Ayana had to listen to Ross second-guess himself and groan in hesitation the whole walk back to Aunt Betty's house. She'd expected as much, because once they parted with Amadeus, he began to think of all the things they wouldn't have while on the road, one of those being "a bed."
The meowscarada was patient and let him vent, but admittedly she found his bitching to be a bit much. If he didn't stop in a few more minutes she was going to have to slap some sense into him and get him to refocus.
"I mean, do we even really need to know anything about that stupid black disc? Or who that killer was?" Ross asked rhetorically. "I'm not even of-age yet, I shouldn't even be doing something like this. What if dad sends the police to look for us? Or- what if he chases us himself?"
Ayana could see their house in the distance. She did have to admit, the thought of not seeing it for a long time, regardless of her thoughts on its owner, did invoke a feeling of homesickness. She certainly did enjoy sharing a room with Ross. It would be different on the road.
"Maybe we should just tell Amadeus to pay us when he gets back. I mean, I've got school tomorrow, and dad's already on my ass about yesterday. Then everything this morning, I just… I can't think, man, my brain is all mush and I'm buzzin' out!"
It was here that Ayana sharply turned to Ross and slammed her paw into his face without warning. He stumbled back from the hit, blinking, before he shook as head, clearing the daze. "What the hell was that for!?"
"Meow!" the meowscarada replied.
"What!? I…" Ross responded before his brain could think, and once his mind caught up and understood her meaning, he let out a sigh. "I'm cool. I'm zen."
"Scara," Ayana rubbed her paw pad against his cheek where she'd slapped it.
He chuckled and pushed her hand away. "Okay, okay, don't fuss over me. I'm zen as hell right now. See? Perfectly functional."
She cocked her head to the side and squinted her eyes, leaning in with mock scrutiny.
Ross laughed, lightly pushing her face away from his. "Stop! I swear, I'm good!"
Ayana leaned into his side and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder with a purr, invoking a response from him to scratch behind her ear, which only made her purring louder.
They continued their walk to the house, Ayana quite pleased that she'd slapped him back to his senses. It wasn't the first time, either. Ross sometimes got overwhelmed for no reason, his own brain making him think up everything it could to freak him out. It usually won.
Ross had told Amadeus to wait for them, as he and his meowscarada needed to retrieve some stuff from the house for such a sudden trip. Some clothes, deodorant and cologne, and other essentials- Ross was a pretty cleanly guy, for the most part. At least, he cared about dental hygiene. Ayana was quite fine with that, he had quite the smile.
They didn't see Ross's father's jeep outside, meaning at least he wasn't home- though there was no guarantee Betty wasn't. She didn't have her own vehicle, so usually relied on her various friends to give her a ride. Of course, she didn't have too many of those to call on anymore- Betty would flirt with their husbands too often.
Deciding to play it safe and go through the window, Ross waited as Ayana performed her usual vine trick. Summoning vines was something meowscarada couldn't typically do, and she was no different. Years ago, she and Ross had gone under the house and found a way to cultivate some vines to grow. Since Ayana still had a pretty strong connection to plants, and manipulating them, they could use that to their advantage. Those vines were a crucial part of how smoothly they operated, and like the house, they'd be abandoned while their caretakers ran off to La San de Blanca. Hopefully they wouldn't die in that time…
A car drove by. Ross and Ayana acted casual as the vines slithered their way under the windowsill, and once it was open, they practically dove into their room. Ross set to work immediately gathering the items he needed and throwing them into his bag. Clean as he was, Ross wasn't nearly as organized. His bag was always a mess, and only he seemed to know what was in there. Ayana had tried over the years to keep track, but there was honestly no telling half the time.
The house was extraordinarily quiet. Ayana had expected to at least hear a vacuum. Betty had tormented the grass cat with those over the years when Ayana would be somewhere she wasn't supposed to be. It had been terrifying as a sprigatito, and annoying as a floragato. After she evolved into a meowscarada, Betty gave up because it was just silly at that point.
"Sca…" Ayana whispered, tapping her paw on Ross's arm. He turned to look at her, reading her face, before he connected the dots and listened. Dead silence was maintained.
Ross grinned. "Nobody's home," he said. "We should raid the pantry before we blow this joint. And speaking of joints…"
The young man stashed the weed he and Ayana had grown into the front of his bag, and winked at her. "Maybe we can take her sunhat, too."
Ayana liked the sound of that. She'd always been fascinated with sunhats, for reasons she wasn't sure of, but the first time she'd ever seen Aunt Betty wearing one- she'd needed it.
Opening the door, Ross peeked down the hall to the living room, but nothing seemed off, so he threw the door open the rest of the way and proceeded to strut to the other side of the house to the kitchen. Ayana snickered as she followed after him.
"I'll grab the grub, you get that hat," he told her.
Snapping an exaggerated salute, the meowscarada went to the other corner of the living room to the door to Betty's room, and reached for the handle- before realizing something was off. The door handle was crooked, very clearly broken. Maybe that was why Betty wasn't in the house? Had Ross's father taken her to get a new one?
It was slightly odd, but nothing could have prepared the poor cat for what she found when she pulled the door open after fiddling with the knob for a moment.
Crimson painted the walls, soaking the granny-style flower-print wallpaper. Ayana was floored as the door inched further open, carried by her pull, revealing more and more to her. Inside of Betty's room to the immediate left was her small, private bathroom. It was dark inside, and blood had smeared from its floor to the carpet in the doorway, before it trailed to the bed.
Betty herself was seated on the floor. Or at least- Ayana thought it was her. The body-shape was Betty's, but her head… it was…
Ayana snapped herself from her stupor, feeling panic rise like bile in her throat as her already quick-beating heart began to drum against her chest. She darted into the kitchen to find Ross stuffing a few cans of green beans into his bag. He turned to look at her with a smirk, which rapidly turned upside-down when he saw her face.
"What is it?" he asked immediately, moving toward her, looking her over as he approached to see if she was hurt in any way. The meowscarada shook her head, before she pointed toward Betty's room, her eyes wide.
Face going pale, Ross moved past his Pokémon to Betty's room, and stopped in the doorway to look inside. His face took on a sickly shade of green, before he quickly moved away from it, his chest rising and falling quickly. "Holy… oh my… oh fuck…" Ross breathed, leaning against the wall beside Ayana as he grabbed either side of his head.
The meowscarada looked toward the front door, finding the knob there was similarly broken. Someone had entered the home, seemingly to kill Betty. Nothing was taken (save for what Ross had already grabbed) and outside of Betty's room there didn't seem to be a struggle. She'd been… brutally killed.
Ayana bore no love for that woman, but nobody deserved that.
She pointed out the knob to Ross, who eyed it for a moment, before he swallowed. "We need to leave. Now," he whispered.
Ayana couldn't agree more. She led the way, moving quickly into their room to make sure no boogeymen leapt out at them, before she stepped through the window and waited for Ross to join her. They didn't bother closing the window behind them, instead immediately booking it back up the street as though their lives depended on it- as for all they knew, maybe their lives really did.
Making sure to keep it slow for Ross, Ayana kept pace with him, but they eventually had to slow down. His heavy backpack was a bit of a drag on him. "Ayana…" he panted. "Aunt Betty… how… she was…"
The meowscarada gave a curt nod. She could see he was at risk of being overwhelmed again, but took a different approach. He wasn't in full-on freak-out mode, he didn't need a slap. Releasing some light pheromones, Ayana grabbed his hands in her paws, staring sharply into his eyes. He looked back for a moment, then took a deep breath…
"Thanks…" he muttered, closing his eyes, and shaking his head. "Maybe… maybe Amadeus was right. This could be the Ardent Assassin's… they wanted the disc, a-and then I killed one of them, and now… now they're after us…"
"Scara," Ayana replied, stepping closer to him, and squeezing his hands. She made him look into her eyes again, and he slowly gave a nod.
"You're right," he gulped, shaking off his nerves. "Amadeus will know. We can't waste any more time."
Ayana and Ross found themselves constantly looking over their shoulders as they returned to City Central. The Ardent Assassin's were just a tale, nothing more than a story- though Amadeus seemed to believe they existed. Could this really be them? The thought was terrifying, especially given the strength of the man at the police station. A society of killers that would allegedly stop at nothing to fulfill a contract…
Upon reaching the alley that Amadeus frequented, they found he wasn't there. After a few moments of debating on what they should do, the two settled on hiding between the dumpsters so they would at least be out of sight of either end of the alley.
However, just as they were making their way to that middle, a door to their right opened. Ayana grabbed her flower bomb, ready to throw- but it was Amadeus. He had a hood over his head now, with a mask pulled over his face, but his trench coat was unmistakable. "Get in here," he hissed urgently, looking down either end of the alley.
They didn't need to be told twice. Ayana made sure her human entered first before she followed closely behind. Amadeus shut the door, urging them onward down a set of stairs into some kind of basement area, leading to a lone door- with the reveal being that this was some kind of bar.
Several booths were set up, with tables and stools lined out, alongside the bar itself, where a massive wine cabinet sat behind it, alongside a few large barrels. Nobody seemed to be inside, save for the bartender himself.
"Were you followed?" Amadeus asked, slinking past Ayana to stand in Ross's way.
"I-I don't know," the teen admitted, and Amadeus let out a grumble. "Amadeus, they… Aunt Betty, she…"
Amadeus pulled his mask beneath his chin and sniffed. "So they were watching you, then."
"Who? The Ardent Assassin's?"
"I don't know," Amadeus replied. "Whoever they are, they killed two of my contacts I was supposed to meet today. I almost got cornered near the galleria. Whoever they are, they want the disk, and they want it bad."
Ross shook his head, leaning against the bar so that he could think. Ayana cast the bartender a glance. He was an older gentlemen, well-dressed and well-groomed. He was missing his right arm, leaving only a stump shortly past his shoulder, though that apparently didn't hamper his efficiency with his work, as he had a shot glass tucked into the armpit of his missing arm, his remaining hand cleaning it with a white rag.
"So what have we stumbled in?" Ross asked. "What could be so important about this disc?"
"I know as much as you," Amadeus gruffed, before he sat at the bar upon a stool and let out a sigh. "Ardent Assassin's is what they could be. Too organized and efficient to be the LOA."
Ross turned his head to look at the old man. "When you were given the contract to find it, what did they tell you? Any reason why LOA had it in the first place?"
Amadeus shrugged, reaching into his trench coat to grab a pack of cigarettes. "I was told it had been lost, and the employer wanted it reacquired. I was given autonomy on how to get the disc, so long as it wasn't damaged or lost again. That's why I gave the job of actually stealing it to you two… you both aren't that experienced in my world, but you're damn good thieves when you want to be."
Ayana's discomfort and fear were quelled only somewhat at the compliment. She prided herself on her sticky fingers.
"So now we're all stuck in this mess," Ross shook his head, before it drooped somewhat. "My dad's in town, Amadeus. He could be a good resource."
"Normally I'd actually agree," Amadeus said. "Such a high-ranking officer, with so much black ink to his name, he's probably done more harm than any of us combined. But until we know who these hunters are, we can't trust him. If the government's involved, then Striker is our enemy. I don't know about you, but some of the things I've heard about that man… I wouldn't put it past him to kill his own son if he was ordered to."
Ross stared back for a long moment, before he swallowed and looked away. Ayana could feel his anxiety rising back up with a strong surge, the energy coming off him in waves.
"So what do we do, Amadeus?" Ross finally asked. "The three of us are being hunted, we don't know by who, and we've got what they're looking for. Couldn't we just, throw it down a drain and be done with it? Is the money really worth it?"
"Boy, this money is worth every ounce of blood that our enemies spill for it," Amadeus growled. "So much, that even split between us, we'll never need to worry about money for the rest of our lives."
Ross didn't seem convinced. Ayana wasn't either. Again, she wished she could communicate more effectively with humans. There were things she wanted to contribute to this conversation that she simply couldn't, and it was frustrating.
"So we're still going to La San de Blanca?"
"I am. You're still free to tag along, but if you are, we're leaving now," Amadeus said, sliding off the stool as he lit his cigarette, then took a puff from it. "You still in?"
Ross looked toward Ayana. Before, the answer had been pretty simple for the both of them. A long trip to a distant and famous city to deliver one simple thing and get paid a butt load of money for it. She'd admittedly been eager for the opportunity to snuggle with him when they slept, again. She hadn't been allowed to do that in forever.
But now, things were a bit different. Betty had been brutally murdered, they were being hunted, and there was a very real possibility Ross's father, the Lieutenant Striker, was pursuing them as well. It was… scary.
The least they could do was follow through with it. There was no guarantee the hunters would stop if Amadeus left with the disc. Then again, there was no guarantee they'd stop when the disc was handed over, either. But doing this meant they could get money, go off-grid or something… there was more opportunity to live on the other side of the fence if they helped Amadeus finish this job.
She and Ross had both been a little annoyed they weren't getting paid up-front, because Amadeus himself still had to get paid. This one trip…
Ayana nodded.
Ross swallowed, before he looked back toward Amadeus. "We'll help you get that disc to your employer."
Amadeus appeared actually thankful, his tired and stretched face appearing to relax somewhat, before he pulled his cigarette from his mouth and exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Benny," he looked toward the silent barkeeper, who looked back at him with a raised brow. "Don't let these hunters get you."
Benny the barkeeper gave a simple, curt nod, and Amadeus led the way back out of the bar and to the alleyway. Ayana herself was feeling the anxiety her human was. After all they'd seen and learned so far, and now they were about to embark on a cross-country trip…
Despite the death up to this point, she had to admit, there was some excitement there.
The streets of Rojomaj always seemed so less significant once you got in a vehicle. They became a blur as you dove past, one street after the other. Even with memories around them, they became so small in this instance. Ayana could see the first street where they'd done their first con together, swiping a watch off some rich guy. Another street was the first time they'd been mugged. She and Ross had fought back and managed to escape- she'd only been a floragato at the time.
City Central was left behind as they rattled along in Amadeus's 935 black Cheswick Trike. Not a glamorous vehicle by any means, but it was efficient and reliable. Now they were cruising through downtown, the smaller buildings, and small businesses an indication of that. Ayana watched it all go by, before they slowed at a stop light. Her eyes found a newspaper station, where a woman was trying to pull her small son away from the newspapers. For some reason, he really wanted one. Ayana realized why when one of the newspapers fell, and on the front page was a meowscarada.
Ayana found herself humored by it. The boy really wanted the picture of the meowscarada. She was about to look away, when something else caught her eye. The meowscarada in the picture wasn't alone. There was a rugged young man beside it, and as she squinted her eyes…
"Da!" Ayana gasped, slapping Ross's arm wit her paw to get his attention before she pointed out of the window. His gaze followed her finger, and just as the car started to move, he recognized what she was pointing out. It was them.
"Amadeus, pull over," Ross leaned forward to speak to the old man. "We might have a problem, those newspapers back there had mine and Ayana's faces on them."
"Shit…" Amadeus groaned, before he turned on his blinker and pulled to the right before parking along the curb. "You better not be messin' with me."
"We're not," Ross assured, and Amadeus got out of the car before he strolled down to the newspaper stand and bought one of the papers. He gave it a look over, said something to the stand owner, before he headed back to the car. Once inside, he tossed the paper back to them.
"Your dad's involved," Amadeus said. "No other way there'd be a new paper this late into the afternoon. He's lookin' for you."
Ross grabbed the newspaper as the car started to move again. Ayana leaned up against him to read the front page as well.
RED LETTER NEWS
Rojomaj's Picture Newspaper
POLICE MURDERED
Officials fear this is the start of a worrisome trend
Following that was the picture of Ross and Ayana. She recognized it, it had been taken last year during Ross's 16th birthday party by Betty. Strained as her relationship between her nephew and his meowscarada was, she was good at capturing memories in images.
Below the image was a small blurb detailing a little more:
This morning, three local officers were killed in the line of duty at the Westrooks Police Station, as well as a number of LOA prisoners captured the evening prior. Local delinquents Ross Shepard and his meowscarada named "Ayana" are believed to have information on this tragedy. Stories start on page 2
Ross was quick to open up the paper, but the 'story' more or less just repeated what the blurb had with a lot more filler involved. No mention of Betty, no mention of Ross's father, only that the officers and some LOA were killed. They hadn't seen any posters up, but Ayana doubted there wouldn't be any wanted images posted up if the newspaper had been this fast to churn out a new story.
"Police'll set up checkpoints in and out of the city," Amadeus told them from the driver's seat. "They'll know both your faces."
They'd reached the outskirts of the city itself, and Amadeus pulled the car into the parking lot of an automotive shop called 'Sedney Sweet.' He pulled over beside the building in a small alley between Sedney Sweet and a tall fence. "You two need to get in the trunk if we're gonna make it outta the city," he told them, pulling a lever in the car. The trunk popped up outside.
"Yeah…" Ross shook his head, before he folded the paper back up and tucked it under the driver's seat before scooting to his door and opening it. "Think they'll check the trunk?"
"It's a possibility," Amadeus admitted as he got out of the car. "Depends on how suspicious I come off as, so…"
The old man removed his hood, slipped off his trench coat, and pulled his mask over his head, setting all the articles into his passenger seat as Ayana followed Ross out of the car. "If I look like just some sad old fool goin' to see his granddaughter's matinee, we'll probably be fine."
"Just don't leave us in there too long," Ross replied. "We'll bake in this heat."
Making sure nobody was watching, Ross and Ayana climbed into the trunk of the car. It smelled like old cigarettes and unwashed growlithe fur. Amadeus shut the trunk once they were in, plunging the pair in darkness.
The car began to rumble soon after as it returned to the road out of town. Ayana released a burst of sweet-smelling pheromones to combat the gross odors that clung to the trunk. Ross let out a sigh of relief when she did. "Oh man, that's so much better."
"Meow," Ayana replied, though Ross couldn't see her proud beam of a smile.
The silence was as palpable as the darkness, the car moving along, hitting mild bumps every so often, slowing and stopping… she and Ross waited with patient, though bated breath, expecting any stop to be their last, waiting for the police to throw open the trunk and find them.
Ayana pressed her body against her human's. Despite the hot air outside, and the trapped heat within, she found his body to be comfortable in its warmth. She so wished she could be doing this under better circumstances. If only she could just let him know how she felt… she'd never felt so compelled to before, but that was when they felt untouchable. Now, all of a sudden, they were prey for some force they didn't fully understand, and that was terrifying. She didn't want to lose her chance…
"Ow," Ross muttered during a bump, and she felt one of the ends of her mask poke his eye. Ayana pulled her head away with an apologetic mew, but he didn't seem too bothered by it, instead turning his head, and holding her close with one arm. She knew his touch was friendly, with no other intent behind it, but pretending it meant something else was hard not to daydream about.
Wasn't much else to do in the dark trunk, anyway.
Finally, they reached the awaited stop. Muffled voices from the front of the vehicle were impossible to make out, but there was a back and forth dialogue for a solid two minutes or so (Ayana really wasn't counting) before the vehicle began to move again, and she let out her breath.
"I think we did it," Ross said, and Ayana could hear the grin in his words.
"Sca!"
She nuzzled her forehead into his chest, knowing it always tickled him a little. Her human let out a laugh before he gently pushed her away. "Come on, not now."
Ayana gave a small mew in reply before she pressed her body closer to his, enjoying his arm holding her close. What if she couldn't have this a year from now? Or a month? Or even by tomorrow? The timing was inappropriate, she felt like, but would there be a better time than now?
Perhaps more time had passed in her pondering, as they were pulling over before she knew it, and the trunk had been popped.
The meowscarada blinked wearily at the sunlight streaming in, squinting against it. "Get in, quick!" Amadeus called back to them.
Ross hopped out, offering a hand to Ayana, who accepted it and stepped out, smirking at him. "What? I'm a gentleman," he said, before closing the trunk, and the two of them returned to the backseats of Amadeus's Trike once more. "So, we're free?"
"We're free," Amadeus confirmed, clearing his throat. "Get settled in, because it's a long way to Blanca. We've got about 200 miles between us and the nearest city."
"What city is that?" Ross asked.
Amadeus adjusted his rearview mirror as Ross and Ayana tried to get comfortable. "Los Azule," he told them. "After that's Verden City, then Oroseis. Then we'll finally reach Blanca."
Ayana shared a look with Ross. They knew it was a long journey, but putting it into perspective like that really made it seem even longer. La San de Blanca had better be worth it.
"Then Los Azule, here we come," Ross nodded, looking at Amadeus through his rearview mirror, and the car was off again.
A hint of something in the air. A delectable pheromone…
His head turned slowly down the alleyway. They had been here. Spent time here. He was certain of it.
Calmly, he began to walk down the length of the alley, his eyes darting to every nook and cranny with the precision of a predator stalking his prey. He came to a sudden stop outside of an unmarked door, turning his gaze upon it. The scent ended here. It might have been faint, but he knew it belonged to the cat.
Approaching the door, he reached a hand toward it, trying the knob. It was locked. Exerting a little more strength, he easily twisted the metal, breaking the doorknob, before he casually pulled the door open and stared at the steps leading down. An unmarked location. A liar's den.
Each step held purpose as he moved down the stairs, coming upon a second door. This one was similarly locked, but its obstacle was passed just as easily. He pushed it open to reveal a type of underground bar.
Striding in, he could see only one individual. The hunter narrowed his eyes, gauging the potential threat level of this elderly man missing an arm.
"Bar's closed," the bartender said in a gruff voice. "Leave, asno."
The man did not reply, eyes filtering about the room in search of anything. A clue, a sign. He knew they'd left the city. He didn't know where they'd gone. He would find out.
"Last warning," the barkeeper pulled a rod out from behind the counter. A firearm.
The man simply removed his sidearm from behind, aiming it before the barkeeper even realized he was outmatched. A single bullet plunged into his forehead, and a spray of red painted the wine cabinet behind him before he dropped, disappearing from view.
He lowered his smoking weapon. It wasn't nearly as efficient as the one he'd lost, but it would suffice. Tools such as these held no sentimental value, it was all practicality.
"Officer Lorens" is what he'd called himself when he alerted the National Guard to the situation. He left behind his weapon as evidence for the police, and now they were hunting down Ross Shepard and his meowscarada. Far less effectively, however.
He moved further into the bar, and found a back room. Nothing of note. Another room- a similar story. However, when he moved behind the bar, he found something interesting. A small computer device, a blue screen behind the glass. It was a message board. He quickly read all that was available.
Mr. Red: Uncle Bob's bringing the package by soon, and he's got the kids with him. Miss White is going to love her present.
Mr. Blue: We'll keep an eye out. How're you handling the rabble?
Mr. Red: They're sated for now. Plenty of thirsty men in search of a good drink.
Mr. Blue: Keep in touch.
Mr. Red: Will do.
Mr. Red: Alert Uncle Bob. The unwelcome guest is here. Don't respond to this message. This is the last you'll hear from me.
He tilted his head to the side. Coded messages. Not very well coded. Mr. Red was the barkeeper, situated in Rojomaj. Mr. Blue was clearly located in Los Azule. Miss White probably meant La San de Blanca, and Uncle Bob was likely one of the primary targets: Amadeus, who had "kids" with him. Ross and the cat.
Wasting no time, the man turned from the monitor and slid over the bar, before striding his way out of the underground bar. Now he had a destination.
Los Azule.