Sal was startled when a torrent of water poured over her entire body and woke her up. The rain had swept away the makeshift roofing from the shelter, leaving her exposed to the weather. Sodden cardboard, loose pieces of tin and cloths fell around her onto the muddy ground, which slowly turned into a disgusting mixture of rainy quicksand and rubbish.The rain continued to pour from the sky, as if the heavens themselves decided to sink the dumps without trace. Sal and the others sought refuge behind two unmoving mountains of trash. She held her woolen blanket protectively over her head. It was to no avail, by now she was wet to the bone.
It took another two or three hours for the rain to subside and the sky to slowly clear. After the rain stopped, Salandit lit a small fire for Sal to warm herself. Still dressed in her wet clothes and shaking all over, she sat by the dancing flames when the beefy figure of Benoit appeared around noon. Guillaume's right-hand man seized her up from head to toe. Apparently unsure whether it was disapproval or pity he should feel for the girl, he did what he did best and barked in his usual commanding tone, "Come! There's work for you!"
~~*~~
Kaito Wallace took a sip of his coffee. He sighed in a mixture of exhaustion and resignation. The deep circles under his eyes had noticeably enlarged in recent weeks, but caffeine kept him alive. Every day anew. The political situation in Kalos was tense. Conflicts between the ruling class and the common folk were usually carried out on the backs of the gendarmerie. Much to his displeasure. Keeping order in these troubled times was a thankless task. Lumiose was a ticking bomb. It was only a matter of time before the great shock.
Why not put another unscheduled team meeting on top of my list, Kaito thought in annoyance. The entire team of the 17th Arrondissement Gendarmerie was gathered in the conference room. A look at his colleagues confirmed Kaitos feeling. They were literally walking on their proverbial last legs. Exhausted, messed up, sleep depraved and under inhuman pressure. Caring for his Pokémon was an additional task, that strained his already paperthin nerves. Too little sleep, too much responsibility.
The conference room was tiny. Far roo small, to fit in a whole police station. In the middle was a large table that was filled by a mess of unsorted papers. The hastily filled notepads were as characteristic of the early morning meetings as the large number of half-empty cups that were scattered across the table. Today, Kaito was sandwiched between Rick and Michelle. He had no better words for it since their shoulders touchedand Michelle was almost sitting on his lap. Was this how a fish in a tin can felt?
Kaito wrinkled his nose while he examined Rick. As usual, his slightly overweight colleague gave off a pungent smell of fried food. It was a rare sigh to spot him without something edible - preferably in form of chocolate icing or something meaty. Michelle, on the other hand, was the new one; a scrawny collection of annoying habits and an unhealthy sense of justice. After every comment from a superior, she tirelessly pestered Kaito with her endless questions. And much to his displeasure he couldn't help himself but to answer them down to the smallest detail. Being too good-natured could be so damn tiring. Especially with Michelle around.
"ATTENTION!" a gendarm shouted as the officer on duty entered the room. Moving as one, the whole gendarmerie rose from their chairs. Kaito and his colleagues took a stance, waiting for their superior to sit down. He didn’t. Kaito suppressed a sigh and gritted his teeth. It would be one of those meetings.
"Good morning, gentlemen. I will now read out an official letter from the council,” announced the officer on duty without further ado. His lips were pressed together and his face was pale. Whatever he was about to announce, Kaito already knew it was bad news.
"By decision of the King and the Council, the following parties are declared illegal groups with immediate effect," the officer began. A long list followed. It included oppositional parties and factions that were branded as "Illegal associations, aiming to overthrow the government" or "conspiratorial and anti-Kalosian elements" that "fraternized with the enemy". Without explaining who was actually meant by "the enemy", Kaito noticed. All in all, he found the arguments to be flimsy reasons that barely made the effort to hide what they were. He understood why even holidaymakers and reservists had been called to today's meeting. The ticking bomb was about to explode. Tonight, the city would descend into chaos. A change in tone broke Kaito out of his gloomy thoughts.
"You’re tough, you’re clever and you already know, that Lumiose will turn into a hot spot, boiling with chaos. We're gonna head out; do what we always do. What we’re best at. We. Keep. Order. We are Kalos' last bastion against barbarism, against anarchy. I'm gonna say it bluntly: I want no heroics, no negative headlines, no one stepping out of line. We remain level-headed, defensive, and steadfast. No collateral damage among civilians under my watch. Not as long as we can avoid it. Did I make myself clear?!”
The veteran officer paused for a bit, but no one dared to speak. Everyone was tense, eager for the orders they were about to receive.
“Good. Now, the details…”
Kaito listened eagerly to his superior's words, his chest brimming with pride. The high command was quick to react – the council’s message was less than an hour old but the seventeenth arrondissement already had a detailed operational plan. Kaito pushed his chair back and stood up. Just before he reached the door, he heard his superior’s voice in a cutting tone of command:
"Wallace, wait a sec! I've got a special assignment for you and your unit."
~~*~~
Lumiose was like a magnet for the Kalosian. They wanted to live there. It was no wonder, because the city exuded a special charm: The playful rues and avenues and boulevards created a romantic atmosphere. The bustling shopping strip in the midth of the city; the ever-expanding industry, that created and offered job opportunities by the minute. In conclusion, the population of Kalos’ capital grew rapidly since the civil war ended.
However, the dreams of the rich city soon turned into nightmare for the most. Lumiose was beset by an army of unemployed and plagued by slum building as well as a crime rate that grew quicker than a newborn. Those with rotten luck – either by strokes of fate or due to bad circumstances – landed in the dumps. Just like Sal.
She knew about the social conflicts. About the people's dissatisfaction with the government. Again and again, the discontent expressed itself in protests, that sometimes ended in violence. The law was no longer there to protect the people. But Sal wouldn't think, that there was more to these riots. She wouldn't suspect any nameless figures in the background instigating the violence. Until approximately two hours ago, when she found out: there was more to these riots than she had suspected before. Sal recalled Guillaume's words, as clear as water:
"Shut up and keep your ears open! The council screwed over again. Which means, lots of people are very angry. Which means, we'll have ourself some neat little riots tonight. Wich means, lots of good things gonna happen to us. Which means, we need to use the situation. Tonight, we’re gonna join the action. Have ourself a little fun, won't we? A few fires here, a robbery there - a neat little profit at the end of the day. We'll move in five groups! Three to loot and two to supply. 'To supply what?', you might ask! Well, let's just put it this way: Benoit has negotiated a deal. One that'll make us rich. A handsome sum of Pokédollars is in if we do as we're told. So, you better heed my words and mark my commands! Got this? I've a task for everyone of you. Yes, even for you, Sal."
Guillaume couldn’t help but stress the point, that Sal landed in one of the two supply groups only due to his magnifying grace and ever-forgiving nature. A lot of bullshit. What little respect and fear she had left for this man was already gone. It didn't stop her from putting on an act, though. Her mission couldn't be more simple: Sal would act as a courrier and provide instigators amongst the demonstrators with burning projectiles.
The aim of her mission was to provoke the gendarmerie into attacking the crowd. Sal didn't care why Guillaume or his mysterious contact wanted to fuel the fires of conflict, but she didn't care at all. Her pay was good. That's all she needed to know. As a little extra do this job, she’d also be able to vent some of her frustration, too and she wasn't gonna complain about that.
Asking for reasons was always a useless endeavor. Knowing the reasons didn't change a thing. Sal needed the money, hence she needed this job. It was as simple as this. There was no point in stressing over the details. Especially since the nightly rain shower drained her of her strength. Her clothes were still clammy. Adding to her lack of sleep and the nightmares was the miserable defeat at the old man’s hands as well as the beating she received when Guillaume was venting his anger.
Exhuastion was etched deep into her bones. Sal felt like she was nothing but a walking clump of misery. Sal decided to take one step after another. First, do the job - then get a good night's sleep. Today, she was accompanied by all of her Pokémon. Salandit found refuge in a gray shoulder bag, while Haunter hid in Sal's shadow. Trix, on the other hand, had taken the form of a rattata. The shapeshifter followed from a safe distance and maintained the illusion she had weaved around Sal: an inconspicuous, scar-free girl with red hair. A fizzle of rain poured from the sky. Sal and parts of her supplier group were already on their way to fulfill their duties. A few minutes ago, they joined a procession of several hundred demonstrators.
image [https://i.imgur.com/uUKcLjO.jpeg]
It was dusk and the crowd marched through a wide shopping street that reminded Sal of the rue d'oiseau rouge. Between the shops and cafes, streetlamps loomed ominously into the gloomy night sky of Lumiose with their pale light. Men and women of almost all ages had banded together and chanted in unison.
"All for the people! All with the people! All for the people! All with the people!" and "Away with d'Arnauld! Away with d'Arnauld!" were the most popular slogans.
More and more people joined the demonstrators. Some of them carried clubs, bottles or pipe wrenches – everyday objects that, in the wrong hands, could become weapons with devastating effects. Still, she was surprised that no one was brave enough to bring forth their Pokémon. Also, not all demonstrators joined in the shouting. Some were involved in heated discussions. Sal listened to snippets of several different conversations:
"...and can't put up with this any longer!"
"It's only a matter of time until..."
"... have reached the end of the line!"
"For freedom and a fair salary!" shouted a bearded man at the front of the procession. He was a giant and towered over most of the demonstrators by at least half a head. Sal recognized him as one of Guillaume's thugs. The henchman's face was full of anger as he lashed out with an iron rod and smashed it with full force into the window pane of the nearest shop. The clanging sound of metal hitting fragile glass was their start signal. Sal raised her arm and reached wide. She released the thick brick her fingers had just clasped from her hand and smashed it into another shop window.
"Serves you right, you fucking bigwigs!" Sal yelled as loud as she could. Satisfaction swept through her as she heard the clink of broken glass. She felt like a spark that lit the fire. Four more of Guillaume's men attacked shops in their area. They were joined by several demonstrators. Sal watched with a satisfied grin as the concentrated anger of the crowd unleashed. They kicked in front doors and threw or smashed whatever they could get a hold of against shopping windows, causing them to burst. Some people barged into the stores and robbed them, snatching whatever they found on the shelves.
~~*~~
Kaito Wallace felt naked. Instead of his uniform, he was dressed in civilian clothes. As if he was ashamed, he hid them underneath his long, grey coat. Wallace was mingling with the rowdy civilians that loudly marched through Lumiose to express their displeasure. Whether it was against the ban on political parties, the lack of social justice, or the tight labor market. He shivered. There was a conspirational dynamic amongst the demonstrators. What started with maybe a few hundred people had suddenly turned into a few thousand. Slowly but steady, the demonstration moved in the direction of the Prism Tower, the newly erected seat of the council.
It was a fascinating and gruesome development: the demonstrators started in different places. Small crowds, at first. Not more than the usual shouting, and whistling. As usual, some people held up signs and papers to protest against the government’s actions. Some of those small demonstrations met at the Grande Rue and merged. A few hundred demonstrators were no problem. When they met via different paths to form a gigantic crowd, things stood different.
Another thing he noticed was the riots. The paths to the Grande Rue had led the more or less smaller groups through different shopping streets. This was where the riots began. Kaito had twice watched, how agitators were able to send the angry masses into destructive ecstasy. Resulting in smashed windows fronts, robbed shops, and small fires, which fortunately did not spread further. So far, the violence was limited to objects. Still, it was a shocking sight for Kaito to witness ordinary civilians turning into an angry mob.
"EVERYTHING FOR THE PEOPLE! ALL WITH THE PEOPLE!" it resounded from the human chorus, which slowly but inexorably approached the barricade that was erected by Kaito's colleagues at the end of the Grande Rue. Several arrondissements had banded together to seal off the Prism Tower. The thickly armored gendarmes with their broad shields, batons, and helmets were opposed by about eight thousand people according to his estimations. Kaito felt cold sweat of fear running down his spine.
The barricade consisted of several wooden hurdles, which stood in front of the gendarmes in three rows and staggered positions. Kaito’s colleagues were lined up in a phalanx: several broad rows, one after another. They were flanked by a few peacemakers: a unit made up of Blastoises. Large, armored Pokémon with cannons sticking out of their shoulders, allowing them to fire powerful bursts of water at everything or everyone who came to close. Kaito counted eight of them—a fraction of the whole unit. But probably enough to keep the protesters at bay.
"DISPERSE THE DEMONSTRATION AND IMMEDIATELY LEAVE THE PREMISES!" it sounded from the mouthpiece of a high-ranking officer. His voice was amplified many times by a Pokémon called Exploud. The peacekeepers fired shots of water just a meter or so before the front of the crowd. A clear statement to prevent the masses from moving. But they didn’t stop. They couldn’t. The back rows continued pushing further, while continuing to chant.
"ALL FOR THE PEOPLE! ALL WITH THE PEOPLE!"
The mood in the front area of the demonstrators changed into a mix of emotions: anxiety, fear, anger and hatred.
"Piss off, you pigs!"
"Murderer!"
"Fuck you!"
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Kaito heard the angry screams of a few demonstrators close to him. More and more people vented their anger. Frustrated voices, overlapping each other and drowning in the ever-increasing noise of the crowd.
Sooner or later, they’ll clash. It's inevitable, Kaito surmised. Fuck this. We need every man they can get. Maybe I should…?
For a second, he asked himself if he should abandon his mission goals. If he should just throw off his clothes and don on his uniform. It wasn't too late yet. He could still join his colleagues. The screams of the demonstrators increased in intensity. Kaito took a deep breath. No. He had a mission. He wouldn’t fail his superior’s trust! Would it even make a difference if he joined the phalanx and supported the defense line of his colleagues?
"DISPERSE THE DEMONSTRATION AND IMMEDIATELY LEAVE THE PREMISES!" repeated the officer with the mouthpiece. Kaito witnessed stones and bottles being thrown from the anonymity of the crowd.
Cowards! Kaito clenched his fists. He told himself that there was no reason to be concerned. His colleagues remained disciplined and steadfast. They stood shoulder to shoulder, their shields raised in defense. Before the projectiles hit the shields, they were stopped by an invisible obstacle.
Serves them right!, Kaito thought. The psykers of the gendarmerie had erected a protective barrier in front of the law enforcers. Four peacekeepers roared. The earth shook slightly when they stepped forward and each shot a water pulse into the crowd: a wave of water, strong enough to push the people back but too weak to cause serious injuries.
Look to your left, an old and powerful voice boomed in Kaito's mind, sharp and cutting.
"Ugh."
Kaitos skull began to throb painfully. He felt his own powerlessness. Every fibre of his being screamed in alarm, knowing all too well that he was at the mercy of the mysterious voice. Suppressing the stabbing pain in his temples, he looked to hi left. Later on he couldn’t tell if it was curiosity or something else that led his actions.
The red-haired girl with the gray cap and the shoulder bag.
Kaito gritted his teeth to resist the pain. Then he saw her. She was standing only five or six meters away from him. Kaito estimated the girl to be 14 or 15 years old.
Don't loose her.
The pain subsided. Kaito watched as the girl took something out of her pocket. It was a bottle with a dirty cloth hanging from its neck. The girl passed the bottle to an inconspicuous-looking man, who then pulled a scarf over the tip of his nose and pushed his cap deep into his face. Kaito felt his breast clamp. He was paralyzed: too slow to take action, too far away to reach the men before...
Suddenly, the slender head of a small, reptilian Pokémon peeked out of the girl's shoulder bag. The Pokémon ignited the dirty cloth of the bottle with its pointed muzzle, from which small flames flickered.
A firebomb! Kaito realized. It was too late. He couldn’t do anything but witness the burning trail the bottle left behind as it was thrown through the air. Where the potecting barrier for his colleagues lay, the air turned a dark, fiery red. The loud sound of an explosion rang in Kaito's ears. He felt the adrenaline rushing through his body like a hot pulsating river of blood.
Follow the girl!
A dark green cloud spread around the barrier. Kaito inwardly cursed as he recognized the cloud as a clue for poisonous gas. Possibly extracted from Pokémon. More burning bottles emerged from the crowd and hit the barrier. As if they had just waited for a signal to start. The poisonous gas filled the air and began to burn. The earth began to shake when the peacekeepers stepped forward. They roared in unsion and immediately set about extinguishing the acidic trails of fire that rained down on the wooden hurdles to set them ablaze. The water from the blastoises cannons met the fire like coming from high pressure pumps. Some of the streams went right through, hitting the crowd. Some people cried in pain, other in fury. Then the masses started to move.
"Fuck," Kaito whispered. Under the force of further explosions, the barrier had collapsed. His eyes narrowed and he swallowed the bitter taste that spread through his mouth as he watched helplessly how furious civilians charged toward his colleagues.
'That's no demonstration, it's a riot. An instigated riot!', Kaito realized, why his superiors assigned him – and several others – to investigate the so-called demonstration against oppression and for freedom. 'There's more to it than meets the eye. And I just found one of the culprits!'
Eagerly he turned his gaze back to the red-haired girl, but noticed she was missing! In panic he observed the masses around him, paving his way through the clump of people. It took him a few seconds until he recognized her cap, her hair and the grey shoulder bag from a distance. Something about the girl seemed off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
She'll lead you to their hiding place. Be warned, for she is not alone.
It was crystal clear to Kaito, that the owner of the mysterious voice was a helper – at least for now. If Kaito understood the voice correctly and if his guess was right, then the girl only acted as a courier. A wheel in the machine. The real culprit was still to be found. So he followed her from behind and pushed the people aside that blocked his way. Kaito guessed, that more bombs were already being prepared. He took a look over his shoulder.
The barrier had completely given in, and the barricades burned like a jolly bonfire. The noisy crowd had crashed into his colleagues, unimpressed by the peacekeepers and determined to wreak havoc. Kaito Wallace knew who was to blame. And he was determined to find the real culprit!
'She is so young. Does she even realize the consequences of her actions?'
Many questions troubled his mind. Which miserable trick of fate had led a girl even younger than his sister to act as a courier for terrorists? Who was the real cuplrit behind the cowardly attack on his colleagues? What were his goals? Who hid behind the mysterious voice and why didn't he show his face? Kaito had to find answers! His eyes literally burned into the girl's back. He wouldn't let her escape his sight. Not until she led him to the people hiding behind her.
~~*~~
Sal quickened her steps. She squeezed her slender body through the crowd, dodging the protesters left and right, moving toward a back alley. Her teeth chattered in the cool evening air. In a fruitless attempt to warm herself, she wrapped her arms around the torso. The farther she moved away from the barricade, the more the crowd thinned. The space between the passersby increased, allowing her to move more easily.
It didn’t take long until the echo of her footsteps rang through a lonely alley, devoid of people. Sal’s window of opportunity was short. She didn’t pay attention to the puddles that had formed on the uneven road. Water splashed to both sides of her boots when she crossed through them. With every step she was upping her speed. Her breathing quickened and formed small clouds in the chilly nightair. A shiver ran down her spine. Sal looked over her shoulder but found nothing. She had probably only imagined the noise. No reason to get nervous.
In front of a nondescript house, she stopped and cautiously knocked on the door.
"It's me," Sal murmured. A yellow scrap of light fell on the street as the door opened a crack.
"Come in," answered a voice. Inside the house were four men. Two of them were busy. They were the ones that created the throwing bombs. Sal remembered one of them from a fight in Guillaume's arena. She saw him there on the day when Bonzo died, which was only a few days ago but now feeled like an eternity ago. The trainer's Grimer and his Koffing helped him to fill bottles with poisonous gas and some liquid, that Sal didn't recognize. The other man cut up bed sheets, dipped the scraps of cloth into the bottles and carefully sealed them with something that looked like wax. Sal didn't know about the process itself, but was certainly impressed by its results. Both working men wore masks to protect themselves from the poisonous gases. The other two men were guards. They held on iron bars. In addition, each had a Pokémon to protect themselves and their comrades-in-arms from prying eyes.
"Ready for the next delivery?" asked the man who had opened the door for her. He was gaunt, had some stubble around his chin and was a little older than Sal.
"Where to?"
"Rue de l'Abricot."
Sal frowned questioningly.
"It's where the next merger's supposed to be, I guess. Benoit said the bosses are leading the gendarmerie around by the nose. Subtracting units from one place to spawn at another and stuff like that. Dunno, he didn't care to give me details and whatnot. Wouldn't matter anyway, would it?"
"Where is he?" Sal asked.
The young man shrugged.
"Just left. Why?"
"Curiosity, nothing more. All right. Fill my pocket. Who’s my contact person?"
"Jeff is our main dude on the Rue de l'Abricot. He wanted to stay further back, somewhere on the left. Try to find him there."
"Okay."
When her shoulder bag was filled anew, Sal made her way to the next destination. With longing in her eyes, she watched the sky. Somewhere close she heard a screech. When she looked up, she saw a red flying-type with black wingtips overhead. As far as she could tell it vaguely resembled a bigger version of the little Fletchling, she would've loved to free from his cage a few days ago. Sal wondered when she could be free of her shackles and sighed. Her exhaustion went far beyond a purely physical one.
~~*~~
"Well done, Audino," Kaito said to a beige Pokémon with oversized ears. Its fur was dyed pink on the back, arms, and shoulders, almost looking like a pink fur jacket. Audino wasn’t known for its fighting prowess, but still was invaluable to Kaito Wallace's team. With the feelers on its oversized ears, the Pokémon could hear over long distances. A crucial ability for a detective. The more time they spent together, the better became the intricate system of different signs and hand gestures, that Kaito and Audino had developed over the years to understand each other.
Audino had overheard the courier's conversation and had shown Kaito various hand signals: new and attack; different and place; trick, feint, and ambush. After a short break: house; more, new and weapons; four and man; two and Pokémon. As Kaito concluded, the terrorists planned a second attack. Somewhere else than before. If he understood Audino correct, there was also a high possibility that the instigators wanted to create a distraction.
Although Kaito didn't have an overview of the entirety of the event, he immediately wrote his newfound information down on a piece of paper. It was addressed to the mission control and offered details of the enemy base he found as well as a request for assistance. His superiors surely had a better overview and would be able to get the information right and accordingly develop countermeasures against the diffuse danger. Carefully, he tied the letter around the leg of Talonflame – a red-feathered aviator with black wingtips. Talonflame was the final evolution of Fletchling and another one of Kaitos team members. If Audino was his ears, then Talonflame was his mouth to communicate with colleagues in the distance. In addition, the bird was a fire artist whose speed was second to none.
From the darkness of his hiding place, Kaito watched as the girl stepped out the door. It wasn't until she was out of sight and Audino gave him an encouraging nod that Kaito sent Talonflame on his way. At the onset of drizzle, Kaito waited persistently for the support of the mobile intervention force. He gritted his teeth. In the distance, he could hear wailing sirens.
It was hard for Kaito to tell how long he waited. When he heard the muffled sound of approaching footsteps, he looked around in alarm. At the other end of the alley, he could see a tall figure emerge. Eight more silhouettes followed behind.
Quicker than I thought.
Kaito stepped out of his hiding place, he raised his left hand, clenched into a fist, and silently put his right index finger to his lips. Then he beckoned them over.
"Name's Wallace, right? I’m Aimee Linford," the leader of the group introduced herself a short while later in a whisper. "Mobile Intervention Squad. Requesting a detailed briefing."
Kaito recounted his observations. How he followed the girl and found the enemy's base. How Audino overheard the conversation between the girl and the henchman and the conclusions he’d been able to draw from this, before he requested assistance. He didn't mention the strange voice in his head, though.
"Understood. Damn good work, Wallace. We're taking over now," said the leader of the small squad. There was something absolute in her voice that allowed no contradiction.
"Gifty, Laurie," she said to two members of her troupe. "Time for your Luxrays to shine. I wanna know if our information is accurate or if we can expect a nasty surprise. Are we only dealing with two Pokémon, or are they holding back some? Let them check that with their X-ray vision. Jaden, Teddy, Rosie – you know the drill. Surround the building and keep your Pokémon ready for attack. Pippa and Miles provide distraction and support. Halls and I take care of barriers and access. Strike at my command."
It didn’t take the unit long to carry out their orders. Impressed with their efficiency, Kaito watched how they got into position, prepared, and gathered new intelligence. The intervention squad soon found out that the bombs were being made inside the building, and that the four men had a total of nine Pokémon at their disposal, those hidden in Poké Balls included. Aimee Linfords operation plan was simple: "We smash the doors and windows at the same time, smoke the building with our Pokémon attacks, and send in a few electric blasts to incapacitate the enemies. We strike hard and violent, but without deadly force. Our goal is to arrest and afterwards interrogate them."
The last part would take part in the nearest police station but wouldn't be executed by the mobile intervention squad, whose schedule tonight was far too busy and who's competences were best used on the streets, not with paperworks. While Kaito tried to sort his thoughts, they had already erected a barrier around the building to prevent the terrorists from escaping. The only possible way to the building was through the alley.
“We don’t half-ass things,” explained squad leader Linford. “If we reel in the fish, we want a full net. We’re not leaving without the courier girl.”
Kaito and a man named Halls would take care of the girl, the others of the bomb makers. It took a few minutes until Audino gave him a signal. Kaitos body tensed. Again, he heard the familiar sound of hurried steps before the girl's figure emerged from the darkness of the night. Aimee Linford gave him an asking look. Kaito gulped, then nodded. The next thing he remembered was Linford’s loud voice echoing through the night. She ordered them to attack.
~~*~~
Sal was drained. Her body felt hotter than it should, and her joints had started hurting some time ago.
"Almost done," she murmured to her Pokémon as she dragged herself through the dark alley. It was still drizzling. Her excitement was replaced with a bitter feeling. They were successful. But to what price? The demonstration had spiraled out of control and turned into a full-blown street battle. Into several ones. Only the gendarmerie prevented worse things from happening. Sal was impressed how they withstood the onslaught of the crowd with iron discipline.
Still, the throwing bombs that Sal had delivered to several places posed a serious danger to the lawmen. The sight of a burning gendarm being dragged behind a wall of shields by his colleagues, while stones and bottles rained down on them, had burned itself into Sal's memory. Why did she do it? Because she was told so? Because she was paid? Did she want to be part of a bigger scheme? Sal wasn’t sure.
Well, it's not my fault. If I didn’t do it, someone else would have.It wouldn't make a difference, wouldn't it?
With a frightening detachment, Sal realized that the scenes she witnessed today did not only arouse sympathy in her but also a morbid fascination. She shuddered at the thought and wondered if she’d always been so indifferent. It was the same for the conflict between citizens, government and gendarmerie. She simply didn't care. Having a political opinion was a luxury she couldn't afford. Why bother with things she had no control over?
All they did was work that served --
She snapped out of her thoughts as a loud female voice boomed through the night.
"STRIKE!"
Sal turned her head toward the voice, but couldn't see anyone. Then it became hectic. Many things happened at once. Sal heard the familiar clink of breaking glass. Lightning flashed in the alley. Commands and screams from humans and Pokémon reached her ears.
Fuck fuck fuck! That's an ambush!, Sal realized. Her tiredness was blown away and her heart began to race. Someone was after her! She had to escape!
"Trix!"
Trix was still disguised as a rattata. Instantly, Sal’s companion created the illusion of an oversized Muk, positioning itself protectively in front of Sal and roaring loudly. It was too much for the young Pokémon to handle. Trix lost control over the illusion she had placed around Sal, who turned around in panic. Sal was running as fast as she could, headed in the direction she came from.
'Escape! I have to escape!' was the dominant thought that overtook her consciousness. Her body flooded with adrenaline and drove her onwards. Even though she’d long reached her limits, Sal pushed further. Just a little bit more!
"Ice beam!" an unknown voice shouted. The powerful attack was aimed at Muk – and flew right through the illusion.
It’s cold, Sal thought aghast as something hard hit her in the back.
The pressure of the attack pushed her body violently to the ground. She fell like a board – in the middle of a sprint with her head first, hitting the hard stone floor. Her skin was torn open, her back a pulsating mass. Sal felt hot and cold at the same time. Indescribable pain clouded her mind. It took her body a second or two to realize what happened. Every cell in her body was nothing but agonizing pain. Sal screamed loud and shrill. Her body felt like it would break apart at any moment.
Sal slowly felt the pain subside.
It was replaced by a comfortable cold that numbed her receptors and clouded her mind. The numbing chill spread over her back and took possession of her body. Her eyelids were heavy as lead. She was so tired. So incredibly tired. She just wanted to sleep. She was sure, the pain would leave her if she only could sleep. Like he always did. An image of the frozen Bonzo flickered before her eyes as she felt her consciousness grew weaker by the second.
Sal heard the shouts of people, but she couldn't make sense of their words anymore.
She didn't want to either.
"TARGET ON THE GROUND!"
"What in Xerneas' name was that?! Where's Muk?!"
"ENEMIES NEUTRALIZED!"
"We have an emergency! The girl got hit!"
"Shit!"
"I REPEAT! WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY! THE GIRL GOT HIT!"
"PARAMEDICS! QUICK!"