The Man in the suit...

"So has your daughter settled in alright?"

Giovanni's eyes came up from his paperwork and he sat back in his office chair, rubbing a headache in his temples. "Yes. She's just been introduced to her starter Pokémon."

I nodded and crossed one leg over in my seat in front of my husband's desk. He was supposed to have finished his work by the time the car brought Ash and I from Pallet. I was not surprised however, to find the contrary.

"When will I get to meet her?"

"Possibly in the morning when she starts her training. In the meantime…" Giovanni moved the conversation to what was really on his mind. "Whatever Ashton did to that teenager, it seems to have cleared him up."

I hadn't thought of the incident until he brought it up. It immediately made me swallow.

"Ash's test results have come back clear, though I am very curious about how these manifestations have come about as a result of my Mewtwo experiment. I want to keep a close eye on the boy, so perhaps postponing sending him off to boarding school would be the wiser option for now."

I suddenly couldn't resist the smile – the first one I'd made in what felt like an eternity.

My husband smirked in reply. "I thought you would appreciate that."

"And what about Lance? What happened to him?" I asked. I didn't want to believe that whatever the boy had done had directly resulted of my sister's death. I'd thought much on these things the past week. I'd been angry. I'd been brought to tears. Now though I was just numb.

Going into his top drawer, Giovanni pulled out a Pokéball and placed it on his desk in front of me. "He stole an illegally, genetically enhanced Areodactyl clone from the Cinnabar lab. Something happened in the event that caused him to snap and he lost control of the Pokémon, which resulted in the disaster on the island. Eye witnesses seem to believe it was a legendary bird of some sort that attacked the city."

"And the police are still on the hunt for him?"

Giovanni nodded once. "Though, once my man clears it up, they'll drop the charges."

So Laurence had bought Giovanni services to clear things up. Given the magnitude of this, I would've wagered he'd owe Team Rocket for years to come. I shuddered to think what Giovanni would demand in return, but thus was the nature of making deals with the mafia.

"How did he know who you were?" I asked.

"We have a mutual acquaintance." He chose not to delve into it but I could tell from the tone of his voice that this connection had not been an anticipated one. "The boy was foolish and impetuous. If it is any consolation, he suffers greatly from his guilt. However, if you wish, I can withdraw my offer of assistance and allow the law to take him."

I would be lying if I said Giovanni's offer wasn't tempting. Even just for the sake of getting even with the person who had inadvertently taken the life of my sister and her husband. But I was tired. Tired of being angry. Tired of crying. Tired of everything.

"No." I said quietly. "He... he didn't mean it. I just want to be able to make peace with this and move on." I took in a steady breath and exhaled slowly. "This is all very overwhelming."

"I know." Noticing my composure, Giovanni pulled away from his desk and slowly trailed over to me. There he stood behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders, massaging them gently.

I murmured, closing my eyes and enjoying his firm touch until the blare of his phone shattered the calm. My husband muttered something under his breath about a late finance report and promptly answered his phone, falling into a steady pace in front of the office window.

I took the opportunity to check on our son who slept soundly with Persian on the couch, exhausted from his day. In his hand he clutched a soft toy Squirtle which I immediately recognised belonged to Gary. Had his cousin given it to him or had he taken it? I wasn't sure. Giovanni's jacket sat draped over his chair so grabbing that, I gently placed it over the sleeping boy's shoulders. Then brushing lose stands of hair from his face, I placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. He was so beautiful. My wonderful little miracle.

Finishing up his phone conversation, I sensed Giovanni's approach from behind and straightened as he made a point of wrapping his arms around me in a light embrace. I let myself lean back into his chest and heaved a weary sigh.

"I know what you mean." Giovanni's whisper was warm on the back of my neck.

I felt the gentle touch of his lips on my neck and his hands that made their way to my hips and held me there. Tilting my head, I allowed him to trail his kisses up and down my neck, enjoying every tantalising touch his lips made on my skin.

"I've missed this."

"Me too," said Giovanni. "I think perhaps it's time to take you home."

His nibble on my earlobe sent tingles up and down my spine and I couldn't help but giggle and wriggle free from his grasp. Giovanni chuckled as he went to grab me but I playfully ducked away from his reach and for a moment it was a game of chase across his office. I giggled and squealed as he quickly managed to corner and capture me like a wild Pokémon, then leaning me up against one of the double doors to his office, he pressed his body into mine, kissing me with the force of a lover. My fingers were clawing at the buttons of his shirt and toying with the buckle of his belt.

"I don't think I can wait to get you home, Delia." His hands were on my rear, a low grunt escaping his throat as he pressed me into his firmness.

I heaved subdued gasp. "The photocopy room."

"That could work."

Giovanni reached for the door handle but before he had the chance to grab it the door next to us swung open with such force that it bounced off the wall. An out of breath Archer burst into the office only to find himself face to face with Giovanni and staggered backwards several steps.

Quickly pulling himself off of me, Giovanni too reeled, his immediate reaction to yell "What?!" at the top of his lungs.

Archer was mortified. He didn't know where to look as he delivered information he believed to be worthy of the interruption.

"S... security has picked up on suspicious activity around the gym."

Quickly doing up the buttons of my shirt and fixing my skirt that had somehow made its way up to my hips, I caught Archer's eye and immediately he went a deeper shade of red.

"What sort of activity?" Giovanni growled dangerously, oblivious to the fact that his shirt barely hung from his shoulders.

The loud, ear piercing alarm made everyone jump. I staggered in my heels out of the path of Giovanni and Archer as they bolted through the door and disappeared down the hallway. I could clearly hear the bellow of voices and the yapping of Growlithe coming from the gym floor and it suddenly dawned on me. This was a police raid.

"Oh oh oh!" I yelped, making a dash for my son who had since woken up screaming from the noise. "Ash, shh!"

Quickly dragging him across the room, I stuffed him under Giovanni's desk. Persian followed suit and I gave the feline orders to keep watch over the boy before I turned and hurried from the office. Making my way down the corridors that lead out into the main fighting arena, all I could hear were the screeching wails of the alarm and the loud thunder of Pokémon in battle. I reached the gym leader's platform just in time to witness the great, green cloud of smoke that seeped into the gym. Giovanni stood at his platform, bellowing out orders to his men before he had no other option but to retreat and escape the toxic poison.

"Draw back!" He saw me and grabbed me roughly by the arm. "That's an order!"

The light of the dawn made its way through the mountains, bringing along with it another beautiful, golden sunrise. The sounds of various birds drifted across a lovely, light breeze. But none of this was on my mind as I watched my husband pacing around the living room of his estate. Beyond exhausted and with a phone seemingly attached to his ear, his voice was hoarse after spending the night screaming into it.

"What do you mean she's gone?! They've taken her?! I don't care how you do it, find her!"

Another phone shattered in his hand.

With the force of angry Gyrados, he continued his pacing, grabbing cushions from the couch and flinging them across the room.

"Giovanni." I stepped up from my location by the fireplace and reached for him but he battered me away with an angry snarl.

"Not now Delia!"

My mind was still a confused mess, but from what I could tell, the Viridian Gym had just experienced its first police raid. We'd managed to escape through a secret back exit but there were still a slew of agents and gym inhabitants who were missing - including Giovanni's own daughter.

Archer appeared in the doorway, his expression low and exhausted. "Charges have been laid, Giovanni," he said with down cast eyes. "You've been charged with harbouring a wanted criminal. They also located the basement in the gym and repossessed the caged Pokémon. You're being charged with Pokémon imprisonment and cruelty to Pokémon and children."

"What?!" The Team Rocket Boss reeled on the spot. "Children?!"

Archer's head fell into a nod. "They've taken your daughter into protective custody. The government claims that she's not safe under your care. Though I suspect there is more to this than they're willing to share. I have my men searching the region, we won't stop until we find her. If my assumptions are correct then they'll place her in the protection program. If she has a new identity, it won't be easy."

"Start with the foster homes and don't stop until you find her."

"Yes sir," the executive nodded before taking his leave.

The thought of the government taking custody of Aisha left an echo in my mind and all at once I felt the wave panic that made its way through my core. If they took Aisha... then what would stop them from taking my Ash too?

"Giovanni..."

He caught my wide eyed stare and nodded knowingly. "I'm sending you and the boy into hiding until I get this cleared up. Take on your maiden name and go to Pallet. I'll have a house and an allowance set up for you there. You'll be safe."

Author's note: If you love this series then I've started a new, independent project inspired from this very fan fic. It's on my Fiction Press account under the same username: Lizzie Indigo. Hope to see you there! :)