The trip back to land, guided only by Kay's GPS, was unusually quiet. The Rockets who'd gotten away had lost their enthusiasm, perhaps because of the failure of the mission and the fact that several members were still on The Albatross was sinking in. A few people in the boat Jessie and Mondo were sitting in made half-hearted insults towards the police, or re-told the escape, but it was only greeted with forced laughter and grunts. Jessie was used to constant failure, but, judging by the shocked expressions on some of her colleagues faces, this was the first time something had gone badly wrong for a lot of the Rockets, especially newer members.
"Land," someone murmured softly; Jessie turned her head to the island coming slowly into view. They'd slowed down the speed of the boats once they'd lost the police, and if it hadn't been for the fact that the other two thirds of her team were still on a cruise ship swarming with cops, Jessie would have found the journey relaxing.
When they eventually reached the edge of the island, the Rockets ditched the speedboats in shallow water and waded through the sea, climbing up the rocky wall that led up to a road. Luckily, there were no passer-bys to see the group of disguised Rockets emerge from the side of the path, exhausted both mentally and physically from the chase and dripping from the ocean.
Once Kay was sure everyone was there, she cleared her throat to get the group's attention; the chatter died down abruptly.
"Right. I know a lot has happened in the last couple of hours, but I need everyone to keep calm and do what I say," she stated flatly, though her voice was shaking a little. Although she didn't state it, it was clear Kay was worried about her partner, Leon. "We need to get back to HQ as soon as possible. These waiter uniforms are bound to catch attention, especially since they're half-soaked. I'm going to call Giovanni, but until transport arrives just stay here."
Jessie and Mondo wandered over to the edge of the pavement, and sat so they were overlooking the waves as they crashed against the rocks, their legs hanging over the side.
"Do you think Giovanni will be mad, Miss Jessie?" Mondo asked quietly, biting his lip. Jessie sighed. She knew that the whole ordeal must have been ten times more stressful for the younger Rocket, who'd never been on a mission before, and was ashamed that she couldn't be more reassuring.
"I don't know. It's hardly our fault that the cops boarded, but I don't know if he'll see it that way. Don't worry about it. We've screwed up more times than I can count and he still hasn't fired us," Jessie replied, lacking her usual confident tone but sounding uncharacteristically defeated. She was terrified about losing James and Meowth, and found it hard to concentrate on anything else. Mondo nodded slightly, and they sat in silence next to each other, watching the clouds drift across the sky and keeping their worries to themselves.
The truck arrived about twenty minutes later, driven by a confused looking grunt who looked even more perplexed at the sight of the waiter costumes. He clearly hadn't been given much information on the nature of the mission. Kay nodded at him to confirm he'd reached the right people, and beckoned the rest of the agents over. It was tight in the vehicle with the vast number of agents; it had two compartments attatched to the back, but even so some Rockets had to sit on the footholds outside of the truck, precariously holding on to handles for support. The driver had to slow down at sharp corners to prevent anyone from falling off.
Upon reaching headquarters, several grunts rushed out to meet them, blurting out questions and breaking into irregular jogging every few seconds to keep up with Kay's brisk pace. The group was told to change, and report to Giovanni immediately after to report all the information they had on the collapse of the mission. Jessie made her way back to her dormitory, temporarily splitting up from Mondo, and felt a pang of sadness as she walked in, unable to tear her eyes away from the little dent Meowth had made in the duvet only a day ago, and a few of James' bottle caps that were scattered across the desk.
"Stop it," she told herself angrily, pushing back tears. "They're both fine. You'll see them soon enough." Jessie didn't really care how true the thought was, just repeated it to reassure herself, because the alternative way of thinking- the pessimistic way- was unbearable. She'd been a team with Meowth and James for the entirity of her career, and had known James prior to her days as a villain in the bike gang. There were no other people she really cared about, or could call friends, and if she lost them, she wasn't sure if she could cope.
"Those morons," she mumbled under her breath, a trace of a smile briefly playing on her lips, and with a sigh, she walked over to her wardrobe, laying out her uniform on the bed and gently smoothing out the creases. Realising that time was already quickly progressing, Jessie got changed quickly, throwing the waitress outfit in the corner of the room and feeling a little more comfortable in her usual clothes. She splashed some water on her face, gave her damp hair a quick brush to make herself presentable, and, with a deep breath, walked back out of the dormitory, the door swinging gently shut behind her as she started the journey to Giovanni's office.
Looker, Ethan and Robin, armed with printed out surveillance photos of the man on the phone, were walking hurriedly through the lounge, craning their heads over the swarm of chattering passengers to try and locate the suspect. He was pictured wearing a long overcoat, and a hat that hid most of his face, so Looker guessed that he'd be relatively easy to spot in the crowd of upper-class people. Robin nearly mistook an elderly lady for the figure, perhaps because of the hat she wore, and Ethan managed to pull her back just before she tackled the woman to the ground.
"There!" Looker exclaimed, pointing to a man identical to the one in the surveillance photo out on the balcony, leaning casually on the railing. The trio sprinted towards him; as soon as the man heard their quick footsteps, he glanced in their direction, and, at the sight of Robin and Ethan's police uniforms, bolted to the left.
"Hey! Ethan yelled, brushing past two passengers who tutted and fumbling for his whistle. "Stop!"
The man ignored him, keeping his distance of a few metres in front of them and pinning his hat to his head with one hand to stop it from falling off. Looker- who had had more experience running after suspects than either Robin or Ethan- tore ahead of them after the man, much quicker and agile despite his older age. He turned a corner quickly as the man did, ignoring the disapproving glares he got from the people he pushed past, and grinned in triumph as the man realised he was heading into a dead end.
"Got you,", he thought, slowing down with a few heavy steps; the man slammed into the railing as he failed to slow himself down in time, and sank to the ground with a groan.
"Police!" Ethan yelled as he caught up with them, Robin close behind. The man seemed oblivious to the young officer, clutching his stomach in the spot where he'd hit the rail and swearing repeatedly with increasing profanity in an attempt to ease his pain.
"Detective Looker, International Police," Looker greeted politely, offering a hand to the man. He took it grudgingly purely because he doubted his ability to stand up without help, wincing as Looker pulled him to his feet. "We'd like to ask you a few questions about your location and activity following the recent death of Randall Robinson, if that's alright," Looker continued. The man scowled.
"I'm not willing to talk," he stated firmly. "It's my right as a citizen- I'm not in custody, so you have no right to ask me anything."
"Well, that's true," Looker admitted, "but if you're not willing to comply, we'll be forced to take you into custody for suspicious behaviour."
"What suspucious behaviour?" the man snapped back, adjusting his hat.
"Making a phone call minutes after the announcement of the victim's death, for one," Ethan started, "and second, running away at the sight of police officers."
The man glared at Ethan. "Fine. But this is a complete waste of time, I can assure you," he said, his voice suddenly tinted with humour, as if he found the attitude of the officers amusing.
He went back to the storage room with the three quietly, though he made a fuss when they asked him to remove his coat.
"Why?" he protested.
"We'll need a profile of you if any further information that we consider suspicious comes up," Looker explained patiently, "and we also need to look at your possessions- your phone especially."
The man had removed his coat and hat to reveal fair, short hair and a relatively slim frame. He wore black trousers, dress shoes and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows.
"My phone?" he yelped suddenly as he realised what Looker had said. "Bu- But that's mine! I won't let you take it!"
"You will, if you've got any brains at all," Jenny warned. "I've dealt with enough annoying suspects already today, and I haven't got much patience left."
Looker removed the black slip-up phone from the coat before the man could argue further. "Tell me, what were you doing making a call so soon after the news that a passenger had died?" Looker enquired, frowning. The man shifted uncomfortably.
"I was telling my mother that the boat might be delayed," he said quickly.
"And you couldn't wait for an hour or so?"
"She gets very anxious," the man stammered. "Sends out a search party if I don't call her everytime something happens."
"Hmm," Looker murmured, unconvinced, and held up the photo for the man to see. "You look quite happy in this one. Why would that be, just a couple of minutes after the announcement of a death?"
The man tugged at his collar. "I- I don't recall smiling," he replied pathetically. "It must be the lighting."
"The lighting," Looker repeated humouringly. "Alright. Let's take a look at your phone, then."
As Looker turned on the phone after taking a few seconds to find the right button, the man grew visibly more anxious, his face reddening. "That's a private object!" he said desperately as Looker scrolled through the call history. "You have no right!"
Jenny snorted. "We're the police investigating a murder," she said. "I think you'll find we have every right."
"Huh... Dan Stone," Looker said, reading from the name the phone gave. "That's your name?"
The man sighed in defeat. "Yes," he mumbled.
Looker smiled as he found the conversation made at around the same time the surveillance photo was taken, and was pleased to find that the recording hadn't been deleted. He hit play, and turned up the volume so it was audible in the storage room. Everyone present, including James, turned around interestedly.
"Hey," came Dan's voice from the device; Dan struggled not to groan.
"What is it? Did you do it?" another, deeper voice replied, a bit distorted on the cheap phone recording.
"Yes... Yes, it's done," Dan replied, his voice smug.
"Were you followed? Did anyone see you?" the deeper voice asked urgently.
"No," Dan's voice said, and he stopped to chuckle. "No, of course not. They don't suspect a thing."
"Keep it that way," the deeper voice said. "And for god's sake, delete this conversation straight away!"
The phone made a clicking noise as the recording ended. "Recording over," a female voice from the phone said. ("Thanks, captain obvious," Jenny murmured.) "Press 1 to play again."
Looker supressed a laugh at Dan's failure to comply with the man's instruction to delete the recording, and cleared his throat. "That didn't sound like a conversation with your mother," he grinned. Dan looked like he was about to cry.
"I- I don't-" Dan started.
"Let's hear the next one," Jenny interrupted, and Looker pressed play on the most recent conversation, made a few minutes later.
"Look, I can't get the payment to you straight away," the deeper voice said, starting the conversation this time. "But I'll have transferred it to your account by next week."
"As long as it's all gone through by Monday," Dan's voice replied.
"I'll do it as soon as possible, but it might have to be in three smaller installments," came the deeper voice again.
"No, no, that's fine," Dan said.
"So, just by next week?"
"Yes," Dan confirmed.
"Thanks a lot, man. This can't have been easy."
"No problem. It was easier than you can imagine, really," Dan said in a quieter voice, and then the recording stopped.
"Recording over. Press 1 to-"
The female voice was cut off as Looker pressed the back button.
"Well, unless your mother has a very deep voice and a strange way of checking that you're alright," a cop smirked, "you're not telling us the truth."
Dan looked terrified, his hands visibly shaking and his face suddenly pale. He swallowed, but didn't reply.
"I'd say that's plenty of evidence to charge you with the murder of Randall Robinson," Jenny concluded.
"No!" Dan gasped, his eyes darting between the officers. "No, I swear, I didn't kill him!"
"You can't deny that that recording was most definitely about Randall's murder," Ethan argued. "You said, 'they don't suspect a thing', 'it's done' and talked about some sort of payment, straight after his death was announced. That's solid evidence that you were paid to kill Randall, and we have surveillance photos to go with it."
"I have an alibi!" Dan blurted.
"What?" Jenny asked disbelievingly. "I doubt that."
"I do!" Dan insisted. "I ordered a drink at the bar in the longue ten minutes before the death was announced, and I was sitting there until the announcement! Ask the barman, he'll tell you!"
Jenny frowned. "James was seen going after Randall only a minute before his body was found, and the announcement went out five minutes later," she recalled, "so Randall would have had to have been killed at the time Dan claims to have been at the bar. If- if, Dan's telling the truth, then there's no way he could have murdered Randall."
"Well, we'd better see what the barman has to say," Ethan said. "Shall I go and ask him?"
Looker nodded. "Yes- take a note pad, and write down his statement word for word."
"Got it," Ethan said, grabbed a note pad and pen, and walked back out of the storage room. The others waited patiently for him, and in about ten minutes, he returned, looking confused. "He was telling the truth," Ethan said, shaking his head perplexedly.
"What?" Robin yelled, jumping up to look at the notepad. "That's impossible! He has to have done it!"
"But he didn't," Ethan told her. "Listen to the barman's statement: "A man in a black overcoat wearing a hat ordered a drink about ten minutes before the announcement went out... I served him a martini, and he sat at the bar until we heard the announcement. He didn't leave the bar at any point up until the announcement." Several other people also confirmed Dan's location at the time of the murder."
Dan sighed in relief, a little colour returning to his cheeks. "See? I told you- I didn't do it."
"But... What about the phone conversation?" Robin pointed out. "That was definitely about killing him! Explain that!"
Crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair, Dan breathed out and nodded. "The conversation was about killing Randall," he confirmed, realising that there was no point in denying the fact, "but that doesn't mean I did kill him."
"What do you mean?" Jenny questioned, more confused than she had been.
"Well... This guy- the guy I was talking to on the recording- he offered me a lot of money to kill Randall Robinson. He told me Randall was going on a cruise ship, and even bought me tickets so I could be on board. He seemed pretty keen to have the guy killed. I went along with it, not sure how or if I was going to kill Randall, and then it was announced that a passenger had died.
"I went along to the lounge, and then you told everyone that it was Randall who had died. I couldn't believe it; someone had done the job for me. I hadn't even met Randall, let alone killed him, but the guy who gave me the contract didn't need to know that, so I phoned him telling him that it was done."
"So you pretended to have killed Randall so you would get the payment?" Robin asked. Dan nodded. Robin scratched her head in thought. "I suppose that makes sense, considering there are several witnesses who've backed up what he's said..."
"Damn it!" Jenny cursed, slamming a hand down on the table. "I was sure we had the murderer! Ugh! Why can't this case just be simple?"
"Hold on, Jenny," another cop chimed in, raising an arm. "We can still charge this guy- I mean, he accepted a contract to kill someone."
"I wasn't really going to!" Dan objected, his voice panicked once more.
Ethan got the Porta-Dat out, and held it out to Dan, who looked up at him with a pleading expression. "Put your thumb on the bottom screen, please," Ethan said for the second time that day, and with much more confidence than he'd had when asking Leon. Dan lifted his shaking hand up to the device, and pressed his right thumb on the glass.
"Dan Stone," the machine droned, "Age: 23-"
"Blah blah blah," Jenny said, skipping forward to the known crimes section.
"Hired assassin," the machine stated. Everyone present looked questioningly at Dan, who gulped.
"So you've made a career out of this?" Looker asked.
"No! Well, I tried, but... I've never actually killed anyone," Dan admitted, sounding a little ashamed. "I've tricked people into paying me, though."
"So you're really a conman?" Jenny summarised.
"Well, I wouldn't say that..." Dan muttered in defense.
"Conman," everyone else nodded, much to Dan's annoyment. "Still, that's illegal," Robin said.
"Right- and I have a couple more questions I need to ask," Looker added. "If you answer honestly, we might be more inclined to overlook your checkered past," he told Dan quietly, who nodded. "Okay. What was the name of the man who asked you to kill Randall?"
Dan looked like he was going over his options in his head, and sighed. "Phillip Hoskins," he said reluctantly, having come to the conclusion that honesty was his best chance at this point. "He lives on the outskirts of Sinnoh- his adress in on my phone somewhere in the contacts."
"Do you have any idea why he'd want Randall dead?"
Dan looked up in thought. "He didn't say, but Randall was the president of a huge insurance company. I think he inherited it or something. He had connections high up in society, and rules didn't really apply to Randall, as far as I know, so that must have given him a big advantage. Phillip Hoskins is head of a rival company, so that's probably why he wanted me to kill Randall."
"Okay- so the client's motive was money, though I suppose that might not be the actual motive, since we still don't know who actually killed him," Jenny said, massaging her temple. "Can we get a board with evidence and stuff set up? All this information's getting confusing."
"I'll do it," Robin offered, and rushed off to the other side of the storage room to gather photos and statements.
"Jenny, how many other Rockets were apprehended at the chase?" Looker queried, wondering if any of them would have any useful information, or even be possible suspects.
"Uh... Six," Jenny replied after checking the folder on the desk in front of her. "They're in another room at the moment- I can take you there if you want to interrogate them," she proposed.
"Thanks- I'll go in ten minutes or so," Looker said, playing with the idea of asking Meowth about Dan but dismissing it, deducing that there wasn't much point now that Dan was ruled out as the murderer. "Where's Jonathan, by the way?"
"Oh- Leon broke his nose, and pushed him off his speedboat into the sea," Ethan explained. "He went to change, and then I think he went to the nurse."
"Wow," Looker thought, unable to suppress a smirk. "Breaking an officer's nose, swearing at everyone and destroying vital evidence- this Leon guy's not doing himself any favours." He'd come across a lot of cocky people in his days as a detective, but Leon made them all seem timid in comparison. Looker suddenly felt a lot of empathy for the poor sod who was Leon's partner in Team Rocket.
The coridoors in headquarters had a strange atmosphere; everyone seemed on edge, as if expecting something to happen at any moment. The Rockets who'd gone on the mission were waiting outside Giovanni's office nervously- there weren't enough chairs for everyone, so most of them just leaned on the wall, trying to appear casual.
"He'd better not try and pin the blame on us for this," Butch growled. "It's his fault for not checking the passengers properly."
The other agents glared at him, not forgetting the fact that he and Cassidy had ditched them at the first possible opportunity. Jessie wasn't sure if anyone would bring it up to Giovanni- snitches weren't much better than traitors.
"Shut up, Barry," Kay snarled. "You're lucky none of us have beaten the crap out of you yet."
Cassidy's eyes flashed with anger, but at the sight of all the agents scowling back at her, she kept quiet, not wanting to make herself any less popular.
A small speaker above the door to the office crackled suddenly; the agents looked up simultaneously.
"You can come in," came Giovanni's voice. The Rockets shuffled nervously to the door, all of them trying not to be the one to open the door. Kay sighed, and pushed to the front of the group, opening the double doors.
Giovanni sat in his usual position behind his wide desk, Persian smiling contentedly as its trainer scratched it between the ears. The leader of Team Rocket waited for everyone to enter the room before leaning forward.
"I won't bother explaining the situation to you, because I have no doubt that you're more well informed than I am," Giovanni started, surprisingly calm considering a huge mission had just collapsed before it had even begun. "Kay, you and your partner Leon were in charge of this mission, correct?"
Kay shifted a little, but upkept a confident posture. "Yes, sir."
Giovanni nodded slowly, and then frowned as his eyes flickered between the agents, now all back in uniform. "Where is Leon?"
Taking a deep breath to keep her composure, Kay cleared her throat. "He- he jumped off our speedboat to tackle an officer who had caught up to us on a jetski, sir. He's still on the cruise ship, as far as we know. We wouldn't have gotten away if he hadn't reacted."
"Hmm. Impressive," Giovanni muttered, stroking his chin in thought. "How many other agents are still on board The Albatross?"
"Seven, sir."
"Not too bad. Explain to me exactly what happened, in as much detail as you know."
Kay, with the help of Jessie and some other Rockets, spent the next ten minutes or so explaining to Giovanni the events that were still fresh in their minds, people butting in every now and then to add pieces of information Kay had missed out. Giovanni had to bite his tongue to stop himself from laughing when they got to the bit where James became the primary murder suspect- James, the agent who used to have moral dilemmas stealing even the smallest of things. If there was one agent Giovanni knew wasn't capable of killing someone in cold blood, it was him. "So that's it? The police officers boarded, you remained in disguise, and then James found the victim?"
Kay nodded. Jessie noted that no one had mentioned the fact that Butch and Cassidy had deserted everyone else. "Those two had better be grateful. I should just tell Giovanni what they did..."
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Giovanni sighed. "I'm going to send out a team of agents to rescue the agents who were left behind. They took great risks for this organisation, and Leon is one of my top employees- there's no sense in leaving them behind."
Jessie, Mondo and Kay were among the agents who breathed out in relief; if all went better than the mission had, then they hadn't seen the last of their colleagues.
"The group will meet the cruise ship when it pulls into the closest dock. I'll get someone to track the ship's location as soon as possible so we can intercept it. We'll be prepared for the police this time, so we shouldn't run into the same issue of being overpowered again. Kay, I'm sending you on this rescue party. You know the ship's layout, and I need a leader."
"Yes, sir," Kay said, looking considerably more at ease now that she knew that they were going back for Leon.
"I- I'd like to go too, sir, if that's at all possible," Mondo squeaked to everyone's surprise. Giovanni frowned at the request.
"I'm only sending senior members on this mission," he said. "I can't risk another failure."
"Please, sir- I got into a lot of confidential rooms when I was pretending to be a cleaner. I think I could help find them."
Giovanni waved his hand. "Fine. But if you get caught, don't expect me to send anyone to save you."
"No- thank you, sir," Mondo practically whispered, shrinking back into the group.
"I'd like to go too, sir," Jessie said before she could stop herself. Giovanni raised his eyebrows.
"It's your neck on the line. You're on thin ice as it is," he warned, thinking of all the times Jessie and James had come to his office with nothing but news of yet another failure to carry out a simple task.
"I know, sir, but..." Jessie trailed off, not sure how to explain her motives to the boss.
"Alright. Fine. Just stay away from the main group- and for god's sake, don't screw up!" He shook his head a little. "Anyone else desperate to go and get themselves caught?" he asked sarcastically. Silence. "Good. Kay, Mondo, Jessie- get down to meeting room one. There's already a group waiting there. The rest of you, just... Either return to field work, or resume your jobs in HQ."
The Rockets exchanged glances, a couple of people coughing quietly. Giovanni rolled his eyes. "You can go!"
The agents scurried out of the office much faster than they had entered it, and went off in different directions either with their partners or friends. Extending a hand down to Persian who rubbed his cheek against it with a purr, Giovanni groaned, and rested his forehead on his desk.
He was never going to try a mission on a cruise ship ever again.
Author's note- Phew! This chapter took a long time, but I had a lot of fun with it, especially Dan. He was originally meant to be a slick, confident villain; look how quickly that went wrong. Characters have a way of changing their own personalities. Anyway, I hope you liked that little red herring.
I'm trying to write a MOTA chapter every month, which I'm doing okay (ish) with, but it's not always possible, so sorry for any delays with updates.
Thanks so much to everyone who's favourited, followed, commented or just READ this. It's really encouraging, and you guys are my only motivation to keep writing other than my own enjoyment for it, so thank you! :)
Next chapter, the evidence will all be pulled together, and Looker's going to make a very interesting discovery about the murder...