WARNING: Due to the violent content of this story parental discretion is advised. Disclaimer: Pokemon and all their characters are the sole property of Game Freak, the WB, and it's creators. ENJOY *** For Your Eyes Only**** Any information that is disclosed is for your own personal knowledge. If you choose to reveal said information, your termination will be applied. And if you are caught, we at MASTERS have the right to deny any of our prior relationships. Codename: ASHURA-The Breakout >Vermilion International Airport *****08:00 hours It was busy as usual at the VI Airport. Families, dreaming of the fun that awaited them on their upcoming trips. Business executives, racing against the clock to their next appointments. The airport was a perfect example of working chaos. And in the middle of all this chaos stood one man. "Sheep," he said, well observing all the hurrying people. The word was his term to describe all the 'normal people,' because he himself was far from normal. Although his features were basic: about 5 foot 10, short brown hair, and dark blue eyes. But his perception on life was slightly.... twisted. The man searched through his dark trenchcoat to seek out a cigarette. Finding the object of his desire, he popped the Marbarlo into his mouth. Needing a light, he struck a match on the side of a concrete wall. The flickering light gave his features, a momentary haunting look. Bringing the match to the cigarette, he took a drag. His lungs filled with the toxic, yet soothing air. The nicotine was already started to work, relaxing his system as he exhaled. He closed his eyes as he mentally prepared for his next act. "Umm...Excuse me sir!" The gentlemen opened his eyes to see an Airport Officer in front of him. "Uhhh...Sir you can't smoke that in here." The Officer informed the gentleman. The smoker narrowed his eyes at the officer. An act that made the Officer gulp, but he still remained firm to his order. The man looked at the officer's badge. 'Tim' was the officer's name. After a few minutes of debating, the man in the trenchcoat took another long drag of his cigarette, making sure to turn the entire cigarette into ashes. After he was sure his lungs were filled to the maximum capacity of smog, he blew a full stream right into the officer's face. Officer Tim was coughing and gagging on all the smoke. He was ready to go for his handcuffs when his attention was diverted by a floating 'Ben Franklin.' The brown haired men was holding a hundred dollar bill in front of Officer Tim's face, like it was bait on a fish hook. The officer, remembering that he owned some people money, started to go for the bill. Then he shook-off the feeling, as the responsibility of his job kicked in. "Ugh...Sir I can't accept that and it's against the law to bribe an offic..." His sentence was cut short, as the single "Ben Franklin' was replaced by five more 'Bens.' 'Screw responsibility' Tim thought as he snatched the bills from the man's hands. The dark man walked past the officer grinning. "Sheep are so easy to please," He chuckled as he walked to the customs section of the Airport. ********* "Move the prisoners over here," the Sergeant ordered as the officers moved the two tangerine orange clad captives. Both were bonded by handcuffs on their wrists that lead to the chains on their ankles. The Sergeant was assigned to transport the pair to Steel City, where they would be locked up in a Maximum Security Prison. The "Brink" as it was more popularly known, held the tightest security known on the globe. In the sixty-five years of it's opening, there has never been a case where someone had escaped. Which meant anyone that was sent there, had to have committed some of the most heinous crimes ever. The Sarge shifted his gaze as the two walked in. The first was a young women in her late-twenties, long blonde hair that came down into two pigtails. If the sergeant didn't know anything about her, he would say she was cute. But he knew behind that attractive exterior was a cold-blooded killer. Behind her was her partner. A man slightly over six feet tall, he had green hair that fell over his eyes. In a brief moment the Serge and the male prisoners eyes met. The Serge could see such a fierce savagery that was in his eyes. It made all the stories about him seem more believable. "Settle down, Butch!" another officer cried while cracking his kneecaps with his baton. Butch let out a painful cry. His voice could only rival the sound of scraping chalk against a blackboard. All the officers 'tried' to turn a deaf ear to his cries. Which left the female prisoner to go to his aid. "You OK, Butchie?" she asked, wanting to touch him but was reminded of her shackles. "Cassidy?" he questioned. She nodded. A smile came to his face. "Yeah, I'm fine," he stated while scrambling to his feet to sit in the chair. "Besides, these pigs can't keep the Butch man down," he cheered. "Quiet down, you two," the baton wielding officered ordered. The two looked up with death in their eyes, but decided to keep their voices down. "When we're out of this," Butch started, while looking over his shoulder to the guard. "Remind me to kill that guy." Cassidy grinned. "Yeah tell me about it...You don't know about some of the problems I had..." She trailed off, as the visions resurfaced. A slight tear escaped her eyes. "Shhh ...Cassidy don't worry about it. We're together again and as soon as the Boss gets here, we'll have no problems." She leaned against his shoulder. "But you know what will happen when he gets here though." Butch became uneasy. "I know." He relaxed again. "But, I also know how you really feel about me.... so, it's OK," he said while turning to face Cassidy. She sighed. "I guess now we just have to wait...." ******* The customs inspection lines of VI Airport were running like clockwork. One steps forward, drops all their metallic items, walks through the metal detector. "Next!" the attendant at the desk shouts, and the cycle continues. Waiting at the end of this line, stood a brown haired man. He anxiously looked around. He was in desperate need of a cigarette. He had one before, but some "Sheep" of a police officer made him get rid of it. Normally, he would have fed the guy his own lung.... but he was on a schedule. "Next!" the attendant shouted. Looked like he was on. He slowly moved forward to stand before the Customs Attendant, his black trenchcoat swaying slightly as he moved. Any normal man in his shoes wouldn't have the balls to do what he had planned on his agenda. He wasn't worried though. He had enough ammunition on him to take out a small country, let alone some "Sheep" Airport cops. "Step forward, Sir," the Customs Attendant politely requested. She smiled slightly, taking in the man's features. The man was a step away from the metal detector's passageway. The man grinned; the attendant was kind of cute. Short, with brown hair, and blue eyes. He was sure she had her pick of the guys. But, he was a one-woman guy, unfortunately. Besides he would probably get bored of her in a week and then dump her body somewhere. He chuckled to himself, as his thoughts wandered. "What's your name sir?" The blue-eyed attendant asked. "Richard.... Richard Giovanni." He said while grinning. The sound of his full name always sounded weird to him. "But you can call me Richie, luv." The attendant blushed. "Ok...Richie. Can you walk through, please." "Sure thing," he looked at her tag. "Rachel." She blushed again. Grinning, Richie walked through the metal detector. "ERRRRR!!!" the machine sounded as it went off. An airport officer behind Rachel stepped forward. "Ok, Mr. Giovanni, place any metallic objects into the pan and walk through again." Richie did as he was told, while making small chitchat with Rachel. While they talked, she was putting his information into the computer. "It will take a few minutes before all your information is processed," She informed him. 'Good,' He thought. 'It will give me some time.' Richie decided to drop some of the 'minor' metal objects into the pan: his watch, a silver chain, a money clip and few pieces of change in his pocket. He then positioned himself in front of the machine. He walked through. "ERRRRR!!!!" This time the officer raised an eyebrow. "Step to the side, please sir," The officer asked. Two other officers joined him. The lead Officer held the metal detector wand. "Please raise your arms to the side, sir." Richie agreed and raised his arms. The way his body was positioned, it looked like he was about to be crucified. His eye wandered over to Rachel's direction. ******* 'I can't believe it,' Rachel thought. 'This guy is so cute.' She blushed at her own thoughts. 'I hope he isn't married.' She sneaked another peak, at the mysterious traveler. 'Oh my god, he's looking at me.' She blushed even harder this time. 'Get a grip girl,' she told herself. 'We still have a job to do. Let finish with his registration first. Then we can find out more about him.' Finally getting control of herself, Rachel continued. She hastily typed in the rest of his flight information into the computer. The flight number. The location. And finally, his passport information. She typed his name into the computer. Suddenly her registration screen was filled with an image of Richie, with a serial number under his photo. 'Oh my God. This is a mug shot,' she realized. After the 'mug shot' screen, then a list of offenses were seen. WANTED!!!!! Armed Robbery-4 accounts Arson-13 accounts Assault-45 accounts Murder- can not be computed Murder Pokemon-can not be computed Kidnapping-120 accounts Kidnapping Pokemon-332 accounts Pokemon Experimentation-40 accounts Rape-can not be computed Terriorism-90 accounts Theft-160 accounts The list went on and on. Then the whole screen was filled with bold red letters. 'APPROACH WITH CAUTION!' In her life, Rachel was never really afraid of anything. But in that instant, fear would have been more welcome then the pure terror she felt. She dared another look at the 'monster.' Apparently he was watching her the whole time, enjoying himself. She wanted to cry out, but for some reason the words could never come. ******* 'I guess dinner is off,' Richie chuckled to himself. His attention was then drawn as one of the Airport Officers spoke. "Sir, please remain still as we commence the search," the officer said, as he began the metal wand search. "Yeah, sure." Richie growled. He was getting tired of these 'Sheep' now. They were starting to piss him off. 'It's Ok,' he said to himself. 'Pretty soon these sheep will be no more.' The wand moved up and down his body, but patiently Richie still remained, arms extended to the sides. The alarm seemed trigger when it passed his mid-section, which was not visible do to the trenchcoat. The two officers to Richie sides steadily reached for they're pistols. The officer in front of him, gulped as he drew back both sides of the coat. The action unveiled a huge assortment of firearms and explosives. "Holy Shi-" the Cop gasped. Richie looked down and smiled. "Did I forgot to drop that into the pan?" he jested. Then in the next second, two hand cannons that were rigged above Richie's wrists shot out to his clutches. He swiftly brought his hands in front of him and fired, point blank right in the face of the officer, blowing his head straight off. He then crossed his arms and fired again, catching the two officers right in the chest. They didn't know what hit them. In a matter of seconds, the room that served as a transport station to new lands became the transport station to death. The whole airport was in a frenzy. People screaming, running for safety only were able to be cut down in a madman's rage. Richie was enjoying himself. He hadn't had this much fun since the Toshiro Tower heist. After emptying a few rounds in a couple dozen 'Sheep', the room started to fill with more cops. This only made Richie even more delighted. Dropping his hand cannons, he reached into his coat to draw out two Tech-9 machine guns. In no time at all the room was filled with gunfire. Richie leapt over the customs desk, barely missing getting shot. He crouched under the desk while bullets ripped through the air above him. As far as he could tell, there were twenty cops, one Richie and.... He noticed some movement beside him. 'Oh, and one hostage.' He grinned to himself. ******* The officers surrounded the desk, believing the suspect to be cornered. They started to make advances toward the desk, with the sole purpose of rushing the area and taking out the perpetrator. Before the plain was executed, the officers noticed a pair of raised hands positioned behind the desk that were slowly rising. Now standing behind the desk was the customs attendant. Rachel stood, hands still raised in the surrendering position. The officers tried to command her to join them for her own safety. Whether she heard them but didn't care or heard them but was too afraid to move, the officers couldn't tell. Behind the desk, Rachel still stood. The officers were starting to make an alternative plan, when suddenly two more arms rose up behind Rachel. The only difference was, they were attached to a dark trenchcoat and the fact that they held two tech-9 sub-machine guns. ******* Using the girl as a shield, Richie fired aimlessly at the cops. The woman in front of him was scared beyond reason, tears streaming down her face but she didn't dare to cry out. Her fear was paralyzing. The only thing she could do was shield her eyes from the vicious images of death and dying before her. "I told you. If you don't move, you won't get hurt," Richie assured her. But he knew his word wasn't any better than dirt. But if she hoped to survive, she would have to trust him. In a matter of moments the whole Customs Section of the Viridian International Airport was cleansed of life. Well, for the exception of two. "Well doll face, I have to say that was a first for me. Was it as good for you as it was for me?" he joked. She couldn't even answer; her whole body was in shock. The only sound she made were quiet sobs. Richie frowned. "Oh my, you didn't have any fun. Pity." He started to get all of his stuff together. But he noticed she still didn't move. "Hey, you can go now," he informed her. "I promised you, I wouldn't kill you if you helped me out." Frozen, she still remained. Richie frowned again. 'I guess she's in shock.' Richie looked around the room. There was a pile of dead and bloody bodies filled with his lead bullets. He didn't see what was so shocking. He shrugged his shoulders again and started to walk away, only to be drawn back by the sounds of her tortured sobs. 'I guess I can't leave her like this,' he confessed. Placing down, his newly loaded Smith & Wesson .22 pistol, Richie slowly crept over to the terrified girl. With water-like movement, he took her into his arms and placed a strong, yet sensual kiss on her lips. Her once rigid body started to relax then draw pleasure from what he was giving her. She moaned, slightly as he broke the kiss. She nearly collapsed onto the floor, still trying to regain her breath and blushing, despite herself. Richie smiled at his little remedy. 'Still haven't lost it,' He thought. Then he drew into his trenchcoat. His trenchcoat then rippled with his motion, as he threw something at her feet. Rachel looked down at the item. It was a single red rose. She looked up again at it's sender, only to find him gone. Her mind raced with all the events that just took place, as she prepared to leave. But she stopped and reached down for the single rose, and held it close to her breast. Then she ran down the hallway trying to find some assistance. She would never forget the rose or it's sender. ******** Leaving Rachel behind and more importantly leaving her behind still breathing seemed to please Richie as he moved through the dark hallways. He had to every now-and-then step over another lifeless body left by his carnage. He then heard some murmuring by his side. Looking into the direction, he noticed an airport officer with life still in him. Grinning, Richie crept silently over to the fallen prey. Reaching for his shoulder, Richie violently spun him around to get a good look at his toy. The barrel of the .22 pressed against the cop's windpipe. Richie cocked his head to the side, as he looked at the officer. Then he grinned even more. "I know you..." he stated. "You're that nice officer that told me not to smoke in here.... Tim right?" Gasping for air, the officer managed a grunt, to confirm. Richie's grin widened from ear to ear. He slowly holstered his gun. Then turned back to the quivering officer. "Now, my friend. I need a little information." he said, while bringing out a small black and silver Pokeball. "There are two prisoners that were to be taken to Steel City. Where are they?" Richie released his hold slightly to allow him to answer. "I don't know where they are!!!" Officer Tim pleaded. Richie sighed. "Ok...looks like we have to do this the hard way." He presses the release button and threw the pokeball to the ground. "Go, Zippo!" Then out from the blazing light of the pokeball, a spine tingling roar was heard, as the flame dragon, Charizard was summoned. Fangs gleamed in the dim light, saliva dripping from it's strong jaws, it had a certain hunger in it's eyes. This pokemon, has tasted the flesh of man.... and enjoyed it. "Now, this is my friend Zippo," Richie introduced the pyre beast. "Zippo, here was one of my very first Pokemon. He does everything I say.... Don't ya, boy?" He petted the Lizard. It snorted in agreement. "Now, Zippo isn't your ordinary Charizard. No, no, no." Richie explained. "You see this Charizard was raised on devouring humans. I don't know what's the particular fascination with it. But who am I to get in the way of a pokémon's desire." Just then Zippo snapped it's teeth as it saw Tim move. "OK, enough with the introductions. Officer Tim, tell me where the prisoners are being held. Or, I'll let my friend here ask you." Then the Charizard opened it's jaws, revealing row after row of teeth, gleaming from it's mouth. "Runway 17A!!! Runway 17A!!!" Tim screamed at the top of his lungs, a steady steam of urine trailing down his pants. Richie smiled. "Thank you, kind sir. It's always nice to know that the police are always here to help." He walked past Tim, Zippo still ready to strike at a moments notice. He walked a little, stopped then turned around to face Tim. "Oh yeah, the money....I think you owe me some money." Tim scrambled around in his pockets and produced all six of the crumbled up bills. Richie then smiled again. "Thank you my good man." His smile then turned to a slightly crooked one. He looked at Tim then Zippo. Zippo then Tim. "Zippo...." he finally said. "Make it fast." >Vermilion International Airport- Runway 17A ********** 08:40 hours It had been twenty minutes since the incident in Customs. All the officers guarding the prisoners, Cassidy and Butch were on red alert. They didn't know if the lone menace was heading they're way, but they weren't taking any chances. Every available officer was covering all the exits. They made a two-man patrol go around the area. The prisoners were required to lay, face-down on the floor until the plane was ready. "Butch..." Cassidy whispered so none of the officers could hear. He turned his head to face her. "Yeah?" "Do you think Richie can really pull it off?" She asked. "I mean, look at these guys." She motioned to the officers. There probably had been, forty cops on patrol, armed to the tee. "Cass, even though the Boss is a little off, you know he always delivers." Butch stated to assure her. "I know..." She sighed. "I just don't want to go back to any cell. I hate it there. The walls...it's so small and tight." she stated terrifying herself. "I can't go back Butch. I'll kill myself before I go to another cell." Cassidy whimpered. Her eyes now glimmering with tears. One sliding down her cheek. Butch scooted over to her and kissed the tears away. "Cass, don't worry. If Richie can't do it...I don't know how, but I'll find a way." By some weird motivation of fate, his screeching voice seemed to soothe her. "Thanks Butchie" She smiled "I needed that." She paused again. "Butch..." "Yeah..." She took a deep breath while collecting her thoughts. The hard concrete floor was doing nothing to help her concentration. "Butch...whatever..." She paused again. "Butch, whatever happens in the future, please, please know that it's you I'll always love." This time she scooted over to him and pressed her lips to his. Then for a brief couple of seconds, all the worry, all the pain, all the torture, the two endured seamed to cease. None of all those elements mattered anymore. Only the one their hearts held so dear. But like all good things, this had to end. Only this ended with a baton cracking again against Butch's skull. "Knock it off you two. This isn't the "Love Connection." But Butchie, I bet there will be hundreds of happy cell mates that want to try that with you though." Officer jested merrily. With a little bit more observation, revealed that this was the same cop that hit Butch the first time. Butch was pissed. Not only did he ruin probably his only happy moment with Cassidy. But the thought of the cellmates...."WHY YOU SONOFA.." Butch shouted but was cut-off by Cassidy. "No, Butch. We'll have our time." She grinned. "Look." She pointed to the main walkway of all the exits. At first Butch didn't know what she was talking about. But then he saw it. A small shadow, hopping down the corridor. The shadow was too small to be a human, about two feet in height. The little creature continued to scurry down the walkway. ******** Suddenly all of it's features were in the light. A small rodent, about two feet tall. Brown/Sandy colored fur, black sharp ears, with a dark thin tail that ended in a light colored zigzag. The Raichu, although it was visible kept moving anyway. One of the officers, noticed the electric rodent. All of the guards focused their weapons at the little creature. Seeing it had an audience, the Raichu stopped in it's tracks. All eyes where on it, even the eyes of the two soon-be-transported prisoners. The Raichu, reared back onto it's hind legs, a tiny ball was now visible around it's neck. The Raichu unscrewed the ball and held it into it's paws. "It's a bomb!!!" One of the officers shouted. They all locked and loaded they're weapons. The tiny mouse, cowered in fear. Head underneath it's paws, the lighting rodent shivered slightly. It was alarmed by their sudden action. It dropped the tiny sphere that it held. The ball rolled around on the ground innocently. After a few minutes of nothing, the officers assumed that the Raichu was harmless and paid no attention to it. The Raichu, aware that the threat was over, hopped over to it's fallen object. It crouched over the ball and picked it up. Balancing it on it's head like a seel, it started to sing a little Raichu tune. "Rai, Rai, Rai, Rai, chu..chu..chu. Rai, Rai, Rai, Rai, chu, chu, chu" The song seemed to be a version of 'twinkle, twinkle little song.' The mouse continued the little chant. Some of the officers believing the threat wasn't coming their way, decided to take interest in the little mouse. Pretty soon it drew the attention of all the officers. Everyone had to admit...it was kinda cute. The ball rocked back and forth on the brow of the Raichu's head. Mastering it's balancing act, the Raichu then rocked it's head back and forth while continuing it's song. The ball always drifting to the side but never once hit the ground. Pretty soon, every eye in Runway 17A, was watching the Raichu. Some were amazed, some laughed, some even cheered for the tiny performer. Too bad nobody stopped to ask where it came from.... or more importantly who did it belong too. After a few minutes the Raichu's show was over and he placed the ball in it's tiny paws and looked around the room. Every officer gave a standing ovation to the little Raichu. Clapping, some whistles, and cheers were the Raichu's reward for his performance. Pleased with itself, it smiled. Then it's smiled turned sinister, as it held the ball over it's head and smashed it onto the ground. Inside of breaking into a thousand pieces, the ball crack onto the surface then a gray mist started to pour out of it. It didn't take long for the whole room to be filled with the smoke. Visibility was zero. Not even the Raichu that brought the device was insight. Every officer was on alert, as they tried to aim their weapons. But the target was still unknown. From the center of the smoke appeared two beams of red light. The laser light found it's place on one of the unobservant officer's chest. The cloud of smoke made his sight unbearable. There was another flash of light from the smoke. The spot where the laser landed, was replaced by a bullet. Shots fired from the cloud of smoke as the lasers guided it's lead minions, striking almost at random every and any officer that was in range. A laser mounted machine gun flared, as the rounds hit target after target. Screams of terror soon almost muted the sounds of gunfire. The predator continued to move throughout the terminal underneath the blanket of mist. ********* Through the life and death struggle that was being played in the room, there were two people that were without fear. They were only waiting. "Hey Cass, what's with all this smoke?" Butch asked as he coughed a little bit. "Richie is certainly going all out for this one..." Butch commented. They were still face down on the floor but they didn't need to see to know what was going on. "Yeah, I guess." Cassidy meekly answered. Just as she spoke a body of a deceased officer fell over to the side. His blood was soon soaking the floor. There was once a time where the sight alone would have made Cassidy sick. But now it was as normal as seeing a Pidgey walking in the city's street. Sometimes she cursed her unfeeling heart, but sometimes it was the only way for her to keep her sanity. She would have paid the officer no mind, if something on him didn't catch her attention. There was a small glint of metal shining on his belt. Cassidy smiled. "Hey Butch, I found the keys!" She cheered as she wormed her body over to the fallen cop. Moving with a little difficulty, she was now a few feet away from the body. Since she was handcuffed from behind, she hand to roll her body over to let her hands do all the work. Laboring with her fingers a little bit, she finally freed the keys from the latch. Now working with the keys to release her from the manacles, a little more finessing and wull-la. She was freed. She then moved over to Butch, sounds of gunfire was her background music. Hurriedly working to free him, she hurried with her efforts. Once both of them were free, they noticed that the smoke was starting to clear out. The sounds of boots clanking on the pavement were heard. The two turned around to be face-to-face with the laser-guided barrel of an AK-47. The wielder of the weapon, was a young man dressed in a dark trenchcoat. Night-vision goggles covered his face. Although he did not fire, he also did not lower the weapon. Cassidy recognized the gun-toting man. "Richie?" He made no response, but his body seemed to ease a little. Trying on nothing but a dare, Cassidy reached out her hand to lower the weapon. Her hand touched the still warm metal, but it did lower with her touch. The man took his other hand and removed his mask. The full strands of brown hair stirred as he expelled the goggles. Putting them away, he extended his hand to the beautiful, blonde haired lady. "Cassidy..." He cheered as he took her into his arms. "You miss me, luv?" he asked while placing a rough kiss on her lips. Secretly Butch's stomach was turning. Cassidy giggled. "Of course." She answered. "But, Richie where were you?" She whined. Richie smiled. He always loved it when she whined. "Yeah," Butch commented, while getting to his feet. "You were supposed to be here 30 minutes ago. Is it possible that even the great Richie Giovanni is losing his touch?" Butch ended that sentence when he noticed the barrel of the machine gun was an inch away from his face. Richie smirked. "Care to repeat that, oh Butchie?" Richie, antagonized. All Richie wanted was for him was to do one thing, anything, to give him a reason to splatter his skull across the whole airport. Butch was silent now. He was afraid, but he didn't want to show Richie that. Richie realizing he wasn't going to get him, but decided on another approach. Cassidy was stuck on the sidelines; she didn't know what to do. "What's a matter Butchie, now you can't speak? I can't say that I'm not disappointed though. Your voice does sound like a cat being thrown in a blender," Richie teased. He looked over to Cassidy. "Babe tell me...doesn't his voice remind you of the Budweiser Frogs?" he chuckled. "Hey...Butchman say....ERR!" He laughed even harder at his own joke. Cassidy just looked at Butch, his eyes were filled with rage. Then their eyes met, his with the fury of a storm and her's soft, pleading with him. Eventually his angry subsided and Richie seemed to be bored with him anyway, so they let the argument slide.... for now. "Come on you two. The helicopter should be here any minute," Richie ordered as the three made their escape. Cassidy clung to Richie's arm, while Butch followed. The group started to exit to the lauchpad. When Richie felt a tug at his leg, he looked down and grinned. "Man, I must be off today," he stated while he brought his free hand to grab his gun, but was stopped but soft slender hands. "Let me do it, Richie." Cassidy asked, while batting her eyes. "Sure thing," He agreed while handing her the weapon. She gingerly took the weapon and held it tight in her hand. Her eyes focused, then...BLAM!!! The lead entered the officers skull. "Well done, Cass! That's my girl!!!" Richie cheered while taking her into his arms. He swung her delicate frame around him, her blonde hair at the mercy of the winds. "Thanks Richie," Cassidy giggled. "But can you put me down, now." "Sorry Babe, I guess I got carried away." Richie apologized, while placing her back on solid ground. "Ok, let's go. Our chariot awaits." He finished as he marched on ahead of the two. Butch sullenly stepped behind him. Then he took a short glance at the cop Cassidy just put a slug in. His eyes widened as he realized the identity of victim. He looked at Cassidy, their eyes met again. 'That one's for you Butch,' Cassidy thought, as Butch again looked at the executed carcass of the baton wielding officer. "Cassidy, come here I got something to show you," Richie called behind. Cassidy was about to answer back, when Butch suddenly stood before her. The distance between the two was almost non-existent. She could feel the heat of his breath against her skin. She went to turn away, but was embraced from behind. "I love you..." He whispered, as his strong arms were pressing her body against his. She could feel his heart beating fast and faster the longer they held. "CASS!!!" Richie's harsh voice shouted. His tone held no more signs of patience "Coming!" She answered back, as she left the comfort and warmth that Butch had given her. She hurried down the corridor and was soon out of Butch's sight. After a few more minutes of reveling in her scent, Butch slowly followed. ******* LATER THAT DAY Indigo Plateau ***14:35hours "What the hell is with this Brock?" Ash shouted as he entered the young man's office, Pikachu right behind him. "Why, hello Ash. Nice to see you. Please come in," Brock sarcastically greeted him. "Cut with the cute crap, Brock. What is this?" Ash growled as he threw an envelope onto Brock's desk. Brock kicked up his feet onto the desk. His slanted eyes narrowed to recognize the item. "Well, it's a mission folder. See when ever an agent is given a new assignment...." "What am I? A joke here!!!" Ash shouted. "You told me that Silph Co. was my last mission and then I'd be out!" "I know what I told you Ash, but something just came up," Brock responded, as Ash took a seat. "Look, I tried my best to keep you out of it.... but you know how the board is." Ash sighed. He knew. There were times that it would seem the board would do almost anything to get their way. There were many times in the past were sometimes the only voice of reason would be him and Brock. Then Ash felt a tiny tug on his pant leg. He looked down to his tiny yellow friend, and then he remembered something. "Hey Brock, you got any ketchup?" Brock went behind his desk. Years of working with Ashura, one knew to keep a good supply of ketchup around to keep the peace. "Heinz '76 or '79?" Brock asked. Ash looked down at Pikachu. "Pik, PIKA!" it cheered. "Make it a '57," Ash stated. "Man, it's that bad." Brock inquired as he tossed the bottle to the electric mouse. It gave a small, "Pika" for it's thanks. "Anyway, look Ash. I know, the real reason why you want to leave MASTERS so bad and I have to tell you. If she wanted to come back, she would have already." "How do you know it has anything to do with Misty, Brock?!" Ash roared, nearly flipping the chair he was sitting in, over. "My mother is sick and I want to take care of her!" "Well then this well be right up your alley, then," Brock replied. "What do you mean?" Ash inquired. "You haven't even looked at the mission yet." Ash shook his head. "Well my anxious young friend. If you had taken a look through it, you would notice that you maybe able to bring the cure to AVS, public." "I thought there was no cure." Ash stated, trying not to get his hopes up. "Well, it was believed so. Until this woman..." Brock brought out the picture of the red-headed doctor. "Mistae Waters, went into the Rockets compound and retrieved the cure herself," Brock continued as he handed the picture to Ash. Ash took the picture from Brock's hand and analyzed it. The woman in the picture, was short with orange/red hair, that seemed to flow like the sea. Eyes, the color of rain drops. The image drew old feelings that he thought were long forgotten. Brock eventually stopped talking, since his audience was lost. He then drew himself to the new center of attention. Looking over Ash's shoulder he smiled. "Quite a looker huh." Ash managed a nod, but was still transfixed on the photo. "She's being honored tonight, at some party. It's very public, which means she's an easy target." Ash still remained quiet. "You know in this light..." Brock started. "she almost reminds me of..." "Don't finish that sentence Brock. That was a long time ago. I don't have those same feelings anymore." Ash stated coldly, while dismissing the photo. "Whatever...So are you taking the mission or what?" "Fine..." Ash resolved. "I'm not doing this for you, the board or even myself. This thing is more important than any of us. I don't want anybody screwing it up," he finished as he went to leave. He got up and stared Brock right in the eyes and said "Brock after this I'm out. I don't care what you say or what the board says. This is the last time and if anyone has a problem with it..." He stopped and placed a 9mm bullet on Brock's desk. "I'll be using this." He then snatched up the mission folder and the bullet. Then he exited the office. Pikachu left right after him, but not before getting some "Pikas and Chus" in also. Then the pair left, the room became silent, leaving Brock alone with his thoughts. He didn't like lying to Ashura. He was his friend. But somethings are above friendships. But only time will tell..... *********** Mission to be continued....