Chapter 43

Breccia heard the explosion. It came from the front of the mansion. A vibration moved under her feet and it took a second for her fogged mind to register what was happening.

Once reality hit her, instead of reacting as the average person would, she gave a frustrated groan.

"They know how to make an entrance." She let Morice go. "Come on, lets get this over with." They went out into the main room, where Riker stood with Stotler. As to be expected, the other guests were caught in a panic. The massive amounts of people scurrying about made it hard for Morice and Breccia to find their way around.

"Hang on." Riker said to them, oddly calm. "Laurent sent me a message. They caught our friends trying to weasel their way in. He said there might be a commotion."

Morice crossed his arms. "Not gonna lie...I was expecting more."

"As was I." Stotler murmured. He said this mostly to himself, but Breccia heard. "I'm going to find Kelly and Sanchez. It's probably best you three stay close. I don't like the sound of this."

It took another ten minutes or so before everyone calmed.

Some guests, rightly, decided to leave. Though there were others, the inebriated ones, decided to hang around.

"Has Dixon contacted you?" Riker asked two undercover officers who approached from the crowd.

"We planned on leaving through the side entrance." One of them answered. "We can follow you out."

Breccia was trailing behind them as they ventured to the back hall.

Wasn't worth getting that worked up about.

She said this, scolding her worried mind about its unnecessary paranoia. Now that Dixon and his men had snagged their enemy, it'd be easy to get answers and figure out who was behind this madness.

"I need to use the restroom." She said, calling out to her friends as she messed with her purse strap. "I saw one around the corner."

Before Morice could comment, Riker turned his attention in their direction. "Follow her. I'll catch up in a moment." As they broke away, one of the officers made an attempt to follow. "No need to break your neck. They'll keep each other safe." He waited until his underlings turned the corner. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his Pokeball, giving it a carefree toss. "Now then. I'm guessing Dixon's been in on this the entire time?" He didn't have to send Arlia forth, as she busted out at the first sign of trouble. "What did he promise you? Impunity?" He reached up and detached a pin hidden under the fold of his collar. "Stotler, are the others with you?"

Stotler's voice could be heard, rather loud for how small the device was. "Kelly and Sanchez are. Laurent is still with a few of his men."

"Looks like Dixon pulled a 180."

"You figured he would."

"...Let Kelly know I'll be having a word with her later." He cleared his throat, directing towards the false policemen. "We can do this one of two ways, either she-" He pointed to Arlia. "Can tare you apart, or we can leave quietly. Regardless, I'm getting fed up with your bullshit." While a part of him wanted the easy way out, (as he was drained from the nights events), the men thought otherwise.

Sending out two of their own Pokemon, one a Grimer and the other a Loudred, Riker took note of the piercing hues in their eyes. "Well, now's as good a time as any." He pressed the button sewed into his shirt cuff.

The Pokemon were about to charge, but sputtered when the audio tone deactivated the control.

"Glad Dixon didn't reveal everything. Just in case he needed to control you morons after the fact." He motioned to Arlia. "Go ahead. Take care of them."

Entering the bathroom, Breccia tossed her bag up on the counter and locked the door behind her.

Truth be told, she didn't NEED to use the restroom, she just needed a moment to breath.

The goal of this trip wasn't to get caught up in emotions, but she still let herself get carried away.

Idiot.

She could almost feel his lips touch hers.

What if something had happened, something in need of her expertise? She was too busy screwing around in the back to help.

Still...

Her knees were weak, the feeling in her legs gone. Despite all this, however, she was angry at herself.

"I need a drink." She murmured, adjusting her lipstick in the flickering sepia tone of the bathroom light.

It didn't occur to her that something was wrong until the lights cut out completely, leaving the mansion in darkness.

"Morice?" She called, fumbling to find her way about.

"Can you find the lock?" Morice called from the other side, trying to turn the knob.

"Let me try."

Breccia felt around on the counter top for her bag before trying, in the pitch black, to find the door.

She opened her mouth to speak when a hand covered it, jerking at her violently. In the sudden shock, it took a moment for her mind to register what was happening. Whoever it was was strong and her mindless struggling proved fruitless. Biting down on her assailants thumb, they whipped their hand back long enough for her to scream.

"Breccia?!" As to be expected, Morice heard the commotion and tried to, unsuccessfully, force the door open.

Kicking, flailing and screaming, Breccia was forced through the back into another hall. She clawed and scratched, biting her attacker with every attempt he made to silence her.

Finally, she thrashed about enough that she was dropped to the ground.

She left her empty purse where it lay and bolted, still scurrying in the dark, only able to see small squares of moonlight cast through the tiny windows.

She could hear the labored breath of her pursuer. He was catching up, his feet beating the panels and echoing behind her.

She reached the stairwell, not realizing until her foot hit the bottom stair and she tumbled, smacking her shin. This didn't stop her, and she scrambled frantically, on all fours, up to the next floor.

Having heard the commotion, Nibs busted free from his ball, taking in the scene of his trainer fleeing with an unknown aggressor hot on her trail.

The dark wasn't an issue for him. He let off a powerful blast, soaring it over Breccia's head and nailing the attacker square in the stomach.

He flew off the stairs and landed, ass first on the ground, out cold.

The lights ahead flickered before turning to a dim, bathing the hall in a musty, orange glow.

Breccia took the moment to pause, glancing down at the man unconscious at her feet. "Thanks buddy." She said, catching her Zubat as he collapsed. "Looks like they're more of those creeps around here than we thought."

Attaching her Pokemon to her shoulder, she stepped over the body, trying to head back the way she came.

Shin still throbbing, she debated whether she should bother retrieving her purse when the beams above her head began to crack and give way. She jumped when a good portion of the upstairs collapsed, debris flying and blocking her path.

Examining the beams, and the massive hole they opened, there were obvious evidence of tampering.

Breccia waved her hand, trying to clear the dust from her vision.

"And here I thought it was going to be too easy." Her way back sufficiently blocked, she sighed. "Destruction and mayhem...average Tuesday." Trudging along the stairwell, she gave Nibs a pat when he chomped on her earlobe. "I hope this circles back around, there's no going back that way."