The collar of my dress shirt was starting to dig into the scruff of my neck, and my tie was feeling tighter than ever around my neck. Sweat trickled down my neck as I impatiently shifted the weight on my right foot to my left.
I was standing at the back of a long line to the counter of Big Paul's Coffee Shop. The place was packed, and the temperature in the shop was extremely high. I looked around the room and saw people laughing and drinking from steaming cups. They were chatting with friends and seemed to be having a good time. I tried not to let the envy show from my face. It was snowing heavily outside, and it must've felt great to just sit down and chat with friends with a hot, steaming cup of coffee. Unfortunately, I was working.
I glanced at my watch. 7:42. Only 3 minutes had passed. I sighed and looked at the watch hanging on the wall to check the time, just in case by some miracle my watch was slower than what the real time was. Nope. Still 7:42.
I looked at the front of the line I was standing in at the girl I was assigned to track. She stood at around 5'9, and had long brown hair that fell to her shoulder blades. Her sharp, quick green eyes surveyed the room we were standing in. Her eyes scanned the room until they landed on me. Our eyes locked for a moment, and then I looked away in fear and repulsion, trying not to let my emotions show.
Stay cool, Dom. She's a criminal. You're doing what you need to do.
The girl I was following was called Kristie Starlight. She was extremely anorexic; body was extremely thin, the legs poking out from under her mini skirt looked like a pair of twigs. The report I read listed her as being only 90 pounds. She was only 18 years old. I tried to clear my mind of those horrific images. Jesus, did she even eat? She was just a kid with barely any meat on her bones, and I was supposed to arrest or kill her? I shook my head and looked at the figures she was standing with.
There were five in total, and they all wore long, gray hooded robes that obscured their faces. Whoever these guys were, they weren't listed in the report. They looked tall and menacing, and I would take them down with the target if necessary, but that would mean wasting more ammunition than necessary. I rubbed the bulge in my coat pocket and mentally prepared myself to draw it out as quickly as humanly possible.
It was a Beretta 92FS, 9mm. The gun holds around 15 rounds, more than enough to take down a target. I've had it with me since I started the job, and it hasn't let me down once. Sleek, portable, and packing enough punch to take down a heavily armored soldier in only a few shots, it was an excellent weapon, both mid-range and close quarters. My agency, the AAP, had given it to me when I joined the force. The AAP, by the way, was the Agency Against Pokemon. I heard a scream.
I looked up and saw Kristie standing at the front of the line, holding a dismembered head.
What the….
There was another scream, and Kristie tossed the head at the girl working at the register. I looked at the ground and caught my breath. A headless corpse was laying there, the neckline neatly cut off with great skill. Kristie's mouth was covered in blood. Kristie turned to another person standing at the line, and her mouth opened extremely big. With one quick motion, she neatly bit off the person's head. This time, however, she swallowed the head whole.
The crowd in the coffee shop frozen for a minute, and there was suddenly uproar of panic as the crowd immediately started running for the exit. I jumped to the side and tried to avoid the stampede of panicked shouts and screams.
"Open the fucking cash register!" I heard someone shout and looked to the front of the store. Kristie was there, holding an extremely large, menacing looking assault rifle. I was surprised she was able to hold it up; the thing looked heavier than her body.
"Put the money into the bag!" the same voice that had shouted earlier came forth again. I looked at the source of the voice and saw a Blaziken holding an AK. His voice was hard and raspy, as if he smoked a lot. The girl working the register squealed, and immediately opened the machine and began to dump money into a large duffel bag the Blaziken had put on the counter. Surrounding the Blaziken and Krystal were the other four figures that now had their hoods off.
An Absol, Arcanine, Kingdra, and Manectric were all standing near the counter, holding various weapons. Cold sweat began to break out on my forehead. They were all here. Kristie's crew. The infamous Star Crooks.
Kristie and her Star Crooks were wanted all across the Kanto region for various bank robberies and other forms of theft. It was only until recently did I get the report that said Kristie was arriving in Saffron City. My boss, Captain Ketchum, briefed me of the situation. His sources had acquired intelligence that Kristie was going to be attempting a robbery at this exact coffee shop at this exact time, and that it was my job to stop her. When I questioned the Cap why I couldn't have any back up, he said they were all on some hostage mission. Something about a Team Rocket. I didn't hear the whole thing.
Anyway, it was by the time when the last civilian ran out the door did I make my move. Trying not to shake too much, I drew my pistol from the pocket of my trench coat and pointed it directly at Kristie.
"Freeze! This is the AAP! Put your weapons down and put your hands where I can see them, or I WILL use deadly force!"
The words sounded stronger and more confident than I actually felt. The Blaziken grinned. His grin stretched across his entire face, enveloping it in a malicious, evil smile. His eyes were red as fire, and sparked with anger and evil. He looked like the type of Pokemon that enjoyed killing humans and other, smaller, weaker Pokemon. He licked his lips and pointed his AK straight at my heart.
"Well, lookee here, boys. We got ourselves an AAP agent. My oh my, it's been a LONG time since I've killed one of these boys…" Cackling evily, he cocked the bolt on the rifle.
My instincts immediately launched my feet any my body towards a table. Rolling forward expertly, I pushed the table downwards and crouched behind it for cover. Immediately, thunder rolled. A hail of gunfire exploded from the six rifles that were aimed at me. The bullets collided with the table, and amazingly, it did not break. I thrust my pistol out from behind cover and fired two shots. There was a scramble of feet as the Pokemon rushed to put them-selves in front of Kristie.
"GO! Forget the money! Protect the Boss! Get out here!"
The Blaziken had the girl from the cash register by the throat, using her as a meat shield. I scrunched up behind the table, peaking out, hoping for a chance to fire my weapon. The Manectric, believing they had me cornered, began running forward towards me while the rifle in his hands showered the area around me with lead. Suddenly, he his gun ran out of ammunition and he stopped to reload. I saw my chance and leapt out from cover. The Blaziken shouted, trying to warn his comrade, but it was too late.
Aiming my gun at the Manectric, I fired three carefully aimed shots. The bullets collided with the Pokemon's face, the entire head instantly exploding into a bloody pulp. Bits of flesh and bone flew everywhere, showering me with gore. The Manectric's headless body fell to the floor.
There was a pause as the Pokemon and Kristie stopped firing, then another loud roll of thunder as their guns immediately started to fire again. I fired my weapon as I ran back to the table for cover. A stray bullet collided with the Absol's arm, and he shrieked in pain and dropped his rifle. His comrades quickly ran out of ammunition, and I saw my chance to fully show my combat skills. I sprinted to the remaining 5 criminals, and socked Kristie in the face. She fell to the floor, unmoving.
The Blaziken roared in anger and expertly snapped the girl's neck with his large, muscular arms. He thrust the limp corpse at me, and I collided with the body. The weight thrust me backwards a few steps, and I quickly pushed away the corpse. With a snarl, the Blaziken swiped at me with one if his fists. His sharp claws raked the skin on my arm.
I yelped in pain and countered, smacking him across his beak. He clutched his face and staggered backwards, as the Arcanine grabbed me from behind. Grabbing me from under my armpits, he had me in a choke hold, strangling the life from me. The Kingdra came up in front of me, and kicked my stomach.
I felt the breath pop from my lungs, and I doubled over in pain. The Absol also came over, and pulled out a switchblade. With a Click! the blade ejected from the handle. With a grin, he swung it at my head. I ducked, and pushed my ass into the Arcanine, who still had me from behind. Using all of my energy, I began pushing backwards, using my legs to propel me backwards very fast.
I slammed the Arcanine into the wall behind us, breaking his spine and killing him almost instantly. Seeing another one of their friends dead enraged the Absol and Kingdra. They charged at me, the Absol swinging his knife. I dodged his swipes, and grabbed his wrist as he tried to stab my eyes. Using my right hand, I dealt a severe blow to his wrist, shattering the bone. I grabbed the knife as it fell from his grasp, and swiped at his throat.
The Absol staggered backwards, clutching his throat, blood gushing out from the wound I had inflicted. He fell lifeless to the ground. The Kingdra had grabbed a fallen chair, and he threw it at me with great force. I rolled to the side and dodged the attack. Using my feet, I kicked at his feet, sending him sprawling to the ground. I leapt on his incapacitated form, put my arms around his neck, and snapped it like a twig. The creature went limp in my arms.
Tossing the corpse aside, I picked up my pistol, which had fallen to the ground. I looked up to see both the Blaziken and Kristie gone. They must've escaped during my fight with the three Pokemon. I looked at my blood stained watch. It read 8:00. I sighed and looked outside. It had stopped snowing.