The world was a haze. James heard someone cry out in shock, Jessie's gasp of breathless horror, his own involuntary yelp. But mostly there was silence as the brief echo the fired bullet had left hanging in the air dissolved.

He waited for someone to move as a dizzying lightness filled his head. The agents he looked to stared back with an equal loss of direction, their expressions holding varying levels of distress. And then the quiet subsided; Alonzo's shouts of grief filled the atmosphere, muffled by the door that barred him from view. His desolated cries soon eased into moans that uttered Harry's name.

James wasn't altogether sure how, but he found himself walking, following the blurs of Jessie and Meowth. His mind protested that he'd missed something in between; a glance over his shoulder reassured him that he'd only moved a few metres. There were his colleagues, some trying to open the door to get a look at exactly what had happened, some motionless, a select few unable to stop their faces from twisting with anguish. Perhaps they were the ones who'd known Harry for longer than the duration of the mission.

"Jessie, where are we goin'?" Meowth asked in a hoarse voice, struggling to keep up with her pace. "What about- what about dat guy?"

Jessie shot him a look, a coldness present amidst the fear in her expression. She didn't say anything, but her response was clear: there was nothing they could do.

So they kept going, walking away long after Alonzo's voice was too distant to be audible.


"We're getting out of here, now," Jessie stated firmly once she, James and Meowth had reached their room. Hands trembling, she grabbed her suitcase from the wardrobe and started filling it with various articles of clothing.

James watched her worriedly. "Jess..."

He stumbled backwards as his own suitcase was thrust into his chest. "Only pack things we'll need," Jessie told him, an unmistakable tremor in her voice.

"We can't- we can't leave!" James stammered in objection. Jessie momentarily stopped moving to look at him.

"Why not?" she asked bitterly.

James thought about this. Team Rocket was everything they had, what they'd worked for for their entire careers. It was all messed up beyond belief, he knew that. And yet...

He cleared his head. "I don't think I can do it."

Jessie's face was suddenly contorted by a mixture of fury and terror. "You don't think it's hard for me too?" she spat, her pitch rising to a shout. "This is everything I have! It's the only place where I've ever felt remotely as if I belong; I don't want to leave any more than you do!" Her fists slowly unclenched. "But there's nothing left here worth staying for. Everything's different. Either way, whether we leave or not, things won't ever go back to the way they used to be. And I'm not going to stick around and work for people who kill just because it's easier."

"But what will we do?" Meowth questioned quietly. There was no protest in his voice. He knew they had little choice left.

"We'll work something out," Jessie replied vaguely. "Maybe stay at Christopher's for a while." James doubted that a noodle restaurant would provide the cover and security they'd need, but kept silent.

"Jess, slow down!" Meowth called as Jessie made for the door, suitcase in hand. Jessie glanced back at him.

"What?" she snapped. "You want to stay and take orders from some maniac who shoots his own employees after ordering them to kill?" James felt a fresh surge of nausea at Jessie's last statement. He didn't want to believe it, even though he'd heard the deed being carried out only metres behind him.

"Course I don't," Meowth denied, shaking his head. "I'm... I'm with ya. We gotta leave." A flash of surprise crossed Jessie's face at this; the tension in her shoulders relaxed slightly. "But not like dis. Jessie, we won't even know where we're spending da night if we high tail it now! And Team Rocket- dis Team Rocket- isn't da kinda organisation we wanna be in trouble with. We gotta come up with a proper plan foist, dig?"

Jessie leant backwards on the door, clicking it shut. "Yeah," she breathed, and let the case drop from her hand. "Okay."


They were all too shaken up to sleep when night came. For the last couple of hours they'd brooded over the situation whilst trying not to let the settling memories of Harry's unwarned execution overwhelm them. James made little attempt to come to terms with what had happened in Carter's office, still absorbed in the thoughts of the dead guards he'd left in the alley. He felt suddenly selfish dwelling on his own misery; what would be the reaction of their families, if this was the impact he felt? What about the guards themselves, their previous aspirations?

And what about Harry?

Jessie's behaviour unsettled him. She didn't keep up any pretence of being unruffled, just sat with her back to the wall, biting the flesh of her thumb. Every now and then, when she caught his eye, she'd mumble some consoling words, but her voice carried none of the certainty it usually did. Meowth was better by appearance, looking pensive- still visibly upset, but not as unable to operate. By the time it had passed one in the morning it became apparent to them that this wasn't something they'd be able to shake off and further ignore. Having agreed that some form of action had to be taken, they took seats around a small table in the kitchen, hoping that between them they'd be able to come up with a plan.

"I think we should just slip out of the building tonight," Jessie said eventually, her tone hushed. "We can wear civilian clothes, then take the bus to town, catch the first ferry to Sinnoh and go to Christopher's. He'll definitely let us stay. Then we figure the long-term out from there."

"Let me get dis right," Meowth said, looking bemused. "You t'ink dat we should crash wid Chris, an ex-Rocket, in a high profile noodle joint dat's actually named after the two of youse?" He gave an airy laugh. "So much for subtle. I mean, I'm all for reverse-psychology, but dat's takin' it a little far." James silently agreed; the last thing they needed was to make it easier for anyone to track them.

Jessie leant backwards in her chair, crossing her arms. "Okay, you have a point," she admitted. "But all of this is assuming the second we leave, Team Rocket will launch a manhunt to find us," she said. "Isn't that a bit paranoid? I mean, who's to say they care that much if a couple of agents wander off? Carter seems to have everything running too securely for stuff like that to matter hugely."

"Maybe it won't be da end of da world if we leave," Meowth replied, "but it'll still be a risk. We'd still know the locations of da bases an' t'ings like dat, an' den Carter will be left with the danger that we could could blab to da police at any time. I know we barely know da guy, but I t'ink we've all got acquainted with him enough to figure he won't like dat one bit."

After spending a few seconds tiredly pondering Meowth's assertion, James shifted his chair closer to the table. "So what other options do we have?" he asked. When the others said nothing, he answered his own question: "Well, we could go to the police."

Meowth and Jessie looked at him as if he were completely mad. "Turn ourselves in?" Jessie spluttered. "Oh yeah, brilliant!" She clapped her hands sarcastically. "That solves everything! Why didn't I think of that?"

"I'm not saying we should," James countered. "I'm just listing possibilities."

"Uh, Jim? I hardly think dat letting da cops lock us up for da rest of our lives is any kinda solution," Meowth snorted.

"Well, if there's one good thing about that crazy idea it's that you'd be fine, Meowth," Jessie said. "They can't convict a Pokemon. You could just pretend that you were forced into the whole thing."

"Yeah? An' what about youse two?" Meowth asked. "Ya seriously tellin' me you're considerin' jail?"

"Course not," Jessie said in immediate response, and James sighed.

"No, I'm not," he replied to Meowth after a short while, reasoning his value of liberty had been the main motivation for just about every decision he'd made in his life. "Though, it would at least ensure that we'd stay alive, I suppose."

Jessie shook her head. "Would it? If we were in custody, Carter would have all the more reason to want us dead, what with the danger of us snitching about Team Rocket. I'm pretty sure he'd be able to take us out somehow- maybe get one of those agents posing as cops to off us-"

"Alright," Meowth interrupted, holding up his paws. "We're goin' in circles. I t'ink we can safely conclude that goin' to da police ain't gonna help. What else is dere?"

"We could stay at a hotel," Jessie replied after a few seconds' thought. "We've got some cash- we can still take the ferry to Kanto or somewhere. Then we make some calls and see about somewhere permanent."

No one objected. "Sounds like just about the best course of action we can take at this stage," James agreed eventually.

"Den you'll need fake IDs, if you're really goin' through wid it," Meowth said. "Passports and da like. An' some phony qualifications wouldn't go amiss, either..."

"And how do you propose we go about getting all that?" Jessie questioned.

James thought about this. "What about the supplies area?" he suggested. "We must have gotten our pictures taken for counterfeit ID cards there dozens of times when we were preparing disguises. If we can get into the room with the right equipment inside, it might be possible." The weight of what he was saying hit him for the first time; they were really going to leave. He didn't want to think about it in depth.

"Should we go now?" Meowth asked doubtfully.

"It won't be any easier later on," Jessie said. "We might as well give it a go, while it's still dark. With any luck, everyone'll be asleep or out at this time too."

It took little over ten minutes to pack their belongings, most of the process made up of deciding what they could afford to take, what they needed. They then left their bags by the entrance of the dormitory so that, if anyone happened to see them on their way to the supplies room, it wouldn't look as if they were planning on going anywhere; Jessie had suggested that they only take their stuff once they were sure that they could leave, which Meowth and James agreed was sensible.

The supply rooms were fairly easy to find despite the fact that they were working from memory, the halls- although empty- brightly lit with reassuring signs at each doorway. Finding the doors unsurprisingly locked, the trio peered in through the slits of glass, cupping their hands around their eyes so the light didn't obscure the view inside, and found the third room along to be set up for photography.

"Dat's gotta be da one, unless dey've changed it," Meowth whispered, standing on the tips of his hind legs so he was tall enough to peek in. He gestured to the keyhole. "Should I do da honours?"

James glanced around the surrounding walls, checking for any signs of an alarm system. "I think we're clear," he said dubiously. Jessie nodded, and Meowth extended his claws, beginning to pick the lock. After a few minutes, the door clicked open, mercifully uncoupled with the wail of an alarm.

"Should we have the lights on or off?" James asked as they stepped inside, wondering whether working in light would make the room's occupied state visible from the corridor.

"Pull down the blinds at the windows," Jessie replied. She waited for James to do so before pushing the switch on the wall.

Their surroundings flickered into harsh focus, the colours painfully bright under the glare of the bulbs above. Propped against one wall was a wooden frame that held a white sheet in place, in front of it a camera on a black tripod. To the other side of the room were the items used to counterfeit identity: delicate watermarks on sheets like stickers, rows of blank passports and document papers along with a computer for digital editing among the things visible. James grimaced as he realised that he hadn't the vaguest idea of how half the machinery worked.

"Right," Jessie breathed, stepping forwards and turning on the camera. "Meowth, you take our pictures, I'll try and get the computer up and running and James can deal with the passports."

James nodded and moved over to the shelves of documents. "Uh, won't there be a password on that?" he asked, looking over at the computer monitor.

"Yeah, probably," Jessie admitted as the computer booted up. Sure enough, a white box flashed onto the screen. "Any ideas?" she asked her male colleagues.

"Maybe try the one our old Unova laptop came wid," Meowth said.

"Okay," Jessie agreed. "Delibird with a '3', right?" She tapped at the keyboard, hit enter, and was met with a brief red flash. "Ugh, nope." After repeating this process about a dozen more times with different passwords and spellings, she gave up, slumping back in the chair. "We could hack it," she said, "but I think that'd be risky with security. We mess up and someone's gonna know about it straight away."

"Everything we're doing at the moment is a risk," James pointed out. He paused. "We need that computer if we're going to leave. If we do set off some alarm, then we can say that we lost our old IDs and didn't want to admit it to a superior, so tried to discreetly make new ones instead- or even that we were just messing around, seeing if we could hack into the system."

"An' what if dey don't buy it?" Meowth asked. "Dat sounds like a pretty dumb thing ta do."

"We'll just have to hope they believe we're stupid enough to try to pull something like that," James answered. "I don't think that's too much of a stretch..." He took a few moments to think. "We could even act drunk- go back to our room and splash a little alcohol on our clothes so it's believable. The point is that as long as they think our intentions were petty, we won't be seen as a threat to Carter, and, you know..."

"Killed," Jessie finished bluntly. James almost flinched at the term.

"Y-Yeah. If we're convincing, we'll hopefully get away with a pay cut, or a demotion at worst. It would still make it more difficult to leave, though."

"So... We hack it?" Meowth questioned slowly to break the silence.

Jessie nodded her head, fingers poised above the keys. "It's our only shot at getting out of here." She started to type, and then stopped. "The drunk thing might help, actually."

"I'll see if I can find some beer or something," James offered. He moved back towards the door, noticing for the first time how much he was trembling. What he was doing was crazy, unthinkable to his former self; maybe, he mused, if he dwelled on his actions for too long, he'd change his mind. That was partially why he didn't let his thoughts settle, looping words over in his head, simple instructions to himself. He exhaled, and opened the door.

"You guys are shit at keeping your voices down, you know that?"

A jolt of panic combed its way across James' flesh at the sight of the female agent in front of him. He froze in his tracks, unable to think of a decent response.

"Uh, we were just-"

The agent ignored him, pushing past into the supplies room. He followed her quickly, racking his brain for an excuse. Jessie and Meowth rose their gazes to the woman as she shut the door behind her. "I heard you," she told them simply. No one replied. The trio just looked at her guiltily, unmoving as they waited for her to call for someone. "If you're going to commit treason you should at least plan it out properly."

"Look," Jessie said, standing up from her seat, "we were just joking around. Nothing we said was serious." Her blue eyes met those of the woman, who looked back at Jessie almost expressionlessly. "Please. We'll go back to our room. This was all just a stupid dare."

The agent smiled. "No, it wasn't." Jessie opened her mouth to protest, and the woman raised a hand to stop her. "It's alright. Stop looking so worried- I'm not going to tell anyone, okay?"

James glanced at Jessie and Meowth, the confusion in his expression matching theirs.

"You want to get out of Team Rocket, right?" the woman asked, her voice quiet. "I'll take that as a 'yes'," she continued when no one said anything, and shifted forwards towards them. "Well, I want in."

"What?" James choked, barely able get the word out from the back of his throat.

"You want to come with us?" Jessie asked in disbelief.

"Not now," the agent said, motioning to the door. "I need some time to get ready, and my partner will want to go too. But yes. We were going to leave by ourselves, but, ah, money is sort of an issue at the moment. I know you two just pulled off a bank robbery, so you must have some pretty nice pay checks sitting around. You sort out cash for our transport, and we'll deal with your paperwork."

"And what makes you think we'll accept?" Jessie challenged.

A smirk creased the woman's lip. "Because, from what I just overheard, you have no clue how to counterfeit identity properly, and your cover story was completely half-assed. I'd be able to help keep this whole thing off the radar. That and I have the password to the computer." She fidgeted with her glove. "Give it some thought. If you want our help, meet us here tomorrow night at two AM. Don't bring anything- or anyone else- with you. Rat us out and we'll return the favour."

With that she left.


They tried to find the agent the next day, scouring the hallways, cafeteria and lobbies for any signs of the woman.

"Maybe we should have just kept goin' with da plan after she left," Meowth muttered as they gave up the search.

"We could use her help," Jessie replied in a whisper. "She was right about us not really knowing what we're doing- besides that, shouldn't we try to help her if she wants to leave? I know our morals aren't exactly rigid, but... I don't know. I just feel like we should start actually doing something."

James found himself, to his own silent protest, thinking back to the meeting with Carter after the mission at the bank, of the way everyone had watched as Alonzo pleaded for his partner, how he'd just left with Harry yelling behind him. Should he have reacted differently, intervened?

No, he told himself. The signals might have been there, but he was sure that he hadn't known at the time what was about to unfold. Not really. Even if he had, and tried to defend Harry, his achievements would probably only stretch as far as increasing the body count.

But James couldn't shake the sense that apathy was creeping up on him.

"I think an alliance would be good," he said in agreement. "That way, we have a wider range of skills between us."

"An' how do we know we can even trust dis gal?" Meowth queried. "She could be... I don't know, an undercover cop or somet'ing!"

"An undercover cop who's focusing her attention on agents who want to leave?" Jessie shot back. "That somehow sounds unlikely. If, Arceus forbid, there are any police agents snooping around in disguise, I think they'll be more interested in the plans of those staying."

"Well, what if she backstabs us later, an' snitches?" Meowth retaliated.

"She had her chance to turn us in yesterday," James interjected, and Jessie nodded.

"We're on the same page as her, Meowth," she said. "You can go it alone if you want, but at the moment, her help is our best option."

Meowth tutted, giving his head a slight shake. "Ya know I'm wid youse guys, no matter what crazy t'ings ya do," he said, smiling. "I'm just sayin' be careful."

"We will be," Jessie assured him. "Now c'mon." She breathed out a weary sigh. "We should try and catch up on some sleep before tonight."


"I hate to say I told ya so, but..."

"She'll be here," Jessie mumbled back, cutting Meowth off. They'd been waiting by the room for the last quarter of an hour, backs to the wall as they tried to look normal in case anyone else walked past.

"If she's a no show, we really should stop hangin' around dis hallway," Meowth hissed. "Who stands by a wall for fifteen minutes, doin' nothin'? It's gonna look real fishy if-"

"Sorry!" the agent exclaimed as she emerged from the end of the corridor, followed by a man who looked a little younger. He was short, about the same height as her, with dark skin and thin black hair. "We got caught up talking to someone. Didn't want to rush off, you know?" She smiled, brushing her hazel hair over her shoulder. "My name's Logan," she told them, and tilted her head at the man next to her. "This is Harvey, my partner."

Jessie and James introduced themselves, hesitating as they turned to Meowth.

"Name's Meowth," he stated before either human had a chance to explain that he could talk. "An' I ain't deir pet, dig?"

Harvey gawped at the cat Pokemon as Logan said, as calmly as she could: "I had a feeling I heard three voices yesterday."

"Oh- I thought the talking cat thing was just a rumour!" Harvey laughed. He looked at Meowth, a vague wonder glinting in his eyes. "Er, so, were you just born with it, or-"

"I taught myself," Meowth explained. "Not much more to it dan dat."

"Well," Logan began after a short silence, "I suppose we won't question it further, then." She held up a key, which she then used to unlock the door to the supply room. "Ta da," she said in a monotone.

"How did you get that?" James asked her, surprised they wouldn't have to break in again.

"Here's the deal sealer," Harvey grinned. "We work in this room."

Once everyone was inside, Logan shut the door and hit the light switch. "Here's what you tell anyone who comes in, okay?" she said. "You guys needed new Unova licences. You came to us, and that's what we're doing now. Got it?"

She waited for them to nod before sitting down by the computer. "Alright," she said after entering the password. "Jessie and James..." Logan tapped their names into the police database page, and raised her eyebrows. "Wow. Okay." She chuckled weakly. "This is going to be quite a challenge."

"What is it?" Jessie prompted worriedly.

"Let's just say you don't have to scroll very far down Unova's wanted list before your pictures show up."

Jessie, James and Meowth looked at each other, each with a countenance of concern as they realised their Unovian shenanigans were coming back to bite them. Harvey leant over Logan's shoulder to look at the monitor.

"You're not quite as wanted in the other regions, at least," he noted. "We'll just have to sneak you out of here before the authorities catch wind."

"So... Is it possible?" Meowth asked slowly.

"Oh yeah, definitely," Harvey said. "A little tricky, but possible. It'd be a whole other story if you wanted to stay in Unova, but since you're just hopping on a ferry and leaving- well."

"What about you two?" Jessie questioned. "Will you be recognised by anyone?"

"Doubt it," Logan replied. "Our work is solely in supplies, so we barely even leave headquarters."

"Are you going to Kanto too?" James asked them as Harvey started to adjust the camera.

"Nah," Logan said. "Johto. Our families are back there."

"And there's this awesome curry place," Harvey chimed in jokingly.

"Yeah," Logan laughed. "And the curry place. My soul aches for it." She hit a few keys, which brought up a complex-looking document on screen. "You guys want to choose new names, or should Harvey and I decide for you and forever butcher your futures?"

Jessie huffed a laugh. "I guess we'll choose."


AN- It's finally here! It took a while, but I didn't want to rush this one. I hope I got it right(ish).There have been a few so far, but there's a nerdy historic reference here. I think this is probably the most obscure and nerdy so far. Kudos if you get it.

As for where the plot is going- well, all will be revealed- promise! And thank you all so much for reading :)