The Truth about Jessica Chapter 9

A New Partner, a new Mission

Nicole

"Good work, Nicole."
I was back in Giovanni's office in Celadon City, along with Jessie, James and that weird talking Meowth. All four of us were excited. We had completed our mission successfully, and thanks to us Giovanni had a new rare Pokemon. From what I can gather from what Jessie and James's comments is that this was one of the few missions they had managed to complete without making an error. Apparently they kept getting foiled by some kid with a Pikachu.
Anyway, our task had been simple: break into the Pokemon Center and steal a Scyther who had a broken leg. Jessie and James had wanted to just smash in the door in broad daylight and hold up Nurse Joy, but I'd had a better idea. At midnight, dressed completely is black to make us harder to see, we climbed onto the roof and I dropped into the air vents, along with Meowth. Jessie and James were too big to fit in, so they had sentry work, looking out from behind the giant Pokeball glued to the roof.
Meowth and I crawled through the cramped air vents. Good thing I wasn't claustrophobic. We dropped out behind the counter. Finding the Scyther had been easy. The Pokemon Center was small, and only had one hospital room. We found the large bug pokemon sleeping peacefully. It didn't even stir as we caught it. Returning to the main room, Meowth let us out by picking the lock with his claw. We ran off into the bushes. Jessie and James joined us a few minutes later. They were elated. No one had even seen us!
By lunchtime the next day we were back in Celadon City. We reported our success to the Boss. Which brings us back to Giovanni.
"I'm glad you approve, Boss." I said, smiling a smile that was falsely sweet.
"You too, Jessie, James and Meowth. This is the kind of work I expect from members. Here is your pay. You may leave. You know what you should be doing by now."
"And what is that?" James asked through a mouthful of doughnut.
"CATCH THAT DAMNED PIKACHU!" Giovanni yelled. James choked on his doughnut. Meowth slammed him on the back with his paw, claws extended. The piece of doughnut flew out of his mouth and hit Giovanni in the eye. All four of us froze in horror. With fingers that quivered in anger, Giovanni dislodged it.
"Out," He said in a voice as cold as ice. We did not have to be told twice. We ran out of there as fast as we could. Well, at least Jessie, James and Meowth did.
"Nicole, wait here a minute. i am not finished with you yet." Giovanni called as I reached the for the door handle. Feeling apprehensive, I slid back into my seat. Giovanni clasped his hands together on the desk, momentarily over his sudden fury.
"Nicole, I had people observing your mission. They reported that you took the task into your own hands and therefore you were responsible for the success of the mission." Giovanni commented in an unusually pleasant tone.
"Thankyou, Boss." I replied, wondering what Giovanni was heading at.
"I believe that your talents are being wasted being partnered with those three blundering fools. I'm having you partnered up with another new recruit. His name is Zack. I'm sure you'll do just fine together." He informed me. He turned to face the door.
"Ralph!" Giovanni screamed. My ears rang from the sound. Heavy footsteps sounded in the hallway, before the door was burst open. Ralph waddled in, having momentary difficulty fitting his massive bulk through the narrow doorway. His appearance had not improved since I'd last seen him. Several of the buttons on his jacket had burst open, exposing a bloated hairy chest. Feeling repulsed, i looked away.
"Yeth Bossth?" Ralph lisped, scratching his greasy scalp.
"Take Nicole to the library. Someone is waiting for her," Giovanni ordered.
"Sure thing Bossth."
"Nicole, Zack has already been briefed in your next mission. I must say, it will be more challenging that your last... but I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle. Here is your pay. Go now, before I change my mind about you." Giovanni handed me a large wad of cash, an amount of money that seemed almost unimaginable to me. Satisfied, Giovanni swung around in his chair, once again completely shrouded in shadows.
"Thankyou Boss." I said quietly, before following Ralph out of the room. He led me through a complex system of tunnels, and I wondered briefly how he remembered where everything was. I supposed it was because he never leaves the Rocket headquarters. Must be a dull job.
Ralph stopped at a nondescript wooden door. He opened it and motioned for me to go through, following soon afterwards once he managed to get his large body through.
Compared to other places of the rocket headquarters, the library was surprisingly well kept. Books were neatly arranged along the numerous shelves, and there wasn't a speck of dust to be seen anywhere. Seated at a long pine table, a person was sitting involved deeply in a book. He didn't seem aware of our presence, and nearly jumped out of his skin when Ralph's rasping voice rang out.
"Zack, someone ith here to thsee you," Ralph bellowed much louder than necessary. Zack looked around, his annoyed expression replaced with a welcoming one, which was obviously false. He stood and approached us, giving me a chance to see him properly. He looked odd, to say the least. He had a shock of dark blue hair, combed and gelled into several spikes aranged evenly around his head. His skin was awfully pale, which contrasted shockingly with his eyes, which were so dark their colour could not be defined. His uniform was identical to my own, except perhaps a little dirtier from more wear.
He grinned, looked up and down my body in a way that can only be defined as sleazy, grinned again, and finally looked up to my face. He extended a hand.
"Hey, Zack's the name. How you doin', babe?" He drawled with a strong southern accent. In response, I grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into a nearby bookshelf. Books went flying everywhere.
"If I catch you looking at me like that again, I'm going to tear out your eyes and shove them up your arse." I hissed, storming out of the room without waiting for a reply. Ralph looked at Zack, who was examining a cut on the back of his head.
"You know, I think she likeths you," Ralph commented.

I had not gotten far out of the building before Zack came chasing after me.
"Hey, blondie! Wait!" He yelled. Sighing, I waited for him to catch up. Once he was level with me, I slapped him in the face.
"My name is Nicole. Use it." I snapped.
"Nicole," He amended, "look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have looked at you like that. You see, we'll have to put up with each other for quite a while, so please stop hurting me." I stared at him blankly, before suddenly smiling. For the moment, my violence was over.
"Sure, but remember I'm in charge of this." I stated.
"Well, you'll need to know what our mission is, right?"
"Of course."
"Well, our target is Pewter gym." I frowned.
"Pewter Gym? Isn't that bit of a big target?"
"Nah, the leader's just left, so their defences will be down. Hard and fast, the boss said. We'll need to be quick." I sighed.
"I suppose you'll want to burst in, sing a motto, then take the leader hostage?"
"Actually," Zack mused, " I was thinking more about the airvents." I laughed.
"What?" Zack questioned.
"You know Zack, I just might be able to put up with you."