8. Alliance
Darys always followed the same schedule whenever she was in Nenta. She would get up at seven, cook breakfast, eat, take a shower, and head out at nine. She came back around five, sat down and relaxed until seven, then she cooked dinner. While she ate, she watched the 7:30 news on the television. The exception was Sundays. Specialists always arrived on Sundays. Then they'd work for a week, until another specialist came and replaced the other. Then another week of work, until yet another specialist replaced them. That moment, on each Sunday, when one specialist came and another left, was the only time there ever were three specialists in Nenta. Except for particularly large or difficult captures, something that occurred about once a year. Darys shrugged. Khot had left on Tuesday, leaving her alone in Nenta for the rest of the week. It was now Saturday. The following day, Rashah would arrive. Usually, she replaced Khot, but this time there was no Khot to replace. Darys shrugged, and turned on the news. The regular news reporter face appeared on the screen. He was about to start announcing the news, as usual.
"Earlier today, the head of the Sonos corporation, Ordan Kachia, announced their plans for the company. Apparently, they have made an agreement with Cipher." Darys smiled. The rescue attempt was apparently successful, if Cipher had agreed to anything Sonos had offered them. "The following is an authentic recording of the announcement." Ordan's face appeared on the screen. Darys put her plate down, and paid attention. Ordan started talking.
"Dear people. Dear villagers, citizens and communities. I have an important announcement to make." Ordan paused for a moment, to build suspense. It worked. "Both Cipher and Sonos are very happy to have come to this agreement, and I think it will change the futures of both companies to the better." He took another pause. "Dear ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to announce that from this day forward, Sonos is a department of Cipher." Darys dropped her glass to the floor. She had to get back to the base.
Sarter, the owner of Minun's Meeting Place, had done the same. At the moment, there was only one customer in the café, and he seemed as surprised and shocked as Sarter. The man eventually spoke up. "How could that have happened?" Sarter shook his head in disbelief, and replied. "I don't know. Sonos has always been reliable and fair. I can't understand why they would turn around for the worse now. They've got a working business and all." The man looked outside, through the glass door of the Meeting Place. "I imagine there are many families sitting at home now, saying the same things as we are." The owner nodded. "They have a lot more to think about, though. The two of us, we can watch ourselves. Kids, not so much. This region won't be safe again for a long time." He shook his head. "Well, that's the end of buying pokémon, at least at affordable prices." The guest suddenly got up. "I need to go", he exclaimed, with no explanation. He put some money on the counter, enough to cover the bill and quite a bit more, and hurried out. He had suddenly recalled that he forgot to leave his admin keycard when he resigned.
Uness had somehow managed to open the shutter that had trapped him. He figured it was computer controlled, and that nobody had actually discovered him. Either way, he had told Pidgey to catch up once it got through the shutter separating them, which he knew it could do pretty fast, and started leaving. He was about halfway through the air ducts, and this time, he knew what way to take. He just hoped the rooms were still empty. He had waited until nightfall before trying to escape, so he assumed they were. Or, at least he thought it was night now, judging from the lack of activity in the rooms and hallways. His thoughts kept jumping to the rest of the team, even though he tried to avoid that. Ordan had been taken. They could do whatever they wanted to him, and worse, they could make him do whatever they wanted. Satza had been taken, meaning that he had to close the training center. If he hadn't gone through the hole in the wall, or somehow not been able to, he would have been taken too, and most likely forced to destroy the Complex. Not that they wouldn't make Ordan do that anyway, but he would still be able to use it for a while. He kept going.
Once he made it to the end of the ventilation system, he noticed that the doors had been opened, and the walls were back in place. Lucky for him, he thought. He looked around, trying to spot any security cameras or other equipment, but couldn't find any. Smiling at his freedom, he went outside. Pidgey came after a few minutes. It hadn't been through the system before, and didn't know which way to take. Still, getting out was easier than getting in, and they soon flew over the skies back to the Sonos headquarters.
In addition to the regular airplane that came once a week with new specialists and supplies, the Nenta base had an emergency airplane. All the field specialists were trained to use it, and this had to be the right time. Getting back to the Sonos headquarters was vital. She estimated the trip would take about half an hour.
Once she arrived, she saw a small figure standing outside the door. She carefully approached it, trying not to alert it in case it was a Cipher peon or other enemy. Once she identified Uness, she showed herself. Talking to each other, they quickly determined that the other was fine, but neither had a key. Then they saw a dark figure walking slowly up the hill to the headquarters. They realized that it had seen them long before they had seen it, and that there was no point in hiding. Luckily, there was nothing to hide from, either. The shadow entered the light.
"Lorno!" Uness exclaimed happily. "I thought you left for good." Lorno looked at him, and smiled. "I was going to. Then the situation changed. Radically." Uness nodded, and looked at Darys. "Um, this is Darys, a field specialist. She saw the announcement on TV, and came here. She arrived a couple of minutes after I did." Darys lifted her hand. The man greeted her back. Then he walked over to the door. "So, shall we go in?" He opened the door using his key card. "We have a lot to discuss. Oh, and I think you should lock the door."
The three made their way to Ordan's office, and sat down around a table. Lorno was the first to talk. "So, do we know of anyone else that could help us?" He looked at Darys, then at Uness. "I don't think so", Uness responded after a while. "You know, every field specialist except for Darys was involved. All the admins were there, but I was the only one that got out. I'll explain that later. All the field workers were there. Basically, every single Sonos employee was present. A few went back to the base, either because they didn't have any pokémon left or because they didn't make it in before the doors closed. I don't think they'd come, though." Lorno thought about this for a while, then finally nodded. "I see." he said simply. "So, that makes us three all that's left of Sonos?" "Pretty much." Lorno got up. "Well, in that case, I think we need to cooperate. Do you both agree?" Uness nodded. Darys considered it, then did the same. "So," Lorno went on, "we have a lot to do. Let's go."