Pokémon Obsidian | An Orre Fanfiction

Chapter 47: Alive

Cipher were yet to come looking for Wilmot. Camden almost wished they would, because the stench of the accumulating bodily fluids in the basement was beginning to leak into the house. He and Lyric didn't think about that when they tied him up. Feeding him was difficult, because he tried to yell to be heard by the listening chips upstairs. Camden and Lyric could only discuss it in the garden.

'Are you sure it's unsafe to call Lyndon?'

'I mean, there's a chance I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure GoD has long surpassed him as a hacker.'

'Jeez... but what are we gonna do with him? Cipher are gonna need their hitman sooner or later.'

'Y'know, I've been thinking... they also need me. The cops know I'm not GoD, but as long as his shit's in my name, they don't know who he actually is. If they kill me, they'll have to find a new victim.'

'Yeah, but... assuming they won't kill you is dangerous, Camden.'

'And I was also thinking...'

Camden never got the chance to suggest his idea for Wilmot. Lyric's waters broke. Ardos heard Camden call the ambulance, but sending minions to the hospital was Wilmot's job. It still hadn't occurred to Ardos that Wilmot was incapacitated. For the first time since he drove Edd out, Camden and Lyric left their home without a single fan or Cipher member being alerted.

There was no time to bug the hospital room. Ardos assumed Wilmot went with them and left his P★DA at the house. It wasn't Camden, but Lyric who spat out through pain that they weren't being watched. Now was the time to send the police to Wilmot. Camden used the ward's phone to call 911.

Wilmot didn't hear Camden call the ambulance, but he heard sirens. He thought the police were coming for him then. He wriggled and ground the rope binding him against the floor, but it was no use. When nothing followed the sirens, he relaxed, only for heavily armed police to creep in through the windows an hour later. Camden warned them that the whole house, except apparently the basement, was bugged. They knew not to speak until Wilmot was in the back of an unmarked car.

By the time Cipher's apps flagged the use of Wilmot's name over Laztaz County PD radios, it was too late to rescue him. The International Police ordered all high-profile Cipher members to be taken directly to the Wilderness Jail. Wilmot was already in a maximum security cell, guarded by soldiers, when Ardos accessed the prison's CCTV. Retrieving him would be risky even for GoD. He could be seized before XD008 warped him out.

Other patients grew nervous when they saw officers with strong Pokémon patrolling the corridors of the maternity wing. Ardos gathered that Lyric was in labour. The police figured he knew, but they also knew he would be excited about a child he could threaten. That was exactly why Wilmot blocked their access to abortion. Cipher wouldn't blow up the hospital. The baby was too valuable. So, after checking with Camden, the midwife called Amber.

Fans knew by then. Cameras flashed as a crowd of relatives, hardly able to believe they were actually invited, descended on the hospital. When Amber and Lyric's mom Jazlyn tentatively stepped into the room, Camden couldn't have shown them his feigned arrogance even if he wanted to. Tears streamed down his crumpled face as he cradled his newborn son.

'It's OK,' Lyric weakly told them, 'Y'all can come in.'

Although there was no way the room could contain all the emotional visitors. The hours of labour didn't exhaust Lyric as much as the relief of knowing she was, temporarily, safe. She dozed off as relatives filtered in and out. Camden's silent tears exploded into sobs when his parents hugged him.

'I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...'

'Why are you sorry?'

Amber pressed a tissue to his cheeks with a weary smile.