Footsteps echoed in the empty hall. Fluorescent lights hummed ominously as they flickered on and off. Desperate screams of the damned reached the ears of the only person in the hall. All eyes were focused on her. Murderers, rapists and serial killers watched her with hungry eyes, longing for a chance to skin her alive and feast on her blood. Cat calls, psychotic ranting, violent threats and maniacal laughter all combined in the concrete hall to create a cacophony that overwhelmed the senses.
The woman was unmoved, however. She was here on a mission. Keeping her pace constant and her vision straight ahead, she soon reached the end of the hall and opened the door, stepping inside the office of the Director of the Middleton Institute for the Criminally Insane. The man looked up from his desk long enough to acknowledge her entrance.
It was no wonder that the inmates became excited in her presence: she was drop dead gorgeous. At 5’4”, 105 pounds, the redhead was a stunner in anything, even the business suit she was wearing that hid most of her skin, but her still hugged tightly against her body’s curves. She was wearing red high heels that matched the color of her skirt and jacket, with a black blouse that corresponded to the sheer nylons that cut off somewhere above her knees. One could see the faint outline of a gun slightly above where her legs disappeared into the mid-length crimson skirt. Traveling up further, one could see angular yet ample breasts causing two very attractive bulges in her blouse, which was cut just low enough that one could see a small line of cleavage. And this could not even begin to do justice to her angelic face, which contained emerald orbs blazing like tiny jewels in brilliant contrast to her auburn hair. She closed the door behind her and walked toward the desk in a gait that could only be described as “businesslike.” Her face was devoid of expression as she placed a small manila folder on his desk.
“What can I do for you Miss Possible?” the director asked only half-concerned, his eyes never leaving his paperwork.
“Please, call me Kim.” the woman insisted.
“Very well, ‘Kim,’” the man returned, setting down his pen and picking up the file, opening it to look at its contents.
“Henry Goldstein,” Kim began as she did any briefing session. “More commonly known as Hego. Has the ability to lift objects several times his own weight. Founder of Team Go, a team of superheroes that operated out of Go City, more commonly known to the world as Chicago. The team got their powers when a radioactive comet crashed into their back yard and used them to fight crime. Eventually the team disbanded and their powers never again rose to their previous heights. Hego tried his hardest over the years to continue fighting the good fight, but eventually settled down and got an ordinary job with his wife and kids.”
“All this I know, ‘Kim,’” The director said her name as though it was not her real name at all. “So what is the point of this meeting?”
The redhead flipped the next page of the dossier over to reveal an image that would sicken even the most seasoned of homicide detectives. As a man who had viewed far worse as he ate his dinner, however, the director simply nodded.
“He was murdered last month.” Kim spoke up.
“This I know as well,” the director replied in his ever-dispassionate voice. “So why are you here?” he asked, demanding that she cut to the chase.
“I understand you are holding one of his relatives,” Kim answered in a formal tone. “I have an appointment to see her.”
“Ah yes, Miss Go,” the director mused. “You are aware of the risks involved in such a visit, aren’t you?” the director asked with a smirk.
Kim nodded. “As the world’s leading expert on Shego I’ve been assigned the task of asking her cooperation in the murder investigation.”
“Are you sure that’s a wise choice?” the man asked.
“Positive.” Kim affirmed.
“Then follow me,” the director said and the two walked through the door behind his desk.
The hall leading up to Shego’s cell was deathly quiet. This was where all the most dangerous criminals went. These individuals had lived with their madness for so long that it had completely consumed them, rendering them shells of once-proud human beings. If you didn’t mess with them, they wouldn’t mess with you. Shego was slightly different, but the silence was the one common attribute she shared with these broken souls.
There was a good reason why Shego was here. She was not technically insane, but this facility was the only one with the technology to hold her. It was slightly unorthodox, but effective. Once she had been “muzzled,” as someone had so cleverly phrased it, she was able to be kept in a normal cell, albeit one with Plexiglas instead of traditional bars to keep the world’s most elusive thief from escaping.
Kim and the director observed Shego from a distance. As they approached her cell, she woke up from the nap she had been taking and let out a yawn. A brief thought flashed in Kim’s mind that found that yawn strangely out of place for Shego. For one thing, she had covered her mouth. Shego was never that subtle. If she yawned, it was usually a front row seat to the tonsil show. It seemed that a lot had changed about Shego, even the little things.
“Hello, Clarise.” Shego joked with a small chuckle. Kim stayed stone-faced. “I see you’ve retained your wonderful appreciation for humor,” the green woman commented sardonically.
Shego and Kim had a… complicated past. Kim stood before the woman who had tried to kill her time and time again without giving the slightest thought as to whether it was right or wrong. But Kim never saw Shego as anything more than a misguided soul, caught up in the wrong crowd. Kim had a tendency to see the good in people, but even she could be wrong sometimes.
“Your old sidekick was always better with the jokes,” Shego mentioned, knowing that this would make Kim flinch involuntarily. Indeed Shego saw just the reaction she expected as Kim squeezed her eyes shut and took in a small gasp between clenched teeth before regaining her composure and staring at Shego with a perfect poker face.
“You remember what happened to Ron,” Kim grimaced.
“How could I forget?” Shego retorted as she raised her arms and gyrated her body to gesture at the cell around her. “That’s what got me in here. Honestly though, I thought you’d have put up more of a fight for your lover.”
Kim decided to cut to the chase. “Hego’s been murdered and we need your help.” she stated briefly and calmly.
“Yeah, I know,” Shego replied as she lay back down in her bed, bouncing up ever so slightly as she hit the hard mattress.
“You’re taking it well,” Kim observed.
“You don’t seem too upset about Stoppable’s death,” Shego countered.
Kim took a small gasp as a thought gripped her mind and insisted that was not the truth. Ron’s death had shattered her entire world, and just being in the presence of the woman who killed him inspired thoughts that made Kim think maybe she should check herself into this place. She quickly shook it off. She had a job to do, and she wasn’t about to let personal feelings get in the way.
“Global Justice is willing to grant you amnesty in return for your cooperation on this case,” Kim continued in an emotionless voice. “You will be placed under my watch and will collaborate with me directly on the case.”
Shego raised an eyebrow. “Let me guess,” she began, “they picked you, you didn’t pick me.”
“I was against it, yes,” Kim admitted. “But as the future leader of GJ, I cannot allow personal feelings to affect my work. I must remain unbiased.”
“Whatever floats your boat,” Shego replied. This was not the Kim she had once known. The old Kim would have come here screaming and shouting, stomping her feet on the floor and declaring her unbridled hatred for her. But when Stoppable died, something inside Kim died as well. Shego had herself to blame for that.
“So will you consider our offer?” Kim asked in a robotic voice.
“What can I say, you had me at amnesty.” Shego answered.
“Excellent,” Kim spoke in a suddenly cheerier voice. “I will be here tomorrow to see you released into my custody. Until then, have a good night’s sleep.” She turned heel and walked away.
“And a happy new year to you!” Shego called sarcastically before burying her head in her pillow to drown out the sudden shouts of the same phrase from the dozens of insane inmates.
Well, for those of you who are still reading this even after the KiGo warning, let me congratulate you for having an open mind. You may notice that this bears a striking resemblance to the oft-lampooned The Silence of the Lambs. This was intentional. If it’s any consolation for you non-KiGo folks (who are probably not reading this part anyway), I will be staying true to the ending of that movie since in my mind KiGo could only work as an affair. Some will say that I’ve written myself into a corner here by having Shego kill Ron, but that will factor in to why Kim and Shego’s relationship is just a one time thing. Please read and review. No flames, please.
beeftony