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"Brother Tyler, who are these two shady-looking guys?"
Inside the hollow of a tree, Phil looked curiously at Sato as he dragged back a bucktoothed man and a fat man.
"Phil, have you seen a red-haired woman and a black-haired woman come through here?"
Sato didn't answer Phil's question right away. After returning to the tree hollow with the two unconscious Pokémon Hunters, he noticed that Flannery and Roxanne were nowhere to be found, and asked with a frown.
Before retreating, he had clearly told the two women to rendezvous with him here. Yet now, they were missing — and judging from Phil and the others' confused looks at the captured men, it seemed likely Flannery and Roxanne had never arrived.
Just as Sato suspected, Phil and the others quickly confirmed that they had been staying inside the hollow the whole time and hadn't seen any red- or black-haired women pass by.
Meanwhile, in the rain-soaked night, Flannery and Roxanne were hurrying toward Slateport City, struggling to carry a barely conscious blond man between them.
"Can't you change that bleeding-heart nature of yours?" Roxanne sighed helplessly as she watched Flannery trudge through the rain with the man on her back. "Mr. Tyler said this guy's not a good person — he's just a bully who preys on the weak! Why are you saving him?"
During their retreat, Flannery had refused to leave the gravely injured blond man to die. Left with no choice, Roxanne abandoned the rendezvous with Sato and helped Flannery bring the dying man toward Slateport instead.
"I know what he said," Flannery replied firmly, turning her head, her eyes resolute. "But he's so badly hurt — if we just abandon him, he'll die for sure. I can't sit by and watch someone die. That goes against everything I believe in as a Trainer."
Roxanne knew her close friend's moral compass all too well. Seeing that Flannery wouldn't change her mind, she didn't argue further — she simply stayed alert, scanning their surroundings for any sign of wild Pokémon attacks.
Back in the hollow, before Sato could explain the situation about the two captured Hunters to Phil and the others, the communicator on his belt suddenly buzzed.
The screen displayed an unfamiliar number. Instantly on guard, Sato motioned for silence before pressing the green button to answer.
"Time. Place."
The cold, killing tone that came through the device made Sato's eyes narrow. He immediately recognized the voice — Hook, an A-rank Pokémon Hunter wanted by the League.
"No rush," Sato replied icily. "I'll tell you once I've made the arrangements."
Negotiation was all about control — he couldn't let the other party dictate the pace. Only by taking the initiative could he maximize his leverage.
"So you're the one who caught Ratface and Fatty, huh? You've got some skill," Hook sneered from his underground base deep within Slateport Woods. "But you're here to save those two brats, aren't you? Aren't you afraid I'll just kill them both if you make me angry?"
As he spoke, Hook grabbed a blond young man by the hair and yanked hard, making the youth scream in agony.
"Help me! Please, someone save me! I don't want to stay here another second!" the blond youth cried desperately toward the communicator. "My dad is Solace — I'm his son, Carl! Tell him to come save me, please!"
Nearby, another blond youth — terrified by the sight — shouted at the device as well.
But before he could finish, Hook's boot slammed into his stomach, cutting off his words with a grunt of pain.
"Heh heh heh... You hear that, kid?" Hook said with a twisted grin. "The two hostages in my hands are worth quite a lot. One's Carl, son of Slateport's real estate tycoon Solace. The other's Micah, son of the city's shipping king, Booker."
"If either of them loses so much as a finger or a hand, even if you finish your mission, I doubt you'll live to enjoy it! Hahaha!"
With these two high-profile hostages, Hook's confidence soared, and his tone grew even more arrogant as he mocked Sato through the communicator.
Sato heard everything — Hook's taunts, the victims' cries — and silently cursed under his breath. But what shocked him most was the identity of the hostages.
In Slateport City, Solace and Booker were both extremely prominent figures — their faces often graced the covers of business magazines and local news headlines.
As for Carl and Micah, their reputations were... less impressive. They were notorious as spoiled rich brats — drinking, gambling, chasing women, and causing scandals for fun. Their antics were so absurd that most people considered them walking jokes.
Ordinary people like them would've been long dead if not for their powerful families and teams of bodyguards. Yet here they were, having clearly gotten themselves into trouble after chasing rumors of an Altaria about to lay an egg.
This time, though, their arrogance had finally caught up with them. Their bodyguards were probably already dead, and the only reason they were still alive was because Hook saw value in keeping them that way.
"Just my luck," Sato muttered grimly. "Out of all the missions, I had to get the one where I'm supposed to save these idiots. And the bastard was right — if anything happens to them, I might not be able to stay in Slateport anymore."
He couldn't help but feel uneasy as he considered the influence of Solace and Booker.
Sure, both men had plenty of heirs, but if anything happened to Carl or Micah, those in charge of the rescue would be held accountable.
Money might not be omnipotent — but the power that comes with it was undeniable. And both Solace and Booker wielded it with terrifying reach. Even Sato couldn't afford to underestimate what "money power" could do.