By the way....the owner of Pokemon....still not me. Just thought I'd let you all know.
Continued...
Meowth rubbed his forehead below his charm. He had a Snorlax sized headache....heÕd had it for the last twelve days. And the cause of his headache was just a few feet away in their small camp. Twelve days of enduring Misty and Jessie. It was enough to make a Meowth go insane. They were both loud and bossy and had volcanic tempers that were set off by the slightest thing. To be fair though, it had been an especially trying twelve days for them as well. The three of them had nothing but bad luck since leaving that island. But their constant bickering and fighting was wearing MeowthÕs nerves thin. Not that it wasnÕt occasionally entertaining.
One of the most entertaining fight between the two girls had started with the discovery that several Caterpie and Weedle had made a home in the basket of the Meowth balloon that he, Jessy and James had stashed away to use in case the Boss ditched them...as he was wont to do. Discovering the bug pokemon had revealed the endlessly amusing fact that Misty was terrified of insects. Endlessly amusing for Jessy anyway. As soon as sheÕd realized why Misty was shrieking so, sheÕd succomed to fits of laughter that had made Meowth seriously worried about her. Meowth didnÕt think Misty had been worried about Jessy though. In fact he was pretty sure that she had been more than a little ticked off by the older girlÕs laughter. At least he assumed that was why she had pulled the small mallet out of her pack and whacked Jessy on the head with it. Jessy was still pissed about that...and about the fact that Meowth had laughed just as hard at her as at Misty...even though the small bump was long since faded and he and Misty had repeatedly apologized.
Meowth was pulled from his reminiscing by the sudden flurry of activity below. The cat pokemon sat up and pulled out the binoculars heÕd brought with him. He, Jessie and Misty had been taking turns watching Team Rocket Headquarters below their campsite since theyÕd arrived before dawn this morning. They were watching and waiting for an opportunity to sneak in. A moment where the chances of them getting shot by the guards might lower from guaranteed to most likely. Meowth wondered if this might just be the moment.
Without taking his eyes off the van that was slowly driving toward the compound, Meowth gave a soft ÒPssstÓ to get Jessy and MistyÕs attention. He heard the two of them creep up to settle beside him.
ÒWhat do you see?Ó Jessy whispered
ÒA van....movin real slow. And look at all da grunts waitin for it.Ó Meowth handed Jessy the binoculars. ÒSomethinÕs up.Ó he concluded.
ÒOf course somethingÕs up furball.....but what is it?Ó Jessy snapped, snatching the binoculars from him and peering below. Meowth ignored his teammateÕs attitude. He knew it stemmed more from stress than anything else. He glanced over at the younger girl sitting on his other side and noticed her tension as well. The stress of waiting here all day was wearing on them both. If they didnÕt get a chance to move soon one of them would do something really stupid.
Meowth watched the scene below unfold. Even without the binoculars he could see what as going on quite well...not well enough to make out individual faces and details...but he could follow the action. The van was still creeping along the road toward the main gates. Which was plenty strange in and of itself. Why would a van just be crawling up to Team Rocket HQ like that? Meowth wondered. He watched in even more bewilderment as the vehicle went out of its way to avoid a pot hole in the road.
The Rocket members whoÕd rushed out were just standing at the gate waiting. It was pretty obvious that the van was expected. It didnÕt make any sense though. Why would fourteen Rockets rush out in such a hurry to meet a van....and then just stand there and wait for it to mosey on down the road at a snailÕs pace?
ÒWhatÕs happening?Ó Misty hissed
ÒI donÕt know....Ó Jessy replied absently, her attention so totally focused on what was going on below that sheÕd obviously forgotten that she and Misty had declared that they werenÕt speaking to each other after their latest argument had turned really nasty. ÒHey!Ó she said a little too loudly,ÓCassidy is driving that van.Ó she finished, ignoring both MeowthÕs and MistyÕs urgent shushings.
MeowthÕs fur rankled involuntarily at the mention of that womanÕs name. The memory of the time that she and Butch had used their Drowsee to hypnotize him and turn him against his friends was still fresh in his mind. Without a word he pulled the binoculars away from Jessy and peered through them, looking for the driver of the van. Sure enough...it was that harpy. Cassidy. Which meant Butch was most likely in the van too.
ÒHey...I wanna see too.Ó Misty whispered. Jessy opened her mouth to retort but before she had a chance, Meowth handed the younger girl the binoculars. Then he turned toward his Team mate.
ÒJess we need ta figure out how ta get in dere...I think we can use what everÕs goin on down dere...but IÕm not sure how.Ó
Jessy sat for a moment considering. No matter how hard she tried though, a plan just wouldnÕt form itself. Every time she tried to concentrate on the situation at hand...her mind would wander off in a tangent of worry. Worry about what would happen if they were caught. Worry about what would happen if they werenÕt caught. If they actually got away with this crazy scheme the Boss wouldnÕt rest till they were pokemon chow. Mostly though, she was plagued with worry over James and the thought that if something happened to her she would never see him again and he would never know what happened to her. Or worse...he might try to find her and get killed himself. That thought had kept her awake for the last several nights.
While Jessy and Meowth were trying to come up with an idea of how to get into the Team Rocket complex, Misty watched the van pull up to the gate and stop. She watched, just as confused as the others had been as the small horde of Rockets hustled to the back of the van and opened it up. It was parked at the wrong angle for her to see what was inside though. Whatever it is....those Rockets sure are interested in it, she thought. Then she saw someone get out...or rather be pulled out of the back of the van. The focus of the binoculars was a little off so it was difficult to tell who exactly it was, though Misty felt as though it was someone familiar. Leaning forward unconsciously, she adjusted the focus slightly, bringing the face of the mysterious person into clear view.
Jessy and Meowth jumped, both startled by an horrified cry from Misty. Jessy whipped around to yell at the girl for scaring her but stopped when she saw the look on her face. ÒMisty? What is it?Ó she asked instead, seriously concerned. She looked like she might pass out or something.
Misty didnÕt answer, but she gave Meowth the binoculars when he reached for them. Then she got up and went back to the camp.
Jessy was dumbfounded by the girlÕs behavior. She turned to Meowth and saw a grim expression on her pokemon friendÕs face. ÒMeowth....WHAT is it?Ó she demanded, concern making her sound harsh. Meowth didnÕt answer her either, instead he gave her the binoculars. Jessy snatched them from the cat pokemon and looked through them.
All she saw was a big fuzzy blur. She pulled the binoculars down and peered at them in a moment of confusion before she realized that in her rush to grab them from Meowth, sheÕd messed up the focus. With an annoyed growl she looked through them again, adjusting the focus until the scene below sharpened into clearness. ÒOh my God!Ó she breathed.
Below them, stood a very battered, bruised and bloody James who was supporting an even worse off Tracy. Behind them, in the midst of the crowd of Rockets a gurney was being carefully lowered from the van. She watched as various machines and monitors were lifted even more carefully onto handcarts. Now she knew why the van had been moving so slowly...obviously the Bossy wanted Ash Ketchum alive. But why? Why would the Boss want Ash? He had Pikachu. Why would he want the boy? And what in the name of God had happened to James?
JessyÕs attention was pulled from watching Ash being wheeled into the complex and Butch and Cassidy prodding James and Tracy along behind him with their guns by the sound of footsteps behind her. She turned and looked at Misty who had returned from camp with her backpack and was standing there with a determined look on her face.
ÒI donÕt care how. But IÕm going in there right now.Ó she said.
Jessy didnÕt hesitate. The image of her partnerÕs bruised, swolen face and his hobbled gait swam through her mind. She had to get him away from those monsters. ÒLets go.Ó
Meowth watched as Misty and Jessy began to cautiously make their way toward Team Rocket headquarters. He sighed, a feeling of dread settling in his stomach. Was he going to lose his friends today? It seemed pretty likely. James had been captured by Butch and Cassidy and Jessy was rushing into the lionÕs den. He didnÕt see how they could possibly get in there without being caught. He didnÕt see how they could get James and Tracy out even if they did get in. Getting Ash out? Impossible. It had taken a team of fourteen Team Rocket members to wheel him and all the equipment he was hooked up to in. Finding Pikachu was probably a lost cause too. He had an urge to call out for Jessy and Misty to come back. But then, he shook it off and moved to catch up with his friends. They might be heading into certain doom...but they would do it together. Jessy was his Teammate and Misty had become a friend and he wouldnÕt let them go down alone.
To Be Continued....