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Even through his thick shirt, Jethro could feel the rough scrape of the brick facade he leaned against, rough as the calloused fingers that anxiously fished for a lighter and another cigarette. He was too old for this sort of fearful trepidation, but the nerve endings and firing synapses apparently hadn't gotten the memo. So he stood there, and smoked, and tried to reassure himself that one of Dewford's deputies would come sauntering out the door any minute now. [break][break]

As he waited, Jethro mentally berated himself for taking so damn long to touch base with the one and only Montgomery James. It was one thing for the man to have gotten shot on his watch, but war was another matter entirely. Was the ex-Rocket really that goddamn determined to prove he was a better man now? Had some new conviction of his driven him to a whole new level of jackassery? It was hard to tell, at least until he had a chance to talk to the younger man. [break][break]

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Jethro hastily straightened himself from where he had been leaning against the exterior wall nearby. [break][break]

Chin up, Jethro. If he catches you moping, you'll never hear the end of it.

[break][break]

[attr="class","jethro2"]

[attr="class","icon"]

Jethro had no time for some quip of his own; gently but hastily dropping the cat he held by the scruff, the ex-Ranger ran back to Montgomery's side, panic welling up as he watched the deputy collapse, [break][break]

“Damn it.” [break][break]

He had to get the man some medical attention, and fast. Bright, sharp eyes darted from the collapsed deputy to the Meowth still lingering nearby. Jethro suddenly jabbed a calloused finger at the idle cat, [break][break]

“Luke, see if you can find us someone that can patch this jackass up. I'll be right behind ya.” [break][break]

The cat was off with a salute and a yowl of acknowledgment, scurrying through fallen leaves and tall ferns as he made his way back to civilization. [break][break]

Jethro turned back to the fallen ex-Rocket and exhaled sharply through his nose, bracing himself for a moment as he looped an arm underneath the other man's knees. Jethro just knew this was going to be hell on his back as he circled the other arm behind Montgomery and lifted. [break][break]

With a groan, Jethro rose to his feet with the wounded deputy in his arms, muscles straining from the effort. It was almost too much, too heavy of a burden to bear, but when the ex-Ranger spied that dark spot of crimson growing larger at the other man's side, it was all the incentive he needed to take one heavy step, then another, as he began to make his way out of the woods. [break][break]

Never in his life did Jethro Haig think he'd be dragging Montgomery James to safety, but hell, at this point, the ex-Ranger had begun to realize that Arceus had a strange sense of humor.

[break][break]

[attr="class","jethro2"]

[attr="class","icon"]

A rush of air, a spurt of blood; it should've been all over for the brash and irritable Jethro Haig. [break][break]

How many times had he tempted fate before back in his days in Unova, when in hot pursuit of a poacher or when cornering an injured but dangerous Pokemon? Too many to count, now, but as it turned out, he had still somehow managed to stay in Arceus' good graces. That, or Montgomery James was just as much of a crack shot as the ex-Ranger remembered, because that revolver round had managed to find its way right between the would-be assailant's eyes. [break][break]

The other man fell with a dull thud to the leaf litter of the forest floor, and Jethro watched him a moment, panting as his eyes traced the perfectly round bullet-hole in the center of the guy's forehead. When he was sure the bastard wasn't still breathing, Jethro leaned over, grabbed the still-gnawing Meowth by the scruff, and turned back to Montgomery, [break][break]

“Helluva shot, kid.”

[break][break]

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The loud, thundering crack! of the gunshot instilled a very familiar sort of horror in Jethro Haig. That horror deepened at the thought that he had some part to play in the ex-Rocket getting shot in the first place, [break][break]

“Could ask you the same!” he snapped angrily in reply. Jethro scowled in frustration as the first spot of crimson began to pool at Montgomery's side, and Jethro suddenly turned when he heard another round fire off into the nearby trees. [break][break]

The assailant screamed as Luke finally found his prize; the Meowth had managed to scramble his way up the gunman's body and was now sinking pointed teeth into the guy's wrist with what was probably a little too much malevolent glee. Jethro realized he had been given an opening; releasing Montgomery's arm, he lunged for the gunman, aiming to disarm the bastard before he could properly recover from the feline's assault.

[break][break]

[attr="class","jethro2"]

[attr="class","icon"]

In hindsight, sending Luke to the cop's rescue was probably a really dumb idea. The cat, with his hardened hide of iron, watched the gunman toting his weapon of choice, and those feline eyes widened with avarice when the sun filtering down through the canopy above glinted off of the gun's muzzle. It would make a fine treat, the Meowth supposed, before he slipped back into a choice bit of shrubbery. [break][break]

And that was when the ambush was set into motion. The rustling brush on Montgomery's right was the perfect distraction for Luke to lunge from somewhere else on the left, his FAKE OUT more or less successful as he sailed through the air with a gleeful 'Har-reow!'. Jethro groaned angrily when he realized his cover had been blow and resigned himself to having to take a more direct course of action. [break][break]

Slipping out from behind the tree, Jethro decided his first priority was to get Monty out of harm's way. If he could move fast enough, and if Luke could distract the assailant long enough, he could get the lawman out of the literal line of fire. The ex-Ranger charged forward despite the protestations of his aging muscles and joints and moved to grab Monty's arm with a shout, [break][break]

“C'mon!” [break][break]

This wasn't the first time he'd had to square off against some degenerate with a gun, and Jethro got the sinking feeling that it wouldn't be his last.

[break][break]

[attr="class","jethro2"]

[attr="class","icon"]

Jethro wasn't in the habit of looking for trouble, but somehow it always had a way of finding him. [break][break]

Hell, the only reason that he was even on this lonely little sandbar in the middle of Bumfuck, Nowhere was because he was there to see a man about a Torchic (he had been assured that John Peters, a local farmer, was one of the foremost experts on poultry in Hoenn). Now that his business had concluded, Jethro was having himself a little stroll, drawn so often as he was to the wilder and more isolated places on this earth. [break][break]

It was isolated enough that he hadn't expected to hear a couple of voices from the trees beyond, and before he knew it, old synapses started a'firin' when he heard those hushed and angry tones, and Jethro found himself with his back pressed against the trunk of a particularly large oak, trying to make himself as unnoticeable as possible. [break][break]

“I don't know a damn thing yer talkin' 'bout. Pointin' a gun at an officer ain't a good idea, though.” [break][break]

Ain't no goddamn way- what on Arceus' green fuckin' earth was Monty doing out here? Jethro swore under his breath as he quietly scrambled for a Poke Ball. Whatever was going on, it sounded like the lawman was in trouble, and Jethro wasn't about to leave him in the lurch, [break][break]

“Luke,” he hissed quietly to the metallic Meowth at his side, “You get a mosey on over there, quiet as you please, and figure out what in the hell is goin' on.” [break][break]

Luke nodded with a bit more mischievous glee than Jethro would have liked as he scampered through the underbrush, almost as silent as a ghost. Jethro hoped that this little stunt wouldn't come back to bite him.

[break][break]

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