|
|
Cassidy stirred as she'd been sleeping huddled against him, his arm around her shoulders, "hmm... what's going on?" motioned his finger to his closed lips and whispered that it was nothing.
Cassidy looked at him, "if it's nothing then why are you shaking so badly, and why are you soaking wet with sweat?"
Butch sighed to himself and figured he should tell her, "I just had a bad dream is all.." he whispered uneasily.
Cassidy looked in his eyes for a few moments then leaned her head back on his shoulder, "what was it about?"
Butch listened to the drone of the engine and tires on the highway and wondered how long James had been driving tonight..
"Are you going to tell me?" Cassidy prodded him.
"Huh? oh, yeah." Butch said in a rather preoccupied tone.
"I was in this strange place.. it was like a hallway or something.. and I remember it was really dark.. then I was running away, and Giovanni was there about to shoot me, and.." Butch trailed off.
"And then you woke up, right?"
"Yeah... right as he pulled the trigger.."
Butch still was slightly shaken, he'd never felt such a feeling of impending doom in all his years with team rocket..
Cassidy almost seemed sympathetic to him as she leaned on his shoulder and put her arm around the back of his waist, Butch sort of liked being close to her like this. He'd never really had a girlfriend, the closest thing he had was Cassidy, after all, he had joined team rocket when he was still a relative child, and they'd been together since they were assigned partnership.. Almost 8 years now...
Butch indulged himself in a slight smile. It was hard for him to believe he had made it all the way to 20 years of age..
Team rocket hadn't been very dangerous for most of his life, the mewtwo experiment was the only other truly dangerous project he could remember being involved in besides the happenings of the last few months.. As he thought about it that struck him as rather odd, after all, the parallels between the two projects were there: laboratory break-ins, industrial espionage, and high tension.. Butch shook his head trying to get the thoughts out of his mind for the time being..
"James, how long have we been driving?" Butch called up to the drivers seat.
"About two and a half hours now."
"Where are we going to anyway?"
"Oh, I don't want to ruin the surprise... you'll see when we get there." Butch just nodded as he noticed the radio playing low to keep James awake while he drove them all night.. Butch smiled as he nodded off to sleep, the faint sound of techno music whispering in his ear..
From where he was sitting Butch couldn't see the slightly worried expression on James' face. James wasn't really sure if he was going to the right place, or if things would work out good for them when they got there.. All he could do is hope.
"What's got your panties in a knot?" Butch grinned through the relative safety of the passenger side window.
Jessie looked at Butch, her face, still red with anger, had some surprise on it. "James brought us to his parent's home.." Jessie had a slight frown on her face.
"What's wrong with that?" Butch added, "you don't think they'll help us?"
Jessie didn't answer, she just gave James a disapproving look.
Butch stared in awe at the red brick three-story mansion they had stopped in front of, "This place must have 10,000 square feet.." Butch thought to himself.
He looked at James, "Who's place is this?"
James smiled a little, "It's my parents.."
"Then what were you doing living in a farmhouse shack with team rocket?" Butch definitely had to look at James differently now, seeing he'd given up all of this to be in team rocket..
"It's a long story.. maybe we'll get to it someday" James said as he turned to walk to the door.
James used the knocker on the door instead of the doorbell, he'd always hated the cheesy song the doorbell played whenever it was rung.
Butch was shocked when a gorgeous young redhead dressed in black from head to toe answered the door. Apparently James was a little surprised as well, as he seemed to stammer for words.
Jessie, however, seemed to have no problem speaking, "Hi Jessebelle... what are you doing answering the door? isn't that the butler's job?"
Jessebelle didn't answer, she just stared silently at James.
Butch wondered if the girl was related to Jessie, they really looked like they could have been identical twins, perfect skin like the whitest snow, flowing hair like the hottest flame, and eyes like the bluest sky..
Jessebelle sat on a large green reading chair in front of a low table: a sofa on her right, and a love seat directly across from her. James asked her where his parents were, and she motioned for everyone to sit down..
"James, I know you were always scared of me, and you and your parents never really got along well..." Jessebelle trailed off as she turned her face away from them.
"What's wrong?" James inquired leaning forward towards her.
"James... I'm sorry, but if you wanted to mend things with your parents... you're one day too late.." James saw tears form in the corners of Jessebelle's eyes as he reached for a handkerchief but found none in his pocket, so instead he reached a hand over to put around her shoulders. James saw the disapproving look on Jessie's face, but she didn't stop him from trying to comfort Jessebelle. James' parents were all she'd ever had.
"What happened?" James asked Jessebelle softly as everyone listened and looked on.
"I.. I don't know... their car... it.. it just.. blew up" Jessebelle got out between breaths.
James' face went stern as he looked back towards Butch, who returned a knowing stare as he nodded.
"The funeral is in three hours.." Jessebelle added.
James nodded and withdrew his hand, "Jessebelle, we'll need your help, is father's checkbook still upstairs under his pillow?"
"As far as I know it is.." Jessebelle responded with a sniffle.
"Where's the funeral at? We'll meet you there.." James asked.
"It's at Gorton funeral home, at 3pm.." Jessebelle responded.
"Right, we have a lot of business we have to take care of, but we'll be there." James said as he stood up. Jessebelle just stared at the floor and nodded from her seat as everyone else stood up.
James led everyone upstairs to his parents chambers, and found his father's checkbook, still under the pillow he'd slept on.
"I think maybe we should change our clothes.." Butch suggested as he pointed at the large "R" on James' chest.
"Right" James said as he flung open his father's closet and pulled out several pairs of slacks.
"What about us?" Cassidy said as she pointed from herself to Jessie.
James thought for a minute, then said "Let me ask Jessebelle if we can use.."
"NO WAY AM I WEARING HER CLOTHES" Jessie yelled, then turned a little red as everyone stared at her.
"It'll only be for a few minutes Jessie.. we'll go buy you some new clothes as soon as we go out.." James said as he ran his hand up and down her back slowly.
Jessie calmed down, "Well... maybe just for a little while.."
Cassidy chuckled at Jessie's red face as they walked back towards the van. Jessie was wearing a tiny yellow cut off T-shirt that exposed her whole midsection, and a pair of tight jean shorts that hid just about as much of her as the tiny T-shirt did. Her perfect stomach being exposed didn't bother Jessie, she was extremely proud of it.. It was the horrendous colors that embarrassed her incredibly.. Cassidy really wasn't dressed any more fashionably, although that didn't seem to bother her at all.. She had, however, chosen somewhat more conservatively than Jessie had, she was wearing a light green silk blouse with a knee length tight purple skirt.
Butch and James just grinned as they closed the van doors and started off. Butch James and Mondo were all wearing James' father's slacks, and dress shirts, to varying degree's of comfort.. Mondo had to keep his team rocket belt, as there were no other ones small enough to accommodate him. The pants were a little short, and the shirt a little small around the neck for Butch, but everything seemed to fit James like it was made for him.
While the girls were off changing, and Meowth was digging through the 'fridge looking for food. Butch and James had talked about the mysterious death of James' parents. James and Butch both obviously suspected Team Rocket due to the timing and style of the event. James didn't know much about what his parents were doing, but he seriously doubted any other criminal gangs would have wanted the capitalists dead. Before leaving they ate a small meal of leftover fried chicken and pork chops, no one wanted to guess how long the food had been in the refrigerator, but it was edible, and they were famished..
Jessie still looked embarrassed as they pulled the old team rocket mini van into a parking space in front of the local mall, a mammoth two story structure that was home to over 150 businesses. However embarrassed she was to be wearing Jessebelle's clothes, it didn't show once she saw the cultural center of decadence looming like a mountain ahead of her. Jessie got out of the van with a gleam in her eye, and everyone followed her into the front entrance.
The group walked from shop to shop, Jessie trying all sorts of blouses and skirts and dresses on. James tried to keep her from going crazy, reminding her that they don't have room to carry lots of clothes, so she could only get a couple of outfits. Jessie didn't seem to hear him though and James wrote out more checks than he would have liked to, but try as he might, he just couldn't seem to say no to her.. Butch sighed, soon James was carrying several bags of clothes Jessie had picked out that day.
Cassidy had chosen a few dresses; Mondo and Butch simply stood around admiring the women shopping in whatever store Jessie happened to drag them through.
Finally Jessie seemed to calm down, and changed into an outfit she'd bought so everyone else could get their shopping done. It was a cute dark blue mini skirt with a small, light blue, baby T-shirt with a red heart tye dyed on the middle of it's bosom.
After Jessie was done, everyone else's shopping was quick and efficient. Cassidy chose to simply go with a short black dress, strangely similar to her team rocket uniform. Butch got a pair of biker style black leather pants and a white T-shirt, as well as a black leather trench coat (which he wasn't wearing) and some tall black boots. Jessie admired Butch's sense of style, as well as James'. James was dressed almost the opposite of Butch: he had thick, loose white Levi's on, and a dark blue T-shirt, he had also purchased a similar set of clothes to what Butch was wearing, after all, he knew that Butch wasn't just making a fashion statement with all that black.. There were going to be dark times ahead.. Mondo never had a great fashion sense, but Jessie had helped him find clothes that fit his style whenever she wasn't too busy admiring herself in the mirror..
Everyone else had noticed the interlopers outside as well, and Jessie muttered a curse under her breath. Butch turned them around and they walked back towards the crowded food court where they could have a quick discussion of what to do.
"They were walking away when we saw them" Mondo said.
"That just means they finished whatever they were doing over there.." Butch responded.
James chimed in "We never saw them do anything, all we know is we saw some people standing near the van, maybe they just had to tie their shoe.. in any case, if they know we're here, we're probably in a lot more trouble than just whether the van is rigged.."
Butch nodded and looked towards the silent Cassidy as he thought. "Ok.. first thing we need to do is you guys need to change out of your normal clothes..." Butch said as everyone nodded. "Go change and meet me in the arcade when you're done. Then we'll just slide out of here undetected.." Butch slipped on his new sunglasses and trench coat as he got up from the table and nonchalantly disappeared into the crowds.
It had been a two or three years since Butch had last stepped foot in an arcade, and all the new games amazed him with their realism. Back in Butch's day, games like Tekken4 and Virtua Fighter 3 were about as realistic as games got. Now he looked at "Pokemon safari" and "Mewtwo's revenge" as the techno music playing throughout the arcade drowned out his light chuckle.
As Butch's eyes scanned over the flashing lights and blinking screens he noticed a rather attractive girl dressed in black with short dark hair and green eyes staring at him. She looked to be about his age too. He immediately checked to make sure nothing was wrong with the way he looked, but not a hair was out of place. He was even still wearing his sunglasses. Butch wondered what she was staring at..
When the girl saw him looking back in her direction she walked up to him and smiled.
Butch could think of nothing to say as he didn't have much experience with women.
"Hi... you from around here?" the girl asked.
Butch stammered a little, after all, the only girl he had ever really talked with was Cassidy.. "Nah, I'm visiting with some friends.."
The girl stared up at Butch's face and seemed to be able to see right through the mirrored lenses of his sunglasses.
Just then James walked up behind Butch and patted him on the back, "I'm back" James said with a grin.
Butch sighed and smiled as the tension he'd felt with the girl was released with the return of James. "Hey, where's everyone else?" Butch asked.
"Oh, they've been outside watching you talk to the girl" James said close to Butch as he nudged him with his elbow and laughed.
"Who's your friend?" The girl said to Butch as she gave James a quick looking over (he was now dressed almost identically to Butch, except his shirt was still dark blue).
"Oh, this is James," Butch said.
"Well James, is that your girlfriend plastered on that window?"
Butch and James turn around to see Jessie leaning on the window peering in at the group of three. James just blushed and said "Nah, don't know her" almost letting out a small chuckle at the sight of Jessie peering in at them. He added for good measure, "Must be another stalker!" and winked.
"Come on James, time to get serious" Butch said as he turned to the girl with a slight smile, "I'm sorry, but this isn't a good time to get to know each other.. maybe our path's will cross again.."
Butch turned, but as he and James were walking out of the arcade he heard the girl say "hey, won't you even tell me your name?"
Butch stopped for a moment and turned back to her, "yeah, it's Butch."
She smiled and said, "I'm Raina, we'll meet again some day, Kermit, I'm sure of it.."
Butch just laughed a little and turned to walk out the arcade with James.
"That's got to be the first time I ever heard anyone say something like that to you without swallowing a few teeth," James nudged him in the ribs and laughed.
Butch just grinned and gave James a light shove as they walked away.
The group walked out the back exit of the Mall and towards the Car rental place across the street. Butch didn't know who it was that was near the van, or what they were doing, but he didn't want to find out.
James signed the papers and wrote the check for the dark red mini van they were renting then took the keys. By James' estimation, they had spent well over a thousand dollars that day..
Though they were already late for the funeral, Butch suggested that after seeing the suspicious figures at the mall it would probably be the most prudent thing to go back to James' estate and get their guns and bullet proof vests before they do anywhere else.
They spotted Jessebelle by one of the caskets, and it looked like she was talking down to it.. They didn't hear what she said, and she stopped and greeted them when they approached.
James hugged her and laid a rose on each of the closed caskets.
A sad look had taken over his features, but he turned back to the others and said that there was nothing more for them to do here. Butch nodded and Jessie put an arm around James' shoulder as they turned to walk out..
Then the doors to the room were suddenly slammed shut, and everyone knew what was coming..
Butch quickly drew his gun, but didn't see anyone else besides them and Jessebelle in the room.. Then he heard it.. Like a song he knew by heart..
"Prepare for trouble, or we'll make it double.. to prepare the world for devastation.. to destroy the spirit of every nation.. to reveal the evil of truth and love.. to impart our fury as far as we want... Raina... Zack.. we're team rocket, delivering sufferring and hate... surrender now, or meet your fate.."
Raina and Zack jumped down through a hole in the ceiling and faced the old team rocket.
Butch looked at Raina and his eyes widened in shock as his gun lowered to his side.
Raina took a look at Butch and her mouth fell open, as the expression of arrogant confidence melted off her face..
While Butch stood dumbfounded Zack took the opportunity to shoot him in the chest.
At the same time James drew his gun and shot both Zack and Raina down in the blink of an eye. Butch was no slouch with a pistol, but he had still always envied James' incredible aim and quickness..
Butch got up, thanking God under his breath for the bullet proof vest he was wearing, and hurried over to Raina.. She seemed to be unconscious, but not bleeding. He picked her up and yelled, "lets get out of here!" The others just stood there, looking at Raina in his arms.
Butch scrambled out of the funeral home, still carrying her. James looked at Zack's body, which also didn't seem to be bleeding, and grabbed Jessie's hand as he ran out after Butch with Mondo and Meowth right behind him.