"That was fast," Frank muttered as he pinched the nose of his own mask. His eyes were still exposed, though, so he raised his hand to shield them from the flying sand particles. "I'll follow your lead, all right?" [break][break]

Two League Rangers emerged from the shadows, arms raised to protect their faces from the sudden storm. Accompanying them were an Ivysaur and Dachsbun, each one already wincing from the biting sand. [break][break]

Kathy the Krookodile lumbered forward, flames gathering between her jaws to deliver a FIRE FANG to the nearest foe.

TAGS – DANE FAIRCHILD[break]
NOTES – mission

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Frank was an accountant. He was supposed to be behind a desk, crunching numbers to make sure Team Rocket was meeting its budget constraints. The most he did "in the field" was drive along smuggling routes to deliver Pokémon or other valuable resources. He did not fight. [break][break]

Yet there he was, unluckily assigned to guard a hideout with some other grunt. Perhaps it was his boss' way of telling him to toughen up. There was a war about to happen, after all, wasn't there? [break][break]

"I can't say I've ever fought in one before, but sure, why not?" Frank said, sighing deeply. "Nothing can be worse than the sandstorms in Ultra Desert." [break][break]

He opened a Pokéball, releasing his Krookodile. If any Pokémon of his was going to survive a sandstorm, it was Kathy.

TAGS – DANE FAIRCHILD[break]
NOTES – mission

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Relief filled Frank when Damien did not throw a tantrum. As the minutes passed, he felt the anger seep out of the space between them. What remained was a tension laced with sorrow; a glance to his right revealed Damien's face reflected in the passenger-side window, eyes glistening with unshed tears. [break][break]

Frank sighed. "The work is good, Damien. The real work, not this smuggling stuff. It challenges me mentally and pays really well. And I've been guaranteed protection so that I don't end up in prison again. I'll make sure you won't, either." [break][break]

He squeezed the younger man's thigh in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture, one that conveyed a promise Frank had made Damien a long time ago. One that said, I'll take care of you. [break][break]

He'd already broken that promise four years ago, when he'd disappeared into the Unovan prison system. He would not let that happen again.

TAGS – DAMIEN RUSSO[break]
NOTES – mission

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Frank resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Damien's childish behavior. Whenever the younger man entered one of these moods, Frank let him throw his tantrum for a little while before reminding him (sometimes painfully) that it was time to come around. [break][break]

So he said nothing while Damien turned on the radio, instead focusing on the dark road ahead of them. Late night smooth jazz filled the space between them, accompanied by the sultry voice of a female singer. [break][break]

They listened in silence. Even the Skeledirge in the back stopped pounding the walls of the truck, suggesting that the song had calmed her. Frank couldn't blame her; he recognized the old tune as one that used to play on the radio when he and Damien were kids. He even started humming along with it. [break][break]

Casually, strategically, he reached over and rested his hand on Damien's thigh as the song came to an end.

TAGS – DAMIEN RUSSO[break]
NOTES – mission

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Ah, shit. Frank was hoping Sailor would offer to do the talking, but instead, the other grunt merely stepped aside to make room for Frank. So he shuffled forward, wondering how the hell he was going to get a Misdreavus to listen to him. [break][break]

"Sure, I'm good with Pokémon." [break][break]

Rex made a noise that sounded strongly like he was going to hurl a hairball, but nothing happened. Frank glanced askance at the Persian before putting his hands on his hips to address the Ghost-type. [break][break]

"Hey! So! What are you doing out here, huh?" By Arceus, he felt stupid. "Instead of scaring grunts and keeping people up all night, why don't we get something to eat from the break room. A late night snack, yeah?" [break][break]

Unfortunately, the Misdreavus didn't seem to care. It smacked Frank with an ASTONISH and flew past him as he flinched, toward the open doorway. [break][break]

"Ow, fuck!"

TAGS – Sailor de Laurierwylle[break]
NOTES – mission

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Shit. This was going even worse than Frank had ever imagined. He could tell from the simmering anger in Damien's voice that he was probably close to exploding but was trying to hold in his emotions. He'd always been that way, Frank knew. [break][break]

"Well, it's a long drive," the older man said. "What do you want to talk about instead? I don't think you want to hear about my work since it's a lot of boring number-crunching, and you know how much of a nerd I can be about it." [break][break]

The slamming sound happened again, prompting Frank to throw an apologetic look in Damien's direction. [break][break]

"Sorry, we're delivering a Skeledirge tonight. She's muzzled and tranquilized so she can't set the truck on fire or kill us with her song, but her species is still pretty strong without all that." [break][break]

Thankfully, the team meeting them in Lilycove was experienced with processing larger, more dangerous Pokémon. They were experts; Frank was just the driver.

TAGS – DAMIEN RUSSO[break]
NOTES – mission

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Sailor and their Obstagoon rushed after the Misdreavus. Frank and his Persian followed close at their heels, until they reached a small storage room. As there wasn't much space for all of them to fit, Frank poked his head around the doorframe as Sailor tried the lights. [break][break]

"It's a Misdreavus," he explained, unsure how much they'd seen before the wild chase began. "They like to play pranks, don't they? Maybe this little guy is owned by someone and got lost or something?" [break][break]

Rex hissed, ready to fight, but Frank stayed his cat with a hand. "Maybe we should just try talking to it?" he suggested to Sailor.

TAGS – Sailor de Laurierwylle[break]
NOTES – mission

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Frank's heart sank into his stomach at the expression on Damien's face. Despite hoping for a different reaction, Frank knew in his bones that Damien was not going to approve. That was simply how their relationship went: Frank did something and Damien didn't approve. [break][break]

Exhaustion and acceptance replaced the fury in Damien's eyes. A part of Frank wished it hadn't; he could deal with the anger, but not the disappointment. And so he peeled the van out of the port in silence, wanting to distract himself from the pain of the coming conversation. [break][break]

Eventually, however, the heaviness between them became too much to bear. [break][break]

"I was going to tell you," Frank said, trying to construct an explanation of partial truths. "I've just been so busy lately with my new responsibilities. Like at the museum." [break][break]

Damien knew about that one. They'd celebrated with some drinks when Frank had gotten the job.

TAGS – DAMIEN RUSSO[break]
NOTES – mission

[attr="class","pkmn"]

"That's right. Numbers are my specialty," Frank confirmed, his chest swelling with pride. His career had been an illustrious one before the incident that halted it. Even now, years later, he was putting his brilliant mind to good use. Rising up and overcoming the challenge was deeply gratifying. [break][break]

Turning to the matter at hand, Frank followed Sailor into the communal baths. The flashlight's beam was inadequate considering the size of the facility, so Frank pulled out his phone. [break][break]

"I don't see anything yet. Why don't you look in one side and I'll take the other?" he suggested, already walking toward the men's changing room. His Persian followed on silent steps. [break][break]

Unfortunately, he found nothing in his area of the baths. Everything looked as it should: clean, organized, empty. He and his Pokémon returned to the main area to meet with Sailor. [break][break]

"I didn't find anything on my side. Did you—" Frank began, when the sudden, sharp BANG of a broom falling to the floor caused him to jump. Pointing his phone's flashlight in its direction, he caught the small, billowy form of a Misdreavus in the air. "Hey!"

TAGS – Sailor de Laurierwylle[break]
NOTES – mission

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Frank's bosses had given him the same directive: drive a moving truck to X location, pick up the goods, then drive to Y location to rendezvous with his partner. From there, make the long haul to Lilycove to deliver the shipment. [break][break]

So when he pulled into the nearest open port of an abandoned warehouse, his stomach dropped into a black pit at the sight of the man waiting to meet him. Oh, fuck, he thought at the familiar splash of white-on-black hair. [break][break]

The passenger-side door opened. Frank swallowed hard. His gut was a squirming pile of Wurmple, and he could feel the damp sweat in his armpits. [break][break]

When he and DAMIEN RUSSO locked eyes, Frank offered a nervous smile. "Hey. Fancy seeing you here, Damien. Nice night for a drive, huh?"

TAGS – DAMIEN RUSSO[break]
NOTES – mission

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Frank chuckled at the indignant little noise from the Hisuian Zorua. Crouching, he reached out to ruffle Moroe's ears—if she'd let him. "Of course you're special, little guy," he said. [break][break]

Then he stood back up and turned to Yuina. "I've never been in one of those space-time distortions myself, even though I'd heard about them on the news," he admitted, scratching his chin with a finger. "It makes me wonder how the ancient past of another region is linked to Hoenn." [break][break]

As history wasn't his expertise, Frank shrugged and let the thought go. The movement jostled the papers tucked under his arm, reminding him of his actual duties. [break][break]

"Ah, shit. I gotta go finish this," he said, waving the stack in the air for emphasis. "How about I come around at lunch and grab you? The museum food's surprisingly not bad, or we could step out and get something from a place nearby."

TAGS – Yuina Higashi[break]
NOTES – mission

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Frank whistled an appreciative note. "A nepotism baby. I guess Team Rocket is sort of like your inheritance, huh?" he mused aloud. Then he paused, as if realizing how Sailor might interpret his words. "I don't mean that in a bad way, either. It's just kind of how the world works if you peek behind the curtains enough." [break][break]

And Frank had looked plenty back at his old job. His former bosses had practically pulled back the curtain for him. [break][break]

"As for me, I joined back in… February? I think?" He scratched at his chin. "It doesn't matter. Anyway, I was looking for a way to make some extra cash and got into the smuggling business. When I finally joined up in an official way, I was put on accounting." [break][break]

As they walked down the hallway toward the communal baths, a strange noise suddenly cut through their conversation—a dreadful moaning noise, like someone in pain. [break][break]

Frank froze. "Did you hear that, too? Was it coming from the baths?"

TAGS – Sailor de Laurierwylle[break]
NOTES – mission

[attr="class","pkmn"]