You Blast It, Don't You? Don't You?
Cassidy lowered her head, her honey coloured fringe masking her reddened eyes. "Are you ready Butch?" she asked slowly, with full concentration, her speech slightly slurred.
Butch nodded with uncertainty, it was only a few weeks since Cassidy had been put in a wheelchair. The doctors said that she was a paraplegic for life, and that she was very lucky to be alive. Her driver's license was revoked along with it.
Butch felt undying guilt as well, he'd seen how drunk that Cassidy was, and yet he had obligingly let her drive their car back to the apartment. He knew that she would always blame him, bitterness and double meanings infiltrating all that she said to him.
In two weeks, it had all changed. Giovanni had tried to fire Cassidy, but she had shown him her weaponry precision, and he had complied with her wishes, creating an armed division of the already notorious Team Rocket. Cassidy and Butch were then shunted out of their previous Field Agent category and into the more exclusive Armed Division, Team AD.
That turned it all around for Butch; no longer was he a simple weekend rioter, but a true criminal, wielding the power of life and death in his pocket, and the cruel power to decide who lives and who dies in his confused mind.
And now, after many successes from the other Team AD members in the recent week and before, Cassidy and Butch set out on the first murder assignment; to kill Todd 'Snap' Walker. The kid who had since sending them to jail after their Breeding Centre fell through, had taken up working for the police, gathering photographic evidence on some of the world's most dangerous criminal heads.
And now Snap had in his possession some very incriminating pictures of Giovanni, enough to finally warrant his arrest. So it was time for him to die.
Using one hand to wheel herself out of the shelter provided by their Team AD Squad car, the other to protectively clutch the pistol to her chest, Cassidy sneered.
Slinking up behind her, Butch nodded at the windows.
Cassidy bit her lower lip and squeezed her right eye shut, aiming her shot perfectly. She fired, and the glass shattered with an imposing bang.
It was no part of chance that Snap was the only one on his street who didn't have a day job, his whole block was either at work or school, a factor carefully examined beforehand by Team AD's research section.
Cassidy aimed and fired again, smashing the second front window.
Inside the house Snap was immediately alerted to the presence of his murderers by the first gunshot. Tapping furiously a warning into the email he was composing, he hurriedly attached the scanned photographs to the message, and then he sent it. The second gunshot bore through his ears and Snap knew that there was no way he would leave his house alive.
He gasped as he heard the front door get kicked open, and whipped his head around his bedroom, looking for either a shield, or a countering weapon. His hand reached for his Pokemon Friend Magazine Best Junior Photographer trophy, dagger-sharp and pointed at its peak, and blunt and heavy at the base. A highly competed for trophy, that would obviously go to someone else the next year.
He glanced nervously back at the computer; due to the size of the attached file and the slowness of his modem, there was still about a minute until the file was sent, the cancel option still large and blaring in the middle of the screen. He prayed that his killers would not get around to canceling it before it was sent.
He wasn't sure who his assassins were, his lucrative new trade came pre-packaged with a lot of enemies, but the money and the thought of putting scum behind bars far outweighed a slight chance of being killed. But now, as he heard a yell and footsteps heading his way he wished that he had stuck with Pokemon.
He cried out as his bedroom door flew open…and…Butch stood there, looking proud.
Snap was partly relieved, Team Rocket weren't dangerous, they just tried to trick people into falling into dumb traps, fairly bland as far as deadly killers went.
90% of the email had been sent…
Snap noticed instantly that Butch had one hand behind his back. He raised an eyebrow, and he realised a fraction of a second too late.
Butch raised the gun and fired three shots into Snap's chest and head.
Snap's desk chair swiveled around from the impact's force…and the trophy slipped out of Snap's limp hand, connecting hollowly with the wooden floor.
Butch stepped out of the doorway, not letting his eyes draw away from Snap's bleeding chest, his T-shirt soaked through. Cassidy instantly wheeled in, and wanting part of the action for herself, she shot him again.
96% complete.
Butch clenched his eyes shut, the thought that he had just killed someone finding a fresh wound in his mind, and it's painful pressure was like someone slowly pouring salt into the raw flesh the wound had become.
"What has he got on the computer?" Cassidy demanded.
98%.
Butch leant over the keyboard and peered at the screen "He's sending an email."
99%.
Cassidy's heat jerked upwards sharply "Delete it!"
Butch's hand snapped out to snatch the mouse…but it was now too late, the message had been sent.
"Oh fuck…" Cassidy moaned "Ten to one that was the pictures. I'll check in the scanner, you check you the email was to."
Butch nodded, finding his way to the outbox.
Cassidy ripped open the lid of scanner, and sure enough, the pile of six photographs lay face down, as though hiding their identity in a futile attempt to stay alive. Cassidy kicked wicker waste paper basket out from underneath the desk. She then got out her cigarette lighter and set fire to the photographs, dropping them in the flammable bin.
She shoved it with her foot to the other side of the room, and turned her attention back to Butch.
"So," she said slowly "Who did they get sent to?"
"Our good friend in Pallet Town," Butch smiled "Ash Ketchum."
Cassidy reloaded her weapon and smiled menacingly.
Ash's face clouded into confusion. "What the…?"
Misty peered over his shoulder, quickly scanning the text of the email. "Huh?"
It had been about three weeks since Ash had returned to Pallet Town after defeating the Orange Crew, he and Misty were staying at his mother's home, and Tracy was working with Prof. Oak. Prof. Oak and Tracy were doing some work on Pikachu, so the electric mouse was spending its time, such as today, mostly at the lab.
Since his return Ash had re-established his friendship with Snap via email, and he was open to admit that this letter confused him.
"It sounds really serious, Ash," Misty said softly "He says that we have to send the photos to the Police."
"There are no police in Pallet Town," Ash pointed out.
"Perhaps we could forward them to the Viridian City Police," Misty said, a slight superiority creeping into her voice.
Ash nodded.
Officer Jenny Lowwater's eyes narrowed as she printed off the series of six photographs, Giovanni taking a briefcase from some very shady looking men.
"Who sent the photos?" a man, Major Jordan Foster, asked, peering over her shoulder, his deep voice under strain.
"Ash Ketchum, he's a Pallet kid, about fourteen," Jenny said, handing the Major the printed photograph copies. "He said he was a friend of Todd Walker, the kid who actually took the photos. Todd has been a tip-off for the Viridian City Force before, as well the Indigo, Cinnabar, Celadon and Saffron Police."
Jordan shook his head "How long ago was this email sent?" he demanded.
Jenny's brow creased "About three hours ago, at twelve o'clock…"
"Oh shit," Jordan cursed "Get Tara and Jenny, oh and Jenny…and get them in the squad cars to Pallet Town!"
Jenny nodded, ignorant to the underlying confusion of the twenty-six Jenny's employed in the Viridian Police Force.
"Fuck," Jordan cursed again, a man prone to the effects of stress and anxiety, recently taken off tranquilizers. "I hope we aren't too fucking late…"
Ash was still finding it hard to believe that any of it was real, you know, that the photos were hard proof of a mob boss's activities.
Misty was fretting silently, pacing the length of Ash's bedroom, wondering why on Earth Snap had sent them the photos, and not the Police. His letter had offered no explanation, except that he was in a hurry and the photos had to be submitted to the Police ASAP. Her only theory was that Snap had been sending a peaceful letter to Ash, trouble has arisen and he had sent Ash the photos…but still…it was a highly unlikely occurrence of chance. It was just about as likely as having a car crash.
There was a sudden crash from the lounge room.
"It's the window…" Misty hissed.
"Oh great…" As moaned "Gary is probably throwing rocks at the house again…Mum will kill me when she gets back from Viridian City…"
There was another smashing sound.
"I'm gonna go out there and give whoever it is a piece of my mind." Ash fumed, rolling up his shirtsleeves.
Misty grabbed his arm, looking into his determined eyes…he was unfazed, but she was having increasingly more trouble dealing with the situation. "I'll go with you." She offered weakly. Ash nodded and led her out into the hall.
As their feet hit the wooden floorboards of the hall, the door flew open and the perpetrators of the deed were revealed.
"What the…?"
"Huh?"
It was the infamous field agents, the rivals of Jessi and James, Cassidy and Butch…except something was wrong. It wasn't just the sleek new black uniforms and the pistols that they clutched so tightly, it was Cassidy.
"What happened to you, Cassidy?" Misty asked softly, staring the now wheelchair bound Rocket.
"Stupid little slut," Cassidy sneered "There was a car accident, if it pleases you to know."
And then Misty knew that Snap was dead, Team Rocket had killed him, and it was his last attempt at revenge to send the photos to the closest address, Ash's. She had said that the chances were about as low as being involved in a car crash, but as the strongest, most bitter woman Misty had ever met sat almost incapacitated in a wheelchair, her speech slurry and distorted, Misty knew that chance was too perverse an entity to gamble upon.
"You won't know for very long anyway." Butch shrugged, and he casually fired at Ash, who screamed and ducked.
"First things first…" Cassidy snapped, halting Butch, forbidding a second shot "Where is that fucking, diseased rodent of yours?"
"You mean Pikachu? Pikachu isn't here…" Ash stammered, clutching Misty like the terrified child he was.
"Where is it?" Cassidy yelled "I'm gonna fucking make that little shit pay!" she smashed a vase on a small table.
"Pikachu is somewhere else…" Ash whimpered "It…uh…ran away…"
"Bullshit!" Cassidy hollered "Where is it?"
Butch's head jerked to the sound of sirens behind him. "Cass! It's the cops! They're coming!"
"Tell me where that fucking Pikachu is, wanker!" Cassidy screeched, out of control.
"Forget it Cass, it's over!" Butch pleaded, grabbing hold of her flailing arm "We have to get out of here now, OK?"
"Not before I have revenge." Cassidy stated.
"For what?" Ash cried foolishly "I didn't crash your car."
Misty clamped a hand over Ash's mouth, clinging to him tightly, her whole body shaking.
Cassidy's breathing slowed to a normal rate and she aimed her weapon.
"They didn't crash your car, Cassidy!" Butch yelled "I'm not going back to jail Cass! Come on!"
Cassidy's face appeared strained, a trickle of sweat navigating its way through the tightened peaks and valleys of her focused face.
There was the sound of a car pulling up in the driveway, and Cassidy's concentration momentarily lowered…
"Run!" Misty yelped, pushing Ash back into his bedroom and slamming the door. Panting, she jerked her head around the room.
"The window?" Ash suggested in a small, frightened voice.
Misty nodded.
Back in the house, Butch and Cassidy were stationed in the lounge, exchanging warning shots with the Police, via the window.
Cassidy's fury was nearing a dangerous level.
"Just come out!" a male officer commanded through a megaphone, his voice stilted and afraid "And we won't hurt you."
"Fuck off!" Cassidy screamed.
"Cass…if you have never listened to me before, listen to me now…" Butch whispered, putting a steadying hand on her shoulder as he crouched beneath the window ledge. "If we kill the cops, more cops will come, we have to get out of here, forget revenge Cassidy, no one here made your blood-alcohol level .12, did they? You should have died that night, you were so drunk, you passed out at the wheel…but you survived, so stop pushing it, OK?"
"Everybody here pushed me over the limit!" Cassidy raged, her whole body convulsing, her face bright red. "So fuck off, OK? Ash and his wanker friends sent me to gaol, the cops were the ones who held and charged me, and you…Butch it was you that made me drink so much."
"Cass, I never told you once to drink anything!" Butch wailed.
Cassidy broke down into tears, her shoulders heaving, her head resting upon her knees. "I want you so much Butch…but you don't want me…I felt like shit because of you!"
"I'm gonna come in there on the count of ten!" the male officer yelled, his voice cracking.
Butch looked away. "I want to say that I feel the same, but Cass, since the accident-"
"You don't want me because I am disabled?" Cassidy screamed, lashing out at him with the butt of her gun "Fuck you! Fuck you Butch!"
She smashed it upon his shoulder, shattering his shoulder blade and screaming obscenities. Butch gasped in pain, his eyes bulging. He started to cough, a pool of blood sprayed from his mouth.
"Ten…nine…eight…"
At last Cassidy's violence ceased, her arm dropping pathetically to her side. She muttered an inaudible comment, her eyes shielded by her fringe, as always.
"Seven…six…five…"
Tears freely soaked Butch's face, his hand grasping his back, his face contorted into a mask of pure pain. "You…are…so different now," Butch said forcefully, his weak voice wavering "You are trying to blame…everyone except for yourself. You…drove the fucking car…Cassidy…"
"Four…three…oh shit…two…"
"I hate you Cassidy…" Butch breathed, his vision fading to black.
Sides heaving, Cassidy slumped forward, the motion toppling her off of her wheelchair, and she lay helpless on top of him.
In the end, Giovanni got off the charges, the Viridian Police Office was torched the following night. Cassidy ended up serving at the Institute, where she undergoes psychotherapy daily. Butch's shoulder was reconstructed, and he is now serving at the Celadon High Security Prison.
Ash and Misty attended Snap's funeral only a few weeks later, accompanied by the Police, Brock, Tracy, Pikachu, even Jessi and James disguised as a pair of old ladies.
Major Jordan Foster later retired from the force and became a slightly disturbed organic farmer.
Cassidy never forgave Butch for the accident, and never took responsibility for her actions.
Butch is trying to forgive Cassidy for injuring him, but it is proving too hard. The sheer emotional stress she is causing him has ended him up on medication. Thinking back, Butch knows that Team AD was something that he never should have got tied up with, loyalty to the Beast (Cassidy) had stretched him too far. Butch was not mentally equipped to deal with homicide, and he is suffering the results of a frail mind broken.
He can't come to terms with Cassidy's affection either. Every night that the nightmares awaken him from his fitful sleep, the nightmares hauntings of the car crash, he replays the scene in which Cassidy blames him for it all.
And then he partially agrees, his mind somewhat empty, waiting to be filled with the things those close to him had ever told him.
Butch knows that this time Giovanni won't salvage them from prison, Cassidy is near useless and Butch is breaking down, both would be utterly incapable of Team service. Which wasn't so bad, because at least Cassidy would have to live her thoughts for once, rather than tearing apart everything around her to let her forget.
Two weeks later, she escaped from prison, and was later found, her spine broken, at the foot of Maiden's Peak.
Her mind was empty and she did not have to think about what she had done.
Butch shot himself four days after finding out.
And so it ended, Cassidy and Butch both succumbing to their own weaknesses, and everybody else living with the ruins that their weakness had created.
The End.
Love and Kisses,
Tenshi_Mew2
OK, the plot was sooooooooo screwed up…don't hurt me…I am young and stupid and I just ate a whole block of chocolate so I was kind of hyper…so when I am depressed? Man does it get ugly…
Nah, seriously I am not that screwed up, but this fic really is chocolate intoxication at work. Anyway, love ya!
