Hi again! Thanks for all the reviews; I really loved the idea of Cyrus being slightly twisted and cold, especially when riling Elise up, and I'm glad I handled that well, thanks guys!
This chapter again is a little bit of filler, but it's leading us somewhere and the bit with Lance is kind of important to one of the last chapters. Anyway, onward and enjoy!
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Impatiently I tapped my toes on the hard metal floor of the ferry terminal, checking my watch for the hundredth time that minute. I was surrounded by my belongings encased in two suitcases plus my kit box, and my handbag was slung over my lap, a stress ball clenched in my hand which I squeezed intermittently in a vague attempt to reduce my frustration at the delay. Every time I clenched my fist my palm ached, the half-moon cuts from my nails flexing uncomfortably.
"The ferry, leaving Twinleaf Town, Sinnoh, for Vermilion City, Kanto, will be leaving from gate 4 in thirty minutes. Please make your way to the gate with your pass on display, and we apologise for the delay," came a tinny male voice over the tannoy system, and I sighed and got up.
I tracked down a trolley and loaded my mountain of belongings onto it before throwing my weight against it and starting to trundle to the gate, leaning as hard as I could on the trolley to use my body weight to shift it. People hurried past me, barely looking side to side as they walked blindly on to the gate, showing their tickets before crossing the plank to the ferry. As much as I hated flying, I hated crossing narrow planks onto ferry's tossing and turning in the rough sea equally, and distracted myself with thoughts of Kanto and home.
"Want a hand, Miss?" I glanced up at the young man and nodded, grabbing my kit and handbag off of the trolley as he took the handlebars. "Where're you going in Kanto, then?" he asked me as he pushed the trolley across the gang-plank onto the main deck. I followed him as quickly as I could without looking like a complete idiot, not glancing back at the shore to avoid noticing the way the ferry threw itself against the harbour wall. He took me in to the ship via a doorway that lead into a long corridor, and he started counting off cabins as he strode along ahead of me.
"Saffron city first, then I'm being drafted to Viridian Forest for an investigation," I told him, instantly regretting it from the look her gave me and the way he came to an abrupt halt, the top suitcase making a break for freedom and only caught thanks to his quick reflexes.
"You're investigating the Poison Point case, aren't you?" I felt blush creeping up my neck and chest, and started fiddling with my jeans pockets, looking away like a naughty schoolgirl caught lying.
"Urm... Not... Urh..." I stuttered, kicking myself mentally and reminding myself why I never lied.
"You are! D'you know, I reckon Team Rocket are behind this!" he replied enthusiastically, and I nodded along with him while feeling incredibly foolish.
"That's nice, but also complete nonsense," I retorted, pleased that I'd managed to get myself together enough to come up with a sensible response. "Team Rocket disbanded years ago, and I cannot discuss an open case with you, sorry," I explained, and he fell silent as he lead me to the little cabin that would be my home over night. It had a little desk by the window which backed onto the bed, pressed against the wall that divided the bathroom and the bedroom. "Thanks," I said, my voice hollow as he bowed and walked away after pausing and looking hopeful. He was evidently angry that I hadn't given him a tip.
For a split second I considered chasing after him and giving him some cash to say thanks, but I resisted and busied myself unpacking my belongings to try and make the little box-room homely. I left my pokémon until the last thing to unpack, because I was dreading what Gardevoir was going to come out with.
Not even first class? I gave her a look over the book I was holding, and she frowned and slumped onto the bed with her arms crossed. I didn't let Zapdos out because he would crowd the room, but the others all got out to stretch their legs and sniff around the room once I had shut the door and locked it behind us. After what had happened with Cyrus, I didn't want anyone barging in uninvited.
"Police don't stretch to first class," I replied, getting a laptop out of my bag having found a safe place for my book and plugging it into the power supply provided by the ship. While it booted up I changed into some comfy cotton trousers for the all-day sailing, before plonking myself down in front of it and logging on to the police computer system.
I flicked through the files of the previous victims and then started looking at the current one that was dragging me to Kanto. It followed the same premise as every other case; a middle aged male, carrying prototype pokéballs, through a forest. I started to wonder at the intelligence level of some of these people, then distracted that train of thought and started reading over what the attending SOCO had written.
Their notes weren't as thorough as mine would have been, but they'd attached photographs of the crime scene and detailed shots I wouldn't have taken, and I smiled as I flicked through them. It was always interesting to see how different SOCO's would analyse the same crime scene, and it was fun to meet new people in the field to get different perspectives on things. I didn't personally know the SOCO in charge of this investigation, but there was plenty of time to get to know them – I had the uncomfortable feeling that I'd be spending rather a while in Kanto.
"Thank you for your patience; the ferry is now departing Twinleaf Town, for the nine-hour crossing to Vermilion City, thank you again." The voice over the tannoy made me jump a little, and I stood up to lean over the desk and look out the window.
Typhlosion went onto his hind legs to peer out of the small window, watching as the ferry pulled out of the docks. The dock was covered in people waving to unseen family on the deck, and I found myself waving despite the fact that no one I knew was there to wave me off. That would change when I landed in Kanto; Lance himself had promised to meet me in time to walk to Saffron City.
"C'mon, let's find some food for you all," I said, pulling Typhlosion away from the window and going into the bigger of the two cases I had brought. I found their food bowls and sorted them out, filling them with food from the box I had packed before laying them on the floor for them to eat. I stepped over to the bed and sat, out of reach of Venusaur and his spraying of food everywhere as he ate.
My laptop made a little beeping noise, and I turned to look at the email that had popped up and laughed.
Smellise,
Well, I'm at the docks, where are you? Can't Swampert zap that ferry on a little quicker?
Never mind. I guess I'll just torture myself with a cup of coffee and the latest copy of Pokémon Today.
Lance
I giggled and replied.
Loser-Lance,
I told you 8 PM – as in NIGHTTIME. I have no sympathy. Now go away and let me work.
Elise.
I shut off my email client and went back to looking at all of the photographs, labelling them and setting them into chronological order before shutting my computer down completely and stretching out on the bed to read a book.
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"Welcome to Vermilion City, the port of exquisite sunsets," the greeter told me as I disembarked from the ship, carefully avoiding looking down at the tossing sea beneath me.
"Thanks," I replied hollowly, gratefully handing my multitude of bags over to a man who brought me a trolley and then stacked it for me. I grabbed the handlebars and threw my weight against it, making my way through the busy port and to the big clock where I spotted Lance waiting for me. "See? Ten minutes early, in fact," I smiled, hugging him tightly and then offering the trolley to him.
"Teaches me to actually read emails before making assumptions I guess," Lance sighed, taking hold of the trolley and pushing it for me. If I hadn't been feeling as tired as I was I would have been making jibes about how fat he must be to be able to push it so easily, but I kept silent as we attempted to leave the port building.
"You don't mind not flying to Saffron, do you?" I asked, happily throwing my ticket into the nearest bin as we passed – I was taking the train back when this was all finished.
"Yeah, I do mind, but you aren't going to give me a choice, so I'll put up and shut up," he said in a pained voice, and I raised an eyebrow at his theatrics, spotting the cheeky wink he shot my way.
"You can be such a pain in the ass, you know that?" I replied, shaking my head and laughing a little. We stepped out into the cool evening air, and I breathed in deeply, sighing at the homely smell that being back in Kanto brought back to me. "It's so much fresher here than in Sinnoh," I said wistfully, watching as two kids ran across our path being chased by a rather ferocious Rattata. Everything in Kanto felt warm and welcoming, from the people to the old fashioned buildings, and I felt truly at home here.
"You should have stayed, then," Lance stated, and I felt a familiar tension start up again between us. We were best friends, that had to be said, but he'd never forgiven me for taking the job in Sinnoh and, in his words, 'abandoning him to his fate'. In truth he knew that it was a better job, and that SOCO positions in Kanto were few and far between, but he wouldn't be happy until he'd gotten a good nag into the conversation.
"Maybe I should have," I said quietly, trying to remain as calm as possible to diffuse the tension and failing miserably. We stopped in front of the port building and started loading up a cab with my assortment of bags in silence, neither of us wanting to have the difficult conversation that we always seemed to fall in to. The cab was literally stacked with people's luggage, and would take the suitcases to various addresses to give people a chance to experience Kanto first hand instead of out of the window of a cab. Personally I loved the idea, but there were many people in the world who would rather sit in the cab and be driven than walk anywhere.
Lance gave over the address of the hotel I would be staying in and the taxi driver smiled and added it to his list as Lance stepped back and started walking ahead of me. I rolled my eyes and jogged to catch up, matching his pace as best as I could. "Look, enough of this passive-aggressive rubbish. What's the matter?"
"You left," he said plainly, and I felt sick with pent-up guilt. I tried to push that away and focus on anger, an emotion that was far more useful in this kind of situation.
"Oh, very adult, we're still on this?" I was getting fed up with this argument that seemed to appear every time we were actually together, especially considering I had left Kanto for work nearly a decade ago. "Lance, there was a great job in Sinnoh. Suck it up," I told him, then strode off and made him run to catch me up.
"I know," he said simply, and we fell into a comfortable silence as we walked through Vermilion and started heading north to Saffron. I risked a glance over at Lance and found his ears going red.
"What are you hiding?" I asked him, and he shrugged.
"Well, you remember Loreli?" he replied and I nodded, raising an eyebrow.
"Let me guess. You asked her out, she said yes and you're looking to finally settle down, right?" I told him, and he laughed and nodded. "My powers of deduction improve over time, you know."
"Is that right? Hm, I'll have to remember that," he replied with a sheepish smile, and I laughed before producing my badge to show the guard at the gate into Saffron City. He smiled and waved us through, knowing Lance on sight and not needing to take ID from the Champion of Kanto. "You should thank your department. The Palera is a very expensive hotel to keep a SOCO in," Lance told me, and I shrugged but risked a laugh.
"They obviously think I'm worth it," I replied, and Lance smiled in reply as he steered me up the steps of the Palera. I looked at the huge columns that lined the entrance hall, covered in pristine white marble and arching over the huge doorways that evidently lead into the dining room. The reception desk was in black marble, a stark contrast to the white marble all around it, and behind it sat a blonde woman in a smart suit.
"Oh, you must be Dr Elise Coleman," she said, her attention on the computer screen in front of her, and had just leant over to give me a key when a young woman tapped me on the arm.
"Dr Coleman?" she asked, and I glanced at Lance before nodding. "Oh, good. Dr Agen told me I could find you here, and he asked me to hurry you over to the hospital for the post mortem," she told me, and I smiled, taking in her name-tag and clothes of a pokémon caretaker. She was one of those people who'd look after a person's pokémon while they were in hospital, which was why she'd been sent to find me.
"Sure, I'll go now," I replied, and arranged with the desk for my cases to be locked away before following the young woman, Red, to the hospital.
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SOCO - Scenes Of Crime Officer(s)
