~.~.~
Chapter 2: Meetings
'I assume you are capable of presenting an appropriate image,' the vice president had said, raising her eyebrows in something between doubt and challenge. 'So at the very least, I can make use of your name.'
Pausing in front of the meeting room doors, Steven tugged at the lapels of his jacket and checked his cuff links — mostly to buy himself time.
To be frank, he wasn't very familiar with acting in an official capacity for Devon, even if he had been raised and tutored to do so. And yet, that was what Carat expected him to do. As she had told him, there were many who would happily accept an explanation and an apology coming from the president's son — especially groups as traditional as the one that had requested a meeting.
Well, there wasn't any point in stalling further. Gripping the handle, he pushed the doors open and stepped inside with a practiced smile.
"Hello, Madame Murasaki," he said, catching the gaze of the old woman waiting inside. "On behalf of Devon Corporation, thank you for coming. It's a pleasure to have you here."
He had been about to extend his hand, somehow expecting someone as sharp and decisive as their vice president, but seeing the woman herself made him quickly change it a bow. She was younger than he'd expected, but certainly far more traditional — dressed in a full, immaculately styled lavender kimono and wooden sandals, dark hair with a streak of gray pulled up in a simple bun.
Steven's eyes lingered on her hairpin and the rainbow stone glittering within it, before dropping in surprise to the Mawile that peaked out from behind her legs.
"The pleasure is all mine," the representative, Murasaki, replied with a matching bow. She smiled pleasantly as they both straightened. "You must be Steven, President Stone's son? My, Mr. Stone must be quite proud to have such a handsome boy." Covering her smile with one hand, she chuckled. "Ah, I hope you don't mind this little one. I like to have her with me. She's a big help."
"It's no problem," Steven said quickly. "I love Pokemon too, of course. In fact, I also have a special fondness for Steel types, like Mawile. There's something special about their strong, tough bodies, isn't there? A certain nobility and sense of solitary power... My Metagross in particular is—"
Ah. He could feel the vice president's evil eye on the back of his head, as if she could sense that he was deviating from the script she'd given him.
"—my favorite Pokemon," he concluded. "Yes."
Carat's glare had been particularly sharp when she explained why this meeting was important — the investment group that Madame Murasaki represented, the Aeon Fund, was one of the wealthiest in Hoenn. Their goal was, "Elders investing in the future," in other words, rich old gentlemen and madames seeking to use their wealth for the sake of the next generation.
Normally, their interests lay in new, small businesses, but they also supported technological innovations, and Devon had been angling for a partnership for a long time. Mr. Stone had only managed to convince them to consider his offer, so this sudden visit was probably a response to that — a response they'd be expecting to give to the president himself.
And that was where Steven came in, since a group as traditionally oriented as Aeon Fund would be the sort who believed in the power of bloodlines and companies passing from father to son.
He was not unused to high pressure situations, but still...
Thankfully, Madame Murasaki only smiled indulgently and reached down to pet her Mawile's head. "That's good to hear," she said. "Loving Pokemon is something everyone can share."
Clearing his throat, Steven took on a more serious expression. "You must be wondering why I am the one meeting you, instead of my father..." he said, moving back on topic. "I apologize, after you came all this way, but the president is currently unavailable. And it may be some time before he returns."
Madame Murasaki nodded, her expression sympathetic — though for a high-profile businesswoman like her, that didn't necessarily mean much. "I see," she said. "That's a little disappointing, but understandable. Devon is one of Hoenn's giants, after all. I'm sure Mr. Stone has no end of matters requiring his attention." She chuckled. "Well, it's my fault for dropping by without scheduling an appointment."
That had indeed been the case. Carat had meticulously cleared the president's schedule, postponing any meetings he had. It was only this one, which had come up without warning, that took her by surprise.
"It's not really a very urgent or priority matter," Madame Murasaki demurred. "It's just that we finished looking over Mr. Stone's proposal and put together our response. Here, please send us your thoughts when you have the chance." She reached down to accept the thick document envelope that her Mawile, which had been carrying it for her, held up, and passed it to Steven.
He accepted it carefully, with both hands and polite incline of his head. "Thank you," he said, tucking the envelope under his arm. "We will study it carefully and reach out as soon as possible with our reply."
"We look forward to working with Devon," Madame Murasaki said.
Their transaction should have been complete, but she hesitated, raising a hand to her lips and glancing away from Steven and back again. Having no idea what else to do, he waited — his smile becoming strained and cold sweat breaking out on the back of his neck.
If something went wrong, he'd never heard the end of it from the vice president...
"Ah, well... it's a bit silly," Madame Murasaki chuckled. "But would you mind...? Signing an autograph for me?"
"An... autograph?" Steven repeated.
"Many of our investors used to be quite avid trainers in their youth," she explained, a little sheepishly. "They still follow the Pokemon League closely, so..."
So, of course, they were familiar with him. "An autograph, of course," Steven said, nearly sighing in relief. "I'd be happy to. Do you have anything...?"
"Please use this." She pulled out a plain white card from her purse and proffered it, along with a pen. A golden border, along with what must have been the Aeon Fund crest had been pressed into it, but it was otherwise blank, some kind of spare.
This, at least, was something more familiar. Even though he had tried to remain lowkey about his position as Hoenn League Champion, Steven had given his share of autographs, in particular during and after the Pokemon World Tournament. Writing out his name in practiced strokes, he paused as he waited for the ink to dry.
"By the way, that hairpin..." he began, "isn't that a Key Stone?"
"This?" Madame Murasaki reached up to gently touch the round stone set in her hairpin. She chuckled. "Oh, it's not what you're thinking! I'm not much for battles myself. It was a gift, you see, both of them as a set — my dear Mawile's jewel, too."
Reaching down, she patted her Mawile again. Indeed, there was a yellow and lavender marble hanging from the bow around the base of its jaw-horn — a Mawilite.
"That's quite a special gift. A Key Stone and a Mega Stone aren't just a way of gaining more power," Steven said, handing back the autographed card. "They are also a symbol of the bond between a trainer and their Pokemon."
"Pokemon are dear friends to many of our members," Madame Murasaki agreed. "Especially for those who do not have close family. After all, as long as Pokemon are with you, you won't ever be alone. But, I think you know that even better than me."
She laughed again, and Steven couldn't help joining.
This turned out to be a lot less painful than he'd expected. Pokemon were truly amazing.
Now, if only the second task could be as simple...
~.~.~
Despite the vice president's best efforts, it wasn't entirely to completely hide Devon's strange state of affairs. It hadn't spread far across the region, and it was still just speculation, but the first news reports had already started — that was the reason why a pair of reporters had been hanging around in the lobby, fishing for an interview.
The only thing they had been able to find out so far, using their contacts, was that Devon had rescheduled a large number of high-profile meetings. That fact was proclaimed boldly in the text at the bottom of the screen, along with their current best guess for the cause: "Devon upper management preoccupied — New discovery?"
It was rather mild, as far as things went. Devon was fortunate to have quite a bit of credibility in stock with the public. But it wouldn't be long before the news started getting more suspicious.
The video playing behind this text was of the Devon building's lobby — the network's best reporter, Gabby, narrating as her partner filmed Steven accompanying Madame Murasaki outside and hailing a cab for her. They approached swiftly once the cab door shut and the visitor departed, aiming for an ambush with the president's son.
"Mr. Stone!" Gabby hailed him as Steven turned around. "If you don't mind, a few minutes of your time—"
"Certainly," he said, smiling. "But please call me Steven."
Making the best of her time, Gabby only nodded sharply and skipped straight to the questions. "It's rare to see you here at Devon. Is there a particular reason for you visit? Anything you can tell us? It looks like you were part of a meeting with the head of the Aeon Fund, departing just now."
Steven had thought Murasaki was just a representative, not the head, but none of the panic and then relief he felt — that the meeting was successful anyway — showed on his face.
"There's no point in hiding it," he said, chuckling. "As you guessed, I'm helping my father with some business, while he is unavailable. But before you ask, no, I can't give you any details about his absence. I'm afraid that is a matter of high confidentiality for Devon."
"Come on, not even a hint?" Gabby cajoled, pointing the microphone at him. "Is it a new product? An event?"
"Please look forward to it," Steven said, his smile taking on a mysterious edge.
The screen blinked off.
"Not bad. You handle public speaking well," the vice president allowed, turning back to Steven and raising her eyebrows in a way that made her compliment seem a bit sarcastic.
"I can't believe they're airing it already," Steven muttered. "I barely made it back upstairs..."
"That's the power of modern media for you. But this should at least put them off the trail for now," Carat sighed. "So all we can do is try to resolve this quickly. There's a few leads—"
"You found something?" he spoke up in surprise. "What is it?"
The flat look he received made him lean back a little, putting up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I've found a few things that don't feel quite right," she explained. She sighed. "But none of them seem to lead to any obvious conclusion. Since you're here, I'll have you investigate them as possible leads."
"Good, I'll go," Steven confirmed, even if she hadn't asked his opinion on the matter.
"The most obvious one is that the president met with the Mauville Gym Leader, Wattson, several times over the last few weeks. It's strange, I couldn't find anything like that in his schedule before recently," she said. "It seemed like a long shot, but maybe Wattson knows something."
"Wattson..." Steven repeated.
He was familiar with the Hoenn Gym Leaders and their backgrounds, at least to some extent, and he could admit that he wasn't sure why his father would suddenly want to meet the man repeatedly, especially with the redevelopment of Mauville City long since complete.
Shaking away his pointlessly speculating thoughts, he said, "I'll call him right away..."
The vice president was shaking her head. "Given the situation, I'd prefer if you go in person. I'm not sure if it's paranoia to be concerned about something getting overheard, but the situation is serious enough that he might refuse to tell you over the phone."
"Then I'll head out right away—"
Sighing sharply, Carat regarded him with an unreadable expression. "I understand that you're worried," she said. "But you should at least stay the night. It's getting late, and you must be feeling pretty jetlagged, right?"
She was right, of course. Steven had been traveling for almost a day by the time he reached Rustboro, and he had been running around, worried and scared, for hours since. He didn't want to admit it, but he was tired. Even so...
"There's no time to wasted," he said sharply. "The sooner I get moving, the sooner we can figure out what happened to Dad."
"It's not going to do anyone any good if you fall off your Pokemon in mid flight," the vice president pointed out dryly. "At least sleep a bit before heading out. It's already getting late anyway, you probably won't make there before midnight."
Rustboro to Mauville was halfway across Hoenn and not a short trip by any means. HIs Pokemon were strong and could make it in one go, but they'd arrive late, quite likely after Wattson had turned in for the night. And she had a point — he could imagine the scene all too clearly. Nodding off, exhausted and cold, slipping sideways and plummeting toward the forest below...
He grimaced and shot the vice president a sharp look that was just short of a glare. He wanted to blame her for stalling again, when she had refused to take any action for days already, but what would that accomplish?
His head was starting to pound, which was the most convincing argument. At this rate, he might really fall off Skarmory.
"...Fine," he conceded with uncharacteristically poor grace.
"You can use the president's office, if you want to avoid dealing with any questions," she said, apparently unconcerned. "No one should bother you there, and you can leave when you're ready. Let me know if Wattson doesn't know anything, I'll give you next thing to look into."
As Steven headed for the door, she called out quietly.
"Good luck," she said. "I hope you find him..."
~.~.~
Steven's father had been a workaholic since his youth, long before Steven was born. Although they shared a passion for rocks, Joseph Stone's first love had always been Devon. He often worked from dawn to dusk and then some, so it was only natural that his office included a rather comfortable foldout couch. He had certainly forgotten to head home at all often enough.
Dropping onto it, his bag thumping down next to him, Steven sighed heavily and looked around the small backroom of the office.
It was less precisely coordinated than the main rooms, which were presented to visitors, but display cases of rare stones still lined the walls. It made Steven smile faintly. But, looking around, it didn't seem like there were any other personal effects to be found, even though this was where his father basically lived.
The smile slipped off his face and, sighing again, Steven forced himself to his feet.
There was an adjoining bathroom too, stocked with all the basic toiletries — well, basic by Steven's standards. Given Wallace's mixed admiration and exasperation when he asked and received an explanation of what Steven considered a basic morning routine, it was probably not the same as an ordinary person's. Loosening his tie, Steven ran the faucet and began to wash up.
'Dad...' he thought, staring into the sink and the water swirling down the drain.
It had been a long day, and he suddenly felt all the stress and exhaustion that had been piling up. Maybe at least sleeping for a bit would be the best choice...
If he could get to sleep in the first place. Even though his body was certainly worn out, his thoughts kept spinning away too quickly for Steven to drift off. Grimacing, he rolled over onto his side — it didn't help, leaving him staring blankly at the display cases that had been placed on the end table.
'Why did Dad even put these here?' Steven wondered peevishly. 'They're so plain. You can find stones like that anywhere around here.'
The small pebbles couldn't compare to the rare fossils and colorful sambles from abroad that were proudly set out in the main part of the office. But surely Joseph hadn't run out of interesting rocks to display and had to fall back on something that looked like a kid might pick it up by the river?
'...Wait. These are...'
Propping himself up on one elbow, Steven leaned in to take a closer look. Now that he thought about, didn't those stones look familiar?
It was hard to make out the labels on the cases in the shadowed room, but Steven couldn't smiling wryly as the letters finally made sense.
Something that a kid might pick up was exactly right. They were the rocks he had proudly given his father as a child, picked up from the various little trips he'd been allowed on across Hoenn. To think that Joseph had kept all of them, carefully labelled with the age his son had been when he found them, displaying them were he could look at them every evening when he remained late at the office...
'...Dad, I'll definitely find out what happened,' Steven swore. 'I'll find you.'
Laying back, he closed his eyes and forced his mind to blank. Tomorrow would be a long day, he could feel it.
~.~.~
Notes: Yeah, we're in OC hell. I'm sorry about that, but it should lighten up after this, and we'll be seeing much more canon characters. I'm not trying to really play a mystery angle here, so I'm sure you can guess what Pokemon tradition we're following with one of them.
Also, I uh haven't actually edited this. I'm aware it needs at least one more pass of proofreading and to wrangle the dialogue to sound less same-y and wooden, but I just don't have the will for it. Sorry...
As always, please review!
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