The changes outside made no difference to Vance.
As before, he kept to the same round every day, busy about the base, steadily building up the strength of his Pokémon.
He had just finished with a piece of business and set the papers aside when Emery came in.
"Late last night, several groups made attacks one after another on Delaney, Wycliffe and some others. The reason is unclear."
Emery brought the news with him as he sat down.
"The Godbeast Gang again, I take it?"
"It should be. None of our people moved, and nobody else could get into the field. Besides, everybody attacked this time was somebody who took part in the clearing-out back then. You can see it at a glance."
Emery laid it out.
"It doesn't feel like plain revenge."
"I think so too."
Emery agreed with him.
"Dig a little further. I want to see what the Godbeast Gang are playing at. Even if they mean to come back in force, we had better be prepared."
Vance folded his hands in front of him and thought.
The last Branch Chief of Dark City had failed to take the Godbeast Gang seriously, and the branch had suffered badly for it. He was not going the same way.
"Oh — and tell Talbot and the others to hold off for the moment. The League will be coming down hard next."
Attacking officials in the middle of the night was a slap in the League's face, beyond any doubt, and the League was certain to act. Better not to walk into the wound and take casualties for nothing.
"Right, I'll see to it. Oh — word has come from headquarters. Several reserve cadres are being sent to us."
Emery nodded to show he had it noted, and then raised another matter.
"Reserve cadres? When they arrive, treat them the same as everybody else."
Vance knew at once what kind of people were coming. Reserve cadres were an important link in Team Rocket's system for bringing on talent.
Unlike a wild recruit such as Vance, they were Team Rocket born and bred, and were treated rather better — though only rather.
The ones with ambition, who reckoned themselves behind nobody, would take the trial that wild Team Rocket members went through as well.
Nolan, for one, had been one of them.
"Right."
With nothing else to report they talked a little longer, and then Emery took his leave.
At the same time, outside another base, a party of two people and one Pokémon was arriving.
"Meowth, this should be the place, no mistake. Jessie, can't you get through to the branch? Meowth."
Meowth had the map and was feeling his way about, with Jessie and James walking beside him.
"I should have got through."
Jessie finished with the communicator and put it away.
"I told the branch this morning that we were coming, and here we are. As keen as that — it must count for a good deal in the Branch Chief's eyes, mustn't it?"
"Meowth, it ought to."
"Ha ha ha. Then the day of promotion and a rise in pay can't be far off, can it?"
Jessie said it excitedly, and at that moment the communicator on her went beep, beep, beep.
"This is Ambrose of the Dark City branch. Where are you? Respond if you receive."
"Here, here. We're outside the base."
Jessie said it hurriedly.
"Outside the base, is it? Then wait there a moment."
With that, Ambrose rang off at the other end.
"Ambrose. Could it be him?"
James said it to himself just then, and his face changed as he did.
"What are you muttering about, James?"
"Oh, nothing."
It was only a name, and that voice had been put through an electronic filter; you could make nothing of the real one.
A little later Ambrose came out of the base with his Beedrill.
And came face to face with the two people and the one Pokémon.
"Here he comes, meowth."
Meowth looked at the man coming towards them — Team Rocket uniform from head to foot, plainly one of their own — and they all walked up to meet him.
"Eh? James, what are you doing here?"
As he came close Ambrose saw the newcomer's face clearly, and said it in puzzlement.
"What? You know me?"
James said it in surprise. The man's face was quite strange to him; he did not know him at all.
"What?? You don't even know me? I'm your cousin. Me. Ambrose."
"That's not right. My cousin Calder doesn't look like you."
James shook his head, still not believing it.
"Oh — I forgot. This face isn't my real one. Let's go into the base and talk there."
Only then did Ambrose realise that he was not wearing his own face.
They went into the base, and Ambrose let his true face show.
"So it really is you, cousin. What are you doing here?"
James said it excitedly and went forward to give him a bear hug. He was delighted to find Ambrose here.
"It's a long story. In short, I'm a Division Commander of the Dark City branch and Deputy Branch Chief with it. You've come to the right place. I'll cover for you, and no mistake."
Ambrose said it grandly and clapped James on the shoulder.
"That's marvellous. You're still as impressive as ever, cousin!"
James stuck his thumb up. His cousin was impressive, that was all there was to it. He had been so as a boy, and now that he was grown he was impressive still.
Dark City was the right place to have come after all. With his cousin covering for him, who was there to fear? He was going straight up.
Jessie and Meowth stood by looking thoroughly bemused. How had the two of them turned out to be relations all of a sudden? Cousin this and cousin that, and all so very warm.
By the look of the two of them, that "cousin" was not merely a form of address; they really were cousins.
Then came a lift of pleasure: if they were cousins, it would be that much easier for the three of them to distinguish themselves.
"So you ran off as well. How long ago?"
"Only this year."
"Oh — here I am talking to nobody but you. Is this your partner?"
Only now did Ambrose see Jessie. Meowth, beside her, he passed over without thinking; only a Pokémon, after all.
"There's me as well, meowth."
"Bloody hell — the Pokémon can talk!!"
Ambrose's eyes went wide. What was he looking at? A Meowth that spoke human speech!
If it had been telepathy or something of that kind he would not have been half so astonished, but this had come out of its own mouth.
"Don't be so surprised. I'm Meowth. It's nothing out of the ordinary."
Meowth held his head high, his face perfectly composed.
He was quite used to this. He had seen a great many astonished faces.
Astonished, are you? The more astonished they were, the more it proved what a remarkable Meowth he was. That was how he saw the matter.