Part Six
Miya seemed to be pregnant for an eternity. Though the year itself went by fast, she never seemed to get any closer to having her child. Maybe I was just impatient to get her back out on missions. Though Xan, Cal and other members of the Elite team were all excellent, none of them filled the void she left. She seemed to enjoy teaching new recruits, and even when she was heavily pregnant, she'd have them all up early in the morning mists practising various techniques. Then again, she didn't wake up half the time with a blinding headache or feeling sick. She'd probably have an easy time giving birth too, I'd put money on it. That was the news I was waiting for at the moment.
The advantage of agents having children was that they were essentially born into Team Rocket. The two previous children that I could recall were now entering their teens and were fiercely loyal. But I wasn't about to use that as a way of getting loyalty. The thought of hundreds of small children running about screaming made my skin crawl. Ugh. The odd one or two could at least be ignored. My secretary came into my office, trying to control the beaming smile on her face.
"Ma'am, Miya's had her baby."
"Name? Boy or girl?" I prompted.
"A girl. Jessica, I think."
"Did you speak to Miya herself?"
"No, Dahlia. She went with Miya, seeing as Cal is away. They're both fine and will probably be back tomorrow."
"Thank you, Alison," I said. Three days later, after the initial rush of people had died down, I went to see Miya and her baby.
"I'm sorry for the mess," Miya apologised. "I haven't really had time to tidy up much." She looked exhausted. I remembered the feeling well.
"May I see her?" I asked. Miya nodded, and led me into another room.
"She's only just gone to sleep," she said quietly as we peered into the crib. Carefully tucked up in blankets was the tiny baby girl. I could see that she bore a likeness to her mother. Such innocence, yet it wouldn't last, especially in this environment. Miya smiled and gently touched the sleeping baby, then looked at me.
"She may look cute, but she's quite demanding. Keeps me awake half the night," she said, though her voice was full of pride.
"Giovanni was not too bad," I recalled. And I had Eric to help. Miya had people like Cal during the day, but no one at night as far as I knew.
"I suppose it doesn't seem very long since he was a baby," she said.
"He still is in some ways," I replied shortly.
"Well men never seem to grow up do they?" she said with a laugh. I allowed myself a small smile.
"I wish to see you back at work in six weeks, Miya," I said. "I need you back out in the field as soon as possible."
"That soon?" she replied, surprised. "I was hoping to have a little longer with her."
"How much longer?" I asked.
"Six months?" she said. I gave her a look. She was undaunted. "Please Ma'am, I wouldn't want to leave Jessie for a period of time when she is only six weeks old. I don't mind going back to doing the research or the teaching after six weeks because I'd be near her. Besides, it's almost winter and the success rate of missions is always lower then." Her blue-green eyes were wide as she looked at me. The thought of being separated from her daughter so soon clearly distressed her. I must admit, I hated leaving Giovanni with someone else when I first went back to work, and I was only on the other side of the headquarters.
"Very well," I said. "Two months."
"Four?" she asked. I sighed.
"Four then. But you are to return to your other work in six weeks."
"Thank you, ma'am. Thank you so much," she beamed.
"I must go now," I said, giving the baby a last look. She nodded and went to show me out.
.
Giovanni had been established as the Viridian gym leader at around the same time Miya became pregnant. Trainers were almost queuing up to battle for their Earth badge. Finally, all that trouble years ago at the Pokémon Tech and the training by Xan and Miyamoto seemed worth it, for he won all six opening battles. And if I needed him for something else, it was easy to send someone else to sit in his place for a few days. Sometimes it was Xan, sometimes Miya, sometimes another capable person. My own Pokémon battling days were long gone, the Pokémon I had owned when I was younger all dead now. I still had a couple as pets - a Ninetails and a Persian that had evolved from a Meowth Giovanni had found injured by the roadside one day. He loved feline Pokémon, and as a child would often beg me to let him have one. I preferred canine-like Pokémon, but when the Persian evolved it caught my eye and I insisted it stay with me rather than going with Giovanni to Viridian City. They were my companions now. The Persian got a little on the tubby side. At first I couldn't understand why, for it often disappeared off for a roam. Then I came home one evening to find the Persian curled up in the broom cupboard, with four little kittens huddled against her. When they were old enough, I gave one to Minty, one to Giovanni, one to my secretary and the final one to Trey, who had asked for one.
Speaking of growing youngsters, Miya's daughter Jessie was growing fast. Miya would leave her with some couple outside of Team Rocket when she went on missions. I did not see a lot of her, but when she was around three and a half, I began to grow suspicious as to the identity of her father. Two or three times over the past few months I had seen Stefan hanging round Miya when he had passed by. He seemed keen to see Jessie, but Miya seemed to have other ideas. The last time she had grown angry at him, gesturing at him to go away. At first I was going to have someone spy on them, but then decided I would look into the matter myself. I went down to the labs one day when everyone had gone home. Locked away were blood samples from every single member of Team Rocket and any other relevant people. I found the vial that contained Jessie's blood, and then found Stefan's. It had been a long time since I had performed any DNA tests, but I did not want help. Eventually I got the results. I frowned. I took out a different sample and painstakingly redid the test. I looked at the results of the second test, refusing to believe my eyes even though it confirmed what I had known when I saw the results of the first one.
Giovanni was Jessie's father.
I honestly did not know what to think. How on earth could that have escaped me? Admittedly, I did not have Miya watched by Oliver's team of spies since she was an Elite. Still, I should have picked up on it myself. How long had they been together? They couldn't still be; I knew that for certain. I'd worked out that he had feelings for her, but never dreamt that he'd act on them, I didn't think they were that strong. If I had known, I would have had Miya posted abroad for a long time. If she had been from outside of Team Rocket, I would have happily let them be together, for I liked Miya. I think she'd be good for Giovanni in the same way that Eric had been good for me. I could never allow my top agent and my son to have a relationship though, for that would put the wrong message out to everyone else. The higher members of Team Rocket had to set an example. Giovanni and Miya would have known that. They'd done well to keep their relationship from me, never mind the fact that they had had a child together.
Was I so terrible my own son could not tell me such matters?
Then I grew angry. Cal must have also known about the relationship, and therefore the identity of Jessie's father. There was a good chance Xan did, too. Some of the people I most trusted had lied to me. And after all the concessions I had let Miya have. My first thought was to have them all hauled in. Then for some reason I paused. It wouldn't change anything; Jessie would still be Giovanni's child. No, I would sit this out. Let them think they still had the wool pulled over my eyes.
The next time I saw Jessie, I looked at her carefully as she clung to her mother's hand. She still looked like a little version of Miya, one of the reasons I had not suspected anything. The magenta hair must have come from Miya's family. However, now I looked closely, I recognised the brilliant blue of the child's eyes. Eric's eyes. He would have liked grandchildren and would have been just as good as grandfather as he had been a father. Maybe if he were still alive, Giovanni would have been open about things. Yet that was just another unknown.
.
"I have a report for you, Ma'am."
"I'm listening," I said, though I wasn't really. It had been a tough six months. Results were down in all areas, and the amount of paperwork on my desk depressed me. A tape recorder was placed on my desk in what little space remained.
"I've gotten hold of this recording made in the South American jungles at the base of the Andes. I think what is on it will interest you," said Miya. I looked at her as she proceeded to play the tape. It had been some eighteen months since I found out about the affair between her and my son. Neither were aware that I knew. I listened to the tape half-heartedly. Though I still had faith in her skills, I couldn't give her my full attention. After about two minutes of jungle noises, I grew tired and switched it off.
"What am I supposed to be listening to here?" I asked.
"Please keep listening. It's not much further," she replied, switching the tape back on. After another minute or so, there was a strange sound, like a baby Meowth. Miya switched the tape off.
"That was a Mew," she announced. I narrowed my eyes.
"Mew is just a legend, isn't it?" I said.
"Supposedly, yes, but here on this tape is proof that it is real. It's a very rare Pokémon. The legends say it possesses amazing psychic powers…"
"Yes, I know all about it," I interrupted. Eric, with his interest in psychic Pokémon had read widely round the legend of Mew and had often spoken to me about it. Such a rare Pokémon would be priceless. And if I controlled it… I liked the idea.
"You and Cal shall go to South America and bring back a Mew," I ordered. Miya looked slightly taken aback.
"But Ma'am that could take months. Most stories say Mew lives amongst the mountains. The Andes are the longest mountain chain in the world. I could never search it all."
"You have a starting point, do you not? The place where the recording was made?"
"Yes, Ma'am, but I don't want to leave Jessie for months. I've not long been back from my last mission."
"Miyamoto, you are my best agent. I assumed that by bringing me the evidence of Mew being real you were prepared for me sending you out to find one. And I would not be sending you all the way to South America if I did not feel you could find one. You work for me, you are therefore committed to serving Team Rocket despite any personal items in your life. Is that not what it stated in the contract you signed? Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Children are expensive, Miya, are they not? My brat of a boy has cost me a fortune. Bring back a Mew and you'll be able to send your daughter to the best schools and give her the best possible life money can buy."
"I understand, Ma'am. I'm sorry."
"Off you go then. I expect you to make the necessary arrangements immediately and for you and Cal to give me your plan of action first thing tomorrow morning. I will be expecting regular progress reports," I said.
"Yes Ma'am." She hesitated in front of my desk looking unusually troubled, perhaps because I had completely dismissed her plea not to be assigned the mission.
"Is there something else, Miya?" I asked, not in the mood for further excuses. I noticed that she had clasped her hands.
"Would it make a difference…" she began, but then stopped. Her hands unclasped and went to her sides. When she spoke again, she seemed more controlled.
"There's nothing else, Ma'am. I will go and find Cal now," she said. I watched her leave my office, holding her head high, but her shoulders showed she was dejected. I returned to my work, trying to make sense of the figures in front of me.
.
About three months later and Miya and Cal still had not located a Mew. I was patient only because I knew the power the legendary Pokémon could give me. I received a progress report from Miya. She believed they were close to finding Mew, and they were preparing to go up a mountain some local people said Mew lived. Two days after the report was sent, I received news from the regional agent that there had been a huge avalanche, and that Cal and Miya were both missing.
A fortnight later, I was brought the latest report on the situation by Oliver, who co-managed matters regarding field agents. Trey was also present, given the serious nature of the incident.
"There's no change in the situation. Agent Morris has ventured as far as he can towards their last known location but has said that the terrain is treacherous and fears another avalanche could happen," said Oliver. Trey opened a file and took out a wad of documents.
"The latest satellite images we've intercepted don't appear to pick up any trace of movement. It's just ice and snow for miles. Not even a suggestion of scattered equipment on the slopes." Trey spread the pictures on my desk, creating a sea of white. The same desk on which Miya had signed up for Team Rocket now displayed her probable final resting place. I sat back in my chair, feeling the oddest combination of sorrow and indifference as I reflected on all of Miya's achievements and dedication…and what I could only describe as a betrayal. I hadn't wanted either her or Cal dead – I could have quite easily arranged an accident closer to home and at far less expense if that was the case. Yet if she hadn't… Then perhaps I might have listened to her. Perhaps I would have sent someone else. Perhaps given her position and the intricacies of some of the assignments she took on, it was an inevitability anyway.
"Ma'am?" Trey prompted and I realised that I had become a little too lost in thought.
"If they made it out alive, Miya would have got them to a safe place and found a way to call for help," I said, the indifference helping to control any other feelings. Trey nodded his head slightly in agreement, whilst Oliver sat back and let out a long sigh.
"Jesus… Miya." He took off his glasses and briefly squeezed the bridge of his nose. "It's going to shake the troops up. I mean, we've lost people before…but it's not supposed to happen to someone like Miya."
"Grieving is to be expected, but I will not tolerate any dissent as a result," I said. "Miya was just one employee of many. The organisation will not cease because of her absence."
"She still leaves a hole," replied Oliver, mildly.
"So, fill it in," I retorted, indicating that he was dismissed from the meeting.
"Ma'am." Oliver left the room. I turned to Trey.
"Have Miya's room cleared immediately. All documentation is to be destroyed."
"What about the child?"
"There should be an address in Miya's sealed file. Send someone to inform whoever lives there of the situation. Make sure that the person delivering the news is someone who keeps their mouth shut. Destroy the sealed file when it's done." Trey looked askance at me. Destruction of personal sealed files was not normal procedure.
"Do you want the child brought back here?"
"No." I was a little too vehement in my response, causing the usually inscrutable Trey to look as close to perplexed as I'd ever seen him over the many years which had passed since our first meeting. He had become my closest ally, my most loyal and trusted employee. My right-hand man, if you must. However, even he would not know the truth of the matter.
"Miya's arrangement to have Jessie cared for by people outside of the organisation suggests that she did not want the responsibility falling on us to raise the girl if something happened," I said by way of explanation.
"Mm. And the destruction of the sealed file?" He raised a quizzical eyebrow. I knew that my slip-up in my response to his query about Jessie meant that simply telling him to do as I asked wouldn't be enough in this instance.
"Miya was an exceptional employee. I don't want any chance that information in the sealed file could be used against her." I don't think he was completely satisfied with my response, but it was enough that he nodded in acknowledgement before leaving my office to carry out the orders. My gaze returned to the seemingly endless snowy landscape laid out across my desk and my mind flashed back to the girl with purple hair in a ponytail tied with a green ribbon. It almost seemed a shame to see her signing her life away, but she clearly understood the situation...
.
As Oliver had thought, the news that Miya and Cal were presumed dead sent shockwaves through Team Rocket. The memorial service was packed out, and you couldn't move for flowers. I couldn't hope to erase the memory of Miya from the collective consciousness of Team Rocket, but I could reduce her daughter to some vague footnote in her story, my revenge for her mother's deception. It would be on Miya's record that she had a daughter, but that would be all. I did not wish for her to be brought up in my sight. I never once thought of Jessie as my granddaughter. As far as I was concerned, she was just a thing that reminded me of the duplicity shown towards me by her parents, an insult to me. So, I was not surprised when Giovanni showed up and asked the pertinent question:
"Mum, what's happened to Miya's daughter?" he asked innocently enough. I was writing something, so stopped and looked at him.
"Your daughter is with whoever Miyamoto sends her to when she goes away," I replied matter-of-factly. The colour drained from his face.
"You knew?" he said, clearly not believing his ears. "How?"
"Everything gets back to me eventually," I replied, simply. I started writing again.
"You know where she is, don't you?"
"You are her father. Surely you know yourself?"
"Miya never told me." he replied.
"Well then, that is your burden," I said. "Perhaps you should have been honest with me in the first place."
"Tell me where Jessie is," Giovanni demanded, bringing a fist down onto my desk. I stopped writing again and glared at him.
"I will hear no more on the matter. That child does not exist as far as I am concerned. Isn't that what you wanted me to believe, that she was of no relation to me at all?"
"All the more reason to tell me where she is," Giovanni snapped, leaning on the desk. Whatever had happened between himself and Miya, the guilt of it was clear on his face, and in his voice. For the first time I saw a troubled man rather than an angry boy. Well, he had dug this hole, and he could face the consequences.
"I forbid you to look for her. Now, if you've quite finished, I have work to do."
"You killed Miya," he shouted at me, waving a finger inches from my face. "You didn't intend for her to come back. Why else would you send her after a Pokémon that doesn't exist?"
"It exists, Giovanni. When you are feeling more civilised, I will show you."
"I don't care. Miya's gone and it's all your fault."
"Don't blame me for your own problems. Miyamoto knew the risks of being in Team Rocket and accepted them. We all have to accept them; else there is no point in being here. And since you are in an unreasonable mood, I see little point in you being here." I picked up my pen again. Giovanni glared at me. I stared straight back at him. This time he lost the staring contest for he turned around and stormed out of my office, slamming the door behind him. I returned to my work. I did not expect forgiveness for my actions, and he had done nothing to apologise for his. As far as I was concerned another chapter had been closed in my life, even if it was not that way for my son. Whilst I remained in charge of Team Rocket, he would continue to follow my wishes as would the rest of my employees.
Despite the recent tragedy, my quest to possess the powers of a Mew was still alive and well. It would happen one day, for I always get what I want in the end. I would not be here in charge of what had become a very powerful organisation if I had not got my way. Nothing is an obstacle for me. I've had my pitfalls, but I always pick myself up and carry on. Life goes on, and Team Rocket is my life. Let them all continue to be wary of me with good reason. Madame Boss will not go away quietly, not if I have anything to do with it.
.
The End