t-rex and rocket daddy. lulu snorted, smoke burning her nostrils, causing her to sputter. she’d seen it on the briefing, but it still somehow caught her off guard.

a finger suppressed the button once more, ”psa: there are other ways to get people to call you daddy.” she cackled lowly underneath a smoky breath, and then leaned in to the screens, inspecting each block of video carefully. ”let me see if i can find it...”

not the best image quality, despite upscaling on her end. she squinted, taking another drag, eyes scanning inches from the staticky glass. after a long pause, she came in again on the other line. ”i think i got it.” there was excitement in her voice, followed by a descending ‘ooh’ that sounded like bad luck. it’s across the building, though.”

having forced access to their database earlier that evening in preparation, she was already looking at their floor plan on her leftmost screen. ”t-rex, company coming up on the right behind you. if you can make it down that hallway, there’s a vent.” whether he used it or not was up to him, of course. she took another drag. ”any bets on what it is?”

mHpAXWfs

♥ Rex Drago Valerio Dachev

the van was dead quiet, save for when their signals came in. it was a comical comparison to the utter chaos that commenced inside, the sounds of which she was, mostly, not privy to. she reached for a mug of old coffee that had been sitting in a cup holder and sipped peacefully.

on the screen, people tore after the pokemon running rampant through the building, rushing around corners, running into one another. “affirmative, rocket daddy.” as it left her lips, the urge to burn the cigarette into her forehead was strong, but she resisted and stamped it out in the ashtray instead. “good job boys, the castle is crumbling.”

she scanned the floor plan again. nearly everyone in the building had run in the opposite direction, but a couple stayed near the cargo, confirming her suspicion that it was valuable. “t-rex is up the hall and on your right.” a pause. “you two should consolidate. you’re clear all the way to the target, but there are two guards at the door. they WILL see you when you turn the corner. be ready.”

she shook her head, listening to the antics over the radio. they couldn’t see her grin. “come on, save it for the bedroom!” then, as valerio carried out his own plans and appeared behind the guards, she felt a momentary anxiety. he quickly took them out, and her shoulders fell again. “guess that’s why they call him daddy.” she hyped him up over the line.

“t-rex, you’re all clear to come out now. target is wide open. i’m comin’ around.” with that, she hopped over the seat, old coffee in hand, and began driving to the back of the building.

lulu had pulled around to a door in the back just out of sight of the nearest camera. she hopped over the seat again and returned to the screens, about to answer back about the weight of the cargo (which she’d been unaware of), and promptly going wide-eyed at the turn of events. an angry mob was suddenly headed for her partners. she hit the button. “ya got lots of company, boys. i’m on my way.” she unhitched the back doors of the van and jumped out, running for the building at top speed. “shit shit shit shit shit shit..” it trailed on until her hand grasped around the door, only to have it resist against her, unbudging. ”shit shit shit shit shit..”

she looked around, seeing a window a little further down the building sitting over a dumpster. raising a gun to the camera that guarded it, she shot it out, scrambled onto the metal lid and busted through the window. she rolled onto the floor of the storage room and righted herself, a few minor cuts glistening with fresh blood here and there. immediately reaching for her belt, she released a weezing, perrserker, and turtonator.

”get the cargo in the truck!” she commanded the massive turtle pokemon. it moved fairly slow, but the weight of the object didn’t seem to bother it. the cargo gradually moved across the room towards the door, which lulu went to kick open, one gun and her eyes still poised on the other side of the room as the footsteps came right up on the door. she and her smaller two pokemon seemed ready for anything.

she gritted her teeth, aiming a second gun with her free hand. “let the fun begin.” perrserker gave a fearsome growl, clearly starving for a brawl. the thought crossed her mind that today, she might put her first bullet in someone since galar. she had mixed feelings underneath the adrenaline. her eyes were focused slits.