Chapter Thirty-One
Bruno never felt so small or so defenseless as when he sat in the police headquarters' meeting room. Commissioner Mason paced across the room behind the podium, fuming under his breath. The projector cast an image of a newspaper onto the wall. It read: "Stonebough Broken: All the Shit Pours Out."
The Commissioner stopped in his tracks and turned towards the screen. On the podium was a small stack of newspapers. Mason grabbed a handful, tore it up, and threw the shreds at a garbage can. Most of them settled onto the floor.
"I swear to God," Commissioner Mason grumbled, "If I had a hundred bucks for every sewer-related pun in the goddamn news today, I could retire. I could be on some vacation island drinking Pina Coladas right now, but instead, I have to deal with this shit." He chuckled dryly. "Now the papers have me doing it too."
The Commissioner took a deep breath, and his expression softened. "I don't blame any of you for this. We threw everything we had at that prison, and they still got out." He picked up another newspaper and held it up. "Of course, telling the press that isn't going to change our approval ratings."
He pressed a button on the remote, and the article was replaced by a grainy photo of the prison. A fuzzy black cloud loomed on the southern half, punctuated by the occasional red R. Further up, a lone man stood before a sewer grate. Bruno could make out a blob of brown hair.
"Sorry about the resolution," Mason said. "Frickin' PowerPoint won't let me use the raw video clip. Hold on a second."
He opened up a video player on his laptop. On screen, it showed the man, this time with his brown eyes distinct on his plain, clean-shaven face, speaking to the mass of Rockets standing before him. All the Rockets faced the camera, the man turned around, and then the video turned grainy again. White flashes obscured the camera, but for a brief moment, so fast that the image vanished before he could blink, he saw long locks of violet and black hair spilling out over the Rocket uniform.
Bruno schooled himself to calmness while the rest of the room muttered. Mason held up a hand, a signal for silence, and cleared his throat. "We don't know why the footage cuts out like that, but at least we got a clear image of the man's face. Unfortunately, there isn't a single match." He rewound the tape and paused it just before it cuts out. "Our Porygon have cross-referenced his face with every single photograph we have on file, every single driver's license and trainer identification, passports and criminal records, everything. We have no idea who the hell this guy is, where he came from, or why he's working for the Rockets. What we do know is, that guy stormed Stonebough alone." He let the word echo in the room. "Alone, he slipped past a double perimeter of guards, disabled the cameras, slipped past every patrol on the way down to the dungeons, knocked out every single guard posted in the cells before they knew what the hell was happening, and escaped through the fucking sewer trap that's supposed to drown them all."
The Commissioner crushed a newspaper in his fist. His grip tightened as he turned back to the police.
"Here's what we're going to do," he said with a voice like cold iron. "First, we're going to put more boots on the streets. I know you're all exhausted from watching the prison, but we're in crisis mode. The people have to know we're taking this seriously. Also, we're going to throw everything at catching this son of a bitch." Mason grimaced and crumpled the paper into a tight ball. "The cheeky bastard didn't kill a single cop. Had he done it, I could've had him executed and put all this behind us… damn it." Then he stopped himself and turned back to the officers and gave them a weak smile. "Please forgive me. I couldn't be happier that none of you died during that fiasco. I'm just… on edge."
Bruno felt the room spinning around him. It was only a split second. He couldn't be sure he even saw it. Yet, he knew. Why would a Pokémon work for Team Rocket? Even more puzzling, how could they let a Pokémon wear their uniform? She even looked human, before the cameras started blurring.
His mind latched onto that point. The camera. Maybe it was a trick of the camera, edited to make it look like something else, with just a single frame missed. But why her? Why was she there?
Peter gave him a gentle nudge on his shoulder. Looking up, Bruno saw that the room was already emptying. He rose from his seat, but the Commissioner told them to stay. Reluctantly, Bruno stood at attention and waited for the other officers to file out.
"Peter, Bruno, I'm really sorry to ask this of you," the Commissioner said. "I know I've been working you two to the bone, but it can't be helped now. You're the fastest way to find our target."
Bruno felt his stomach twisting itself in knots. He could tell them what he knew and lead them straight to her. He might even lead them straight to a Rocket base. However, he could also hurt her by following her. What if they thought she had betrayed them, or what if they forced her to attack the police?
Before he made up his mind, a powerful presence entered his senses, one that chilled him to the bone. Seconds later, the door swung open. The Commissioner opened his mouth to admonish the intruder, but his stern finger-point turned into a short bow at the elderly figure entering the room. He was shaved bald, exposing his wrinkled forehead, but he had a long white beard that fell to his waist.
Behind him was a Lucario, far older and more powerful than Bruno, an Elder among his kind. Streaks of gray flecked his fur, and his eyes were pale pink. He was also four inches taller than Bruno, and broader in the shoulders.
"Elder Bayron," Bruno said with a stiff bow. "What brings you to the city?"
"You," the Elder gruffly replied. "I can sense your imbalance from the Temples. It's time you left the city."
As Elder Bayron spoke in his tongue, the elderly man translated. Mason grimaced.
"You can't take him away now! We're in a crisis here!"
"You will have a far greater crisis if this one remains for much longer. He has lost his balance. After a few years of meditation, he will be fit to return, but until then, he must leave."
"A few years!" Mason roared. "I don't have a few years! I don't even have a few days! I need a Lucario here, or the city's going to fall into chaos. Absolute chaos. The White Knights are planning their next move, and the Rockets just broke out of Stonebough. There is no time to waste!"
Elder Bayron slammed his fist on a table hard enough to crack the wood. "I will not argue with you. Bruno must leave. Today."
Commissioner Mason took a deep breath. "Fine. Take him. But in return, get another Lucario here within the hour."
"Not possible. You know our kind don't fare well in cities."
Mason studied them for a moment. Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out a glowing blue sphere. Bruno averted his gaze away from it, straining against its seductive pull. Bayron's arm crept a few inches forward before he returned it to his side.
"Catch the man I'm after, and you can have this," Mason said.
"You're really desperate enough to part with it?" Bayron asked. "And for so low a price?"
Mason returned the sphere to his coat. Bruno sighed with relief when the tug on his Aura disappeared.
"This city's fucked. There's a war brewing, and just the aftermath of it is going to leave more police casualties and public upheaval than anything in this city's history. Just look what happened already. You can feel this city's unrest, can't you?" Mason gestured at the ruffled stack of newspapers. "They're terrified, and there is nothing worse for society than a bunch of terrified citizens fed up with their government. If a glowing hunk of rock I can't use anyways will stop that, then I consider it a bargain."
Bayron stared at Mason, as if seeing the stone through his coat. Then he said, "You make a tempting offer, but my answer must remain the same. No panic humans can make can ever compare to what we're capable of. For your sake, we must leave."
Mason glared at the Elder. "Fine. Just know that I won't offer it for nearly as cheap next time I need help."
As the Elder and his human companion left, Bruno dashed after them. Elder Bayron turned and frowned at him.
"Are you that eager to leave?" Then his brow furrowed, and his voice went flat. "Or do you really think you should stay here?"
Bruno swallowed. His throat itched for a cup of water, but he made himself speak. "I think I already know where to find the one they want."
Bayron raised an eyebrow at him. "Go on."
Bruno hesitated for a moment. Bayron's pale pink eyes burrowed into his head and saw the roiling tempest of Aura within. He could feel Bayron's gaze, feel Bayron's hackles rise as he studied the aura, and feel the beating of his own heart as he struggled to find words. Then he told him everything about Steven.
Bayron listened. His eyes slid back and forth as Bruno's Aura whipped and fluttered like a wind-blown flame, snapping towards piles of tinder around it. As silence fell, Bayron took a step closer, pressed his nose into the hair on Bruno's forehead, and inhaled deeply.
"Hmm, I thought so," he said as he backed away. Bruno caught a hint of a smile on his face. "So that's what got you unstable, eh?" Bayron ran his fingers over the spike on his chest and tapped the tip while he thought. Then he let out a breath. "Alright, I'll let you stay." Before Bruno could get too excited, he added, "You have two days. Offer this Steven asylum at the Temple. There, even Team Rocket couldn't reach her, not if they broke their whole strength on our gates. If she accepts your offer, you will remain at the Temple until further notice." A sparkle lit up Bayron's eyes, and he chuckled. "You'll have plenty of time to get to know her." Bruno flushed, but Bayron's smile vanished, and his voice turned hard as stone. "But if she refuses, you are to return immediately. Not after two days, immediately. Do you understand?"
Bruno felt his chest swell up with confidence. He grinned and said, "There's no way she'd turn down that offer."
Bayron's voice cracked like a whip. "Do you understand?"
Bruno flinched. "Yes Elder."
"Good." Bayron turned to leave, but he stopped. "Be careful around her," he called over his shoulder. "If her soul is really as powerful as you say, then she could… she could…"
"Could what?"
The Elder chewed his lip. "Just be careful around her, and follow my instructions to the letter. Also, keep Peter close. Whatever you do, don't leave his side, even for a second."
"I won't," Bruno said quickly. "Have a safe journey back to the Temple."
Once he was sure the Elder was out of earshot, Bruno cheered, ran back inside, and told Peter that they could stay. He left Steven out of his story.
Changelog
10/29/18 - minor edits