"Roar—"
The Gyarados's presence was more elusive than before, and there was real pressure in its bearing.
Vance looked at the Gyarados's imposing frame, opened the system scan, and its details came up on the system panel.
> **Name:** Gyarados (male)
> **Type:** Water, Flying
> **Ability:** Moxie
> **Aptitude:** Near-Champion
> **Level:** 56
> **Moves:** Bite, Tackle, Leer, Twister, Flail, Whirlpool, Ice Fang, Brine, Dragon Dance, Scary Face, Waterfall, Hyper Beam, Outrage, Water Pulse, Dragon Tail, Blizzard, Ice Beam, Rain Dance, Hydro Pump, Protect, Earthquake, Dragon Pulse...............
"Good, very good."
Blaine nodded. Even to his eye the Gyarados was an excellent thing.
Dr. Fuji nodded along with him. It was good.
"Thank you."
Vance gave his thanks. This too had been Blaine's giving, and it was what had let the Gyarados make the crossing.
"Hah, there's no need for that. Didn't you bring me a piece of news in return?"
Blaine laughed his large, open laugh.
Vance thanked him all the same, and marked the favour down.
A little later they measured the Gyarados over again, and looking at its figures Blaine and Fuji nodded and nodded, praising Vance outright for how well he had raised it.
Setting them against their other material, they confirmed a few of their conjectures.
"By the way, Blaine, sir — might I have a copy of these figures to look over later?"
Vance made the request, specifying the material on the Suicune's power. Going over it afterwards might be of some help in the Gyarados's raising from here on.
"Of course you may."
Blaine took out a USB drive, copied the data onto it, and made him a present of it.
Vance took it and thanked him again, and thinking the two of them likely had work to do, he talked a while longer and then took his leave.
"I hadn't expected that doing the boy a small kindness would bring me a fine piece of news."
Blaine rubbed at his eyes and said it with a quiet laugh.
"When do we set off?"
"Soon. Let me see whether Ariana and the others are about. Better to have those few come along."
"Mm."
...............
Coming away from this place with that power was more than Vance had looked for.
He had been wondering what the good thing might be; he had not expected Blaine to look after him so well, and to keep the opportunity for him.
"Hm? What are you doing out here?"
On his way out he ran into Rufus again.
Rufus answered, "Master Blaine gave orders. I'm to be your guide these next few days, so you can see something of Cinnabar Island."
"There's no need for that. I'm going back to Dark City now. I've kept you waiting for nothing."
"Not at all. You're an honoured guest of Master Blaine's."
Rufus said it with his head bowed, telling himself inwardly that he would become that sort of man too.
After a few words more Vance sent out the Aerodactyl, sprang onto its back, shot up into the sky and flew for Dark City.
He wanted to get back quickly and take a close look at the changes in the Gyarados. Next time he came he could take in the sights of Cinnabar Island and soak in the hot springs there.
"Roar, roar—"
The Aerodactyl let its ferocious presence out, and nothing attacked them on the way; what Pokémon they met sensed that presence and kept well clear.
Vance got back to the Dark City base to find the hall of it piled with heaps of goods, and several people in Team Rocket uniform carrying them about.
"Chief."
Members of the base greeted him here and there along the way, and Vance gave each a grunt and walked on past.
"Is your Branch Chief not here?"
As he came closer he heard a cool, clear woman's voice. It was a woman in a trench coat, her hair cut short, with a pair of glasses on her face.
Ambrose was standing in front of her, saying something.
"Our Branch Chief is away. He signed the authority over to me before he left, so I can handle this. Here is our Branch Chief's signature."
Ambrose said it, and his tone was low and deferential.
He had met this one before too — the Boss's personal assistant. To put it in a figure, she was an "imperial envoy", and "provincial staff" like them could hardly afford to offend her.
In the middle of the conversation the two of them seemed to catch a "Chief," and looked towards the passage, where they saw Vance coming towards them.
"What's all this?"
Vance asked as he came up.
"Chief, you're here. This is Miss Matori, from headquarters." Ambrose got his explanation in first, so as not to give her any offence.
"Mm." Vance looked over at Matori. She looked much as she had in the anime: short hair, glasses.
Vance's eye travelled down the line of her trench coat, and below it he saw her feet wrapped in black stockings.
*They say Matori's feet smell. True or not? It doesn't seem likely.*
Vance moved his gaze away quickly, so as not to be misunderstood.
*No, he had no foot fetish, black stockings or no black stockings.*
*He had only looked out of curiosity, wondering whether the thing about Matori's feet was true.*
"So you're Vance??"
Matori saw a young man of thoroughly ordinary looks, seemingly an ordinary person; but as Giovanni's assistant she had read Vance's file, and knew this was not his true face.
She had come here this time to see how things stood, and to take a look at this Vance while she was about it — to see how he had come by the Boss's regard, such that all those supplies had been approved without so much as a furrow of the brow.
From what was in front of her, she could not see anything in him yet.
Come to think of it, a moment ago he had looked at her legs with a searching eye, and lingered there.
Sharp as she was, she had registered it: a second longer on her legs than there should have been.
In an instant the look she turned on Vance grew rather strange.
"Mm. I'm Vance."
Vance felt it too, and a wave of awkwardness came over him. *Had he just been misunderstood?*
But he could hardly explain it.
*If he explained it to her like this: I hear your feet smell, Miss Matori, and I was only looking to see whether it was true.*
Explain it like that, Vance felt, and this Matori would not be giving him strange looks; she would be flying at him.
"Whatever the business is, let's discuss it in my office. Calder, you come along as well, and then if there's anything to hand over later I won't need to do it myself."
Vance said it by way of invitation, calling Ambrose along with them.
"No need. I have other business to attend to. The goods are delivered, so I'll be going. Sign."
Matori said it coolly, and tossed the document in her hand across to him.
Vance picked it up and looked: the Pokémon and the many supplies he had requested had all arrived. That was quick delivery.
He signed his name readily enough and handed it back.
"Mm."
Matori checked it over, found nothing wrong, nodded without expression and put it away. She looked Vance over, and was in no mood for conversation.
A few perfunctory words, and she left with her people.
"That woman is a strange one. How did she turn like that all of a sudden?"
Ambrose scratched his head, not quite understanding. From the way she had been behaving a moment ago, she had had something she wanted to say to Vance.