The nervous looking blond haired teenager blinked as sweat dripped into his eyes. He wished he could wipe his forehead but he didn't dare move a muscle.
"How can you not have any money *or* poke`mon?!" screamed the vibrant red head of which he had been ambushed.
"You mean to say that we went through all the trouble of stalking you and preparing an ambush for nothing?" her bluenett partner added. "What kind of idiot goes into the forest without any poke`mon to defend himself?"
The boy cringed at the dual verbal assault. "I'm sorry, all I have are some granola bars and an apple." he whimpered "Its all yours, just please don't hurt me."
Jessie continued glaring at him as he deposited his meager food supply onto the bumpy dirt path. "Fine, just get out of my sight. And don't come back."
The boy needed no further prompting and tore down the path without so much as an over the shoulder glance. The two team rocket members waited until he was out of sight (and earshot) before speaking.
James, unable to restrain himself any longer, erupted into hysterical laughter. "I cant remember the last time the motto worked that well!"
Jessie followed closely in suit "Did you see the look on his face?"
James could barely nod, let alone breath as he rolled around on the ground "He was about to piss himself!"
Jessie was wheezing now, as her oxygen depleted body struggled for air. The pair just lay on the ground next to each other breathing heavily and gazing into each others eyes for a few moments as they recovered from their outburst.
It was James who broke the silence first "Hey where's Meowth, he was just with us before we jumped that kid?"
Jessie sat upright. "Yeah, now that you mention it, I wonder where he's off to."
James peered into the dense undergrowth. "Meowth! You can come out now, MEOWTH?"
Jessie's eyes narrowed. "Be quiet, something's not right."
"Yes Jessie, I know. Meowth isn't-"
Shh, I mean it." She appeared to be staring at some shrubbery further down the path. It seemed as if she couldn't quite place something that was right there. All she knew is that there was something wrong with the picture.
With her eyes still locked on the shrub, she took a step backwards and whispered "We need to get out of here, now."
James looked worried. "But what about Meowth?"
"We'll deal with him later, but right now, we need to-"
"Stay exactly as you are!" Commanded a voice several feet behind them. "Put your hands behind your heads. Slowly."
They complied and remained facing foreword.
The male voice spoke again but it was quieter. "Squads Beta and Delta, status report."
"Area secure sir." Replied a static laden voice.
So, he has a radio. Jessie thought.
"Good, proceed to the extraction point"
"Roger that"
There was a click as the apparent officer turned off his radio.
James, who had been slowly turning his head to get a good look at their captor, was startled as he barked out into the surrounding woods. "Alpha squad, up!"
James heard the faintest rustling and to his surprise, a few shimmering blotches rose from the underbrush, then a few more, until there was at least a half dozen of the ghastly apparitions standing in a loose semicircle that intersected the path. Amazingly, the last of them was directly in front of the bush that Jessie had been suspicious of.
The strange figures looked something like heat waves on the hood of a car on a sunny day, but they were shaped like humans.
Yet another order came from behind the inseparable duo. "De-cloak Alpha!"
The see-through people shifted a bit, then electrical arcs starting at each of their wrists began skimming across their bodies. The electricity seemed to paint appropriate human features on the previously clear people. After all transparency had been removed, the blue-white fingers of electricity subsided to reveal seven unidentifiable people clad in green armor. The armor included a helmet, which was not unlike that of a pilot's, including the dark visor. The wearer's torso was protected by a durable looking chest plate. The arms were concealed by two part sections, as were the legs. Joints had appropriate protection as well. A full utility belt including a pistol holster was at the waist. Completing the uniforms were dark boxy assault rifles, all of which were trained on her and James.
"Status report on prisoner three!" Yelled the officer.
One of the troops ducked into the scrub brush for a few moments. As he rose, he called out "Sir, the prisoner is sedated and all vital signs are in the green."
"Good work corporal." Said the officer who was now a foot or two behind Jessie and James. "Private Darrin!"
"Sir!" Yelled one of the closer men.
"Handcuff these two."
"You got it Lieutenant."
Private Darrin handed his weapon to one of his fellow commandos as he trudged through waist high ferns on his way to the path on which Jessie and James stood. When he reached them, he was holding what appeared to be two plastic figure-8's. He motioned for them to turn around. It was then that they were finally able to get a good look at the lieutenant.
He was a young man, with brown eyes a close cropped haircut. It was nearly impossible to tell his age because although his face seemed almost adolescent, his demeanor suggested he was not new to this field of work. His uniform was identical to the rest of his commandos'…minus the helmet.
This is it, Jessie thought as Darrin slipped the cuffs over her hands and tightened them with a "zzzzip" sound. Our luck just ran out. We wont be blasting away from this one.
James was being handcuffed by Private Darrin when he spoke up for the first time in several minutes. "You guys are cops?"
Darrin seemed amused by the question. "Pfft, you wish!"
"Then who-" Jessie stopped herself. Oh-No! These must be Giovanni's hired guns! He's finally fed up and wants to kill us himself!
James had been thinking the same thing. "You're going to take us to Giovanni, then."