A/N: Greetings all, it's ya boy. About time for another chapter, yo?
To respond to Lonely Gabite, since I can't PM you- I have my reasons for neutering the Triad at this point. If they remained, I fear that my story would just become one where every chapter goes 'Looker NEARLY captured the Sage, BUT the Triad saved the Sage in the nick of time!', which is just a little boring and repetitive to write if you ask me. Since they don't appear to rescue the Sages in the games, I've prevented them from doing so here. For now, anyway…
This chapter is the longest yet, and will feature, quite simply, a madcap pursuit as Team Plasma try to break Ryoku out of police custody. It wouldn't be a cop fic without a chase like this, let's be honest. And I couldn't resist…
Enjoy!
(***)
Hilda's Braviary soared on high, whirling and wheeling on gusting winds that buffeted his feathers like nothing else. The dark clouds were gathering over Unova, and already large droplets of rain were hammering down on the region, falling with a force like the wrath of the Legendaries descending to Earth, swirling in the wind, splashing down on everything. But Braviary soldiered on, through the torrents and the lashing rain. Because he had a mission to complete...
On the back of the battling Braviary, a bedraggled, sodden yet determined Looker clung on for dear life. The wind was whipping his fringe into the air while the rain was drenching it, so he kept getting slapped in the forehead by a flying, soaked combover, but he surged on regardless. He'd never seen any weather like this before, never seen rain so torrential and sudden. This wasn't rain, it was a vertical flood, a waterfall, and he was trapped in it.
As he sped through the air, large droplets of wafer splashed into his eyes, and wind hammered against his face, but even in the poor visibility he could see the glowing red flames, the bright fire of the burning tail turbine of Reshiram. Hilda's Dragon of Truth was leading the way through the storm, white mane whipping and whirling but seemingly unfazed by the horrible conditions. As they surged forwards towards Castelia City, in a frantic race to stop Team Plasma breaking Sage Ryoku out of prison, Looker found himself praying that the storm and the rain would abate, that he would see blue sky once more. A lightning bolt fizzled past from on high, and among the black clouds high above, as he strained to see, Looker swore he could see a large black creature amidst the whirling chaos...
Then the vision disappeared. As did the storm.
"What the..." Looker breathed, shocked, shaking himself like a Lillipup to get rid of some of the water as he turned around to get a better view...
The storm was there alright, a seething, impenetrable black mass, a bank of violent black clouds from which water fell with the force of atomic bombs. It enveloped Striaton City and Nacrene City, along with the rest of the south-eastern peninsula of Unova, but where the trees of the Pinwheel Forest ended, so did the clouds. The rest of Unova was cloudless, sunny-skied; the Skyarrow Bridge acted like a barrier between a world of storm and a world of clear sky. It was eerie.
Croagunk poked his head out of Looker's jacket, having been hiding from the conditions, and looked around at the sunny skies; while most Croagunk had Dry Skin, Croagunk's ability was Anticipation, although in these conditions he wished it was the other way around. "Croa.." he said, glancing back at the cloud bank, before he started whistling, sat on Looker's shoulder.
Looker shook his head at his Pokemon, before he felt a vibration in the pocket of his sodden trousers as the ringtone of his Pokegear sounded through the now-still air, and he scrambled to get his phone out. "It's Looker..."
"Looker," came the voice of Reece Davis, "where are you? We need your help, remember?!"
"I got caught in a storm on the way here," Looker replied, wringing his sleeves out. "Reece, calm down and brief me. What's the situation, where are you, and what are the Grunts doing?"
"They flew in on a helicopter that they've parked on the helipad on top of the HQ, and descended down the building. One of them has remained in the chopper, two of them have us pinned down in our office," at this point Looker heard the unmistakeable pop of a gun firing in the background to Reece, "and two more have headed to the cells. I've had a call from Anna, who is still in the Pokemon Centre, and nobody has tried to rescue the Triad. She's remaining to guard them."
Looker frowned. "Strange. You'd think Plasma would want to rescue their secret weapon so they could use them to rescue more Sages. Why would they leave them behind?"
"That doesn't matter right now, if you ask me. What matters is that two Grunts are trying to liberate Ryoku and Ghetsis, and we can't allow that to happen."
"No we can't. Where's the Commissioner?"
Reece paused. "He's in Ghetsis' cell, interviewing him about Ryoku. No one else is in there with him. Apparently it was a special Commissioner interview; one of those ones we aren't allowed in."
Looker nodded. "Well, I guess if Aurelius thinks he can do something, then fair enough. Right, stopping the rescue of Ghetsis and the kidnap of the Commissioner is our priority, and I have a vague plan to do it. I'll be there in a minute."
Looker snapped the Pokegear shut, looking below himself at the bustling harbour of Castelia City as Braviary soared closer to the skyscrapers and as Hilda and Reshiram slowed down to draw level with him. "What's the plan boss?" the teen yelled, Reshiram howling to the wind.
Looker smiled as he looked at the streets; the sudden appearance of the Legendary in the skies had people in the streets gazing skywards in awe. "Follow me, and do as I say! Braviary, to the roof!"
The eagle screeched loudly, defiantly yelling out to the sky, before swooping from the highest part of an updraft, flying like a bullet towards the roof of the HQ, Reshiram in tow. Ten storeys below a crowd had gathered to watch the Valiant Pokemon and the Dragon of Truth soar through the skies, Reshiram's tail blazing bright as they sped along.
Braviary's swoop had taken him at just the right level to reach the helipad, and Looker could see a Team Plasma helicopter sat idling on the 'H' of the helipad. He could almost see the whites of the eyes of the Grunt behind the controls…
"Now Hilda!" Looker yelled, as Braviary reached the platform. "Fusion Flare!" He and Croagunk leapt...
Normally Looker wouldn't have dreamed of leaping off the back of a speeding Braviary ten floors above the ground. It definitely wasn't Police protocol. But he had timed it perfectly, at just the right height to land safely; avoiding the bullets from the suddenly spitting gun of the guard, he and Croagunk hit the deck rolling to absorb the impact, while Braviary wheeled upwards away from the bullets with ease. Then came Reshiram...
Red, yellow and white flames formed in a sphere of fire in the mouth of the Legendary, as red and yellow arcs of flame from the tail turbine joined it, before the ball was thrown at the helicopter. The poor Grunt inside had little time to react, but managed to leap out before he was caught in the violent explosion of flame, an explosion that wrecked the helicopter in an instant.
Reshiram landed with a thump, and Hilda recalled her two Pokemon, before looking at the remains of the helicopter and the Grunt on the floor, who had knocked himself out on a railing jumping from the helicopter. "Arceus... I did that?"
Looker shrugged; he'd spent enough time being shot at to not have patience with criminals who tried to kill him. "You did a good job, setting them back like that. And he's still alive, so I think we're okay." After crouching to handcuff the Grunt, he turned. Croagunk back on his shoulder, and headed towards the staircase down from the helipad. While rolling up his sleeves, a grim and determined expression appeared on his face; he meant business against Plasma. "Come on."
Looker strode in through the staircase door, which had already been beaten open by the marauding Plasma invaders, and headed down the stairs at a brisk walk, Hilda in tow, fiddling anxiously with her Pokeballs. Down three flights of stairs they went, down past Aurelius' empty office, to the level where the team had their office, and there Looker stopped. He'd heard the faint crack of the Plasma guns from the top floors, and on this floor it had become a loud roar. He peered around the corner...
Two Plasma Grunts had their backs to him, staring out into the office room, guns levelled. From his position Looker could see the shadows of his team, the sunlight from outside shining brightly and throwing their long shadows across the floor, pointing out where they were hiding behind an overturned table. The thick arm of Bastian suddenly popped up around the table, a Police Glock pistol in hand, squeezing off two shots that fell well wide of the Grunts, before retreating back into cover as a hail of gunfire surged their way from the crackling muzzles of the weapons the Grunts held.
Looker turned to Hilda, formulating a plan. "Wait here," he whispered in a very hushed tone, putting a finger to his lips, before he stepped across the doorway, behind the Grunts' backs. Carefully, he removed a fire extinguisher from its mounting on the wall, wincing as it squeaked a little bit, but the Grunts didn't hear. Hefting the heavy metal cylinder, Looker glanced up at Croagunk, who merely nodded, and then...
The Grunts had not kept their guard up, leaving themselves open to an attack from behind, and Looker seized the opportunity. Croagunk jumped off his shoulder, Poison Jab prepared, and socked the right-hand Grunt in the back of the head, the Poison seeping into the bleeding wound, making the guard sink to the floor in pain before Croagunk delivered a Rock Smash to his head to knock him out. The other Grunt didn't fare so well; he was hit with the full force of a heavy fire extinguisher swung by Looker, and was out like a light before he hit the floor.
Looker winced in pain, dropping the fire extinguisher to one side; it felt like he'd pulled a muscle swinging the heavy cylinder, but it started to wear off quickly. "Well, that worked. Come on you lot, get up. Team Plasma isn't going to arrest itself, is it?"
Reece's head popped up from behind the table, cautious at first, wary of any further gunfire, but after he assessed the scene he grinned. "Thanks Looker! That helped us out a bit!"
"Where the Hell were you?" Cheren asked, standing up and dusting himself off as the others got up too, Bastian moving to cuff the Grunts.
Hilda stepped around the corner sheepishly. "We were having lunch and a Gym Battle, we just kind of got distracted. My idea, sorry guys."
"Don't worry!" Bianca said, far too brightly for someone who'd just been shot at. "You didn't know this would happen!"
"No we didn't," said Looker grimly, drawing the Colt pistol Reece had given him at the Relic Castle. "And I don't want it to happen. Let's go."
With Looker, Tash and Bastian leading the way, guns drawn, the reassembled team headed down the stairs towards the cell block, to where the Grunts would be if they were rescuing Ryoku. They passed the desk, where Sergeant Forsyth was absent, and headed towards where Ryoku was under lock and key, but Looker and Tash stopped outside the interview room.
"Looker?" Reece hissed. "Ryoku's this way!"
Looker remained still, catching Bastian's eye, and he nodded, coming back to stand with Looker and Tash. Normally an interview room was silenced to the outside, and had one way glass to allow outsiders to see in. This one had no glass, but Looker thought, if Aurelius wasn't in his office, and if he was questioning Ghetsis...
Tash slammed herself against the shut door, forcing it open with her entire body weight and yelling "Police!" at the top of her lungs. Looker jumped in quickly to be greeted by the sight of Ghetsis at the questioning table, with Aurelius opposite. A lone Grunt was stood in the corner holding a gun rather laxly, Forsyth stood in front of him, and his head whipped up as the door was busted in. Before the Grunt could raise his gun to fire, though, Looker squeezed off a shot with the Colt that hit the Grunt in the arm. The Grunt went down screaming, and tried to grasp for a Pokeball on his belt, but Bastian had barged his way in, and a fist like a wrecking ball slammed into the Grunt's face, breaking his nose.
In the struggle, Aurelius had quickly pulled a pistol, a custom-made Beretta, from his belt, and now had levelled at Ghetsis. "Don't move!" he snapped aggressively to the Plasma leader.
Ghetsis sighed, crossed his arms and sat back, feeling cheated of an escape. "So near, and yet so far. I was just about to leave."
"Nice try Ghetsis," Hilda commented drily. "Try harder next time."
"You…" He stiffened at the sight of the girl."You're her… What the hell are you doing here? Where is my boy?"
Aurelius nodded to Looker, ignoring Ghetsis, although Looker wasn't; he'd noticed Ghetsis' mood swing the second Hilda arrived. "Good job you got here in time. That Grunt was about to move us out."
Looker continued to ignore him. "Reece, Cheren, Bianca, help Forsyth put Ghetsis back in the cells, then escort the Commissioner back to his office. The rest of you, with me. We still have to stop Ryoku getting out."
The officers snapped to it, but even quicker than them were the two figures who sprinted past the interview room, heading towards the exit...
"It's Ryoku!" snarled Bastian, as he spotted a flash of the green tie. "He's escaping!"
"My time to shine," Tash said, drawing her own Glock, and Looker remembered Aurelius telling him she was Unova's top pursuit officer- she'd be very useful in getting Ryoku back under arrest. "Looker, Hilda, follow me. And do try to keep up."
Hilda grinned, and hastily followed her out of the room, starting to run when they got back into the corridor, and starting to sprint when they realised Ryoku had left the building and was in the city.
Looker, a little way behind, skidded to a halt in the plaza. "Where are they?" He grabbed a nearby citizen angrily, who eeped. "Which way?"
The frightened city resident pointed south, and Looker pounded off in that direction, eventually catching up, but Tash quickly re-took the lead; the pursuit officer had much greater physical strength and fitness than Looker. Reaching a crossroads, she didn't pause for a moment, as she caught a glimpse of the green tie billowing as Ryoku ran south, and followed down Mode Street, jostling the commuters and jumping over parked motorbikes without a second thought. "Why are they running this way? Why not back to the helicopter?"
"Hilda destroyed it!" Looker yelled. "They can't escape that way!" Then realisation dawned. "They're headed for the harbour!"
By now they'd reached the end of the road, and emerged onto the Oceanfront Road, the waterfront road that housed the many piers and wharfs. There were quite a few people milling around the pier, a mariachi band was playing, and the sudden arrival of the officers attracted a crowd away from the band, which wound the guitarist up.
"Where's he gone?!" Hilda said, groaning due to lack of fitness. "God, as Unova's top Trainer I need to be fitter than this..."
"He's there!" Tash said, ignoring the panting of the teenage girl beside her. "Prime Pier!"
Prime Pier was one of the five piers that jutted out from the wharf. Looker had been shown it by the officers when they'd taken him for a city tour (on the day they tried to arrest Zinzolin), and it was home to the Police's two chase boats, rigid-hulled inflatable boats (or RIBs), along with a black motorboat which nobody seemed to know anything about. Now Looker knew though; Ryoku and the Grunt jumped aboard the boat, losing his brown hat to a sudden gust, before the boat started to head out of the harbour.
"Oh no you don't," said Tash, running over to one of the RIBs. Powering up the engine as Looker and Croagunk jumped aboard, she handed her walkie-talkie to Looker, and tossed another one to Hilda. "Hilda, turn this to channel 6, and get up in the air, on Braviary or Reshiram. Monitor our situation, and get the others in pursuit now!" Before the stunned teen could reply and ask how to turn it on, Tash gunned the RIB's engine and set off out onto the water, bouncing from wave crest to wave crest as she and the stunned Looker chased after Ryoku.
Looker, crouched at the bow of the RIB while he looked out at Ryoku's fleeing boat, heard screams from the wharf, and turned to see a gathering shocked at the sudden appearance of Unova's best Trainer and her Legendary Reshiram. The Dragon of Truth roared, before jetting skyward on a pillar of flame, its master clinging on for dear life. Looker's gaze then turned to Tash, who had lost her hat and whose blond hair was now billowing behind her; while there was determination in her eyes, she was smiling, the thrill of the chase getting to her. She was in her element, in pursuit.
Looker's walkie-talkie squawked, and Hilda's voice came crackling over the airwaves. "Looker its Hilda! Keep us informed, what's the situation? Uh, over? Am I meant to say that?"
"We are 200 yards behind the suspects, and closing!" Looker yelled over the engine. "Heading north-west out of Castelia, potentially towards Nimbasa or Driftveil!" He rolled his eyes, trying not to laugh despite the sitatuon. "Over."
There was a brief pause. "Okay, Reece and Cheren are in a chase car leaving Castelia and heading north along the coast in support. Aurelius is also trying to get the Unovan Army to send in a helicopter, but for now your only aerial support is me. Over."
"Well keep at it Hilda," Looker said. "We need you."
"Umm, Looker?"
"Yes?"
"Huge cruise ship up ahead! Overrrr!"
"What?" Looker looked up. "Oh shit. Tash!"
Hilda was right. The water channel up ahead was being taken up by a monstrous vessel, a gold and grey behemoth of iron that towered above most other ships. The cruise ship was grand and luxurious, and from a distance Looker could pick out the name on the bow- the 'Royal Unova'. But, more importantly, it was heading diagonally across the channel... on a collision course with the RIB and Ryoku's boat.
"Why is that out there?" Tash shouted. "I thought the Royal Unova was supposed to be in port during the day?! It's only supposed to leave on evening cruises!"
Hilda's voice came over the walkie-talkie. "Bastian just radioed the Harbourmaster. Apparently, according to him it's out on a test run testing a new propulsion system. Over?"
"Well get it to clear out of the way! And for Arceus' sake stop saying over, Hilda!"
"Too late.." Looker groaned, as the cruise ship loomed ominously up ahead. The bow wave alone from the thing was huge, and, sensing the danger, Ryoku's boat put on an extra spurt of speed to get clear easily, the horn of the Royal Unova blaring angrily at the Plasma boat's recklessness.
"I'm not stopping!" Tash shouted. "I'm not losing Ryoku!"
"Are you nuts?!" Looker yelled back, afraid of the impending crash. "You're going to wreck us!"
Tash shook her head, opening the throttles to the max. "Hold on!"
Croagunk put his hands on his head in a brace position, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes, preparing for the worst...
There weren't even millimetres to spare. The rigid hull of the RIB scraped loudly against the sharp bow, and the boat rocked violently, tossed by the collision and by the bow wave, but it held firm. Looker and Croagunk hung on for dear life, fearing they would be crushing by the leviathan, but Tash battled resolutely at the helm, and through the surges of water and blast of horn noise, the RIB powered on, away from the blaring horns of the Royal Unova.
Looker mopped sweat from his brow, and Croagunk followed suit, a mirror image of his master. "Thank God..."
"You alright Looker?" Tash asked, concerned.
"We made it," he replied. "You did it. Well done Tash!" And with that, he leaned overboard and threw up all his lunch from the Striaton Gym.
"If it makes you feel any better," Hilda said on the radio, over the sounds of retching, "I'm feeling seasick watching that. How did you do it?"
Looker lifted his head up and back onto the boat, searching for a witty reply, but he was cut short by the pock-pock of bullets hitting the RIB's hull, and he threw himself to the deck. "What the Hell?!"
Tash crouched down. "Helicopter, in the sky, bearing ninety! There's a gunner!"
More bullets whistled past, and through the hail of gunfire Looker could see a military chopper, a gunship, with Reshiram circling anxiously higher up in the air to keep out of range. The chopper's chain gun was blazing, the water behind the RIB erupting like a thousand miniature geysers, and a flag hung from one of the landing skids, a black and white shield with a blue 'P'. "I thought you said the military were coming!"
"Umm, Looker?" Hilda said, timidly. "That's supposed to be the military. They're not answering radio calls though, according to Bastian and the Nimbasa base crew say their pilots are not on that thing."
"Plasma," Looker groaned. "Use of deadly force acceptable, Tash?"
"I think Aurelius would let us off just this once, Looker!"
"I bloody hope so. Hilda, light the bastards up!"
"Yes sir! Reshiram, Blue Flare!"
The Unova sky, clear and light, suddenly blazed a brighter shade of blue, as a broad beam of blue and white fire shot from the mouth of the flying Reshiram into the gunship, which erupted in a blue explosion in mid air. The crew had no chance of survival, and the wreckage splashed down into the water and sank into the murky depths just a few metres from the RIB.
"Good shot," said Tash admiringly, as the water steamed from the heat of the fireball Reshiram had just spat. "We're catching them now!" She was interrupted by more gunfire though, this time from the back of the fleeing boat itself, as the Grunt with Ryoku swapped places with him. With Ryoku steering, the Grunt at the back of the black speedboat picked up a gun and tried to take Looker out. "These guys never quit, do they?"
Looker opened his mouth to say something, but Croagunk acted quicker; Looker's partner swiped Tash's Glock from her belt, before running back to the bow and opening fire on the Plasma boat with unnervingly good aim. One shot from 100 yards away actually hit the Grunt in the shoulder, and Looker looked stunned as she went down in pain.
"Good shooting Croagunk!"
"Gunk croa!" Croagunk smiled, pulling a pose.
The walkie-talkie sounded out once again. "Looker this is Hilda! Good news! The Navy have responded, and we have a Coast Guard ship coming downstream towards you fast!"
"So much military for one region, good lord," Looker muttered under his breath. "I thought Kanto was bad with Lieutenant Surge."
"Looker, this bunch are loyal! Switch to channel 8 to hear from them..."
Looker flicked over, to hear "Police patrol boat, this is Captain Beaumont, commander of the UNS Thunder Child. Please respond, over?"
"Thunder Child this is Detective Looker. Where the hell are you?"
"1.5 miles upstream and closing on your position fast. We're not exactly a small ship, I'm surprised you can't see us. What assistance do you require, over?"
Looker peeked up over the bow after the snarky reply, wary of further shots, to see the UNS Thunder Child steaming towards them, her forward gun turret standing proud. She looked almost like a miniature destroyer, such was the design of the turrets- they were powerful. "Oh okay, that'll do just nicely. Captain, fire warning shots over the Plasma ship! I repeat, fire warning shots! Let them know what they're up against, but do not sink the ship. There's a man on board and we need him alive!"
"Understood Detective." The forward turret suddenly twitched, black smoke and flame belching from the twin barrels as two shells whistled overhead, splashing down 20 metres ahead of the speeding Plasma boat, catching it with a plume of water.
The Plasma boat swerved, and Looker saw it change course across the water, speeding for the far bank. Squinting, he could see a jeep on the bank, the familiar Plasma insignia on the bonnet. "Dammit! They're taking the chase onto land! Tash, where the hell is Reece?"
"Coming up on the far bank. You should see him arriving downstream from the Plasma jeep. Do you want Reshiram to take the jeep out?"
"Looker, this is Captain Beaumont. We too can fire on the vehicle, if you require, over?"
"Too late," Looker groaned, as Ryoku's boat grounded itself alongside the Jeep. "We can't risk hitting Ryoku. Thank you for your assistance Thunder Child, but from here on its just us and them. Over." He switched back to Police frequency. "Same for you, Hilda. Don't fire, we can't risk it."
Tash had brought the RIB on a course to meet the far bank, and as it drew closer a Police pursuit car swerved onto the muddy banks, skidding to a halt near them as Ryoku and his injured Grunt companion leapt into the jeep.
Reece jumped out as Looker and co landed, leaving the boat aground as they dashed for the car, the jeep roaring off. "Tash, you drive! Give me the radio, I'll direct!"
Tash slid into the driver's seat, Looker sat beside her in the passenger seat and Reece and Croagunk in the back. The car's engine roared as it charged forward in pursuit, the sirens wailing and lights flashing despite there being no traffic on the bank. They soon rejoined the Route though, west into Driftveil City, where traffic was slow, and progress was hard, as the 4x4 jeep simply went around the jam, stretching its lead.
Reece looked up from the radio after some busy talking. "Bastian's used my Porygon-Z and got into the surveillance grid for Driftveil. Anywhere they go, we know. I've also got a new chopper hovering the city, and that Navy ship is guarding the harbour; nothing is leaving by sea. Not by road either- Driftveil's Chief of Police has closed all roads out of the city. They'll be trapped in Driftveil."
Croagunk started jumping up and down excitedly, and then Looker saw it too. "That's not our problem. Look!"
The others saw it now. Route 5 linked Nimbasa City and Driftveil, via the Driftveil Drawbridge, a bridge that lifted up and down. The Plasma jeep had managed to cross it well before the Police, and was on the other side. But when the Chief had said all roads would be closed, that clearly (to Looker's horror) included the Drawbridge; a loud whirring could be heard, and slowly, the Drawbridge began to rise...
"Ha, nice try mister!" Tash said, flooring the car's accelerator through the traffic, finding every gap as she sped up approaching the bridge. "That isn't gonna stop me!"
Croagunk and Reece blanched. "Oh shit," said Reece, as Croagunk once again adopted his brace position.
"Here we go!" Looker yelled, realising there was no way he'd stop Tash and hanging on for dear life as the car reached the bridge. The incline was getting higher all the while, but the car was at top speed, and roared up the ramp, launching itself over the gap...
The Police car sailed over the gap quite serenely, but came down with a heavy thump that tested the spines of the occupants to the limits. The tyres however didn't survive; they burst on impact, and the car skidded to a halt on sparking rims. They made it over, but now they had to walk into Driftveil and chase after Ryoku on foot.
Looker stepped out of the car giddily and looked down at the smoking remains of the tyres. "Well," he said weakly, "that was fun."
Croagunk was throwing up in the back seat, and when Looker finally got him out Reece trotted back over to the team from the gatehouse. "The mechanism appears seized up, Looker. We aren't going to be able to use the Drawbridge."
"Neither are they," Looker said, striding forward, marching away from the broken car towards Driftveil at a brisk pace. He grabbed Reece's walkie-talkie. "Hilda, you still there?"
"Uh, yes! All exits out of Driftveil are sealed, and the Driftveil Chief is sending people to guard the Drawbridge now. We've got air and sea exits covered, the security cameras are under close scrutiny, and patrols/searches will start when you and the Chief say so. They can hide, but they can't run."
Looker nodded. "Get everyone back at base to come here by air. Take Cheren's Unfezant and any other Flying type or Flying machine you can find. We need you down here on the ground though."
"Got it. See you in Driftveil."
As the radio clicked silent, Looker's phone started ringing, an unknown number calling. Croagunk looked at it suspiciously, as did Looker, who answered with a tentative "Hello?"
"Ah, mon ami Looker! It 'as been too long, oui?"
Looker froze at the sound of that distinctive, almost stereotypical accent- how the hell did he get this number? "Zinzolin?!"
Sage Zinzolin laughed, as Looker's team gathered around in shock. "Ah-ha, you sound so 'appy to speak to me. Tell me, 'ow is your search for ze Sage Ryoku?"
"You... You orchestrated the move to get him out, didn't you?"
Zinzolin clapped. "I'm impressed by your powers of deduction, Detective! Yes, zat was me! Monsieur Ryoku is safe wiz me now, hidden from you until we can leave ze city. I would give up, mon ami. You will not find us."
"I will find you, you know," Looker said, determination etched on his face. "Or I will at least bring you to justice. You disgust me." He hung up angrily.
"Are you alright boss?" Tash said, Croagunk also looking concerned.
"No!" Looker snapped, picking up his pace. He glared out at the sprawling city of Driftveil, where somewhere two Sages, wanted criminals, were laughing at him, hiding, plotting their freedom. It had made him angry all of a sudden. "I'm not being mocked like this! We're better than them! Ready or not, here I come, Team Plasma!"
(***)
A/N: Well, that was exhilarating. Probably one of my favourite chapters to write, if I'm being honest.
Next chapter- one city. Two Sages. One angry Looker. The search continues...
Thanks for reading, as always; if anyone is kind enough to favourite/follow this or me in general, it would make my day. Likewise, if anyone wants to review with glowing praise or feedback suggestions, I'll be grateful for anything, so long as it isn't flames.
For now, ya boy, out!
