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The Lilycove Department Store was overflowing with the usual arrangement of weekend shoppers. Sometimes, Bailey thought this place busy only because it was the only worthwhile destination in the entire city. It was either go shopping or go watch the wailmer from the cliff-side.[break][break]

From those two choices, the Officer would have rather thrown herself from the lighthouse that loomed in the distance. Her fingers pinched into the fabric of one of the arranged pokemon plushies–a pikachu–and wondered why she thought this would have improved her mood. The red cheeks and the hopeful eyes of the plushie do little to alleviate the sordid mood that continued to brew in Bailey Cooper's mind.[break][break]

She was still suspended from work. The league was pushing her away, telling her to take time to herself, trying to think of any excuse to keep her from kicking down their doors and demand a task to keep herself occupied.[break][break]

They must have thought she was still in mourning. They must have thought she was an absolute wreck with grief. Whatever they thought, it did not matter to her–she was just pent up, eager to find a way to get herself back into the flow; eager to distract herself from the ghosts that seemed to linger.[break][break]

Her hand had been wringing the toy's neck. Upon noticing this, Bailey tucked it back onto the shelf, and avoided any odd glances as she made her way to the stairs.[break][break]

This had been a waste of time–[break][break]

“Hey, did you see who that was?” and the Officer paused when she overheard the whispers of two women standing to the side of the stairs. “Was that actually her? There's no way...Evelyn Silph? Here?” The name sparked like fireworks; she remembered the name. She remembered the Silph that had gone astray. She remembered a afternoon spent in Slateport, after the Rocket had raged their destruction, and her efforts to move through the ruins before coming across the internet star–[break][break]

“I swear I've seen her in that exact outfit. The hair's wrong, but it could be a wig–” Bailey yanked one of the women out of the conversation, flashed her officer's badge, and watched as the woman stuttered before pointing out who they thought was the runaway Silph.[break][break]

And the girl was making her way to one of the elevators.[break][break]

Bailey Cooper ran. The elevator doors had started to close, and she wondered if the Silph had seen her as the Officer darted across the linoleum floors; frustration clear on her features as her body twisted. She squeezed through the tight space–the small gap before the doors could close–before anyone could wonder why she had just sprinted across the department store, just to catch the elevator.[break][break]

And with her momentum, she slammed both hands to the wall, trying to pin the woman as if she were a drunken man with no respect for boundaries; her sunglasses had slipped down her nose, letting her eyes focus on the accused traitor without anything to shield them. "It is you."

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