James woke up, his shoulder throbbing slightly, but certainly not to the extent it had been yesterday. But the rest had done him some good and was certainly feeling better. His stomach growled about being neglected and Jessie stirred quietly next to him, curled up on his chest. He glanced down, then looked around the room.

Suddenly, his eyes bolted open.

There she was; sleeping peacefully in the crook of his arm. He noted the bare shoulders on her. Still in shock, but very curious, he carefully lifted the covers. He gazed for a long time at what he saw. Her smooth curvy hip laid against his briefs as her breast rested against his chest. Her silky skin moved slowly as she breathed rhythmically. Her leg was curled around his and her arm was draped over him as well. His own breathing felt accelerated, but he was in fact holding it.

It was the most erotic thing he had ever seen.

He finally put the covers down and sat there rather flabbergasted. What happened? The kiss. He faintly remembered the heavenly kiss and his profession of love...he hoped. He glanced under the covers again. Okay, he must have said it. She apparently felt the same way. Actually, she felt very good. He let out a little chuckle at the lustful thought, then looked over at her face. So peaceful. So beautiful. His feelings for her were true; he was confident of that. The dream of her being shot flashed through his mind and he realized that he would lay down his life for her. Although, he hoped it would never come to that. Being shot once was enough for him.

While he didn't know much about love, he knew that he wanted to explore it. He already knew that his epiphany regarding love wasn't that deep either. He became a bit angered when he thought it over. For the past three years, he had been taught -– no, programmed to believe that love was evil. All this time, he had been denying, and denied, feeling love. Now, with Jessie in his arms, his understanding of what he felt for her, he realized that he had been denied the very thing that made life worthwhile. "It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." Where had he heard that? He remembered hearing it over a year ago, after Jessie and he recited their motto. Some girl had said it in response to his side of the motto, before they kidnapped her pokemon or whatever it was that they did to her. It always struck him as curious, but he hadn't understood it, or cared about it, at the time. Now the wisdom of the statement crashed in on him like a tidal wave. He happened to glance over at the table on his right side and spotted a rose in the midst of the empty first aid kit and a couple of bloodied towels. He picked the rose up and smelled it. God, it was so wonderfully sweet. He looked at it again, denunciations of truth and love echoing in his mind. It became more apparent to him now that truth and love were strong energies being utilized by Giovanni for his own nefarious purposes. He tossed the rose into the trash can. His shoulder flashed with pain, but it quickly dissipated. He smiled to himself. Now, he understood the power of truth and love.

He looked down at Jessie's face again, then leaned down and kissed her forehead. She stirred and woke up, her eyes gently opening. Her draped arm hugged him as he brought his own arm down to hold her close to him. She then crawled on top of him. James could feel every inch of her smooth body against his own. Needless to say, this aroused him a great deal, but his eyes were locked on hers. Both of them were smiling at each other.

"Good morning," she whispered softly.

"Good morning, my love," he replied, gently stroking her cheek. Managing to tear his eyes away from her eyes for a moment, he glanced up at her hair. He smirked a little bit.

"So that's your natural hair color..." He smiled at her, knowing that he was worthy of the remark, provided he washed out his own color. "Let me see it down...out of the bun."

"Someone's feeling better," she said, but smiled shyly at the request. She then sat up, straddling him at his hips. James gazed up at her in complete awe as she reached behind her head and pulled out all the little clips and ties used to hold her hair in place. Jessie blushed some at James' drooling. Now she was flattered by the gawking, especially since it was from someone she cared about. She struck a couple of subtle poses, hoping he would like what he saw. James continued to be awestruck by her nudity. His eyes were locked on her exposed breasts. Her hair now cascaded down her back, some of it falling in front, as though trying to salvage some form of modesty. Jessie smiled very slyly at him, even dropping her voice to a sultry tone.

"Aren't you going to say anything about how incredibly sexy I am?"

For a moment, he couldn't. But he was able to say something; his voice seemed to have been humbled by a greater power.

"My God, Jessie, you are so beautiful."

When Jessie heard this, she almost responded with the usual sense of bravado and arrogance about her looks. What stopped her was the extreme sincerity in his voice. He really meant every word of it. Her insecurities suddenly rose to the surface and she bit her lower lip in uncertainty.

"Do you mean that, James? You really think I'm beautiful?"

"Oh God, yes," he answered as he reached up and gently cupped her face, pulling her to him. "Dear God, yes," he whispered as he lovingly placed his lips upon hers and passionately kissed. Their arms entwined one another, just after Jessie reached back and flung the sheets over them. Kisses and moans could be heard from beneath the sheets, then a pair of briefs found itself airborn, landing near Jessie's blouse. There was an audible, lustful moan from Jessie as she exclaimed two words passionately.

"Oh James."

They made love all morning and afternoon, taking a short break to wash the color from James' hair. This took a considerable amount of time, since she was straddling him and neither had bothered to get dressed that afternoon. Once that little chore was done and James was now sporting a head of dirty blond hair, they snacked on some food that was in their foot locker. Both of them were incredibly hungry and enjoyed feeding each other bits of food they had. Once their physical hunger had been taken care of, their lustful hunger for each other flared up again. Their lovemaking lasted long into the night. Some hours later, they were asleep in each others arms. Their sweat drying in the cool evening breezes that blew in from the partially open window. They were both a little sore from the frequency, but the smiles on their faces told mountains about their experience.

*** *** *** ***

The next day arrived and James stood naked by the window, looking down at the thinning crowds of Team Rocket members. The police had been trying to clear them out, since they were becoming a nuisance to the other businesses on the street. While he was not wholly suprised that they were still there, he understood, at that moment, that they were on a deadline. They had to leave soon. Jessie woke up and saw him with his back to her. She smiled lustfully as she simply looked at his backside.

"We'll need to leave soon," James said, hearing Jessie stir, but not looking behind him.

He's got such a cute butt! she thought, smiling even moreso, but managed to reply with, "I know. But where are we going to go? Who's responsible for shooting at us?"

"Well," he started, "I've been thinking about that. If Team Rocket is trying to kill us, who directs Team Rocket?"

I definitely need to get my hands on his butt! Mmm! she thought, then replied with, "Giovanni. He's behind this! He must be! He's the one who hands out all the major assignments, especially the high priority ones. So where do we go?" Jessie cast the covers off and walked over to James, so that she could put her lustful thinking into action.

"We go to the police. Get some sort of protection. Maybe we can testify against him, since we've done a lot of things under his direction, so they might be able to arrest him for that...it's not much, but it's a start."

It sounds like a good idea, she thought, but out loud, she said, "Your butt feels so good!" Both her hands clutched his cheeks, then she turned really red. An amused smirk crossed James' face as he looked back at her.

"Did I say that out loud?" she said, providing a very sheepish smile. He nodded in agreement, but smiled at her as he dropped the window shade.

"Yes, but I do admire your focus on the topic at hands," he replied. And with that, they embraced each other and kissed lustfully. Their hands freely roaming each others bodies.

"I've never seen so many Team Rocket members in one area," said Brock, as he looked through some binoculars from a small hill, near to the town. The sixteen year old boy continued, his spiky black hair waving a bit in the wind. "They must be looking for someone important."

"I wonder who it might be," said Misty, as she combed out her bright red hair. The thirteen year old girl had recently taken on more concern about her appearance, in hopes that Ash might take some notice. So far, it had not been working and was trying to think of a different or more direct approach.

"I dunno. It's--" replied Brock. At that moment, he looked up at the hotel windows and saw Jessie's nude form striding over to James's nude form. Brock's jaw just dropped and moaned quietly at the loveliness that Jessie possessed. Misty noticed this and took the binoculars from him. Brock sat there in a lovestruck trance.

"What is it, Brock?" she asked as she put the binoculars to her eyes. She spotted the same window and saw James's nudity in the windows. "Oh my," was all she could whisper and felt her whole body become flushed. The window shade had dropped and Ash came over to them at that moment. Pikachu wasn't far behind as he was looking for something to nibble on.

"Hey guys. Any ideas about the big crowd of Team Rocket members?" the dark-haired eleven year old asked, his red and white cap slightly askew. Brock and Misty looked at each other, both of them very red. Brock quickly stood up.

"Ah, I just remembered something. Er, I need to..uh, go."

With that, Brock bolted out of sight. Misty stood up too, but much more deliberately and turned to face Ash.

"I wonder what that was about. You'd think he saw another girl or something," Ash said, watching Brock take off. Misty came up very close to him, smiling at him and even still a bit flushed. Her heart was pounding, but she was determined. She had a new inspiration.

"He did," she simply replied. Just as Ash turned to ask another question, she jumped him. Her lips meshed with his as she quickly put her arms around his neck and quickly took him to the ground. Ash did not have a chance against her. She finally had her means of expressing her feelings to him.

An hour later, after forcefully willing themselves not to touch each other, so that they could get past the Rockets and escape to the police station, James was putting the final touches on his moustache and goatee. The facial hair color matched the wig he was wearing: salt and pepper, but more salt, to make him look much older. He was also practicing his inflections, so that he sounded like a much older man. Jessie was dressed the same way she as before when she left the first time. James had a hard time keeping his eyes off her. She noticed it and simply smiled.

"Come on, you dirty old man, we need to get out of here."

"I know, I know. I'm just glad that I'm not dressed as a woman this time."

"True," she grinned mischieviously. "But you are wearing my underwear."

James could only redden with embarassment as a smile crossed his lips. He did manage a reply.

"But I'm so turned on by the fact that you're not wearing them."

It was her turn to blush now, then the two of them giggled happily. After a moment, they became serious and prepared to leave. They both recited their identities to each other, so they wouldn't forget who they were. James picked up a cane to add to the effect and use as a weapon if it got ugly. They also decided to leave the footlocker behind. They were not coming back to Team Rocket and it would make them pretty obvious with all the Team Rocket logos pasted on it. They were about to open the door when Jessie felt a wave of nausea pass through her. She quickly went into the bathroom. James waited a bit nervously. He heard her put a glass down on the sink, then she opened the door. Her color had returned and she was dabbing the sweat off her brow, using the last clean towel. She nodded that she was okay and that it must have been the adrenaline surge that made her sick. James was obviously concerned, but elected to take her excuse at face value. They went to the door again, opened it and entered the hallway.

The hallway was lined with doors on both sides, each with their own room number. The wallpaper was a gaudy olive and white striped design that had a vinyl sort of texture to it. As they walked to the elevators, they both spotted a group of five Rocket members turning the corner at the opposite end of the hallway. The one out in front was barking orders while a couple of them went to the doors and knocked on them.

"Remember: These two used to be the best of the best. Their disguises were always top notch. But they're scared and wounded. Finding them will not be difficult. They should be very easy prey."

Both Jessie and James paused in the hallway and looked at each other. The Rockets were canvasing the entire hotel, searching for them. James put a hand behind Jessie, gave a little push and walked in step with her. His eyes narrowed and whispered sharply to Jessie.

"Let's show them how wounded and scared we are."

Jessie was not as sure of herself as he was, but she followed his lead. They reached the elevators and pushed the down button. They waited quietly, their hearts pounding fiercely as fear set in. They certainly would do what they could to avoid the Rockets, but --

"Excuse me?"

They both turned, Jessie looking a bit more worried than James did, but that quickly passed. It was the leader of the canvasing group. His tone was polite and cordial.

"My name is Harry. I was wondering if you two might've seen a couple of our associates."

Harry produced the same two photographs that Jessie saw on her first trip out. James had remembered when the photographs were taken as well. James shook his head, as did Jessie.

"We've never seen them before," James replied, his voice taking on a gravely texture. He gave a couple of coughs to go with it. "Pardon me."

Harry nodded as he took the photographs back, keeping a subtle leering eye on Jessie. Jessie became very uncomfortable being under his gaze, not so much that he was searching for her, but that he might be having very lustful thoughts about her made her a bit queasy. James noticed his gaze and also noticed that the other Rockets had already moved past the elevators and were knocking on the doors down their wing. It was just the three of them now and the elevator dinged to announce its arrival. James' heart pounded with the spontaneous plan his brain just cooked up.

"Well, I won't keep you two then. Thank you for your time," said Harry.

"Perhaps you could answer us a couple questions," James said, his voice tense, but normal. Harry looked at him in surprise at the voice change, but it was too late. James had already swung his cane into Harry's groin, then whirled around clockwise, slamming the cane into Harry's skull, which forced him to stumble into the now open elevator. A surprised Jessie miraculously didn't scream or yell when James did this, but reacted quickly by pressing the 'L' button for the hotel lobby, once she stepped inside the car. James came into the elevator car and the doors closed behind him. Harry groaned in pain. A few floors passed and James flipped the emergency stop switch. The car stopped with a little lurch. James then propped Harry up into a sitting position, then wedged his head against the wall by putting the head of the cane under his chin and pushing up. The other end of it was jammed into the floor, effectively locking his skull into place, like one might put a chair under a doorknob to prevent entry. James leaned on the cane a bit with his knee, to add a bit of pressure to Harry's head. Jessie crouched with him, still a bit surprised by James' impromptu idea, but her mindframe was very professional now.

"And my questions are," James started, an angry growl in his voice now, "who sent you? Who is behind all of this? Why did a couple Rockets try to kill us? And...if you don't tell us the truth, Jessie here will rip your throat out with her very sharp nails."

Jessie, as if on cue, reached out for Harry's exposed throat and gently raked his skin, making it point to tickle the rings surrounding his larnyx. It had the desired effect on poor Harry.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" Harry sputtered through clenched teeth, his jaw being forced against his skull, making it hard to speak. "I know...ugh, nothing about...killing you. My team...was sent to find you. Ow! Nothing more...I swear!"

James pursed his lips at this, then looked at Jessie. "Rip his throat out. He's lying."

Jessie nodded, then gripped Harry's throat firmly and he squealed for mercy.

"I don't know...anything!! The orders...came directly...from Giovanni!" Harry pulled out a folded sheet of paper from under his Rocket monogrammed sweater. James took it as Jessie kept her grip on his throat. James skimmed through it quickly, then recited some of it for everyone to hear.

" 'Jessie and James are traitors to the extreme and must be sought out and brought to me directly, so that I may serve punishment for their transgressions against us and the very foundation which upholds the ideals of Team Rocket.' "

Jessie and James' hearts sank upon hearing this, but at least they had confirmed who was behind their assassination. James motioned for her to let go of his throat, then he pulled the cane away. Jessie stood up, looking a bit uncertain about what James was up to. He was even trying to help Harry to his feet. Once Harry was on one knee, James pulled back a fist and let it fly. Harry never knew what hit him as his head slammed against the back wall of the elevator and he fell unconcious to the floor. With his enemy down, he searched him for his entry ID badge. He pocketed the memo and the ID inside his jacket pocket, then undid the emergency stop. He quickly pressed the '2' button. Jessie understood what he was trying to do. Stop on the second floor, then take the stairs to the lobby and go out the front door while everyone was distracted.

It worked like a charm. The Rockets crowded around the elevator to investigate Harry's injuries and they slipped through the front door. They headed towards the tallest building in the city, which they presumed was City Hall. They had just passed by an alleyway when Ron stepped out in front of them. Oddly enough, he was by himself. Before he could even say "Are you sure you won't reconsider my dinner offer?" to Jessie, she cold-cocked him and he unceremoneously dropped to the ground, falling back into the alley. She quickly went down and grabbed his ID. James was a little stunned by this, but was able to keep walking with her, as though nothing had happened.

"You go girl," he said, smiling amusedly at her.

"I am woman. Hear me roar!" she said, grinning at him.

"Oh, I heard you roar plenty of times this morning and last night."

Jessie blushed at his statement, but smiled happily.

"And I can hardly wait to do it again," she replied. James turned a bit red, both of them chuckling a bit nervously at the prospect of making love again. They continued to City Hall and hopefully, the police station.

TO BE CONTINUED...Part IV