Everything Zen

Jamie returned to Olivine, and Connor’s. He chose to stay out on the oceore ore and more now. He tended to refer to the sea as his “old lady.” He especially stayed away from land during the weekend fish markets. Months passed after he’d left Rosy. He still ached for her, but her words stung more than his desire for her was worth. Reluctantly he came in from the ocean on a Saturday. He threw the caught swordfish on the deck, eager to escape. He noticed the rest of his crew slow in their work. He looked up to see what caused the break in the action. His crew was slobbering over a tall blonde woman who stood on the dock. She spied Jamie and an oily smile bent her lips. She bent over to talk to him. Her large breasts nearly fell out of her very low-cut top when she did so. “I saw you pilot this boat,” she purred. “Can you pilot any boat as well as you did this one?”

He tried to brush her off with a quick response, but his eyes were glued to the woman’s plentiful bosom. His gender betrayed him. “It depends on the boat,” he said.

“I have a boat, and I need a strong, young, good-looking captain to head a crew on an expedition,” she explained.

“Sounds like fun,” he said. “But I’ve got a good job here. I can’t leave it.”

She threw back her head and laughed. Her breasts bounced. “Believe me, I’ll pay you well. You’ll be able to buy this shrimp shack if you take my offer, and ten thousand others. Just come with me, and I’ll show you what I mean.”

Jamie’s gender again betrayed him, and allowed him to agree to hear her out. He followed her off the dock and into a waiting black limousine. A man named Butch joined them. “Cassidy always gets her man,” he said, nodding Jamie’s way. Cassidy smiled and adjusted her ample breasts in her blouse.

“Let’s get down to business,” she said, slapping her hands together. “Now, this boat isn’t actually mine. It belongs to my boss. She sent me here, looking for you.”

“Me?” Jamie was puzzled as to why he’d been seemingly chosen specifically. After all, who would just happen by the docks in One tne to pick someone out of the crowd?

“Yes,” Cassidy said. “She is after a great treasure, something hidden out in the sea. She has assembled a crew to find it, but she needs a captain to pilot her boat.”

“Fortune hunting,” Jamie asked. “I don’t know...”

“Just give her a chance. I’m sure you’ll see it her way.”

The limousine prowled the streets of Johto until they arrived at the train station in Goldenrod City. They boarded the Magnet Train to cross into Kanto, where another limo was waiting for them, Cassidy explained. Many people were caught staring at her. Jamie tried to make small talk with her and Butch, but as the train sped closer to their destination, he got more and more nervous. He still wasn’t sure what all this was about, and he had a feeling that he wouldn’t like it once he did find out what was going on. The train stopped at the station in Saffron City, and they traveled to Viridian City by limo. Soon Jamie faced a tall, cold gray building in downtown Viridian. Cassidy and Butch hustled him in, and down a series of corridors and flights of stairs. At the end of the hall, a door stood slightly open. Butch tapped on it, and they entered. Three men were seated in chairs situated around the room. Two of them looked to be in their thirties, maybe forties. One was blond, and the other had brown hair. The third man was older, Jamie gathered, from the mix of gray strands in his otherwise coal black hair. He looked young, despite the gray hair, due to his muscular build and deep tan. He had a smart-assed smile, and moved like a man in his twenties. Seated at a heavy oak desk in the middle of the room was an attractive young woman with dark features. She wore her hair pinned back severely and she had a cold, hard expression on her face. Cassidy and Butch bowed suddenly. The woman squinted at Jamie, and rose to greet him. “Hello,” she said, offering her hand. “My name is Gianna Torres. I sent Cassidy after you. You are to be my captain, if you choose to accept this opportunity.” She looked impressed at the firmness of Jamie’s handshake. “Please, have a seat. Now, as you may or may not know, I am the President of Team Rocket. I succeeded my late father.” Jamie’s eyes nearly fell out of his head. He couldn’t breathe. He was transfixed. He could do nothing but listen to Gianna talk. “He had an eye for rare and unusual Pokémon, and I am no different. I have become aware of a Pokémon that I must have. Lugia.” She presented Jamie with a picture of Lugia. He was still motionless with shock. When he didn’t take it, she thrust it into his chest. He jumped, and clutched at where she’d jabbed him. “Hiding somewhere in the Whirl Islands is the ultimate collector’s item. I wish it to be mine. I have assembled a crew to aide my cause. Kirk Halett.” She motioned to the blond man. “Former Pokémon League champion. Extensive knowledge of Pokémon. Patrick Scott.” The brown-haired man nodded. “The only known living survivor of a tribe in the Shimuti Islands, where the legend of Lugia began. Plays the ocarina, which will awaken Lugia, allowing it to be seized. And,” she said, raising her eyebrows at the older man. “Ace. Another former Pokémon League champion. Expert poacher. He was serving a sentence for poaching, but we appealed his case, so he was able to join us. And, now, you, Jamie Fauntleroy. You will sail the vessel out to the Whirl Islands and help capture Lugia. Understand?”

For the first time since he’d entered the room, Jamie had regained control of his speech. “Poachers,” he asked. “What is this? You want to kill it?”

“Yes,” Gianna said, as if everyone in the world knew.

“A Legendary Pokémon,” he continued. “In the Whirl Islands? Not only would it be disrespectful to Pokémon of all kinds, but it’d be suicide! No way. I can’t do this. Sorry.”

“But I haven’t mentioned the reward,” Gianna countered. “Five million dollars, each.”

“No. No amount of money could make me into such a person.” He got up to leave. Cassidy blocked his way.

“But, what about your precious Rosy,” she sneered. “With five million dollars, she’d forget about those horny assholes at that school, wouldn’t she?”

Jamie was shocked at that direct quotation. “What is this,” he gasped. “Have you been spying on me?”

“We’ve had our eye on you for a while, dear Jamie,” she hissed. “You walk out on this, and Rosy’s gone forever. Don’t you want her?”

He fought a yes, because for Rosy, he was willing to do near anything. He missed her so much, he’d risk life, limb, integrity.... he thought he could live without her, but it simply wasn’t true. Even if she wanted him for what he was, not who he was, she’d still be with him, and that’s what he wanted. Too blinded by desperation for Rosy, he hung his head and muttered, “All right, I’m in.”