Tom Waylend Drops Out, Citing Health
Marie Guadarrama, Elections
April 18, 2011
Saffron City Mayor and presidential
candidate Tom Waylend announced he
would be withdrawing his name from the
race in a campaign statement released
Sunday night.
"I wish to express a deep gratitude to all
those who have supported me throughout
this election," Waylend wrote, "but for the
sake of my family and my health, I need to
step back and take time for myself."
Waylend reportedly suffered a heart attack
in his hotel room Saturday and was rushed
to the emergency room at St. Anne's
Hospital in Vermillion City.
Other presidential candidates expressed
well wishes to Waylend's decision.
"I've known Tom for many, many years,"
Goldenrod City Mayor Mitchell Sinternik
said at a press conference in Solaceon
Town, Sinnoh. "He's a great man and would
have made a great president. I wish him the
best in his recovery."
Erol Adalet offered a few brief comments to
reporters outside his hotel in Cianwood City,
Johto.
"I'm sorry that this happened to Mr.
Waylend, and I hope good health finds him
soon," he said.
Spokeswoman to the Junia Stevens
campaign Marinda Ortiz said, "We thank
Tom Waylend for the respectful manner in
which he conducted his campaign and wish
him the best."
Jeremy Bunt, Aiyalah West-Rosewood, and
Zoey Williams contributed to this report.
Follow the reporter Marie Guadarrama at
mguadarrama on Chatot.
With its stem freshly trimmed, the bouquet Zoey caught at the wedding sat in a clear vase atop the nightstand beside her bed—though, she wouldn't tell Candice where she got the arrangement, thereby relegating it to a simple nice touch by the local inn.
"I just love Pallet Town," Candice gushed as she set her luggage down at the end of the bed. "It's so cute and quaint, and the weather is beautiful this time of year. … I'm sad I missed the wedding."
"I made sure to give Ash and Misty your best," Zoey said, setting her card key down on the table before collapsing into an extra lounge chair. She closed her eyes and leaned back, letting herself sink into the cushions. Candice didn't reply, which Zoey found strange, so she opened her eyes again and saw her staring with a worried smile.
"What?" Zoey asked, straightening up.
"You're really bothered by what happened with Paul, aren't you?" Candice said with a tilt of her head.
Zoey had explained the whole situation to Candice on the ride from the Viridian City Interregional Airport, but she had downplayed her own feelings of guilt on the matter—or so she had thought. She didn't want to get in deep with Candice about her work problems when she was (a) still off work; (b) spending time with her for the first time in months. So much for that.
"What makes you think that?" Zoey asked, still too stubborn to admit she was upset.
"I dunno," Candice shrugged. "I can just tell with you."
Zoey was quiet for a moment longer. Then she sighed.
"I suppose it's been on my mind," she said. Candice smiled weakly again and shifted her position on the bed so she was facing Zoey.
"I'm sure what happened was just a misunderstanding between you two," Candice assured her. "You know how Paul is, and he's probably miffed over what happened with Ursula."
Zoey blinked. She hadn't made the connection to Ursula—it was just something she mentioned off-hand when talking about the wedding.
"Maybe," Zoey conceded, "but I also think he had a point. I'd be upset if he or Leaf or any of the other Champions came to me and, say, asked that I report on something for them."
"I think that situation is a little more different," Candice said. "If they want a functional democracy, then they should want a functional press. Looking into Junia Stevens is part of that; you guys should be on the same team here. But if they told you to report on something, well, that'd make you a mouthpiece for the League, and they're trying to get away from that kind of thing."
"The comparison still stands," Zoey insisted. "It's more about the feeling of being used."
Candice frowned but hummed thoughtfully. "Well… if that's what you think…" she began slowly, "... then why not just give him a call and apologize? I know it's Paul, but he'd probably appreciate it, even if he won't say it."
Zoey stared at her a for a moment. Then, her lips quirked into a smile.
"You make everything so simple," she chuckled before rising to her feet. "You're right. I'll just apologize." Zoey made her way across the room to her phone. When she picked it up, however, she saw there was a message on her screen. Reading it, Zoey tensed up.
"What's the matter?" Candice asked.
"I… got a text from Lucas," Zoey replied.
"Your date from last night?" Candice raised an eyebrow. "What'd he say?"
Zoey slowly turned to face her, though her eyes were still on the screen. "'Junia Stevens wasn't in the Sinnoh League, and I can prove it,'" she read verbatim.
Candice blanched.
"What?!"
Within an hour, Lucas was outside the Pallet Town Inn dismounting his Dragonite—and that alone was enough to cause a bit of a stir within the small community. Neighbors were poking their heads through curtains and doors, a passerby stopped to gawk, and a few of the inn's guests even came out to watch too. Zoey quickly met Lucas there and, after he returned his Dragonite, she ushered him inside and out of the public's eye.
"Thanks for meeting me here," Zoey said as she led him up to her and Candice's room.
"No problem," Lucas said, rubbing his eyes. It appeared he hadn't gotten much sleep. "I wanted to be here, and Dragonite needed to stretch out anyway."
Zoey slid her card key through its slot and opened the door for herself and Lucas. Candice was waiting eagerly on the bed for them and jumped up when they came in.
"Hey!" she greeted. "Thanks for coming on such short notice. I'm Candice, by the way." She shook Lucas's hand as she spoke.
"Lucas," he said, a little taken aback by her animation. "Uh, thanks for letting me borrow your girlfriend last night. Oh, er, that didn't sound right. You know what I mean."
"Yeah, yeah," Candice said hurriedly, plopping down on the bed again; she looked and sounded wholly unconcerned about the accidental insinuation. "So, what's the proof you've got?"
Lucas managed a small laugh; her candor put him more at ease. "You seem more excited about this than the journalist in the room," he remarked as he set his shoulder bag down and pulled out his laptop.
"Oh, she's just being professional," Candice dismissed, even as Zoey came to sit beside her. "I'm like her enthusiasm translator."
"Moving on…" Zoey's tone pressed with a gentle force.
"Right, so—" Lucas set his laptop on the desk in front of them and started to boot it up. "You remember how I said I'm kind of a Sinnoh League fanatic?" The question was addressed to Zoey.
"Mhm?" she hummed.
"Well, I wasn't kidding," Lucas went on. "I seriously do know all about the Sinnoh League, and I've watched pretty much every conference since its inception. I have a complete set of DVDs all at home but—when you said Junia Stevens had been in the '89 Lily of the Valley Conference, it just didn't sit well with me. So last night after I got home from the wedding, I was thinking more about it, and I decided to torrent the thing." He paused before adding, more dramatically, "I watched it all, Zoey, from beginning to end. She's not there."
"Why would her file say she was in the conference then?" Zoey asked.
"I dunno," Lucas said, shrugging. "I just know she's not there. Look, I'll show you—" He pulled up a folder full of video files divided into hour-long sections
"Well, maybe the dates got mixed up?" Candice suggested. "Maybe she wasn't in '89? I mean, how infallible is the G-Men's database?"
Zoey let out a frustrated sigh and pulled out her phone. "Well, let me bring up the file…" She went into her emails and found the attachments Charles Mook had sent her weeks earlier. She selected Junia's file and held it out for both Candice and Lucas to see:
Full Name: Junia E. Stevens — DOB: 1 March 1977 — Hometown: Floaroma Town
Registered Pokémon
Bronzong
Dustox (M)
Girafarig (F)
Golbat (F)
Golduck (M)
Rapidash (F)
Skuntank (F)
Weavile (M)
History
Lily of the Valley Conference (1989)
Awards/Honors
N/A
"... Well, that definitely says she was in the '89 conference," Lucas mumbled. He looked up at Zoey again, however, and forcefully added, "Still, that doesn't change the fact that there's no one named Junia Stevens in the video I watched."
"Maybe that's the thing," Candice suggested.
"What do you mean?" Zoey asked.
"Maybe there was no one named Junia Stevens in the conference, but she was still there," Candice elaborated. "People change their names. Like, you know, Silver."
Zoey felt a shot of ice coarse through her blood, for she knew what would come next.
"Who's Silver?" Lucas inquired.
"Nevermind that," Zoey quickly dismissed. "Anyway, I guess if she did change her name, then we would just need to see if there's a trainer who uses the same Pokémon listed in her file."
"Oh! That's smart," Candice commended. She took possession of Zoey's phone and zoomed in on the file. "So… we'd be looking for a trainer who's got a Bronzong, Dustox, Girafarig…"
"Junia said she was in the quarterfinals, and up until now, I've had no reason not to believe her on that point," Zoey went on thoughtfully. "Any of those Pokémon sound familiar, Lucas?"
"Uh…" Lucas shut his eyes, thinking. When he opened them again, he reached for Zoey's phone. "Let me see that list again, please." He pulled it up close to his face, carefully scrolling through it. "... Yeah, actually. Hang on."
Lucas returned to his laptop and pulled up one of the later video files—part 16. Once it loaded, he pulled the progress bar about midway through before slowing down to skim a little more attentively. Then, he stopped and pressed "play."
"To begin the next match, let us introduce the competing trainers!" Zoey could tell the video was definitely from the '80s based on the referee's uniform alone. She leaned closer to the screen, her eyes narrowing. "On your left, we have Percy Layfette of Lumiose City, Kalos!"
A fiery red-headed teen strutted onto the field, waving at the cheering crowd. Definitely not Junia Stevens.
"... And on your right, we have Eileen Kaiden of Floaroma Town!"
"That's Junia's hometown," Zoey said to her companions with a sharp breath.
The girl that proceeded onto the stage was young, clearly a newer trainer. The details of her person were a little tough to make out through the grain of the film, but Zoey could nevertheless distinguish her light brown hair and eyes. She wasn't a match there regarding Junia's burgundy hair and eyes.
"... The age is about right," Candice offered hopefully, likely having made the same internal observations as her girlfriend.
"People can easily change their hair and eye color with dye and contact lenses," Lucas also added.
"But why would they… ?" Zoey mumbled ponderously.
"Trainers, the match will be a full 6-on-6 battle," the ref went on. "Exchanges are allowed. You may begin!"
Eileen enlarged a Poké Ball in her hand. "Girafarig, come on out!"
"A Girafarig!" Zoey straightened up. That was one of Junia's Pokémon.
"Yup," Lucas said, nodding. "And there's more." He again clicked on the progress bar, pulling it forward, past Girafarig's battle with and subsequent loss to Percy's Vivillon. He stopped just as Eileen brought out her second Pokémon: a Rapidash.
Candice reached for Zoey's phone to check Junia's file. "That's a match, too," she declared. They kept going, skimming through the match until they saw all six of the Pokémon Eileen used: Girafarig, Rapidash, Golduck, Bronzong, Weavile, and Skuntank—all Pokémon that Junia Stevens happened to own.
"That's a wrap," Lucas said as Eileen's Skuntank went down, losing her the battle.
Candice let out half a laugh. "Well, either this Eileen girl and Junia Stevens are the same person, or there was one heckuva coincidence during the '89 Sinnoh League," she said.
"What was her full name again?" Zoey asked, looking to Lucas.
"Uh…" He pulled the progress bar back until the ref announced her name again: "Eileen Kaiden."
"Haven't heard of her," Zoey mused.
"Yeah, 'cause now she's Junia Stevens," Candice said.
Zoey glowered at her then added, "The point isn't so much who she is now, but why she became her. Why the name change?" Zoey already knew the answer—or, at least, she had a theory—but she wanted Candice to say it, so she knew she wasn't being utterly conspiratorial.
Candice thought for a moment. "Well… you suspect the G-Men might be conducting a criminal investigation right? Maybe she did something that would justify changing her name."
That was the ticket, and Zoey felt vindicated.
"Whoa, wait, what?!" Lucas sputtered out. "You think there's a criminal investigation into Junia Stevens?"
"It's a long story," Zoey said, pressing her hand to temple. She remembered Homa cautioning her not to say anything about the potential investigation, and maybe telling Candice was too much—but there wasn't anything she could do about it now. She then slowly dragged her hand down her face as another thought occurred to her.
"I… I need to call Paul," she decided. "He needs to tell me."
"Paul as in Paul Rebolledo, the Sinnoh Champion?" Lucas inquired.
"Yeah," Zoey said as she retrieved her phone. "We had a bit of a spat last night at the wedding, but this is too important, regardless of whether we're friends or not."
Lucas looked like he had more questions—after all, Zoey hadn't told him about what happened between herself and Paul last night—but he had no opportunity to ask any as she dialed Paul's number and pressed the phone to her ear.
The phone rang once, twice. Candice and Lucas watched her eagerly.
Three, four times. Zoey drew in a slow, long breath. Paul might still be too mad to talk to her.
Five.
He picked up.
"Yes, Zoey?" His voice was gruff.
"Paul!" Actually hearing him on the other end caught her off guard. "Uh…" It suddenly occurred to her that she had been so swept up in the adrenaline of her discovery that she hadn't considered what she was going to say to him.
She became acutely aware that Candice and Lucas were still watching her, which made the prospect of the whole impending conversation intolerable. So she stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind her.
"Look…" Zoey started again. "I called because I wanted to apologize for last night. It was wrong of me to approach you as a friend. I should have approached you as a professional."
"Okay… ?" Paul either wasn't impressed or didn't understand the point—or both.
"I wasn't talking to you to advance my own career or elevate the name of my newspaper," Zoey went on. "I did it because you and I both want the best for this country, and that means I need to know if there's an investigation into Junia Stevens."
Paul made a disgusted noise that grew distant in volume; Zoey realized he was pulling away his phone.
"Don't—Don't hang up," Zoey said hurriedly. There was silence on the other end of the line. "... Are you still there?"
The silence extended for a moment longer. Zoey was about to concede he had left the call, and then his voice patched through: "Yes."
Zoey breathed a long, relieved sigh. She briefly clutched her phone to her chest then leaned against the wall. She raised the phone to her ear again.
"Okay…" she went on carefully. "Please understand, I need—no, the people need—to know. They're entitled to know. They deserve to know who they're voting for, for the president of this country."
Paul said nothing.
"So, please, just—" Zoey was grasping for the right thing to say, the right thing to do. "—if—if there's not an investigation, just hang up. Just hang up, and I won't bother you anymore."
Paul still said nothing, and Zoey waited with bated breath.
"... You still there?" she repeated.
Another extended silence. Then: "Yeah," Paul grunted.
Zoey sucked in a sharp breath at the implications. "Okay, so—so there is an investigation?"
Paul made a noise that was a mix of a groan and a sigh.
"Not—into Junia Stevens," he said. He sounded as though he had to force himself to speak each word.
Zoey's head was spinning. "But there is one?" she asked almost excitedly. "Is it someone in Junia's Steven's circle?"
Paul again said nothing.
"Is it Jennifer Dey?" Zoey asked. "Hang up if it's not Jennifer Dey."
Paul was still silent, but Zoey could hear the faint sound of his breath on the other line. He was still there. She waited to see if he would drop the line or even scold her for bothering him, but nothing came. He just waited without a word, never ending the call.
Zoey started counting seconds. One… two… three…
Ten would be good right? If he hadn't hung up after ten seconds, that would be confirmation, right?
She hit ten but found herself still counting. Eleven… twelve…
Then, Paul's voice cut through
"You got what you need?" he grumbled. "Do you understand now?"
That was confirmation. Zoey let out an incredulous breath and smiled.
"Yes. Yes, I got what I need, and I understand. Thank you, Paul."
He grunted in response and finally hung up. Zoey pressed her phone to her forehead and vibrated with—excitement? Terror? Some kind of mix between the two. Jennifer Dey was under criminal investigation. The Sinnoh Champion, the head of the G-Men division in Sinnoh himself, had confirmed it. Zoey had always been suspicious, but she had also doubted herself—but her suppositions were justified. There was something odd happening in Junia Stevens's campaign, and she was this much closer to figuring it out.
Having recollected herself, Zoey went back into the room. Candice and Lucas were huddled together on the bed, looking at something on the screen of Lucas's laptop.
"What's going on?" Zoey asked.
"We decided to look up Eileen Kaiden online," Lucas explained. "And, uh… we found her." He turned the laptop toward her. Zoey leaned close and saw an old article from The Sinnoan Times was on the screen.
Sole Survivor of Family Slain in Home
Invasion was Sinnoh League Competitor
Daniel Abner, Crime
June 17, 1990
FLOAROMA TOWN, SINNOH—On the
night of Thursday, May 31, James Dirk and
Seth Mibbs allegedly broke into the Kaiden
family household in search of valuables.
All three of the Kaidens present in the
household—Allen and Jennifer Kaiden and
their 6-year-old son—were murdered during
the deadly robbery.
The family is survived by one person: the
12-year-old daughter of the Kaidens, Eileen,
who was traveling through Sinnoh with her
Pokémon at the time of the murders.
Eileen was a quarterfinalist in the recent Lily
of the Valley Conference.
Zoey didn't read on. She didn't need to.
"Holy shit…" she breathed.
"Yeah, it's bad," Candice said. "I'd change my name, too."
Zoey drew back in thought. "I wonder if I'm barking up the wrong tree with Junia Stevens," she said.
"What do you mean?" Candice asked. "What did Paul say?
Zoey wetted her lips. How much was too much to say? She trusted Candice—obviously—and she had no reason to distrust Lucas, but what she had in her possession was confidential information on criminal activity associated with a now-major political campaign. She had to speak carefully.
"Junia Stevens, or Eileen Kaiden, or whatever her name is, may not be the real problem," she said. "But someone else in the campaign might be."
This shed no more light on the situation for either Lucas or Candice, judging by their expressions. Zoey turned away as she further considered how to proceed.
"I…" She was thinking out loud by then. "I think I need to call Marinda. I think I need to ask her about this."
Marinda had said point-blank that she didn't want anything to do with Jennifer Dey. Still, Zoey wondered if she hinted her awareness of a criminal investigation, Marinda might break—either out of animosity or out of fear.
"Marinda… ?" Lucas questioned.
"Ortiz," Zoey clarified for him as she started to dial her number. "She's in charge of Junia Stevens's communications."
Just as Zoey was about to tap to begin the call, she paused and looked toward Candice, whose eyes were wide with a look of… something. Zoey couldn't quite read her expression, but she was pricked with guilt regardless. Candice had flown all this way just to spend some time, just a few days, with her—and now, she was being drawn into a political mire. Zoey had wanted to avoid this exact situation.
"I'm sorry," Zoey found herself saying.
"No," Candice assured her with an insistent nod. "You have to do this. I understand."
Zoey nodded back to her slowly. Then she tapped her screen and lifted her phone to her ear. Marinda, ever-vigilant, picked up almost immediately.
"What is it, Zoey?" Her attitude was as sour as ever.
"Hi, Marinda." Zoey's voice was friendly but curt. "I'd like to sit down somewhere to talk to you again—sooner rather than later."
"What for?" Marinda half-demanded. "I'm busy."
"I know, I understand," Zoey said hurriedly. "I just think my questions would be heard better in person than over the phone."
"Then talk to me at the event in Pewter City tonight. Goodbye, Zoey."
"No, wait—" It was too late. Marinda has already hung up with a sharp "click." Zoey made a frustrated noise and dropped the phone to her side.
"Didn't go well, huh?" Candice asked with a frown.
"No," Zoey groaned.
"So what next?" Lucas asked.
Zoey drew in a long breath and cast a searching glance at Candice. Her expression was the same as before. Zoey closed her eyes and recentered herself.
She dialed Marinda's number again, knowing full well she would pick up—and yell at her.
"I've said my peace, Williams," Marinda snapped.
"I haven't," Zoey said with equal bite. "Marinda, we need to talk. It's important."
"Arceus…" Marinda groaned.
"When can I meet you?" Zoey pressed further. "I'll even buy you a drink—or lunch—or whatever—to make it worth your while."
"You can't just ask me now like every other reporter?" Marinda huffed.
"I need to see you in person," Zoey insisted. She needed her there, physically, to read her expressions, to observe her reactions—she needed her in a place where she couldn't just hang up to run away from a question.
Another dramatic huff from Marinda. Then, a pause.
"... I'm available at 1," she said bitterly. "I can meet you at the Hard Rock Restaurant a block away from the Pewter City Gym."
Zoey's eyes darted to the digital clock on the nightstand. It was 11:26 a.m. The drive was at least two hours—if she was going above the speed limit.
"How about 2?" she suggested.
"1:30, no later," Marinda said firmly. Zoey supposed she had no choice.
"Okay," she agreed. "1:30."
"And I can only stay for maybe 20 or 25 minutes, tops," Marinda added.
"Fine." Zoey would take what she could get at that point.
Marinda hummed, sounding unimpressed over nothing in particular. "Don't be late."
The moment Marinda hung up again, Zoey practically dove for her dresser to change into something that wasn't—well—sweats and a T-shirt if she was going to get Marinda to take her seriously at all in what would probably be one of their most serious conversations. Candice's back shot straight up in alarm.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
"Marinda agreed to meet me at 1:30," Zoey said.
"Hey, that's great!" Lucas exclaimed. "So why the ru—"
"In Pewter City," Zoey finished emphatically.
The "sh" on Lucas's lips transformed into an "o" shape.
Zoey tore off her T-shirt and pulled a maroon blouse over her camisole, all while kicking off her sweats and edging toward the wedding slacks that were folded over the back of the armchair. She didn't care if she was in a state of undress in front of Lucas, and she didn't particularly care if he cared either, though she doubted he did. With the change in wardrobe, she ran her fingers through her hair once, just to clean it up—and then froze. She turned and stared at Candice.
"I'm—so sorry," she repeated.
Candice smiled tiredly.
"It's fine," she said. "It's like I said: You have to do this."
Zoey bit her upper teeth into her lip, then strode toward Candice and gave her a quick peck on the lips. Next, she turned toward Lucas with purpose.
"Thank you, again, for coming out here," she said.
"Yeah, sure." Lucas nodded. "Good luck with, uh, talking to Marinda."
Zoey nodded to him, too, grabbed her laptop bag leaning against the side of her bed and the Poké Ball sitting atop her desk. She flew out the door, and on her way down the stairs, she picked up her phone again and dialed another number.
"Hey, Ritchie," Zoey said. "Sorry—I need to borrow your car again."
It occurred to Zoey just as she sped into the borders of Pewter City that she had no idea where the Hard Rock Restaurant was located. Marinda had said something vague about it being near the Pewter City Gym, but Zoey needed more information than that. At a red stop light, Zoey fumbled for her phone, pulled up her Maps app and clumsily typed in the name. The light turned green, and she promptly pushed the device into the cup holder, letting the GPS voice guide her way.
She kept her eye on the time. It was 1:32 p.m. Marinda's punctuality was hit-and-miss, but Zoey never liked to be late to anything—and if she was late to this, Marinda would never let her hear the end of it.
Zoey turned the corner and saw the sign for the Hard Rock Restaurant protruding from the vintage red-brick building. A parking space was open on the street side directly in front of the restaurant. Zoey was driving so fast that she nearly missed it, but she put her car into reverse and haphazardly pulled into the space behind her. The park job wasn't great, but she didn't care. She practically stumbled out her car door, stuffed a couple coins into the parking meter, and hurried in through the front doors.
"How many are in your party?" a hostess with bright red lipstick and a leather uniform asked pleasantly.
"None—I mean—" Zoey paused for only a brief moment to untie her tongue. "I'm here to meet someone. Marinda Ortiz?"
"Oh." The woman's amicable tone didn't change. "Yes, she's seated at the bar."
"Thank you." Zoey quickly hurried past her then to the back end of the restaurant. Sure enough, Zoey easily picked out the scarlett bob of hair from behind the line of barstools. Marinda was rigid in posture, almost uncomfortably so, with one leg crossed over the other. She was drinking—something—or more accurately, she was idly twirling the ice in the glass around with her straw.
Zoey took in a deep breath.
"Afternoon, Marinda," she said, sliding into the open seat beside her.
Marinda shot her a pointed look.
"You're late," she said bluntly.
"Barely," Zoey replied with a weary smile. "But I promised I'd make it worth your while. I'll cover your tab."
"Nothing to cover," Marinda said a little sharply. "I don't drink during the day." She gave a small gesture to her drink, which Zoey then discerned as nothing more than water garnished with a lemon.
"Right." Zoey leaned into the "t." "Well, I know you're short on time, so I'll get straight to the point."
Marinda folded her arms and looked at her expectantly.
With a click of her tongue, Zoey started with only a name: "Jennifer Dey."
Marinda's expression didn't break. She stared with continuing contempt for a while before she flicked her gaze toward the bartender. "You know, I've had a change of heart. I'll take a Gimlet, vodka instead of gin, please." He nodded to her and started to mix her drink. Marinda turned back to Zoey with burning eyes.
"What about her?" she asked sternly. "I've said before I don't want to talk about Jennifer Dey. I thought you would respect that."
"I do," Zoey said. "But it's why I called you. It's clear you don't like Jennifer Dey, so what I'm about to say will probably interest you."
"Mhm?" Marinda seemed no more intrigued.
"Jennifer Dey is under criminal investigation by the G-Men."
Marinda's face finally changed. Her eyes widened a little, and she drew in a silent but sharp breath. Zoey knew then that this was new to Marinda. She gave her a moment to process; the bartender pushed her Gimlet in front of her and left. Marinda clutched the glass tight in her hand before taking a generous drink. After she set it back on table, Marinda leaned toward Zoey and hissed in a low voice, "For what?"
"I don't know," Zoey admitted. "I wondered if you might know. There's a reason you don't want to talk about her. Is it really just because of a personality difference? Or do you know something criminal?"
"I know nothing," Marinda said quickly. A pause. "How do you know about this?"
"I learned it from a source," Zoey said simply.
"Who?"
"I can't tell you that," Zoey answered, "but I can say it's someone who's very reliable, so I know Jennifer is under investigation just as well I know that the sky is blue."
Marinda let out a short breath and averted her gaze. Zoey waited for her to say something but soon realized she intended to say nothing.
"I was hoping you could tell me something for what I've told you," Zoey said. "I imagine it won't reflect well on Junia Steven's campaign when it comes out—and it will come out—that one of her advisers is under investigation. Now would be the time to let her go before it gets ugly—you know, save your campaign some face."
"I told you already, I know nothing," Marinda muttered. "I don't have any power over Jennifer Dey, but I suppose I'll talk to Junia and Satchel."
Zoey tightened her lips. That wasn't what she wanted to hear. She didn't come to do Junia Stevens a favor; she came to get answers, or at least, information.
"Then maybe you'll know something about this," Zoey went on. Marinda's eyes carefully rose to meet Zoey's. "I know Junia Stevens isn't her real name. It's Eileen Kaiden. Her family was murdered when she was a young trainer, after she competed in the Sinnoh League."
Marinda's breath turned ragged.
"You—" The rest of the words died on Marinda's lips, and she looked around her to check whether anyone was listening. Suddenly, Zoey wondered if her initial impression was wrong and Marinda knew a lot more than she was letting on.
Marinda leaned confidentially toward Zoey. Her tone was severe, but her voice shook a little as she spoke. "Look, Zoey. You're getting into things you shouldn't," she warned. "And despite whatever I've said and done, I actually like you a little, so believe me when I say—for your own good, stop. Stop this, stop here."
"What?!" Zoey drew back in surprise.
"Sh—!" Marinda pulled her close again. "Listen. You shouldn't come to the Pewter event tonight. In fact, you should ask your editor to pull you off the beat. Go home. Continue covering your contests and leave this alone."
"I can't do that, Marinda," Zoey said, bewildered. "You know that."
"Then I can't protect you from whatever happens next," Marinda panted. She started to grab her things to leave, though her drink was unfinished.
"What are you even saying?" Zoey's voice began to rise. "What are you protecting Junia from? Why did she change her name?"
Marinda shushed her again. "Look—just—" She hastily ran her fingers through her hair. "Junia needed a change in her life. She needed to get away, and she did—she got herself a fresh start, a new beginning." Junia Stevens's rhetoric about giving Napaj a "fresh start" and her campaign slogan—"Creating a better world"—flickered across Zoey's mind. "Don't ruin that for her. Don't ruin that for us. And stay away from Jennifer if you know what's good for you."
"Marinda—" Zoey had never seen her like this. Despite her plea, Marinda hurried out of the restaurant. Zoey made a motion to pursue her but hastily decided against it. She called the bartender back over to pay for Marinda's drink, then retreated to the back of the restaurant and entered the one-person bathroom.
There, she called Homa.
"You know, you made it pretty clear you didn't want me calling you while you were taking time off, and yet, you're the one always calling me," Homa dryly teased.
"Yeah, I've been working," Zoey said.
"Zoey, the wedding's over."
"Paul didn't tell me anything at the wedding, but I did get him to talk to me today," Zoey said. "Homa, I've learned a lot in the past few hours. I hope you're sitting down."
Homa's tone changed. "Okay, I'm listening," she said more seriously.
Zoey recounted everything to her, from Lucas's text message, to the torrent of the 1989 Sinnoh League, to her second conversation with Paul, to her meeting with Marinda. Homa listened carefully and only occasionally interjected a question or two until Zoey finished. When she was done, Homa sucked in her breath.
"Well… okay," she said. "Tell me: What do you want to do?"
Zoey didn't hesitate. "I want to go tonight," she said.
"What are you going to do?" Homa asked. "Who are you going to talk to? What are you going to say?"
"What all these sudden questions?" Zoey asked with an exasperated chuckle.
"Because Marinda, frankly, issued you a threat," Homa answered, "and now I need to look out for your safety, regardless of what the story is. Neither you nor I know what that campaign is hiding, but it's serious, and you're getting close—and I don't know what's going to happen to you when you get that close."
"So do you think I shouldn't go?" Zoey asked incredulously.
"I'm not," Homa corrected. "I just hope you know what you're getting into."
Zoey was sobered. "I do," she said. After a moment, she added, wryly, "I mean, I was the one who said I wanted to cover something meaningful. I suppose I should've be careful about what I wished for."
Homa managed a chuckle at that.
"Well, you're still technically off, and Jeremy's still covering for you," Homa went on. "Would you like to call him or should I?"
"I'll call him."
"Okay," Homa agreed. "Zoey—you be careful tonight."
"I will," Zoey promised. When she hung up, she felt at liberty to leave the privacy of the bathroom and exit the restaurant. Once she was back on the street, she checked the time on her meter and, satisfied, found Jeremy in her contacts to call him up.
"Well, hello Ms. Williams," Jeremy greeted cheerfully. "What can I do for you?"
"Hey, Jeremy," Zoey said, finding herself smiling. "Two things: First, I wanted to say thanks for stepping in for me. Second, I actually am relieving you tonight because I'm in Pewter City, and I'm going to the event."
"Oh, did that Sinnoan Times reporter get to you?"
"What?" Zoey was suddenly confused, unsure of what he meant.
"There was a reporter from The Sinnoan Times who really wanted to talk to you last night and was upset you weren't around. Skeeter? Skelling?"
"Skelley?" Zoey inquired.
"Yeah, that was it."
"What did Ciara want with me?"
"Uh, she actually wanted me to pass along a message. I was planning on telling you before you came back Wednesday, but you called today, so… hang on, she wrote it down somewhere." Zoey heard the shuffle of papers and other items on the other end of the line. "Here it is: She just wrote, 'GAG = Galactic Advocacy Group.' Dunno if that means anything to you, but she said it would."
"GAG?" Zoey repeated. "Yeah, that was the name of the group Junia and some of her associates were involved in during college. I gave her a tip on it for…" Zoey suddenly stopped. "What did you say it stood for again?"
"Galactic Advocacy Group," Jeremy said.
Zoey's breath shortened.
"Right. Uh, okay. Thanks Jeremy. I'll talk to you later."
"Wh—"
Zoey hung up before he could finish. She ripped her wallet out of her laptop bag, dug around for another coin, and slid it into her meter. She then promptly turned and headed back into the Hard Rock Restaurant. At the bar, she pulled out her laptop and booted it up.
GAG. It stood for nothing—that was what Marinda had told her. GAG, as in a "gag" on STEM research. But Ciara had found something else, something—
Galactic Advocacy Group. In 2001, a Team Galactic airship crashed into Lake Valor. There had supposedly been only one survivor, a male grunt. Supposedly only one, supposedly—and Jennifer Dey's scar—
Suddenly, Junia Stevens's campaign slogan made a lot more sense.
