Despite having an apartment on the island like everyone else, Riker was rarely home. He often slept in his office, taking breaks to stop by the pub. Considering it was a Saturday evening, he was expecting a call from Stotler.
"Yeah?" Debating where to sleep for the night, Riker put a finger in his ear. "How's things...No why?...Hang on, what?"
Stotlar, a level headed guy on the worst of days, sounded upset, almost frantic. "We had men stationed in Harthome..." He started to speak. "The Boss wanted us to make plans for a casino in the area...I sent some of my best men to scout out the place and not a single one returned."
"You haven't heard anything back from them?"
"Not a peep. We aren't even sure they made it to Hearthome to begin with."
For some reason, hearing the news reminded Riker of the whiskey he had in his fridge. A part of him wished he and his friend could share it.
"I called Sanchez in Hoenn earlier today." Stotler continued. "They had an entire squadron vanish en-route to Rustboro."
"How long has this been going on?" Riker was sure that if they were face to face, Stotler would've shrugged.
"I heard through the grapevine that some of our members have gone missing throughout the month." The line crackled with static, cutting out for a couple seconds. "With how hard it's been financially, we sometimes have runners, but never this bad."
"Have you had any previous missions fall through?"
"Not on my end." The sound of a flicking lighter signaled Stotler lighting a cigarette. "But I know vandalism has been on the rise. Minor childish stuff, defacing monuments. Kelly had to defend the Kanto branch against the police when they came poking around."
"They think we're responsible?"
"They did, but why would we bother? It's petty. There's no money in it." Stotler sighed. "All I know is if the Boss can't rely on us to keep things in order, he's gonna start kicking us out the door. Someone or something is messing with us."
"Look, just calm down." Standing in the doorway of his office, Riker took a moment to lock up before heading to the elevator.
"The issue with your scientists, are you sure it was just an accident?" Stotler's question sent a sliver of pure ice into Riker's veins. He was so concerned with calming his friend that it didn't occur to him: did he have a traitor in his ranks? Birtan was small, poor and insignificant in the grand scheme of things. The division in Aurora was only a few years old and Riker was working as Stotler's underling when he received his promotion to Executive. Could it be that he was so determined to prove himself that he left the wrong people slip through? "Riker?"
"What...Oh yeah. I canceled the project..." An insurmountable level of stress and anxiety began to surface. "Aside from the League, nothing of significance happens around here."
"Keep a look out." The conversation did little to calm either. "And keep an eye on your men."
"I will." Going into the open cart, Riker pressed the buttons with with numb fingers.
They said their final farewells and his Transceiver went back into his pocket by the time he hit the ground floor.