It took a little longer to rush back. The boardwalk was mostly empty when heading to the hotel, so there weren't many people to contend with.

As she and Morice hurried along, Nibs busted from his ball after staying silent for most of the evening. Not a fan of the sunlight, even though it was a soft glow instead of a harsh shimmer, he resorted to Breccia's shirt pocket.

"I hope Riker isn't pissed off." Breccia said as the hotel came into view. Still thinking of his cross tone, she feared the other Executives had put him in a foul mood.

(And considering the conversation they had the day before, she wondered if his personal demons were weighing on him).

"Wait!" They heard a hurried voice as they made it to the lobby. When Breccia turned the corner to go in, a blur of red fur ran towards her and smacked into her leg. Plopping down on his bottom, the Growlithe stared up at her, it's tongue hanging out.

As to be expected, Breccia bent over and gave him a scratch between his ears.

"You should probably make sure it isn't rabid." Morice said. "Not every Pokemon wants cuddles."

Going against her friend's complaints, when the Growlithe stood on it's back legs, Breccia reached down and picked him up. "He wouldn't hurt a soul." Breccia smiled when the Pokemon lapped at her face with it's tongue.

"Where's your trainer?" She asked, hearing a small commotion from the lobby as a stranger made his way to her.

"I'm so sorry." He said. "He got away from me." The man, a rather tall, bulky blond, was in a light blue police uniform. "We've been trying to train him for the department, but he doesn't focus." The officer had another Growlithe alongside him, clearly more obedient than the other. When he tried to take the Pokemon from Breccia, it nipped at his fingers, more friendly than vicious. "Come on buddy, the deputy is going to hand me my ass if we don't catch up."

Breccia let the creature go, frowning a tad. "How long have you been training him?"

"Since he hatched. It just doesn't seem to be catching on." The officer sighed. "I'm going to give him a couple weeks. If not, I might just give him to my daughter." Glancing down, his more obedient Pokemon stayed at his side while the other danced about, trying to tackle and play with it's brother. "Maybe this isn't where he's meant to be..."

Riker saw his two underlings chatting with the officer, taking the time to step away from the Executives. As to be expected, he had a headache and was slightly pissed that Breccia and Morice took so long to get back.

"Laurent." Having arrived with a handful of his men, Dixon called out to the officer in the door way. "Step away from the riff raff, we have more important things to attend to."

Shutting the door behind them, it was then that Breccia noticed the lobby was empty. Even the front desk stood bare. She wasn't sure how they managed to scoot everyone along, but aside from the group's chatter, it was quiet and uncomfortable.

The air between the Executives and the police was stiff, as to be expected, and as Breccia approached, she held her breath.

"We were hoping you'd have more information on who is behind all this." Kelly said, speaking to Dixon. "You were bragging about all the men you've arrested. You mean to tell me not a single one let details slip about who's leading them?"

Dixon crossed his arms. "Don't make me laugh. We've arrested a lot of you idiots, and you have yet to tell us anything."

"We aren't the priority." Stotler snapped. "If you haven't made any leeway, then just say so. We're bound to find more at the Gala, we can try and get answers then."

While this was the first time Breccia met Dixon, remembering Morice's story soured things for her. Looking at him now, she could feel a change in the wind.

"Tell me, this plan you have." Dixon said. "It's been a hassle having to take these men down, with their Pokemon being as strong as they are." He added: "You're silly little experiments are bound to of found something."

Breccia huffed, expelling a hot stream of frustrated breath. "I'd have a bit more respect for something that could save your hide."

Dixon glanced to her, acting as if her statement were a minor inconvenience and nothing more. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

Breccia, whose hands were wedged firmly in her pockets, clenched her fists. "I'm in charge of the 'silly little experiments'."

Laurent, who was standing with the other officers, his unruly Growlithe trouncing about, appeared surprised. "Wait..." He said to Breccia. "You're WITH them?!"

"Silence boy." Dixon snapped, not even bothering to look back at his underling. "Since you're in charge of these 'ideas', tell me what you've discovered."

Breccia almost refused to speak, a quiet voice in her mind telling her not to spill too much. Glancing to Riker, he egged her on with a nod of his head and she relented. "We've discovered a signal tone that deactivates the effects of the microchips. We were able to construct a few small devices, it should make their Pokemon easier to deal with."

The Deputy took this news with a simple swipe of the hand, as if waving her intelligence away. "Well, aren't you a smart little girl." He continued to the Executives. "Are we allowed this technology, or is this something you're going to handle alone?"

"They aren't going to know." Breccia snapped, refusing to let him wander from her. "I already have the device sewn in a few of the suit cuffs. I wouldn't mind outfitting some of your men, as long as they're dressing up for the occasion."

Doing what he did best, Dixon ignored her input, as if her presence was a pain in the back. (One would think, with how important Breccia and the Lab's research was, he'd take what she said a tad more seriously.) "That's nice princess, keep it down, big kids are talking."

Already having issues with her rage, Breccia's anger bubbled over. Her vision blurred and for a second, she feared she'd explode from all she was holding in. It would've been smart for her to walk off and collect her bearings, but she reacted before logic could take over.

Before he could turn away from her, Breccia replaced punching Dixon by spitting in his face instead. He was hit in the eye and, after realizing what happened, lost his cool demeanor and lunged at her.

In the second it took Dixon to react, Breccia was yanked back by Morice and Riker stepped between his subordinate and the Deputy.

"Careful there Dixy." Kelly called, standing next to Sanchez as she spoke. "We don't want any conflict... lest some details slip out..."

Steaming from the audacity of Breccia's 'attack', Dixon took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his face. "There's laws against attacking an officer missy." He said, bypassing Kelly's snide comment.

Still behind her boss, Breccia was more than willing to continue the fight. "Tell me what I have to lose officer."

"That's enough!" Riker snapped, calling for and receiving silence. Casting a scornful look over his shoulder, his Lab worker felt instant shame at the thought of causing him issues. "We were promised a truce until this issue was resolved. Do you plan on meeting us at the Gala or not?"

"Well, we're here aren't we?"

There was a spattering of conversation among them before they broke away. Waiting until Riker was standing by himself, Breccia approached with Morice on her tail. "I don't like this." She said. Casting her vision to Dixon as he spoke to the other officers. "Call me paranoid but I have a bad feeling."

"You aren't the only one." Riker commented, arms crossed. He'd been trying to say so for the past couple weeks, but the other Executives passed him off. At this point, there was no point in saying much else. They wouldn't listen.

Eavesdropping Riker took notice of the exchange between the officers.

"We'll station out front of the mansion." Dixon was going through the plan when Laurent spoke up.

"Shouldn't we have a few around the side, just to be safe-"

"If I wanted your opinion boy, I'd say so." Turning his nose up to the rest, Dixon headed for the door, his men following. "Well, I'd hate to cut things short, but we have preparations to make." Still sore from the spit wad Breccia threw at him, he sent her a withering glance. "The big boys have priorities."

"Be careful deputy." Breccia threw back. "We wouldn't want anything to happen." As she said this, Nibs crawled onto her shoulder, stretching his wings from his nap.

Dixon smirked, pointing to the bat. "What? You going to blow me away with your ace?"

Breccia knew a challenge when she saw one and sighed, wanting nothing more than a hot shower and a nap. She shrugged her shoulder to get Nibbles' attention. "You heard him buddy. Go ahead." She added: "Aim for the street."

Excited, Nibs flew above their heads. (Riker and Morice moved aside in advance.)

Opening his tiny maw, he did what he did best, sending a large, accumulated beam massive enough to knock him back. The lobby doors blew out, casting a car away and bending multiple light polls in the process.

The confidant, smug look on Dixon's face fell instantly and his men jumped back, terrified.

Exhausted, Nibs fell back down, caught by his trainer. After, he yawned, gave her a little head bump to the chin, then crawled back into her pocket.

"Like I said." Breccia commented in the silence that ensued. "Stay careful officer." She grinned. "Now if you excuse me, I'm going for a nap." She walked, solitary, to the steps leading upstairs.

Having stood in silence for the entire interaction, from Dixon arriving to Nibs blasting a hole through the windows, Sanchez watched her go and nodded once more. "I still like her."