Pokémon Obsidian | An Orre Fanfiction

Chapter 18: Let Them Come

Almost two miles below Fool's Gold Regional Park, a door slid open. The floor-to-ceiling windows of a futuristic office overlooked the underground town that Cipher named Obsidian City. The muffled sounds of construction whirred outside. GoD's helmet laid dormant on the steel desk. Leroy stepped quietly into the office.

The chair swivelled. Boots clapped the floor. There was a whiff of booze on the breath that brushed Leroy's face; but that was the only trace of drunkenness as his boss forcefully seized his collar. He abruptly let go. Leroy stumbled. The eyes that stared him down were so cold, he felt as if he was brutally slapped wherever they focused. He landed on his bum on the floor.

'I'm sorry, Grand Master...'

'Did I ask you to kidnap that girl?'

'But... if we don't scare off those Team Magma ninnies...'

'Get Cipher up shit creek again and I won't demote you. I'll kill you. No-one will give a toss now they know what you are.'

GoD seemed to drop forcefully onto his desk, but nothing on it was disturbed.

'I know what you want to say, Moore. You want to say I cocked up in Phenac. Sure, I didn't expect those girls to show up...'

It was as if his eyes seared through Leroy's skull to his mind so viscerally that he felt the pain.

'Oh – and you want to say it wasn't that, either, don't you? Even lovely Ardos knows he's not up to my job.'

'I know. I know I'm not up to it. Trust me – I don't want to do it. I just want a stress-free future for Moore Industries...'

GoD stamped on his ankle. He yelped.

'There is no Moore Industries! There's one name for everything – and it's Cipher! You seriously think you can get rid of me once I've gone nuts doing all the legwork, don't you? Get a grip!'

'No! I don't think I can get rid of you! I'm just saying–'

Leroy gestured to the neon lights outside. 'Look! None of this would exist without us!'

'Moore Industries – which is literally just a pseudonym, because your disgusting grandpa was one of us – wouldn't exist without Cipher. Ardos purchased our mines long before you or I were even born.'

Ardos lurked in a chair in the shadows. Leroy forced himself not to shudder when the town's neon glow caught his steely eyes.

'Yes, Rose expanded the empire. But Cipher took him in when no-one else wanted him. Nascour would've left the resort to the Mesquites if we hadn't. Be grateful.'

'I am grateful, Grand Master. You're misunderstanding me. Whatever we decide to call our business venture–'

'It's not a business venture, you gormless bellend.'

'I mean, world domination is business, but whatever. I worry about people like Team Magma because to be realistic, Grand Master – they've got in our way before. Cipher would be ruling Orre if Courtney hadn't stuck her nose in places it didn't belong. That's all I'm saying.'

'Let Team Magma come at us. They won't bother us again, because they'll be dealt with by me, Grand Master of Cipher, not some incompetent Admin.'

'If they discover the city...'

'They won't even reach the subway station. I know you're thinking they almost got me in Phenac, but don't worry. I'm not just relying on my own strength. They're not coming to take us down, not yet. They're coming to rescue their missing cop. They can have her.'