Chapter 6: The deal
James wasn't sure how much time had passed but it couldn't have been long before Giovanni's guards came back down into the basement. Talia looked up in disgust as they entered the prison grabbing James roughly as they pulled him from the cell.
"The Boss requests to see you" one said gruffly.
"What if I don't want to see him?" James replied. He was getting sick of orders now. Giovanni had locked him down here in this prison with no reason why and he was expected to do whatever they wanted? James had, had enough. "You are going to see the Boss," the second guard shouted then punching James hard in the stomach. He doubled over in pain tears in his eyes. "Come on" the first one said pulling him along. They allowed James to walk once they got out of the basement. One guard either side of him like before. But James found it hard going with the throbbing pain in his stomach, He couldn't remember the last time some one had punched him. Normally Jesse protected him from blows from the bullies. But Jesse wasn't here now. James wondered where he was going. Giovanni's office was in the north side of the HQ. They were walking towards the south end. The guards halted outside a room. One banged loudly on the door. "Come in" the voice of the Boss was heard from inside the room.
The second guard opened the door and shoved James inside before closing it again. "Ah James" Giovanni turned to face the male standing in front of the polished oak door. The office that James was now in was a lot bigger than the other one. Instead of the hard-backed chair that James usually had to sit in there was a chair similar to Giovanni's leather one. "Sit down" he said smiling almost warmly at James. James did as he was told; he didn't trust Giovanni at all.
Giovanni poured some water into a glass from the pitcher on his desk and held it out to James. He shook his head still not speaking. Giovanni sighed and slammed the glass down causing a small amount of water to splash out and onto the desk itself. "I wanted us to talk to each other as equals so I decided we could have our little chat in this room. It is a lot more roomy don't you think?" Giovanni asked disguising his anger well but James could still see the tenseness in his eyes.
"Its very nice" James answered softly taking a moment to gaze round the rest of the room. Giovanni's desk was in front of a window and through that James could see Psyduck swimming in a pond and a couple of Pidgeys flying by. The floor was covered by a thick red carpet, which reminded James of his parent's velvet carpets back home. In fact the whole office resembled the mansion in some respect. A fine marble statue of a Rapidash stood in one corner. On the walls were expensive pieces of artwork. It was funny because James couldn't picture Giovanni going to artwork auctions and buying this stuff.
"I had this room designed to put my agents at their ease" Giovanni continued "I can't talk with them when they are nervous. I end up having a conversation with myself. It can get really annoying after a while"
James smiled slightly. It was having the opposite effect on him. He had never felt comfortable in these sorts of rooms.
Giovanni stared hard at James for a minute. He noted that the male was sitting slightly doubled over.
"Were my guards rough on you?" he asked.
"No" James replied not making eye contact with his Boss for a second.
"If they were I could get them dealt with," Giovanni said next. "If we're going to be working together from now on that is"
This caught James' attention. Giovanni wanted him to work with him? This had to be a trick. Giovanni required no one and did whatever he wanted and had got away with it. He was the Boss and that was how things were. "I thought that might get you're interest" Giovanni continued "But first we have to talk about this interesting gift of yours"
"I don't know what you mean sir"
"Yes you do James. Butch and Cassidy told me all about it. Quite some thing you are. You know when I first met you I thought to myself. That one will never amount to any thing. I didn't think you were cut out for Team Rocket. Not like you're partner. With training she could be ruthless but she is weak and Team Rocket does not tolerate weakness"
James kept his gaze fixed on the floor. No one had ever called Jesse weak to his knowledge. Jesse was the strong one. It was James who would cower behind Jesse at the slightest sign of trouble. Why would Giovanni consider Jesse weak? "James this silence is getting us nowhere" Giovanni spoke again. James ignored him. If he didn't speak then there was no possibility of messing up. But how had Butch and Cassidy found out? It didn't make sense. Giovanni was getting annoyed at James' silence. "James" he said in that dangerous tone of voice he used when he was getting angry. "I think you should start talking. It is in your own interests"
"How can I talk if I don't know what you are talking about?" was the timid reply.
Giovanni lunged across the desk, knocking the pitcher off in the process, and grabbed James by his black shirt. He pulled him closer until his face was mere centimetres from Giovanni's. "You better start talking or I swear you will live to regret it. I know all about this `future sight' thanks to Meowth so there is no point in denying it!"
Meowth told Butch and Cassidy? That explained the bruising and the broken leg. James bit his lip and held in the tears. Meowth was in a bad way because of him. This was his fault. James silently cursed his gift. He didn't want it if it would cause hurt to his friends. If Giovanni was planning in using his gift for himself then he was very much mistaken. James looked back defiantly at his Boss.
"What gift sir?" he asked. Giovanni let out a roar of anger and threw James back several inches. He landed hard on his back. Giovanni then seized the glass of water and hurled it at the wall behind James. It shattered sending the shards of glass flying all round the terrified male. James closed his eyes and pretended not to hear Giovanni coming towards him again. "James" he leant down and hissed angrily "This is not some game you know. I do not like to be treated as through I am a complete incompetent fool"
James didn't say a word to this. "Get up" Giovanni said next. James did so trembling with fear.
"Do we have an understanding James?"
"I told you sir. I don't know what you mean" James replied wearily knowing that it would do no good now. In a flash Giovanni produced some thing from inside his jacket and James felt the cold metal pressing against his head. It took him a few seconds to register that it was a gun. "I wouldn't really want to ruin my carpet with you're blood James" Giovanni said a finger inching towards the trigger as he spoke. "But I could get it cleaned"
"Ok" James whispered backing up. "I'll talk". What good would getting himself killed do? And not to mention what it would do to Jesse and Meowth. James was not going to give into Giovanni but maybe he could let his Boss think that he had won long enough for James to plan an escape.
"Good boy" Giovanni put the gun away and motioned with hand for James to take a seat. A minute's silence passed before Giovanni spoke again "Talk then"
"Well...It began with this sort of dream I had. In it Officer Jenny was coming to arrest us. For some reason I believed it to be true. Me and the rest of my team got away in time. I found I could see the future of any thing I wished sir. We...I" James corrected himself. He didn't want Jesse and Meowth to face the boss's fury whilst Meowth was still hurt. "Have been using it so my team can complete missions"
"This really is quite remarkable" Giovanni said thoughtfully "But what I don't understand is why you were so reluctant to tell me about it"
"I was afraid that I would get in trouble" James replied carefully.
Giovanni smiled to himself. James was lying to him. The boy was not as stupid as Giovanni gave him credit for. He knew what his Boss wanted and was determined not to let him have it. Maybe Giovanni should tell him the truth after all. It might crush his willpower if he knew the truth.
"Why should you?" Giovanni said instead. "I thought I taught my agents to use whatever means possible when completing their missions?"
"You did sir but..." James trailed off not being able to find an answer to this.
"Well James I have to ask you some thing else. How loyal are you to Team Rocket?"
"Very sir"
"Ok that's good. Now you can see why I want us to work together as equals. With your gift and my money we could control the world"
James didn't know what to say to this. He and his team used to joke about ruling the world but in actual fact all they wanted was to earn enough money to pay their debts to Giovanni off and leave Team Rocket for good. James didn't really consider himself and Jesse to be bad people. They just got stuck in a rut and no way of getting out. Giovanni on the other hand was pure evil. James could just imagine what would happen if Giovanni was ruler of the world. He also knew that Giovanni did not see James or any one as partners. James was merely some one who was of use to him for a while. When Giovanni had accomplished what he wished then James knew that he would be disposed of. "You don't need me for that sir" James replied at last.
Giovanni frowned he hated to admit it but he did need James. Sure he had the money and the resources to do it but without James' knowledge the chance of succeeding with his plan was not good. "James think this through a minute" he said. "I am offering you the chance to be some one. At this moment in time you are a failure. But together we can do some thing that will change the world. You will have all the money you could ever want. No more sleeping on the ground in woods scrounging for food. You and you're team mates will never go hungry again. How does that sound?"
"Good" James said shifting his position slightly. "But I honestly don't think I'm cut out for ruling the world sir"
"Of course not. I would deal with all that. All you have to do is make it happen and I will make sure that you are set up for life"
James smiled to himself. It was just as he suspected.
"Set up for life?" he said thoughtfully "How much money would we get?"
"As much as you wanted" Giovanni said trying not to sound as through he needed the boys help.
"Jesse and Meowth too?"
"Certainly"
James made it seem as if he was thinking it over. Giovanni and every one else always did this. Assumed that just because he acted stupid at times that meant that he was. Giovanni thought he would think of the money and agree to every thing. Well he was in for a shock.
"Sir I really would like to help you but I wouldn't feel right about using my gift like that"
James held his breath waiting for Giovanni to explode in rage. But the Boss seemed quite calm about the whole thing. "James this is a great opportunity. You would be stupid to turn it down"
James felt disgust at his words. Giovanni would kill any one to get what he wanted and there would be lots of innocent people dying if James helped him. There was no way he would do it.
"I guess I'm stupid then sir" James said softly.
Giovanni sighed and stared hard at James. "I am you're Boss. You have to do as I say James"
"I won't help you sir. I don't care what you do to me"
Giovanni laughed at this "Maybe not James. But do you care what happens to Jesse and Meowth?"
"Of course I do" James snapped.
"Do you know where they are now?"
"Yes their still in the cabin outside Violet City sir"
"I have ordered them to stay there until I say otherwise. They are sitting targets James. I know how bad you'd feel if any thing happened to them"
"Leave them alone" James shouted. "I won't help you"
"James you're not listening. If you refuse to co-operate then one of them might have an accident"
"You wouldn't hurt them"
"James I always get what I want. Do you possibly think you or Jesse and Meowth would stop me? I wouldn't hesitate to kill them"
James bowed his head. It was true he had seen it before. Giovanni didn't care about any one or any thing. All he cared about was getting what he wanted. "Don't hurt them" he whispered. Giovanni had him and James knew it. Jesse and Meowth were his only family. If any thing happened to them because of him...well James didn't think he could live with himself.
"Good boy James" Giovanni's anger vanished. "Now the way I thought we could do this is very simple. I will tell you what I plan to have my men do and..."
"Sir" James broke in. "Jesse and Meowth won't be hurt?"
"You have my word" Giovanni stated simply.
James almost laughed out loud at this. Giovanni's word? That was nothing, it meant nothing.
Giovanni seemed to sense what he was thinking as he added. "As long as you do as I say then they will be unharmed"
James nodded and listened as Giovanni continued talking about his plan. James felt sick inside. Giovanni had him and they both knew it.
James wasn't sure how much time had passed but it couldn't have been long before Giovanni's guards came back down into the basement. Talia looked up in disgust as they entered the prison grabbing James roughly as they pulled him from the cell.
"The Boss requests to see you" one said gruffly.
"What if I don't want to see him?" James replied. He was getting sick of orders now. Giovanni had locked him down here in this prison with no reason why and he was expected to do whatever they wanted? James had, had enough. "You are going to see the Boss," the second guard shouted then punching James hard in the stomach. He doubled over in pain tears in his eyes. "Come on" the first one said pulling him along. They allowed James to walk once they got out of the basement. One guard either side of him like before. But James found it hard going with the throbbing pain in his stomach, He couldn't remember the last time some one had punched him. Normally Jesse protected him from blows from the bullies. But Jesse wasn't here now. James wondered where he was going. Giovanni's office was in the north side of the HQ. They were walking towards the south end. The guards halted outside a room. One banged loudly on the door. "Come in" the voice of the Boss was heard from inside the room.
The second guard opened the door and shoved James inside before closing it again. "Ah James" Giovanni turned to face the male standing in front of the polished oak door. The office that James was now in was a lot bigger than the other one. Instead of the hard-backed chair that James usually had to sit in there was a chair similar to Giovanni's leather one. "Sit down" he said smiling almost warmly at James. James did as he was told; he didn't trust Giovanni at all.
Giovanni poured some water into a glass from the pitcher on his desk and held it out to James. He shook his head still not speaking. Giovanni sighed and slammed the glass down causing a small amount of water to splash out and onto the desk itself. "I wanted us to talk to each other as equals so I decided we could have our little chat in this room. It is a lot more roomy don't you think?" Giovanni asked disguising his anger well but James could still see the tenseness in his eyes.
"Its very nice" James answered softly taking a moment to gaze round the rest of the room. Giovanni's desk was in front of a window and through that James could see Psyduck swimming in a pond and a couple of Pidgeys flying by. The floor was covered by a thick red carpet, which reminded James of his parent's velvet carpets back home. In fact the whole office resembled the mansion in some respect. A fine marble statue of a Rapidash stood in one corner. On the walls were expensive pieces of artwork. It was funny because James couldn't picture Giovanni going to artwork auctions and buying this stuff.
"I had this room designed to put my agents at their ease" Giovanni continued "I can't talk with them when they are nervous. I end up having a conversation with myself. It can get really annoying after a while"
James smiled slightly. It was having the opposite effect on him. He had never felt comfortable in these sorts of rooms.
Giovanni stared hard at James for a minute. He noted that the male was sitting slightly doubled over.
"Were my guards rough on you?" he asked.
"No" James replied not making eye contact with his Boss for a second.
"If they were I could get them dealt with," Giovanni said next. "If we're going to be working together from now on that is"
This caught James' attention. Giovanni wanted him to work with him? This had to be a trick. Giovanni required no one and did whatever he wanted and had got away with it. He was the Boss and that was how things were. "I thought that might get you're interest" Giovanni continued "But first we have to talk about this interesting gift of yours"
"I don't know what you mean sir"
"Yes you do James. Butch and Cassidy told me all about it. Quite some thing you are. You know when I first met you I thought to myself. That one will never amount to any thing. I didn't think you were cut out for Team Rocket. Not like you're partner. With training she could be ruthless but she is weak and Team Rocket does not tolerate weakness"
James kept his gaze fixed on the floor. No one had ever called Jesse weak to his knowledge. Jesse was the strong one. It was James who would cower behind Jesse at the slightest sign of trouble. Why would Giovanni consider Jesse weak? "James this silence is getting us nowhere" Giovanni spoke again. James ignored him. If he didn't speak then there was no possibility of messing up. But how had Butch and Cassidy found out? It didn't make sense. Giovanni was getting annoyed at James' silence. "James" he said in that dangerous tone of voice he used when he was getting angry. "I think you should start talking. It is in your own interests"
"How can I talk if I don't know what you are talking about?" was the timid reply.
Giovanni lunged across the desk, knocking the pitcher off in the process, and grabbed James by his black shirt. He pulled him closer until his face was mere centimetres from Giovanni's. "You better start talking or I swear you will live to regret it. I know all about this `future sight' thanks to Meowth so there is no point in denying it!"
Meowth told Butch and Cassidy? That explained the bruising and the broken leg. James bit his lip and held in the tears. Meowth was in a bad way because of him. This was his fault. James silently cursed his gift. He didn't want it if it would cause hurt to his friends. If Giovanni was planning in using his gift for himself then he was very much mistaken. James looked back defiantly at his Boss.
"What gift sir?" he asked. Giovanni let out a roar of anger and threw James back several inches. He landed hard on his back. Giovanni then seized the glass of water and hurled it at the wall behind James. It shattered sending the shards of glass flying all round the terrified male. James closed his eyes and pretended not to hear Giovanni coming towards him again. "James" he leant down and hissed angrily "This is not some game you know. I do not like to be treated as through I am a complete incompetent fool"
James didn't say a word to this. "Get up" Giovanni said next. James did so trembling with fear.
"Do we have an understanding James?"
"I told you sir. I don't know what you mean" James replied wearily knowing that it would do no good now. In a flash Giovanni produced some thing from inside his jacket and James felt the cold metal pressing against his head. It took him a few seconds to register that it was a gun. "I wouldn't really want to ruin my carpet with you're blood James" Giovanni said a finger inching towards the trigger as he spoke. "But I could get it cleaned"
"Ok" James whispered backing up. "I'll talk". What good would getting himself killed do? And not to mention what it would do to Jesse and Meowth. James was not going to give into Giovanni but maybe he could let his Boss think that he had won long enough for James to plan an escape.
"Good boy" Giovanni put the gun away and motioned with hand for James to take a seat. A minute's silence passed before Giovanni spoke again "Talk then"
"Well...It began with this sort of dream I had. In it Officer Jenny was coming to arrest us. For some reason I believed it to be true. Me and the rest of my team got away in time. I found I could see the future of any thing I wished sir. We...I" James corrected himself. He didn't want Jesse and Meowth to face the boss's fury whilst Meowth was still hurt. "Have been using it so my team can complete missions"
"This really is quite remarkable" Giovanni said thoughtfully "But what I don't understand is why you were so reluctant to tell me about it"
"I was afraid that I would get in trouble" James replied carefully.
Giovanni smiled to himself. James was lying to him. The boy was not as stupid as Giovanni gave him credit for. He knew what his Boss wanted and was determined not to let him have it. Maybe Giovanni should tell him the truth after all. It might crush his willpower if he knew the truth.
"Why should you?" Giovanni said instead. "I thought I taught my agents to use whatever means possible when completing their missions?"
"You did sir but..." James trailed off not being able to find an answer to this.
"Well James I have to ask you some thing else. How loyal are you to Team Rocket?"
"Very sir"
"Ok that's good. Now you can see why I want us to work together as equals. With your gift and my money we could control the world"
James didn't know what to say to this. He and his team used to joke about ruling the world but in actual fact all they wanted was to earn enough money to pay their debts to Giovanni off and leave Team Rocket for good. James didn't really consider himself and Jesse to be bad people. They just got stuck in a rut and no way of getting out. Giovanni on the other hand was pure evil. James could just imagine what would happen if Giovanni was ruler of the world. He also knew that Giovanni did not see James or any one as partners. James was merely some one who was of use to him for a while. When Giovanni had accomplished what he wished then James knew that he would be disposed of. "You don't need me for that sir" James replied at last.
Giovanni frowned he hated to admit it but he did need James. Sure he had the money and the resources to do it but without James' knowledge the chance of succeeding with his plan was not good. "James think this through a minute" he said. "I am offering you the chance to be some one. At this moment in time you are a failure. But together we can do some thing that will change the world. You will have all the money you could ever want. No more sleeping on the ground in woods scrounging for food. You and you're team mates will never go hungry again. How does that sound?"
"Good" James said shifting his position slightly. "But I honestly don't think I'm cut out for ruling the world sir"
"Of course not. I would deal with all that. All you have to do is make it happen and I will make sure that you are set up for life"
James smiled to himself. It was just as he suspected.
"Set up for life?" he said thoughtfully "How much money would we get?"
"As much as you wanted" Giovanni said trying not to sound as through he needed the boys help.
"Jesse and Meowth too?"
"Certainly"
James made it seem as if he was thinking it over. Giovanni and every one else always did this. Assumed that just because he acted stupid at times that meant that he was. Giovanni thought he would think of the money and agree to every thing. Well he was in for a shock.
"Sir I really would like to help you but I wouldn't feel right about using my gift like that"
James held his breath waiting for Giovanni to explode in rage. But the Boss seemed quite calm about the whole thing. "James this is a great opportunity. You would be stupid to turn it down"
James felt disgust at his words. Giovanni would kill any one to get what he wanted and there would be lots of innocent people dying if James helped him. There was no way he would do it.
"I guess I'm stupid then sir" James said softly.
Giovanni sighed and stared hard at James. "I am you're Boss. You have to do as I say James"
"I won't help you sir. I don't care what you do to me"
Giovanni laughed at this "Maybe not James. But do you care what happens to Jesse and Meowth?"
"Of course I do" James snapped.
"Do you know where they are now?"
"Yes their still in the cabin outside Violet City sir"
"I have ordered them to stay there until I say otherwise. They are sitting targets James. I know how bad you'd feel if any thing happened to them"
"Leave them alone" James shouted. "I won't help you"
"James you're not listening. If you refuse to co-operate then one of them might have an accident"
"You wouldn't hurt them"
"James I always get what I want. Do you possibly think you or Jesse and Meowth would stop me? I wouldn't hesitate to kill them"
James bowed his head. It was true he had seen it before. Giovanni didn't care about any one or any thing. All he cared about was getting what he wanted. "Don't hurt them" he whispered. Giovanni had him and James knew it. Jesse and Meowth were his only family. If any thing happened to them because of him...well James didn't think he could live with himself.
"Good boy James" Giovanni's anger vanished. "Now the way I thought we could do this is very simple. I will tell you what I plan to have my men do and..."
"Sir" James broke in. "Jesse and Meowth won't be hurt?"
"You have my word" Giovanni stated simply.
James almost laughed out loud at this. Giovanni's word? That was nothing, it meant nothing.
Giovanni seemed to sense what he was thinking as he added. "As long as you do as I say then they will be unharmed"
James nodded and listened as Giovanni continued talking about his plan. James felt sick inside. Giovanni had him and they both knew it.