When Martín del Mar had contacted him about this unique mission, Zev had been prepared to go in alone. The idea proved interesting and challenging enough that the mere thought excited him. Breaking into a League prison to assassinate a Rocket contact? To go alone against dozens of prison guards with military-grade weapons and Pokémon trained to kill? There was no better way to test his skills as a professional hitman. But then Mars had revealed his plan, which necessarily meant he'd be going too, and Zev found himself intrigued in another way. After all, Mars was a banker. A CEO, even. If it came down to a life-or-death situation, what could he possibly do?

There was only one way to find out.

Beneath the Zoroark's illusion, Zev was dressed in his usual kit, with the added protection of a bulletproof vest hidden under his black suit. In his back pocket, he kept a folded sketch of the prison's layout. He hoped, though, they wouldn't need it; he'd spent several nights memorizing the floorplan and the most direct route from the front door to the interrogation chamber.

The plan was simple. Clock in, offer to take over prisoner escort duties to the interrogation chamber, and deliver the prisoner as expected before the League officials show up.

Then execute him and flee.

The first two steps had gone smoothly enough. Zev focused on maintaining his composure all throughout the deception despite the adrenaline that flooded him. What a risk, to be surrounded by all those League guards. What a pleasure it would be to kill a man right under their noses.

Before too long, Zev and Mars arrived at the prison cell housing their target without any incidents. Peering through the narrow slat that served as a window through the door, Zev observed the middle-aged civil servant slouched against a wall. He was not bound or cuffed. In fact, the only indication he was an inmate — aside from being in the cell — was the bright orange jumpsuit he wore.

Zev's keycard unlocked the door. "C'mon," he barked at the man inside the cell. As the door swung open, Zev opened the pair of handcuffs he held in his other hand. "Get up."

Martín del Mar

NOTES
+ Mission: Prison Break

notes

Making an irritated noise, Zev stepped into the prison cell, confident that the Zoroark's illusion would stick to him even if he strayed a short distance away. They had practiced this, he and Mars. In fact, they had gone over the plan in excruciating detail, studying all of the information Mars had obtained by his own means. As a result, the two men were equals in knowledge and tactics for this particular mission.

Every guard at that prison carried a baton for — well, officially, self defense. But it was common practice for them to beat their charges into compliance, often without provocation. Zev removed the very real baton from the very real holster around his waist and smashed it across the prisoner's knee. Howling, the hapless government official collapsed to the floor, clutching his leg. Completely unphased by the other man's pain, Zev seized him by the jumpsuit and hauled him to his feet, forcing him to favor one leg over the other.

"Hands out," Zev snapped. The low, rough voice he chose matched the voice recording of the guard he was pretending to be.

Once the handcuffs clicked around the prisoner's wrists, Zev shoved him toward the door. Their charge limped into the hallway and, with some prodding of the baton, proceeded down the hallway toward the interrogation chamber with a disguised Zev and Mars on either side of him.

Martín del Mar

NOTES
+ Mission: Prison Break

notes

Grasping the prisoner by the upper arm, Zev shoved him into the chair facing the one-way mirror. Once again, the clerk babbled at them, pleading with them.

"Please, I want to talk with my lawyer," he insisted, trying to turn in the chair to look up at Zev. When the hitman did not respond, did not even glance down at him, the man turned toward Mars. "I deserve a phone call, don't I? It's my right."

"Shut up," Zev snapped, slamming down his baton on the table, causing the prisoner to jump at the loud noise it made. He fell silent and faced the mirror again, shoulders slouched in obvious anxiety and fear.

Shoving the baton back into its holster, Zev paced the length of the room behind the chair, using the movement to slip under the field of view of the single ceiling camera. In a smooth motion, he removed the silenced pistol from under his suit jacket and, still standing out of sight, fired a shot at the unsuspecting mark.

The prisoner's skull exploded in a spray of blood and brains. His corpse slumped forward onto the table with a loud thud.

Very faintly, Zev heard a scramble and a door slam open from the room next door. He looked sharply at Mars, conveying a silent message of, "We have to run." Yet there was only the single door through which they'd entered.

Martín del Mar

NOTES
+ Mission: Prison Break

notes

As soon as Mars ran out of the interrogation room, Zev bolted after him. The prison's layout unfolded in his mind's eye, and with unerring exactness, he and Mars raced down the route they had previously agreed upon. Uncertain if the Zoroark's illusion was still up, Zev averted his face from the cameras, especially when the security alarms started to wail. Thankfully, the paralysis inflicted on the first guards who found them had bought them some time. The infiltrators were well on their way to the exit.

Suddenly, a door ahead of them banged open. Two security guards rushed through it, two Houndooms with them, cutting off Zev's and Mar's flight through the hallway. Thankfully, the guards only carried the batons, no guns.

Zev released his Infernape from a Pokéball. The primate attacked the closest Houndoom with a LOW SWEEP while Zev dashed into its handler's reach and smashed an uppercut into the unsuspecting man's jaw, knocking him to the ground, unconscious. That left one Houndoom and one guard, a woman, for Mars to contend with.

Martín del Mar

NOTES
+ Mission: Prison Break

notes

Zev recalled Infernape to his Pokéball before grabbing Mars' hand and hoisting himself up onto the back of the Braviary. There was little to hold onto as the massive bird Pokémon took flight amid Quilava's SMOKESCREEN, only the other man. Zev clung onto Mars' belt with one hand and fisted a bunch of feathers with the other.

They flew through columns of black smoke and emerged into open air. Zev chanced a backward glance. The sight of three guards in hot pursuit, riding Corviknights, caused him to grip Mars more tightly. "Behind us!" he yelled over the noise of the wind. "Three of them!"

Precariously releasing his hold on the Braviary's back but keeping his hand on Mars, Zev summoned forth his Noctowl. "Use HYPNOSIS," he ordered of the owl Pokémon.

The Noctowl swooped toward the oncoming Corviknights and hypnotized the closest one. Unconscious, it began to plummet to the ground, its rider screaming with fear.

Martín del Mar

NOTES
+ Mission: Prison Break

notes