Viridian Love Story (Rocketshipping)

Chapter 8: That was close!

Chapter 8: That was close!

When dawn broke, the ship entered the port. Jessie, James and Meowth felt nervous, knowing that they would soon break into monitored area. They could only guess at the consequences for this breach of taboo, but Giovanni would certainly give them the riot if their double deceit came to light.

"You can do this, Team Rocket!" Misty tried to encourage her long-time opponents, even if the words of support were used for her own profit. "Do you already have an idea on how you're going to do it?" Brock intervened. He was curious about Team Rocket' plan, since they had been fooling the kids with their distinctive costumes for years. Jessie and James gave each other a meaningful look. When it came to costumes and metamorphosis, nobody could hold a candle to them. A little smile flitted across James' face, because Jessie hadn't given him that intense look for a long time.

"Don't worry about that! Here's what we've been thinking about: As cleaners we get access to all rooms and halls, including the room where the files of all interviewed people are archived. As soon as we have the bunch of keys in our hands, we will pretend to do our job. A little wiping, a little dusting, and no one will be suspicious anymore" Meowth explained. His friends nodded in agreement.

"Be careful not to attract attention! This could end badly, for you, but also for me, because maybe we are already close to the solution" Misty expressed her concerns.

"Let the professionals do the work! We will hand you the files in no time, trust us!" James winked at the young woman.

The sirens were already sounding. The day had dawned, and the grunts gathered for roll call in the nearby main square of the island. Now Team Rocket had to hurry. Calculations showed that they had less than seven minutes to skilfully bypass the cameras and alarms without falling into the numerous surveillance traps. To do this, they had to get to the back entrance as quickly as possible, wait until someone accidentally opened the door for a short smoke break, then sneak into the main building and find the staff changing room where they would borrow their cleaning uniforms.

No sooner said than done. Jessie, James and Meowth were way ahead in terms of sneaking up on people. It didn't take them long to avoid all the traps and, thanks to an inattentive employee, they were able to infiltrate the building unnoticed.

"Here, put this on, James!" Jessie handed him a pair of turquoise dungarees, a mop and a bucket. Fully masked and ready to put their plan into action, they grabbed the bunch of keys hanging unattended on the door frame and worked their way through all the rooms. Nobody seemed to be suspicious. Of course, they were sometimes given somewhat irritated looks and someone would claim to have recognized them, but with the right excuse and a big smile they could dismiss any suspicion of fraud.

So far so good. Their idea with the break-in seemed to bear fruit. They could snoop undisturbed in every room, open closets and drawers to search for the documents about Misty's parents. Unfortunately, they didn't find what they were looking for right away and the next danger was looming.

"Jessie! James! Let's get out of here! Butch and Cassidy just turned the corner. They'll expose us. Don't lose any time!" Meowth was visibly excited. They had already spent too much time in this oversized library without finding what they were looking for. The files had to be hidden in another place and any further moment could cost them their heads. Jessie and James rummaged through all the files, threw piles of paper on the floor, searched in drawers for documents about the extraordinary interrogation of civilians.
"Just give us a little more time! I think we're in the right place. I recognize names of families from the Kanto region, they must include Misty's parents. Stop Butch and Cassidy! Distract them, Meowth!"

Team Rocket worked in lightning speed. They were on the verge of a breakthrough, they were sure of it. There weren't many stacks left and underneath them they would find answers to the disappearance of the Williams family. "James, I think I found something!" Jessie held up a red envelope marked top priority.

"What are you looking for?" Butch snarled at the cat. "The service personnel has no business being near the library. Get out of here or we'll call the guards!" Meowth talked his head off, the Grunts were not allowed to discover his friends under any circumstances. "Oh, I just wanted to sort through the papers. Somebody made a real mess of things" Meowth stuttered. Butch pushed him aside and entered the library. "It's all over", the cat thought and reckoned the worst, but the room was empty.

Jessie and James just managed to hide in the broom closet. It was terribly cramped, they cowered body to body in a dark corner. Jessie could feel James' breath on her skin. Just thinking that his lips were very close to hers made her feel a tingling deep inside. They tried not to make a sound, listened intently to whether the steps were moving away. "Sorry, Jess, it's so tight in here. I almost crush you" James whispered. She had to grin. Knowing him so close, felt familiar and right. Their lips could touch at any moment and maybe that was what Jessie longed for. After all the hardships and misunderstandings, she was ready to forgive James one more time. After all, she hadn't always been an angel and even now, at the greatest risk, James protected her.

As soon as the voices became quieter, until falling silent completely, Jessie and James squeezed themselves out of the lumber room. Meowth gave them a challenging look. "You're both turkey red!" He cocked an eyebrow. "Got the document?" They both nodded.

They were able to disappear from the building unnoticed, even though James almost triggered the alarm because he tripped over a wire.

"Here's the file, Misty! Trust me, it wasn't fun." Jessie exhaled theatrically. Misty already snatched the document from her and leafed through the notes for hints about her parents. "It says they were already arrested in 1998. That was shortly after the beginning of our first adventure, Ash. If I only hadn't followed you because of a stupid bike! I could be with them right now. What else does it say: they are now located on Skull Island. Jessie, James does this ring a bell? Do you know where that island is?"

Team Rocket swallowed hard. "Skull Island is never a good sign. There are the, let's call them normal prisoners, who are simply sent to jail and locked up in a cell. They are provided with the most necessary things, with water and food. They are pardoned at the end and released as soon as they are no longer a danger to Team Rocket and any information about Mew has been extracted from them. But there are people who receive 'the wash' after the interview and your parents are marked as such. We're sorry..."