Pokemon (Detective Pikachu)
A Legendary Search
46. The Mastermind's Finale
Mayor Helding's mouth open and shut a couple of times; Tim used the chance to pry his fingers off his sweater and take a couple steps back. Emilia immediately tried to simultaneously look at his face and at his right hand, worrying.
"Are you okay? Oh my gosh, does it still hurt?"
Tim opened his mouth to tell her he was fine, then changed what he said at the last second, remembering what he had promised her. "Only a little. It's alright."
And that wasn't a lie. It ached, a dull, throbbing pain, but it would fade in time. Tim turned his attention back to Mayor Helding just in time to see the man's face turn from red to purple. With a wild swing, the man knocked the microphone, and Meiko, away, and she hit the ground with a cry.
"Meiko!"
"Meiko!"
With a roar, the mayor yelled, "Scizor! Get rid of all of them! Scizor!"
"Do you mean this Scizor?" came a voice Tim recognized, though only Tim could understand him. When Tim turned, he was shocked to find not just Absol, but Milo.
Absol dragged an unconscious Scizor behind him. Milo looked angry.
"He sent this Scizor after Absol when he went in the building!" Milo shouted. "He had Scizor attack him!" Milo started for a moment, furious, then smirked. "But Scizor was no match for Absol's Flamethrower. It was something to see!"
Helding cursed. Then, suddenly racing across the room, he threw a Pokeball. "Flygon, time to go!"
A Flygon burst out of the ball and Absol growled, crouching to spring. Before he could, however, the crates surrounding Tim and the others suddenly glowed and moved, all sliding in front to block the mayor's exit, and Flygon began glowing as well, frozen in place.
"It's time you stopped creating chaos." Mr. Graham's voice echoed disapprovingly. He had come out of where he'd been hidden in the room, but hadn't moved far. Next to him was Metagross; only when Tim saw it did he remember he'd seen Graham's partner once before.
Helding stood, frozen, expression enraged, before his hand went once more to his waist.
"Don't even think about it. Barbaracle, take his arms." Holiday ordered. Tim had known he was in the room somewhere, but his appearance startled him a little; he hadn't seen the man come out from anywhere. It was like he'd simply appeared.
Holiday's Barbaracle leapt out from behind the man to reach Helding, grabbing his arms and pulling, not hard enough to hurt but enough that he couldn't reach for anything else on his waist, and was effectively restrained.
Holiday moved at a slower pace than his partner, but walked to stand in front of the mayor. "Good job. Let's take him down to the station. Mayor Helding, you are under arrest." He informed the man.
Looking over at Tim, he added, "Well done, Tim. The man in charge of ensuring the creation of R is finally in custody."
"Wait." Tim said then, suddenly remembering. How could he have forgotten? "What are you planning in five days?"
Mayor Helding looked at him. "You don't know? That note… it was a lie!" Helding swore. "Taken in… well, good luck figuring it out! You're not getting anything from me!"
"Your plan has failed." Mr. Baker pointed out, voice reasonable. The look he gave the mayor was not. "You'll be in jail when in happens. And if you needed the legendary Lugia for it in the first place, then why did you not cancel it once you realized that your assistants had supplied Lugia with the wrong R stone? What is going to happen in five days? It will look a lot better for you if you cooperate so that we can potentially save lives."
The mayor looked at him sourly. "Look better for me? At this point, that's not going to happen, so no. You've got nothing on me that will get me to change my mind. No one gets to know or plan for what's coming now. And you've got the little teen detective to thank for that. Anyone who dies gets to do so because of him."
"You're a horrible person!" cried Emilia, while Meiko promptly went defensive.
"Anyone who dies is because of you and your selfish, self-serving behavior! You're to blame for everything you've done and everyone you hurt, not the people who tried to stop you!"
"Barbaracle, let's just get him down to the station." Inspector Holiday said, his voice even. "Keeping him here doesn't help anyone. Once he's at the station, he may change his mind. And even if he doesn't, we'll get a team on seizing everything. Every single record that has to do with him. We'll find out what he's planning."
Tim felt Emilia's hand grip his shoulder tightly. At the same time, Absol came up to stand next to him.
"Absol, can you feel what he's planning?"
"No. Human- made disasters are more confusing and are more of a pull in that direction, at least for a time. I can feel disasters waiting even now, but have no way to differentiate what they may be. I may not know what is going to happen until it starts. It happened that way with Lugia… I could feel something coming, but not what it was until it began."
"That'll be too late." Tim murmured. "We need to figure it out, as soon as we can."
"Let's let the police handle that investigation, actually." Tim's father had come up behind him too, without him noticing. "Right now, they're the ones who'll have the resources for that. I'll have Holiday keep us updated, but going through all of the mayor's records is going to take manpower. Manpower we won't have enough of, but the station will. Right now, what we need to do is… lay low, actually. We've got what we need to clear your name, but that's still going to have to be sorted out at the station. You should come back to the apartment and stay a couple days, until the air clears and the dust settles. Once you're able to get back on the street without possibly being accosted by that one cop that doesn't watch TV, then we'll get back on the case and see what we're able to put together with what the police investigation turns up. Alright?"
Tim glared at his father, but Absol took his side. "He's right, you know. Regardless of anything happening right now, anywhere you go you'll end up with an unwanted entourage. The investigative team ordered to bring you in will still want to do that until they're told to stop. And even if they do stop right away, the next day or two will bring you a lot more attention than you'll want if you go out."
Tim looked at him. "I'm probably going to get more attention than I want even if I wait a few days from now."
"Well, yes." Absol admitted. "But it won't be quite as bad in a couple days."
"Right now people don't know what was going on all this time." Tim's father told him. "In a couple days, news channels will have covered the whole story more than once… GNN probably will have covered it a dozen times. So they'll at least know the story. You probably will get some of that well-deserved attention that you seem to hate, but they won't swarm you like Mandibuzz like they would right now. Police will still want to question you, as well, but once everything gets untangled, they might finally let Holiday do it- he hasn't been allowed to have anything to do with your case, since he's considered too close to you, but after all this they might permit it. But right now, everyone and their mother are going to want to want a word with you."
"Alright, alright." Tim sighed, deflating. He was not going to enjoy the next few days at all.
All he wanted was… all he'd ever wanted. For things to go back to normal. But that wasn't going to happen for at least another five days… and probably longer.
Tim waited in the apartment for two days, anxious. Absol remained with him the entire time; while Tim was fidgety with nerves, the Disaster Pokemon was as calm and collected as ever. Tim did use the time to finally make good on the promise he'd made to Absol and managed to tie a sort of harness around the stone Absol liked so much, something that he could wear around his neck. It wasn't exactly pretty, but Tim carefully made sure that it at least worked, and slid the stone around Absol's neck, where it lay hidden in his fur.
"That's… not exactly impressive or anything." Tim sighed. "But it should hold unless something cuts it. And at least you don't have to carry it in your mouth anymore. I'm… I'm sorry it took so long for me to do something about that. Maybe we'll be able to find something better later…"
"Tim." Absol cut him off. "Thank you."
Tim was quiet, looking at Absol. There was nothing in the Pokemon's expression except genuine gratitude.
"No problem. Like I said, I'm sorry I didn't do that much sooner. And once this whole thing is over and we've stopped… whatever it is, I'll look for something better. There must be something better I can do with it… that string might not hold it well for long…" Tim sighed.
"It's fine. As you said, it should hold unless something cuts it off. I agree with that assessment."
Silence fell again. Tim glanced at the TV, which was playing constantly since Tim had gotten back… trying to get all the news he could. Searching for any hint of what Mayor Helding had put in place the only way he could while stuck in the apartment… keeping on the TV. He couldn't even search the internet on his phone, since the police station still had it. It was still evidence, even if Tim himself had been cleared.
The biggest news story anywhere was, of course, Mayor Helding's arrest and Tim's innocence of the crime that it seemed every TV station except GNN had been trying to claim his guilt of. Tim didn't care anything about this, though it had been interesting – and humbling – to see all of the people that Emilia and Meiko had interviewed on him and their opinions of him, as they were all aired once again, as well as new interviews done with some of them on the new developments, as the entire story cycled through. His friends had all worked so hard to prove his innocence without even knowing the situation… it meant more to Tim than he could ever possibly say.
Still, that aside, he really just wanted some indication of what was going to happen in just a few days. He'd been visited several times by all of his friends, but even Inspector Holiday had nothing to share with him yet. The former mayor had been very good at hiding his tracks.
"It will be fine, Tim." Absol spoke again, and Tim looked back at him. "Even if we don't figure it out in time to stop it, we will handle it when it comes. We can handle anything. I can feel it, even if I can't feel what's coming. Together, we can handle anything. Do you trust me?"
Tim let out a breath, locking eyes with his ever-steady friend. "Yes."
Once Tim was finally, finally contacted by Inspector Holiday and informed that he could go outside, everything had been cleared up and dealt with, Tim practically sprang at the door.
Absol, much calmer, padded after him. "Where do you intend to go first?"
Tim hesitated. He hadn't actually thought about it. GNN might be a good place to go; he knew they were working hard to get information on any kind of disaster that might be connected to Helding. The Police Station might also be a good idea; they were looking into Mayor Helding there and trying to find links going outward. GNN would be likely to be more forthcoming, though. Tim was about to open his mouth and tell Absol they were heading there when his partner spoke up again.
"Since it seems that you don't know, might I make a suggestion? There is still one person who has missed you quite a bit that hasn't yet seen you. And I will admit, I have rather missed his caramel hot chocolate, as well."
Tim felt a smile spread on his face. It might be a little bit of a waste of time, but… it would be nice to see Pablo. And, given that his shop was the first floor below the Baker Detective Agency, Tim could check in there before heading to GNN, too.
"Alright… let's go. Sounds good."
Tim headed out, Absol following close behind him, until Tim was able to swing a leg over his back and hang on for the ride. Absol, rather than using the roads, opted instead to jump across rooftops to shorten the trip, making Tim wince. The maneuver technically was not illegal… it was, however, advised against, and Absol had never done it simply to go to the café before.
"The rooftops bother you?"
So Absol had felt him stiffen. "Well… the city doesn't like it much."
"Yes, I heard that the former mayor advised against it." Absol said dryly. "Something about causing damage to rooftops and other things. I know what I'm doing. I will not damage anything. And in all honesty, I prefer this way, especially after all the fighting we've had to do lately. I think I just prefer being able to see what's coming."
Tim sighed. "I can't argue with that. Just… if we ever have any additional passengers, use the roads?"
"In that scenario, certainly."
"Thank you."
The rest of the trip, shortened considerably by the rooftop route, passed in silence. When the two touched down at the Hi Hat Café, though, Tim got a surprise… one that in any other circumstance, he would be happy to see, but this time, his heart sank. In front of the café were three people he knew very well. His father, he had expected the possibility of seeing, though he'd thought it would more likely be inside, not outside. But the other two…
"Mom, Jake! What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean, what are we doing here? It's not long until the New Year, and we're going to spend it as a family. We missed having you for the Winter Solstice celebration, so you can be sure we're firmly set on being here for the New Year! And we're here to check on you after what happened with the mayor! Is there no way that you can stay out of trouble, Tim?" His mother asked. Worry was etched into her face, and for the first time he realized that she looked… older than he remembered. He immediately felt bad, but… there was nothing about the situation that he could currently control.
He looked at his father. "Dad? Did you tell her about…"
"I did." His father sighed. "She still won't leave."
"They'll find out what's going on over at the Police Station and they'll put an end to it." His mother said with certainty. "And we'll have New Year here together. And if they don't find out what's going to happen in time, then… we leave together. And if any one of you refuses to leave, then I stay too. I've had enough of not knowing what's happened to family members!"
That made Tim feel even worse. He didn't want his mother and younger brother in town when they had no idea what disaster was going to strike next, but he had no words to argue, so Tim simply lowered his head.
"Hey, don't worry!" Jake piped up. "I left my partner with a friend last time I came because I wasn't sure how he'd like the ride here, but I brought him this time, so if anything happens, I'll call him out to help!"
Jake shifted his shirt, lifting it high enough so that Tim could see a Pokeball clipped to his waist. "My partner is real strong, too! He's awesome! If anything happens, he'll kick some butt! And mom brought Roselia with her!"
Tim looked up as his brother spoke. He hadn't known that Jake had found a Pokemon partner, but he did know his mom's Roselia. Roselia was a gentle Pokemon that helped his mother in the garden… but, he supposed, all Pokemon could fight if it came down to it. Absol didn't exactly like it either, but he packed some serious power when pressed.
Tim sighed. "I still don't like this, but… if dad couldn't change your mind, I certainly can't."
Tim's mother shook his head, while Jake grinned. "Darn straight! This might turn out to be the most fun I've ever had! My pal has only battled against my friends' Pokemon before, so if we get a chance to battle some new Pokemon, we'll have a blast!"
"This is not a joke, Jake." His father warned. "We have no idea what will happen. I'm sure your partner will certainly do his best to protect you, but when we don't know what's going to happen, nothing may be enough. And keep it quiet, would you? We're lucky there's no one else here right now. If word got out, there would be mass panic. We're trying to find out at least what's going on before we start advertising it. Hopefully we can deal with it without anyone here the wiser, but if we find it's not something we can handle, we'll have to arrange an orderly evacuation, and causing panic will not help. I only told you because I wanted you to stay away, but if you're not going to do that, then please, keep it down!"
Jake looked sheepish. "Sorry."
Tim looked around. Luckily, his father was right; no one was nearby. It was, Tim supposed, the middle of the day, and on a weekday; despite the proximity to New Year, it was not quite the holiday days yet.
"Well, Tim… you were heading into the agency to find out if we knew anything, I presume?" Tim's father turned to him.
"That was one thing I was going to do. But Abs- um, I remembered that I haven't seen Pablo since I got back, and I figured I should stop in to say hi."
"Ah! Yes, that's a fantastic idea! We could all head in there. Get some coffee… some caramel hot chocolate." Tim's father added, with a sidelong glance at Absol that sort of looked like he was giving Absol a strange look for preferring that over coffee. "And then I might as well catch you up on what I know while we're in there. I was just speaking with Inspector Holiday, so I've got the most up-to-date info, unless our friends at GNN discovered something they haven't told us yet."
"Oh, sounds good."
When Tim finally went inside the café, Pablo greeted him by shouting across the room.
"Ey! The Great Detective returns! That was a heck of a case. Great to see you back!"
Tim smiled. "It's good to be back. I missed it."
"The usual?"
"Please."
Pablo grinned. "Coming up!"
Tim sat in his usual spot at the counter, his father sitting on the other side where usually Emilia took a seat while Absol came in to sit next to him at his usual place on the floor. Tim's mother and brother took chairs at a nearby table, like last time, and Tim's father leaned in.
"We still don't know much about what Mayor Helding was up to. He left almost nothing and covered his tracks very well. Inspector Holiday and his men did find one thing, though. They were able to tie Helding to a very large number of shipping containers being transported to another city about five hours drive from here, a place called Mornyen City."
"What was in them?"
"We have no idea. We're not sure what happened to them, either. They checked into all of the shipping numbers they could get ahold of, and all they could tell was that over the last two months, they have arrived a few at a time from several places, a couple even overseas. They were all picked up by the same person, who took them by truck to… well, an unknown location. They have no idea where the containers went afterward. They tried tracking the guy through whatever camera footage they were able to find, but he always took different routes, and disappeared at places where there were no cameras. The last container arrived over a week ago. That was the last time anyone's ever seen the man picking them up, as well."
"Hmm…"
"Here you are." Tim and his father both broke apart as Pablo arrived. Setting coffees in front of Tim and his father and a caramel hot chocolate in front of Absol, he then moved to the other two of their group.
"And I think, last time, you took an interest in a coffee and a peppermint hot chocolate, correct?"
"Oh… yes, I'm impressed that you remembered!"
Pablo grinned. "Not a problem. I can bring those right up for you, if you'd like?"
"Yes, please."
"That would be cool!"
"Just a moment then."
Tim tapped his fingers on the counter for a moment, then looked at his father.
"Do you think Holiday could get me a map of Mornyen City, and all the locations that the truck carrying the shipping containers disappeared?"
Tim's father grinned at him. "I wondered how long it would take you to ask."
"Ha, ha."
A/N: The mayor is in custody at last. H is gone... but his last plan is still in place, and he's not talking. Tim has one more mystery to solve before his life can finally get back to normal.
