The Mercenary

Keith's eyes slowly opened, the sun was shining on the deck of the ship and he looked to see a crewmate carefully trying to approach him, but he dared not to come any closer due to Breeze staring him down.

"You're awake, the captain wanted you to know we've arrived at port." Keith gave a nod and the crewmate scurried off. Keith got to his feet, stretching his back. He gripped the gunwale, vaulting over the side of the ferry. He landed in a crouch on the dock. Shortly after, Breeze landed next to him.

"Come on girls, let's go get paid." He checked inside his jacket, Amethys was still asleep, clung tightly to his vest. He gave a small smile and started forward, Breeze at his heel.

Castelia city was bustling with this life at this time of day, everyone was on their way to work, but even still, Keith stood out. It was normal for trainers to stand out in crowds, but of course, Keith was no trainer. At least not a licensed one. Therefore he stood out even more. Trainers didn’t keep their Pokémon outside their pokéballs.

So Keith got a lot of stares, but those stares were quickly turned away with a quick glare from Breeze.

Keith knew the city well, he spent most of his time in Castelia, so it didn’t take him long to get to where he was going.

Salty Snubbull’s bar & grill was a popular hotspot in the poorer district of Castelia. Despite the less than ideal location and the unpleasant regulars, the food was good and the owner was good company, so Keith made himself a regular. Besides, the place was Bronius’s preferred hangout, and Bronius always offered the best clients.

Suddenly Keith was shoved hard from the side. Not expecting it, he nearly lost his balance and fell, but he steadied himself, turning quickly to face his attacker, Breeze was at his side, crouched low and growling.

Keith lowered his defense as soon as he saw who shoved him. “How dare you!” A teenage girl yelled at him. She was small and wore a blue T-shirt with the letters PETP spelled out on the side of a leaping Buneary. “How dare you parade that poor Ninetales like some trophy!”

Keith rolled his eyes, turning and walking away, but the girl grabbed his arm and attempted to pull him back. This was a bad idea for two reasons. The first was that Keith was a very well-built man who was much older than the girl, so her pulling wouldn’t do much. The second reason was that Breeze was very loyal and protective of Keith, and didn’t take kindly to anything she perceived as a threat to him.

Breeze reared back her head and opened her mouth, her eyes glowing. “Breeze, no. Stand down.” Keith ordered. Breeze closed her mouth and proceeded to stare at the girl, who was more than a little shocked at having received such a response to what she must’ve thought was a valiant deed.

By this point, Keith and the girl were the center of the crowd’s attention, so Keith knew he had to diffuse the situation quickly before the rangers got involved. “Listen, kid, I know you got your righteous message to spread about the ethical treatment of Pokémon or whatever, but I don’t care about it. I am giving you one warning, Breeze does not take kindly to annoyances.” To enunciate the point, Breeze gave a low, menacing growl.

Understanding the point quite clearly, the girl hurried off. Keith turned to look at the crowd watching him. He grunted and headed towards his destination. None of them wanting to be Breeze’s target practice, the crowd split for him. Amethys helpfully hissed at anyone not far away enough.

Keith turned off of Main street and weaved his way through the twisting roads and streets of the city until he reached the old building. It was a simple restaurant, a not-too-flashy storefront with a hanging sign that showed a cutely drawn picture of a Snubbull. He could hear the loud music from outside. It wasn’t a horrible song, but Keith wagered a Jigglypuff could’ve performed it better.

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The bar was loud and rowdy, but silence fell as soon as Keith entered the bar. He was well known in these parts, most mercs were. Keith stood out though, the Arctic Ninetales stood at his side and the Sableye on his shoulder showed why he was not an average merc. He had Pokémon. That was rare.

“Well well well, look who’s back in town.” A booming voice came from the bar, Keith glanced over to see a very unsightly mountain of a man, known simply as Eddy. “How’d the job go? I hope it went well,” He slammed his hand down on a table next to Keith, covering the distance surprisingly quickly, “Seeing as you stole it from me.” As he spoke, spittle flew from his mouth and hit Keith in the face.

Keith wiped his sleeve across his face, “Good to see you too, Eddy. I can’t help it if I was the one better suited for the job.” He turned away from the brute, but Eddy quickly grabbed him by the shirt collar.

This was a bad move. Immediately Breeze let out a powerful bark and leapt at Eddy, her jaws gaping wide. As Eddy released Keith to protect himself, Keith’s hand lashed out and caught Breeze by the scruff of her neck, stopping her momentum.

“Behave yourself.” Keith chided, then cracked his knuckles. “I’ll handle him.” He threw his fist into Eddy’s jaw from the left, the opposite side he was protecting from Breeze. His fist made contact, leaving an easily noticeable mark. Eddy was staggered to the side, his head rocking to the right.

“You little shit!” Eddy spat, turning his head back to Keith. Keith wasn’t interested in letting him return a blow, he fired a fast and powerful uppercut into Eddy’s gut, launching the air out of his lungs.

Eddy collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. Keith swung his leg, taking Eddy’s head from the side. The massive man went flying to the side, crashing into a wall. He slumped into unconsciousness.

Keith brushed the blood from pants, straightening his jacket. Everyone was staring, no one making a move.

Keith ignored the focused attention, taking his seat at the bar. Breeze curled around the base of his barstool and he ordered himself a drink.

A man approached Keith from the side, careful not to step on any of Breeze’s tails. “Nice work back there. I heard the package was delivered in full. Which means you’ll get your payment in full.” Bronius held out an envelope of money. Amethys snatched it and gave out a pleasant screech, sliding the envelope into Keith’s coat pocket.

Bronius was a small sort of man, small and thin, one as might be compared to someone’s grandfather, and he had the years to match as well. Bronius was no grandfather however, he was a tricky man, cruel as he was clever. He was kind to his friends, but anyone else was wary of him.

Keith grunted, “Always appreciate the work, Bronius. I’m sure those pokéballs will be given to trainers.” He said sarcastically.

Bronius chuckled. “Oh absolutely. You were sloppy though. The police were involved? That’s not like you.”

Keith rolled his eyes, “They were Team Rocket’s problem, they would’ve never caught me.”

Bronius’s lips tilted to a frown. “And if they had? You know damn well they’ll take away your pokémon.Need I remind you of Trompy?”

Keith scowled, “I’m not a kid anymore, Bronius. I can handle the cops just fine.”

Bronius rolled his eyes, “You’d better hope Team Rocket doesn’t take note of that recklessness. They may not hire you next time. Now, on to the next job?” He laid down another envelope, this one marked with the Team Skull insignia.

Keith took Amethys from his shoulder and began scratching behind her ears, “Team Skull? Bronius, you’re insulting me.”

Bronius shrugged his shoulders, “They’re the only ones offering work right now, and they’re offering a high sum.”

Keith shook his head, “Absolutely not. Team Skull is a bunch of kids. Hardly high caliber enough to be working with mercs. There’s got to be another job.”

Bronius sighed. “There is one, but it ain’t worth it. Some shadow organization working to conspire against the government.”

Keith raised an eyebrow, “Keep talking.”

Bronius seemed confused, “Oh, uh, I didn’t get names of the client, just a location and a description of the payload. Some hotshot trainer’s in town, they want someone to steal her ace Pokémon.”

Keith laughed, “Well that seems easy, Bronius. How much?”

Bronius held up his finger, “There’s a catch, the trainer in question is widely regarded as the greatest trainer in the league."

Keith gave a smirk. “Give me the envelope.”