Chapter 9: Meowth finds the truth
"So sir I think she's gone to find her partner sir" Cindy stammered to Giovanni. He nodded and continued to stroke the Persian sitting on his lap. "Is that it?" he asked at length
"Yes sir"
"Then you may leave"
The girl nodded and closed the door behind her. Giovanni knew that Jessica would go back to James eventually really. It was a stupid idea in the first place but the threat of James getting fired was, he had hoped, enough to get them doing something right. Then when the team found Jessica in the river he had another thought. If he told James that Jessica was dead then he could split them up and Jessica would finally live up to Miyamoto's name. Maybe James would manage to do something right too in time. Of course Giovanni knew that the story of a mess up in communication wouldn't last for long. Jessica was determined and loyal to James. She would never leave him without a fight and if that meant taking on Giovanni himself and the whole of Team Rocket then that was what she would do. Well Giovanni was not going to stop her now. If she wanted to be with James that much then he would not stand in her way. His mother had done that and three people had paid the price and Giovanni had to face Jessica every time they called in. If she wanted to be with James then no he would not stand in her way.
Meowth was worried. There was no doubt in his mind that James was innocent but the question of who did try to kill Jesse was still there. James hadn't seen anyone else at the bridge and even if he had it was dark and would be impossible for him to tell who it was. Mondo was trying to go through the events with them both and Meowth was beginning to feel a tiny bit left out. Maybe now Jesse and James will finally see that they are meant for each other Meowth thought as he quietly left the cabin. He had always known they loved each other but Meowth had rarely approached the subject with either of them. If he ever tried to talk to Jesse about it he would get a mallet in his face and if he talked to James well James would deny it and most probably hit Meowth. But now wasn't the best time for romance. They still had to call the Boss. Meowth was concerned about what Giovanni's motives were. He couldn't believe that Giovanni used Jesse's accident to split them all up. Surely he knew it wouldn't work? But the Boss never gave a clear reason for anything and no one questioned him. That was why he was the Boss and they were just agents. Meowth, before he knew where he was, had subconsciously walked up to the Ice Falls and was half way across the bridge. He stopped at the middle where he imagined Jesse had been pushed from. Maybe he could find some clues to what happened here. Meowth carefully jumped up onto the rail to get a better look over the side. Being a cat it was easier for him to balance than a human and the thought that Jesse did actually slip did cross him mind. Meowth sat down on the rail to think. Jesse had been over the side hanging on for dear life and James had been standing just where Meowth was now. Meowth dug his claws into the wood and leaned over to the piece of wood that Jesse had been hanging from. His arms were too short to reach it and even through James was a lot bigger he would have had trouble reaching Jesse too. It was possible that he could have but in a desperate attempt to save Jesse he might had misjudged the distance and only brushed her fingertips as he had said. Satisfied that James' story checked out Meowth sat back up and started to think of possible suspects. Jesse had said that the team who pulled her out where coming to see where they had got too as they were supposed to call in to the HQ that night. Millie and Rich Jesse had said they were. Meowth didn't know many of the black squad teams, apart from Butch and Cassidy and the names Millie and Rich were unfamiliar too him. Maybe Mondo would know who they were. Ok that meant that the people up on the bridge or near the river besides Jesse were James, Millie and Rich. Millie and Rich had no reason for hurting Jesse so Meowth ruled them out. He was back to James again. "Dis is impossible" Meowth whispered. A part of his mind doubted what James had said now. Meowth felt ashamed with himself. Jesse believed James so why was he having his own doubts? Before he had been so sure that James was innocent but the facts were not on his side. But James had been in tears when he told them what really happened. Ok Meowth knew James had been to acting school but he would not make something like that up. He would just say that he was never on the bridge and that Jesse was lying if he did do it. Even being on the bridge made him a suspect. James would never admit to being there if he was guilty. Meowth laughed to himself he was starting to sound like one of those annoying Jenny's going through a police investigation! I should just go back Meowth said to himself. There is nothing here. "Meowth?" a new voice startled him and Meowth nearly fell off the rail.
He looked round. "Twerp yous scared da hell out of me!" he screamed at the boy. Ash took a step back and folded his arms "Sorry I spoke" he snapped.
Meowth sighed not wanting to get into a fight without Jesse and James here to back him up. "Dats ok I just thought dat I was da only one here"
"I came to get some peace too," Ash said leaning against the rail that Meowth was sitting on.
"Where's Pikachu?" Meowth asked next.
"At the Pokemon centre. He was hurt when that bomb you and you're friends had went off"
"I'm sorry," Meowth said and he meant it "Is Pikachu going to be ok?"
Ash sniffed and blinked back tears that were forming in his eyes. "I don't know. Nurse Joy said it was pretty bad"
Meowth hung his head in shame. He and Jesse and James never meant to hurt Pikachu. They just wanted to capture him to give him to Giovanni. Ash sensed that Meowth was feeling bad and petted him between the ears. Meowth stifled a purr and pulled away.
"I thought most cats liked that?" Ash asked confused.
"Only Jesse and James are allowed to pet Meowth" was his reply.
Ash shrugged and went back to looking at the horizon. "I'm sorry to hear about Jesse. I know you guys were close"
"Thanks kid" Meowth replied. He was about to tell Ash that Jesse wasn't actually dead when the boy spoke again. "I know it's hard. If I loose Pikachu then…I don't know what I'll do"
"Yeah" Meowth echoed thinking of the hell he had been through these past few days. "It is hard"
They stood in silence each lost in there own thoughts when Meowth suddenly realised something else.
"Hey twerp?"
"What?"
"How did yous know about Jesse?"
"So there was no one else up there with you?" Mondo asked for the tenth time. Jesse and James had asked the boy to help them find out who tried to kill Jesse. Mondo was a smart kid and loved solving mysteries. If anyone could work it out then it would be him. James shook his head to Mondo's question and whimpered sadly. "I know it looks bad Mondo but you know I didn't hurt her"
"We all know that James" Jesse said putting an arm around him as she spoke. James nodded encouraged by this action on his friend's behalf.
"Then…" Mondo frowned. "James when you got to the bridge no one was there with you?"
"No"
"Well there is one possibility. Jesse how long do you think you were hanging there before you looked up?"
"About a minute maybe two. I had to turn round in order to try and save myself. I was so scared that I didn't move at first," she said.
"How long would you say the bridge was?" Mondo asked.
James looked at Jesse "Eight metres I guess"
"About that" Jesse agreed. Maybe 6 or 7"
Mondo paused to consider this. "It is possible that there was a third person on the bridge who after pushing Jesse ran off and James didn't notice him or her"
"That is possible" James agreed "But who?"
"Millie or Rich?" Jesse offered.
Mondo shook his head "I've worked with them before. They're an ambitious pair but not killers"
"There is no one else" James wailed. "We've been through this all before Mondo"
"There isn't anyone who hates you?" Mondo asked Jesse.
"Just the twerps and…" Jesse trailed off. "What about Jessebell?"
"Jessebell?" Mondo asked blankly. Jesse realised that Mondo did not know about Jessebell or James' parents being rich. She gave James the 'I'm sorry I forgot look'. James nodded slightly.
"Jessebell was my fiancée" he explained.
Mondo looked confused now. "But I thought that you loved Jesse?"
James blushed and looked at the floor. "My parents wanted me to marry Jessebell. I hate her she just wants to control me"
"So this Jessebell hates Jesse?" Mondo asked.
"Not really" James replied. "Last time we met she didn't have much to say about her or Meowth. She might be jealous of our friendship but I don't think she's a killer"
"How can you say that?" Jesse demanded. "James she used to chase you around with a whip!" Jesse cringed at the beatings James had, had to take at the hands of that woman.
"Jessebell won't leave the estate without her servants. She would never come all the way out here to kill you. If she had done then she would have showed up here. Anyway that isn't her style. She would have paid someone else to do it" James explained.
"Then we're right back where we started" Jesse pouted. "This is great!"
"Hey where's Meowth?" Mondo asked suddenly.
"I don't know" Jesse said. "He was here a few minutes ago"
"Meowth?" James called. "Where are you?"
"I'll check upstairs" Mondo offered.
"Ok we'll go and look outside" Jesse said grabbing James' arm and pulling him along with her. Once outside Jesse stopped and said, "James I am so sorry. I didn't mean to bring all that up in there. I just want to know what happened."
"It's ok" James replied softly. "I know you want to find it out. I do too. When I thought you were dead…I don't know it was like someone took a part of me away"
"When I saw you that night on the bridge a part of me always knew you were innocent," Jesse said putting a hand on his cheek "I just had trouble convincing myself for a while"
James made to hug her but they were still facing each other as they drew nearer. James leaned towards her. This is it! Jesse thought happily. He's going to kiss me at last! She closed her eyes and waited.
"He isn't inside!" Mondo shouted bursting out of the door at that minute. James released Jesse and moved away blushing even worse than before. Mondo looked dismayed when he realised what he'd interrupted. "Sorry" he stammered. "I didn't know"
"Its ok" Jesse said but she wanted to take a mallet and pound Mondo senseless for interrupting that moment. Mondo looked relieved that Jesse wasn't cross with him. "Do you want me to check the woods?" he asked.
"We'll go" James said. "We know the area better. You wait here and see if he comes back"
Mondo nodded and went back inside. Jesse hoped that James would try to kiss her again but he started walking briskly in the direction of the woods. "Jesse?" he called when he saw that she wasn't going after him. "Come on"
Jesse sighed and tried to hide her disappointment as she hurried after her friend.
Authors Note: Sorry this took so long to get up but I got a new PC and had to transfer everything from the old one to the new one before I could write any more on this. ( Next chapter up soon!
"So sir I think she's gone to find her partner sir" Cindy stammered to Giovanni. He nodded and continued to stroke the Persian sitting on his lap. "Is that it?" he asked at length
"Yes sir"
"Then you may leave"
The girl nodded and closed the door behind her. Giovanni knew that Jessica would go back to James eventually really. It was a stupid idea in the first place but the threat of James getting fired was, he had hoped, enough to get them doing something right. Then when the team found Jessica in the river he had another thought. If he told James that Jessica was dead then he could split them up and Jessica would finally live up to Miyamoto's name. Maybe James would manage to do something right too in time. Of course Giovanni knew that the story of a mess up in communication wouldn't last for long. Jessica was determined and loyal to James. She would never leave him without a fight and if that meant taking on Giovanni himself and the whole of Team Rocket then that was what she would do. Well Giovanni was not going to stop her now. If she wanted to be with James that much then he would not stand in her way. His mother had done that and three people had paid the price and Giovanni had to face Jessica every time they called in. If she wanted to be with James then no he would not stand in her way.
Meowth was worried. There was no doubt in his mind that James was innocent but the question of who did try to kill Jesse was still there. James hadn't seen anyone else at the bridge and even if he had it was dark and would be impossible for him to tell who it was. Mondo was trying to go through the events with them both and Meowth was beginning to feel a tiny bit left out. Maybe now Jesse and James will finally see that they are meant for each other Meowth thought as he quietly left the cabin. He had always known they loved each other but Meowth had rarely approached the subject with either of them. If he ever tried to talk to Jesse about it he would get a mallet in his face and if he talked to James well James would deny it and most probably hit Meowth. But now wasn't the best time for romance. They still had to call the Boss. Meowth was concerned about what Giovanni's motives were. He couldn't believe that Giovanni used Jesse's accident to split them all up. Surely he knew it wouldn't work? But the Boss never gave a clear reason for anything and no one questioned him. That was why he was the Boss and they were just agents. Meowth, before he knew where he was, had subconsciously walked up to the Ice Falls and was half way across the bridge. He stopped at the middle where he imagined Jesse had been pushed from. Maybe he could find some clues to what happened here. Meowth carefully jumped up onto the rail to get a better look over the side. Being a cat it was easier for him to balance than a human and the thought that Jesse did actually slip did cross him mind. Meowth sat down on the rail to think. Jesse had been over the side hanging on for dear life and James had been standing just where Meowth was now. Meowth dug his claws into the wood and leaned over to the piece of wood that Jesse had been hanging from. His arms were too short to reach it and even through James was a lot bigger he would have had trouble reaching Jesse too. It was possible that he could have but in a desperate attempt to save Jesse he might had misjudged the distance and only brushed her fingertips as he had said. Satisfied that James' story checked out Meowth sat back up and started to think of possible suspects. Jesse had said that the team who pulled her out where coming to see where they had got too as they were supposed to call in to the HQ that night. Millie and Rich Jesse had said they were. Meowth didn't know many of the black squad teams, apart from Butch and Cassidy and the names Millie and Rich were unfamiliar too him. Maybe Mondo would know who they were. Ok that meant that the people up on the bridge or near the river besides Jesse were James, Millie and Rich. Millie and Rich had no reason for hurting Jesse so Meowth ruled them out. He was back to James again. "Dis is impossible" Meowth whispered. A part of his mind doubted what James had said now. Meowth felt ashamed with himself. Jesse believed James so why was he having his own doubts? Before he had been so sure that James was innocent but the facts were not on his side. But James had been in tears when he told them what really happened. Ok Meowth knew James had been to acting school but he would not make something like that up. He would just say that he was never on the bridge and that Jesse was lying if he did do it. Even being on the bridge made him a suspect. James would never admit to being there if he was guilty. Meowth laughed to himself he was starting to sound like one of those annoying Jenny's going through a police investigation! I should just go back Meowth said to himself. There is nothing here. "Meowth?" a new voice startled him and Meowth nearly fell off the rail.
He looked round. "Twerp yous scared da hell out of me!" he screamed at the boy. Ash took a step back and folded his arms "Sorry I spoke" he snapped.
Meowth sighed not wanting to get into a fight without Jesse and James here to back him up. "Dats ok I just thought dat I was da only one here"
"I came to get some peace too," Ash said leaning against the rail that Meowth was sitting on.
"Where's Pikachu?" Meowth asked next.
"At the Pokemon centre. He was hurt when that bomb you and you're friends had went off"
"I'm sorry," Meowth said and he meant it "Is Pikachu going to be ok?"
Ash sniffed and blinked back tears that were forming in his eyes. "I don't know. Nurse Joy said it was pretty bad"
Meowth hung his head in shame. He and Jesse and James never meant to hurt Pikachu. They just wanted to capture him to give him to Giovanni. Ash sensed that Meowth was feeling bad and petted him between the ears. Meowth stifled a purr and pulled away.
"I thought most cats liked that?" Ash asked confused.
"Only Jesse and James are allowed to pet Meowth" was his reply.
Ash shrugged and went back to looking at the horizon. "I'm sorry to hear about Jesse. I know you guys were close"
"Thanks kid" Meowth replied. He was about to tell Ash that Jesse wasn't actually dead when the boy spoke again. "I know it's hard. If I loose Pikachu then…I don't know what I'll do"
"Yeah" Meowth echoed thinking of the hell he had been through these past few days. "It is hard"
They stood in silence each lost in there own thoughts when Meowth suddenly realised something else.
"Hey twerp?"
"What?"
"How did yous know about Jesse?"
"So there was no one else up there with you?" Mondo asked for the tenth time. Jesse and James had asked the boy to help them find out who tried to kill Jesse. Mondo was a smart kid and loved solving mysteries. If anyone could work it out then it would be him. James shook his head to Mondo's question and whimpered sadly. "I know it looks bad Mondo but you know I didn't hurt her"
"We all know that James" Jesse said putting an arm around him as she spoke. James nodded encouraged by this action on his friend's behalf.
"Then…" Mondo frowned. "James when you got to the bridge no one was there with you?"
"No"
"Well there is one possibility. Jesse how long do you think you were hanging there before you looked up?"
"About a minute maybe two. I had to turn round in order to try and save myself. I was so scared that I didn't move at first," she said.
"How long would you say the bridge was?" Mondo asked.
James looked at Jesse "Eight metres I guess"
"About that" Jesse agreed. Maybe 6 or 7"
Mondo paused to consider this. "It is possible that there was a third person on the bridge who after pushing Jesse ran off and James didn't notice him or her"
"That is possible" James agreed "But who?"
"Millie or Rich?" Jesse offered.
Mondo shook his head "I've worked with them before. They're an ambitious pair but not killers"
"There is no one else" James wailed. "We've been through this all before Mondo"
"There isn't anyone who hates you?" Mondo asked Jesse.
"Just the twerps and…" Jesse trailed off. "What about Jessebell?"
"Jessebell?" Mondo asked blankly. Jesse realised that Mondo did not know about Jessebell or James' parents being rich. She gave James the 'I'm sorry I forgot look'. James nodded slightly.
"Jessebell was my fiancée" he explained.
Mondo looked confused now. "But I thought that you loved Jesse?"
James blushed and looked at the floor. "My parents wanted me to marry Jessebell. I hate her she just wants to control me"
"So this Jessebell hates Jesse?" Mondo asked.
"Not really" James replied. "Last time we met she didn't have much to say about her or Meowth. She might be jealous of our friendship but I don't think she's a killer"
"How can you say that?" Jesse demanded. "James she used to chase you around with a whip!" Jesse cringed at the beatings James had, had to take at the hands of that woman.
"Jessebell won't leave the estate without her servants. She would never come all the way out here to kill you. If she had done then she would have showed up here. Anyway that isn't her style. She would have paid someone else to do it" James explained.
"Then we're right back where we started" Jesse pouted. "This is great!"
"Hey where's Meowth?" Mondo asked suddenly.
"I don't know" Jesse said. "He was here a few minutes ago"
"Meowth?" James called. "Where are you?"
"I'll check upstairs" Mondo offered.
"Ok we'll go and look outside" Jesse said grabbing James' arm and pulling him along with her. Once outside Jesse stopped and said, "James I am so sorry. I didn't mean to bring all that up in there. I just want to know what happened."
"It's ok" James replied softly. "I know you want to find it out. I do too. When I thought you were dead…I don't know it was like someone took a part of me away"
"When I saw you that night on the bridge a part of me always knew you were innocent," Jesse said putting a hand on his cheek "I just had trouble convincing myself for a while"
James made to hug her but they were still facing each other as they drew nearer. James leaned towards her. This is it! Jesse thought happily. He's going to kiss me at last! She closed her eyes and waited.
"He isn't inside!" Mondo shouted bursting out of the door at that minute. James released Jesse and moved away blushing even worse than before. Mondo looked dismayed when he realised what he'd interrupted. "Sorry" he stammered. "I didn't know"
"Its ok" Jesse said but she wanted to take a mallet and pound Mondo senseless for interrupting that moment. Mondo looked relieved that Jesse wasn't cross with him. "Do you want me to check the woods?" he asked.
"We'll go" James said. "We know the area better. You wait here and see if he comes back"
Mondo nodded and went back inside. Jesse hoped that James would try to kiss her again but he started walking briskly in the direction of the woods. "Jesse?" he called when he saw that she wasn't going after him. "Come on"
Jesse sighed and tried to hide her disappointment as she hurried after her friend.
Authors Note: Sorry this took so long to get up but I got a new PC and had to transfer everything from the old one to the new one before I could write any more on this. ( Next chapter up soon!