A shocked mutter swept through the four youngsters hiding in the vent as they heard the men talking. Team Midnight, they knew from tv news reports, were a notorious criminal gang said to be even worse than the Team Rocket which had plagued Johto and Kanto in the late twentieth century. So-called because they tended to operate under cover of darkness, Team Midnight members wore black t-shirts and combat pants that enabled them to blend into the dark alleys of various cities. But what were they doing here in Aquarius? What on Earth could they want with an undersea city?
Marc and Jeremy shot the girls a look that clearly said "told you there was something going on", an expression which Autumn and Candida chose to ignore. But there still remained the problem of how to get out of the vent without being seen and, assuming they could manage that, they would then have to live with the knowledge that Team Midnight was abroad in Aquarius and may be planning some fiendish scheme. "We'll have to let Wilson . . ." Marc started to say, but Autumn cut him short.
"We're not supposed to be in this area," she reminded him. "And, if anyone finds out . . ."
" . . . we'll be in trouble," added Candida, who did not like the idea of having Team Midnight around any more than the others did. But she also knew that, as things currently stood, they had little chance of exposing Team Midnight without anyone finding out they had broken bounds - or rather, the boys had broken bounds and the girls had gone to stop them before they landed themselves in trouble. Now, thanks to the curiousity of Autumn's Pikachu, they were stuck in this vent and dared not leave until they could be certain the coast was clear . . .
"Guess all we can do is wait," Autumn sighed, stroking her Pikachu on his head as she spoke. The Team Midnight members had left a few moments earlier, but there was always the risk they could return and catch the four youngsters as they tried to escape.
"And hope Kelly, Sandra and Kevin got back OK," added Marc, leaning against the metal wall of the shaft. Then, as his stomach gave a sudden grumble, he asked: "I don't suppose anyone has some food on them - I'm getting famished." Autumn frowned, thinking it was just typical for boys to think of food at a time like this, but she checked her pockets all the same before shaking her head. Candida didn't have anything either, but Jeremy managed to find a bar of chocolate in the pocket of his jeans.
It had melted slightly and was sticking to the wrapper like a brown adhesive, but he managed to break it into six pieces so there was enough for the four humans, Autumn's Pikachu and Candida's Togetic. It wasn't the most filling meal in the world, but it should tide them over until they could make their way back through the shaft and, hopefully, get to their modules without being seen. But it was only a matter of moments before the grill they were near was thrust open and a man crawled into the long and slanting shaft . . .
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"We were told there were voices coming from this shaft," he said as he closed in on the four youngsters. Autumn's Pikachu braced himself to Thunderbolt the man, but Autumn restrained him; an Electric Attack in such a confined space was too risky. Not that they were without Pokemon protection, for Marc's Squirtle had broken out of his Poke Ball the second he sensed impending danger and soaked the man with his Water Gun. "And it seems our information was right - looks like you kids couldn't keep your nose out of things that don't concern you . . ."
Marc quickly recalled his Squirtle and Candida did likewise with Togetic - this was exactly what the girls had tried to warn Kevin, Jeremy and Marc about, the reason they had tried to put a stop to the boys' crazy ideas. But that wasn't all . . .
"Look!" Autumn whispered as she pointed at the man. The others looked at him more closely and saw that he was wearing a black t-shirt and combat pants, garments which they all knew could mean only one thing - and a glimpse of the letters TM tattooed on the man's upper arm confirmed it. A shocked silence fell, a silence that was finally broken by Candida.
"You - you're from Team Midnight!" she shouted. She had only seen Team Midnight members once in her life - a band of them had tried to rob a bank in Cherrygrove City when she was in there with Lydia - but there was no mistaking that mode of dress . . . or that tattoo. She made as if to throw Togetic's Poke Ball, but the man's only response was to laugh mirthlessly.
"What if we are?" he shot back. "It seems we'll have to teach you brats not to go snooping. Reeves and Tanner," he called to the floor below, "help me with this lot."
Whoever Reeves and Tanner were - more Team Midnight members, the youngsters supposed - Autumn and the others were not about to wait and find out. They made to crawl away down the vent in the hope of outrunning the Team Midnight member, but he moved a fraction of a second faster and seized hold of Autumn as she attempted to escaped, hauling her forcibly out of the vent and into the room below. Finding herself surrounded by Team Midnight agents, all of them armed, she gulped and prayed that her Pikachu would get away safely.
"Want me to go get those other brats?" asked a dark-haired female Team Midnight agent, addressing the man who had seized Autumn. The latter was struggling to get away, but his only response was to tighten his hold on her arm and lean close to her, whispering that she was "for it now".
"No, Reeves," he said to the woman who had spoken. "They'll have scattered by now and we can't draw attention to ourselves until the signal comes from HQ. We'll just take this one - if anyone asks, we caught her breaking bounds."
"Accurate enough," Reeves said with an expression on her face that made it look as if she was eating a lemon. "In the meantime, we'd better try and find out what those kids were doing in that vent."
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Only Autumn's Pikachu had noticed his trainer's capture and was now trying desperately to get attention from Marc, Jeremy and Candida. "Pika pikachu!" he called urgently, pointing to the vent with frantic gestures. "Pika! Pika!"
"Shh, Pikachu - they'll hear you," Candida whispered, pressing her finger against her lips. If there were Team Midnight agents in Aquarius - and, after seeing that man's uniform and tattoo, she had no doubt there were - the last thing they would want was to have kids overhear their plans, whatever they were. The appearence of the Team Midnight agent exposed a major flaw in the vent as a hiding place - sound carried far too easily and this meant they would have to get out as fast as possible . . .
But there was no silencing the frantic Pokemon, who continued to shout and point, trying to tell the three youngsters that Autumn had been taken and might be in serious trouble. "Pika pikachu pi pika pika!" he insisted. And, even as Candida clamped her hand over his mouth in a bid to keep him quiet, she began to realise something wasn't quite right; she had only known Autumn's Pikachu for a short time, but she already knew he would never shout like this unless something was wrong. Looking round at her companions, she realised what that something was . . .
"Marc, Jeremy," she whispered to the two boys, "have either of you seen Autumn?"
They shook their heads. "Not since that Team Midnight agent showed up," Marc replied. "You don't think . . .?" He paused, unable to bring himself to say the words he had been about to utter. Not that it mattered because Jeremy and Candida had both realised the same thing . . .
"That Team Midnight has her?" prompted Candida, keeping a tight hold of Autumn's Pikachu for fear the Pokemon might run off again. She did not dare squeeze too hard in case the Pikachu did what she had been warned Electric Pokemon often did when held too tightly and gave her a Thundershock. "I was just thinking that myself and, as soon as we're out of here, we're going to find her."
"We don't even know where they've got her," Marc reminded her. "And besides . . ."
"It was you nosy boys who landed us in this mess," Candida reminded him. "And, if you stop to think about it, she must be somewhere in Aquarius and we have to figure out where . . ."
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Fortunately, the three of them managed to get back to where they had first entered the vent without being detected and all they had to do now was get clear of the restricted area they were in and alert Kevin, Kelly and Sandra. Assuming, that is, that they could make it past any guards that might have been stationed nearby . . . But they knew they had to do something about whatever fiendish plans Team Midnight were devising and their capture of Autumn made this all the more urgent.
Candida was cursing under her breath, still furious with Marc and Jeremy for landing them in this mess. She had taken charge of Autumn's Pikachu and was struggling to keep the Pokemon from running off to look for his trainer; instinct told her that Team Midnight's plans would be too much for a single Pikachu to handle and, besides, they still had to figure out where Autumn was being held. Only then, would they be able to make any rescue plans.
It was rather ironic that one of the reasons Autumn had been caught was because she and the other girls had been trying to prevent it from happening to Kevin, Jeremy and Marc. At the time, it had seemed like a straightforward case of breaking bounds, but the discovery of Team Midnight agents in the underwater city seemed to indicate that there was something going on, something that could only mean trouble . . .
"Told you there was something strange going on," Jeremy whispered triumphantly as they made their way towards the corridor that led into the room where Autumn's Pikachu had first escaped into the vents. But Candida's only response was to nudge him in the ribs; the last thing she wanted was to be reminded of that and besides . . .
"There are guards up ahead!" she whispered, pointing towards the two men standing further down the corridor with their hands on their Poke Balls. Clearly the guards whose Mightyena had been knocked out by Kelly's Skiploom, Drifter, had sent for reinforcements.
"Are they from Team Midnight?" asked Marc, keeping a tight hold of his Squirtle's Poke Ball.
"If they are, they must be working undercover," Candida replied. "They aren't wearing Team Midnight gear for one thing. Still, we can't take any chances," she added as she turned to the Pikachu standing beside her and tightened her grip on Togetic's Poke Ball. Lapras would, of course, be of little use in their current environment. "Pikachu, I know I'm not your usual trainer, but could you stun those guards with your Thundershock?"
Pikachu did not need telling twice. He leapt into the air, charging up as he did so, and let fly with a powerful jolt of electricity which got both guards dead on and put them temporarily out of action. Candida, Marc and Jeremy promptly hurried over to check they would pose no further threat for the moment. A quick examination of the unconscious men assured the three youngsters they would not be waking up any time soon - nonetheless, they did not like leaving them there to be found by someone who could be part of Team Midnight . . .
Seeing a nearby room, Marc nodded to the others; cottoning on to his idea, Jeremy and Candida knelt down behind the men's heads and, gripping them under their armpits, managed to drag them over to the room and deposit them inside. (Judging by the tables arranged in a U shape, this room was intended to be used for meetings or something similar). Then, Marc slammed the door shut and it bolted automatically.
"Let's get back to our modules!" suggested Jeremy.
"But what about . . .?" Candida started, thinking of Autumn, at the mercy of the Team Midnight agents somewhere in Aquarius.
"I'm worried about Autumn too," said Jeremy, guessing what Candida was about to say. "But we'll need to get the others before we try anything."
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Autumn, meanwhile, found herself being led deeper and deeper into the bowels of the undersea complex, to an area so far under the ocean floor that there were no windows through which wild Water Pokemon could be seen swimming. She was shaking with apprehension, wondering what the Team Midnight agents were planning to do to her. And what about Candida, Jeremy and Marc? Had they managed to get back to their modules safely and was her Pikachu still with them? Moreover, would her Pikachu . . .?
Her thoughts were cut off abruptly as Reeves hustled her into a room in which a plump man sat at a desk with the self-satisfied expression of a company director about to dismiss an incompetent employee. "Ah, Reeves," he said to the female Team Midnight agent as the latter prodded Autumn sharply in the small of her back. "I see you got one. How many were involved altogether?"
"We saw at least four - two males and two females," Reeves replied. "All kids, but three managed to get away. Luckily, we got . . ."
She was cut off abruptly as the man - the brass plaque on his desk declared that his name was Gordon Rich - picked up a notepad and hurled it at her head. "You incompetent fool!" Rich raged as Reeves ducked her head while keeping a tight hold on Autumn's arm. "You know how important this plan is for the future glory of Team Midnight - and three snooping teenagers could ruin everything!" He sat back down and drummed his fingers on the desk as he pondered what to say next; it was tempting to have Reeves finish the job she was supposed to do and round up whoever else had overheard his agents, but exposing their presence before the time was right would undo months of planning. This required another approach . . .
"You, girl!" he barked at Autumn, who was trying to look as detached from the proceedings as she possibly could. "Who were the kids with you? What are their names?"
Desperately, Autumn told herself that there was no way she would betray the others and land them in the situation she instinctively knew she would find herself in once Rich was through with her. For one thing, whatever Team Midnight were planning, the people in Aquarius would have more chance of resisting if someone knew roughly what was going on. "I don't know," she replied, keeping her voice as level as possible. "Just some . . . kids . . ."
"Liar!" barked Rich, searching his desk for something else to throw. "Do not lie to a Team Midnight director! I'll ask you again - what are the names of the children you were with?"
"I don't know and, even if I did, I wouldn't tell you!" Autumn shot back. Part of her wished she had her Pikachu with her to back her up, but the rest of her hoped fervently that he had made it safely back with Marc, Jeremy and Candida. "You have no authority here, you . . . you Team Midnight scum!"
"I have no authority? My dear girl, I fear you are mistaken. That fool Wilson will only be in charge for as long as my agents are waiting for the signal from HQ - and, when it comes, Team Midnight will take control. So, I suggest you co-operate like a good little girl and tell me who else was breaking bounds with you."
"Never!" Autumn shot back, incensed at being referred to as a "little girl" when she was already 5'3". This pattern of Rich demanding answers and Autumn refusing to give them continued for five more minutes until Rich lost patience and decided it was time to resort to desperate measures if he was to loosen Autumn's tongue . . .
"Very well, my dear," he said in a deceptively calm voice as he got up from behind his desk and walked over to Autumn, who gagged at the smell of stale tobacco on his breath. "Maybe you'll feel differently once you've had a taste of . . ." He paused for dramatic effect. " . . . the Tank!"
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The Tank proved to be a room lined with white tiles that had what looked like shower heads ranged along the walls. As soon as Reeves and Rich got close enough, they roughly shoved Autumn inside and slammed the transparent door shut, locking it before the girl could stagger to her feet and escape. Not that this didn't stop her from leaping up and banging on the door, calling the two Team Midnight members every insulting name she could think of (she actually referred to Reeves in a way that implied she was a female Growlithe), but it made no difference. The only response she got from the Team Midnight members was a gloating smile.
"Here's the deal," Rich told her, leaning close to the keyhole so Autumn could hear him through the locked door. "Reeves and I have some business to attend to and we'll probably be gone a few hours - hopefully that will give you time to reconsider what you said earlier. By the way," he added as he and Reeves turned to walk away, "I hope you can swim . . ."
Even as he spoke, the shower heads all seemed to switch on of their own accord . . .