And the Dark City business was a test Giovanni had set him.
It was difficult, but it had not reached the point of hopelessness; with Giovanni's judgement he would not hand a subordinate a task that could not be done.
And he had said as much — Vance would not be fighting alone. Headquarters would give him men and money.
Within all that, Vance had a very free hand.
Which brought more problems with it, of course. How the supplies were to be used, for one; how the men who came were to be placed; and how to bring these headstrong Team Rocket members to heel.
Not one part of it was simple.
Giovanni was an excellent Boss. He left the whole thing in Vance's hands and posted no second or third in command there to hold him in check. Perhaps that was where his appeal lay: he could give a man a platform, and give him a certain amount of rope, and all he wanted was a result — a Dark City that Team Rocket could use when it needed to.
What the man in charge of Dark City was like, and what he took out of it for himself, was no concern of his.
"I hope you come to the worth you spoke of. And I hope you keep a clear head about what you are doing, and about where you stand."
Giovanni had said that at the end, his eyes burning into Vance.
Under that look Vance had felt the weight of it, and had nodded without a word.
"I'll bear it in mind."
"Mm. As for that League standing of yours — and I believe you have gathered your eight Badges as well — that is for you to judge. Enter or don't enter, as you please. I say it again: know what you are doing, and as long as you can carry the consequences when the two run against each other, that is fine. What I can give you, I can also take back."
Giovanni said it mildly, in a flat voice that carried a heavy weight of authority.
Years as the Boss of Team Rocket had taught him how a certain kind of talented man thought. A talented man had ideas of his own; there was nothing strange in that.
So for assignments of this sort he gave preferential treatment, on terms more generous than any other side could offer.
Set them side by side and it was obvious: Giovanni's terms were the best, and gave the most freedom.
Vance answered respectfully that he would, and at a sign from him went out of the room.
"Handing him a task that size out of nowhere. Do you think as well of him as all that?" After Vance had gone, space rippled in the room, and a person in the shape of a beautiful young woman stepped out of it.
By what she said, she had been present. And present she had been, watching the whole of it, the talk between Giovanni and Vance.
Vance had not noticed a thing, which said something frightening about what she could do.
"It is only one city's affairs. If he succeeds, I gain a general. If he fails, it costs me some men and some resources, nothing more."
Giovanni glanced at the girl, picked up the book at his hand and said it lightly.
The men and resources it took to build up a city were, in his eyes, no great matter.
"Why do you rate him so highly? Because he is like you — a holder of the Viridian Power?"
The girl's lashes moved slightly as she asked it.
"Sabrina. Do you think I would?"
Giovanni did not answer, but asked it back.
The beautiful, straight-backed girl in front of him was that Psychic of terrifying legend, the Gym Leader of the psychic Gym at Saffron: Sabrina.
Sabrina was silent a moment, then said, "No."
Then she went on.
"This one has ideas of his own. And ambition."
"Hah. Ideas and ambition — is that not normal?" Giovanni shook his head, smiling. As Boss of an organisation the size of Team Rocket, what sort of man had he not seen? It was precisely that sort who could be shaped.
"You were there. What do you make of him?"
"His aptitude is passable. What is strange is that at his age he ought not to have this much strength. He may have had some remarkable stroke of luck."
"Mm. Leave it there, then. When you have time you might go and give him some guidance. He is still weak overall as he stands, and that the Godbeast Gang crowd will not let him sit quietly in Dark City."
...............
Vance came out of the room and into the hall outside.
Ambrose and the other man saw him and hurried over.
"Well? Well? What did the Boss say? What's the arrangement from here?" Ambrose asked it in a rush.
"There's good news and bad news. Two pieces of news. Which do you want first?"
It was a rare thing for Vance to be in the mood to tease Ambrose.
"Drawing it out?? All right, all right. The bad news first, then." Ambrose said it straight out. Everybody else took the good news first and the bad news after; he would do the opposite.
"We..."
Ambrose spoke up and cut him off. "Hold on. The good news first after all."
Another surprise, that.
"Never mind, I'll just get on with it. The bad news is that we're going to be busy from here on. We're going to Dark City to rebuild a branch that has been badly cut up, and this time we're not only up against the League — there's an organisation called the the Godbeast Gang with a hand in it as well. The good news is that I've been promoted. I'm in charge of this operation. It all comes under me."
"Ha, ha, ha. The the Godbeast Gang. That's killing me. What year is it, and somebody's still using an organisation name like that? Ha — I'm dying here. Bloody hell."
When he had heard it out, Ambrose held his belly and laughed with real delight.
All because of that name, the the Godbeast Gang — adolescent and countrified at the same time.
Vance said nothing and only kept looking at him. Emery noticed Vance doing it and stayed quiet as well; he was already thinking about what it meant, and getting a good deal out of the name.
"Ha — eh? Why aren't you two laughing? What a hick name."
"Vance. Does it really have something to do with Legendary Pokémon?"
Emery said it with a slight frown.
"Mm. They're not a simple lot, that crowd."
"Legendary Pokémon actually fighting?"
"Mm. Though there was something wrong with the state the one I saw was in. I ran into them on the way back from Hoenn." Vance then gave the two of them a brief account of what had happened.
"Ah... well, that's..."
Ambrose could not laugh any more. He sounded like a duck with a hand round its neck. Was it true? Legendary Pokémon really fighting?
If a Legendary Pokémon came at him, how many blows would the few pounds of flesh on his bones take??
"Mm. But the Boss has plans of his own. He'll be sending men and resources to support us."
"That's all right, then."
"Emery, if you've any thoughts, let's hear them."
Vance said it, seeing Emery deep in thought.
"How many days before we go?"
"We wait for word from the Boss. From now on I deal with him directly."
"Deal with the Boss! You can deal with the Boss directly! That's magnificent." Ambrose's eyes lit up at it.
That was a different order of treatment altogether. From now on only Giovanni could interfere in Vance's affairs; nobody else could.
"That's how it is. It isn't much use, though."
"Heh heh. It's enough. It's enough."