AN- Apologies for the wait for this one- I've missed updating this story. Also, thanks to everyone for reading! :)
James raised an eyebrow at the picture Harvey had taken of him, now printed onto a laminated card. "It still looks like me," he commented nervously. The only real difference was that, in the photo, he was wearing a blonde wig- one he now removed from his head.
"It doesn't have to be permanent ID- it's just to get you into Kanto," Harvey replied. "There's not much else we can do at this point except change your hair. You could put on some glasses too, if you want. Just make sure to wear the wigs, and that they don't fall off halfway through some security check."
"So... What now?" Jessie asked as Logan took the pictures from her partner.
"It'll probably be a few days before we'll have everything ready," Logan said. "Until then, don't lurk around this area, or do anything else that might be considered out-of-the-ordinary. We'll let you know when the preparation's done."
Meowth smiled slightly. "Ya betta. An', uh, t'anks. For da help."
"You're paying us, remember?" Logan reminded him. "You shouldn't thank the landlord for collecting rent, so to speak." She cocked her head towards the door, and returned Meowth's smile. "Now get out of here. We've got a lot of work to do, and having a talking cat around is very distracting."
Turning to leave with Meowth and James, Jessie hesitated. "How will we get the money to you?"
"We'll collect it in person when we're all done with this- I'd say at the end of the week at the latest," Harvey responded. "So don't spend it all before then."
"Right," Jessie said. She gave a slight wave goodbye to the agents before leaving the room. The corridor was dim and silent, and Jessie felt an abrupt fear stab at her gut, a sensation which somewhat surprised her. She absently wondered why she felt so suddenly scared, looking ahead at the tiled flooring that shrunk into the distance, at the darkening colours trapped between narrow walls.
James supposed that, in many ways, it was a relief to think that he'd soon be leaving, starting some other life. Certainly, the idea of staying under Carter's leadership frightened him more, but only by a limited margin. It felt to him a little like choosing between two poisons.
There had been, under Giovanni's reign, a far less perilous method of leaving the organisation. It had jestingly been dubbed "Giovanni's retirement plan" by some of the agents (not to be confused with a second fabled retirement plan, one that involved cinderblocks and a permanent visit to the Magikarp at the bottom of the nearest lake). When someone had served Team Rocket for a long enough stretch, or perhaps developed some sort of handicap that rendered them no longer able to work, Giovanni would- provided that he was satisfied with their performance- grant them the option of leaving. From there, a deal was formed. The former employee would deny any association with or knowledge of Team Rocket, and in return, Giovanni would pull a few strings to ensure that they were safe from the law. On the less comfortable side, a heavy threat rang through the offer: if the person were to give away any information about the syndicate, Giovanni would make sure that, by the end of the day, they would be the one with a looming jail sentence. And if that didn't sufficiently encourage their loyalty, their life, along with those of friends and relatives, would be made collateral.
At the time that he'd heard about such a proposition, James had thought it sounded awfully cynical- too presumptuous of betrayal. Now it seemed like a dream. He rose his head, looking at Meowth and Jessie as they counted out money onto the kitchen table. "Stop wallowing in self-pity and help them," he told himself. "At least I have some kind of a choice. There are plenty of people who don't." The thought made him feel all the more guilty: self-absorbed and pathetic. What right did he have to sympathy when others were dead?
"That's their cut," Jessie said across the room, pushing two wads of cash to one side of the wooden surface. She looked down at the money leftover. "Reckon we've got enough between us?"
"If we ain't, dere's not much we can do 'bout it," Meowth shrugged. "But dat ought to see us t'rough da first couple a' weeks."
Standing up to join them, James added: "That's a good point- what will we do about money after this runs out?"
"Yeah, there's a fun bridge to cross," Jessie said unenthusiastically. "I guess our most realistic options are either to try to get legitimate jobs, keep stealing independently of Team Rocket, or find a way to get a nice cash injection from your parents' bank account." She caught James' worried expression and smiled. "If it comes to that, it'll be by wedding-free means. Promise."
"As long as we get outta here, we'll be all right," Meowth pondered aloud. "We're used to gettin' by on nuttin'."
Jessie ended the brief pause that followed when her face flashed with realisation. "We should check on Mondo when we get there," she stated quietly. "He probably doesn't even know what's happening outside of Kanto."
Mondo... James had nearly forgotten about him. With everything that was going on, the young Rocket had barely crossed his mind in the past few weeks.
"Do you think he's okay?" James asked, looking pleadingly at Jessie, and then at Meowth, mentally begging them to give an answer that wouldn't add to his concern. He felt childish in doing so, but couldn't help the reaction.
"I'm sure he's fine," Jessie dismissed. "He's good at staying out of trouble when he needs to- hey, if only we possessed that trait, huh?"
James managed to crack a half-hearted grin. "But then we'd have to change the motto."
Two days passed with little change in their routine. They'd stored everything they needed to take with them in the bottom drawer of their cabinet, deciding that, if anyone were to stumble across the hiding place, disguises, fake identification, and hard cash would hardly look suspicious in their line of work. Halfway through the following day, the three of them were in the middle of a lunch consisting of canned soup and bread when a knock sounded at their door.
"Dat didn't sound forebodin' at all," Meowth joked, his lowered voice providing enough evidence that his quip was forced. For a moment they just waited to see if whoever it was would go away, but the knock came again, this time followed by a voice.
"Yo, open the door? I got orders to talk to you guys."
Seeing that they weren't getting away with pretending not to be in, the trio looked at each other in the same way they'd become particularly accustomed to recently: silently, they were asking one another what to do, hoping that an answer could be found between them. When no one offered one, Jessie rose from her chair, moved over to the door and ambivalently opened it. A male grunt stood before her, rocking back and forth slightly in a somewhat impatient manner.
"You're, uh, Jessie and James, right?" he asked as he peered past Jessie into the room.
"Yeah," Jessie said tightly. "What is it?"
"You're wanted in one of the offices downstairs," he answered, his expression indifferent. "I was told to come get you."
"What?" Jessie snapped at him. She started to tremble with what James hoped was rage- simply because her anger would be indicative of some normality- but knew was probably the same fear he and Meowth currently had no problems with expressing. "This is far too short-notice," Jessie continued, barely managing to get the words out clearly. "You can't expect us to clear our schedule all of a sudden!"
The grunt shrugged his shoulders, mercifully not noticing that their "schedule" seemed to be to eat soup. "I'd tell 'em you didn't wanna go, but, uh, I don't think that'd fly with the boss." He seemed to notice the anxiety of the agents he was speaking to, and added: "It didn't sound like a big deal, if that's the problem. They said it wouldn't take long."
"Who's 'they'?" Jessie interrogated.
"I don't know- some guys." The grunt huffed, glancing over his shoulder. "Look, it's just a meeting thing, okay? I don't know any more than that. But I'm gonna get an earful if I'm late, so..."
Jessie gave him a relenting nod before going back to her team mates.
"I think we're okay," she whispered. "If they'd found out that we- if it was to kill us- I don't think they'd just send one person to ask us nicely. And it wouldn't be for the sake of being subtle, because we know from experience that Carter has no problem with making a show of doing people in."
"Right," James responded hoarsely, still not entirely easy with discussing the subject. Granted, he'd never held any doubt that they would be killed à la Harry if their plans to leave were discovered, but thinking on the matter brought a fresh bout of shock each time regardless.
"All right," Jessie said, loudly enough for the grunt to hear. She stepped out of the dormitory, followed by James and Meowth, and crossed her arms, facing the grunt. "Lead the way."
As the grunt waved them through into the office and shut the door behind them, James' greatest suspicions were proven wrong: it was not Harvey and Logan sitting across the room, nor was it a collection of people training guns on their heads. In fact, it was Butch and Cassidy, both of whom looked suitably disgruntled at the appearance of their rivals.
"What?" James blurted, befuddled.
"What the hell do you two want?" Jessie elaborated. Though she appeared equally perplexed, she still managed to hold a scowl.
"Take a seat," Cassidy replied curtly. The trio grudgingly did so, sitting at the opposite end of the table. Butch, making no attempt at masking his annoyance, slid a piece of paper across the wooden surface towards them.
"We got this from Carter," he said. Jessie snatched it, and hastily began reading the print. "After the briefing for the bank robbery last week," Butch continued, "he kept us behind in his office and asked us a bunch of stuff about our time in Sinnoh. Turns out he's looking for agents who know the area to go on a mission there."
It took a considerate deal of willpower for Jessie, James and Meowth not to breathe a collective sigh of relief. Favourable was not a word any of them would use to describe the scenario, but it was infinitely better than the threat of death that had been lingering until then.
"So, unfortunately, your names came up," Cassidy grumbled. "We tried to dissuade Carter from choosing you lot, but it turns out you're just about the only ones other than us who have worked in the region before- at least, the only ones who aren't still stuck there. He wants you lot to go with us, back to Sinnoh, in a week or so."
Meowth gave the duo a suspicious glare. "What's da mission, den?" he asked cautiously.
"We haven't been told much about it yet," Butch said, pushing his weight against the back of his chair so it teetered precariously on two legs. "That piece of paper don't actually reveal anything useful. Carter just said it was concerning the situation in Sinnoh, which you'll be familiar with if you aren't completely brain-dead. Essentially, the Rockets over there are getting royally screwed by the police, and we're gonna try and do something about it."
"So you don't know," Jessie summarised, unable to resist a complacent smirk in Cassidy's direction.
"Yeah, well, that's because Carter doesn't either," Cassidy retorted sourly. "He seems to still be working on the plan. The only reason we're telling you this now is to give you fair warning: don't make any plans, 'cause you need to be on call indefinitely from now."
Long-past caring about honouring the long-held feud between the two teams, James looked with grim sincerity at Butch and Cassidy, switching his gaze between the two of them periodically.
"Did he give any indication of when this mission might be?" he asked. "Surely he has a rough idea..."
"Any time between a week or two from now would be my guess," Butch said. "Don't think it'd be before then, considering the current lack of information." James had noticed that he and Cassidy both seemed somehow less animated than usual, less bitter despite their infrequent insults. He considered that maybe their previously despondent demeanour, back when they'd first arrived at the base injured and obviously shaken up, hadn't faded as much James had first thought. Maybe the unfavourable change of rhythm was affecting them too.
"That about covers it," Cassidy interjected, and motioned to the door. "Oh, and don't go blabbing about this too much. It's not exactly classified, but I get the impression that Carter likes to keep a lid on these things. Got it?"
James expected Jessie to make some cutting remark in response, so was surprised when she only uttered: "Okay." Then, without a further word, the three of them left, dodging eye contact with Butch and Cassidy all the while, and only spoke again once safely outside.
"Appropriate this should all come about now," Jessie chuckled, her back pressed against the brick wall. "Right when we're about to go."
"Ya should be more relieved!" Meowth exclaimed. "Heck, if it'd been any earlier, our whole arrangement would be over!"
"That's what I mean," Jessie replied, staring off into the sun-brushed distance. "It's funny." Spontaneously, she swivelled to face them. "Let's do something," she said, firmly decisive.
"What do you mean?" James asked.
"I mean, let's just do something. For fun. All this... All this shit- it's getting to us. And it sort of should be, but... I don't know. I'd just like to forget about it, just for a little while. I think it'd do all of us some good."
Meowth swallowed. "Yeah. I t'ink you're right."
Not much deliberation was needed for them to decide to go to the surrounding forest. The trees were almost still, an illusion only broken by the mottled light on the ground that wobbled with every gust, mirroring the movement of the branches overhead.
"You know," James began, "I don't think we've ever actually been here before."
"No," Jessie said. "Suppose not." She picked up a leaf and rolled its stem between her thumb and forefinger so that it spun rapidly, pausing every so often to examine its crimson veins. "I always thought of Unova as too urban, but it's beautiful here." Her grip on the leaf loosened, and it spiralled back to the forest floor. "You'd never know it was cover for a crime syndicate."
Perhaps it would be an exaggeration to say that the duration of their time in the forest was truly enjoyable, but it certainly eased their tension. At first they just walked, conversation replaced with individual thoughts as they progressed further through the woods, letting the mellow sound of the wind wash over them. The routine changed, however, when Meowth spotted a patch of fruit in one of the trees, and clambered up to reach it; Jessie and James followed him after being hit on the head with a couple of berries and declared "lazy humans", grinning and muttering various threats as they did so. Upon reaching the branch that the feline was perched on, the two abandoned their teasingly aggressive behaviour and instead sat next to him, their legs hanging over the side of the knotted bough. Meowth passed them some berries which they ate in intervals, savouring the sweet flavour. An orange glow gradually enveloped the forest as time crept by, one hour bleeding into the next. They sat and talked all the while, just content to be together.
Happy.
Two things were notably different when they approached the base again. It was much noisier than when they'd left, and- though it was difficult to tell through the relative darkness- there seemed to be some movement outside the building. Moving closer, James saw that a small crowd of people were stood by the front doors, several of them urging those further in front to move out of the way. Only a few were in uniform.
"What's happening?" Jessie asked when they were close enough to be heard. "Did something happen?"
One of them turned to her, apparently confused at her question. "What?" he replied. "Ain't you guys waiting too?"
"Waiting for what?" James prompted.
A resentful glare of understanding crossed the man's face. "Oh. You're one of the Unova lot," he said sullenly. "In that case, go on in. Only we have to wait."
"Wait for what?" Jessie persisted.
The agent sighed, glowering at her. "To go through all this identity bullshit," he said. "Seriously- we hang around for weeks waiting for transportation to arrive so that we can get here, and when we do, they make us stand outside in the freezing cold. I thought the Unova base was meant to have its shit together."
Jessie frowned. "Where are you all from, then?"
"Hell, I don't know," the man scoffed. "I came from Johto. Don't know about the rest of them, but I reckon either Kalos or Sinnoh. That's where it's worst."
"So, if you don't know them, how come you all arrived at once?" James asked.
"Arceus, you're really clueless, aren't you? They got some aircraft and went 'round picking up a few of the agents who'd sent for help- the ones they could find, anyhow. First useful thing that's happened, and they still only managed to get a dozen of us."
The man turned away, and after loitering briefly to check that he wasn't going to turn back, they awkwardly moved past him to go inside. Hunched over the keyboard of her computer, the receptionist was typing rapidly, trying to keep up with the information relayed to her by an evidently pissed-off agent over the counter. Her assistant looked equally flustered as he broke out into irregular bouts of stammering in an effort to calm the crowd. Subsequently, neither of them complained when Jessie reached over the desktop, took the clipboard and signed all three of them in without bothering the staff members for permission. If they even noticed was doubtful.
Rather than discuss the recent arrival of the agents, they instead retired to their room, worn-out from walking so much. James drifted into sleep more easily than he thought he would be able to, and awoke in the morning with little memory of his dreams besides a few hazy images that no longer made sense to him. Jessie was already up, and Meowth rose soon after, crawling out from a nest of blankets.
"Mornin'," he yawned, stretching his arms out in front of him. He blinked torpidly, then widened his eyes. "It's da end of da week," he said. "They- it should be ready sometime today, right?"
"Right," Jessie affirmed. "Which means we should be ready too," she said, pouring herself a bowl of the bland cereal provided. "Harvey said they'd meet us to get the money," she whispered, "which I guess means they'll come here."
"So we shouldn't really leave our room today," James concluded.
The wait that followed was near agonizing. Not only was there little in the way of entertainment to keep them busy, but every set of footsteps outside the door set them on edge. They settled on flipping between channels on the television, being sure to keep the volume down so as not to miss any potential sounds around them. One of the news stations they tuned into briefly told tale of a Team Rocket agent who'd broken into two neighbouring houses before getting caught, but apart from that, they found that there was little coverage surrounding the organisation. Such a fact was both soothing and oddly disappointing.
"Ya reckon we should go look for 'em?" Meowth finally asked, when it was nearing midnight and there was still no sign of their counterparts.
"No," Jessie said. "They could easily be later than they said they'd be, working around orders from other agents and everything. It's not a good idea for us to be brash."
There was an equal absence of communication from Harvey and Logan the next day; Jessie and James even took turns walking around the base in the hopes that they might chance to spot one of them, but to no avail.
"Well, I hope that they're ready soon," James remarked. "If they take much longer, we might get sent off on this mission before they're finished."
"I still t'ink we should visit 'em in da supply room ta see how dey're gettin' on," Meowth said. "Just, y'know, happen to walk by. Poke our heads 'round the door as we pass- nuttin' conspicuous."
"Fine," Jessie acquiesced. She took her boots in one hand and started pulling them on. "Let's just be quick about it. And discreet."
James thought that they were suitably subtle in their actions as they walked to the third floor, but it didn't stop him from worrying all the same- nor did it stop Jessie from quickening her pace whenever they passed another agent, hissing at her team mates to do the same. Nonetheless, they reached the desired hallway without anyone paying them more than a second's worth of attention.
"Right," Jessie said, nodding. "I'll just... I'll see." She briskly went to the door of the store room, and opened it as quietly as she could. James could see from where he was standing that the light inside was still on, but not much else.
"Are dey dere?" Meowth asked out of the corner of his mouth. Jessie backed away from the entrance, closing the door again. A frown had appeared on her face, and she shook her head.
"No," she answered. "It's- everything's gone."
Unsure of what she meant, James leaned forwards. "Huh?"
"Everything's gone. The equipment, the camera- the room's practically empty except for the tables and chairs."
"Maybe dey're done wid it," Meowth suggested.
"What, and they took the room apart piece by piece as they left?" Jessie derided. "No, I don't think that's it." She closed her eyes, and drew in a sharp breath. "Let's... Let's just go."
They didn't dare speak further about the topic until back in the relative safety of their room. Even then, they kept the volume to a bare minimum, paranoid of being overheard.
"So, if it wasn't dem... Oh man, do ya t'ink someone found ya pictures in dere?" Meowth asked, clearly frightened. "If someone else emptied da joint I mean- if dey knew what was goin' on, an' dey saw your mugs-"
"They wouldn't have," Jessie interrupted. "Harvey and Logan weren't stupid. The only copies of our pictures are on the IDs they gave us- all anyone would find in there is a bunch of paperwork with fake names on. It wouldn't be traceable back to us."
"What are you saying?" James asked, afraid that the focus had suddenly turned to such a scenario. He was just as afraid of the response he might get.
Jessie met him with a bleak stare. "The supply room could have been like that for days, for all we know," she said. "They'd have no reason to clear it of the equipment like that, so it must have been someone else who found out what they were doing. And we haven't heard anything from those two. Maybe they found some way to run off alone- I don't know." She looked down and swallowed. "I'm saying that, however you look at it, Harvey and Logan aren't coming back."
James couldn't really say that his hope crumbled at that moment; it seemed to have dissipated a while ago without him being aware of it. Jessie's confirmation provided clarity, but nothing more.
"What now?" Meowth questioned softly. He didn't need to affirm the fact that the ID cards alone weren't enough to leave with- they all knew it anyway.
"We stay," Jessie replied, almost in a monotone. "For now, it's all we can do."
Nearly serene- or perhaps just in denial- James noticed his attention drifting from where he stood to some imaginary and remote place. He thought of Logan and Harvey, and hoped that they got away, that they ran.
