Chapter 32: Escape.
#32 of Pokemon Rangers 2: Eddies: A pokemon story.
Many things about the entire situation remain confusing, even to this day.
As an example, after the initial fallout following their arrival had subsided, where did the creatures go? Given only speculation remains as to their eventual fate, was the government involved, or had they simply vanished as mysteriously as they arrived?
Or are they living amongst us still, hidden from the prying eyes of the general populace by those sworn to protect them?
Perhaps we'll never know, just as it's as unlikely we'll ever be told the real truth as to their mysterious presence in our world. The government has covered it up, the people involved remain mute, and the creatures themselves; these pokemon; are the biggest enigma of the lot.
At least their presence here has answered one important question that's plagued humanity since the dawn of its creation.
We are not alone.
Perhaps we never have been.
Eddies
Chapter 32: Escape.
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
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Eddies 32
Finally, their interrogation of the enemy soldier began to pay dividends.
While taciturn at first, when pushed hard enough with the list of potential charges, the man began to fold under the pressure. It took weeks, but finally, he began to cooperate.
Whether the information he provided could be trusted, however, was another matter.
Cameron had him held at the local HQ in isolation, keeping him separated from the general population as a precaution. Given they initially had no real idea as to his connections within the Sinnotech company, or whether he was simply a hired hand doing their bidding for a fee, they didn't know how valuable he might prove to be. Regardless, they weren't taking any chances either way.
As things turned out, he was more valuable than they could have hoped for.
Initially he was hesitant with cooperating at all, but a generous plea bargain from the solicitor general's office had him serving minimal time should he cooperate. With the alternatives being a possible conviction of terrorist activity carrying a life sentence, the man's reluctance soon crumbled, and he spilled his guts to Cameron's staff.
What he told them was both enlightening and disturbing.
With the bulk of their resources heading off world, the head office on this side seemed innocuous enough. Multiple hidden satellite corporations sourced inventory to be transported to the head office, where it was then shipped off world. With the central agency being located in an isolated part of the country, carrying substantial security, and given the grounds were large to the point where standard surveillance was impossible, they'd managed to avoid scrutiny until now.
At least, that which Cameron's staff knew of.
The involvement of the military added another level to the uncertainty of the operation. Clearly, they were unaware of the involvement of actual pokemon alien creatures, but several hints had been dropped that they were also curious as to the activities of Sinnotech. Goods went in, and some came out, but in totally disproportionate numbers. Hundreds of truck loads of goods didn't simply "vanish", and their clandestine investigations of the vehicles involved confirmed that the bulk of vehicles leaving the property were either empty, or carried oddly labelled goods from destinations that made no sense. Unova, Hoenn, Johto, Sinnoh; places that the military intelligence officers obviously could not identify, apart from obscure names from a children's fantasy TV show, making their superiors nervous. Were they simply code labels for foreign countries; those who were elicit or blacklisted from usual trade? If so, how on earth did they turn up at a warehouse facility in the middle of nowhere, and how were the thousands of tons of goods reaching them in return?
Like everything that made the military nervous, it boded poorly for anyone becoming involved with the situation.
*The first few days they received information from the Sinnotech militia was enlightening. While his personal involvement had usually been limited to protective services and security, it appeared Sinnotech kept covert operatives on hand for "special" operations. Notably those involving leaks of company secrets to outside sources. With their main operation being completely internal, they had no real competitors, and most businesses selling them goods had little care where they then ended up. *
*Besides, it wasn't the general goods that tipped the military off that something wasn't kosher. With a lot of military surplus goods involved, warning bells began ringing at various surplus depots with the quantities being purchased. Not that the goods were all that "dangerous", as they were mainly limited to heavy vehicles and small arms weapons and ammunition, but when these goods simply vanished, apparently without trace, the PTB's began to question the legitimacy of the company. What also really confused them was that the types of goods being purchased seemed completely random. Ranging from electrical goods, food stuffs, consumer electronics, motor vehicles and parts; everything and anything was traded, to vanish without trace. *
Cameron's people had been advised that Sinnotech brought the goods in bulk to a central dispatch, where they were relabelled and had all other identifying marks removed, then sent through the portal to the pokemon world. A simple and apparently extremely lucrative operation, avoiding any need to research or manufacture. With the goods being sold at a considerable mark up, the profits were immense, and again often seemed to 'vanish" from the planet.
So all was going extremely well, and the information was flowing smoothly.
Clearly, too well, as that's when everything fell apart.
The news came through to the farmhouse at 1.30am. While the initial reports were vague and garbled, Shadow woke with a start, opening bleary eyes to the noise coming in from outside. Frowning, she leaned over and shook Bill's shoulder with a paw, rousing the human who complained sleepily at the disturbance to his sleep. When he looked into her wide red eyes in confusion, she pointed towards the door and even he could hear the sound of multiple raised voices coming from the kitchen area.
Cursing, he swept up his clothes, nearly tripping in his haste to pull on his trousers as he stumbled from the room with Shadow hot on his heels. Passing the rooms used by the family, he narrowly avoided colliding with Azil, as the charmander stepped out from Jimmy's room, staring down the hallway at the source of the noise in confusion.
*"Shit!" Bill cursed, swerving into the wall and colliding with a cabinet carrying umbrellas and hats, sending it rocking. Reaching out desperately, he grabbed it as it toppled, managing to rescue the unit before it went too far. *
Hearing a snicker behind him, he turned to see Shadow watching him in amusement. Grinning at her, he said "Just you wait, miss!" and continued to the kitchen with the luxray in tow.
What they encountered was a scene of chaos. Raised voices from the dozen inhabitants prevented him making any sense of the confusion, and it wasn't until he was grabbed by Chris's father, Paul, that he knew something had gone badly wrong.
Dragging the young officer to the lounge, Paul told him of what had occurred. "We just received word that police HQ has been raided by marines. They've taken that captured soldier, as well as a half dozen officers involved with the case, into custody with them. Cameron has only just gotten off the phone to the officer in charge, and has said they're now heading this way!"
"Fuck!" swore Bill, rubbing his face before turning a haggard look at the farmer. "What the hell do they want here?"
Paul frowned, looking down at Shadow, who shot Bill a concerned look. "Do you need to ask?"
Bill followed his eyes, and swore again. "Shit, shit, shit... Not good! There's no chance I'm going to let them take Shadow away. Fuck 'em."
Reaching down he rubbed her head, which she'd pressed against his leg. "No chance in hell, kitten..." he whispered, and he felt her nod in relief beneath his palm.
"So what did Cameron say?" he asked Paul, who sighed and said "What do you think?"
"Run?"
Paul nodded. "Run now! I'll grab Jim and meet you at the barn. We may only have twenty minutes before they get here, but even that may be optimistic!"
*After he left, Bill sprinted to his room, an anxious luxray in tow. He grabbed the carryall he'd prepared earlier for just such an emergency, holding his essential clothing and toiletries. Swinging the heavy bag over a shoulder, he headed at speed towards the rear veranda. *
Outside, things were quiet, and he reached the barn in moments. Fumbling for the light switch in the dark, he caught his palm on a loose nail and cursed at the lack of light. He could have hoped for some decent moonlight to help him out, but then again perhaps that would have been worse. The dark night sky might make them difficult to track, at least until the sun rose.
He primed the RV, checking that the extra jerry cans of fuel and water were secured tightly in place alongside the provisions they'd stowed in the vehicle earlier. Everything seemed to be fine, so he turned on the park lights, using the dim illumination to back the vehicle through the double barn doors into the staging area outside.
As he braked, he could make out the silhouettes of Jimmy and Paul hurrying from the farm house, followed by the flickering flame from the charmander's tail. As they came into view of the head lights, Bill could clearly see the fearful look the kid was passing his father, as Paul threw his duffel into the rear, and lifting his son into the passenger seat before depositing the surprised Azil in beside him.
When Jimmy went to complain, Paul hushed him as he strapped the seat belt around the pair. He leant down before his son, and said "You know we've talked about this. I'm trusting you two to behave for Bill and Shadow, alright?"
Jimmy rubbed red eyes and said "But I don't want to leave, dad!"
Paul shook his head, and said "If you don't, they're going to take Azil away. Do you want that?"
Jimmy turned to his friend, and the charmander shook his head vehemently. With a sigh, he said "No, of course not, but..."
"No butts, Jim! We need you to be safe. Otherwise, we can't do anything delay them and protect you and Chris."
Jim sighed again, nodding forlornly as his father stood upright, reaching out to ruffle his son's red hair. "You'll be fine. Besides, I need you to help keep Bill and Shadow safe too, alright?" As Jimmy nodded, looking more determined, the vehicle rocked as Shadow jumped into the rear cargo area, her head resting near Bill's as she dropped to her haunches behind him.
*Paul rounded the vehicle, approaching Bill before reaching out to give the solemn officer his hand. "I'm counting on you to keep them safe, son" he muttered, and a smile touched his lips as Bill agreed. *
"Here!" Paul said, handing over a small bundle. Bill gasped a moment, realising it was a large wad of $50 and $100 notes. "Shit Paul, I can't..." he began, but was halted at the look Paul returned. "No butts! You're helping protect my family, and anything I can do to help is not negotiable!"
Bill hesitated, before shoving the notes into a shirt pocket, where they bulged uncomfortably. "Alright, Paul." he said. "I'll use it well."
Paul nodded, then said after a pause "Are you armed?"
*Bill nodded again, patting his sidearm, but halted as the Farmer shook his head. *
"That pea shooter will do shit all in a real gun fight. Here..." he pointed beneath Bill's seat, opening the door to a weapons locker mounted beneath. "There's a scoped .308 pump action rifle in there, good for at least 500 yards, along with a double barrel shotgun and enough ammunition to make Arnold Schwarzenegger pause. I expect you know how to use it?"
Having had plenty of firearms training during his career, Bill nodded. Paul secured the gun safe catch and clapped him on the shoulder, before surprising Shadow with an affectionate rub to the neck.
"Now, you two get the hell out of here. I don't want to know where you're going, but it'd be an idea to hold up in the mountains till things calm down, and then think about finding somewhere in town to settle. You know the drill; no credit cards or ID. Keep a low profile. If things start going to shit, head to the local media and tell them everything! If those bastards think they can take us on and still keep things secret, they have some serious education coming!"
Paul sighed, and said "Now get going, before we have Gwen out here bawling her eyes out!"
After shaking Paul's hand again briefly, Bill hit the lights switch. The driving and spot lights mounted on the RV lit up the area. In a cloud of dust and a final wave, the four tore through the timber gates, heading towards the State forest tracks leading to nowhere.
Paul returned to the kitchen, weaving passed the officers and neighbours talking animatedly about the raid, and joined Gwen near the sink, gratefully accepting the mug of coffee she offered. After taking a long sip, he sighed, wrapping his free arm around her as she rested her head against his shoulder. She looked up at him and asked, somewhat plaintively "Will they be alright, do you think?"
Paul paused a moment, before nodding. "Yeah, that Bill has his head on right, and I know Azil will do his best to keep Jimmy safe; He's as good a real friend as Jim could hope for."
Gwen let out a long sigh, snuggling against her husband, before she started as the phone rang. In a room gone suddenly quiet, Paul reached for the receiver, hearing a crackling voice coming down the line. He barely made out Cameron's voice, as the police chief warned "Be ready! They're coming!"
Dropping the receiver back onto the cradle with a shaking hand, he turned to the group and said "Showtime, people! Offer no resistance, but tell them nothing!"
The men in the room nodded sombrely. They knew the drill.
None of them planned on giving anything away easily.
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The RV sped along the trail towards the state forest entrance in a blaze of light, although the occupants within remained silent. After a time, Bill glanced at the two youngsters, noting their apprehension, and said "Gonna be OK, kiddo. They won't find us up there easily!"
Jimmy turned to Azil, who shrugged and let out a string of pokespeak. Jim nodded in return, and Bill felt a brief touch of jealousy that the pair could communicate so readily. It was something he would have given a lot for, to speak so easily with Shadow. Even as the thought hit, he squashed it as immature. Hell, perhaps the kid could teach him to do it, too? If they ever had time, that was, he concluded dryly.
As the charmander paused, Jim said "Sir, if we're all alone up here, won't it be dangerous?"
Bill shrugged, and said "Call me Bill. It's my name, after all. Yeah, a bit dangerous, but we have these two looking after us. What could be better?"
It seemed to placate the pair, as they dropped into silence, only letting out an involuntary comment as the RV hit a turn or bump at speed, rocking them in their seat. Bill glanced back at Shadow, who had dropped to her stomach, gripping the cargo netting in both paws as they sped along. She gave him a loaded look, and he grinned back, almost laughing as she rolled her eyes at him.
They made the state forest entrance without incident, and were cruising through the open scrub fields well beneath the tree line when Shadow caught the first trace of sound from the approaching aircraft. Pursing her lip with a canine extended, she reached forward to tap Bill on the shoulder with a paw, catching his attention. He glanced her way, before slowing the RV as she broke into pokespeak. With a sigh, he turned to Jimmy, who looked suddenly scared.
"What is it, kid? I can't understand her."
"Something's approaching!" Jim blurted out. "An aircraft. She says it sounds like the one she flew here in."
Bill thought a moment. "A helicopter? Coming this way?"
As both Shadow and the kid nodded, he cursed to himself, thumping the accelerator pedal to the floor with a foot. The RV rocketed forward, and Shadow yowled as the change in velocity sent her rocking back.
"Hang on, guys!" Bill called out, as they tore through the scrub lands. He would have loved to turn the lights off, but with the moon absent, the darkness surrounding them was absolute. Choosing speed over stealth, he kept his foot planted and the lights high. With the distant trail into the tree line approaching, he prayed they'd make it before the military found them.
They were close, but not close enough.
With a roar, their pursuers caught up, a bright spotlight lighting up the area around them, sending them blinking in the glare. Bill didn't slow, and the light followed, as with a crackle a voice over the aircraft's loudspeaker ordered them to pull over.
"Fuck this!" thought Bill, sending the vehicle into a swerve from the main track, momentarily losing their pursuers.
Still, within seconds, they were back in the spot light, and again told to halt immediately. However, this time came the threat of something worse.
"Pull over and surrender, or we will open fire!"
Shit! He cursed, swerving violently to avoid a looming ant hill. With that distraction, it took a moment to realise Jimmy was screaming his name, and he turned brief attention to the youngster who yelled out "Azil says he can take out the light!"
What the hell, the officer thought. They were already fugitives. What was a little vandalism of military property added to the mixture.
"Go ahead!" he called back, as the charmander released the seat belt, climbing to stand on the seat as his head poked through the sunroof. With a determined look, the charmander squinted up at the light, before taking a deep breath and releasing a fire ball at the looming chopper.
Unable to avoid the blast, it still swerved violently as the flaming ball struck the forward-mounted light, sending flames and sparks shooting across the aircraft's nose. For a moment, they had respite from their followers, but it was short lived as the helicopter resumed its pursuit.
"Final chance. We will open fire in ten seconds!"
Cursing again, Bill shot a look at Shadow, and received a determined look in return. Fine, you fuckers! He thought, anger at their predicament overwhelming him.
They were the good guys, for shit's sake! Well, if these bastards wanted to play dirty, he was happy to oblige!
As the voice overhead began counting down, he called to the luxray who stood, claws biting deep into the rubber matting beneath her for balance, and said "OK, sweetie. Let's end this right now! Thunderbolt these bastards and let them see how pokemon trainers do it in real life!"
With a gleam in her eye, she charged up. Static crackled around her dark fur as the violent blue charge built over her. With only seconds to go, she let out a screaming roar, sending the massive discharge of blue energy into the sky, striking the helicopter with an ear splitting impact.
Aboard the chopper, the pilot had no chance to perform evasive action, as the wave of blue energy streaked from the vehicle below toward him. His hand jerked hard on the collective, but while agile the aircraft failed to dodge the bolt that struck it mid-fuselage, sending an electromagnetic pulse through the airframe to fry his electronics. Even as he lost control, he heard a scream from the co-pilot seat, as his navigator/gunner shook from the shock coursing through his body. A second scream joined him, and it took his mind vital moments to realise it was his own as the chopper yawed and stalled, before beginning a slow, uncontrolled descent towards the ground.
When the bolt left the RV, Bill braced himself for a collateral strike, but relaxed as he realised it had achieved its objective without also running through the RV frame. Mentally reminding himself to congratulate the luxray at a later time for her well-practiced accuracy, his jubilation was short lived when he saw the chopper, flying forward and to their left, shudder in the air in a corona of blue energy before stalling and falling towards them.
Yanking the wheel to the right at hard lock, the RV tipped onto two wheels in a spray of sand, almost toppling in the violent manoeuvre, and he prayed everyone had managed to keep their seats. As it was, they barely avoided the helicopter's impact beside them; the heavy main blades tearing through the sand behind the RV in a cacophony of self destruction. Thankfully, the chopper had only been a few dozen feet in the air when it was hit, and it managed to stay primarily in one piece as the engine whined down to splutter to a stop.
Bill spun the wheel again, making some distance from the crash before he pulled the RV up short, turning to gaze in shock at the wreckage. After a moment, he remembered his passengers, and checked to find all had made it unscathed, although the shocked expression on the kid and charmander would likely result in a few nightmares later.
As silence again descended, no movement came from the downed aircraft. He began having concerns for the humans on board; a concern that escalated rapidly as smoke began billowing from the engine compartment, quickly followed by the amber glow of a spilt fuel fire.
Cursing his bad luck, and praying he wasn't being a total idiot, he unbuckled his belt and jumped from the vehicle, warning his passengers to stay put. Given their fearful appearance, it was unlikely they would be quick to follow. With a groan, Shadow jumped down beside him, wincing at her strained muscles, and followed as he bolted the thirty feet to the aircraft cabin. His objections died on his lips at the look of determination on her face, and he gave her a quick smile before wrenching the cockpit door open.
While skewed at an alarming angle, the chopper was close enough to vertical that the door opened readily, pushed outward by the lolling weight of the co-pilot sagging against it. Unbuckling his harness took some doing, but Bill soon had the human lolling heavily in his arms. Handling such dead weight was difficult, and Shadow could only look on in concern as he dragged him some distance from the wreckage, before returning to the opposite side of the aircraft for the pilot.
*Flames were now escaping the buckled engine bay shroud, and Bill paused a moment before grabbing for the pilot, who had finally begun regaining consciousness. Stirring groggily in his grasp, he half dragged the man from his seat, staggering under the burden as they went to join his colleague. Even as they cleared the crash zone, a loud roar of warning from Shadow was followed by the concussion of the chopper exploding, as the near full tanks of AVGAS finally ignited. Thrown across the rescued pilot, a heavier weight crashed across his back as Shadow flung herself over him, protecting him from the bulk of the blast. *
It took long moments before his vision cleared and his mind could form coherent thoughts. In a daze, he realised Shadow had leapt to protect him, so he clambered from beneath her in fear at her wellbeing. His concerns proved groundless as, with a shake of her head, she staggered to all four paws to look him over in turn, before she was engulfed in a hug as Bill threw himself around her.
A loud purr broke from her throat as he buried his face in her mane, beyond relieved she was OK. When he finally pulled away, he gazed into her amused face, before tapping her on the nose and whispering "Crazy kitten!" Her bark of laughter followed as she wrapped a paw around his neck, drawing him into a long, whiskery kiss...
...the moment broken as she quickly pulled back, growling deeply at the now-conscious pilot who was reaching down to his side arm with shaky fingers, his wide eyes glued to the huge cat squatting before him.
Bill turned on the dazed pilot and said darkly "Touch that, and I'll have her do to you what she did to your chopper!"
The pilot froze a moment, which was more than enough time for Bill to relieve him of his firearm. He then turned and began checking the co-pilot for serious injuries. Thankfully, there appeared to be none, and he rested the big human back against a nearby tree trunk to recover.
Returning to the pilot, he looked down on the man and said "We're leaving now. I'm sure they'll be along soon enough to recover you, but here's a warning, and you only get one..."
Leaning down over the terrified pilot, silhouetted as he and Shadow were by the flaming helicopter, his voiced dropped menacingly as he said "If you or those that sent you try and track us, or even worse confront us again, I'm going to show you what she can really do."
Crouching to the pilot's ear, he whispered "And believe me, you won't like that at all..."
Turning from the frightening visage of the scowling human above him, to the even more terrifying view of the huge snarling blue and black feline, static crackling over her form as she bared long white teeth at him, the pilot could only nod frantically as Bill stepped back, satisfied he'd gotten his message across.
Turning to Shadow, he gave her cheek a stroke, before saying quietly "I think we'd better get going now, while the going's good."
She nodded firmly as they returned to the RV and the waiting Jim and Azil, to continue their escape into the forest.
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Author's note:
I have a thing for blowing up helicopters. I guess it's because I fly fixed wing aircraft, and think chopper pilots are stuck up pussies ;>
Because they are... trust me!
Anything you can't fly with just your feet isn't worth flying ;)
I also like my arsenal. I keep it shiny and ready for zombie attack at any time. Plus, a pump action .308 makes such a nice sound... ;>