Kim didn't respond, even with a nod. She just looked back into her eyes, and slowly raised her hands to Sara's shoulders. This time Sara responded in kind, and they drew slowly together, as if testing the waters for fear they might be too cold.
They weren't.
Josh had been venting to the Director for ten minutes so far, but she would let him go on, partly because it amused her, though she was careful to hide it.
“… so you can't really blame her! She didn't know what she was doing, and she was under the control… well, not really control… she was being used by Lee-Jinn again, and he knew her from before, see? So he knew her weaknesses, and -”
“Mr. Mankey.” The Director had decided to end it, finally.
“ - she was just a pawn. He set it up so incredibly, beautifully right but subtle that -”
“Mr. Mankey…”
“- anyonewould have -”
“JOSH!”
“- uh… would have…” Josh realized he'd been babbling. In the back of his mind, he wondered why she'd let him go on as long as he did. “I'm… sorry, ma'am. It's just that -”
“I'm aware of what it ‘is just', Mr. Mankey. I picked that job for her. Unfortunately, I had no idea of the possible ramifications… it was just supposed to be a test.”
“And she… failed.”
“Never black and white, you should know that. In the scope of human actions and events, nothing is ever as simple as pass/fail. In a sense, yes, she failed. On the other hand, she was able to catch herself failing, and correct it. And she didn't try to hide it – I have her report right here, corroborating yours. The fact is: she realized her weakness – and her mistake – much sooner than most people would. So in that sense, she passed at the top of her class, if you care to look at it that way.”
Josh stared abashed at Dr. Director. She was way ahead of him, as usual. He sighed. He should have known.
“So, you don't… hold it against her?” he asked.
“No, Mr. Mankey. Everyone has their weaknesses. Including you and I. Take Will Du, for instance: his weakness is ‘fame’. He craves it. Back when he was unaware of that weakness – when he first came to he GJ – it got him into trouble. More than once, in fact. Some people are slower to pick up on their own motives than others. Ron Stoppable's weakness – and this is just between us, Mr. Mankey – is recognition. Kim Possible's is ‘love', and Shego's, as we all now know, is luxury and pretty girls. No one is free from weakness. Care to know yours?”
It was a rhetorical question – her amusement had gotten the best of her, finally, and she realized she was just being mean. In all the times she'd had conversations like this - and her ability to do so was a large part of the reason she was “Dr. Director” - no one had ever -
“Yes, ma'am” Josh said evenly.
“You… you do?” The Director was actually taken aback by Josh's behavior. This was unprecedented.
“I think it would be valuable to me to know my weakness. I'm guessing it's… Ron?”
Someday,the Director thought, what I'm going to be known for will be having discovered Josh Mankey. He'll have my job. Actually, he'll likely be the boss of whoever has my job…
“No, Josh… relationships are never the true weak-point in a person – they just seem that way to the parties involved.” She sighed. This would be a first. “Very well, Josh. Here it is: you care too much what people think of you. You crave acceptance. Perhaps it might be more simply described as ‘peer pressure’. That is what you need to be aware of.”
Josh thought about it. He could feel the truth of what she'd said: he did care, he cared a LOT. He'd made up a whole “cool ladies'-man” persona in his quest for acceptance. A persona he'd carefully crafted since… since way before he'd discovered he was gay. And when he did make the discovery, the persona became even more of a life-saver than it had been before. It was very successful. And being so successful, he'd been very lonely, living that lie.
But Ron, of course, had seen through it in the space of time it takes to eat a Grande’ Naco. Which, for Ron, was not long at all. And Josh hadn't been lonely since. He was suddenly overcome with emotion, and asked haltingly if he was dismissed.
“Not yet. I have one other piece of business with you. It's about the drawing you left in the computer-lab.”
“I'm sorry… I shouldn't have drawn on the walls like that, I know -”
He was cut off by the Director's hearty and prolonged laughter.
“Oh, my God, Josh! You thought I was going to spank your behind for writing on the walls? Oh… Oh my! Oh…” Dr. Director tried to catch her breath. It was just so cute!
Josh was dumbfounded. Outside her office, the Director's secretary perked her ears up and stared at the door. Laughter? From in there?
“Uh… well…” Josh stammered.
Finally able to regain some self-control, the Dr. Director looked at him from behind her desk. She lifted her eye-patch. The eye behind the patch appeared perfectly normal.
“Josh. I know how this sounds, and I'm aware of the irony of the whole situation, but here it is: the diagram you left on the walls of the computer lab is now classified, at a very high level, and you do not possess that kind of clearance. Therefore, you do not know about it. And since you don't know about it, you won't be able to tell anyone about it.”
“But…”
The Director stared at him with both eyes, and Josh shut up.
“Everyone who has seen it has already been de-briefed. Have you told any of your three partners about it?”
My three partners? Josh had to turn away as those words played over and over in his head. Dr. Director only waited.
“No… it never… I mean, there was never an opportunity, or time. They wouldn't have understood, anyway…”
“No, they wouldn't. Neither did I. I had to call in geniuses from the National Laboratory to come check it out, and then they had to call on people they considered geniuses. And then they all had to be debriefed. I will be doing the paperwork on it for a week yet.”
She let that sink in. She'd never had to tell anyone that they were a genius before, and certainly not one of Josh's apparent caliber. She hoped she'd done it right.
“But I… I don't want to be -”
“I know you don't, Josh. As we've discussed, it's your weakness. Perhaps this will help you feel better: I've been told that your work on what will forever be called ‘the Mankey Diagram’ will likely remain classified for the duration of your life, and probably much longer. Until such time as human society has changed dramatically from what it is now, in fact. A time when money and power are no longer connected.”
“Oh, thank God…” Josh sighed with relief. He could be a famous genius long after he was dead – that would be fine with him. “But… as a tool, it still -”
It seemed Josh would never get to finish a sentence in the presence of the Director. “When you care to do further work along that line – notice I do not mention anything by name – come see me. We have a sufficiently secure area in which you can work.”
“So… I can still work on something I'm not allowed to know about?”
“I did say it was ironic, didn't I?” Dr. Director teased. “The simple fact that you're a minor, Mr. Mankey, adds incredibly to the hassle. Things would have been so much simpler if you could have waited another 6 months to make your breakthrough… but then, the work I have to do pales in comparison to the value you have added – and will add in the future – to my Organization. You have become a star, Josh – but no one is to know it. For your own safety, you understand. A lot of people would like to get their hands on you, if they knew.”
He could see how that could be true. It was so sad, in a way: you try to do something to make the world a better place, and someone will want to use it for personal gain. Josh would find out later that for geniuses, it was a common complaint.
“You may go, Mr. Mankey” the Director said pulling her eye-patch back down. “You understand that certain parts of this conversation never took place?”
“Yes, ma'am…”
“A helo is waiting for you on the pad. It will take you to a jet, which will take you to -”
“Venezuela?” Josh asked excitedly. They would all be together again! It was about time!
“If you would allow me to finish… Venezuela.”
Josh bolted for the door, and said without turning to look at her, “Excuse me for the interruption, ma'am!” The door slammed behind him.
You are excused, Mr. Mankey,she thought, and turned to look out her window. Once that boy matures, I will dread having to sit in front of HIS desk!
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Outside his plush estate, a helicopter waited on the pad. Lee paced back and forth on the porch in front of it. Things were coming together better than they had for… well, since Malta. But the Soldier was getting closer than he'd ever been before, as well. Far closer than he'd been in Malta. It was no surprise that the Brazilian missile-cruiser hadn't been able to deal with him – it was usually a mistake to depend on mankind's inventions to accomplish His goals. Utilizing their weaknesses was much more reliable - often cheaper, as well, as if that mattered. And, there was something new: all indications pointed to Mankey as a source of trouble, though he didn't know what kind.
But he had a plan, of course. A plan devised on short notice, and without proper resources at hand… still, he had enough excellent tools at his disposal and could make do. It was too bad he'd had to lose Ko – she would have been instrumental in the next Version of the Seals, should this one fail. She'd been slated to develop a relationship with the daughter of the Secretary of the Federal Reserve of the United States, and now he would have to either scrap that plan or use the other Sapphic Slic instead. But she was busy with a rather important assignment of her own, having to do with a Version of the Seals three numbers up.
But, if things went even partially according to plan, there would be no need for the higher-order Versions anyway.
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Ko was afraid. It was not a new feeling to her, but she'd never been afraid at this level before. She had been ordered to do things completely against all her training, things contrary to everything she had ever been taught. Things a Slic shouldn't have to do. This was wrong – He shouldn't have sent her on – but questioning the Master only brought the Pain. She knew better than to question His judgment.
The worst part was that she was to be enslaved to a MALE! She wasn't trained to deal with males! All her training, all her study, her practice… everything had been with women. How was she supposed to deal with a man? There was a REASON she was a Sapphic! She wasn't attracted to women, and didn't care about her relationships with them… but to be enslaved to a MAN was… how could she handle it?
She would have to keep herself reigned in, is how. She would do as she'd been ordered… well, there was no question of that, but that's ALL she would do. No practicing her Art here. She would revert into a machine-like state, do as she was told, and keep herself locked up inside, as usual. Really, it would be the same as any other mission, excepting she would not dare think, or react, or consider, anything. Yes, she could handle that. She was skilled enough to do it. But there would be nothing to take pride in, as there had been with that Shego woman. A mission that complex and difficult would probably never happen to her again – she was lucky it had been her mission at all. She would always take pride in the success of it. That would see her through.
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Upon finally getting out of the airport at Caracas, Josh and his Guide had been kidnapped by a well-organized group of about 40 men. All of them were dressed differently, so that they appeared to be a random mob. Without anyone seeing, they managed to get him into a white limousine and out into the Venezuelan countryside. The Guide was left unconscious in the parking-lot.
Hooded and tied, Josh tried to keep track of turns and times, and guess at speed. He might be able to dead-reckon his way back to the airport, at least. When the limo finally stopped on a dirt road in the middle of the jungle, the zip-ties on his wrists were cut and he was pushed out the door. Then the limo sped away.
Josh pulled off his hood and looked around. There was a white Land-Rover, with an almost-black woman standing in front of it. Though he'd never met her, Josh instantly recognized Ko.
This is bad, he thought.
“Here, let me help you up” the girl said, coming over to him and offering her hand. Josh didn't take it. He got up himself, and stood there looking at her, waiting for whatever would happen next. He expected Lee to be inside the Land-Rover. He expected to not live much longer. So, given all these things, it didn't hurt to just look at Ko… because she was beautiful. True, Josh was not sexually attracted to feminine beauty, but he could still tell it when he saw it. He could easily see how Shego had been pulled in, engulfed, hypnotized by that beauty.
She did not say anything more, but seemed to be waiting as well.
“You're Ko” he finally said, when it became apparent that nothing was going to happen soon, anyway.
“Yes” she said without expression.
“Why are you here?”
“To serve you.”
Josh tried to hide his shock at those words. To serve him?
“Why would you want to serve me?” he asked.
“I have been ordered to serve you in any way you desire.”
“By who?”
“My Master.” Ko's face remained expressionless.
Obviously, this was trick of some sort. In fact it was soobvious, it was hard to think straight about the whole situation.
“Tell me exactly what your orders are, Ko.” he asked.
Without hesitation, she answered, “I am ordered to obey your every command immediately and without question. I am further ordered to speak only the truth to you, and to answer your questions to the fullest of my knowledge.”
“Why?”
“I do not know that.”
Of course,Josh thought, of course you don't.He stepped up to look into the Land-Rover: it was empty. The keys were on the seat. He could easily take it, and leave the mysterious gift of Ko standing there in the jungle. He actually considered doing just that.
Why would Lee give him Ko? He must KNOW that I know who – and what – she is… He must KNOW that I wouldn't trust a word out of her mouth. Surely he doesn't think I'll be taken in like Shego was… even if I were straight, because I KNOW about her! It doesn't make sense!
Has Lee made a mistake?
No, he went to too much trouble to set this up. Kidnapping me, only to have me drive back to Caracas in a white Land-Rover with Ko at my side… What does he think I – or any of us – would want with her? Well, Shego – uh, Sara - would probably like to have a word with her… and Kim would probably like to kick her ass… but really… Ron? He's at least bisexual, but… no, no, I'm grasping at straws here. She is here for a REASON, and whatever that REASON is, it will not be in our favor. I should leave her here. I'm a logic-guy… I don't do well guessing at motives and emot-
But Ron does!
“Get in the car, Ko.”
She complied without a word, and Josh turned the Rover around and headed back to Caracas.
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