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Revelations of Destiny	By : Kellendros Category: Kim Possible > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 63461 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 43
- 44
- 45
Kim pulled through the side security gate at the Middleton Airport about forty-five minutes after Shego called her, only having to wait a few minutes before the guards waved her through. Entering the airport grounds, Kim easily navigated her way through the various areas until she reached the south section. She was about to start looking for hangar 306-A when she spotted something in the distance that told her where it most likely was.

A minute later Kim coasted to a smooth stop between a large black-and-green hover-jet and the hangar it was parked in front of. Glancing at the building, Kim spotted 306-A painted in block numbers over an access door off to the side of the main hangar doors—not that she particularly needed the confirmation, since she could see Shego through the open doors, working at a bench over in the far corner of the hangar.

Pulling into the hangar, the rumble of Kim’s engine alerted Shego to her presence, and she turned to look over her shoulder for a moment before going back to her work, though Kim thought she spotted a smile before Shego turned away.

Shutting down her bike, Kim got off and removed her helmet a moment later, setting it on the seat and shaking out her hair before turning and heading over to Shego. As she approached, Shego finished up whatever she was doing and picked up a medium-sized double belt pouch, holding it hanging casually from her left hand as she turned to look at Kim.

“Hey Kimmie, you ready to go?”

“Yep, all set.” Kim paused, and then decided she had to know, even though she doubted she was going to like the answer. “Shego, why do you have a Global Justice hover-jet?”

“Because Iiiiiiii’m… secretly a deep cover agent for Global Justice and have been for years?” It was only a second before Shego snorted and grinned over the expression on Kim’s face. “Ok, how ‘bout because despite being unbelievably hard to get a hold of, I’m just that damn good?”

“Yeah, that one sounds more like you.” Kim’s dry response only made Shego grin more.

Shego turned and headed for the plane, with Kim following alongside her. As they went, Shego said; “And it’s not really a Global Justice jet…” Shego paused for a second, then grinned wryly as she finished; “It’s more like two.”

“What?”

“Well, with all the modifications I wanted and the requirements I had, it needed a bigger frame than the standard Global Justice model, and that meant Ed needed more parts and materials than you could get out of just one, so, it’s roughly one-and-two-thirds of a pair of them, not just one.”

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa, hang on…” Kim reached out and brought Shego to a stop with a hand on her arm, turning the woman towards her. “You’re telling me that you, Shego, not only worked with Motor Ed, on purpose, but that you willingly and I assume regularly fly in something he built?”

Shego smirked slightly at Kim’s blatant and confused disbelief. “Ed might be a chauvinistic, glam-metal-loving trailer-trash redneck, but he’s also one of the best mechanical engineers in the world Kimmie, and that includes aeronautics, even if he doesn’t use that ability very often.”

“Well… but… still, it’s Motor freakin’ Ed! How’d you even get him to build the damn thing without adding monster mag-wheels, fins, and an engine twice the size of the plane?”

Shego gave a half-snort and grinned. “With a combination of blackmail, paying him three times as much as I should have for the job, and threats—with liberal application of concussion blasts to prove I wasn’t joking. Trust me Princess; nothing went into my baby that I didn’t want going into my baby. Every inch of that plane is exactly what I wanted and nothing else.”

“I guess…” Kim reluctantly accepted Shego’s reassurances. Turning to look at the plane again, she had to admit that aside from the green-and-black coloring, a pair of smooth, aerodynamic engines positioned on the lower rear sides of the aircraft, longer rear stabilizers, and the fact that it was about sixty feet long instead of fifty, it seemed to be a normal Global Justice hover-jet otherwise.

“So what makes it so special anyway?” Kim asked while helping Shego close the main hangar doors without being asked to.

Shego waited until they were done before answering, turning to gaze appreciatively at her plane as she did. “Well, it’s got twice the anti-grav generators of a normal Global Justice hover-jet, plus the two hyper-thrust plasma fusion engines in the back, so it’s about sixty percent more maneuverable and twice as fast; it can hit a little over mach four at normal speeds and tops out at five-point-five if I kick in the afterburners—though she’ll shake herself apart if you keep that up for long.”

Shego paused for a moment, smiling, and then continued. “The engines use the concentrated liquid fuel mix Drakken claims he invented for the thrusters on his hover-cars, and the power generators are a combination of engine-driven superchargers for a high-density tritanium battery storage system and a three-stage plasma coil micro-generator. That means I can fly it nonstop at cruising speed for close to thirty-six hours before needing to refuel.”

Shego raised her right arm to gesture at specific areas of the plane. “It has two forward-firing twenty millimeter Vulcan cannons mounted wide on the nose, and a thirty millimeter Avenger gatling gun firing depleted uranium shells in the center. Further back, under the main cabin, is an extendable turret mounting twin seven-point-six-two millimeter antipersonnel miniguns, with a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree field of horizontal fire, and a ninety-degree downward field of vertical fire. Just in front of and slightly above each engine compartment, right under the turbofan nacelles, is an extendable rocket pod loading thirty-two fifty-seven millimeter rockets each, and on top there’s a pair of extendable launch bays for eight sidewinder missiles each, one firing forward and the other firing to the rear.”

Shego turned slightly to Kim, and the redhead thought she was done, but she was wrong. “It’s got a dozen flare and chaff dispensers and twice the normal dermal plating, with a layer of cutting edge high-impact polymer underneath that. It’s jammed full of enough electronic countermeasures and stealth technology to make it virtually undetectable twice over, and has the same level of sensor technology, so I can turn night into day and find a needle in a haystack from a mile away. The outer skin is an electro-reactive polychromatic substance slaved to an intricate computer control system, giving it a camouflage capability that can’t quite turn it invisible, but comes pretty close if it’s standing still.”

Shego smiled as she finished; “And of course there’s the little touches like an advanced ‘come when you call’ AI autopilot, computer controlled firing systems, remote control interface, and a rear cabin with a small cargo hold, bedroom, galley, and… a bathroom, which I’m sure you’ll appreciate.”

Kim blushed faintly at the way Shego’s smile twisted to a smirk at the last part, but the minor embarrassment helped her get over the slight amazement she was feeling after hearing all the extras Shego had over the already impressive capabilities of a Global Justice hover-jet.

“Wow, that’s… a lotta stuff all right. But… why all the guns and missiles?”

“So I can blow the living shit out of anything ten times over?” Shego responded dryly, one eyebrow arched over Kim’s puzzled question.

“No duh…” Kim responded just as dryly. “What I meant was Drakken’s invented enough lasers and death rays and energy beams that you could blow an entire State off the map if you fired them all at once, so why are you using normal guns and rockets and stuff?”

“Oh. Sorry. The answer’s simple Kimmie; a plutonium fusion battery or plasma quantum what’cha’ma’hooie or whatever other sci-fi hunk ‘a junk used to power those things isn’t exactly something you can get your hands on easily—or cheaply for that matter. I can get everything except the sidewinders and depleted uranium shells in bulk pretty much anywhere I go, and even those things are pretty easy to come by if you know where to look—though they ain’t cheap, but they’re still a whole lot cheaper than the other stuff.”

“Soooo… you’re cheap then?”

“Not cheap!” Shego bristled. “Just practical. And… frugal… I mean, why buy retail when you can get something wholesale? I spend my money on quality when I need quality. When I can get the job done with Smarty Mart, I shop Smarty Mart. It’s just common sense.”

“Yeah, right, like you shop at Smarty Mart…” Kim responded dismissively, grinning in amusement. At Shego’s expression she quickly sobered, her tone disbelieving as she added; “Wait, you’re serious?”

“What, exactly, is wrong with shopping at Smarty Mart?” Shego said in a flat, carefully controlled tone.

“Ummm, nothing. Nothing at all.” Kim replied hastily, raising her palms briefly in a placating gesture. “I just didn’t think you would ever shop there. I mean, it just doesn’t seem to… fit, you. You’re Shego; you go to places like we went last night and wear expensive clothes and own custom-built hover-jets that probably cost as much as the GDP of a small country, not… shop at Smarty Mart.”

Shego couldn’t maintain her aggravation in the face of that particular explanation, and her hard expression crumbled to amusement as her lips curled into a slight smile.

“Well, all right then.” A moment later Shego gave her head a quick shake, as if coming to her senses, and brusquely added; “Come on, we can’t stand around here all day; we need to get going.”

Shego turned and headed for the plane with an abnormally determined stride, and Kim couldn’t help questioning her abrupt change of demeanor as she followed after her.

“Why the sudden rush?”

Shego sighed and slowed down. She really didn’t want to tell Kim; it was such a stupid mistake… but she knew the girl would probably figure it out or ask about it later anyway, so she had no choice. In an angry grumble she answered; “Because we’re running late.”

“Ummm… no we’re not. I got here early; it’s not even one o’clock yet. We’ve got plenty of time if this thing can do mach four.”

Shego gave an aggravated rumble and came to a stop, all but shouting; “I forgot about the fucking time difference, ok?” In a slightly calmer and considerably softer voice she continued; “It’s nearly three o’clock there, and even at mach four it’ll take us about a half-hour just to get there. Luckily my diggers got Silver’s schedule; he has a late meeting at four-fifteen today. Otherwise I doubt we’d be able to catch him before he left.”

“Hey, it’s ok Shego,” Kim reached out and placed her hand on Shego’s arm gently. “You can’t be expected keep track of everything. So something slipped your mind; it happens to everyone. It’s no big, really.”

Shego shook her head. “No, it is. I don’t make stupid mistakes like that. Mistakes like that can get you killed in my line of work. It doesn’t matter that I have a lot of stuff to keep track of right now or that it worked out all right; the point is it never should have happened at all!”

Shego was quiet for a moment, then looked up at Kim and ventured a little smile. “But thanks anyway.” Shaking her head and shaking off her air of self-reproach, Shego concluded; “Anyway, let’s go already.”

Deciding to just let it go since Shego seemed fine now, Kim followed her to the plane and waited while the pale thief punched a code into a concealed keypad on the door. A second after Shego finished, the door hissed like an angry snake and popped out of the hatchway before sliding up in a smooth arc, while a set of steep boarding stairs descended from the opening with a soft mechanical hum.

As Shego climbed the steps and entered the short corridor beyond, she heard an elongated, almost torturous whine from behind her, and as soon as she got into the main cabin, she stepped to the side, turned, and looked at Kim, one eyebrow raised as she asked; “Something wrong?”

Kim looked to the left, away from Shego and towards the huge canopy at the front of the cabin, raising her right hand to make an idle, dismissive little shooing gesture with her flicking fingers.

“You… skintight costume… firm, sexy ass at eye level… not conductive to keeping my mind on business.”

Shego snorted and grinned, shaking her head slightly in disbelief. A moment later she walked past Kim, heading for the pilot’s seat with only slightly more sway in her hips than normal as she responded; “M’yeah, well, concentrate more…” Shego waited for a three count, then smirked as she finished; “On the job that is, not my ass.”

Behind her, Kim snorted and in a mock-pleading whine asked; “Awww, can’t I do both? I am Kim Possible after all; I can do anything.”

Shego snorted so sharply it almost sounded like she’d done some internal damage, and had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing as she sat down and began to start up the plane. She managed to get a hold of herself by the time Kim joined her in the co-pilot’s seat, but only barely.

Looking over the nearly overwhelming number of mostly unfamiliar instrument panels, control banks, and other systems laid out in the two ‘U’ shaped pilot’s areas and the short projecting section between them, Kim let out a low whistle. “I’m guessing most of this stuff isn’t for flying this thing, right?”

“That would be correct Kimmie.” Shego answered matter-of-factly, continuing to concentrate on what she was doing. A few seconds later she turned to look at Kim, waiting for her attention before continuing; “Right now the only thing you need to remember is this; most of the secondary systems like lights, heat, most of the EMCs and sensors, and the chamelite outer skin can be used without doing anything special, but the only way to fire up the engines or use the communications, onboard computers, and weapons systems is to do this first.”

With that, Shego stood up and stepped back, sliding her right hand into a recessed circular opening centered in the top end of the projecting area between the two seats, her forearm flexing as she grasped something inside the hole. A moment later Kim heard a familiar, if muffled, soft “fwoosh” from inside, and lime-green light radiated out from the space between Shego’s wrist and the edge of the opening. Almost simultaneously, twin lines of bright lime-green light raced up a pair of previously unlit, thin, glassy-looking conduits built into either side of the control bank.

Kim quickly followed the line of lime-green light on her side with her eyes, turning her head and watching as it raced along the edge of the control panels and then, when it kept going along the side wall, having to crane her neck around as she twisted in her seat to keep track of it. It was only when she saw it vanish through the back wall that she turned all the way back around to look at Shego once more.

“That’s an impressive security system.” Kim said, one eyebrow arched ever so slightly as she barely felt a faint vibration start up from somewhere far in the back of the plane.

“You don’t know the half of it Princess.” Shego said as she withdrew her hand from the hole, her power and the line of green light dissipating as she did. “It took forever to find someone who could design it without having to know more than I wanted them to about my abilities, but it was worth it. No one can use my baby without a serious knowledge of high tech systems, the equipment to bypass it, and about a half-hour of work.”

Shego stepped back into the pilot’s area and looked at Kim for a second, making sure she was paying attention before saying; “To shut down the system you need to hit these three controls within four seconds of one another, left to right.” Shego indicated a center panel and then pointed out the three specific buttons to Kim, each one separated from the next by a considerable amount of other controls. “They don’t do anything else, and it won’t work if you’re in the air or you miss the timing window. Once you shut down the system, you can’t start it up again without circumventing the lock or… well, being me.”

“Ok, got it.”

Shego sat down again and engaged her chair, sliding forward into the piloting position. As she started up the preflight sequence, she took a moment to tell Kim; “You should strap yourself in; there’s only so much you can do with inertial dampers, and since my baby’s a lot faster and more maneuverable than a normal GJ jet you’ll be feeling it a lot more too. She’s only safe to move around in at low speeds or on straight runs.”

Kim nodded and then, realizing Shego couldn’t see the gesture, added; “Ok.”

After strapping herself in, Kim moved her chair into piloting position as well, only to be irked when she realized the projecting section between the two areas blocked most of her view of what Shego was doing. Sighing, Kim sat back and set her mind to trying to pick out the flight controls from everything else in front of her, as well as figuring out what each one was for, using what she already knew about flying as a reference.

In a surprisingly short amount of time, Shego looked over to Kim for a second, saying; “Hang on Princess.” before taking off with a stomach-dropping lurch, heading straight up at high speed.

“What? No flight plans this time?” Kim asked, only half-teasing.

“Wouldn’t do much good since no one can see us on radar anyway. Gotta pay real close attention to everything else in the sky with you when you’re flying this thing Kimmie, because they sure as hell won’t see you ‘til it’s way too late to matter, assuming they even see you at all.”

A few seconds later, Shego reached an altitude of a little over a mile, and finally engaged the forward thrusters while continuing to climb higher. For a few moments Kim felt a heavy pressure pushing her back into her seat, before it slowly eased off as Shego reached full speed. Once she reached the proper height and speed, Shego made sure everything was properly set on the autopilot before switching it on. A moment later she slid her chair back from piloting position and swiveled it to face the projecting section between herself and Kim.

While Shego started using the keyboard on her side of the terminal, Kim slid her own chair back to join her, and arrived just in time to see the display screen on her side shift to a view of a folder with several files in it.

“Ok, the building uses M37-A security cameras and Tarsis motion detectors.” Shego said, looking up at Kim while retrieving the double belt pouch she’d had earlier from the compartment in her seat she’d stowed it in. Unclipping one of the pouches, she passed it over the section between them, continuing; “I’ll take care of the motion sensors while you do the cameras. Just flip one of those open and slide the pane over the front of the unit as close as you can, then press the button and wait thirty seconds and you’re good to go.”

Kim nodded, taking the pouch from Shego before opening it and removing one of the numerous devices inside. Examining it closely, Kim saw that it was a thin, transparent pane held in a narrow black frame, which in turn was attached to a small black box by a broad hinge. There was a covered adhesive pad on the inside surface of the box to attach it to the camera when it was used.

As Kim put the device away again, Shego said; “Ok, I’ve got blueprints of the building marked with all the security points here; let’s go over the plan a few times to get it down straight.”

With that, Kim and Shego began running through the scenario they had come up with last night, making sure they had everything right before they arrived at the real CI headquarters in Macon…

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reggie Silver exited the elevator to the underground parking facility beneath the Corsair International building at about ten-to-five. It had been a long if not particularly trying day, and he was looking forward to getting home so he could relax. Beside him, his driver and bodyguard Max pressed a few buttons on the remote for the car, starting the engine and deactivating the security system with a familiar series of chirps from the vehicle, indicating there had been no breaches of the system since it was activated.

As the pair headed for the black luxury sedan parked close to the elevator, and one of the few remaining vehicles in the section of the garage they were in, a sudden voice from their left startled both of them just before they reached the car.

“Excuse me Mr. Silver, but I need to have a word with you.”

Both men turned to see Kim standing casually a few steps away from a nearby support column, looking at Reggie intently. Noting her peculiar outfit, Max took a step forward and to the side, sliding his right hand into his jacket. Kim didn’t react to the move, maintaining her calm, intent expression and watching Reggie expectantly.

There was an itch in the back of Reggie’s mind as he scrutinized Kim. Somehow the girl looked familiar to him, but he couldn’t quite place her. “And who exactly are you? And how did you get in here? This is a private parking area.”

“My name is Kim Possible, and how I got here isn’t important.” Kim said while taking a few steps forward, prompting an even greater reaction from Max until Reggie waved him off. “What is important is that someone’s been using your company as a cover for their own activities, passing themselves of as the owner of Corsair International.”

“What do you mea—” Reggie cut off abruptly as Kim’s name finally clicked in his head. “Wait, wait, Kim Possible… I know you… you’re that high school girl that goes around the world fighting criminals and saving people, aren’t you?” At Kim’s nod he continued; “I thought so. Now, what’s all this about someone passing themselves off as the head of my company?”

Over the span of several minutes Kim laid out the loose specifics of Corscan’s masquerade as the head of Corsair International, concluding with the fact that all of the false information had recently been purged from everywhere it had been stored, including the CI systems, and that her friends might be able to discover more clues on how it was done if they had access to the relevant hard drives from the CI computers.

“I appreciate you bringing this to my attention Miss Possible, but I certainly don’t intend to be handing over any proprietary data or Corsair property to a high school student, irrespective of what her personal involvement in the situation is. This matter will be thoroughly investigated by our internal security division, and should there be any truth to your claims, I assure you that all appropriate legal action will be taken against this… ‘Corscan Mataii’. As for your own indiscretions in the matter, I’m prepared to overlook them out of gratitude for the information you provided, but don’t expect that to continue if you press the matter any further.”

“What do you mean?” Kim’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“There’s certainly no other way you could have gotten some of the information you just told me than by violating our computer systems. As long as you drop any further inquiries I’ll see to it that Corsair International doesn’t bring computer crime charges against you and your… ‘friends’, as it were.”

“Excuse me? I come all this way to tell you that someone has been posing as the head of your company, had false records placed in your systems, and maybe even had people working for her here, all of which you supposedly didn’t even know about, and then offer to help you find out more about that, and you threaten me with legal action?”

Before Reggie could respond, there was a strange, soft, almost electric hum from behind Max, who in turn crumpled to the floor, collapsing like a marionette with its strings cut. As Reggie jerked around to stare at his stricken bodyguard, eyes wide and mouth gaping in shock, Shego stepped over the limp form on the cold concrete, undulating lime-green energy wreathing her hands and an evil grin on her face.

“Oh give it a rest Princess. The first and last thing corporate types like this asshole think about is protecting their assets and the bottom line; it’s like breathing for them.”

“Shego! What are you doing here?” Kim dropped into a broad stance, tensing for a fight, while at the same time Reggie fearfully shouted; “Who are you? What’s going on? What did you do to Max? Is he ok?”

“Good ol’ Max’ll be just fine Reggie, which is more than I can say for you…” Shego shot at Reggie before turning her attention to Kim, answering; “I’m here to ask Mister CEO here a few questions about what’s going on with the three-ring circus he calls a company Kimmie. There’s a little matter of people telling me they’re running things around here when they’re not, and I need to know exactly who it is that’s been jerking me around; them, or him.” Shego turned her hawk-like gaze back to Reggie.

“What are you talking about? I still don’t understand who you are or what you want from me…” Reggie backed away from Shego fearfully.

“This is Shego, Mr. Silver,” Kim answered before Shego could, “an internationally wanted super villain who usually works for the mad scientist Dr. Drakken, and who I’m guessing wants to talk to you about the same thing I came to see you about, more or less.”

“Right in one Kimmie, and I’m not going to let you get in my way here either!” A second later Shego snapped her left hand up and sent a bolt of energy scathing through the air on Reggie’s right side, the pulsing discharge searing a smoking, fist-sized hole in the concrete a few steps away from him. “And just where the hell do you think you’re going?”

Reggie gasped and froze in place, his eyes wide with fear. Kim took a step forward after Shego fired, attracting her attention, and asked; “So you’re not here to steal anything for Drakken or kidnap this guy or anything like that? You just want some answers from him?”

“You got it Princess, and I’m not gonna take no for an answer, from him or you.”

For a second Kim remained tense, then surprisingly, she relaxed and straightened, stepping back while saying; “Well I guess I’ll just leave you to it then.”

Shego’s eyes widened in genuine surprise, and she stammered for a moment before finally responding; “What, seriously?”

“Far be it for me to get in your way.” Kim turned and started casually walking away from the confrontation.

“What? You can’t just leave me here with this crazy woman! You’ve got to help me! Please!” Reggie desperately implored to Kim’s retreating back.

Kim paused, and then looked back with a hard expression, grimly responding; “Actually yes, yes I can. Like you said Mr. Silver, this is a matter for your company’s internal security division, not ‘some high school student’, so I really shouldn’t get involved. I’ll just let them handle this little problem too, since I wouldn’t want to intrude where I’m not wanted. Hope it all works out for you.”

Kim resumed walking away, and Reggie frantically drew a deep breath and opened his mouth, but before he could plead with Kim any further, Shego stepped forward and seized the front of his suit along with his full attention.

Grinning evilly, Shego spoke in a tone equal parts amusement and disbelief as she said; “Oh man, I’ve got no idea what you could have possibly said to little Miss Perfect to get her to walk away from something like this, especially when it’s me that’s doing it, but you’ve gotta be a real piece of work there corporate boy…”

With that, Shego spun and with a frightening ease, tossed Reggie up against the distant side of his car hard. Before he could stumble away from the heavy impact, Shego hopped over to land behind him, grabbing the staggered CEO by the shoulders and spinning around with him again in a near-complete circle this time, ending with the businessman bent over and slammed down on the trunk of his car like a common criminal being arrested.

Shego gave Reggie a few moments to get his breath back and recover his senses before speaking in a tone of low, quiet menace as she forced him down onto the cold, hard, unyielding surface even more. “Now, I’m going to ask you some questions corporate boy, and I really suggest you answer me as quickly and as fully as you can, because I guarantee you will not like the consequences otherwise.”

As a visual aid to her threat, Shego slammed the claws of her right hand deep into the trunk of the car, pulling them back through the metal just a few inches away from Reggie’s face, carving five long, ragged-edged, smoking holes through it as easily as if it were tissue paper.

“Get the picture suit?” Shego growled softly into Reggie’s ear.

Reggie swallowed fearfully, trying to find his voice, before finally responding; “Y-y-yes, I— I underst-stand c-completely…”

“Good…”

A half-hour later Shego was leaping through space forty-six stories above street level, vanishing into what appeared to be a hole hanging in mid-air. A moment later there was a ripple as a smeared black-and-green hatch swung down and covered the hole, before it shimmered and seemed to vanish as well. Only the most observant watcher would have noticed the odd discrepancies that made up the contours of Shego’s hover-jet, though anyone getting close couldn’t help but hear the engines or take note of the blurred turboprops keeping it aloft.

Entering the main cabin, Shego glanced over at Kim where she was sitting in the copilot’s seat and reading something using her Kimmunicator as a PDA. A moment later Shego turned and moved to the rear storage compartments, opening a larger one and stowing the sack of hard drives she’d taken from the CI computers on her way out of the building in it. After that, Shego made her way over to the pilot’s seat and sat down.

“So how’d it go?” Kim asked, putting her Kimmunicator away as she looked up.

“Well enough. Good thing I caught on though; you almost threw me there when you went off plan like that.”

“Yeah, well, the guy was a jerk, so I figured a little Shego up close and personal with no ‘good cop’ around to protect him was exactly what he deserved.” Kim grumbled. A moment later she shook her head once and asked; “What’d he have to say?”

“Not much. The only worthwhile thing I got out of him was that there’s been a few unexpected problems in upper-middle-management this week. Seems a bunch of personnel suddenly transferred out of several key positions, and their replacements are having trouble getting up to speed. Other than that, he didn’t seem to know anything. I figure she had about a dozen people working here that were actually part of maintaining the front. I picked up the hard drives on my way out too, but I don’t think there’s anything more to find here.”

“And you’re sure he was telling the truth?”

Shego fought her initial instinct to snap something scathing at Kim over her questioning her abilities, forcing herself to consider an objective—and calm—answer instead.

“I’ve done this sort of thing a few times before Kimmie,” Shego couldn’t help putting a little bite into Kim’s name. “Unless this guy is one hell of an actor—which I seriously doubt—he would have sold out his own mother to me if that’s what he thought it would take to keep his hide intact. I could see it in his eyes; he wasn’t lying.”

Kim gave an aggravated sigh and leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. After a few moments she spoke in a resigned tone; “Sorry… I just hoped this would go better is all…” Kim opened her eyes and looked at Shego apologetically.

Shego gave a gentle huff of amusement and a little smile. “Yeah, well, it happens. There’s a lot more jerks like him out there than not, glad to treat you like their best friend when you show up to help them out of a jam, and can’t be bothered to take your calls when the shoe’s on the other foot or they’re the ones under investigation, trust me.” Shego shook her head, dispersing her cynical air. “So, what now?”

“I don’t know… I guess I’ll take those hard drives back to Wade, and we’ll see what he can find on them and the data store you sent him. Other than that, I guess it’s just wait-and-see with the guys you’ve got working on it…”

“Actually I was thinking more along the lines of wanting to have lunch…” Shego muttered sourly, Kim’s final words reminding her of what happened earlier today at her meeting with the representatives of the Kraken Society. In a louder tone she continued; “Yeah, about that…” Shego hesitated. “Earlier today something happened that’s got me thinking we might be getting into something bigger than we thought we were.”

“What do you mean Shego?” Kim asked intently.

Now it was Shego’s turn to sigh and lean back in her seat. “I told you I was going to meet with the Kraken Society this morning, right?” Shego waited for Kim’s nod before continuing. “Well, that meeting went… strange.”

“Strange?”

“Yeah, strange. Errr… more strange than usual I guess I should say.” Shego gave her head a barely noticeable shake. “The members of the Kraken Society aren’t exactly normal Kimmie. They’re a Secret Society with double capital ‘S’es, y’know what I mean? Blood oaths, supreme loyalty to the group, the society is brother mother father sister, the whole nine yards… and the point of this particular little cult is to gather information on everything, especially things that other people don’t want known. The whole ‘knowledge is power’ dealie I’d guess. And they’re really good at it too; they know things most other information dealers would sell their souls to know.”

“So… they’re like the Skull and Bones club of information dealers?”

“Pretty much…” Shego paused for a moment, taking a breath and organizing her thoughts, then continued; “Thing is, they’re also a little… eccentric, when it comes to dealing that information too. They prefer services and secrets in exchange for their information—sometimes seriously weird services. Not that they don’t take cash, just that if you won’t play by their rules, they make you pay through the nose—like, ten times more than any other source would cost through the nose—and some information they just won’t deal for anything other than favors or return information no matter how much money you offer them, understand?”

Kim nodded, and Shego went on; “So anyway, since we needed to move fast before your girlfriend got a chance to really go to ground, I told Orchid to let everyone know what I was looking for ahead of time, despite the odds of that driving up the cost.”

“Who’s Orchid?” Kim interrupted curiously.

“Hmm? She’s my fixer.” At Kim’s puzzled look Shego elaborated; “Sort of like what your nerdlinger does for you, only less involved. She finds and brokers jobs for me, gets me supplies and equipment, puts me in contact with people I need to talk to, that sort of thing.”

“Got it.” Kim replied, nodding.

“So like I said, these guys knew what I wanted ahead of time, and they set up this meeting in New York, right? Thing is, when I get there, they tell me that ‘Despite our previous dealings with you and your exemplary service to us, the Kraken Society chooses not to involve itself in this matter. We suggest you find alternative means of pursuing the information you seek’.”

“So… they made you come all that way just to tell you to get lost?” Kim’s confusion was plainly evident.

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Shego grumbled. “Thing is, as much as I wanted to fry the idiots for jerking me around, I got the sense that they weren’t just telling me to take a hike. Wrapped up in all their cult weirdness and layers of subterfuge was… I think it was a message that I should let it go.” Shego looked up and met Kim’s gaze. “I’m not sure Kimmie, but I think they were warning me off.”

“Really?”

“Maybe… yeah… ah hell I don’t know, maybe I’m just imagining it. But at the time, yeah, that’s the feeling I got.”

“So… what do you think we should do then?” Kim asked, watching Shego close her eyes and lean back in her chair as far as she could.

Shego opened an eye and looked at Kim. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I mean if these Kraken guys really were warning you off, you think we should… maybe listen?”

Shego opened her other eye, and her brow furrowed slightly. “Are you seriously suggesting we stop?”

“Well, not really… but if we’re getting into something this big, shouldn’t we at least consider it?”

“Meh… define ‘big’.” Shego held up her right palm before Kim could respond. “I mean there’s big and then there’s big. I know a few groups that the Kraken Society wouldn’t want to meddle with any more than they already do—Global Justice and WWEE come to mind actually. Sending me on my merry way with information about either of them, information that could be traced back to the Society depending on what I intended to do with it, well, they wouldn’t like that at all. Given what we already know about Herculina, it’s not much of a surprise to think she might have the same amount of pull. If that’s the case, then since the Society doesn’t know why I’m trying to find her, telling me to take a hike only makes sense for them.”

Shego sighed, and then continued; “Taking on a group as big as Global Justice or WWEE would be a huge pain in the ass, but we could do it. It’d take us years before we were done, but we could do it…” Shego shook her head. “Besides, this is all a moot point anyway; your girlfriend already knows you’re going to try and find her, and she didn’t tell you not to, so it’s not like somebody’s going to show up at your front door to ‘deal with you’ anyway, right?”

“I suppose so…” Kim shook her head. “Sorry, it’s just that the longer this keeps going and the more complicated it gets the more worried I become, and that makes me treat it more seriously, y’know?”

Shego snorted softly and grinned. “Yeah well, you need to chill on this Kimmie. If you let yourself keep getting wound up by the delays and complications you’ll drive yourself nuts. Just put it out of your mind and let your people do their work, ok? We’ll get results eventually, it’s just gonna be long-haul is all.”

“And why do I get the feeling you’re speaking from experience here?” Kim grinned wryly.

“Because it’s obvious?” Shego grinned back. “I do work for one of the most convoluted thinkers on the face of the earth Princess, who also happens to rank babbling on endlessly about his plans as one of his most favorite things to do. If I hadn’t figured out how to deal with my admittedly above average levels of impatience I’d have gone bald from stress years ago—or strangled him to death mid-rant, as the case may be. Gotta know when to relax Kimmie…”

Kim gave an amused grunt. “Well, I’ll admit that I’ve loosened up a lot lately, but I’m just not wired that way when it comes to work Shego. I need to have the sense that I’m accomplishing something, that I’m moving forward, even if it’s just a little.”

Shego rolled her eyes. “No, what you want is for this to be finished just as quickly as one of your little save-the-day adventures Princess, otherwise you’d have noticed that we are moving forward—well, ok, at a snail’s pace I’ll grant you, but still… we’ve got lines of inquiry going and we’ve gotten everything your little techno-geek friend needs to do his thing with. See? Progress.”

Kim snorted and shook her head ruefully. “I guess you’ve got a point—though it’s seriously weird hearing you talking about being patient.” Kim smirked.

Shego grinned in return. “Hey, it’s pointless delays and wastes of time that get on my nerves, not reasonable ones. If there’s a point to it, I can be as patient as anyone else.” Shego shook her head slightly. “Speaking of pointless delays… wanna buy a girl lunch Princess?” Shego quirked an eyebrow playfully.

“Hungry are we?” Kim quirked an eyebrow back.

“M’yeah, you could say that, given that I haven’t eaten since early this morning.”

“And I’m buying why?” Kim’s smile was as playful as her question.

“Because you were all hot to trot about pulling your end last night? Aaaand of course there’s the fact that out of the two of us, you’re the only one dressed to go get something without having the place call the cops on you…” Shego grinned.

“Ok, ok. Your logic is sound.” Kim smiled as she shook her head slightly. “Where do you want to eat?”

“Well, I’ve been dreaming about some great, big, juicy, sloppy, heart attack inducing Mega Burgers from Burger Barn for weeks now…”

“You’re kidding, right? Even Ron doesn’t eat Burger Barn much any more after seeing Megasize Me.”

“Oh like you’re one to talk with your diet.” Shego shot back. “I’m well aware of how unhealthy Burger Barn is Kimmie, I just don’t care. I’ve been eating nothing but processed rabbit food for well over a month now; I wanna indulge in a little taste sensation, ok? A couple ‘a Mega Meals isn’t going to kill me if it’s only once in a while.”

“No need to get all defensive Shego,” Kim raised her palms innocently, “it just threw me is all. If you want Burger Barn we can have Burger Barn, no big. Errr… actually you can have Burger Barn; I just ate a few hours ago. Well… maybe I’ll have some fries… or a box of Chicken Chunks.”

Shego snorted softly and shook her head. “Ok, setting course for the nearest Burger Barn then.”

With that, Shego swiveled her chair around and slid into piloting position, calling up the GPS display to get the location of every Burger Barn in the area…

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shego checked the instrument panel for the dozenth time. Four minutes out from Middleton now. Twenty seconds less than last time she’d checked.

C’mon, just ask her already.

After Kim had picked up lunch for Shego and a snack for herself—both fries and a box of Chicken Chunks—the pair had eaten while enjoying an incredible view of the city as they hovered a few thousand feet above it. They’d talked during lunch and for a while afterwards as they headed back to Middleton as well, first briefly wrapping up their admittedly sketchy plans for the next stage of hunting Corscan, then quickly shifting to small talk about favorite foods and restaurants that had evolved somewhat into talking about malls and shopping.

I can’t ask her. It’s crazy.

Three-and-a-half minutes out from Middleton, Shego’s glance informed her.

Despite the surprisingly easy conversation, Shego had found herself growing increasingly quiet and unresponsive as the flight went on, distracted by mounting thoughts of an idea that had slowly been percolating in the back of her mind since she’d talked to her grandfather earlier in the day. Kim seemed to accept the shift with good grace however, returning to her reading with her Kimmunicator.

So? Like this whole thing isn’t crazy anyway? What’s the worst that can happen?

Three minutes out.

Oh I don’t know… she could think you’re totally Single White Female level nuts for even suggesting it? Freak out over you moving so fast? Maybe even totally flip out over it and tell you to back off completely?

Two minutes forty seconds.

Oh please, like it’s any worse than everything she was already doing with Herculina? Don’t be an idiot!

Two minutes twenty seconds.

I am not being an idiot! And there is a whole hell of a lot ‘a difference between this and just spending part of the day with someone, even if it is overnight and five days a week!

Two minutes.

Just ask her god damnit!

No, I can’t, it’s too crazy.

Ask her!

No!

Just do it! Do it do it do it you stupid bitch!

What if she says no?

So what? You’ll never know unless you ask her so ask her—now! Ask her! Ask her ask her ask her!

A minute forty seconds.

Just do it! No! Yes! Shut up! Go for it! I can’t! Do it! Do it do it doitdoitdoitdoitDOITDOITDOIT!

Shego took a deep, deep breath and then held it for a long moment before she spoke.

“Kimmie, you’re all done with school now, right?”

“Yeah, I’m on summer break for the next few months.” Kim answered offhandedly, her attention still mostly on her reading.

“And other than looking for your girlfriend you’ve got nothing planned for the summer?”

“Not really—well, other than family vacation to visit Nana next week that is. Speaking of which, we’re leaving for Florida tomorrow, so unless something really important comes up, I’m not going to be able to do anything for a week or so, all right?” A moment later Kim looked over at Shego and idly added; “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I was just thinking… maybe you could…” Shego hesitated, biting her lower lip and looking anywhere but at Kim—just do it! A moment later she took a breath, her words coming in a rush as she forced herself to ask; “I want you to move in with me for the rest of summer break.”
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Revelations of Destiny