Ch.07 A Friend In Need

 

 

Marco's harem had returned the next morning to quite a sight. Both Marco and Carrie appeared to still be blissfully asleep. The Penance was still wearing her new head phones and was resting comfortably from the looks of things. She was on her side snuggled up against his chest, with his arm in her mouth and drooling profusely.

 

"I say it's a picture worth framing." Remarked Ashley, as she maneuvered around to take a seat.

 

"Yeah, she looks so innocent when she isn't covered in the blood of an opponent." Said Henrietta, getting close enough to nudge him awake. As she got closer she noticed him stir slightly. "You're normally already up by now."

 

He yawned and turned his head to face her. "True, but the music is good and she looked so peaceful." Slowly he began to move his arm out of her mouth, then she bit down. "Oww! That kind of hurts…"

 

With a big yawn Carrie started to rub her eyes and he quickly removed his arm before she could latch on again. She instantly missed the feel of his arm being around her then the salty coppery taste of blood finally registered and she was wide awake.

 

"Great you're up, Ches you mind healing this." He rolled out of bed and on to his feet. All eyes were on him as he searched for his pants. "... What's everyone staring at?"

 

"All of you. You're put together a lot better than I would have imagined." Stated Jean while she wiped saliva from the corner of her mouth.

 

"Yep, just as mouthy as ever. Did you get a chance to meet Kelly?" He watched as her hand shot defensively to her throat. "I'll assume that means yes. Well you survived the encounter so that's a plus. Everyone get ready, we have a bus to..." He finally picked up on the quivering mass under the blankets. "Carrie get out here."

 

Reluctantly she slid out of bed and stood before him. Her mind racing a mile a second as to what he was going to do. 'He doesn't seem all that mad, maybe it's ok.'

 

"I'm not mad at you, I'll just be more careful next time. Now be sure to get something to eat." He always felt somewhat refreshed when she smiled at him. She rushed in and gave him a hug before scampering off to where the others were setting up breakfast. It was pancakes, eggs, and kattle sausage, cooked at the office and brought with them.

 

"So Master, where are we going to today?" Asked Chesra, she had eaten before they left the office that morning, so she assisted in braiding Carrie's hair. The same material used to make her cloak was also used to make several pairs of gloves so it was easier to help with her hair.

 

"Stone Town, Henrietta's old stomping grounds. After all these years they still aren't very pokégirl friendly. I'm sorry to say that for the duration that we are there, most of you will be inside your pokéballs. Henrietta will be out because she knows the area the best."

 

Henrietta was still chewing and didn't bother to finish before talking. "The people there are assholes. Even when I would help them with something there was never much trust between either side… bastards."

 

Marco was putting on his over shirt and watching her talk with a mouth of chewed food. "You should really swallow first when your mouth is full."

 

"I guess you would know better than anyone that I don't normally have a problem with that." She couldn't help but smile as Jean shot milk out her nose from laughter. "I have a few contacts there if something comes up."

 

He sneered evilly from her comment. "Yes if I remember correctly you made contact with a local Jenny and Joy quite often. I bet they could tell me some good stories… with a little 'probing'." It was his turn to smile as the CalamityJane started to choke.

 

Mockingly Chesra stepped in. "I'm not going to have to separate the two of you am I?"

 

"He/She started it." They both said in unison before breaking down into a fit of laughter.

 

____

 

 

 

On the roof of the hotel Minerva was nervously staring at her ringing cell phone. It has been just over a month since the gentleman sent her on her mission. Until yesterday not much progress had been made and as secure as she was in her position. She didn’t want to tempt fate and anger her boss.

 

“Morning sir, Minerva reporting in.”

 

“I know who the hell it is, I dialed the damn phone. Now have you made any progress?” She was sure from his tone of voice that he was irritated.

 

“Yes sir, we finally found him. There are a couple of issues though that I think need to be addressed.” Evelyn’s pokéball rolled around in her palm. It was her plan and if something went wrong she would have to take responsibility.

 

“What kind of issues Minerva?”

 

“Well… I tried to download information from his pokédex but it’s still running military encryption. I thought it may be best to try and break into the Avalanche HQ.”

 

“Hold on and let me check.” Furious typing could be heard in the background. After a few moment time the typing stopped, then there was the sound of a shattering glass. “What the fuck? All records having to do with them have been sealed and marked classified. Its Omega level clearance… fuck! Now on top of everything else I need to get my hands on a Video Girl.”

 

“Um sir?” She was starting to panic; it was never a good idea to make him mad. Sure it wasn’t her fault, but he was never one to spare the messenger either.

 

“Damn it I’m trying to think! Okay, I still have the address to their office; I’ll have it forwarded to you. That's a last resort though. I’m going to send a special team to break into their computers, you focus on Readman. I don’t want any excuses, now get to work!” He didn’t bother waiting for her to answer before disconnecting the call.

 

“It’s never easy, nothing is ever easy.”

 

____

 

 

 

The bus ride to Stone Town was uneventful to say the least. A few ferals were sighted but nothing worth stopping to capture. In a strange case of bad luck the air conditioning in the bus had gone out and the windows were secured. The temperature felt beyond reasonable and for the sake of his girls he put them back in their pokéballs. From the back of the bus Minerva looked on in aggravation, though enjoying her own personal climate control. One of the rules for the bus was unless you paid for each pokégirl you carried, your pokéballs were to be kept locked in overhead storage.

 

‘Just my luck, he puts his harem away and I can’t get Evelyn out. From what I can pick up of their conversations, the black and white one is new. The redheads are from the unit, the red one doesn’t talk much, and... well that's just a Peekabu.’

 

Marco was rummaging through the reports on his pokédex to pass the time. There had still been no word from the Indigo team. He wasn’t overly worried about them though. It was the infiltration team after all and maintaining radio silence probably came with whatever job they took. . All of their skills and powers revolved around getting in and out of areas undetected and for Mina being such a prankster she was a more than competent leader. Then even if things do go wrong a backup team was never more than a button push away.

 

Upon reaching Stone Town border Marco rereleased his harem. It had been a few days of travel and Minerva was really starting to get irritated. Every time she had the opportunity to release Evelyn his harem was out otherwise she just had to watch. She really was starting to wonder what was so special about his harem. From her point of view they all looked completely normal.

 

A low tone beep signaled the bus intercom. "Now approaching Stone Town, for those of you traveling with pokégirls please remember only one out at a time unless it's an emergency." The conductor announced as they neared the station.

 

"Thank god, I am so sick of being stuck on this contraption." Said Jean, the attention hog she was she had taken the seat next to Marco. The Nogitsune stretched her arms and sat up from her position leaning against her tamer.

 

Marco whistled lightly to get his girls attention. "Ok ladies, Henrietta will be staying out. We should only be here for the night. Then it's on to Cerulesbian City. I'll let everyone out when we get to the hotel."

 

"Oooh I've never been there. I wonder if I can get my hair done at Pretty Woman Salon?"

 

"We'll see, all depends on how good you are. Now into the ball with you." Marco grinned at the look she gave him before the return beams fired.

 

"Needy bitch, good to be free of her for at least a little while." Said Henrietta as she wrapped her arms around his neck from behind. "I know a good hotel but can we stop by the police station first? I'd like to see if my old friend Ariel is still there. We haven't seen each other since before you captured me."

 

"Sure, I don't see a problem with that. Will you be 'catching up' on old times?" His eyes raised in a suggestive arch.

 

She tightened her hold around his neck. "That's not very funny. I think you owe me for that one." He was frantically tapping her arm to get her to release him.

 

"See if I touch you in the dark on our next bus ride. Besides you know it's Ashley's turn. You wouldn't want your favorite student to feel deprived would you?"

 

The two of them exited the bus and started their trek through the town. It was early afternoon and the streets were fairly empty. In Henrietta's eyes it didn't look half bad. The place had been modernized in her time away. With no gym and not much in the form of entertainment most tamers didn't stay in Stone Town long, unless of course they were looking for evolution stones. They made it to the Sandstone Police Station without much of a hassle, the inside looked as dead as the rest of the town. At the front desk sat a lone OfficerJenny, she appeared to be worrying and looked up from papers angrily. Her mood softened when she spotted the CalamityJane.

 

"Rietta... is that you?" She stood up forcing her chair back into the adjacent wall. When Henrietta nodded the Jenny vaulted over her desk to hug the girl.

 

"Wow nice to see you too Ariel, it's only been what, four and a half, five years." Once released Henrietta took the time to get a clear look at the tear stricken face. "You looked upset, did something happen?"

 

"Where have you been? After I heard the military captured you I didn't know what to think... you didn't run away did you?" To her credit Ariel was still an OfficerJenny and by proxy an officer of the league. If her friend was a runaway pokégirl she would have to inform the military... after she somehow lost the prisoner.

 

"No, my CO retired and I'm with a tamer now. We're just stopping in town for the night. How's Elise, is she doing well at the hospital, what about Chris?"

 

The Jenny broke down crying and clutched her into a tight hug. "I thought I lost all of my friends. It's terrible, Chris and I were scoping out the location of a new gang that formed in town recently. During our stakeout we were nearly killed by one of their pokégirls. I got us out but Chris had been hit and was in bad shape. Floppy eared bitch. Once I got her to the hospital I took her strait to Elise. I was in one of the waiting rooms when a wall blew in and I was knocked out. I had just come to and saw both of them being taken away. That was almost a week ago. The department won't let me work on it because I'm too closely involved. The few officers that will talk to me said that they have a possible location but won't let me go and check it out. I haven't heard of anyone going to the location yet either. I want to get them back, I want Chris and Elise back now!" In her rant she had gone from crying to mad, her face red with fury.

 

"Relax, try and calm down. Now do you remember what the location was?"

 

"Yeah, it was the old club Limbo. They closed it down two years ago, then the property was bought by an unknown. Do you think you and your tamer can help? Who knows what could be happening to them, at this point I'd rather they be dead then held prisoner."

 

Henrietta placed a reassuring hand on her friends shoulder. "Don't you worry I'm sure tha..."

 

To his credit Marco had stood by the door silently and took in all the information from the frantic girl. If there was any reason at all he was a tactician it was his ability to keep his cool and come up with his plans on the fly when necessary. From the get go there was something wrong with the story. It wasn't on Ariel's end, she was telling everything she could but there was more to it than even she was aware of. "Henrietta! Time’s up, we're going."

 

Her face went slack in stunned surprise. "But these are my friends; they need my help, Marco ple..."

 

"That is sir! I know and I don't care, we are going now!" He yelled at her, her eyes started to water in disbelief. Her mind raced as she tried to understand how he could be so callus at a time like this. None the less she was bonded to him and was compelled to do as he said.

 

"Yes sir! Right away sir!" Henrietta started walking slowly towards the door, as Marco stepped out and it closed behind him she turned back. "I don't understand... but I'll do my best to talk him into it. I'll keep in touch." She walked out as Ariel fell to her knees sobbing. As she rushed out she saw Marco leaning against the wall to the station checking his pokédex. "DO YOU WANT TO TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK THAT WAS ABOUT?! I thought you wanted to help people?!" She reached out to grab his collar but he caught her wrist first.

 

"Relax, we’re helping her. But if I just agreed then she would want to come along too. I don't want an unknown with us on this. We do the recon and call in Echo and Delta if we need to. Also I don't plan on taking many prisoners in situations like this; she doesn't need a slaughter and disobeying an order to haunt her for the rest of her career."

 

"You're an incredible asshole... but I love you for it. I want this taken care of tonight if possible. If they’re still alive then every second counts. Did you get everything she said?"

 

"Yeah, that's where the trouble starts. There was someone else pulling strings."

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"Getting caught while doing surveillance happens. But there are three hospitals in the city, how did they know which one she went too? Why care for that matter?"

 

"Because they were cops, if the cops know you're up to something illegal you would get rid of them."

 

"True, but that was a stakeout. That means they already have information on you. Why snatch the human officer and not the OfficerJenny? You remember what she said about after the attack?" Marco asked while still working through his pokédex as they talked.

 

"She said Chris was badly injured and she took her to the hospital."

 

"Close, she took her strait to Elise. She took her to a NurseJoy she knew personally for immediate medical treatment. Then they were both attacked again at the hospital. If I was doing something illegal and just attempted to kill two police officers, my first concern wouldn't be a cover up, unless..." he urged Henrietta to follow his line of thinking, and the information finally clicked in her head.

 

"Unless you were already so invested in the area that it wasn't worth leaving over. So what you see is; someone may have tipped off the gang on the stakeout. Chris sees more than what she should have before the attack and becomes a target. Ariel rushes Chris to Elise to be treated, someone makes a call and they get attacked at the hospital. Assuming Chris was recovering and able to speak they take Elise also because they don't know what she may have been told. I guess the big question is who was pulling the strings?"

 

"Right, we're going to go to the hotel and get settled. I want you to call Ariel. Get some more information from her; I need a time line to work with. From there we can make our plans. If all goes well we can have this figured out by tomorrow morning."

 

By midafternoon everyone who would be involved had been briefed to the situation. Kelly had teleported in to join them and the other teams were on standby back at the office.

 

"Ok, I just got off the phone with Ariel. She said she went past the hospital that was closest to the crime scene to ensure that Elise got to her as soon as possible. The only people she made contact with were dispatch and the receptionist at the hospital." Said Henrietta. They all were crowded around a table in the middle of the room marking a holographic map of the city.

 

"Good. Kelly, Chesra, and I are up next. We're going to Sandstone Hospital. Kelly and I go in first; we got the father daughter team. Chesra, you're the official, I want you to come on heavy. Ask some questions and leave, then Kel and I will listen for a response. We have a few hours before the proper shift change so get some rest and something to eat."

 

"Aren't I a little old to be your daughter?" Mocked Kelly as she checked the map over.

 

"Only if I'm too old to be a tamer, it should work out well enough though. Ashe would you mind joining me in the other room?"

 

The Peekabu hopped to her feet in glee. "It would be my pleasure."

 

_____

 

 

 

1800 Sandstone Hospital.

 

 

 

The reception area was still under repair from where one of the walls was blown in. Marco and Kelly strolled in hand in hand up to the desk. Kelly opted for a knee length sundress to play up the little girl role. In the jacket though, she carried multiple decks of cards to fight with. The receptionist looked up and greeted them with a smile.

 

"Good evening, welcome to Sandstone Hospital, I don't recognize you. Are you new to the area?"

 

"Evening, yeah we just moved here and I wanted to get my daughter checked out. School is right around the corner after all."

 

"Ok sir, I need you to fill out some paper work and we can try to get you in as soon as possible." She leaned forward and handed him a clipboard and a lollypop. "That's for you sweetie."

 

He took the items and leaned forward to get a look at her name tag. "Thank you, Leslie, Kel what do you say when someone gives you something?"

 

"Thank you ma'am."

 

The two of them took a seat near the desk and Marco faked doing the paper work. A few minutes later Chesra enter the room. Though she still wore her armor she also wore a gun belt and a badge indicating official status. Immediately Leslie straightened up and looked nervous. Even though she was human official league pokégirls were not to be trifled with.

 

"Um, evening how can I help you?"

 

"I'm agent Chesra with S.I.I, Secure Indigo Intelligence; I have some questions about the incident from five days ago. Were you working at the time an OfficerJenny named Ariel brought in a human officer named Christina Reynolds?"

 

"Yes ma'am, she blew right past the desk carrying the officer in her arms."

 

Chesra took the information down on her data pad. "Do you have an exact time that they came in?"

 

Leslie opened the desk and pulled out a logbook. "It was around 0130 when she came in. She took her right to a NurseJoy who works here."

 

"Ok, our reports say that there was an explosion, which is clearly true by the look of things. Where were you when that happened, also did you see anyone suspicious around that time?"

 

"I had gone to the back to get more information from the Jenny and I gave her a cup of coffee. When I heard the explosion I went to our safe-room, I didn't see anything."

 

"When the other officers showed up what did they ask you?"

 

"Well they really didn't ask me anything. No one was injured in the blast... but the human officer and our NurseJoy went missing. Did I do something wrong?"

 

"No, these are just standard questions for the report. One last thing, how long have you worked at this hospital?" Chesra had put the data pad away and looked at her watch.

 

"Just over a year and a half. I'm sorry; I wish I could be more helpful. Is there something more I can help you with?"

 

"No that's all, thank you for all your help. We will be in touch if something comes up." Chesra turned and left the room without another word.

 

The receptionist looked around the room nervously; she didn't even notice Marco walk up next to her. "Sorry sir, is there something I can help you with?"

 

"Yes, where is the bathroom?"

 

"Sure, it's down the hall and on the left."

 

Once Marco had left she looked over at Kelly, who was amusing herself with a deck of playing cards. She picked up the phone and called out. Her voice trembled as she spoke into the receiver. "Yeah is James there... No I need to talk to him right now... James? No everything is not ok; I just had a pokégirl from SII show up. She was asking questions... Questions about the female police officer that you... No, there is just a little girl here. You know what time I get off, I can't just leave. I'll meet you at the club then. No, I answered the questions as best I could but I left things vague... I have no idea what kind of pokégirl it was, I'll tell you about it when I get there." Leslie hung up the phone and looked back at Kelly. The young girl still played with her cards. A little while later Marco came back to the room and took a seat, Kelly reached over and pulled his jacket twice. That was the signal that things had gone as they hoped they would, now they just needed to secure the receptionist. Kelly jumped out of her chair and walked up to the desk.

 

"Miss. would you like to see a magic trick?" She held up the deck of cards.

 

"Sure, I could use a little fun right about now." She came to the front of the desk as Marco stood behind Kelly.

 

Kelly shuffled the deck a few times then fanned the cards out, holding them in one hand. "Here pick a card." When Leslie reached out for the deck Kelly grabbed her wrist with the other hand and teleported the three of them away.

 

They appeared in the hotel room an instant later. Chesra was already waiting there with an uncomfortable looking chair, some rope, and a roll of duct-tape. Leslie looked around frantically, not expect her surroundings to change so abruptly. She opened her mouth to scream but was yanked to eye level by Kelly, who still had her wrist. Her mouth was quickly covered and she was thrown into the chair and tied up. Marco and his six pokégirls stood there silently and watched as she struggled in vain against the bonds.

 

"This is questioning round two. Since we are better informed now, I expect some better answers than you gave Ches. Now when we take that tape off you better not scream. Otherwise things start to escalate." Leslie had stopped struggling and started crying in fear. "Yeah, you can cut that out right now. Who are you working for?" He nodded and Henrietta ripped the tape off her mouth.

 

"Please don't kill me; I don't know any mmpth..." The gag was placed back over her mouth and Marco shook his head in dissatisfaction.

 

"See... Already you're not being honest with us. Considering that we are pressed for time here I'm running out of options... I really do hate to get my hands dirty." Marco stated. He made a show of opening his poképack and retrieving a fake Loveball and a set of taming restraints.

 

Leslie inhaled as deeply as she could and forced it to her mouth, blowing off a loosened side of the tape. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know, just don't do that!"

 

"Very good. Now who do you work for?"

 

"I work for James he's a detective for the Limestone Police Station. They are running a smuggling ring out of the club."

 

"Well we found the contact. What happened to the officer and the NurseJoy that were taken from the hospital?" Asked Henrietta. She was getting inpatient and wanted to rescue her friends as soon as possible.

 

"The last I heard, both of them were still alive. But it didn't sound like they were being treated well. I was just told to call him if they came into the hospital that's all. I didn't know what would happen to them."

 

"What is your stake in all this, why are you helping them?" Marco was now rolling the Loveball around in his hand.

 

"I got in with their gang a few years back and they said they needed to plant people in various businesses throughout the city. I needed the work and the supplemental income is nice. I didn't want anyone to get hurt."

 

"Save it for someone who cares. Now when and where were you going to meet James?” It was Henrietta again; she clutched the girl’s collar in anger.

 

“You! Outside now!” Marco’s low and firm tone shook both Henrietta and Leslie to the core. In a huff Henrietta released the girl and walked out the room slamming the door behind her. “You’ll have to forgive my assistant; she can be a little bit high strung. Answer her question anyway.”

 

“I was supposed to meet him a little after 3am when I got off work. He had more questions about her.” She motioned over to Chesra. “I’m meeting him at Asylum, that’s the name of the club he runs everything out of.”

 

“What is he smuggling?”

 

“Mostly Evolution Stones and the occasional pokégirl confiscated from tamers who break the law. There is no pokécenter here so the girls can’t be conditioned before they are shipped out. That’s all I know I swear.”

 

“Oh you know more, and before this is over, I’m going to know it too…” Marco put on his best sinister grin as he eased closer to Leslies face. Once again she started to cry in fear, real fear.

 

~~~~~

 

An hour’s worth of interrogation had passed and they all met in the other room. "I have a few questions Master." Said Jean. She had kept silent then entire time, and was astonishment at how they were playing the situation.

 

"Haha I thought you wouldn't be calling me Master. But go ahead, what's your question."

 

She looked slightly irritated at herself for the slip up but continued. "How did you know that she would be the one you were looking for? I guess the call tipped that off though."

 

"We both knew before she even made the call. The way she was answering Chesra and what she said made it pretty obvious." Kelly answered; Jean looked puzzled and nodded for her to continue. "She's worked there for nearly two years and didn't once say Elise by name. That was especially odd considering it’s a hospital, and when you work over night and there are only a few people around names aren’t hard to remember."

 

"Second was the police. I suspected from the start that there were police involved, but when she said that they didn't ask her any questions, especially with a fellow officer being abducted. That was just wrong, also she didn't mention Ariel being knocked out in the blast."

 

"Wow, I guess he's not such an idiot after all. Why didn't you fall for the crying?" Jean eyed him with her last question.

 

"When you work around women long enough you start to learn the difference between panic tears, fake tears, and real tears. Then there was the Loveball, do you know what it does?" Jean shook her head no and he continued. "Exactly, most people don't really come into contact with them. They are highly illegal and have the ability to turn humans into pokégirls, regardless of gender, that one is a fake by the way. The fact that she immediately recognized it means she's come into contact with them and probably seen one work before. Therefor she's in pretty deep."

 

Ashley raised her hand to get his attention and spoke. "Why would you threaten her with something like that?"

 

"I got this one; there were a lot of reasons behind that. He already mention the first, the second was fear and confusion. She saw Chesra who said she was S.I.I. so she thought she was in the custody of government. They have to follow actual rules when it comes to prisoners and would never threaten to use a Loveball on a human. So her idea of safety was thrown right out the window when he did that. Second, pokégirls are still second class citizens for the most part. He basically threatened to turn her into a pokégirl, fuck the information out of her, and then who knows where she would end up later." Said Henrietta who was leaning against the far wall.

 

The Peekabu raised her hand again. "Was all that really necessary?"

 

"Violence perceived is violence achieved. If someone believes you're going to hurt them then they do the work for you." Marco looked down to check his wrist watch. "It's already too late to plant Leslie back in the hospital, she's been gone too long. We have to go and get the captives out now."

 

"They aren't just captives those are my friends!" Henrietta's worried voice carried across the room.

 

"You need to calm down! If you're not going to stay cool then you're a liability. He's already got a plan so let the Colonel work." Kelly had gotten in Henrietta's face, though the CalamityJane stood over the Duelist. The balance of power in Avalanche was a tricky thing to understand, while many girls in the unit were actually stronger than Kelly her position in the unit commanded power and respect.

 

"Both of you need to cool it. I know they are your friends, but there are probably more than just them in there. Jean, did you scout the area like I asked?" The Nogitsune nodded quickly. "Good. It's dark enough already, Kel, did you bring the assault gear and rest of the watches?" Marco gave both of them a stern look and they moved away from each other.

 

"Yes sir, I put them in the closet to be out of the way." She reached into her poképack and pulled out a large metal case. "The case has the watches that are already synced to your harems pokéballs. It also has the scan straps for the assault packs. Are we going to call in Echo and Delta?"

 

"Not yet, we do the recon first and call them if we need to. You all have a half an hour; get dressed, check your equipment over, and be ready to leave."

 

They all straightened up and looked at him. "Yes sir."

 

The assault packs looked like regular poképacks by design alone. Each member of Avalanche was trained in a wide array of weapons for combat. But firearms were kept in assault packs that could only be unlocked with a special strap that went on the wrist. If the owner traveled too far away from their pack the firearms section would lock and it be just a regular poképack. Once everyone was suited up they left out the window and teleported to the tallest and closest building in a three block radius of the club. Upon entry Marco released the harem members that couldn't teleport and they all moved to the edge of the roof.

 

Ashley looked around and spotted their target building a couple of blocks away. "Why didn't we come in closer?"

 

"About two years back we did an operation against Team Rocket in the city. We had already scouted the area and were moving in when we came under heavy fire. Thank god we didn't lose anybody that day. We eventually broke through and made the arrest. Come to find out, someone in Team Rocket actually has some brains. The building we were going into had surveillance cameras on the outside, in addition to that the surrounding buildings also had cameras. And they were all going to that one place. So now, when we hit buildings in city areas we check all the other ones too." Explained Henrietta.

 

"Oh... well that makes sense. Kelly, what are you doing?" Ashley looked over to Kelly who was busily typing away at a laptop.

 

"She's currently trying to access the cities power grid. When she gets in she can take control of where power is being sent. From there she can cause blackouts, seize control of traffic lights, and really just create mayhem if she feels like it. Normally that kind of thing falls on Isabella to handle but with her and the rest of Indigo out on their own mission Kelly learned how to do it too." Stated Marco who was looking through a set of binoculars.

 

"That's right and it takes a lot of concentration for me to hack a government system so pipe down." A few minutes later she rose from her screen and gave a thumb up in success. "I'm in... this area has a pretty stable power stream, but blackouts aren't uncommon. This is a business area so we really don't know what cameras belong to whom even when we come across them. What do you suggest?"

 

"Blackouts cause panic and put people on alert. Do a brownout, 30 seconds. That's enough time for any remote cameras to lose signal. Worst case, they turn on any generators they may have on site. Here is how this goes; we check the tallest building around our target location, any cameras you come across are to be disabled, that's our staging point. Carrie and Jean, you're our snipers I'm counting on both of you to watch our backs in there. If things go to hell once we're inside you have a weapons free order on any aggressors, Jean you're the spotter until we can get you rifle trained." They both nodded when he looked in their direction. "Ashley, you got the rooftop in the back entrance. When this goes down people may try to escape, if they leave let them go, if they try and go back in give a heads up. If the police show up and don't try to set up a parameter, they are in on it, take them down but keep them alive. Chesra, Kelly, Henrietta, and I have the inside. Smart money says there is a basement in that club, that's where our cap... hostages are being held." He looked over to Henrietta. Her face softened and she closed her eyes in a silent prayer. "Our primary objective: the safe rescue of any and all hostages. Secondary: this place is coming down after we're done, any objections?" Silence. "Good, once Kelly hits the brownout we move out. The closest police station is five miles away and a hover-bike response will be quick so keep an eye out to the east. Set your watches, we have fifteen minutes from the start to get this done."

 

"It's a good thing we are starting early, the club is still closed. Lower chance of civilians getting in the way." Said Chesra.

 

"Right... I want to thank everyone in advance. No matter what I appreciate your help with this." Henrietta bowed to her family then looked to Marco. "I have complete faith in all of you."

 

"You can be all mushy when we are done. Kelly hit the button."

 

All the lights in the area dimmed. In that time they teleported to their staging areas. Henrietta grabbed her assault pack and pulled out a sniper rifle along with a long black case. She popped the latches and inside was two long rows of magazines, seventeen in total for each row. Each on the top row had an elemental emblem on the side with the bottom row labeled standard. Carrie took the rifle and set up on the edge of the roof while Jean grabbed the case and put it on the ground between them. Next Henrietta retrieved a shotgun from the bag; it appeared to be a recreation of an Armsel Protecta Bulldog or Striker. The others were checking the rest of the area when a chime sounded and the lights went back on. Kelly teleported in from dropping off Ashley on the opposite side and grabbed her pack.

 

"There are four hover-cars and two bikes in the back. One car had police antenna on the trunk. I think our guy is here."

 

"Good job, do you see anything Jean?" Marco asked as he pulled a submachine gun out of his pack.

 

"One pokégirl at the door with a shirt that says security. The scanner says she's a Kung-ewe, fighting-type. I guess that makes sense for a bouncer."

 

Marco pressed a button on his sleeve and spoke into his headset. "Radio check..." The others clicked their mics and checked in. "Jean you're on one, Ashley you're on two, the rest of us are the Strike Team. Kelly, put our friend out there to sleep."

 

"On it, let's see if her mind is as fast as her body." She pulled a small square pouch marked with an S from one of her pockets and pressed the center till she heard a click. Kelly threw the pouch like a shuriken right towards the Kung-ewe. In a true show of skill the girl caught it and held it up by two fingers to examine it, right as Kelly pressed the detonator. The pouch exploded and a fine dust of sleep powder spread out, hitting the girl in the face. She inhaled in surprise then dropped to the ground showing just how potent the powder was.

 

"Yeeeah... don’t let that get on you, let's go people, time starts... now."

 

Once they teleported to the ground the Kung-ewe was placed in taming restraints and move to the wall of the building. Kelly cracked one of the double doors and peeked inside to check the area. At the counter was a human male counting the register and a female wearing a provocative looking shirt with a straitjacket design. Kelly pulled another sleep pouch from her vest and tossed it between the two of them, detonating it in midair. They both jumped back then fell to the ground; she motioned for the others to follow her inside and zip tied the hands of the humans. The four of them lined up in a tight formation with Kelly and Henrietta leading, while Marco took the middle and Chesra was facing the opposite direction to cover the rear.

 

The headset clicked and Jeans voice came through. “The dance floor is clear, no motion from the outside. Do you want me to retrieve the sleeping worker?”

 

“Only if you can do it quick, on the inside are two humans, get them too.” Commanded Marco.

 

The Strike Team was rapidly making their way to the back of the building when they heard talking coming from behind a closed door. Hastily they moved to the sides of the door and Kelly motioned to Chesra to breach. In a moment of inspiration Chesra stood right in front of the door and knocked then placed her palm flat against it. The second she felt it start to open she released her Chi Blast, throwing the pokégirl on the other side to the opposite end of the room and knocking her out. Chesra quickly to leapt to the human behind the desk and pinned him up against the wall. His attempts to scream were quickly hampered by her hand covering his mouth.

 

“You answer when spoken to. Scream, I break your hand. Bite me, I pull out a tooth. Disrespect my master, and you will discover unknown depths of pain. Am I understood?” The man, who had wet himself, nodded quickly and Chesra pulled her hand away. “What is your name?”

 

“Jeff, Jeff Ross, what is this about?” He asked shakily while his feet dangled from the ground.

 

“That’s Need to Know. Is there a basement to this club?” Asked Marco.

 

“Yeah, but it’s off limits. Only the owner, Mr. Durean, and his VIPs go down there.”

 

“Ok, what do you do here?”

 

“I’m the manager, I just oversee the clubs business.”

 

“Is his name James Durean?”

 

“Yeah that’s the guy. Look man, whatever he did, I have nothing to do with it. He hired me like twelve months ago to run this place.”

 

“Save it, where is the basement entrance?” Asked Kelly, she had taken a chair was looking though the files on his computer.

 

“There is a door on the loading dock next to the freight elevator. She has a keycard to get inside.” He pointed over to the unconscious Gun Bunny. “She works for him.”

 

“Good to know, Henrietta…” Marco kept his eyes on Jeff as the frightened manager watched Henrietta walk over and rifle through the downed girl’s pockets. Upon finding the card she manifested a silenced handgun and shot the bunny through the head. “How many more pokégirls are down there?”

 

“Five or more, please don’t kill me!”

 

Chesra put her hand back over his mouth and grabbed his hand, crushing it in her powerful grasp. “That was yelling, any louder and you lose that hand. Sir, are we done with him?”

 

“Yes we are… take care of him.” Marco smiled evilly as he watched the guys eyes widen in horror. Chesra quickly punched him in the side of the face, knocking him unconscious.

 

They left the office and continued clearing the club of its staff, knocking them out and tying them up one by one. Eventually they made it back to the loading area and spotted the door marked VIP. Hanging over it was a security camera, and on the side was a card reader and keypad. Kelly, being the smallest of them, slid along the wall leading to the door just barely out of the cameras range. With a leap she grabbed the base of the camera and ripped it out the wall then placed a card face down against the door.

 

“We’re at seven minutes in, with that camera down somebody should be on their way. If it’s just one person we capture, more than that we open fire if hostile.” Marco moved around to some freight containers to line up his sights on the door.

 

"Strike Team, three girls came up from under the stage and are heading in your direction. Looks like Tigress, Griffon, and a Firecat. Open fire?" Said Jean as she watched through her binoculars.

 

"Hold, we will take care of them. Ches, I know you don't enjoy attacking cat pokégirls, can you handle this."

 

"It won't be a problem Master. Let's try and make it quick." Chesra readied her sword and moved to the door where they would be making their entrance.

 

Marco could see the tension in her arms as she readied her weapon. "Chesra, throw them to Henrietta so she can take them out. Do it quick and make it as painless as possible. Kelly, keep an eye on the door."

 

From the door leading to the dance floor they could hear pounding. The three cat pokégirls were attempting to beat the door in from where they had sealed it. With a final crack the door flew off the hinges and slid across the floor. The Tigress let out a primal roar and dashed into the room and past a waiting Chesra who stuck the flat of her blade out and tripped the lowly girl. She hit the ground and rolled into Henrietta's foot, quickly she stomped on the girl’s throat, crushing her windpipe then shot her in the head. The Griffon tore through next and had her head taken off by Henrietta's shotgun blast, spraying the Firecat with blood, brains, and skull fragments. Seeing her sisters dispatched so quickly she turned and tried to make a run for the other side of the room. Chesra was too fast and she caught the girl by her neck before throwing her back to the loading dock and into a waiting Henrietta.

 

"Hold, let's see what this one has to say." Spoke Marco, placing his hand gun against her temple.

 

"I'm not going to tell you anything!" Yelled the Firecat, she punctuated her yell by spitting in his face. "You just wait till Bianca gets here."

 

"Well for her sake I hope she's not planning on using that door." Kelly motioned to the one with the key pad. As she spoke the door flew opened and a Sphinx lunged from behind it right towards Marco. In an instant she was bound with chains, stopping her in her tracks, a dark void opened up behind her and swallowed the struggling girl whole before disappearing. Kelly chuckled nervously as she turned to face Marco, his jaw dropped in surprise. "How was I supposed to know it would be a Sphinx? I can try and bring her back after we're done." Kelly knew that Marco had a special place in his heart for tacticians and if they could break her she would be a welcome addition. The card she placed floated down from the door and disappeared, going back into its designated pouch.

 

"You bitch, what have you done to her?"

 

"Now now, you don't get to ask questions. We do, and since we are in a time crunch let's make this quick." Marco looked around the room and spotted a supply closet. It was fairly empty, he motioned to Henrietta and she threw the fire type inside. "Now where are you keeping the female officer and the NurseJoy you captured a few days back?"

 

The door began to glow red and smoke was pouring out from underneath it. "I'm not telling you anything you bastard!"

 

"Well that's a shame, you being a cat and a fire type, too bad you're not claustrophobic. Kel, can you accommodate our guest?"

 

The Duelist nodded and pulled an Umi card from one of her decks. She placed it on the wall of the closet and it pulsed and shined with energy. Water started jetting out from underneath the door, it hissed as the metal cooled and banging could be heard from the other side. They waited for a few seconds until the banging stopped then opened the door. The cat poured out along with all the water and coughed while trying to catch her breath.

 

"Ready to talk yet?"

 

"Fuck... you."

 

"Alrighty then..." He grabbed her by the back of the neck and tossed her back inside. Kelly reactivated her card again. The pounding was even more furious this time around, eventually it stopped again. This time Chesra opened the door and caught her on the way out and slammed her up against the door.

 

"Child, I don't enjoy watching this. Please answer my Master’s questions."

 

The Firecat vomited water as her eyes cracked open. "Enough... I've... had enough. They are in the second door on the left... Master James is in the door furthest to the back."

 

"How many more are in your harem?"

 

"That was all of us, I'm the last one... wait there is a Growlie. But she's a police pokégirl. Please don't hurt Master James."

 

"Is there anything else we should know?" Asked Henrietta.

 

"Master James called his friends on the police force, they should be here soon."

 

"Just fuckin great, Kelly I want you to set the stage for Ashley." He clicked his headset. "We have incoming police, Kelly is going to prep the field. I want them stunned Ashley, Carrie, provide cover fire if needed. Jean, get in here and evacuate anyone who is still alive." A series of conformation beeps came through. "We’re running out of time so let's go, we clear the rooms on the approach, once we have Chris and Elise I want Chesra to teleport them out then rejoin. We take James alive, is that clear Henrietta?"

 

"Fine, I won't kill him."

 

On the outside of the club four hover-bikes pulled up carrying an officer and a Growlie each. They hesitated when they spotted the seemingly little girl kicking her feet off the edge of the loading dock. Kelly had already placed two cards face down next to her.

 

"Little girl, what are you doing here? You should be at home." Said the one female officer that had shown up.

 

A male officer scanned her with the pokédex and drew his gun. "That’s no child, that's a pokégirl, a Duelist. We are with the Limestone Police Department, surrender now and no harm will come to you!"

 

Kelly flipped the two cards she had and stood up. Water began shooting from drainage pipes and water outlets. A ring of water circled around her as it leveled off at the shins of the officers. "It is you who should surrender; I am with the Indigo Military, Avalanche unit. Lay down your arms and prepare to be detained."

 

Ashley watched the display of power from her post on the other building. She had never seen the Duelist in action and was stunned. As she looked around she noted how the water didn't go past a certain area. Instead it curled back, bordering off a large rectangular box. The front officer fired a round strait for the Duelist. Instantly the water from the ring around her shot out, capturing the projectile and dropping it at Kelly's feet. From the other side of the street a shot rang out and officer that had fired on Kelly fell into the water clutching his arm. Carrie chambered another round into her rifle and took aim in case she needed to fire again.

 

"Ashe, take them out." The Peekabu stepped on the drain she stood next to and sent a current of electricity down it. The human officers dropped to their knees and fell face first into the water. The Growlie were stunned but still able to move around. Kelly activated her Call Me Queen aura to impose her will upon them. "You Growlie, detain your human officer then return to your pokéballs." Her aura was too much for them to handle, try as they might, they reluctantly handcuffed the officers and then activated their own pokéballs. "Good job up there! Keep on the lookout for more officers!"

 

Back in the inside Marco and Chesra had cleared the first two rooms and were coming up on the one where Chris and Elise were supposed to be held. They cracked the door open and looked inside, the room was completely dark. Feeling around Henrietta found the light switch and flipped it on. In the corner was a female human and a NurseJoy huddled up together. The human’s eyes looked vacant and she flinched away from the lights and the sight of Marco. He backed out of the door and out of their range of view.

 

Henrietta stepped through and put her gun away. "Chris, Elise, it's me Rietta. We're here to get you out." The two didn't look well at all; she could only imagine what had happened to them. Their uniforms were ripped in various places and she was sure if it weren't for Elise they would have bruises too. She moved to the side so the Armsmistress could make her way in. "This is Chesra, she's a friend of mine. She's going to take you someplace safe. Chesra, please take them back to the office. Tell Alex I don’t care what she’s doing I want her tending to them immediately."

 

The Armsmistress nodded and approached them slowly. She knelt down a few feet from them and spoke in a soothing voice. "You have nothing to fear, we won't let anything happen to you. We are with the Indigo Military. I want you to take my hand, then I'll teleport you to safety." Slowly the two women crept over to Chesra and took her hand, moments later they were gone.

 

Marco had stood silently against the wall on the outside. He had a pretty good idea about what had happened to them and seeing another male would put them on edge. He jumped in surprise when Henrietta's fist flew through the wall. She came walking through the door, her face marred with tears. He couldn't help it, grabbing her by her vest and pulling her into a tight hug.

 

"You still can't kill him, but I have special plans for this bastard."

 

"Can you promise it's going to hurt?"

 

"Yes, and I've never broken a promise to you. Let's go get him."

 

At that the very same time Chesra teleported back into the room and stepped out. "Echo is taking care of them. Selena is out with Ashley, as an extra set of eyes. I want this bastard dead."

 

"It won't happen here but it's going to happen. Beware of the Growlie still around, we got two more rooms to check. Then we hit the room he's in."

 

They continued down the hall, checking the last rooms as they came to them. The first was a restroom and the second was occupied by boxes. Most of the boxes were labeled for various evolution stones. While a knee high box was stamped as pokégirls. Finally they came to the last room. Chesra didn't waste any time knocking the door down, frame and all. On the other side were a sharp dressed man and a Growlie. The man himself was sitting behind a desk and the Growlie looked unsure of what to do.

 

"I take it that you're Detective James Durean.” Said Marco as he aimed his SMG at the man.

 

"Yeah what of it? Where is my harem?"

 

"Three dead, one detained, and one in... I really have no idea where we sent her. You're under arrest for kidnapping, unlawful detainment, attempted murder, smuggling, possession of stolen property, assault on an officer, rape, and a lot more I'm sure."

 

"On whose authority?" James sat up in his chair and looked directly at Marco. He knew everyone that worked at the various stations and most of the leagues Internal Affairs agents. He had never seen this guy before.

 

"On the authority of the Indigo Military, now don't make this difficult."

 

"ATTACK!" The Growlie leapt from where she was standing and charged Chesra. The Armsmistress didn't have any issues attacking dog pokégirls and swung her sword upwards, taking the Growlie's arm off at the shoulder. With a spin she caught the free arm and beat her over the head with it. A gunshot rang out and Marco hit the wall and slumped down. Henrietta was already in motion, grabbing James's gun by the slide and ripped it off before jamming it into his shoulder. The Growlie was down and Chesra was by her master's side checking him over. Marco groaned in aggravation and shifted to the side. The metal lining in his vest did its job and stopped the projectile but it was still hot and was burning him.

 

"I'm proud of you two; even after he shot me you didn't kill him. Where is her pokéball?" Marco slowly made it back to his feet and walked over to the desk. Henrietta was grinding the slide of the gun deeper into the shoulder and didn't look like she was going to stop anytime soon. "Henrietta that's enough, you, give me her pokéball."

 

James reached down with his other arm and toggled the pokéball, returning the Growlie, before handing it over to Marco. "Go ahead and arrest me, I know people. I'll be back on the streets before the year is over."

 

"Yeah, that's not going to happen. I have something special just for scum like you." Marco's headset beeped and Kelly's voice came through.

 

"Sir, the honest Limestone police just showed up. What do you want me to tell them?"

 

"Tell them the person in charge will be out shortly, nothing else. Chesra, take him back to the office and have him healed, we will be along soon."

 

When Marco and Henrietta made it outside there were police everywhere. A LawFoxx and the chief of the Limestone Police were standing in front of Kelly and waiting for him to get there. Off to the side were his pokégirls and the still bound unconscious people taken from the inside.

 

At the first sight of a human in tactical gear the chief pushed past Kelly and charged up to Marco. "What the hell is going on here? Why are my officers in cuffs? Who the hell are you?"

 

Marco was shrugging out of his vest and rubbing his side where a bruise was forming. "Colonel Marco Readman of the Indigo Military, this was a rescue operation. A week back an officer from Sandstone was attacked during a stakeout, then attacked again and abducted from Sandstone Hospital along with a NurseJoy. During the course of our investigation we were led to this location and had a Detective James Durean named as the leader in a host of illegal activity, including the rape of both the officer and the nurse. When we confronted him in the basement of the club he had his Growlie attack us, then he shot me before teleporting away. That's when Kelly called and said you were here."

 

The chief stood there with his mouth wide opened trying to collect his thoughts. "There was talk about some strange activity with some of the officers but I never expected this. I didn't think we could have corrupt officers."

 

"If you note, it was only officers who had Growlie as partners. An OfficerJenny would never let that shit slide. Let me talk with my team and then I'll turn the scene over to you. We'll double clear the building then leave, you get credit for the collar and everything."

 

"That's mighty gracious of you Colonel. May I ask why?" This was from the LawFoxx who stood next to the chief.

 

"The entire incident will be written up as Classified, Delta level. Officially we were never here. Also they were your officers, so you have a better understanding on how to clean house if necessary." The chief stepped forward and shook his hands before walking off to brief his troops. "Did they mention why they showed up?"

 

"He said a silent alarm was triggered. What are our orders sir?" Kelly stated as she healed the forming bruise on his torso.

 

"Figures it would be something like that.. Thanks, ok ladies clear the building one more time. Kelly, I want you to copy all the data from any computers you come across." His pokégirls dispersed and started heading back. Before Kelly could leave he tapped her shoulder and whispered in her ear. She gave a questioning look then nodded before heading off again.

 

The next morning found Marco and Henrietta back at the Sandstone Police Station. Marco glanced around nervously as they waited for Ariel to come in. His first impression really wasn't all that respectable and hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. The OfficerJenny entered from one of the doors leading to the back saw them sitting on the bench. Not missing a beat she stood before them with hope in her eyes.

 

"Please tell me you reconsidered helping me; I'm at the end of my rope here." She got down on her knees in front of them and took Marco's hand. "I'll do anything you ask."

 

"Ariel stop it, it's not very becoming of such a proud officer. We already rescued Chris and Elise..." Henrietta was cut off as Ariel lunged forward pulling them into a tight hug, crying with everything she had. "I never got the chance to introduce you two properly. Ariel, this is my tamer and Commanding Officer, Marco Readman."

 

"Thank you so much for reconsidering to help me."

 

"I planned on helping you from the start; I just couldn't have you tag along like you would have asked to. I apologize for acting like an asshole but it needed to be done. I already talked to your chief and you are cleared for time off, with pay, to be with your partner while she's recovering."

 

The glassy eyes of Ariel almost didn't register what she was hearing. "Thank you again, when can I go and see them?"

 

"Chris and Elise are recovering back at our office, we can teleport you there right now."

 

Back at the office Kelly and Alexis were sitting in the kitchen discussing the state of the women in the back. The Cherub had been with Avalanche for a number of years as a support in the Echo team. Among other thing her ability to sense the intention of others made her invaluable to interrogations. She also had her understanding of the human psyche and her wealth of medical knowledge for aid in the field, having gotten degrees in both from different leagues. She sat backwards in the chair stirring her coffee while her shrunken wings fluttered behind her.

 

Marco entered and pulled out a chair for Ariel before going to the cupboard for more cups. "Morning ladies, this is Officer... Detective Ariel, a partner and close friend of Chris and Elise. That's Kelly the Alpha and Alexis a member of Echo team, would you like something to drink?"

 

"Coffee please, when can I see them?"

 

He poured himself a glass of orange juice and placed her cup in front of her before taking their seat. "I'm not sure, what's their status Alex?"

 

"I gave them a full check over. The physical state was healthy thanks to Elise keeping them healed, though they were slightly malnourished. No signs of pregnancy and we flushed their systems just to be certain. The mental damage on the other hand is not great. Elise kept from being bonded by just trying to get things over with as quickly as possible, but Chris is a fighter. Her statement was that she wouldn't be taken without a struggle, and she fought every step of the way. She has the most severe damage of the two of them and is blaming herself. I can mitigate this through a regimen of cognitive therapy over the next week."

 

Ariel’s hands shook in anger. "How can she blame herself, this was my fault. It's my fault both of them were taken."

 

Marco had been through some classes and seminars on dealing with rape victims and their families. Once they start giving into blame things would spiral downhill fast. "Henrietta, I gave you too much credit. I thought you had smarter friends than this." All eyes turned to him as he sipped his drink. Ariel was about to say something but he started talking again. "What, you took your partner to your friend for medical attention. It was an inside job; you were going to get caught. You got knocked out; you were hit from behind by an exploding wall. Who’s to say what would have happened if you made a different choice. You could both be dead; you could all have been captured. What's most important is that everyone survived. Your friends will be okay, but only if they have the support of a strong friend in their corner." He took another sip and sat back.

 

Ariel looked around and finally found the nerve to speak. She didn't really think about it like that. "I guess you're right, but if she needs somebody to blame, I would rather it be me than her."

 

"That's between you two, either way you should go and see her soon."

 

Alexis nodded and slid out of her chair. "I can take you to them right away. After we took some information we sedated them and they should be up by now. Come this way."

 

Before they could leave the room Marco whistled to get their attention. "We are currently on an information blackout concerning what happened. You can inform them that James was captured but nothing beyond that. Make sure everyone knows that." A few questioning look went his way but they didn't bother to ask.

 

"Aren't you coming sir?"

 

"No, they don't need any men around them right now. I'll speak with them when they’re better."

 

Back in the infirmary the two girls were awake and eating. They were still in a state of shock but looked good all things considered. When Henrietta and Ariel entered the room their eyes lit up.

 

Ariel burst through and ran right to Chris's bed side. "Thank god, I'm so glad to see you're both okay."

 

"Ariel? You're alright! When the military picked us up and I didn't see you I thought you were dead. How did you get here?"

 

"Rietta and her tamer brought me here. I'm soooo sorry; it's all my fault you both were captured. If it weren’t for me you would… (Slap)" Ariel held her hand against her red cheek from the hit.

 

Chris reached out and took the Jenny's hand. "You idiot, how could you think this was your fault. You did your best to get me medical attention, how were you supposed to know we would be attacked again? It's my fault for getting shot by that floppy eared cunt."

 

"It's not your fault! You can't dodge bullets! That shot was meant for me and you know it! Why did you knock me out of the way?"

 

"Because I knew my partner would get me out. And you did so I'm ok. Don’t blame yourself!"

 

"And that's the end of round one ladies. Back to your corners." Joked Henrietta as she tried to lighten the mood.

 

Chris sat back against her headboard and sighed in frustration. "Sorry, I didn't even say thank you yet Henrietta. Where's your tamer, I want to thank him too."

 

"He thought it best not to be around you both till you had more time to recover. How are you two doing?"

 

"Better now that I've gotten some decent food in my system. It all still feels like a blur. What ever happened to... James?" A shiver ran down her spine as she forced herself to say that name.

 

"All I can say at the moment is that he was captured. We can't say more than that."

 

Alexis sat on the other side of Elise's bed and checked her pulse. The NurseJoy jerked away in reflex then relaxed as tears ran down her face. "Do you two remember me?" They both shook their heads no. "That's okay, short term memory loss is to be expected after a traumatic experience. I'm Alexis, you can call me Alex; I’m one of Henrietta's subordinate officers and a friend of hers. I'll be acting as a therapist and physician for both of you till you're back to 100%. I am at your service."

 

"I want to go back to work, when can we leave?" Chris grumbled.

 

Elise shook her head. "Chris, we can't go until she clears us. Isn't that right?"

 

"Unfortunately that's correct, not even the Colonel can't supersede my orders when it comes to my patient’s wellbeing. I'm a Cherub so I'll try my damnedest to make your recovery quick."

 

"Damn it I feel fine!" Yelled Chris.

 

"Physically yes, but mentally you're unstable and could possibly pose a danger to yourself or someone you see on the street. How would you deal with a domestic abuse case between a father and daughter?"

 

"I would... I'd... I don't know anymore. I'm just so... angry... and disappointed in myself. How could I let this happen?"

 

"You didn't let anything happen. I remember what you said last night. Every time he came to you, you fought with all you had. It took his pokégirls to subdue you. By the time your will was at the end, rescue was on the way. I wish I had your determination... your strength!" Sobbed Elise. "I just rolled over and let it happen..."

 

Alex moved around between the two of them. "I know it doesn't feel like it, but this is good. Let these emotions out, you both have support. Support from me, support from Henrietta and Ariel, and most important support in each other. Kelly, let's go and give these four some time to talk." As she and Kelly walked out she turned and asked one final question. "Is there anything you two want?"

 

Not missing a beat they both looked up with pain filled eyes. "... Revenge."

 

She closed the door behind her and jumped back when she saw Marco standing there. "Sir?"

 

"I do love to grant request. How long till they are better?"

 

She could feel the intent in his words but thought it better not to speak on it. "They are both in better shape than I ever would have figured. Two weeks tops."

 

"Good, in a week bring them to my office. There are a lot of things we need to discuss."

 

____

 

 

 

A weeks’ time had passed and both Chris and Elise were recovering nicely. Kelly, Henrietta, and Alexis led the three of them to Marco's shared office with Kelly. Though his light preference was dim he made sure that the lights were brighter for their comfort. He was already sitting behind his desk and greeted them with a smile when they entered.

 

"Afternoon ladies, please take a seat, there are some things that we need to talk about." He waited for everyone to sit before he continued. Kelly was the only one privy to the plans he had and agreed completely with his idea. “I’m Colonel Marco Readman, Henrietta's tamer. I along with the rest of my harem rescued you from the club Asylum. This is the first time we met so I wanted to introduce myself." They nodded and looked at each other. "On to the matter at hand. I need an oath from you Ariel. Everything that's going to happen here today won't be on the up and up so I need you to swear not to report what's going to happen. Otherwise I'll have to place you under guard till this is over. This is the only time I'm going to make this offer and I need an answer now."

 

She looked around hesitantly; it was unexpected to have something like that thrown at her. From the things she heard about him he was a trust worthy and fair man. At the very least she had to be there to support her friends. "Yes you have my oath that I will not divulge any information that I'm about to receive."

 

"Okay, I have intentionally had my subordinates keep you in the dark concerning James. The official report is that after he shot me he somehow teleported away. In truth, he has been kept in solitary in this facility." He could feel the fury in their eyes burning at him and continued to speak. "I, personally, am a strong believer in karma and revenge. So I'm giving you two the opportunity to get your revenge and closure. I already have everything planned out and if you would like to be a part of this you are more than welcome to. If it’s too painful to be near him, I understand. No matter what he dies today."

 

Alexis stood from her chair; she knew he would do exactly what he said but needed to at least attempt to stop him. "Sir you can't make such an offer, its agains..."

 

"Sit down Alex. This isn't up to you. I did some checking and he in fact IS very well connected. The probability of him walking if he were to go to court is too high. This is nothing I wouldn't do if the same thing happened to someone in the unit." Marco made sure to keep his voice even as he talked, not wanting to possible frighten his guests. "Would you like to be a part of this?"

 

Chris didn't waste any time answering. "Yes! I want to see him hurt for what he did."

 

"Ok, Elise what about you? I have to warn you though; your knowledge of medicine would make this more crucial for your part."

 

The NurseJoy hesitated, she didn't know what this man had planned but if medical knowledge was necessary it was bad. Suddenly she felt the reassuring grip of both Chris and Ariel taking her hands. That was all the encouragement she needed. "I'll do whatever you ask of me. Will he suffer?"

 

Everyone in the room was taken back at the malicious grin that appeared on his face. "Miss. Elise, he will hurt like you wouldn't believe."

 

Off the coast of Piratical Cove the stage was set. The tide was rolling in at a slow and steady pace and though the sun was out, the gentle breeze made it enjoyable. The perfect spot to draw ones last breath. A large tent was set up on the beach and the parties involved were already seated. In the sand a table and a set of chairs were already arranged and awaiting its occupants. Henrietta teleported in with Marco while Chesra entered with the bound James, the rest of the harem had already taken up positions surrounding the area.

 

Marco took a seat at the table a looked to James. He pulled a pack of Cameltoe cigarettes and a box of matches from his pocket and slid them to the other side of the table. “Chesra, release his bonds. Mr. Durean please take a seat and don’t try to escape. Trust me, you wouldn’t get far.”

 

Chesra cut the ropes binding his hand and James took a seat at the table. “Mr. Durean is it? I guess you did your homework on me. I must say, this is a very nice spot you have here. All and all I’ve had worse vacations, the food was pretty good, the bed was soft, if it weren’t for the lack of sex I could stay with your group forever.” He picked up the pack and lit one of the cigarettes, kicking his feet up onto the table.

 

Marco was starting to wonder if the man had the False Sense of Superiority trait based on how he was acting. It was true that James had not been harmed and was in fact treated rather well, Marco’s idea of leading him into a false sense of security. “I do try and make a man’s last week pleasant when I can. You are correct about my having checked up on you though.”

 

“Good, so when do I get to go home mister… I never did get your name.”

 

“Readman, Colonel Marco Readman of the Indigo Military, and you don’t get to go home. You are charged with a truly impressive number of crimes, you’re here to face your accusers, and then your punishment. Do you have anything to say before that happens?”

 

“Whatever, let’s just get this over with.” He took a long drag and puffed out a smoke ring.

 

Marco turned his head to the tent and nodded. Kelly and Alexis led the three girls down to the beach. James turned his head to see the girls making their approach and felt his stomach turn. This obviously wasn’t normal; the entire scenario was just starting to seem wrong the more he thought about it. From the side Chesra moved forward and picked up the table, taking it off to the side and out of the way. Marco looked at each of the women, each with her personal ax to grind against James.

 

“Each of these women you have hurt, and now you shall pay the price for your actions. I am a fair man though… well kind of. You get to try and defend yourself against them, not like you gave them the chance against you.”

 

“Christina… you think I need my pokégirls, I’ll take you on all by myself. That is unless you’re too afraid.” James did his best to put on a brave face. Between the three women Chris really was the only one he was going to have a chance of beating. ‘Maybe I can take her as a hostage and get out of this.’

 

Chris cracked her knuckles and stretched her neck to the side. “Oh you misunderstand; Ariel is just here to watch and Elise, if you even bothered to ask her name, is here to keep you alive. So come on tough guy, I’m not injured, I’m not tired, I’m not worried about my partner, and your harem’s not here to save your ass. You’re my bitch now!” She charged forward and kicked him square in the chest, knocking him backwards out of the chair and into the sand. Before he could get to his feet she kicked his arms out, driving his face back into the sand. James rolled over onto his back, coughing and rubbing his eyes from the sand. With a jump Chris jammed her knee into his stomach then maneuvered onto his chest, keeping his left arm pinned with her foot. “I remember you saying how much you wanted me to be on top of my own free will!” She punctuated her shout with a punch to the side of his face. “SO! IS IT! EYERY! THING! YOU! HOPED! FOR!” Every word brought another punch to his face, her knuckles were turning raw from the abuse they were under.

 

“Chris! Chris! That’s enough!” Another minute of beating and finally Ariel stepped in and pulled Chris off. James was in terrible shape, his eyes were swollen shut, his lips were just about gone, and the majority of his front teeth were missing.

 

Marco stepped back forward again and doused James with a watered down dose of Paraspray. “I can’t say that wasn’t fun to watch and I would like to watch it again. But people who record crimes are idiots. Elise, would you please heal this garbage?” In his hand he was holding a spool of some kind of cord and was wrapping it around his hand in loops.

 

“Right away sir.” She really didn’t understand what the Paraspray was for, but she wasn’t going to question it. The NurseJoy got to work healing James, he groaned as his skin reformed and his teeth grew back in place.

 

James coughed and struggled but the Paraspray had its intended effect, rendering him immobile. “Let me guess, Ariel gets to beat me next?”

 

“Nope, that was a personal request I granted. That Paraspray should keep you down for another five minutes, Henrietta would you please do the honors.”

 

“With pleasure sir.” Henrietta set to her task of not too gently removing James’s clothes. With him now nude he was secured to the chair. This particular chair was built with straps on the legs and those were spread open. Henrietta then produced a medical case from a poképack and handed it to Elise. “You’re up.”

 

Out in the field you can never have enough medical knowledge. Sometimes the powers of a NurseJoy just aren’t enough. Occasionally something as simple as a heal spell won’t get the job done. These cases normally involve bones that have to be set before they are healed. In a hospital setting though, some things just can’t be healed and surgery is needed, so surgical skills stay still in heavy use. That’s why when Elise opened the case she immediately recognized the urinary catheter.

 

James couldn’t see what was in the medical case, but the fact that the NurseJoy appeared to recoil didn’t fill him with much hope. Marco took his seat again, and uncoiled the cord around his hand. “I was always a bit of a history buff and have always found medicine and mining fascinating. After you came into our custody I decided to bone up on a few things. Do you know what this is?” Marco held up the green tinted cord for James to see, wildly James shook his head. “Well back in the old days, when mining, they would use dynamite to help blow up large rocks and holes into the side of mountains. The basic thing was light the fuse and wait, later they started making fuses that were water-proof. Mostly used in underwater detonations and various areas where moisture would cause the fuse to go out after lit. That improved model is called a Visco fuse, still very pre-war but it does the job it’s needed for. I’m starting to ramble, let me get right to the point. I calculated out your transgressions and came up with a number, thirty. That’s 30 feet, or fifteen minutes of reflection before the pain begins…” He handed the fuse to the Elise and her mind started to put the pieces together and formed a horrifying picture.

 

“Look, Readman, she already beat the hell out of me. Isn’t that enough? How about I pay you, you’ll never hear from me again. I can get you millions. All you have to do is let me go, what do ya say?”

 

“Actually I’m going to give you a bit of a sporting chance. The good news is that you’ll more than likely pass out from pain before this would ever kill you. There are plenty of ships out there, if you scream loud enough there is a good chance that one of them might hear you and come to your rescue. I wish you the best of luck.” Marco stood again and walked away, nodding to Elise as he passed her and taking the pack of cigarettes.

 

Everyone watched as Elise inserted the fuse into his penis and reseated him in the chair before securing him again. Marco lit one of the cigarettes and placed it in James’s mouth and hung a bottle with a note one the inside around his neck before walking away. His harem had already collected the table and chairs and made their way back to the shaded tent they had set up earlier. He stopped Ariel a little ways out and handed her the book of matches as he lit a smoke for himself. “I know fifteen minutes doesn’t make up for an entire week’s worth of worry,” He help up the end of the fuse and handed it to her. “But I hope this will make you feel better. If you would please do the honors.”

 

“I’m sorry sir, though I gave my oath not to reveal what happened here, I can’t light that fuse. I hope you understand.”

 

Marco held up a calming hand. “I understand completely, there is nothing to apologize for. If anything I feel like I've already asked too much of you… I’m still holding you to your oath though. Henrietta!” The CalamityJane quickly jogged over, and gave a puzzled look when he handed her the fuse. “All yours my dear.” He almost swore he could feel the intense wave of pleasure roll though him when she snatched his cig away before kissing him. She took a puff and used the glowing ember to lite the fuse.

 

Ten minutes had passed and they all watched in anticipation. The Paraspray had already worn off and James was struggling desperately to break free of his ties. Chris tapped Marco on his shoulder to get his attention. “I thought you said that he was going to die today, but you told him that he may be rescued by one of the passing ships.”

 

“Oh yeah, all the scenarios I came up with point to his death.”

 

“Would you explain please?”

 

“Of course. There really is a chance that a ship may see or hear him and come to his rescue. The problem with that is that the ships in this area are frequently manned by the Limbec Pirates and the note around his neck has a list of his crimes against you. Smart money says they kill him. Then there is the infection from the burns he’s going to have as well as his inability to take a piss. Or… the fact that he is still bound to that chair, he will die of dehydration, or starvation. What else did I do… oh yeah… the feral that I’ll be leaving in the forest to keep him company…” He finally took a look around and each woman was staring at him in different degrees. This wasn’t the first time he’d done something completely off kilter, and most that knew him accepted the fact that he had a few issues here and there. But this was by far the most malicious thing they had ever seen, and worse yet, Kelly thought this was a good idea. “What?”

 

“Sir… can I give you a psychological evaluation when we get back? I don’t think you’re all that well.” Alexis actually was a little concerned this time. This was way more callous than she ever imagined.

 

“If you really want to then I won’t deny you… Oh look he’s really struggling now; I bet he has about two minutes left.”

 

The peace and serenity of the beach was broken by the screams of unbearable unimaginable pain. Any pokégirl with somewhat enhanced hearing was certain to veer away from such a sound. The group had packed up and teleported out, leaving Kelly and Marco to catch up.

 

"Well Marco, I hope you’re proud of yourself." The Duelist had finally taken her fingers out of her ears. James's shrieking was loud and quite unbearable, but had come to a stop when he passed out. She pulled a pokéball out of her pocket and handed it over.

 

"Is there something you wish to say Kel?"

 

"No sir, the chair only has his prints on it at best and the pokéball is linked to his dex. Though that was melted yesterday."

 

"I guess that covers everything." He took the pokéball and pulled a flair gun out of his pocket. The flair fired high into the air, signaling that someone needed attention. Most ships stayed away from Piratical Cove because of the Limbics so there were no other authority figures around for miles. "We'll release her about two miles into the woods and let fate take things from there."

 

"Yes sir, the feral Dildo Queen is a nice touch." Without another word the two of them teleported away.

 

_____

 

 

 

Minerva was disheartened as she looked at the ringing cell phone. She had managed to keep an eye on Readman the entire way until they made it to Stone Town. When he went into the police station she had stayed out of sight and waited for him to come back out. After he and the CalamityJane finished whatever they were talking about, they teleported away and she hadn't been able to find him since. Now she had to explain how she lost the target.

 

"Yes sir, what can I do for you?"

 

"Minerva... It has come to my attention that you and Evelyn can't erase his memory. The process would only remove his short term memory. She’s just not strong enough to do the job. Did you know this?"

 

A bead of cold sweat ran down the side of her face as she looked around franticly. "No sir, I was not aware of that. What would you like me to do?"

 

"I want your ass back here now!"

 

"But sir I'm still in Stone Town, they have no pokécenter here. I wouldn't be able to get back for at least a few days."

 

"Ok I can deal with that, where is Readman?"

 

"............."

 

"Minerva, where the fuck is Readman!?"

 

She pulled the phone away from her head and recoiled from the yelling. "I lost him a week ago. Wherever he is, the signal tracker won't pick him up."

 

"So if I understand you correctly... you have been in Stone Town for seven days. You lost him on the first day. And you didn't bother to check in and tell me!"

 

The phone flipped out of her hands as she juggled it like a hot potato. She managed to catch it just before it hit the ground. "Yes sir, sorry sir, it will never happen again sir."

 

"You better have some kind of information for me or you'll be getting a ‘fresh start’ when you get back!"

 

She swallowed hard; the implications of what he said were not lost to her. "I heard them talking about the next gym he was heading to and I have a composition of his harem from his last gym battle."

 

"Well hurry up and spit it out."

 

"That's not what you said the last time I was with you." She was playing her best hand at a joke to hopefully calm him down.

 

It back fired. "Now is not the time to get cute with me. Put that mouth to use and tell me what I want to know."

 

"He should be going to the Cerulesbian Gym; his harem has an Armsmistress, CalamityJane, a Peekabu, a Penance, and a Nogitsune. I'll take the bus to Cerulesbian City and I can have them transport me to..." Minerva quickly turned her head to the side, she could swear that someone was watching her. “the raised area. Can you have someone come and get me from there?"

 

"No, I want you to check the gym. If he has already been there then call me... as a matter of fact, just to drill the idea into your head, call the office every twelve hours starting at nine. If no one answers, leave a message that you're just checking in. If you are late by even one second, without a good reason, I'll send someone to replace you. Do you understand?"

 

"Yes sir, I will do as you ordered... (click) I was better off just keeping my big mouth shut. What do I know about running operations?"

 

_____

 

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Delta

Echo

Indigo

 

Beta- Chesra- Armsmistress	Beta- Henrietta- CalamityJane	Beta- Mina- Kunoichi
Emaline- FireMaiden	Field Beta Selena- Caphoochie	Renae- IceMaiden
Arianna- War Hound	Alexis- Cherub	Isabella- Mecha Musume
Kim- Bombshell	Rebecca- Smokey	Zianna- Lupina
Nikki- SexSlash	Lily- Gloomy	Leona- Lamia

 

Harem

Chesra- Co-Alpha

Henrietta- Co-Alpha

Carrie- Penance

Ashley- Peekabu

Jean- Nogitsune