'Paperwork arc?'

Arceus above, Howard should just kill himself now. Was this what every grunt was calling him now that he was promoted? As soon as he was risen to Admin, he had been dumped with everything the other Rocket Admins and Underbosses had left sitting on their desks, and he could partially see why. Paperwork was boring, and a sign of collaboration between individuals. Most weren't in Team Rocket for each other, they were in it for themselves.

Which was why Howard's desk was covered with stacks of ledgers, grunt files, financial requests, and dozens of other things. He was currently going over a stack of ledgers from one of his colleagues when Aloe entered. The archaeologist's eye flicked up to him and he put the ledgers away.

It never occurred to him how much money Team Rocket burned through before his promotion.

"That's me. Paperwork guy." Howard sighed, before gesturing to a chair. "Sit."

Inspecting the case of cigarettes and Darumaka, Howard's eye softened slightly. Shit. People thought they had to bribe him? He wouldn't complain. He took a cigarette and lit it.

"Just don't set my office on fire. I haven't fully moved in yet." Howard took a puff and sighed as he stood up and walked to a filing cabinet to pull out some forms. If Aloe was a spy, Howard was going to throttle every grunt from here to the Cave of Origin. "Aloe Eon? New hire? Give me a second. What brings you to Team Rocket?"

---

ALOE EON

Emotionless guy? Joy. That narrowed it down to about a handful of sociopaths within Team Rocket.

It was hard to determine which members of Team Rocket were putting on a mask, and which ones were completely inhuman monsters. Howard had seen a mix over his tenure with the organization, and it was a shockingly small amount of people that fell into the latter category. Thankfully, those members tended to be tempered by hardhanded discipline.

Unless, of course, those members were the ones who ran the show. The worst of the worst wasn't here, or even nearby to Howard's knowledge. That was good, given their tenuous relationship. Howard was dragged out of that stupor by Aloe's words, which caused him to double-take.

As Aloe flirted, Howard wordlessly flipped through the folder and held it in front of his face, as if inspecting it. His face immediately reddening. "E-erm... Yes, everything in your file looks right."

The folder was empty.

"We always need more intelligence officers. I'm getting really sick of my safe houses being breached. It burns a lot of money." Howard lowered the folder, face slightly warm. He hadn't perfectly risen into his position yet. He still felt like a grunt, at heart. That was why he didn't demean Aloe for spreading ash on his floor. His grunthood memories were still fresh. He could still relate to new recruits.

"Tattoos." Howard repeated, smiling slightly. "Interesting. Very interesting. Where's your shop? How are your books for it?"

---

ALOE EON

"You flatter me, but no. Tattoos are a more... permanent arrangement than what I'm used to." Howard said as he reached into his desk. When would he commit to something other than archaeology and history? He was barely tired to Team Rocket. "I'm an academic. I'm just following up on some things, Aloe."

Click. A drawer was pulled open as Howard leaned down. Behind him, a glass tank filled with Relicanth took up a substantial amount of the back wall. One beadily looked at Aloe and his Darumaka, before swimming away.

"The only reason you're sitting here is that you've been considered trustworthy." Howard continued, pulling out a series of photos from a compartment in his desk as he spoke. "But your shop is an asset that Team Rocket can use. Money needs to be laundered, and intel needs to be acquired."

Howard tapped his cigarette against an ashtray, before taking a drag. He almost looked sympathetic as he stared at Aloe.

"That shop of yours? It belongs to Team Rocket now. We will launder money through it, and we will keep it afloat. You have my word."

He met Aloe's gentle gaze with a weary one. How much did he know, and how much was bluster? The archaeologist was of a different breed from the Rocket Beast that Aloe had worked with. It wasn't that Howard was emotionless, it was that his had been brought behind the shed to be shot, then buried.

"Aloe Eon." Howard's voice was quiet. His one eye, unblinking. A form slid across the desk. "If this is your choice, sign here."

---

ALOE EON

"..." Howard tapped his pen against the desk as he stared at Aloe. The tattoo artist was right. From a glance, Howard didn't seem threatening. That was because he wasn't. Compared to monsters like Zev Harcourt or Cillian Quinn, Howard was harmless. He thrived on his connection with the grunts that he had risen from.

Nobody viewed him as a threat, that was simply because he wasn't.

"These terms..." The stare grew intense. It was the stare of an appraiser evaluating the worth of Aloe Eon. Howard considered the grunt's worth, his value, his contributions to Rocket and the risk of hiring him. For a moment, Aloe was a sack of meat.

Howard hated viewing people as such. He finished his appraisal. 

"...are accepted. Your secrets will be checked for quality and authenticity, naturally. Lies have no value here. A shop in Lavaridge, eh? Interesting..." The sudden chill was gone, and Howard clapped his hands brightly. "Maybe I'll come visit."

This was wrong. He should've been urging Aloe to run away from here. Howard felt shameful, indoctrinating this person. He was doing to Aloe what mint frost had done to him in that museum.

Sorry, Aloe.

"Sign?" Howard gestured towards the paper. "Plus, I need you to look at something for me."

---

ALOE EON

Fun, huh? Howard's spirit burned away slightly, like the ashes left behind from a burned cigar. Team Rocket was not fun, nor was it a single stop.

Aloe was Walsh's, now. Even if Walsh didn't know him, and didn't care.

"No, no. Nothing like that." Howard laughed as he waved a photograph from his desk in front of Aloe. The archaeologist placed it on the desk as he looked at the photo. He hadn't thought about this design in a while. Only since coming back from Route 119 had it piqued his interest again.

The photo gleamed in the light of Howard's office as he slid it over to Aloe.





"This is the tattoo from an indigenous tribe from halfway across the world. Have you ever heard of Hisui?" Howard raised an eyebrow and smiled at the Darumaka. It reminded him of his time in Unova, and from his time in the Desert Resort. Maybe Aloe was from Unova, or had visited it at some time in the past? He'd have to look into that.

"Hisui is another name for Old Sinnoh. This tribe is also known as the Diamond Clan. I'll save you the history lesson, but it's quite interesting. They had some very interesting methods for tattooing the skin."

Howard tapped the photo while taking the signed paper from Aloe. He'd file it later.

"Have you ever tattooed this symbol onto someone? Have you seen anyone with a tattoo with this symbol?"

---

ALOE EON

"It's a personal interest of mine. I'm simply... following up on some unwoven strands."

The Rocket Admin smiled good-naturedly, but he didn't elaborate. If Aloe didn't know about the tattoo, then there was little left for them to discuss. He could hope that someone would get the tattoo from Aloe's shop, but Howard Slayte knew better than to rely on one individual for such an academic venture.

Relying on Aloe Eon for this would mean getting lucky, and Howard wasn't a gambling man.

"If you ever see the design, I'll tell you all that you need to know. You'll have enough money to go on vacation to Alola, if you want." Howard smiled again, his eye flickering with some semblance of humor. "Until then, I wouldn't worry about it. If you do find someone with that tattoo..."

He trailed off into silence, but the intention was clear. Personal information, names, phone numbers, addresses, and everything under the son would be requested.

"But I'll tell you this: they didn't eat a grunt. Don't worry." Howard checked his watch and sighed. "But we're out of time. Welcome to Rocket, Aloe Eon."

He stood up and offered a handshake to the tattoo artist. In the end, he was another spy. Another conscript for Rocket's great crusade against the League. He'd fight for them, snitch for them, and lie for them. Yet at the end of the day, Howard couldn't trust this person. How could he, when he had been in their shoes once?

He couldn't even trust himself.

---

ALOE EON