Paralogue Six: Gifts Given
Markus woke up to a knock at his apartment door. He rolled out of bed as best he could without disturbing Miriam, tugged on a shirt and went to answer the door. There was a basket of wrapped gifts sitting on his doorstep, with a card attached. Markus brought it inside and sat it on his table before opening the card.
Vaughn,
You and I may be at each other's throats constantly, but you saved my daughter and her girlfriend from unimaginable suffering, and I cannot let that act of kindness go unappreciated. Thank you.
Giovanni.
P.S. My daughter loves your course. Keep up the good work, especially since it keeps you out of my way.
Markus found a seat in one of his dining chairs and began to dissociate. The next thing he felt was Miriam shaking him awake. "Markus, Markus come back." He shook his head and returned to the present. "What happened?" Miriam asked. Markus handed her the card and let out a massive sigh. Miriam read it over. "Who is Giovanni?"
"He's the man who killed my wife." He paused and let out another full breath before standing up. "Shall we see what the leader of Team Rainbow Rocket has seen fit to reward me with?" He picked up a square package and tentatively opened it. The box held a Heavy Ball. Miriam's eyes widened.
"He killed your wife and now he's sending you rare Pokéballs? Who the hell is this man and what's Team Rainbow Rocket?" Miriam picked up a red package and opened it to reveal a Level Ball. As the two opened the package and laid the balls out in a row, Miriam looked surprised. "These must have cost a fortune." She said as Markus began to dissociate again.
"They're a criminal syndicate out of Kanto and Johto. They do organized crime, and Giovanni is the don at the helm of it all. We were hot on their trail, White and I. The job went bad, and Giovanni put three bullets in her. She didn't make it."
Miriam rested a hand on Markus's shoulder as he started to sob. "I got her to the hospital, but her heart gave out and they couldn't save her." Markus's tears began to flow freely. "That was about eighteen months ago now." He looked at the set of Pokéballs on his table. "The guy who makes these lives in Azalea Town over in Johto. Giovanni probably got these for pretty cheap. Fucker kills my wife, I save his daughter, and he sends me Pokéballs he got for 500 Poké and some fucking nuts. Un-fucking-believable." Miriam pulled Markus into a hug as he let his tears fall freely. After a few minutes, he shook his head. "This is not how I wanted us to have this conversation, Mirri."
"I know, but I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere, so even if we're both fucking depressed, we can be depressed together." She held his head to her chest. "I'll be honest, Markus, I've had a wonderful time with you over the last few days. How about we stop making eyes at each other and you just go ahead and be my boyfriend. What do you say?"
Markus laughed sadly."I'd love to, Mirri. I'd absolutely love to."