As throngs of Saffronites passed by the quartet on the sidewalk, Looker noted the thin black veil Agatha wore over her wild, passionate eyes. The wide brim of her sun hat tilted down at the edges to provide extra shade to her pale, freckled shoulders. With her face obscured, the eyes fell to her body, its muscular silhouette hidden beneath layers of soft, light material.
Agatha's hunched figure and wild demeanor gave her an air of ancient wisdom and primal knowledge. She stood at a diminutive height, her form draped in a long, flowing robe that seemed to blend seamlessly with the shadows.
Her thin, bony hands were adorned with gnarled fingers, their movements deliberate and precise as if weaving an intricate spell. Her knuckles went white as she gripped her walking stick tightly, revealing the bulging muscles hidden in her wrinkled forearms.
"Pardon us, young man - handsome young man!" she said with a wily chuckle, eliciting a groan from Leaf, who turned to Bad Cop in wonder. The bulky gray humanoid eyed her ice cream cone with obvious desire.
"Is this your Machoke, Mister?" Leaf asked.
"Oh, no, he ain't mine," Looker explained, "BC and I are equals. He's my partner!"
"BC? What's that stand for?"
"Bad Cop,"
Leaf let the information settle in her mind. "So, does that make you the Good Cop, then?"
Looker chortled, noting that Agatha seemed fussed. She clearly had somewhere to be, and this little rendezvous had run longer than she'd wanted.
"I like to think so, little girl. Sorry, you're no' just any little girl - you're Leaf Kohona! I saw your battle - I was on the edge o' me seat! Or, at least, me feet!"
Leaf's face lit up like a billboard. "Wow, wow, wow! Thank you, Mister!"
Agatha cleared her throat and raised her veil, meeting eyes with Looker. All of the sudden, she was all business.
"Forgive me, young man, but would you humor an old lady? Could you walk with us down to the Hilda Garden Hotel? It's just down-"
"-down 43rd over the road from the churchyard. O'course, ma'am," Looker replied affirmatively, offering his lanky arm to her.
"My, he's worldly!" the old lady sang. Leaf rolled her eyes. Her grandma was a horny old bat - but as bold as Leaf often was, she would never embarrass herself by telling Agatha to keep it in her girdle. Bad Cop grunted, his eyes still locked on Leaf's ice cream as the four crossed the street amidst the buzzing crowd.
The Pokémon and the little girl seemed to form an instant bond as they burst forward into a run, the sounds of their sudden bout of play mixing in with the sounds of honking horns and road rage. Agatha and Looker kept their eyes forward as they spoke in low voices.
Agatha started. "We agreed that, if we ever needed to speak again, I would find you."
Looker nodded. "We did. An' I called ya. And it didn't go through. Someone's blocked out our connections."
"Lorelei," Agatha hissed. "The dumb slut,"
"True on both counts," Looker agreed, out of personal familiarity. "Get rid of the crotchgoblin. Meet me in room 1218. Someone's making moves and I've got a hunch as to why."
Agatha stopped in place and dug her nails into Looker's arm through his trenchcoat.
"That crotchgoblin is my granddaughter. The daughter, of my daughter. And the next Pokémon League Champion. You will show her respect."
Looker felt a deep, bone-chilling cold surrounding his heart that dissipated as soon as he whimpered an apology. He didn't say sorry often. Rarer still did he mean it.
"Right, then. 1218, was it?" Agatha confirmed, kicking her walking stick and allowing it to travel in a full arc upward before coming to a stop over her shoulder. With an invigorated pep in her step, like that of a much younger woman, she sashayed toward the entrance to the Hilda Garden Hotel, following just behind Leaf and Bad Cop.
Looker spit a mouthful of tepid water and toothpaste into the sink, noting hints of pink in the mix. Room 1218 was adorned with a tasteful selection of furnishings, beckoning for both repose and productivity. An inviting desk took center stage, accompanied by an ergonomic chair that promised support during moments of inspiration or labor. A lounging chair added an artistic touch, complementing a chic coffee table where conversations and contemplations intermingled. All in all, it was too artificial for Looker, whose tastes were much more utilitarian.
Glancing out the window down to the pool, Looker could see Leaf and Bad Cop splashing around together in the shallow end. He was overcome by a shock when he felt a powerful hand grip his shoulder from behind. When he turned, Agatha's fiery eyes awaited him.
"Let yourself in, why don't ya," Looker spat, to Agatha's bemusement.
"I always do," she declared, "Let's do this quick, I'm wheels up in an hour and the train is running behind."
Looker rolled the ergonomic office chair over to Agatha and gestured for her to sit. As she did, setting her purse down on the desk, Looker walked over to a standing cabinet near the doorway and reached inside.
Turning toward Agatha, Looker now held what appeared to be some sort of head-mounted device, not unlike those used by optometrists to measure a person's sight. Which side is clearer, A...or B? A...or B?
Looker brought the strange spectacles over to Agatha and handed them to her.
"Is this one of those video games? With the virtual reality?" she inquired, flummoxed. Tried though she did to keep up with technology trends, in her advanced years, she just couldn't be arsed with them any more.
"This is a military grade head-mounted visual enhancement apparatus, manufactured by the Silph Company. One of 10,000 units prototyped for use in the war," Looker explained. Agatha placed the goggles over her eyes and flicked the switch on the side. Several colored lenses began to rise and drop in front of her eyes.
Looking around the room, she noted nothing unusual. The colored lenses did not seem to do anything meaningful.
"Is it broken?" Agatha asked, handing the device back to Looker. "It doesn't seem very useful."
"You don't notice, because you're used to seein' 'em. Let me show you," Looker expounded. He lowered the headset onto his eyes and allowed the colored lenses to work their magic.
Standing in the center of the room, Looker rotated his head until he spotted the first one. He pointed directly at its core and spoke.
"Gastly," he said, and then rotated his head another 30 degrees. He pointed again. "Haunter."
Agatha tapped her fingertips on the desk as Looker turned to face her. He pointed at the space directly behind her chair. "And Gengar."
"Oh, dear..." she said with a touch of worry.
Taking the headset off, Looker placed it on the table and flipped the switch once more.
"The bad news, love, is that it works," Looker explained. "The good news, then, is it was shelved because it kept getting soldiers killed. Too cumbersome."
Agatha stood from her chair and walked over to the window. She looked down at Leaf and Machoke, bouncing a volleyball back and forth to one another in the pool.
She thought about the implications - how much more careful she would need to be. She wasn't used to being careful. She was used to being invisible.
"But you have one. And if you have one, that means that somehow, they've ended up outside of Silph R&D," Agatha surmised. Looker nodded.
"You heard about the casino scandal. Bunch of hubbub 'round Celadon City-"
"Yes, the terrorist plot," Agatha remembered. "Somehow, I suspected you had something to do with that."
"Actually - I didn't," Looker denied, "I didn't get there 'til a few hours after. I found this little scope in the bin out behind the Game Corner. I tried to pull the surveillance camera footage, but we didn't get any eyes on who tossed it in. But knowing what we know about Silph, and all those arrests in Celadon, I've got a hunch that it was someone in-"
"Team Rocket."
The look on the detective's face told Agatha that her suspicions were true.
"Fuck. Pardon my Kalosian," Agatha sighed, after several moments of deep thought.
Wrapping the scope back up in the box he kept it in, Looker sat down on the footrest near Agatha and took her knotted hands in his.
"I want you to be more careful from now on. We don't know how many of these are out there, or if the tech has made its way into anyone else's hands. Treat every moment like someone's watching," Looker warned Agatha.
She squeezed his hand in hers and smiled. "You know, you are a very handsome man. Bless you for thinking of an old lady like me."
She stood and straightened her robe before grabbing her walking stick and walking toward the door.
"One last question, dearie," she said mid-step, "Are you telling me all this because you're afraid to lose your source on the Plateau? Or are you telling me this because you're afraid to lose me?"
Looker lips twisted wryly. "Come now, Aggie. You know the answer is both."
"I do," she said through a toothy smile. "And never, ever, ever again call me Aggie."
Author: If you've made it this far, thank you so much for reading! I would love to hear your thoughts on the story so far. I've got a lot of plans, and reviews give me life! Give me a shoutout if you are enjoying yourself!