Wednesday, March 28th 2001

      James woke up in acute agony twice in the night, and neither time had he felt it bad enough to call for assistance, but now, at six am, he felt annoyed by the nurses doing their rounds with medicine. He didn't need their help this time, yet he still had to suffer from waking up during a bout of fatigue, and his mood wasn't particularly cheerful, needless to say. Jessie was curled up in a terribly uncomfortable-looking chair beside his bed as she'd insisted to the head doctor she stayed the night, and despite the nurse shuffling about with a cart full of medicine she persisted to sleep, as if in defiance. He noticed her arms were around something, but she was so tightly curled up he couldn't see anything to give a hint about what it was, except that it had some white in it. His elbow throbbed with pain due to a discrepancy between whatever way he'd slept and what way the needle in his arm had twisted as a direct result of it. His blood transfusion was almost complete, with the last few drops of the valuable liquid travelling down the thin tube and into his arm, yet he still felt as light-headed and uneasy as he'd done the day before when it had been happening. Every single time he felt a liquid in his mouth he was certain it was blood, regardless of its taste, and he wished this whole incident had never happened, for Jessie's sake more than his own. She could have lost the baby in fright when that crazy old woman had nearly hit her with a cane, and he was increasingly grateful she hadn't—it was by far the last thing that they needed right now. He finally drifted back to sleep long after taking an iron tablet, only to wake up at half seven when the breakfast trolley was going around. He mentally shouted obscenities at the staff; how was he supposed to recover if they never granted him with a chance to sleep in this place, especially when they constantly annoyed him by giving him things he didn't want, like food?

      Jessie woke up to the clinking of china as nurses handed out breakfast to the patients in the room and took the blood pressure of some others, and her discomfort enhanced when she realised her back had gone numb from the awkward position she'd slept in, yet something else didn't feel right. She sat up properly and stretched, and it was only when her eyes were properly open she realised she'd been holding something, and she paled abruptly when she saw what it was. Stretching on her lap and looking up at her with bleary eyes was a mangy-looking meowth, was it Meowth??? No, he's dead she told herself, and she stared at in intently for a few seconds before standing up and sending it to the floor by her swift movement, tears welling up in her eyes as she knew she was seeing a ghost in the room, or was it? She was only certain that she was uncertain in this matter, and she would have said something to James or the nearest person except for the fact that her mouth had temporarily stopped working. She jolted when she felt a hand on her shoulder and she instantly spun around, not wanting another attack that could hurt her, but she saw a kindly looking nurse standing behind her, yet Jessie was now wary or everyone, especially from Pearl Port.

      "Excuse me dearie, but is that your pet? It's just we've had a four year old crying all morning because his pokémon has gone, even though he's not allowed to have her in the room in the strictest sense. We're only letting her stay because the child isn't going to live much longer, and she can stay so long as she doesn't sleep on the bed, which is why it went to you I guess; there were no other chairs in the room. Is it yours?"

      Words were still failing the young female and she barely shook her head, still in shock that she'd had a meowth on her lap and it wasn't her old friend. She heard the small female meowth mewing now that it was properly awake, and with a smile the nurse gathered the quadruped in her arms and headed off in the direction of the sick child, leaving Jessie more spooked than when she'd initially woken up. She sat back down, trembling in shock at what she thought she'd seen, deciding that it must be because she was in a hospital that she was thinking about meowth visiting her, as it had been in a hospital she'd learnt of his death. She hardly noticed her lover was speaking to her, and it was only when she heard him saying her name for the seventh time she chose to sweep her mind back into reality. James was greatly concerned for her—he hadn't been able to hear what the nurse was saying to her, and he hadn't seen what had made her stand up like that in the first place. Although she wasn't crying, he could tell that she was very close to it, and he was perplexed at what the mysterious white object he had seen could be. He became increasingly pale as he heard her story (it was quite amazing, when one considered the colour his skin now bore), as he still missed his feline friend, and he acted on manoeuvre he deemed the wisest; he held her in his pained arms and calmed her down, much like he'd done at various stages over the years of their friendship. He felt guilty hiding something from the one he loved, but there wasn't a window of opportunity for him to reveal that yet again, he'd learnt something of importance and kept it hidden from her.

      Down the corridor, the kindly nurse retransformed into a ditto and cautioned her blue-eyed superior about the gigantic risk he'd just taken, and he agreed with her whole-heartedly. Yet it had still been pleasant to spend some times with his former companions before he killed them.

                                                                   **

      10:00 hours…

      He entered the monstrous building with a slight drag in his step that was not caused by any physical ailment; the thought of seeing his wife after ordering their renegade worker to help their son caused it, and didn't even include the fact he had no evidence of the business meeting he'd supposedly attended. He'd never seen a problem with James' choice of fiancée, and he didn't want to tell his wife that they were reunited and were still intent on marriage, yet he knew that if she asked him directly at any stage, he would be unable to conceal the truth due to his lack of skill as a believable liar. He twisted the majestic knob on the door to his intimate study, the very one where he'd asked James to what extent of love he'd reached with Jessie—it seemed like a thousand millennia ago when he thought that only seven months beforehand had he had a decent relationship with his heir. Now he'd probably see him again under any circumstances, dead or alive. His wife suddenly walked in a flurry, yet somehow still succeeded to do so in an elegant manner. Her midnight blue dress enhanced her hourglass figure flawlessly, making her an enchanting beauty, but with hidden dangers concealed beneath the porcelain-like fragility of her expression. He took her hand and kissed it as his option of greeting, and as she fanned herself dynamically to suppress her true feelings—not necessarily ones of a romantic nature—she asked him how he felt after his long journey to Sunflower City was, as he appeared to be rather fatigued. He'd known better than to appear back at his home without first cleaning up his appearance, as there was no telling how she'd react if she saw imperfect facial hair on his face—she'd know he hadn't been to the business meeting for certain.

      "It all went rather well precious, but unfortunately he didn't seem completely interested with the exchange, so he's arranged for another meeting to take place in a few week's time. I think he'll accept"

      "How could he possibly refuse that generous offer of three oil rigs in exchange for his power plants in this area? It's important that he agrees, our jade grass is starting to yellow near the borders, and it's most unsightly"

      "I agree pumpkin, but if we just give him time…"

      "Where were you this week?"
      "Sorry, I may have misheard, could you please rephrase it for me darling?"

      "I asked you, dearest husband, where you were for the past seven days, which is one hundred and sixty-eight hours"

      "I was at the business meeting in Zirconium, you know that"

      "I don't find dishonesty attractive in anyone, and you know what I do when I'm not pleased. I eliminate the problem. You told me two weeks ago you were going to Charcoal Town, to meet a Sheila Flintridge in relation to her request for a second opinion on her latest discovery on our largest, tourist-free island. Now, I just asked you how your trip to Sunflower City to meet a male colleague was, and you divulged me with night soil. Even now you're trying to tell me you were in Zirconium, so tell me this instant, where were you and who were you with?"

      Her voice didn't alter as she delivered her miniature interrogation of her husband, which made it even eerier to listen to, principally when he was a terrible liar and felt moments away from releasing what was gathering at his throat, oozing to tell her that he'd gone after their son. He contemplated the following: would it perhaps be simpler to tell her he'd had an affair? It would probably result in a less complex future for all involved in the true version, and was his life really worth living? If she exacted her ultimate revenge, James would be safe from her wrath, and she'd forget about where he was…wait, it wouldn't work. Tyra wouldn't work for nothing, and sooner or later she'd return to where it had all originated for her money; his wife was inevitably destined to find out about it, so he might as well reveal the truth now, and just pray that James was somewhere where even she couldn't find him, if that place existed. His stamina seemed to be sucked out of his trim body, as it always did when he was faced with a conflict such as this with his beloved, and he decided that the truth may help him more than an intense stream of lies he may easily forget. She successfully chipped away at his confidence without saying a word or changing her actions in the slightest, and he was thoroughly unnerved by the time he'd blurted out the truth, and he mentally cursed his weakness as eloquently as he could. He jumped as she snapped her fan shut with a loud click as the sides joined together, and her calm exterior contrasted with his state of being weakened even further, and he regretted telling her as she melodiously replied:

      "Well, we'll have to greet our dearest son now and rid him of some excess baggage, won't we sugar?"

      He gulped unassumingly; this would be as ill fated as the last time, if not even more so as his wife was going to carry out the actions, and her aim had yet to miss a target.

                                                                            **

      Jessie walked nervously around the edge of the hospital building; she'd been ordered out of the room by the medics whilst they performed some routine procedures on her lover, and even for late March, the culmination of bright skies and heavy raindrops irritated her beyond belief. She looked out towards the town that caused this nightmare for them, and she kept worrying about the old woman had said to them—what had she meant by she not being the one destined to kill their child, was she going to lose her child in the future? A particularly large raindrop fell onto the base of her nose, and she was suddenly sucked back into a similar situation when she'd been waiting with Meowth for James after he'd caught his leg in a gin trap, and her own drops of moisture joined the many on her face. Why was it always them, and why did Meowth have to die? She missed the old feline, especially when she'd been falsely told James had left the hospital prematurely, and it seemed hard to accept he wouldn't be there when she started a family with her partner. Of course, he'd probably just complain at them being at it like Nidorans or something, but it would be a homely comfort to have the wise old cat around once in a while. A stranger placing something in her hand and running away at full speed interrupted her thoughts, and by the time she'd turned around, they had completely vanished from her line of vision. She was terrified at her leaving her guard down for so long, especially after the day before—s/he could have done anything to her when she was as exposed as that. In her hand lay a crumpled piece of paper, and she stopped her tears when she read it, not out of happiness, but because she was so shocked by it she couldn't do anything.

                                        You can run, you can hide,

                              But a worthless whore we'll always find.

      She was light-years beyond spooked by the message, and to be honest, she was surprised that she was still conscious since she felt so faint; it also rang home another truth about the time she'd been waiting for Meowth—all of her waking moments were spent in fear for her and her friends' lives. She kept rotating at a high velocity to ensure someone couldn't sneak up behind her again, and in spite of her instincts screaming for her to run back into the hospital, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She couldn't see him in this mood, and the last thing he needed was to be excessively worried about her in the middle of procedures. She wondered who could have possibly been behind the note this time, as James had guaranteed he'd seen Chopper die, was it James' little whore, Tyra doing it? If so, it would just be another reason for her to cut her open in the route of revenge, and Jessie would be glad for the added excuse. It had seriously knocked her confidence when she'd worked out James had been faithless; he'd slept with the same woman twice, so what did that say for her skills when it came to sex? She felt gloom consume her thoughts for the myriad time that year, and she waited in the lobby of the building until the feeling dissipated. She absentmindedly tore at the edges of the note she'd been handed whilst she dwelt on many depressing facts, and oddly, she felt better once she'd made some bitter realisations. She threw the scraps of paper into the nearest bin as she walked towards James' room an hour later, and she knew deep within her living self that soon the final test would come, and after that they'd both be safe from the vengeful wrath of others, so they could live out the rest of their lives in peace. But she couldn't think about that right now; she had a lover to visit, and ill judgments to forget.

      Butch contemplated the morality of what he'd just done; granted, he hadn't hurt anyone, or even stolen anything, but something didn't feel right as he slipped something into Jessie's hand—it was as if he'd betrayed her. He didn't know why he should feel like that in view of the fact that they had never been close friends, and he'd killed a few pokémon and paralysed people in his life without ever feeling even the slightest bit remorseful, nevertheless this was different in a sense he couldn't fathom. Perhaps his discomfort was linked with her being openly distraught and crying at the time he'd given it to her, or since seeing her reminded him of Cassidy. It wouldn't be that long until he had her permanently back in his arms, and as soon as this job was over, he'd ensure her life was never endangered again as long as he was near her. The ends justify the means, right? And it wasn't as if he was hurting Jessie or James in the process; he'd only handed her a note so far, and what damage could possibly be inflicted on them with that? He didn't even know what was on the note; Meowth had written it and handed it to the youth for him to pass to her, explaining he was unable to reach her hand without being seen, and he wasn't emotionally ready to speak to her. Lies of course, but there was no reason why Butch should doubt it, as it seemed completely plausible, but in spite of this he felt guilty for continuing with his request, as he knew the young woman was frightened at him sneaking up on her in a weak moment. He didn't even know why she was near the hospital, and he hoped that he hadn't disturbed her when she'd learnt of the death of someone of which she was very fond, and the more he dwelt on that possibility, the more he ecstatically thought about how soon he'd be reunited with Cassidy. It made sense why he couldn't see her now, as she probably would still require a considerable amount of cosmetic surgery, therefore she'd loathe being seen at that time. He glanced around the corner of the building one final time to check she was all right, then without a sound he walked to where his new partner would be waiting for him.

      Lindsey opened her bleary eyes and she initially failed to remember where she was and how she got there, but then it all flooded back into her head with a sting as sharp and as relentless as the glass embedded in her clotting wrist. She sat forward whilst she gathered her clothes around herself, dislodging shards of glass from various points of her body as she did so. She was a stronger person than to panic at this stage, as judging from her healing wound, it wasn't life-threatening, nor was it as messy as it could have been, so all in all she was grateful for her minor injuries. She got off the bed in an attempt to ease the dizziness from which she presently suffered, and after a few wobbly steps forwards she staggered as she stepped upon fragments of broken glass. She settled in an armchair in the furthest corner from the door, not willing to be caught in the midst of an attempt to flee. She wasn't overly bothered by the fact she'd been raped, in fact she was more worried about what Anthony would think when she told him, but another stream of thought convinced her to tell him she'd been working all night and she'd cut herself by falling asleep on some of her sharp tools. At least now Giovanni would be easier to deal with, as he always tended to be whenever he'd eased his sexual frustration by forcing it upon someone else and, quite frankly, she'd had men far worse than him. Was it his constant anger at his employees that had made him such a strong and powerful lover perhaps? He lay on the bed in almost peaceful manner in the clothes he'd worn the day before, and she flexed her weary legs, stretching them over the armrest as she allowed herself a nonchalant manner—it would be quite some time until he posed any great threat to her. She tore a section off her already shredded blouse and she carefully succeeded in making a tourniquet out of it, even though her wrist didn't hurt as much as she would have earnestly expected it to. She moistened a bit of excess material with what little saliva resided in her mouth and she pressed firmly on the dried blood surrounding her makeshift bandage, and she suddenly felt great pity for Cassidy, whose pain would have been colossally worse than what she endured at the present moment. The expensive whiskey had helped her as Giovanni had inserted the bottleneck into her, as it had acted as a disinfectant against the bacteria in the air. Although she hadn't desired to sleep with her superior the night before, she was seriously contemplating screwing up again just to get screwed by him; Anthony wasn't quite the man she'd wanted him to be, which is why she'd removed the guilt she'd first felt. She closed her eyes and rested for a while longer, thinking about what she may do when they were both awake and together alone, allowing a small smile to spread across her mouth in mirth, yet simultaneously wondering why she suddenly felt like this after all the time she'd worked there. Maybe it was just she was glad for the change in environment after a couple of years and several months of being treated like the perfect scientist that resided in the lowest form of mud available. She opposed her present situation with an undeniable defiance, and she slept as contentedly as she would in her own apartment.

      James lay discontentedly on the bed, his distaste caused by a variety of factors, including lack of sleep and the general uncouthness of the workers that persisted in pestering him every so often. He'd had his blood pressure taken more times than he'd felt necessary, and he'd even prepared in his mind what to snarl at the next nurse who wanted to take his temperature—he'd lost a few pints of blood, the majority of which had been regained through a transfusion, so he wasn't running an abnormal fever and didn't require his temperature checked every time someone looked at him. His body heat did pick up a bit when he saw his fiancée walking in his direction, yet his face didn't alter in its almost mystic colour, as the heat seemed to be spreading from within. His mouth was parched from the dry hospital air, but it was irrelevant as he closed his lips over his lovers' in a form of escape from their misery-inducing surroundings. Her panic had all but disappeared in the short distance from the outside of the building to the second floor, so she felt determined to make him feel better without revealing a thing about her previous misgivings. In spite of knowing the extent of the possible repercussions of his plan, he decided to reveal it to her, and he got the reaction he expected from her—not a remotely happy one.

      "No way James, you've done that before so…"
      "And it's worked before so why the problem now?"

      "I don't want to risk your health over money, okay? You're worth more to me than that"

      "But I'm not risking anything, think about it will you? We've escaped hospital fees before so why should this be any different? I hate this place, and the further away from this town we are, the easier we can rest. Do you want to perpetually live in danger?"

      "Don't say that, you know I want to be away from this place as much as you, but a few days can't affect us that much, can it? We can move away when you've recovered more, I can't face losing you, so I don't want…"

      "I'm not going anywhere Jess, so just help me get out of this place and we can rest in peace, okay? I know what medicine I need, so we won't need to raid the place after dark like Meowth did last time, so just please help me get away. If not, I'll do it alone"

      "James, don't act like this. You know I want you back all to myself, safe and sound, but I don't want you to act this stubborn-headed about it"

      "So I am going to do this alone then?"

      "If you're determined to do it without me, then I'll help you. It doesn't mean that my moral objectives have changed in the slightest, so don't think that for a second. How do you intend moving inconspicuously on your way out? You're so pale you stick out like a toxic smoke-emitting factory located in a splendiferous glade"

      "First, just 'help' me to the lavatory please"

      She grudgingly assisted him in his discomfited struggle to the room at the opposite end of the public room, and then when they were securely in there he grimaced whilst he pulled the needles out of their many points of residence in his skin. A few red orbs of blood made their debut at the punctures in his arm, which Jessie removed by carefully rubbing them with a drop of water. His chin was even paler than the rest of him as he bit firmly on it whilst the needles were dealt with—it regurgitated too many flashbacks of the worst moments of his life, even though it was Jessie touching his injection areas and not an extremely pissed off employer. He cleaned up his appearance whilst he was there by washing his face and hands thoroughly; the dried blood neither looked nor felt appealing on his person. When he'd donned his outfit fully, he stuck the needles into the bags of intravenous fluids in case a child was the next one in there, but he took off his identity wristband and pocketed it, to avoid his absence being discovered too soon. Jessie felt uncomfortable as he carried out his deceptive idea; in her eyes, there was something very wrong with it, yet she didn't know what factor of it was giving her such a conscience. Her kiss was only half-felt as she delivered it to her lover, yet in spite of this she felt like an unknown force had banished a tremendous weight resting upon her head, so she felt grateful for her partner's mule-headedness. Their escape went entirely unnoticed and with their soaring adrenaline counts, both of them knew their fate had changed, if only for those twenty-four hours.

      Giovanni awoke late that afternoon to the sound of a nearby phone ringing, and he wondered where he was for a few minutes, owing to the fact that he was unaccustomed to waking up alone in that particular room in his property. He noticed his secretary looking at him without a bother about where she stretched on the armchair, and he felt regret running through his head for an instant; he'd never wished to do something like this to Lindsey since she was a rare person in the world—a friend. He couldn't read her expression despite his feelings being readily available to whoever looked at him, and she knew she held the trumps in this game, and her pleasure had been the icing on the cake for her. The phone had ceased ringing but he didn't notice although it had been increasing his sharp hangover, but he did notice its return a few moments later. He barked a response into it when he'd picked it up, but much to his disgust it continued to emit a shrill noise as he'd forgotten to press the correct button to answer it. His ill temper was soothed instead of increased when his ears detected Lindsey's laughter at his terrible mistake, and he presented the caller with a more pleasant greeting when he successfully answered the contraption. The discussion was brief but informative, just the way he liked it, and he savoured the moment he learnt of where Jessie would next be heading—they had many lookout points in that area, so it would be next to impossible for their actions to go unnoticed. Giovanni felt even more pleased when he learnt of the intricate yet very delicate plot that Meowth had developed, and it sounded so realistic that once even he may have fallen for it. There was no chance of those idiots working it out, he thought to himself harshly, and he began to feel…anticipation…at the results this operation would carry.

      Jessie sat beside James at the back of a bus to the area in question, acting as free-spirited as they felt without knowing any sources of oppression that either cared to acknowledge. Their passion-spawned actions had sparked both disgruntled comments from the surrounding adults and great interest in a few very young teenagers that had only recently 'discovered' the opposite sex when their hormones had struck them. They didn't care if the pathetic males were watching them; they were much too self-contained with supreme joie de vivre to care about that obtained pleasure out of their pleasure with exception to themselves. They were unaware of what trickery the town would contain, and to what degree it would affect their lives, but even if they did know what awaited them, it was doubtful it would kill their good moods instantly. They calmed down a bit as they knew their stop was due any minute now, and a few lowered voices were complaining as they left, whereas the dissatisfied adults raised their voices to express their happiness at their departure. They were the only two who wanted to visit Aqua Town, so they felt a little out of place as they walked in the general direction of the town centre. James felt discomfort as he shouldered his bags due to the twist created in his arm, but he failed to voice the irritants seeing that Jessie seemed genuinely happy with her hand clasped freely in his.

      The medieval town was stunning with its awe-inspiring scenery and outer décor of buildings; it was furthermore in some ways it was more picturesque to look at than Pearl Port. They felt like they'd found the ideal location to recoup since the local townsfolk had yet to look at them for more than three seconds, and the glances already exchanged failed to contain any traces of condescension towards the young couple. James felt astoundingly hungry yet his throat felt antagonising with the pain beating a tattoo into the back of his mouth. He suggested to Jessie they should get some lunch and sit outside with it whilst it was a rare tepid day in late March, to which she readily agreed, feeling hungry herself, in spite of eating James' breakfast when the nurses had stopped looking in their direction. They found a small park in their search for a shop that would facilitate their needs, so after they'd bought their food, they returned to the quiet, green area of the town. James struggled in eating his food as the crumbs at the back of his mouth resembled bad tissue to his brain, causing discomfort in his actions. He felt self-conscious as he coughed every other second to dislodge some crumbs when they refused to become dislodged after they were supposed to be swallowed, even though the only one who could hear him doing it was his fiancée. Taking mouthfuls of liquid didn't help the unfortunate youth either, as it refreshed his memory of having blood flowing from there, but in his favour Jessie had been compassionate enough to ignore the sense of self-embarrassment from which he suffered. She slowed down the rate of ingesting her food to accommodate for James' hindrance, and this small action made him feel less pathetic even though it didn't really affect her eating patterns. He eventually finished the baguette he'd purchased for lunch, and when he had some food in his system he felt better. He was also eternally grateful he'd drunk water and not required intravenous fluids—he'd needed to relieve himself at regular intervals in the night because of the surplus of liquid in his body. It had been difficult at first when he was particularly light-headed from blood-loss, but he'd at least been able to kiss Jessie without restraint when they were alone together, that was, if they ignored the circumstances why they were there in the first place. They sat and watched the scenery for a while before resuming their search for somewhere to stay for the night, and then suddenly Jessie suggested they stay in a pokémon centre, not only because they'd have instant access to medical supplies if he needed them, but also because she felt their pokémon deserved a treatment since they hadn't been out of their pokéballs in quite some time. He agreed to her idea and jokingly added that it probably had nothing to do with the fact there were no fees if the people were pokémon trainers, to which he received a playful elbow in his abdomen to suffice as her answer.

      Tyra's bus drew in a few minutes following Jessie and James' lunch, and thankfully for her there had been quite a crowd departing the vehicle with her, giving her a slight shroud from them in the town. She received even more good luck from hearing the two youths revealing where they intended to spend the night, so she darted forwards to head towards the centre before they noticed her presence. Though due to the proximity of the lovers, it would take twelve angry cherry-coloured Gyradoses attacking them to alert the couple of their surroundings. She reticently deposited her belongings into her single-bedded room, feeling glad that the cheerful nurse hadn't allocated her to a room with more than one bed, or else she may have ended up spending the night in the same room as her former friends. She sat on the bed with her back against the numbing wall, and for some reason she felt more depressed than ever before—was it perhaps the combined facts of James being attacked, and her not being the one who could comfort him afterwards? She rolled up her sleeve and watched the striking purple scar on her wrist, remembering when he'd kissed her tenderly upon seeing the extent of the self-inflicted damage, and what he'd done with her that night. She'd in all probability have an easier time with her buzzing conscience if she'd told James her partner had drugged his fiancée, and that their former boss was almost certainly raping her. She slid the woollen article back over her wrist, not liking the mournful nature that consumed her soul every time she looked at that particular body part, especially as it reminded her of Deryck, and how he'd had his way with her against her will. Nothing could ever make her forget that nightmare, nor the time when she thought her employer had shot him over one of his more unforgivable mistakes. She stood by the window on the east side of her room and watched daily life unfolding before her eyes, and another daily part of her life occurred: she saw James happy with another woman and she felt tears sliding down her face. She had yet to forget the last time they'd met when he'd threatened her without a care for her feelings, though she knew she definitely deserved it for her placing a tracking device on him.

      Jessie and James had decided on a ploy to allow them to sleep in the same room, knowing that they'd hardly be trusted to sleep in a one-bed room together. They were going to act the innocent virgin couple and see how long it took for the nurse to allow them to share a room. Jessie wore her coat as she'd done the night she'd met James the week before, as it hid all traces of pregnancy and would therefore heighten their chances for success. The almost overly-cheerful Nurse Joy asked them how many pokémon they wished to submit, but instead of answering her, James just passed the spherical objects into the tray, as he knew that if he'd given a figure he would've included both Meowth and Weezing. Jessie clasped Joy's hand between her two and gushed out a stream of false graciousness that the nurse would look after their pets to make sure her engagement was on show, feeling overly superficial as she did so. James asked her if she had any spare rooms for the night where they could sleep, as they were both so very tired from the travelling they'd done. The nurse looked at them in a dubious manner, whilst asking them if they really thought they'd let a couple of teenagers to sleep in the same bed together for free, even if it was cute that they were engaged. Jessie looked appalled at the mere suggestion of it, and stared at the nurse as if she'd suggested the grass to grow into the ground, whereas James gave a well-practiced blush and explained that although they were engaged, they firmly believed in sex after marriage and the thought wouldn't cross their heads until they exchanged vows. Their faces looked completely honest and Joy must have found their pretence of being virgins believable as she granted them two different beds in a room that contained four. Their gratitude wasn't remotely false as they walked away from the nurse with the sparkling personality, excited at the thought of sleeping safely away from any threats, and the direct phone link to the nearest hospital made Jessie feel easier with regard to James' safety.

      Lindsey sat behind her desk as she re-entered countless codes to try and override James' cryptography, and even though it was a challenge that presently outsmarted her skills, she didn't allow this to bring down her sense of personal security. In fact, she wasn't even paying attention to what she was using most of the time, and for all she knew she could be repeating the same codes every other minute. She was brought out of her thoughts by a kiss to her cheek, and for some reason she felt resentful when she saw it was only Anthony. He noticed her immediate unenthusiastic attitude as he struck up a trivial conversation between them, yet he chose to ignore this for his own pride, if for nothing else.

      "I've got a few minutes until my shift officially starts, but I was wondering, do you want to do anything tonight?"

      "I can't, I'm sorry. Giovanni kept me working at this all night last night, and until I can break the code he interlaced our system with, I'm not going to stand outside these walls"
      "That's barbaric! Are you sure that you can't take a break. If you want, I could talk to him…"

      "No, that's fine hon, besides what do you think he'd do to you if you interfered with his decisions? He doesn't have that reputation for nothing, you know"

      "I guess not, but I hope you get the computer sorted out soon, I don't like the idea of him taking his anger out on you like this. Are you sure?"

      "Yes, thank you. Hadn't you better get to work before he sees you idle on his time?"
      "Yeah, you're right again. Whoa, what happened to your wrist?"

      "Oh that's nothing, I just cut it against a sharp tool, that's all. I've had them before, it'll go in a few days hopefully"

      "Do you want me to get you anything for it?"

      "No thank you Anthony, but will you please leave me alone to crack this, or else I'll be stuck here for another few days"

      "Okay, if it's what you want. Catch you later I guess"

      She didn't feel a little bit guilty at forcing him to leave like that, which surprised her far greater than her initial shock at not being able to access the computer's mainframe. She didn't know why she didn't like the man she'd had a crush on for months, conceivably it had to do with reality not matching up to her high expectations, even though she felt he was just as sweet and as caring as she had imagined he would be. It may have to do with her new status as the supreme woman in the fraudulent organisation and the only one who'd slept with him without screaming or crying as they returned to work. This sense of supremacy somehow was a very becoming attribute for her; consequently she intended to use every drop of it to her advantage in one method or another. She just hoped she'd be forced to 'work' all night again like she'd told Anthony.

      She watched her son inserting a few coins into a public payphone from a distance, and she inspected the number he dialled like a hawk, wondering if he'd remember the significance the date should bear for him. The number he dialled was the one she suspected, knowing all along that he would be in for a nasty shock when he received his answer. She opened her fan in the flick of her wrist in a smooth motion, fully prepared with a collection of poison-tipped throwing knives in each fold of the paper-thin centre of the object, should he intend to see her and try to kill her in an undoubtedly impolite manner. She could tell the effect the news brought to the youth had on him, and if she didn't hate him for his years' worth of constant betrayal, she may have felt empathetic for the only fruit produced by her loins. He shakily replaced the handset and returned to the room where Jessie lay waiting for him, unaware that his mother could have chosen to end his life at any point as he never noticed her presence. Tyra, on the other hand, did and felt colder than a glacier in the Arctic Ocean at the sight of the woman.

      Jessie understood something was wrong with her lover the instant he entered the room, but she received a strangled sob instead of a reply when she asked if she could help him. He'd said he wanted to make a phone call and she'd respected his privacy, unlike the last time he'd made a phone call during their previous relationship, and now it appeared he hadn't got the answer he wanted to hear. She comforted him as the shock ground his feelings to a standstill, and when he was ready, he revealed what had gone wrong with the call. He'd initially rung Jessie Belle to wish her happy birthday and to see how she was feeling in general, but he hadn't recognised the voice at the other end of the phone when he received an answer. It had turned out that she'd committed suicide upon learning she was HIV positive, unable to live with the pain or grief struck upon her in the knowledge's aftermath. He hadn't wept once after learning of her death, owing to the fact he was too deep in shock to understand why his true emotions were refusing to reveal themselves. Jessie could honestly say that she wished it hadn't happened in spite of their previous discrepancies, and she knew James was feeling it more than he was showing, he wasn't that inhuman for something harsh like that to happen without it torturing him in some form. He hated himself for allowing such a thing to happen even though he wasn't directly involved with its occurrence, yet he felt guilt pulsing repeatedly in his blood vessels, confirming his beliefs. Was it because she'd been dead for a couple of months, her home had been sold and only now he knew of her death? Was it he knew some of her rapists and still did nothing about it after he'd learnt their identities, and one of them had given her a potentially fatal virus? Whatever it was, it hurt him to think about it, and it added a tremendous amount of tension to his already overloaded pressure pile, and he felt like he was approaching his limit. He rested against her as he almost fought to get the emotions out of his body, yet he couldn't make himself react in any way despite his hardest efforts.

      Meowth prowled in the publishers' office steadily yet confidently, declining the desire to laugh, as he knew his plan was destined to work out—he knew his ex-partners' intelligence level after all. He still resented the fact his coat hadn't fully re-grown after the way Cassidy had irresponsibly shaven it off during her tests to return him to the world of the living, and it was only because of this fact that he didn't regret killing her. Butch was running the page he'd given him through the main copier, still idiotically working under the impression that his darling was still alive, and Meowth would only set him straight when he'd finished playing with him, he did make a good toy to manipulate, and there were only so many human tasks a feline can do. He still felt a warmth buzz through him when he considered the time he'd spiked Jessie's drink without being noticed, it had been priceless to watch her and James panic, but the only drawback was he hadn't been able to cut her stomach open like he'd wanted to so badly that night. Still, they were now spooked by what he'd paid an ex-rocket to say to them yesterday, and she'd done her job far greater than expected, and he could allow Jessie a free unhygienic abortion whenever he had a strong urge again, after all this town was infiltrated with his associates. He saw a shattered soul looking at him as Butch passed him the finished products, and he could see in his brown eyes that he pleaded for a few seconds with Cassidy, even though he was too afraid to ask it. Meowth ordered the youth to follow him as they headed towards the pokémon centre, because once Jessie and James saw the offer Nurse Joy would present them with the following day, there wasn't a snowball's chance in a furnace they'd refuse, and it would become the key to their downfall forever more.

      Aqua Pokémon Centre, 23:35 hours…

      Jessie lay with her back resting lightly against James' stomach due to the position they were in, and she was solidly asleep, holding onto her lover's arm on her stomach that held her close to her body. James had released some of their inner tension in the last half hour of their waking memories, and afterwards, neither had maintained enough energy to partake in a light discussion like they usually did to help them sleep. His body felt less tense now in his sleep, yet his dreams were frequently troubled with Jessie Belle committing suicide. He hadn't learnt what manner she'd chosen as part of him didn't want to know, so he saw her cutting her neck, wrists, taking poison and hanging herself amongst other terrible methods. They were both solidly asleep so neither heard three people entering the room, and Jessie's exposed front being stared at by the male who chose the bed opposite to them until he finally fell asleep. Nor did they hear Nurse Joy laughing when she learnt of her duty for the following day.