Setting:
•New Bark Town, Johto•
•After Midnight•
•Late February•
•Amber (Wolfe Alias) POV•
Chapter Thirteen
Detained Under Fluorescent Lights
By the time we finally reached New Bark Town, it was a quarter past midnight, and personally, I felt more than a little tired. Chika, who decided to take a nap along the way, stayed in her ball while Hino was sound asleep slumped over Gold's shoulder. Both of our paces slowed as we trudged into the suburbs—if you could even call them that—of New Bark Town.
"Finally made it. I wonder if Professor Elm is still up," I yawned.
"He probably is. He's an insomniac. I just wonder if the cops are still there waiting for us…" He trailed off, as if lost in thought. I could tell he was having a hard time not falling asleep as he walked.
"Let's quicken the pace so we can get this over with. I want to go to bed," I replied.
Gold nodded lethargically, and we tried our best to power walk through the neighborhoods that outlined New Bark; eventually we made our way to the laboratory.
Once we finally reached our destination, I reached for the handle only to find the door locked. "Figures," I snorted.
Gold suddenly looked more alert than before. "Shoot! I remember what I forgot now! I forgot to tell Professor Elm we were on our way!"
I looked at him incredulously. "So you're saying he's probably not even here?!"
"Dunno. Don't worry about getting inside. I've got a key in my pocket. Just hold on a sec." Gold fished around and pulled out a strange-looking key that was obviously high-tech. I'd never seen anything quite like it before; it didn't seem to fit into a lock, per se.
"Strange-looking key," I remarked.
"Yeah. It deactivates the lab's security system so we can enter. Then the system reactivates after you close the door," Gold explained as he held the key up to the handle.
I heard a buzzing noise with a resolute click from the door. After that, Gold pulled the handle, which opened the door and beckoned me to pass. "After you."
"Thanks," I replied as I walked through.
The lab was rather dark and eerie since it only had a few dim emergency lights on here and there. "Does Elm usually have the lab like this at night? With the dim lights and all?" I asked as Gold entered behind me, and I heard the door shut, which made it even darker in the lobby of the lab. The buzz and click of the door made me shudder at first, since it sounded so creepy.
"Not that I know of. I've only been here at night a handful of times, but I've never seen it this dark before." He replied as the two of us started walking. We half-walked, half-stumbled our way around as we looked for the Professor's office.
"I wonder if he's even here," I stated quietly, more to myself than to Gold.
I then almost tripped over something on the floor. "Ouch! Stubbed my toe on something," I bent down to find a rather thick hardback book. It hurt my foot even with my new running shoes on.
"Yeah, it's usually messy in here. I think he might be here somewhere. But then again, it's possible he went home, too," Gold replied.
I guessed it was because it was so dark, but both of us were pretty much just whispering. We continued to feel-walk our way around the giant lab.
After five minutes of checking rooms, we returned to the main lobby, which was extremely dark with only one almost burnt flood light in the corner of the room. "This place gives me the creeps," I shuddered as I glanced at that one light hatefully.
"Yeah," agreed Gold as he seemed to survey the dark room as well. Shrubbery from outside didn't even let much moonlight in.
Out of the corner of my eye, I swore I saw movement. Quickly, I turned my head in that direction, but everything was still and quiet.
Gold must've caught my own movement since he asked, "What's wrong?"
"I could've sworn I saw something move in here," I replied in a whisper.
"Maybe a Pokémon got out. It's happened before," he didn't seem too worried.
"Don't think it's a Pokémon, otherwise don't you think it would've approached or something by now?" I asked.
"Dunno. It's so dark in here. Maybe it was just a trick of the light or your imagination," he supplied.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm so tired," I groaned.
I spotted the outline of a sofa, so I decided to sit where I rested my chin on my hand as I leaned forward. I looked in the direction from where I saw the movement, and to my horror, I saw a brief shuffling once again.
"Gold, I just saw it again. Stand still for a moment and keep very quiet. I don't think we're alone in here," my voice hinted my worry.
"Um, okay," he complied, as he stood stock-still and turned to face the direction from which I spied movement, which was the corner of the room away from us. My sharp hearing picked up deep, almost raspy breaths, which sent a chill down my spine.
"Okay, now I'm spooked. I swear something's breathing, and I don't think it's coming from you or Hino. Can't you hear it?" I asked.
"No?" He sounded a bit annoyed.
"Let's just come back in the morning…" I trailed off and stood up as something moved again; this time, Gold spotted it as well.
"Yeah… Maybe you're right. I'm not really in the mood for being here right now," he replied uneasily as he slowly backed away towards the exit.
I followed suit a little quicker. Before either of us could exit the room, however, tactical flashlights turned on so quickly that I was immediately temporarily blinded, and I noticed Gold was squinting as well. Hino also got so spooked he recalled himself to his own pokeball.
"Halt! This is the police! Put your hands up, now! You are both being detained for burglary and breaking and entering!" A male voice called, but I couldn't see who it was coming from since my eyes were still seeing splotches everywhere, even with the squinting.
After a few seconds, the images quit blurring, and I realized it was a cop I had spotted in the previously dark room—a cop who was just dying to catch the person who stole Totodile, which obviously wasn't us.
I was so stunned; I blinked in surprise as I tried to register exactly what was going on. I never had been detained before—hell, my dad had been a cop all of my life. I knew better than to get in trouble with the law. And technically, it wasn't really breaking and entering if you had the key, right?
Gold seemed to regain his sight as well, and he raised his hands shakily in the air. He gave me this really weird stare, but I couldn't exactly figure out why.
"Ma'am! I said hands up! If you resist, I will use force if necessary!" Commanded the cop who approached us as he rested his hand on his standard issue Taser on his belt.
"Whoa!" I snapped out of my shock as I raised my hands in the air. "No need to zap us, we're just harmless teenagers," I replied somewhat stupidly.
"Shut up! Anything you say can and will be used against you in court. Now, both of you turn around and keep your hands in the air!" Another cop's voice joined in. Apparently, this guy had backup.
I was at least wise enough to shut my yap as I turned around and knew the pat down for weapons would take place seeming how I've seen the scene before with my own father when he made arrests—yes, I snuck to his work when I was smaller.
I glanced at Gold, who looked scared out of his wits. Literally, he was shaking like a leaf on a tree in a hurricane. Two officers patted us down—one for each of us—and ended up removing our bags. They then proceeded to cuff us—and when I said cuff us, I meant they turned off the circulation in our wrists where it made us squint all funny from either lack of blood in our hands or pain. Yeah, it really wasn't a pleasant feeling.
"We got 'em. I'm bringing 'em into the station for questioning now," a cop spoke into his radio.
From there, we were practically pushed out of the lab, herded into the backseat of a patrol car like cattle, and told to keep quiet or we'd regret it. I felt really tempted to not listen and speak my mind, but I knew better—even though this was just a simple misunderstanding taken way out of proportion.
The trip itself to the station took like five minutes. Apparently, the station wasn't exactly far away, and if it wouldn't have been for a traffic light, we would've been there in even less time. By the time we were forced out of the car, I was pretty certain I had left my hands inside of the back seat since I couldn't feel nor see them any longer.
We then were silently herded into a room that I personally knew pretty well—it was a questioning room. You know, the one where a cop goes in, asks questions, and from the outside people can stand and watch since it was see through trick glass? The mirrors were windows, simply put.
I was forced to sit in a hard plastic chair that was way too tall for me since my feet dangled a few inches above the ground. Meanwhile, Gold was forced into a wooden chair that looked like it was made for someone the size of a five-year-old. He looked even more uncomfortable than me, and that was really saying something—I honestly didn't know which of us had it worse off.
We then silently waited for the questioning officer to appear—which I knew from experience could take minutes to hours. Since it was about one in the morning, I figured it'd take hours since that cop was probably at home in bed by that point.
And so, I decided to get some sleep. I sighed and let my head drop to the table where it landed with a solid thud—not to mention it hurt a little—and it earned me a look of either concern or incredulity from Gold.
"Wake me when someone comes to question us. Might as well get some sleep," I yawned.
Gold, poor innocent, naïve Gold, decided to start up a full conversation since he was still panicked. Obviously he had no clue someone could've been eavesdropping in on us for evidence—or for fun.
"Sleep?! How can you sleep at a time like this?!" He sounded completely terrified.
"It's easy," I yawned again. "You just close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and from there you slowly drift off." I closed my own eyes to prove the point—I felt his bore into me.
"That's not what I meant! I mean, how can you sleep at a time like this?! We're under arrest, and our hands are bound in handcuffs!" He exclaimed.
"And? Your point is? We're innocent, so why fret? Besides, we're not under arrest. Just detained. And as far as my hands go, I think I left them in the squad car. I couldn't care less at the moment," I sighed.
"H-How can you act all cool and calm about this?! We're gonna go to jail!" He was definitely panicked.
"It's easy. We're innocent, so why not act the part? Jail is for guilty people, Gold." I shrugged.
"But-But what if we are found guilty?! What if we get blamed for something we didn't do?! What if they come up with some charge to hold us?!" He panicked.
"What if, what if, what if? Please, kid. Lighten up. You'll have gray hair by the age of thirty with that attitude. Now, let me let you in on some advice since you don't seem to know this. This conversation you keep carrying on, I bet nine times out of ten someone's listening in. Hell, we're probably being recorded."
"What?! How do you know?!" He asked.
"I'm psychic," I said sassily. "You see all those mirrors around us, right?" I then asked seriously.
"Yeah…" He said pensively.
"They're one-way windows. Mirrors on our side, windows on the other—so cops and others can look in and monitor us," I stated.
"How do you know that?! Have you actually been to jail before?!" He sounded even more frightened.
I sighed. "To a jail—yes. In jail—no. There's a difference, and I don't need to explain it to you. I just know things, all right? So in any case, be careful what you say. It could be misinterpreted. Now if you excuse me, I have a nap to take." I then tried my best to drift off.
Gold shut up, but I could still hear him fidget in his chair. I made out the faint tick of the second hand of an analog clock from somewhere, but I didn't recall seeing one—I guessed it was behind me. I drifted off, but I heard it chime twice before falling asleep.
My dreams were plagued with Gold's voice—probably real just worked into them—and chimes signifying hours. After four chimes—signifying four in the morning—I heard the door slam shut, so I lifted my head slowly. My eyes were blurry from sleep, and I was certain my face from where it had laid on the table was red. I blinked a few times to find a familiar figure standing across the table from Gold and me.
"Had a good nap, Sweetie?" My father asked as he smiled down at me.
"D-Dad?!" I yelped as I sat bolt upright in my chair. That was a surprise.
Gold glanced at me as though he suddenly realized what I meant earlier about knowing the inside of police stations.
"So, I heard you two were breaking into Professor Elm's lab, huh?" My father playfully prodded. I knew he'd pick on me about this.
"Luckily, we contacted Professor Elm, and he identified you, Gold, as his assistant. As for you, err, Wolfe, as soon as I heard you were detained, I hurried to the station and requested to personally interrogate you."
"Wait…you came all the way from Kanto to interrogate me?" I asked stupidly. Honestly, I wasn't the type to think before I spoke, especially when woken up from a nap.
"Of course not!" He chuckled. "I was at our house. What? I can't come home every once in a while?" He scoffed.
"Err…I just thought, you know. I thought your next paid vacation was next month."
"They allowed me time off to visit the new house and set things up. Didn't your mother tell you that?" Dad asked.
"Um, don't think so. And if she did, I don't remember," I admitted.
"Ah, figures she'd forget to tell you. As soon as I came in the door, I heard her uproar about you getting a starter Pokémon from the professor here," he chuckled.
"Heh, you know me too well, Dad. Thanks for the bag and everything! Much better than what I was expecting!" I admitted.
"Figured you appreciated it. By the way, I got Repede back from Professor Oak. That's how I got here so quickly."
I glanced at Gold, who seemed interested in our little family chat. I knew at this pace, it'd quickly get out of hand, and I didn't feel like lying to make up answers to his questions to avoid revealing my identity.
Luckily, Dad was always good at catching my hints, and he dropped the chat as he walked over to our handcuffs, where he finally set us free.
Gold and I both rubbed the circulation back into our hands as my father continued talking. "So, anyway, why were you two in Professor Elm's lab past midnight?"
"Well, you see, sir, Professor Elm called us to report back to the lab as soon as we got to New Bark Town. We would've gotten there earlier, but my Cyndaquil, Hino, was badly injured by a thief who used the stolen Totodile from the lab. We were at the Pokémon Center for a few hours, and I was supposed to call Professor Elm to let him know when we were leaving, and I kinda forgot," Gold rubbed his shoulder uneasily.
"And then I had some issues with a Hoothoot that I caught thanks to Wolfe's help."
"Dad? Can I have my backpack please? I'll show you what else we were there for," I chimed in.
"Well, alright." Luckily he had both of our bags with him, so he handed them over.
I unzipped the main pocket and pulled out the mysterious Pokémon egg, which I handed to my father. "I was supposed to bring that to Professor Elm. It's an unknown Pokémon egg."
My dad examined it closely. "Hmm, it's pretty interesting. I like the red and blue triangular pattern on it." He handed me back my egg. "Well, since you're all checked out and your names are cleared, I guess you're both free to go."
"Thanks Wolfe's dad!" Gold exclaimed happily.
"I think I'll be heading home now. See you tomorrow, Wolfe!" He called as he left the room—leaving just me and my dad alone.
"So, Gold battled the thief, huh?" Dad asked.
"Yeah. I battled him as well. I guess I should tell you who it is so you can file a report…" I trailed off. I didn't really know I'd turn in Silver, but there I was about to do it.
"That'd help. So you actually got the name and everything?" Dad asked a bit impressed. He probably thought I used my training in The Ops to get the thief's name—boy, he was about to be in for a surprise.
I sighed, partly from being exhausted, but mostly because I was in denial about whom the thief actually was. "The thief…" I started. "It's Silver…" I trailed off as I looked downward.
"Silver, hmm? As in your little boyfriend?" Dad seemed shocked.
"Yeah, that Silver: as in my ex-student and ex-best friend," I said glumly.
"Well, that certainly is a turn for surprise. He seemed like such a respectable young man, too…" It was Dad's turn to trail off.
"I can't confirm it, but I don't know Dad. Something tells me he's plotting revenge. I mean, after staging my death two years ago and blaming it on Team Rocket, I bet he's pretty pissed off at them."
"Ah, Amber. I can guess how you're feeling. You feel responsible for this, don't you?" Dad asked as he put a concerned hand on my shoulder.
"Hell yeah I do!" I replied adamantly as I met his hazel eyes. "Dad, I was Silver's only friend aside from that Sneasel of his! He knew Team Rocket was killing police officers and their families! And that note Team Rocket sent him back then, I bet—no, I know—he misinterpreted it to think it was aimed at me. He thought Team Rocket was out to kill me, and once he returned to a burned down school house, I'm certain it only pissed him off even more."
I sighed. "Needless to say, my faked death worked wonders on tricking everyone into thinking I'm gone. I just…wish he wouldn't have been involved in the first place. I probably ruined the poor guy's life…"
"Did he recognize you when you battled him?" Dad asked seriously.
"Nope, not at all. I don't know Dad, but he's not the same. Like, he doesn't seem like the same Silver I remember. He seemed so…harsh. His voice, the way he carried himself, the way he spoke, it was all so different from the Silver I knew. The way he used that Totodile, it felt like he was just using it as a tool for battle, nothing more. I guess I just feel like I'm to blame for it since after all, it is my fault if he's pissed about my death."
My father gave me a one-armed hug. "Baby girl, you did what you had to do. You felt like you needed to stop Team Rocket and prevent others from being slain, and you wanted to protect your mother—I'm forever grateful for it. Silver made his own decision to break the law, and I promise I will have him arrested for it and the Pokémon returned to the lab."
"No!" I interrupted. "Please, Dad. Let me handle him. I know he made his own choice, but if it's to stop Team Rocket, it might be a good thing to let him roam for a while. I need a lead, and since he's in Johto, he might just give me one. I want to find Team Rocket and put an end to their activities for good this time!"
"I see where you are going with this, but remember that a direct approach is dangerous. You don't even have your old Pokémon with you," Dad pointed out.
"That's true, but I have Chika. And Chika has just as much potential as Charry had. With enough training, we'll take Team Rocket down. Then, Kanto will be free and people won't have to live in fear for their lives. I thought I squashed them when I defeated Giovanni years ago, but I guess just having his word wasn't good enough."
"This time, I'll make certain to finish the job. That's D's goal, remember? When all of us at The Ops are through, Team Rocket will be an example why organizations should not partake in criminal activity—because we'll stop them in their tracks!" I replied fiercely.
"Just be careful, Sweetie. You know firsthand how Team Rocket is, and I don't want you getting hurt. I trust Darrius, but I'm just warning you. Another family was killed last week, all shot to death—Vicks was a good officer, too." He added.
"I'll take care of Johto, and then after that, I'll bring Silver to justice. As long as he commands Pokémon like they are tools, I guess I have no pity for him. I thought I taught him better! I think he could use another lesson on how to treat his Pokémon. As well as one on not to take what's not his!"
I then yawned. "But first, I think I should get some sleep." I laughed.
"I hear you. Need a ride? I'm staying at the office here for a while to wrap up the case. I still need to put Silver's name into the system for theft, but I'll make certain to pull some strings so he's left alone for your lead."
Dad handed me my pokeball with the familiar furry face inside. "Here's Repede. He'll take you home. Get some rest, and I'll see you when you wake up."
"Thanks Dad!" I gladly took the ball and hugged my father goodbye.
I then walked out of the station and let out my overly excited Arcanine who hadn't seen me outside of his ball in a few months.
Immediately Repede did his thing as he knocked me over to slobber my face with friendly doggy kisses. "Arc! Arc!" He cried happily as he wagged his giant bushy tail.
I never understood why, but every last one of my Fire-type Pokémon liked to lick my face—none were sloppier than Repede about it, except for Charry of course.
I laughed as I buried my head in the bushy mane of fur around the dog's neck while I flung my arms around his bulky head. He helped me to my feet as I replied, "Happy to see you too, big guy. Think you can give me a ride home? Just like the old days?" I grinned at the towering form who was taller than me by over a foot. Even by Arcanine standards, Repede was a giant of a dog.
"Arc!" He barked eagerly as he crouched to where I could hop onto his large back. I had to say, owning a dog who was taller than you while standing with all four paws on the ground felt awkward.
I hopped on and clung tightly to the bushy mane of fur around his neck as I leaned forward to where I was almost laying down. My legs dangled lazily at his sides as he carefully stood up. Oh, how I had forgotten how soft my boy's fur was. Repede was definitely one of my closest Pokémon friends, and I realized he would've made an awesomely soft pillow at that moment.
I regained control of my temptation to fall asleep as Repede slowly started to accelerate away from the station—he easily could top sixty miles per hour in under a minute. "Hey boy, you can slow it down! I'm in no hurry to get home. Besides, I have to give you back when I get home anyway," I added.
He whined like the puppy he was at heart as he slowed down to about five miles per hour—gradually, of course. He used to slow down to a sudden stop, but after he threw me off a dozen or so times, he realized it was a bad idea. I knew the whine was because I had to give him back, and he hated leaving my side.
"I know boy. But that's the rules. I'd take you and everyone else with me if I could, buddy. But, thanks to my reputation and the secret mission, I just can't risk it. I don't want you getting hurt, big guy." I patted the Arcanine on his head as he trudged along under the full moon at walking pace.
I sighed contently as I felt the familiar rhythm of Repede's footsteps. Whenever I needed to go somewhere quickly by land in Kanto—which was often—I used Repede for transportation because he loved to run with me on his back. No Pokémon I knew of could match him in speed and endurance while carrying a person. As long as it was by land, Repede was definitely the fastest way to travel, and obviously that hadn't changed since my life took its turn.
Finally, we approached the house, and I slid off Repede's back. I patted him on the head. "Thanks boy. You be good for Dad, all right? I'll see you around, I promise."
I gave him another hug as he sat down on his haunches. Sitting down, the dog was much taller than me, being an impressive almost nine feet tall from the top of his bushy head down to his majestic, wide paws.
"Now, return to the station so Dad can have a faster ride home, okay boy?" I asked.
"Arc!" He barked dutifully as he licked my right cheek lightly with that giant tongue of his. He then sped off down the street and howled his goodbye as he went.
I yawned as I glanced down at my ruined pants. Over the past few hours, I had managed to completely forget about that whole incident. I knew I'd take care of it in the morning since I was too tired. I opened the door and wasn't surprised to find the lights off, which meant Mom was sound asleep in her room downstairs.
That being the case, I hauled myself upstairs and into my room, where I plopped down on my bed without turning on the light. The moonlight from the window above my bed illuminated it enough, but even then I still managed to halfway land on a sleeping Pepper, who was not impressed.
Pepper, who was startled out of his catnap, hissed and bit me on the hand gently before stalking out of the room with his head held high and tail curved like a scythe. I decided I'd just apologize in the morning since tailing him would've proven too exhausting, and I was too tired. A few seconds later, I was dead to the world.