a few times.", the former running back explained as he chuckled lightly, "I mean I sorta suck at it, but ole Stevie sucks the big one. My Japanese buddies grew up with that stuff and some of them are bad-asses."
Justine rolled her eyes at the info she had just gotten, "I heard from Monique that you and Possible went on a couple missions…"
"Yeah, there was this electro girl lady named Electronique or something like that and there was this lowball guy who worked for Smarty Mart as his day job…I had to wear a disguise on that one since I can't go on their properties, he was wearing a stupid disguise too; he was Frugal Luthur or something just as dumb. The idiot was trying to take over the internet by using a fake price on some out of date sausages, but he might have been able to crash it."
"Stupid name.", Justine responded.
Ron countered, "Villain name, nothing more."
"Well, I guess that's better than trying to stop a runaway nuclear-powered train like you did in the fall.", the genius snarked, "If that is even the truth…"
Ron gave his insight (remember this is 2007 we are talking about folks…AN), "It was. Both were actions of villains Justine, but they are different kinds of evil. Actually, bouncing the internet could actually have been much worse in the long run because it affected more than an area than the nuclear contamination would have."
"But having an area of the country contaminated by radiation would have been bad…"
"Yeah almost as bad as the tri-city being wiped off the map because of those robots last spring."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Oh, you didn't know? Okay, remember last spring with the prom?"
Justine nodded.
Ron continued with the nod, "We were in the crosshairs. If we hadn't shut down the diablos, they had nuclear missiles aimed at us. Upperton might not have been erased, but Lowerton and Middleton would have a population of a few fish, maybe a rat or two, but everything else woulda been gone."
"Holy shit.", Justine's eyes were wide, "I don't believe it…"
"At least the train from last fall wouldn't have been bad for us…"
Justine's eyes narrowed, "Train? Who cares about a train up in the mountains?"
"Nuclear powered train smart girl, remember. I was shutting it down before it could crash into a town. That's how I got beat up, I used a fireman's axe to cut the electrical. There was this flash and explosion…it blew out the windows of the engine."
"Lord…"
"Give the Wadester a call and he'll give you the details. Make sure you have a bucket to puke into…Now, let's get back to that problem."
"Why did you tell me?"
"Cause a lot of the time you think I'm full of BS, I don't think Kim remembers it, but I know Wade does."
Justine Flanner promised, "Well, I will contact him, but now I am forewarned. Now see here in step three? It's a simple math error. You still make them from time to time, but you are getting better."
"Thanks, I guess just more focus time and recheck my work then.", Ron smiled.
"Yeah, pretty much…Now that I think of it have your entrance exam scores come back?"
"Yeah, the SATs have, the ACTs haven't found their way to the mailbox yet.", Ron responded as he stared down at the desk.
"What's wrong, you studied…"
Ron sighed, "I got eight fifty, like eleven hundred is average…I'm totally screwed here. I'm stupid…and …this sucks."
"You. Are. Not. Stupid.", Justine wrapped her arm around Ron's shoulder.
The former running back frowned, "If I was two hundred points lower, they'd have to water me."
"So, you had one bad test…."
"I thought I had a good test, shows how dumb I am."
"Ron…"
"One thing good though…", Ron said.
"What's that?"
"You don't have to be smart to be a cook or a dishwasher, you don't even need a personality cause dishes and food don't care.", Ron faked a smile.
Justine frowned because the former all-state running back was bagging on himself, "You can re-take the tests, something happened here…"
"I don't have time to do all that Justine, all I have to do is get through this year and I'm gone. Looks like I'm losing the house though."
"WHAT?", Justine now gasped drawing a 'sssshhhhhh' from Ms Hatchett as the old hag rose to her feet and crossed her arms while giving the blonde genius the evil eye.
"Kim's boyfriend his suing me…well my parents, for not cleaning the snow and ice off in front of the house where he slipped before Dad's funeral. But he offered to me that he'd drop his suit if I gave him the house. My lawyer is pissed beyond belief and my insurance agent told me this might happen and that this might just be the beginning of them if I don't comply with the understanding that it would be the end of the suits against the family. So, it's another reason to stay away from Kim Possible…I don't want for her to tell Eric so he would have more ammunition against me.", Ron informed the genius having lowered his voice, he then added, "He stopped me when I got home with Hanna the other day, he told me to stay away from Kim and the rest of the Possibles except for missions."
"He can't do that…"
"No? The pretty English boy has Kim's ear and threatened to use her as a character witness against me, he said she agreed, probably even the tweebs and James Possible. Basically because of that when the year is over, I am so outta Middleton. I am fed up here and I don't wanna get my insurance agent and my lawyer caught up in all this BS."
XXX
Three weeks previous, the Stoppable home:
"Hey idiot, are you busy?", the aristocratic voice inquired.
"What do you want Eric?", Ron grit out.
"Ah, I see you have gotten word of the legal action I am taking against your family, that makes this simple. If you sign over your dwelling to me, I will be out of your hair."
"Why do I want to do that you, turd?", Ron asked.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk…you should watch your temper, it might get you in more legal peril, but as I was saying if you sign your house to me I will not pursue you in court as long as you stay away from Kimberly Possible and her family.", the English snob informed the blond teen, "I have also sent this information to your lawyer and your insurance agent."
"Oh? Where am I going to live?", Ron asked.
"That is not my problem sidekick…"
"I can see where this is going, I wonder what Kim will say?", Ron's eyes narrowed as he took a step back.
"I don't really care, but there is a clause in the agreement where you will not speak of this to the Possibles…think of it as a gag order that you must agree to.", Eric laughed and reached out to touch the child.
Ron stepped back again to keep Hanna away from the ass swipe, "Speaking of sidekick, you understand that Kim Possible will have to give up her precious missions and I think various law enforcement agencies and municipal jurisdictions may want to know why she won't be doing her save-the-world thing and start asking questions."
"You may go on Kimberly's 'missions' to keep her from harm, but I forbid you from speaking with her about anything except for the mission, this is non-negotiable. If possible, I do not even want you in the same transport…"
"That's gonna be hard to do…"
"Very well, but no conversation with her or the rest of her family.", Eric tried to get in Ron's face and again reached for the child and added, "You understand that this child should be in the care of someone who knows what they are doing. My family donates to orphanages, and I think she would be better off by the official government agency…Oh, and just so you know, I've made my position about this known to Kimberly and she is considering our debate over the topic. Goodbye, loser…"
The snob then turned on his heel and left.
Our hero took s a ragged breath and turned the other way.
XXX
Back to current time:
"He can't…"
"He threatened to sue to have Hanna taken away by Children and Family Services if I try to fight it. I so don't need another legal fight, which it will come down to."
"He can't do that Ron…"
"He can file as a friend of the court for Hanna Stoppable, according to his lawyer.", Ron informed his friend, "So, if I don't play ball, he gets the house, and I don't have my Sister. If I agree, he gets the house and other than that I'm free and clear, that along with a bunch of cash from our insurance. He can't get the money from Mom and Dad's life insurance, however. The lawyer said that Eric can do that especially if Kim goes along with it and testifies that I am not a suitable guardian for a baby. Being famous has its good points…well 'cept for me that is. You haveta remember that people look up to Kim and Eric has her wrapped around his little finger."
(AN…now Eric's lawyer is Hank Perkins and all friends of the Kim Possible know, Hank is a sleezy ambulance chase and will do anything for a buck. Basically, Hank is a sleezy, unethical dirtbag.)
"She wouldn't do that Ron.", Justine countered, "I don't care how into Eric that ditzy red-head is, she would never do that, her Dad or her Mom would overrule her."
"Right now, I don't know whose side Doctor James Possible is on and I don't want to make a stupid mistake about this, it could cost me my sister."
"Crud..."
XXX
Otto glanced at his watch then inquired, "Are you sure this is where this rocket nut goes out for a beer every Thursday after he gets off work Manfred?"
"We have watched Doctor James Possible for six weeks and he comes here without missing a Thursday, he meets with some old college friends.", Manfred Ernst informed Hans's Uncle.
"Well with the way this is going we need to get enough data to make some extra money. We will have to go deep underground for a long time after this one.", Otto informed Manfred.
XXX
Middleton High (after school):
"GF, what are you so torqued about?", the fashionista asked the red head.
"Grrrrr, Ron and Eric are not getting along at all and Ron seems to be avoiding me like the plague. Wade won't even talk to me about Ron. I am so on my last nerve here.", Kim grit out.
"I thought you two had a couple of missions? Did you go solo?"
"I did them with Ron, but he wouldn't really talk about anything other than what we were going to bust up. It's like we're not as close as we were. He hardly said anything through that gross suit he has to wear when he's around me."
"Maybe your best friend and your boyfriend are jellin on each other. Anyway, from what I hear he has to wear that ugly thing so you don't cough and sneeze.", Monique suggested, "It's supposed to be darn hot, that might be why he stays away now."
Sighing, "Yeah he does wear that garment for me, but why would they be jealous of each other Moni?", Kim inquired since she didn't remember about her and Ron's relationship from before she lost her memory.
"Except for your missions you do spend most of your after-school time with Eric and have since Stoppable went to Japan over Christmas. Blondie has to know he's been moved down the totem pole-time wise. He probably feels he doesn't mean as much to you now.", Monique thought for a moment since she didn't want to look insensitive to either Eric or Ron Stoppable having been called on her attitude by Brick and that college football coach.
"Ron's not wrong, 'Nique. I mean Eric is my guy and like I said before he might be the one and I am certainly going to find out over the course of our college experience."
"Are you gonna do the world saving thing while going to college? There won't be enough hours in the day.", Monique inquired and then pointed out.
Sighing, "No, I think Team Possible will go on hiatus until after school.", Kim admitted having talked this out with her parents and Wade.
"How about Stoppable, is he going to do the hero thing on his own?"
"I don't think so, he has a sister to raise now, and Eric and I don't think he's up to it. His time will be even more limited than mine. But like I said earlier; he hasn't spoken with me for a while now.", the heroine explained.
The fashionista smiled lightly although the message to her from the coach and Brick was very clear; leave Stoppable alone and if you don't have anything positive to add; butt the hell out.
"So, are you planning on staying in touch with everyone once you get to England?"
Kim inquired, "Why do you ask, Moni?"
"Well people tend to drift apart after high school unless they put an effort into staying in contact, with you going all the way to England with your squeeze you might forget about us.", Monique informed her girlfriend, then added, "When I came here I made a conscious decision to not return to my past, but here I have real friends for a change and you have lived in this town since forever."
"I'll try to stay in contact with the girls on the cheer squad and some friends who I have known for a long time, but with Ron and how much time he's going to have…I just don't know. He might be even too busy to respond if I can find time to speak with him."
"How is that?"
"Well, Ron is going to have to work and since he won't have much of an education, he will have to work long hours since he won't have an advanced education and he'll be taking care of his sister, so his relaxation time will go out the window.", the red head stated.
"Kim, you have known Ron most of your life; are you ready to make a break with him and let him walk off into the sunset?", Monique asked trying to get her friend to make a real decision which may affect the red-head's long-term future.
Kim frowned confronting the subject she had tried to put on the backburner to avoid, "I…I don't, considering how Eric and Ron don't get along…I don't know if I can make that choice, hopefully I won't have to and they'll iron out their differences."
"I hope you're right GF….", Monique's smile was a fake one that didn't touch her eyes as she thought about how Ron Stoppable didn't screw with her and why it went down that way.
XXX
The white ox glanced at the newly elevated one next to him as they and another 'winged' one watched on, "He will overcome his trials, have no fear for him and the infant."
The one who used to be called Barbara nodded then stated, "You have shown us Suriel, but we still feel pain for what he is going through, we had no idea that our child had a destiny to fulfill."
"He is chosen as he has always been chosen to walk paths with his 'other' where others fear to travel.", the angel explained.
"You are sure he will be fine?"
"His Spirit will walk the Earth again as it has since life came to the planet. He and she are the embodiment of hope that others look to for inspiration. Onlookers see what they goe through and they realize that what is asked of them is trivial in comparison.", the angel explained.
The third with wings asked, "And the infant…our daughter, is she his 'other'?"
"No, however you know the 'other' she…her spirit has always been the feminine sometimes walks alone, but she always searches for the one all others know as your Son."
"Kimberly?"
"As you have guessed.", the angel nodded as he waved his hand palm down, "And this is the agent of the Evil One who went by the name of Lucifer."
The spirit of Barbara Stoppable guessed, "Eric?"
"Yes, but he is not just a useful idiot, but a willing one. He is partially the tool of the evil one. But others will have their part in this as well. Some of them think of themselves on the side of good."
XXX
Middleton High:
"Hey Stoppable, how ya hangin?", Tank Woodson jogged over to Ron as the former running back was heading for the main doors.
"Hey Tank.", Ron stopped and half grinned, "I'm Okay, how are you and the Missus doing?"
"Not bad, but I gotta work tonight at the store on Shepard Avenue, Curt and his Mel is taking Melanie out for dinner tonight and they are bringing me takeout.", the former linebacker laughed, "At least since me and Curt own the stores we can make sure that one of us has the night off."
"I guess, I have a job interview tonight.", Ron informed his friend lowly, "I already talked to the owner of the place."
"Who the hell did you get to hire you since Old Man Smarty put the word out on ya?"
"A little restaurant outside of town, going towards Lowerton.", the sidekick explained, "I haveta make some claude or eventually the Stoppable family is going belly up."
"I see your point Ron, but you still have that insurance money, right?"
"Yeah, and they are paying for daycare at the hospital until the end of the school year, so I am covered there."
Tank asked, "So, what are you gonna do for work?"
"Short order cook, I'll work the late afternoon and evening shift…maybe the morning shift on the weekends. Mostly I'll be there after school because they are trying to go from a breakfast-lunch diner to something more."
"That's good to hear, have your ACTs come back yet?"
"No, and since my SATs suck, I'm gonna be stuck on the bottom end of the food chain for a while.", the former running back frowned.
"I thought you had them down pat…"
"Tank, I thought I did too, just shows how stupid up I am. I'm just sorry everybody wasted their time on me. Uh, hey, I'll catch you later. I have to get ready for that interview. See ya in the morning.", Ron said as he hurried out the doors not wanting to get chastised for bagging on himself.
(AN here….Eric's minions swiped Ron's ACTs and changed the answer sheet on his SATs that's why they suck.)
Ron got into his mom's car and started it. The weather was now sloppy with the snow melting, but at least it wasn't slick, so the teen made fairly good time pulling onto the road towards Lowerton and 'The Jar Head Diner'.
Kim Possible's sidekick entered and was greeted by a young woman who looked to be slightly older than Ron (she had great genes). She had a name tag on that read 'Nancy'. 'Nancy' inquired, "Counter, booth or table?"
"Uh, I'm Ron Stoppable here to apply for the cook's job for the late afternoon and evening shift, I spoke with someone named Connie.", the blond teen explained.
"Oh right, Mom and Dad are expecting you…ah Don.", she replied as Ron rolled his eyes.
She showed him to a table and brought out a glass of water.
"Thanks.", our hero told her.
"No problem, Dad will be right out. Is there anything else you'd like?"
"Thanks, but I am good."
X
A few minutes later:
A gruff and rough looking middle-aged man sat down at the table with a cup of 'Joe' in his hand. "I'm 'Gunny' or 'Mac'.", he stated.
Ron offered his hand, "Ron Stoppable, I heard you were looking for a cook…I spoke with 'Connie' over the phone and explained my situation."
"You are supposedly a young chef…"
"Cook.", Ron interrupted, then explained, "Other people think I'm a chef…I don't, you need a certificate or a degree for that. Here is my resume' and credentials along with some recipes that have been featured in some cooking magazines along with some extra ones that you might think about bringing on board since 'Connie' said you are wanting to open up to dinner hours." The teen then opened his backpack and placed a folder on the table.
'Gunny' looked over the packet then asked, "Can I keep the recipes?"
"Knock yourself out 'Gunny', I have a couple of cookbooks written."
"Are you up to a skills test? I won't hire someone who can't do his job.", the older man inquired.
"You want me to cook?" The blond teen got a nod, "Do you have an apron and a place for me to wash up?"
"Come on, errr Ron, let's see what you can do.", the now grinning former Marine chuckled getting up from the table.
X
The blond teen inquired as he tied the apron around his waist, "What do you want me to make for you Mac?"
"You have a pan meatloaf and I think Connie would like the chicken parmesan. My daughter has always liked a decent hamburger…well a cheeseburger. We have everything to make the dishes. Do you think you can do it in twenty minutes?"
"Yes Sir, now excuse me. I'll be busy for a while.", Ron replied as he opened the large refrigerator and began to pull out ingredients for the dishes and asked while he was already moving, "What sides do you want with them?"
X
Twenty-five minutes later:
Ron carried the dishes out to Mac and his staff, errrr family and motioned for them to sit.
Once they did, he placed the orders in front of them and stepped back to wait.
Another customer watched over his coffee and asked, "Can you make a Denver omelet, hash browns, bacon crisp?"
"Five egg omelet or three?", the former running back asked.
"Three…"
"Type of cheese?"
"Cheddar…and can you perk up the hash browns?"
"Onions and jalapenos…maybe salsa and sour cream?"
The older man nodded.
"Gimme about six minutes, I have ta get the stuff moving, I'm not set up for breakfast back there.", Ron replied as he glanced over to Mac (who nodded).
X
Seven minutes later:
Ron carried out a platter for the customer and set it in front of him then stepped back with his arms crossed as the owner stood up and walked over to stand next to Ron.
"How is it Arnie?"
"Damn kid, where did you learn how to do that?", 'Arnie' queried the teen.
"Mom taught that to me. She taught me how to manage a kitchen too.", Ron responded.
"Gunny, you hire this kid…like right now…"
"I worked with Ernie Pace with his Italian restaurant when he was working up the menu, if that chicken parmesan tasted familiar.", the blond teen smiled.
'Mac' grinned, "You swiped one of Pace's dishes?"
"Nah, it was my recipe to start with. I traded it to him for a couple meals. I wanted to take my girlfriend at the time out on a date.", Ron explained.
"Are you going to have time to date?", 'Connie' inquired.
"No, not anymore. I could use a babysitting service though, otherwise I won't be able to work full time."
"You have a child?"
"My Sister, she's about a year old."
"Where are your parents, Don?"
'Don' explained, "Dad died on the operating table a while back and Mom got murdered in the hospital. I need to start making some money…"
'Mac' asked, "And you are still in high school?"
"Yeah…"
"Okay, damn that's rough, you bring her in with you…we'll figure it out some way.", 'Connie' replied.
"I guess since we're talkin about babysitting that must mean I am hired.", the blond teen grinned.
'Mac' grinned, "Yeah, it does, now where do you live?"
"Middleton, I'm a senior in high school.", Ron informed the former Marine.
"Why aren't you working in Middleton, they have some good eateries there."
"I got canned by Martin Smarty and he put out the word for no one to hire me in town."
"Screw that windbag he doesn't own me, now why did he fire you…you don't have to answer that if you don't want to.", Mac asked then quickly added remembering the law.
"It was part of the contract, anyway," sighing, "somebody put some merchandise in my work locker and put some illegal drugs in there too, so they let me go…"
"Then why aren't you in the slammer if you were thieving?", Connie asked.
"I wasn't and they couldn't prove that I was stealing, but their contract gave them the right to fire me for any reason. My fingerprints weren't in the products or on the drugs either."
Mac frowned not liking where this was going then asked, "They have major security in those stores, they should have had footage of you taking stuff into the locker room…"
"There was no footage, Wade Load couldn't even find any.", Ron told the former gunnery Sergeant.
"Wade Load, who is he?"
"Kim Possible's tech guy.", Ron explained.
"Was he trying to put you in the slammer?"
"Nah, he's a friend…I uh am Kim Possible's sidekick."
"Didn't he become some high school football legend?", Connie asked.
"Some people say he did, but all he wanted to do was fit in for once…"
Mac (who was a football fan) asked, "Hold it I was at the Lowerton game…that was you? Shiiiiiiiittttt!"
"Yeah, I have my championship game jersey at home somewhere if ya need to see it for proof. I have my helmet, but the face mask is bent."
Mac's eyes narrowed, "They said on the radio that you are going to college somewhere…"
The blond teen's eyes hardened, "Nope, not even."
"The announcers said that colleges were going to recruit you, Ron…"
"Not with my entrance exams they won't" Sighing, "Listen I don't have the money to go to college, and I bombed my SATs…so, I plan on moving to Lowerton after school gets out this spring. It's cheaper to live there. I have some insurance from my parents' life insurance, but I have to save as much as I can. I won't be able to go to college until my job situation gets better.", Ron's eyes narrowed a bit since he knew that he felt he was being squeezed from more than one direction.
"Okay, you start at five on Sunday morning Ron, bring your sister and we'll come up with a way to keep an eye on her.", Connie stated.
Before Ron could remove his apron, Mac advised, "The Corps could use a good man…"
"Sorry Mac, but I have ta raise my baby Sister. I wouldn't be doing her any favors with holes in me.", sighing, "Anyway…I sorta have a bad taste in my mouth about the Marines to tell you the truth."
Gunny's right eye narrowed at the thought of someone disparaging his beloved Marine Corps and grit out, "Why is that?"
"The assistant principal in my school is a decorated Marine. He disrespects almost everyone; he's given me a major ration of crap over the last three plus years even when I helped win him the state championship. He left me to fend for myself after I was injured after the game so he could get to his steak dinner with the team. The head of the boosters took me to the hospital. If that's the way Marine veterans treat people who make them look good, I really don't want to be part of that organization.", Ron informed his new boss while getting the situation off his chest.
"Barkin!", the gunnery Sergeant muttered, "That POS…Listen, that Marine is not representative of the Corps, Ron. There are bad apples on every tree….and he is one of them. Boot camp is tough for a reason. It's to get it through the heads of recruits to react to orders so they don't come home in body bags. I get that you might not be able to join because you have to raise a young sibling, but the military is a good place to learn how to grow up."
Ron frowned as he untied his apron, "I won't argue that with you, but I've seen some things that would curl your toes…Well maybe not depending on where you've been. I do know I almost took up smoking last spring when they told us that they were ready to launch nukes at Middleton and that the only reason they stood down was because we captured Doctor Drakken and his sidekick."
Mac's eyes opened wide, "Do you mean about those giant robots that were coming up the road the night of your prom?"
"Yup, Kim Possible and Rufus kicked the blue boy's butt and his robots and syntho drones. Sorta proud of my buddy for all that. I guess I'll lay a wreath at his grave this spring at the same time I do it for Mom and Dad."
"Rufus? Oh, the pink thing, I thought he was always with you?", Nancy was now interested.
"He sorta bonded with Hanna and usually just stayed some with her, he was killed in a car accident right after the first of the year.", Ron explained.
Connie frowned, "Losing your parents and your pet, must be tough."
"Yeah, you can check Kim Possible's site, Wade has the obits up…we sorta made Rufus's up for him. I wonder who's going to pull our cans outta the fire the next time some techno villain decides to off half the world?"
Mac responded, "The military can step up, there should be no way kids should have to take on that responsibility."
"Well, I hope that happens too. Kim should be outta the game next fall anyway, so they are going to have to step up and not depend on a cute red-head and her dorky friend and his pet. The world is changing.", Ron told the former Marine, "Listen, I have to get Hanna outta the hospital nursery and get her home so I can study after getting some grub in her and her bath."
"Okay, we'll have papers for you to fill out Ron when you come in on Sunday."
"Yeah, for withholding taxes…Dad was an actuary.", the blond teen responded before anyone could say anything.
XXX
After the blond teen pulled out of the diner's parking lot, his cell phone rang. Looking at the number, our hero responded, "Yeah Wade?"
"Congratulations Ron, you are gainfully employed again."
"Yay me, but let me tell anybody about it so I can decide who gets to know. I want less people to know anything about me and I sure don't want Martin Smarty to get a sniff of this, although I don't think he'd intimidate my new boss."
"Okay, but you did good and you leveled with the owner about you being banned from working in Middleton and he did seem to be alright. You know you might not wanna give him one of your recipe books Ron like you were thinking about.", Wade suggested, "It could be worth some cash."
Our screwed-up hero responded, "Someone who is loyal to me, I'll be loyal to them; someone who helps me out, I'll return the favor."
"Kim's loyal to you Ron…."
"Nah, she's loyal to her boy-toy not her lifelong friend. Listen, I have a couple other recipe books and I'm gonna give one to Justine and Mike and another to Curt and Tank and the last ones to Dave, Felix, Tara and Josh…"
"How many do you have?"
"That's all of them, I have them all memorized so I don't need them.", Ron laughed, "I'll talk to you later, I have pick up my sister."
"Okay, I'll keep monitoring Ron…later."
"Yeah, later."
XXXXX
Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable, the Doctors Pea, Big Mike, Justine Flanner and all the other 'canon' characters of the show 'Kim Possible' belong to Bob, Mark and the Disney Corporation, not me nor CajunBear73. This is just a nonpaying hobby for us.
We'll see ya down the road,
ST-103