Eris sat in the backseat of the police cruiser eating her Pokémon food bowl her master had gotten her. It wasn't bad tasting but it wasn't nearly as good as the left overs had been fed before. Not that she was complaining she was just happy her master was alive. Despite being in her Pokéball she was well aware of Grimm's close call to death. She took a break from eating to look up at her master. He was seating in the driver's seat an untouched hamburger in the seat next to him. She hadn't known him long but she could tell something was wrong. This was only made clearer as he stared thoughtful out of the windshield watching traffic pass by the parking lot Grimm had parked so the two could eat lunch. Every now and then a car would see Grimm's parked cruiser and would quickly slow down as not to get pulled over for speeding. Not that Grimm cared as he didn't even notice. Eris saw the way her master was staring and the fact he wasn't eating and was getting concerned. She wished she could just speak to him and ask him what was wrong. She sat up straighter and was about to do something she was trained not to do: Whine. Hoping that he'd get the point and open up or at least eat. However Grimm beat her to the punch.
"You know why I became a cop?" Grimm asked suddenly as he still stared out the windshield. Eris remained silent for she couldn't answer though she wished she could. "You'd laugh if you could." Grimm chuckled himself a short bitter laugh. "I believed that good should beat the bad. That good should triumph over evil. That right should always win over wrong. Simply put I wanted to be a good guy and help people, that's why I do what I do. That way I can help stop the bad people in the world. I know how cheesy and stupid that sounds but it's true. Even when I was young I knew the difference between right and wrong and I wanted to help, or at least I thought I knew. The one thing they don't tell you is that you'll arrest criminals sure but you also see some of the darkest sides of humanity. You live in a little bubble of ignorance of what humans are truly capable of. Every once in a while it's popped by something you see in the news or read somewhere. When I became a cop that bubble was burst in the first week. Then it was never allowed to truly form for how often you have to deal with scum." Grimm paused as he looked out the windshield blankly.
"Don't get me wrong," He continued to explain. "Not everyone and their crime is that bad. Then there are the people that are truly sorry for what they've done. I'm ok with that if they honestly feel bad about what they've done. Somethings are unforgiveable though. What causes me to hate this job is seeing all the people that don't show the slightest remorse for what they've done. Hell there have been plenty of people that have been actually proud of what they've done. Murders more than happy to tell you all the people they've killed. God this one guy even bragged about the people he killed, ones we never found. Humanity, fucking humanity. Then it's not enough we have to drag others to hell with us. Innocent beings just like what I saw earlier today." Grimm sighed deeply as he turned to look at Eris. "Look about us I don't hate or dislike you. I know I've acted like an asshole it's just…I wasn't happy I didn't have a choice in this matter. I had a…real….really bad experience with Pokémon."
'Really what happened?' Eris thought. 'Does it have something to do with the marks on his face?' Grimm had subconsciously started to rub his scar as he always did when he thought of them.
"It was my fault," Grimm explained his eyes starting to cloud as he seemed to look though Eris. "I never should've-"
"Dispatch to unit seven three," The dispatcher said over the radio. Interrupting Grimm and snapping him out of his flashback.
"This is unit seven three go ahead dispatch," Grimm said into the mic after he had picked it up. Since Grimm's last cruiser had been shot up they had given him and new one with a new number while the old one was repaired.
"Canine assistance requested in the search of a missing Pokémon," The dispatcher explained. "Location is the Trader's Club off of Main Street." Grimm's eyes narrowed when he heard the name of that despicable place.
"Uh dispatch," Grimm said trying to think of an excuse. "Could a different canine unit assist?"
"Negative unit seven three," The dispatcher informed him. "Your presence has been specifically requested and approved by the commander. Your person of contact will be Roman Escobedo."
"Understood," Grimm said with a heavily sigh. Despite how much he may hate Roman and that 'business' it wasn't in him to go against orders. "Unit seven three responding." With that Grimm hung up the mic and started the engine. Eris sat back as Grimm started to drive going a little under the speed limit and being sure to come to a complete stop at all traffic signals. Eris couldn't help but wonder about this place they were going that her master was clearly in no hurry to get to. She moved so she was able to look out the window and soon, sooner than Grimm would have liked he turned into a large and partially filled parking lot. He parked in front of a large two story building which many neon signs were attached. They weren't on due to the fact that it was daylight but at night they ensured no one driving by would be able to miss it. The few windows the building had were tinted black making it impossible to see inside. The only lit neon sigh hung right above the glass double doors, also tinted black. It stated this was the Trader's Club and that it was always opened.
Eris was staring at the impressive building in awe and was only snapped out of it when her door suddenly opened. She snapped her head around to see Grimm standing outside holding the door open with one hand and her leash in the other. She had been gawking at the building and hadn't heard him get out. She quickly jumped down landing nimbly on the pavement as Grimm shut the door behind her. She sat on the ground as he hooked the leash to her collar. Once he was done he patted her side gently.
"Well let's get this over with," Grimm said as he started to walk towards the front door Eris trotting beside him. When they reached it he held it open for her before going inside himself. They had walked into a kind of reception area that was dimly lit. There was a maze of velvet ropes that were meant to zig zag visitors in a way to get the most amount of people into space. The maze would move them towards an entrance that an intimating looking Pokémon stood in front of. It was very muscular looking and had thick looking gray skin. It had three brown ridges on top of its head and red eyes. The Machoke stood in front of the doorway with crossed arms baring anyone from entering. There was a sign above his head that informed guests that the lounge and club didn't open till 7pm but the trading services were always open. Also no one under the age of 21 was allowed in the bar area. There were several people sitting in chairs along a side facing the doorway. All were male and of various ages. The youngest couldn't be more than 16 the oldest in his early 30s. They sat waiting to be called up to a desk to be helped. When they saw the police officer all of them became nervous none daring to make eye contact as most shifted around nervously in their chairs. In fact the kid got out of his chair his face very red with embarrassment and walked out.
Grimm gave all the people sitting in the lobby a stern and disappointed look before he made his way towards the desk Eris right beside him. There was a Pokémon sitting behind it as well busy typing on a computer. Unlike the one that guarded the door this one was very feminine looking. It had green hair, thin arms, small hands and frail looking body. A red horn was sticking out of her chest. Grimm approached the Gardevoir stopping just in front of the desk. He opened his mouth to speak but she beat him to it.
"Hello Adam," She said in a soft feminine voice. She stopped to turn to face Grimm and smiled a small polite smile.
'That's Officer Grimm,' Grimm thought bitterly never being overly fond of his first name. 'How'd she even know my name?'
"Oh my apologies Officer Grimm," She said in a sincere sounding voice.
'What?' Grimm thought confused. 'How'd she?' Then his eyes narrowed in realization. 'Right Pokémon can read minds.'
"Not all Pokémon Officer Grimm," She said with a soft giggle.
'I don't fucking like anything in my fucking head,' Grimm thought, quickly forgetting she could hear that as well.
"My apologies again," She said in that same sincere voice with that same polite smile. "It's just Mr. Roman likes us to use our ability to talk to first time costumers as if we know them. It breaks the ice and puts them at ease he says."
"Well I'm not a costumer," Grimm said sternly.
"I know, just force of habit," She said with a smile as she giggled again.
"I'm here to see," Grimm started wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.
"Mr. Roman," The Gardevoir said. "Please fellow me he's expecting you." She got to her feet and started walking towards the door guarded by the Machoke. The impressive Pokémon stepped aside wordlessly allowing her to pass. Grimm shot one more glare towards the people sitting in the chairs. He shook his head sadly a single time before following the Gardevoir through the door. Once Grimm and Eris was through the Mahcoke stepped back in front of the door blocking it again. Eris looked around the large space in awe as the inside was even more impressive than the outside. There was a large bar with empty stools along an entire wall, bottles of different liquors stacked on shelves behind it. Another Pokémon stood behind the bar cleaning both the bar top and glasses at the same time. It looked a lot like the other Pokémon that guarded the door expect it had four arms instead of just two. What also set it apart was that it was wearing a white button down dress shirt with four shelves, black tie and black vest. It didn't even look up as it would clean and stack glasses with one set of arms while the other set polished the wooden bar top.
Along all the other walls were tables, booths and couches offering many choices to sit comfortably. More Machamps were hard at work clean tables and vacuuming the carpeted floor. Some were busy setting up chairs next to the tables. The center of the large room was empty the space reserved for a large dance floor that a Machoke was hard at work running a buffer over. Both Grimm and Eris were looking around in awe of the lounge. So much so Grimm almost didn't see the other Pokémon. However at the last second he did and was able to avoid bumping into her. It was bipedal, shorter then him and was dark blue with lighter blue spots on its knees and elbows. It had webbed feet and hands. A large pink tongue was wrapped around her neck like a scarf that hid her mouth. Grimm was able to move to the side just enough to miss the Greninja. The two locked eyes for half a second as they turned to look at each other as they passed. That was when she slipped him the smoothest and suggestive wink he had ever seen in his life. Grimm was caught so off guard he continued to follow the Greninja with his head as she walked away swaying her hips as she walked.
Grimm quickly snapped his head forward again as a mild anger began to build in him. It wasn't just at himself for staring at her, it was that wink. That wink had said: 'I know your secret but don't worry it's safe with me.' That's what had pissed Grimm off for he knew she didn't know, didn't know shit. In fact he was about to call her out on it. He was about ready to turn around and shout: 'you don't know, you don't know nothing!'. He quickly shook his head to clear it as he realized how ridiculous he was being. He knew he had to get out of there sooner rather than later for the place was making him edgy. The Gardevoir lead them to a set of stairs and up them to the second level of the lounge. There were more tables and couches that encircled the balcony which looked down over the dance floor. She led them to a metal door tucked away in a corner. The sign said manager and them right below it private. She stopped in front of the door forcing Grimm and Eris to as well as she knocked on the door.
"Enter," A voice with a slight accent said from the other side. She pulled the door open and gestured Grimm and Eris inside. Grimm stepped into the office and looked around quickly. There was a large desk that a man sat behind with a bookshelf behind it. Along one wall were floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the dance floor. In one corner was a small table which glasses sat and a few bottles of amber colored liquid. There was also a plush couch and coffee table on the wall opposite the windows. The man sitting behind the desk was busy writing something on a piece of paper. He had perfectly tanned skin and neatly combed black hair that was starting to gray at the temples. He wore a spotless and freshly pressed white suit with a light blue vest, tie and handkerchief sticking out of the jacket's breast pocket. On his left wrist was a gold watch and a gold ring was on his pointer finger on his right hand. He looked up at Grimm and smiled showing a set of prefect and very white teeth.
"Ah Mr. Grimm nice to finally meet you," The man said in a smooth voice.
"Officer Grimm," Grimm said curtly.
"Of course," The man said with an even wider smile.
"Do you require anything else Mr. Roman?" The Gardevoir asked still holding the door.
"No thank you my dear," Roman said still with the smile. "You may take your leave now." He then turned back to Grimm as he got gracefully to his feet. "I hope you don't mind but if you could have your." Roman paused as he pointed to Eris as he tried to think of the right word.
"Partner," Grimm said curtly. Eris looked up at Grimm then.
'He thinks of me as his partner,' She thought happily.
"Ah yes," Roman said. "If you'd be so kind as to have your partner wait outside. What we're about to discuss I would like to be just between the two of us, gentleman to gentleman." Grimm had been called many things in his life but never a gentleman and the idea caused him to smirk smugly. He then looked down at Eris with concern for he didn't want to leave her alone in a place this. Eris saw the concern her master had for her and while she was confused why it was there was happy it was. For it showed he cared at least a little bit.
"Don't worry officer," The Gardevoir said. "I'll make sure nothing happens to her. She'll stay right by me the whole time."
'Nothing better happen to her,' Grimm thought threateningly. 'If any of those sick fuckos even touch her I'm going to crack their skull then I'm coming after you.'
"I ensure officer nothing will happen," The Gardevoir said in that soothing voice. "There will be no need to 'crack skulls'." She said the last part with a giggle.
'Stop reading my fucking mind,' Grimm thought angrily his eyes narrowing.
'Stop thinking so loud then,' Her voice echoed around his head. Grimm only stared at her more as she winked at him.
"Come along sweetie," She said out loud beckoning for Eris to follow her. Eris turned to look up at Grimm looking for guidance.
"It's alright," Grimm assured. "But if anything happens, you bark and you bark loud. I'll be there as soon as I can. You got that?" She nodded before she followed the Gardevoir out of the office. Grimm watched as the door shut before turning to face Roman again as he still stood behind the desk.
"Please," Roman said pointing at the two chairs in front of his desk. Grimm sat down in the chair panting his feet firmly on the ground and crossing his arms. "Can I get you a drink?"
"No," Grimm said still being curt.
"Cigar then?" Roman asked as he opened a wooden box on his desk and pulled one out. Grimm shook his head. "Mind if I have one then?" Roman asked as he reached inside his jacket for his lighter. Seeing that Grimm's right hand instantly went for pistol. He stopped himself once he saw Roman pull out the gold Zippo lighter.
"Yes I do mind actually," Grimm said bluntly as he crossed his arms again. Roman's smile faulted for half a second before it returned. He sighed as he placed the cigar back in the box and re-pocketed the lighter.
"So Officer Grimm it's a pleasure to finally meet you," Roman said as he extended his hand. Grimm looked at his hand then back up to Roman staring him in the eyes his own narrowed.
"You'll have to excuse me," Grimm said. "I make it a point to not familiarize myself with pimps and I try to stay out of brothels." Roman looked taken back for half a second as he pulled his hand back. He then started to laugh a deep rich laugh, the laugh of a man that had nothing to fear. He still laughed as he sat in his chair again and looked at Grimm still with that smile on his face Grimm was quickly coming to hate.
"Ah officer," Roman said as he finished laughing. "Whatever gave you the idea that I run a brothel? I mean for one I don't have any people working for me. I just have my Pokémon help me run my club." He explained as he sat back in his chair a smug smile on his face as he folded his hands in front of him placing them on the desk. Grimm stared at him harshly. 'Alright we'll play this game,' He thought.
"You have to forgive me again," Grimm said. "But want am I do think when you pimp your Pokémon out for cash."
"I'm sorry I'm not following you," Roman said his smile still smug. He leaned back in his chair and pressed his fingertips together. "I do not 'pimp out' my beloved Pokémon I simply trade them."
"Right," Grimm said using all his will power not to roll his eyes. "You just trade them for a limited amount of time for cash."
"Is that what bothers you officer?" Roman said his smile growing wider and the slightest bit sinter for the slightest of moments. "I'm sure someone in your line of work is familiar with the laws in dealing with trading Pokémon."
"Indeed," Grimm said curtly his eyes never leaving Roman's.
"Then you know that the only thing the law requires when trading Pokémon is a 'one for one exchange," Roman explained calmly. "The one for one exchange is and I quote 'determined and agreed upon by the trading parties as what is a fair exchange'. There is nothing that says one could not sweeten the deal or ask for something with the exchange. This includes but not limited to monetary exchange."
"Expect you never receive another Pokémon in exchange," Grimm said gritting his teeth for half a second.
"Ah once again it is not required," Roman explained raising a single finger into the air. "If I determine that a fair 'one for one exchange' is giving one of my Pokémon for a sum of money and the other trading party agrees." Roman paused to shrug his shoulders. "Well then that is all the law requires isn't?"
"You loan your Pokémon you don't trade them," Grimm pointed out his jaw stiff. "Hourly might I add? What good is that going to do anyone to get a Pokémon for an hour or two?" Grimm demanded arching his eyes brow.
"The law for trading Pokémon states: 'there is no limit to the number of trades a person may take place in, as there is no limit for whom they trade with. As long as both parties agree to the one for one exchange. There shall also be no limit for which a person must retain ownership of a Pokémon before it can be traded again," Roman explained smugly. "So when I trade my Pokémon there is no law saying I have to give it to them for any amount of time."
"Yeah but when they give you the Pokémon back they don't get their money back," Grimm explained. "Doesn't sound like a fair 'one for one' exchange to me."
"You don't miss a beat do you officer," Roman said with an amused smile. "However the law also states: 'The full parameters for which an exchange is to take place or therefor after is agreed upon by both parties before the exchange takes place. As long as both parties agree they may be included in the one for one exchange'. So officer as long as I tell them that they have to return my Pokémon before they trade and they agree then this must return it regardless if they receive anything in return. Don't worry I make sure to get all my exchanges in writing in the form of legal binding contracts. The beauty of Pokémon is you only have to have a license to sign any paper work in regards to them." Grimm stared coldly at Roman for several seconds.
"You never answered my question," Grimm said tonelessly. "What good would it do anyone to get a Pokémon for a few hours? Plus the only Pokémon you trade are female. To me they sounds a lot like prostitutes despite what the laws on trading say."
"Valid points officer but you have to understand my business," Roman said calmly not the least bit bothered by Grimm's cold stare. "See what my customers get for their money is any Pokémon I currently own and is available. That way they could get a type advantage against a gym leader so they can win a badge or a match against a tough opponent such as a reveal. As I'm sure you're well aware most Pokémon battles only last several minutes so an hour or two is all they need. As for the Pokémon I trade only being female." He shrugged. "I guess I'm just blessed to capture mostly females. Then the males I do have I need working here at the club to keep it running smoothly."
"You have a lot more Pokémon then most trainers. Including rare and not easy to come by Pokémon," Grimm pointed out. "Any trainer is only allowed six Pokémon on their person or living with them at any given time. The overflow must then be stored using the approved methods."
"That is unless a person has either their breeder's license or day care provider license," Roman explained. "I happen to have both and I'm allowed to keep as many Pokémon living with me as long as I have the means to take care of them. The living quarters here have been inspected many times and have been approved for the use of Pokémon to live in. As for my girls being well… girls that's nothing more than luck even if they are rare. Plus that's something that no one could prove otherwise."
"Expect the Pokémon you 'trade' never do any fighting," Grimm said playing his ace card he was keeping. "Treatment records for your Pokémon only show the yearly physicals and nothing more. It is hard to believe with how long you've been running your 'business' and how many 'trades' you do that your Pokémon never have to be treated for battle wounds. No matter how good they may or may not be."
"How did you come across this information?" Roman asked the amused smile returning to his face.
"Well when a rookie first joins the force and hears stories and rumors about a Pokémon brothel he gets a little curious," Grimm explained with a shrug. "He does a little research on his own and finds out what the business claims to be and do. Then they do more research to see who is telling the truth. Several first hand witnesses claim that while they were at the lounge of your club the 'tradable' Pokémon would dance with them in quote "suggestive manners". Plus several first time would be traders have claimed that they were even approached by your Pokémon so they could brag about their 'fighting' skills. To encourage them to 'trade'."
"I'm sorry officer I am not quite sure what you're getting at," Roman said calmly the smug smile returning. "Is dancing, even dancing with a Pokémon illegal?"
"No," Grimm admitted a bitter note on the end.
"As far as my Pokémon not being hurt in battle," Roman continued on. "Isn't that a good thing?"
"I guess," Grimm admitted.
"Now hypothetically if someone were to have sexual intercourse with a Pokémon I traded them," Roman explained his eyes boring into Grimm's. "It's not illegal for a person to do that as long as it their Pokémon correct?"
"No it's not," Grimm admitted as he gritted his teeth briefly again.
"See," Roman said with a shrug. "While they have my Pokémon, however brief it may be, they can do whatever they like with it as long as it's not against the law. True I do encourage my girls to mingle with the people in the club, but I never force them to." When he said that Grimm's trained eye caught the brief hint of a wicked smile and gleam in his eye. "As for the club itself it just a place for people that love Pokémon to meet and have fun." He placed emphasis on the last word as he leaned back in his seat his smile smugger than ever.
'The cocky son of a bitch,' Grimm thought as the two stared each other down. 'He's all but admitted to it but keeps throwing the laws in my face that protect the bastard.'
"I hope you don't mind if we switch topics officer," Roman said as he opened a file that was on his desk. "You see, I to did my research. This is the start of your third year on the local police force correct?" Roman asked after consulting the file.
"Yes," Grimm said his eyes narrowing even more. "How'd yo-"
"Public record available to anyone that does a perfectly legal back ground check," Roman explained. "Now before that you were a military police officer for the army. Enlisted at 17." Grimm nodded clenching his jaw tightly. "Tell me, what was that like? What did you do and how'd it differ from what you do now?"
"What's this got to do with anything?" Grimm demanded beginning to realize he wasn't the one in control.
"Well I make it a point to get to know the people that work for me," Roman explained.
"Who the hell said I'm working for you?" Grimm demanded.
"Sorry my apologies officer," Roman said nonchalantly. "Just a slip of the tongue." His smug smile told Grimm it was anything but. "I just want to make sure you're the right person to take the case."
"What case?" Grimm asked getting tired of his games.
"In a minute officer please answer the question. I answer all of yours this would be our fair one for one exchange," Roman pointed out smiling that smug smile.
"Being an MP is like being a cop on the civilian side more or less," Grimm explained. "On base you do patrols, traffic stops, room searches, investigations as well as security details. A big difference is that we go overseas as well and continue to police our forces as well as the locals if need be. Also we received training in…more aggressive tactics and weapon systems."
"Like what?" Roman asked sounding interested. "Please explain."
"Look," Grimm said wanting to growl but keeping his tone professional. "I was called here to help look for a missing Pokémon. Not to talk about my past."
"Very well officer," Roman said. "I do believe we have wasted enough time. Now to get to the matter at hand." He pulled out another file and laid it on the desk. "This unfortunate matter involves one of my little Eevee girls." Roman explained as he pulled items out of the file. One of them was a photo which he slid across the desk so Grimm could see it. Grimm picked it up and looked at it closely. It showed a small fox like Pokémon with midnight black fur and bright red eyes. It also had a large but streamline tail and ears with a yellow strip on the tail and on each ear. There were more yellow rings on her legs and one on her forehead.
"More specifically little Cleo my Umbreon," Roman explained. Grimm couldn't help but smirk when he heard her name and saw her picture. Roman saw it right away. "Something amusing to you officer?" He asked raising an eyebrow.
"Cleo," Grimm said setting the picture down and looking up at Roman. "Short for Cleopatra correct?" Roman nodded. "Cleopatra, the only female Egyptian Pharaoh, famed for her beauty. A fitting name for her because of the black fur and the gold rings on her body. She looks like she would belong in Egyptian lore."
"Impressive officer," Roman said the amused smile returning to his face. "An educated man something not normal found in the lower ranks of local law enforcement. Some knowledge like that one would expect to see from a detective not a beat cop."
"So she is the one missing correct?" Grimm asked not wanting to continue where that conversation was going.
"I'm sad to say she is," Roman said actually managing to look convincingly heartbroken. "She's one of my eight little Eevee girls. I got them when they were all Eevees they were some of my first Pokémon when I started this club. Each one of them evolving to a different one for which there are exactly eight can you image the odds officer? Then what most people don't know is that while Eevees and their evolutions are cute and look very feminine they are mostly males. So to get all eight females to evolve into each different evolution the odds are extremely high."
"I thought you just happen to get lucky with all your Pokémon being female," Grimm pointed out crossing his arms.
"Indeed I am I just want you to understand how special she is to me officer," Roman explained without missing a beat. "You see the nice young man I traded her to contract has come due and he has yet to return her. We tried to get in contact with him but it has failed. Part of the contract is he has to list an address for which he is staying at." Roman slide a sheet of paper over with information on it. It listed the young man's name, age, Pokémon license number and the location for which they were staying.
"If you know where he is then why do you need to involve the police?" Grimm asked after quickly reading over the paper.
"Why officer are you suggestion we take the law into our own hands?" Roman asked in almost convincing mock surprise. "Oh no, no, no, no, no, no. We never do that it wouldn't be legal for us to do so. What did you expect officer that we bash in his front door take the Pokémon away from him and break his knee caps like a bunch of thugs?" The smile Roman had told Grimm that he knew that was exactly what he thought. "Oh no we never involve ourselves in what should be official police business. Not when we have such outstand officers such as yourself on the force." The smug smile had returned to his face as he leaned back in his chair again.
'The son of a bitch,' Grimm thought. 'Not only does he run a brothel using legal Pokémon trading laws as loop holes but he uses the police as his personal lackeys and collection agents. The clever bastard is untouchable and uses the laws so he could never be seen as the bad guy. He's dirty as hell but knows how to stay clean and lets the police do his dirty work for him. Slimly motherfucker.'
"Any questions officer?" Roman asked.
"Yeah," Grimm said placing the picture and paper back into the file. "Why me? I was told I was especially requested for this 'case'." Roman smirked as placed a newspaper on his desk and flipped through the pages till he found the one he was looking for.
"It not as exciting a story as a Pokémon tournament," Roman explained tapping a small article complete with a photo above the block of text. "I still found it to be an interesting read." Grimm leaned to look closer at the article. He saw the title read heroic cop due to receive commendation. He was then shocked to see his graduation photo from the academy under the title. He quickly read a few lines from the article. Police Officer Adam Grimm due to receive commendation for his actions during the shootout on the 11th street bridge. Where he took down two heavily armed suspects single handily. Earlier that same day he was the one that found a lost boy and was able to reunite him with his mother. Grimm stopped reading the article when he saw that. He didn't even know he was going to be getting a commendation.
"So you see officer I saw you were good at finding missing persons," Roman explained. "Plus with your outstanding record I thought you'd be the perfect person to rescue my poor little Cleo."
"Huh," Grimm scoffed as he got to his feet. As he did he picked up the file as Roman got to his feet as well.
"Problem officer?" Roman asked arching an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Grimm explained. "You shouldn't believe everything you read in the paper. That boy was dead when I found him."
"I see," Roman said managing to look shocked. "I do hope you find my little Cleo before such unfortunate events befall her."
"I'll look in to it," Grimm said just before he walked out the door. Leaving Roman behind in his officer. Grimm walked quickly through the main floor of the club and out to the lobby with the file still tucked under his arm. The lobby was now empty expect for the Gardevoir and the Machoke since the humans had completed their 'trades'. Eris was sitting next to the desk the Gardevoir was sitting at looking very alert. When she saw Grimm her tail started to move happily. "Come on let's go." Grimm said jerking his head towards the front doors. Eris quickly trotted over to him.
"Officer Grimm," The Gardevoir said in her smooth voice. He stopped and turned to look at her looking a little bit irritated.
"Yes?" Grimm demanded.
"I know you dislike Mr. Roman and what he does and I understand that," She explained.
"And what does he do?" Grimm asked hoping she'd slip and give him a reason to march back in there and arrest the bastard.
"But that boy he traded Cleo to," She continued as if he hadn't spoken. "I didn't like him and I was worried for her. Please officer I am worried about her and I know her sisters are worried about her. So please if not for him bring her back for them." Grimm's expression soften a bit when she explained that. He dropped his eyes to the floor when he realized he was being selfish with not wanting to find the Pokémon. Just because he didn't like the guy didn't mean there wasn't a victim in all this. There was still a missing Pokémon in all this, granted it wasn't a very pressing matter to him but it was one that he was being asked to handle.
"I'll see what I can do," Grimm said turning to leave.
"Officer," The Gardevoir said stopping Grimm again. "I know it's only a Pokémon that is missing. And I know you don't think too highly of us but if you could give this matter your full attention I would really appreciate it." Grimm said nothing but nodded curtly and walked out. He walked to his patrol car and opened the back door for Eris so she could jump in. Before he got in behind the wheel and started the engine tossing the file in the passenger seat. He was about to pull out of the parking lot his hand on the gear shifter but he stopped. He looked over at the file and the picture of Cleo that had slipped out. He sighed heavily as he imagined all the horrible things that had been or were being done to her. He then flicked his eyes to the rearview mirror and looked at Eris as she sat patiently in the back seat.
"Son of a bitch," Grimm muttered under his breath as he picked up the file. He pulled out the paper that had all the contact information on it. He saw that Cleo had been traded to a Joshua Samson. Grimm saw that his birthday made him 17 and he had put down a house address for his living address. Grimm reasoned that since he was just 17 it would mostly likely be his parent's house and he wouldn't take the Umbreon there if he was going to do what Grimm thought he was. He saw his Pokémon license number and entered it into his computer that could access the department's records. Since Samson was a Pokémon trainer he was allowed to stay at hotels at a reduced rate even though he was a minor. However since he was a minor he had to present his Pokémon ID at any place he wanted to stay so they could log it. That way police could have a trail to follow to try and find him if he went missing. Like so many young trainers did some never to be seen again.
Grimm got a hit almost right away his ID having been used at a cheap motel in a less than hospitable part of town. He only checked in late last night and his ID hadn't been flagged anywhere else. There was a good chance that he was still there. What seemed to confirm it for Grimm was the motel itself. While being cheap one could also rent a room just for a few hours. The place was famed for cheating husbands to meet their mistresses, housewives to see their boy toys and Roman's clients to 'train' their Pokémon.
"We'll just see if he or she is there," Grimm told himself. "If the trail goes cold we'll see if Eris can get a scent. If not." He shrugged his shoulders as he put the car into gear. "No skin off my back."
Watching from the confines of his office Roman watched Grimm pull out of the parking lot. He was a little concerned that he had chosen the wrong man but the more he watched Grimm's cruiser idle in the parking lot the smug smile slowly returned to his face.
"I want you to keep an eye on him my dear," Roman said to his seemingly empty office. "Follow him and keep track of his progress. See if we can indeed use him like I thought." There was a disembodied feminine giggle that seemed to come from inside the office as it echoed around the room. Roman was un-phased by this as he still stared out the window. The giggle started to fade as what was making the nose moved steadily away. Soon it wasn't able to be heard anymore as it moved out of ear shot.