Chapter Thirty-Three
A small, black-clad team of elite officers gathered in the back lot of the police station. Each man was accompanied by a full team of Pokémon, from a Sceptile with claws tipped in tranquilizers, to a Poliwrath clad in blast-resistant armor. Pokémon and humans loaded a small armory into the beaten, nondescript vehicles gathering rust in the open lot.
Bruno felt his stomach flutter as he loaded an MK-27 automatic assault rifle into the back seat of Peter's dingy brown car. They both agreed that taking the police car to the pick-up zone would draw too much attention, but Peter insisted on having a full armory installed in his dented back trunk, with grenades in the cup holders, extra ammo clips in the glove compartments, pistols in the side of every door, and Reason in Peter's front pocket.
Everyone listened to Reason, including Rockets. It helped that Reason was a 1200 pound hunk of metal that could turn brains into milkshakes with a flick of its thoughts or a flick of its claws. Commissioner Mason had been reluctant to let go of Reason, it being the police's chief source of intelligence, but the information Steven could provide couldn't be passed up.
"There's reason enough to bring Reason," Peter told Bruno as they loaded a bazooka under the back seat. "It stands to reason that the Rockets will learn of this and attack us at the pick-up zone. If Steven finds it scary to see Reason, I'm sure we can get her to see reason." He gave Bruno a wide smile. Peter's soul glowed like a light bulb, a steady flow of light that never wavered and gave off a gentle heat. It seemed out of place with his sleeveless brown jacket, torn jeans, soot-smeared face, and a temporary Feraligator tattoo baring its fangs on Peter's right bicep.
Bruno wrote "Please don't make jokes at a time like this."
For his part, Bruno went with only a belt to carry his notebook. He felt strangely cold and exposed without a police vest to keep the wind from whipping through his fur.
"You're right, I'm sorry." He looked around at the other squad cars in the lot, all of them loading up their own miniature arsenal. "You just seemed tense. Relax. We've got special ops behind us. We just need to get her to the police escort, fend off anything the Rockets throw at us, and get her to the Lucario waiting at the edge of town. Serena can tell us how to catch the new Admin, the Lucario get their stone, and she gets the protection she needs." Peter put a hand on Bruno's shoulder. "I know you're nervous, but we're throwing everything we got at this operation. We got this."
Bruno smiled uneasily at him and wrote another note. Peter read it and said, "Exactly. Odds are they won't even know we're coming. And if they do, well, we'll be ready for them."
"But what if she's not there? What if they catch her?" Bruno's next note read.
"Stop worrying about the what-ifs and do your job. That's all we can do." Peter gave him a concerned frown. "I'm starting to think the Elder is right. It might be wiser for you to sit this mission out. You're too strung up, and we can't afford to make any mistakes."
Bruno wavered as he reflected on his inner turmoil. His limbs shook, and clenching his fists was all that kept him from trembling openly. His tongue felt dry and rough as sandpaper. And yet, the desire to find Serena burned in him like a hot coal that refused to burn out no matter how cold and clammy his fur felt.
"I'm the only one that can sense her presence," Bruno argued. "If she isn't there, we won't waste any time finding her. Plus, I'll know if we're walking in an ambush."
Peter grimaced. "Alright, get in, it's time to go."
Bruno glanced around. All the other cars were on and rumbling out of the lot. A Lycanroc waved at him from out of a car window before it veered around a corner. Bruno leapt into the passenger seat, and Peter's car shot out of the lot like a bullet.
As the police forces drove deeper into the city, they fanned out in pairs to encircle the meeting spot. Peter drove straight for the spot and parked right next to the Mechanical Dreams bar. They went inside and took seats at a booth facing the street. The springy cushions were filled with uncomfortable lumps and squeaked with the slightest shift in body weight. The rancid odor of sweat and alcohol made Bruno rub at his nose.
When an acne-scarred waitress took their order, Peter ordered two beers. Peter didn't touch his frothy, foul-smelling mug, but Bruno took a curious sip and nearly gagged. His tongue felt as though it were drenched in gasoline. He slowly set the mug down and scanned the room for watching eyes.
"Doesn't look like any Rockets are here," Peter said in a low voice. "Do you sense anything?"
Bruno closed his eyes. In the darkness, every person stood out like a flickering candle in different hues. Peter's steady blue light, almost mistakable for a Lucario, sat across from him, while other souls danced in different colors, some shooting off sparks of agitation, most twitching languidly from the alcohol. None gave off the notes of black that marked criminal intent.
Bruno shook his head and brought the mug to his mouth, making sure none of the amber liquid touched his tongue. Then he closed his eyes and widened his search, scanning the area north of the bar. He could feel Serena. Her crimson sun was still far off, but as he watched it, he could see it coming closer.
He wrote the number ten and showed it to Peter. The officer dug his hand into his coat and pressed the button on his radio twice, a press for each five minute interval. Peter gripped the mug tight enough to make the wooden handle creak and tipped it to his mouth More beer spilled out of the corners of his mouth than got into it, but some passed his lips..
Peter's expression remained flat, but Bruno could see his aura flicker with agitation, like a flame with water splashed into it.
"Don't drink too much," Peter told Bruno. "You need your senses more than mine, and this stuff's stronger than it looks."
"No danger of that," Bruno wrote back. "I don't think I could keep any of it down."
Serena's Aura approached faster than he expected. After a few minutes, Bruno nodded towards the door. Peter left a twenty on the table and strolled out while Bruno followed in his wake. They turned into the nearest alley, slunk into the shadows, and broke into a run once they were out of sight from the streets. Bruno led the way. Though the alley twisted and turned like tangled yarn, he deftly navigated the maze of forks and dead ends until they were almost at the collapsed building.
As they rounded a corner and came into view of the meeting spot, Bruno saw six Grunts in a small pack, chasing after Serena like wolves hunting a fox. Each one carried tasers, nooses, and pokéballs. Pokémon ran or flew alongside them. A Cacturne hurled a handful of needles at Serena, and she twisted in time to avoid them.
Bruno sprinted ahead. Peter, cursing, followed a few seconds behind them. The pursuit entered an alleyway, and Bruno sensed a fork up ahead. Serena took a sharp right the moment she rounded another corner, while the Grunts went straight ahead.
Bruno whipped around the corner, and immediately to his right was another alley, which he raced into. He ran another twenty feet and took a left. Two purple glowing lights hung in the air before him, and as he looked into them, drowsiness settled over his mind like a pile of cobwebs. Stifling a yawn, he knelt on the ground. His legs buckled, and he rolled onto his side. With the last of his strength, he grabbed his pencil, scribbled a message on his notebook, and dropped it into a pothole.
The last thing he saw was Serena's blue eyes, glowing in the darkness, as she dragged him to a van.
When Peter rounded that same corner, he saw only a path ahead. Blotchy brick walls stretched out on either side of him, with no sign of Bruno anywhere. He paused for a fraction of a second, searching for him, and then reasoned that the Lucario must've leapt onto the roof.
Yet, as he ran, doubt plagued him. Even Bruno couldn't leap two stories and vanish in a single second, and there weren't fire escapes to make climbing easier. He should've heard the scrabble of claw on stone as Bruno vaulted a brick wall, and the rooftops in this section of town were all uneven. Crumbling apartment complexes rose around dingy shops.
One of the Rockets' Pokémon, a Raticate, shot towards him. He reached for the pokéball and called out Reason. In a blur of metallic blue, one of Reason's arms shot forward and smacked the rat into the pavement. Only a meaty red paste, like stirred cherry Jell-O remained of the Pokémon.
"Find Bruno and help him!" he shouted at Reason.
As the Metagross flew over the rooftops, Peter pursued the Grunts. They ignored him, but two more Pokémon broke off to attack him, a Mightyena and a Liepard. Two shots from his pistol caught the Mightyena in the chest. Blood gushed out of its mouth as it stumbled forward. The Liepard danced around three bullets. As it leapt for him, he decked it in the jaw with his elbow. It clawed at him. One set raked his arm, leaving thin, shallow scratches, and the other claws glanced off his jacket.
The Liepard, mewling in pain as its jaw hung loosely in its head, pounced again, but this time, Peter drew a combat knife, ducked, and let the Liepard jump over him. As it slid down his back, raking its claws over his jacket, he stabbed up into its belly. It slid off of him like a stone.
Peter rushed after the Grunts, gaining step by step, but as the Rockets piled into a van, a telepathic message from Reason stopped him from leaping at the doors.
"Bruno is gone," it told him. "I lack the data required to track him."
"What about Serena?" he murmured.
"Also gone," Reason said. "This was a set-up. Break off your pursuit and regroup with the special ops unit. They were bait to distract you."
Bullets clattered on the brick around him as Peter ran back the way he came. One shoot grazed his cheek, and another tore a chunk of flesh from his thumb. At the entrance to the alleyway maze, around the first corner, he saw a path that wasn't there the first time. Walking through it, Peter found Reason perched on top of a roof, watching the streets below with its cold red eyes.
"What happened here?"
Reason's words came into his head. "They created an illusion to make this alley hidden. Bruno saw through it and came this way after the target while you and the Grunts went the other direction. Faint residues suggest a ghost hypnotized Bruno. The target dragged him into a van and drove to the west. The trail ends in the main streets."
Bruno's notebook lay discarded in the middle of the alley. He wrote a message on one page, tore it off, and left it on the spot where the notebook lay.
It read, "We have to help her."
Changelog
11/1/18 - minor edits... and also, seems like the dash thing isn't to blame for upping the wordcount. For whatever reason, when I edit the document, it slaps on another fifty-ish words. I'll just slap these into my word document from now on.