the wound on maki's palm has been treated, stitched and then covered in bandaging to keep it from getting infected. she saw no reason to go all the way to the hospital for something that could be easily completed here, so she'd called for a field doctor who owed her and her family a debt. her dress, unfortunately, was beyond salvaging, her own blood having soaked into the fabric.

she's spent the last hour explaining things to the police. her own security forces have taken the offending megalopolan away, so she's just trying to swing things so that he ends up in her care rather than in a jail cell. the yukimuras take care of their own, and despite appearances, seiichi is one of their own, despite how hard he's been working to get disowned lately.

soon, everyone is gone but maki. she hears someone speak, and turns to see howard, who's been indulging himself with his weight in bread since he discovered it in the kitchen. she frowns slightly at him. "...i appreciate the compliment, sir," maki says, her voice devoid of any emotion... but is that a slight hint of annoyance? "i suspect you're not just here to discuss the food, however." she removes her mask, placing it on the table, and once more takes a seat.

Howard was an annoying man on the best of days. When duty needed Admin Fox, the mask went on as he became a machine. Right now, though? Lounging.

And silently plotting to throttle Elisabeth Fiorelli for sending him to this godforsaken party.

"Mmm, yeah. We're rarely afforded casual conversation in this line of work. It's all business, all cordiality. If we're going to act formal and cordial, Rocket should occasionally remember to win the wars it fights in." Howard's lips are loose. His tongue wags. Yet his eye glints as he talks, giving enough to gauge a reaction from the detective. "Onto business, then."

A deep breath and a sigh. Another bite of bread. This evening had been far too eventful for the archaeologist. Now he actually had to do his job, and that sucked.

"What's the status of the Megalopolan? Can't let the authorities take custody of him. He's ours."

Another bite of bread. Another smile.

---

MAKI YUKIMURA

she rubs the bandaging on her hand. it was just her luck that a higher-up won the VIP ticket. things can never be easy, can they? maki wonders if her performance has been under scrutiny this entire time.

"my private security detail has him," she explains. "but the police are... not convinced they should leave him with us. they want him." of course they do-- a megalopolan is a serious catch, given the trouble they've already caused since getting marooned here. "it's possible... we may need to orchestrate a faux break-out. convince the league he's escaped their clutches." it's likely the only way they'll manage to keep ahold of him without raising too many eyebrows as to why they want him in the first place.

maki glances at howard, then to the basket of bread sitting on the table. she takes a small loaf for herself. "i can have the staff bring us our pokemon, if necessary." showing her upper-class upbringing, she tears a piece of bread off and pops it in her mouth, rather than biting into the whole thing.

Maki's logic is sound, as a detective's often is. He's reminded of the similarities between detective work and archaeology. The only difference is that one concerned far more recent events, before the trail got cold and one had to rip the evidence from the earth eons later.

"They're not gonna let him go because Megalopolans are war criminals. Nobody's keen to forget the Three Day's War. I'm certainly not." The admin took another bite of bread and nodded in agreement. Maki was right. They'd need to break him out, as annoying as it was. Kill him. Make an example of him. Grill him for intel.

He'd leave it to people like mint frost or BARNABY FINCH . Those who were far more willing to put Rocket's Megalopolan Dental Plan on full display.

"Grab our Pokemon. We'll have to break him out. If it gets ugly enough, we'll have to masquerade as Megalopolans." Even uglier still, and Rocket's cudgel would swing down with as much force as he and Maki could put behind it. "Your servants will need to ensure our innocence."

A deep exhale. A flicker of annoyance behind a cheery eye. This had turned into a massive clusterfuck.

At least the bread was good.

---

MAKI YUKIMURA

maki inclines her head, agreeing to the subterfuge. "they will." the family's staff are always treated well so long as they don't make trouble for their employers, and they're paid well so they can look after their families. as such, they remain loyal, and will lie for them when needed. fear can work wonders, but they've taken a more subtle approach to ensuring their servants remain with them, so no secrets leak out.

maki calls for the maid, ruby, to bring them their pokemon. after the skittish maid skitters away, maki places several of her pokeballs on the table, frowning at them. "he's currently being held in the same bathroom that he hid my brother in. there's a window in the hall next to it. if i feign a distraction with security on my end, you can enter from outside once he's free and take him into custody." it'll cause a fuss, no matter what they do, so they might as well ensure the method works. "i'll unlock the window from the inside." thankfully, they're on the first floor. that makes this a bit easier for them.

she takes another bite of her bread. "will this work for you, sir?"

There's an eerily long moment where the admin considered Maki's plan. His expression was thoughtful and contemplative as he weighed it on both ends. In truth, he was simply determining if the recipe could be recreated. Likely not, with the chef out of commission.

What a terrible loss for Rocket. Howard swallowed.

"It'll do. Worst case scenario, I'll have to call in a few favors and knock a few heads. I'd rather not. Senseless violence is beneath us, and killing is wrong, after all." It's hard to tell if he's joking. As his Pokeballs are brought to him, the admin regarded them. His eye lingered on Regice's Pokeball.

Too much firepower. Still, he had best take it.

Instead, his hand selected his Claydol.

"Make the distraction audible. I'll wait about... six seconds before I slip in." He clapped Maki on the shoulder. "Let's boogie."

---

MAKI YUKIMURA
BINGO: SIX

"...let's," maki agrees, as though she simply can't bring herself to say 'boogie' out loud. the basket of bread is left there on the table. taking a pokeball, she calls forth her aegislash. the steel type lies in wait as she explains the game to it. "i need you to remain here. when you hear my phone ring--" she looks at howard, who will have to be the one ringing it, since she's leaving said phone behind to give the signal. "--i want you to break one of the windows. as loud as you can, please." she points at the window in question. "after that, use shadow sneak to escape before you're seen."

simple enough, right?

maki heads directly for the bathroom currently being guarded. "how is the prisoner?" she asks them, striking up a conversation so nobody can say she wasn't right here when it happened. next, once howard gives the appropriate signal, the window will smash, the guards will run... and maki will use her key to unlock the bathroom door. from there, abducting the megalopolan should be relatively simple.

the hard part comes after. even with her employees backing her, maki may still very well fall under suspicion. it's a sacrifice she'll have to make.

Eventually, the phone rings as Howard dials from an old flip phone, its screen archaic and its resolution terrible. To an experienced detective or criminal, an old phone would've likely earned a resounding nod of approval. They were cheap. Disposable. Hard to trace.

Those words applied to Howard's phone, but it was also just his personal phone. Rotom Phones were just too complicated for him. He didn't even know how to use a desktop well.

Regardless, the window is shattered and the Megalopolan within was knocked out from a delightful bop on the head from Crumble. The Claydol quickly teleported away with its blue-skinned cargo for Maki and Howard to harass later. By the time the admin returns to the room through the front door, Maki was being poked by the cops.

Joy.

Howard put his game face on.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?" He boomed at them, his relaxed voice hardening into a clap of thunder. Howard's expression twisted into a fit of rage. "YOU LET HIM ESCAPE!? IDIOTS!"

An officer attempted to reply, but the admin waved him off.

"How do you think Josh Devlin will feel when he hears that a Megalopolan has escaped into the city! Miss Yukimura, we have to contact him immediately!"

The same officer wilted. Josh was more than willing to let Mauville's mayor run the city so he could enjoy a life of racing and warfare, but that wasn't particularly important.

---

MAKI YUKIMURA

the questioning is tiresome enough without howard's booming voice taking over. at the very least he seems to successfully cow them into submission, as the officers on duty grumble to themselves. maki's own security detail, of course, corroborated her version of events, and ruby the maid was more than happy to explain that maki had been with her the whole time before the event occurred and therefore could not have done anything.

she'll still be under suspicion for some time, but with a bit of luck and some currency changing hands, she'll be safe.

once the officers leave, maki asks ruby to clean up the shattered glass in the area. the maid hurries off, and maki looks to howard. "...well done." is that a hint of amusement in her eyes? it can't possibly be. "i suppose now we should question our... captive friend." there were many things she wanted to know. she understood the basics of his plan, but not how it fit into the larger picture. if they could glean any useful information for rocket, then this whole escapade would almost have been worth it.

except for the loss of her chef. she'd have time to process that later. howard may have only wanted him for his bread, but that man had been working for the yukimuras since before maki was born. he'd let her sneak snacks from the kitchen when she was very little. like many people who find themselves on the wrong side of the law, he was a kind man at heart.

somebody was going to pay.

Money was the universal balm for any problem one might face. It was the lifeblood of the world, and the heartbeat that ensured that Rocket could never truly be quashed out. One day, Rocket would own much of the material wealth in the world, and they would become a heart of commerce that pumped gold throughout Hoenn.

One day, that golden heart would stop beating by Rocket's will alone.

"You humble me, Maki." His eye twinkled slightly, before the sparkle of life left the admin's eye as they turned to more important tasks. "As for our captive..."

The admin coughed into his fist, clearly discontent with the brutality that they would have to enact on. Torture was such an ugly thing, and it was often impractical. Yet it served a very specific purpose: vindication.

"He will be sharply interrogated at headquarters. There is much to ask him, and I suspect more than a little of it will reach beyond the scope of tonight." Rocket would need him before Maki would need him. The Megalopolan was an asset, and a reminder of a war that had ended years prior. "However."

His voice turned conversational.

"If the key to his cell was conveniently located on the floor where one of his guards was supposed to be, and he happened to be out on break when you came by... That'd be unfortunate, but there'd be little that Rocket could do about it. Wouldn't you agree?"

---

MAKI YUKIMURA

of course the heavy implication is not lost on maki. later she may find herself releasing some of her pent-up frustration on that same megalopolan. nobody will think twice if he has a few extra bruises when it comes time for the real fun to begin, nor will they likely care even if he points the finger at her. she won't be doing anything that interferes with the interrogation, and honestly by the end he may wish she was the one responsible for his questioning. maki derives no true pleasure from other people's pain. whoever is in charge of his capture, though, will likely be... different.

"i suppose... his widow may have the recipe for that bread," she says. "if you can find somebody experienced enough, they may be able to replicate it." all that is to say, thank you for the opportunity. she won't let it go to waste.

it's time to close things out here. she needs to change clothes, for one thing. this dress has already been ruined by her own blood, and she sees no point in spoiling it further. there's work to be done that's more suited to something less... frilly.

The fate of the bread recipe brought a smile to the admin's face.

"Now that would be a very appreciated gift." Howard gazed off into infinity, dreaming of the infinite possibilities of having bread whenever he desired. Maybe he could get Aurelie Lefevre to make it for him, or another trustworthy Rocket that was skilled in the kitchen. "Thank you, Maki Yukimura."

Behind the admin, an Unown belonging to the Visionary flickered into existence. A portal quickly flickered into being, and the admin turned to face it.

These portals were remarkably handy, Howard was beginning to realize. Hopefully it wasn't too big of a shock for the young detective.

"Give Seiichi my regards." He stepped into the portal, his masquerade's attire fluttering into the wind. "You're a detective, correct? Perhaps you can solve this mystery for me:"

The portal snapped shut, leaving the admin's voice echoing into infinity.

"Why are we in Team Rocket?"

---

MAKI YUKIMURA

she doesn't correct him. it's been a long day, and for all she cares solving this mystery has earned her the right to that title, even if it's for the rest of the evening. her ocean colored eyes regard him from within a sea of ambiguity. just because she took one mask off doesn't mean she has to give up the other, less literal one.

"...that's something we all have to answer for ourselves," maki says, after a pause for consideration. "for me, the answer is obvious." there was never a choice for her. she was born into fabulous wealth and privilege, and to thank her family for having reared her, she now does whatever they want. even with her parents miles away, she still strives to meet their standards.

maki meets howard's gaze. "until next time, sir." she has no doubt they'll run into each other again, with time. it's a small world, and an even smaller submarine.