Mr. Rodriguez sat on a chair the computer while clasping both hands in front of his face. A glass of iced tea sat on the end of the desk farthest from the computer, and far from where his arm could reach. I sat cross-legged on top of my bag. By my feet was a glass of iced tea that I couldn't hold for an extended period. Professor Ilk leaned against a wall, holding one hand to his lower lip. He gripped a coffee mug's handle with two fingers and a thumb. The three of us stared silently as the video played nothing but muffled sounds and static. The walls and locked door protected us from harm, or bound us inside a concrete cage.
Whether it was the still atmosphere or my anxiety, I picked a terrible moment to highlight my curiosity. "Someone sent you this video along with a message, right, Mr. Rodriguez?" I asked. "Did you find out who it was?"
Mr. Rodriguez turned to me while pointing at the computer. "We're about to find out. Hopefully." He moved the finger to his lips to the screen. Almost on cue, the video finally changed to a brighter image, though everything was still blurry.
"Ugh, finally," something on the screen announced. We finally saw something defined; a background of pure yellow. "Stupid camera's almost set up." As the muffled voice described his, or her, fixing of the camera angle aloud, the picture gained focus. "There we go." The background of this person's location was finally visible, though I could only see some trees behind the yellow person. Their outfit covered their entire body and looked almost identical to the red man's uniform, save the color. Like the red man, this yellow person had a black mask over the eyes, white gloves that matched the sheet of paper he or she was holding, white boots, a white stripe circling the suit at the waistline, a yellow belt buckle, and a white line leading up from that buckle.
Yellow, I called him, I assumed, began talking to someone off screen. "Okay, I moved back," Yellow said as he walked back towards the trees. "I'm good now, right? Awesome. Do I read now? Hey, you're the one micromanaging me!"
After a bunch of arguing, Yellow now stood in the middle of the wooded area, giving us three viewers a clearer picture of the background. We saw nothing but a large collection of trees, along with a dirt trail. Everything about the area made it look like any generic forest. I considered the obvious as a possibility, not a certainty.
"Why film here, anyway?" Yellow asked. "We're going to the bzzzt anyway, right? Why not film there?" Before any of us could make out the location they were headed, a buzzing noise prevented us from hearing more.
"A cop shows up and we're leaving you here," the off-screen voice replied. Though I finally heard that person's voice clearly, I didn't hear a resemblance to the red man.
"Fine. I'll read the script, you slave driver." He held the paper in both hands and began reading. As he adjusted himself, I got a glance of what was behind him. For the most part, I just saw more woods, but at the back, I could make out a fire pit. To its right was…the tent I set up.
While the visuals weren't the most reliable in this video, what he stood in was undoubtedly…"The camp," I muttered.
"I agree." Mr. Rodriguez paused the video. "After I secured your escape, I ran as well and called in the nearest police office. Once we grouped up and returned to the site, after an hour or so, we found nothing. Two officers are currently preserving the scene, in case our investigation missed something. So far, no results."
"None?" I slammed the ground, keeping my resulting shivers to a minimum, and stood up. "What about my mom? Didn't you find her?"
"We found no one else at the scene," Mr. Rodriguez replied without meeting my gaze. "This video may explain why."
My feet slammed the ground as I stormed towards him. "You incompetent cop!" I shouted in a shrill voice. That got his attention. "You nearly kill me with a rock slide, run like a gutless coward, and don't even know what happened to Mom? Why should the force exist if you idiots can't even do your basic function of protecting helpless civilians?"
"Brenda." Ilk put his hand on my shoulder. "Yelling at him won't make anything better. If the police were omnipresent gods, crime wouldn't exist."
"You, he, I, I just…ngh…" My arms trembled as I held my nerves inside my body."
Chief Rodriguez stood up. "You're owed near infinite apologies and an explanation after everything you've gone thought. But…" He pointed to the screen. "Let's finish the video first. I have some questions about the events that they might be able to answer."
I glared at him while clenching my fist. "Oww." I held that fist with my other hand and sat back down on my backpack. Not once during that walk did my glare leave Chief Rodriguez. "Here's hoping your words do more than your actions."
"I'm sorry for the insults," Professor Ilk said. "She's just stressed."
Chief Rodriguez glanced at Professor Ilk. "Don't worry. Citizens yelling at me comes with the job. The rare moments where I deserve it are refreshing in a way." He turned back to the computer and pushed the spacebar.
"Greetings, chief of the farcical police," the man in yellow stated. "I hope this video finds you well. Sorry if the email didn't say much, but this video will best communicate our intentions.
"We're currently looking for piece of the Varaneous orb. Sadly, our scavenger hunt isn't yielding fruitful results with you cops looking over our shoulders following every little action we take. I thought we were doing a charitable service. But if you want to paint us as criminals, we'll be happy to help you."
The picture flashed black for a second. The picture currently on screen featured a woman tied to a chair. As the camera gained focused, her face became all too familiar. "Mom?" I hoarsely whispered. Her auburn hair was no longer tied up, her eyes were blocked, her mouth was bound, and her limbs were tied to the chair's armrests. Those psychos kidnapped Mom! A mix of anger and fear kept me sitting down as I watched her struggle to move and scream.
The screen went black and returned to Yellow. "We found this little tourist from our glorious Naljo here on a camping trip. After a little digging around, we discovered her connection to a person of extreme interest. This lady, currently comfortable inside our base, is the ex-wife of the Pokemon League's champion himself, Lance. I guess even discarded trash can be recycled once or twice." Yellow looked up from the script. "Nice one, bzzzt!"
"Script," the male voice replied.
"Sst, sst." I breathed in and out with the maximum amount of air possible. Professor Ilk gave me a pained look while putting a finger to his lips. He then moved his hand out and created a small distance between his thumb and index finger. I obliged his request and stayed sitting. After this video ends, no promises.
"Anyway, chief, here's our demands. I see a single cop halt the activities of any patroller, this woman faces the same fate as the daughter you crushed in a rock slide. Or is justice stopping criminals no matter the cost? The public knows how to appreciate the community service we provide them. I'd like to see their reactions to a certain group not so thrilled with our goodwill. Would we prefer turmoil over our own plan? Don't stress test it, for your precious champion's sake. Ciao!" The video ended on that abrupt note. At the same time, the balloon in my mind took in one breath too many and exploded.
"AAAAAAAHHH!" My sudden outburst caused Ilk to drop his coffee and Rodriguez to grip his seat's back. I then found myself on my feet before I told myself to stand. "I'll kill them." I reached down and grabbed my backpack. "I'll kill them all." I walked out of the room in a slow trance. "I'll kill every single one of those heartless terrorists."
A grip on my wrist broke my trance. I turned around to face Mr. Rodriguez. "You want to stop me, coward?" I shouted at him. "Those masked cretins intend to kill my mother!"
"If you go in blind, they'll kill you too!" Rodriguez snapped back. He forcibly twisted me towards him and grasped my shoulders. "You need to calm down. Any careless action you make could severely harm you or your mother." His tone tried to quell his anger.
I tried to walk away, but his grip kept me in place. "Are you saying we should let terrorists kidnap and hurt people without punishment? If you won't punish them, I will! Get off me already!" None of my efforts could push his arms off of me. Every second I resisted brought back pain in my arms. Screw the pain. No more drowning in pity while villains get away with anything.
"I won't let go," he replied. "My job is to protect civilians. That means not letting kids wander around a foreign land until they're staring down the barrel of a gun."
I clicked my tongue. "I just witnessed the Naljo police force's true nature. Protect your own interests over actual protecting the people." I leaned back and forward, yet remained immobile. "I said, let go of me!"
"Brenda, what you're doing isn't independence," Ilk remarked, currently standing on my right side. "If you leave now, you'll needlessly put yourself in danger. If you calm down and assess the situation, you can make a smarter decision. That's the independence your mother would want."
"Don't you dare pretend you know what she's feeling!" I shouted. "No way she's feeling anything but fear and pain! She wants to stop feeling that, and if you won't do anything to alleviate her, I'll…do something." My expression softened as tears formed. What am I even demanding? I ran from them at first, and now I think I can take on his whole team? No, stop doubting yourself! I shook my head and brought back my initial expression. Control your emotion, like a grown-up!
"Do you think your mother would truly be happy if you rushed in without a plan, location to go, or even a reliable way to defend yourself?" The force in his hands strengthened while his arms shivered. He lowered his head. "It's my fault you were exposed to danger. Please…let me do my job I couldn't do when we first met." I looked up at his face and met with only eyelids.
"Mr. Rodriguez…" I sighed while my head drooped. "You can let go. I'll at least hear you out before I do anything rash. Just promise me one thing, and make sure you keep it."
"I'm glad you're back," he whispered. Open eyes gave some light to his listless expression. "What can I do for you?" I shook my head once to the left and to the right. He removed his hands. "Sorry I used force. I had to make sure you didn't run away above all else."
"Let me get involved," I requested. Either he drained my strength, or my sudden outburst was just that. A momentary tantrum. I never wanted to start a fool's escapade on my own. What I really wanted was much simpler. "I'm in this situation because I wanted independence. If I can do something, don't exclude me because I'm ten years old. I'm involved, and I have a way to fight." I raised my backpack and pointed to the general area where Sir Tyrant is.
Mr. Rodriguez folded his arms and leaned back. "I'm not sure I can promise this. There's a lot of uncertainty in the current case. If you got hurt agai-"
"Promise me." I stepped towards him. He backed up. "Look." I held up my bandaged right palm. "I'm not afraid to get hurt. But I can admit my weaknesses. I don't know anything about the patrollers, and my skills as a pokemon trainer leave something to be desired. Can you help me with both of those concerns?" I bent my forearm towards my shoulder in a failed attempt to make a muscle.
"I…" Mr. Rodriguez stared at his palm, then at mine, then his again. He clenched his properly. "I promise." He shook my hand. I felt no pain from his grip, thankfully. "Now, where to begin," he mused.
"Why not start with why you were fighting the red patroller on the mountain?"
"Good idea." Mr. Rodriguez pointed to the chair. "Want to sit down, Brenda?"
I gripped my sore waist, even though it wasn't what hurt. "I…I'd like that." The chair scratched the floor as I pulled it towards me and plopped down.
"The patrollers were normally thought of as a pretty tame bunch," Mr. Rodriguez began. "Most of their activities were community service. Building bridges and security checkpoint buildings, digging pathways, that sort of work. Didn't ask for money, at first, but their actions got the support of local gym leaders who funded their activities. Before long, they'd become a regular charity group known all over the nation. Their activities hit a high point a few years back, and recently they've done much less. Before now, it made little sense considering their large gains."
"Who exactly makes up these patrollers?" I asked. "If they do large-scale construction, they must be a large organization."
"I can give some clarity on that," Professor Ilk replied. "I did some digging around on this flashdrive's contents. The group's composed of six primary member, each one identified by the color of the full body suit they wear. The one in red leads the others. Unfortunately, there's no personal details about any of them in these files. We can only guess their genders and ages, as their mugshots only feature their heads covered by their trademark masks.
"What the yellow one said about awakening Varaneous corresponds with these notes. There's pages detailing the mythology, including a document detailing events discussed in different retellings, and their relevance to real events in Naljo. One document has a list of all people with a possible connection to the orb one needs to awaken the fire diety. Darren was on the list, even though he's completely uninvolved. Unfortunately, nothing's listed detailing their plans for after the capture of Varaneous. I can't imagine it's anything positive."
"That would explain their excavations all around the region," Mr. Rodriguez chimed in. "They're probably following leads to pieces of the orb. They complete that sucker, they control Varaneous. Their charity was probably just a front for gathering money to continue their digging pursuits. I thought it was suspicious why they opted to dig a fourth path leading out of Phalecia Town when barely anyone visits that place."
"How does that lead to you and Red leaving the Naljo region?"
"Red?" Mr. Rodriguez asked. "You know what, that's an easy naming scheme. Let's go with that. Anyway, I called the police force down there to ask the patrollers about their activities. Nothing serious, I just wanted them to have a casual conversation. Their only 'crime' was mining treasure, and that's completely legal in Phalecia. Besides, it was the only time they'd stayed in one place this long while doing anything but a charity digging or construction project. I saw it as the best opportunity to understand their motives.
"Each patroller the officer talked to told him to ask Red for specifics, since he apparently managed their activities. Red agreed to have a one on one conversation, and the two headed towards the police station. Right at the front door, Red unleashed a Pidgeot, jumped onto its back and flew off. Other officers sent flying pokemon at him, but a Glalie he released in the air used Ice Beam on any incoming pursuers."
I almost interrupted him regarding how his average-sized bird would fit a pokemon like Glalie, a large black orb with pointed ears and a thin layer of ice covering it save holes for its large blue eyes and large mouth, but then I recalled how the ice behemoth typically hovered above ground with its 'levitate' ability. Pidgeot likely didn't feel any additional weight.
"The officer ran towards the excavation site to find that all of the patrollers had vanished. Clearly, they had no intention of being questioned in the first place. That was the conclusion I came to after the officers down there briefed me on the situation. Knowing that made me want to question them even more.
"A little while later, one of my officers doing his usual routine sky surveillance noted a Pidgeot in the sky, along with two other objects on top. At the distance Red was flying, small wonder no one could see him properly. After putting two and two together, I thanked my officer for his astute observational skills and grabbed a low-level Fearow from the arsenal. Rather than endanger one of my men on a goose chase, I flew up there myself. Thanks to her speed, I got close enough to Red that I could jump on his Pidgeot before my ride was frozen over." He walked over to his briefcase and pulled out a pokeball. "Don't worry, that large winged bird's here and healed. All she suffered was some temporary lost consciousness. One more of those won't hurt her."
"Huh." One more, I didn't ask. Do you let your pokemon lose consciousness frequently? Doesn't that traumatize them?
"Before I got stable footing, I released Lairon, the metal lizard you saw me with earlier. He applied enough force to break the resistance and allow both of us to land." I chalked up 'resistance' as police jargon for the bad guy fighting back. "I told him that we had no malicious intent for questioning him. He said something about us no longer in the public lens and his Glalie shot me with an Ice Beam. Lairon stopped it with his tail, then used it to smack Glalie into Pidgeot's back. It was at that point I remembered how we were in the air."
Mr. Rodriguez stopped the story with his hand in the air, and made a 'tsuuu' sound as his hand fell. I narrowed my eyes. "Ah, sorry about that," he remarked. "I rarely get a chance for action and…nevermind, that wasn't appropriate."
He cleared his throat. "Both of us fell. I released Graveler to appear near the ground. He caught me before I hit the ground, and that's when I ran into you."
"Hm." I folded my arms and leaned back for a second. "I'm sorry for what I said before. You're really brave. No wonder you're the chief."
"I don't deserve the praise." Mr. Rodriguez fuffled through his hair. "I ran away like a coward. I gave the team enough time to kidnap your mother and film a slipshod threat message. I don't know whether one of them was hiding in the area and just dropped that flashdrive you found, but you getting that into our possession is bigger than anything I've done since the chase."
"That reminds me." Ilk walked over to me. "You mind if I use the computer, Brenda? What I found on the flashdrive might prove a little helpful to us."
"All yours." I stood up and gestured to the seat. Ilk put the coffee mug on the table and began clicking through Finder windows. In a few seconds, the screen was flooded with PDFs.
Ilk made one full screen. "This is the 'Persons and places of note' document," he explained. "It contains the name of every archaeological scientist within Naljo. Darren and I are on this list. He was likely a target. The others on here, myself included, are in serious danger." Mr. Rodriguez and I stared at the screen.
Not seeing something hit me. "What about Crimson?" I asked. "He attacked Darren because the patrollers ordered him to, right? Is his name on one of these documents? Or is he a patroller?"
"Crimson…" Mr. Rodriguez put a finger to his lip. "That's the boy who attacked a border guard and gave you those injuries, right?"
"Does he have a white headband and white spiky hair?" Ilk asked.
"Yeah."
"Then you might want to see this."
Ilk pulled up another PDF with Crimson's face, next to the label 'Florence Ballon'. "Is Crimson a nickname or something?" I asked.
"Who knows?" Ilk shrugged. "Let's consider what we do know." He pointed to the bulletpoints below Florence's picture. "Here appear to be the jobs he's taken on. This whole list seems to be mercenaries for hire rather than actual members." He scrolled through the list. I only caught a few of the names until my eyes gave up keeping the pace of the scrolling. "At the least, this list shows who's never wearing one of the patroller body suits. No way would the members be on this list."
"Let's not jump to conclusions we can't prove." Mr. Rodriguez pulled out a black flashdrive from his suit pocket, containing small white text on the cover reading 'Police Issued'. "Professor Ilk, could you transfer everything the names and everything else from that flashdrive onto this one? This'll be more secure than electronic transfer. Plus, I'll need to ascertain that everything on the flashdrive Brenda brought in is reliable, and not some elaborate red herring."
"No problem. Just give me a second." Professor Ilk swiped the flashdrive from Mr. Rodriguez and plugged it into the computer. "This labeling and organization system is too excessive a time waster to be nothing but a diversion. I'm sure your staff will verify that the content is reliable."
Mr. Rodriguez sighed. "Even if we do have classified information on the patrollers, what's the point?"
"You mean apart from hobbling the patrollers?" Professor Ilk asked.
Mr. Rodriguez pointe at the computer. "You and I both saw the video directly emailed to me. Any action I or the police take against the patrollers, they or the people they've hired will notice and follow up on their promise. Grgh!" He clenched his fist. It trembled a few times before Mr. Rodriguez sighed and relaxed his arm. "I can't weigh saved lives based on numbers. I'm the freaking chief of the whole police force within Naljo, right? Why can't I make a single decision? Aaaaaaaargh!" He screamed while gripping his bald dome.
Each second of his scream replaced the resentment I once I held for him. This guy gave orders to tons of police officers and directly worked alongside them. He did everything in his power for my mom and me. What did I do? I ran away. While I mentally punched my entitlement over and over, Ilk transferred documents onto Rodriguez's flashdrive. Ilk said that this document contained mercenaries hired by the patrollers, right?
"I have an idea." Ilk stopped typing while Mr. Rodriguez directed large wide eyes at me. Despite the pressure he exerted, I still found a way to speak. "You said Crimson, or whatever his name is, was on a list of hired persons. Couldn't you do the same thing? Find someone you could hire outside of the police force? If trainers are so common, there have to be some out there stronger than the patrollers."
Mr. Rodriguez shook his head. "There's no way I could consider the notion."
"What's that mean?" I folded my arms. "Something wrong with my suggestion?"
"It's not you, it's the circumstances." Mr. Rodriguez gritted his teeth while glancing right. "Our police force has no policy in mind when recruiting help from outside the force. Even if we did, we couldn't trust uninvolved people to accomplish this sort of job without revealing their connection to us. Worst case scenario, they'll value payment for a completed job over safety of the hostage. Especially since she's not a Naljo native. Relations with Rijon have been less than pleasant since the great infection." He leaned against the wall. "People are selfish creatures. They'll do the job and demand payment, expecting us to handle the aftermath. But we can't fix a broken life." He rammed his head against the wall. "Ilk, you sure that flashdrive said nothing about where we find Varaneous' orb? I'd rather meet their demands ASAP."
"No you wouldn't," Ilk replied. "Their aim is to awaken Varaneous. There's no way we can let a pokemon of such destructive capability fall under the control of people so unstable they'd attack policemen. If we're lucky, we'll be able to count the number of resulting corpses."
Mr. Rodriguez silently walked towards Ilk and slammed his fist on the table, causing the keyboard to jostle slightly. "I can't play a numbers game with terrorists! Isn't there a way innocent civilians don't have to die?"
Ilk dragged the flashdrive icon into the trash and removed the physical flashdrive from his computer. He placed it next to Mr. Rodriguez's clenched fist. "Here's the documents. What should I say that could possibly make you feel better? You think situation would exist if there was an easy solution?"
"Rgh…" Mr. Rodriguez grabbed the flashdrive. "Don't say anything," he said while opening his suitcase. "I don't deserve any consolation for failing this miserably." He placed the flashdrive inside the suitcase and locked it up. "Thank you for the data. I'll call you if I come up with a plan. Or you can block my number. Result's the same either way."
"Wait!" Once I caught up, I grasped his sleeve. "Aren't you going to do anything? What about Mom? Don't adults know what to do when problems occur?"
"Grown-ups are not infallible." He moved his arm, likely intending to shake mine off, but instead let it hang. "Would you like to stay at my house for the time being? Mrs. Rodriguez will make sure your stay is comfortable and safe. She's typically doing housework during the day, so you don't have to worry about getting hungry or lonely. One more mouth to feed would make the dinner table much livelier. Lord knows the honey would like a child, and we were consider…" He went silent as he swallowed the rest of his sentence. "Well, it's your call. We'd both enjoy having you stay with us."
Before hearing my answer, he turned away and kicked the ground. I didn't need mind-reading powers to know one of the words he didn't say. Adoption. He hasn't only considered the potential failure of rescuing Mom, he's already preparing for what happens after failing. "Ha-kha. Ha-kha." The breaths escaping my mouth sounded like I was choking, coughing and laughing at the same time. How can I demand from others what I can't even look at the issue like a rational adult? My mind went blank as I gave it a try. If I consider everything, like the rockslide, the patrollers, Mom being a hostage, then…huh. How simple.
Perhaps it was my fear of never seeing my mother, my annoyance at the police officer giving up, my ironic enthrall at a simple camping trip becoming this madness, or some combination of all three. Whatever the reason, the conclusion I came to exited my mouth as naturally as I exhaled.
"What if I went after the patrollers and saved Mom, by myself?"
The rhythmic footsteps stopped, only for Mr. Rodriguez to fill the noise gap by dropping his briefcase. "What did you just say?"
"Brenda, recklessness isn't independence," Ilk reminded. "We already talked about this. Neither of us will let you attempt a suicide mission, especially not in a blind rage."
I shook my head. "It's not like before. I don't want to rush in. I'll be going in super prepared. Besides, isn't the idea perfect?" My face reflected this odd batch of enthusiasm while I used my arms for the rest of my explanation. "I don't have any connection to the police! I'm concerned about the hostage! The only patroller who met me thinks I'm dead! It's the best and only option we've got!"
"Absolutely not." Chief Rodriguez stormed toward me. "I told you before. I'm not letting you wander into certain danger."
I punched the air two inches from his stomach, only to immediately lower my arm. "You also promised to not leave me out of things I could do myself." I walked to my bag and pulled out Sir Tyrant's pokeball. "From what I've heard you say, there's no one else, better or worse, for this job."
"No, Brenda," Professor Ilk began. "You can't-"
"Don't tell me what I can and can't do!" I retorted. "If anyone can buy pokeballs and level up their pokemon, I can defend myself easily!"
Ilk cleared his throat. "You can't leave without preparations." He stood up, pulled open the drawer beneath his computer, and grabbed two somethings. As he walked over to me, I observed a flashdrive and a red rectangular e-book. I stared at the red contraption. In response, Ilk flipped it open. The inner portion was a screen, below which were a series of buttons.
"What is this thing?" I asked after he closed it.
"This device is called a pokedex," Professor Ilk explained. "It's a handheld computer that operates by touch screen and stylus." He pointed to an area on the top of the pokedex, where I identified the sheathed stylus. "The pokedex collects and stores data based on the pokemon you encounter and what you input into its USB port."
"And you're giving it to me?" I asked. "I thought you were opposed to me going."
Ilk sighed. "I'm very opposed to it. However, I can't argue any the points you made. You're right. We're out of options, and we can't trust anyone else to be concerned with your Mom's safety. Plus, you're not connected to the police."
He gripped the two items while pointing the ungripped end of the pokedex at me. "I hate to expose you to danger. But you've proven twice that you can overcome fear and unlikely odds. I believe…" He took a deep breath. "I believe that you're making the right choice."
"Ahaha." A grin grew on my face. "I won't let you down, sir." I grabbed the pokedex and flashdrive from him.
"Don't carry this conversation on your own." Chief Rodriguez grabbed my wrist holding the pokedex. I put every ounce of my strength into not breaking this tiny computer. His glare didn't help things. "Brenda, I won't let a child walk into danger. You…" His grip weakened. "I'm begging you. Making the sensible choice."
"She is." Ilk wrestled Chief Rodriguez's arm from its grip on mine. "This choice is hers to make, Chief. Not yours. Brenda's making a tough call you're afraid to make yourself. Unless your temper tantrum earlier was your thespian talents at work?"
"You…" He ripped off Ilk's grasp and prepared a fist. Ilk shielded me with one arm and covered himself with the other. Elbow on his side and fist…arcing upward, Mr. Rodriguez punched his head. "You're right. It's a good thing this punch made me nuts enough to go along with this plan."
"Mr. Rodriguez," I remarked. Ilk's hand retreated to his sides.
What happened next defied my expectations. Mr. Rodriguez, the chief of police, got on his knees, clasped his hands together, and bowed his head. "I'm pushing a momentous task onto you, one only you can accomplish. Many lives, including your mother's, rest in your bruised hands. Unfortunately, I can only support you while you're inside this building. We can't risk the patrollers learning of this connection. Once you leave, you may never share the details of this plan with anyone else, especially other police officers."
He stood up and extended his hand. "Your mission is suspect to change, you will fight trainers with more experience than yourself, and the choices you make alongside your pokemon could save or end lives. Knowing all this, will you still undertake this journey? This is your last chance to back out. Should you shake my hand, the three of us shall work on the specifics of your mission, and you alone will carry it out."
I took a deep breath. Mom, I thought. I will see you again, for sure. I gripped Mr. Rodriguez's hand. "I could never back out. For the first time, I want my choices to lead me forward." I let go and, for the first time in who knows how long, I relaxed.
As my eyes drooped, I forced myself to sit on the floor. I detached my bag from my body and rested my head on it.