Pokémon Obsidian | An Orre Fanfiction

Chapter 83: The Interview

Everyone but Amber left the house prior to Emma's arrival. She didn't want discomfort to warp Jamie's story, but he asked if Amber could stay. She answered the door. Emma sat between Charmander and Scorbunny cushions on the opposite couch. Amber clung to a matching cushion like a comfort blanket. She passed it to Jamie when she saw him wringing his hands. It was nothing to do with Trip personally, but he somehow found it easier to accept sympathy from his mother.

'First things first...'

Emma extended a hand. Amber's was clammy when she shook it.

'Jamie already knows exactly who I am, but my name is Emma. I'm the Chief Inspector of the International Police. And I want to make it clear, from the start, that I am not here to judge or incriminate anyone. I'm here to hear your story, Jamie, to ensure you are charged fairly and only for the things you, personally, have done or ordered, taking external circumstances into account. If you feel uncomfortable at any point, we can take a break.'

'I know.'

'How are you feeling?'

'Existent.'

Jamie hesitated. 'Embarrassed.'

'Well, I know you probably think it's different because I didn't know I was doing awful things, but I was the perfect candidate for my "stupid suit" because I was already a crook.'

'Anyway... where do you want me to start?'

'Is it correct that this all started because you were being stalked from a young age?'

'I guess so.'

'I want the prosecutors to understand the scale of the harassment. It was fans of Unova Emboar, Orre Prospectors, Alfie Addison, Leon Fayed, Fayiz Hawthorn Fayed, Lyndon Massey, Chalcedony Jefferson, Amos Barrera, Jude and Michael Mesquite, Eagun Idanior and eventually your brother, Camden, right?'

'Yeah. And people who hated the people they loved, like my grandma Abbey.'

Amber nodded. 'That can be the worst of it. I got my wrist broken by some guy at a park when I was four, just for being my mum's kid. But Jamie got all this a million-fold. Camden did until he was nine, but then he started acting, which put him mostly out of reach. By the time my other kids were born, they were all so obsessed with Camden and Jamie, they never got it as bad.'

'And what did it involve?'

'People at school touching and groping me all the time. Parents asking for my autograph. Taking sneaky pictures and posting them online. Which was like a "hey, come here" flag to the stalkers who started to wait and follow me home. Who also touched and groped me and took sneaky pictures. I had to be anonymous if I ever used the internet, or I'd be trolled and sexually harrassed. Every time I thought I'd made a friend, it turned out either they wanted to meet some relative of mine, or their parents did. No-one was ever interested in me. I told my teachers and school counsellors, but their response was always – no matter how bad it was – that I needed to get over it because my parents were rich.'

'Were there any specific incidents that stand out?'

'I got Sleep Powdered several times. Once I woke up and most of my hair was gone. Another time I woke up with no clothes on. I don't think they actually did anything sexual to me. They just took my clothes. I used to have an amber pendant from my grandma, but some crazy Leon fan who threatened to chop my head off tore it off and posted a video of her burning it on Rotogram. There are police records of that and all the Sleep Powder incidents.'

'And some of this happened after you returned to Orre, right?'

'Oh, yeah, Orre's just as bad as Unova. Different stalkers, same shit. Alfie is from here, after all. And we have the "Alfie Clan" conspiracy theorists who think he's behind everything wrong with the world and that Ardos is a hero. And it sounds pathetic, but...'