Since the man had cut and run, let it go.
He fell to talking with Sylas about other things, and they traded news, and he learned a good deal.
News from inside the League and from inside Team Rocket both.
"Professor Oak! You've got nerve, boy — actually daring to go to Pallet Town, and to Professor Oak's laboratory at that."
Talking over what he had seen these last days, Vance had mentioned his going to Professor Oak's laboratory.
"A matter of circumstance, I suppose. Rather a coincidence; I hadn't looked for it myself. Professor Oak was even willing to recommend me for further study at Celadon University. I turned it down for now."
"You really are something, boy."
Sylas hardly knew what to say. These young people — there was no getting the measure of them.
Professor Oak's name in the Kanto region stood at high noon.
And that name came not only from his research but from his sheer strength.
Team Rocket's bases and outposts were spread over the whole Kanto region; there were a few places they had not touched, and Pallet Town was one of them.
"Not so much, not so much. I was lucky, ha ha."
...............
That night Vance put up at the Celadon branch.
The next day Vance packed his things, restocked his supplies, took his leave of Sylas and went.
"Safe journey. I'd meant to keep you a few days, but it seems there's nothing for it."
"Until next time."
"Until next time."
Having taken leave of Sylas, Vance left the base and came into the Game Corner, packed to bursting with people.
Looking at these amusements, at the visitors flushed with their own enjoyment, it would surely never occur to them that underneath the place they played in every day lay Team Rocket's secret base.
The money they scattered would become Team Rocket's funds, and turn in time into power aimed at the League.
And while he was watching, Vance's eyes sharpened. Among the crowd he had caught sight of several figures that did not fit.
Keeping quite low, like ordinary people, playing the games — but their eyes were stealing glances to one side, watching for something.
One of them Vance even knew: that League man by the name of Idris.
He had met him during an attack on a League party; Blaziken had come to him on that occasion, and afterwards he had been called in and had gone about fighting crime alongside the man, which made them familiar faces to one another.
He had not expected to run into him here — and the point was that this was the Celadon Game Corner, with Team Rocket's Celadon base right underneath it.
Could this base have been exposed already?? Trouble again??
Vance's mind turned quickly, one thought after another surfacing.
It could not be such a coincidence — he came here, and the base here ran into trouble.
Wouldn't that make him a protagonist like Conan, where people die wherever he goes?
With him it would be: wherever he goes, the base there runs into trouble. Did it have to be as absurd as that, giving him the treatment of that sort of protagonist?
And while Vance was watching, Idris over there felt it too, and looked back, and seeing that it was Vance he even smiled and nodded to him, making some sign with his hand, signalling faintly.
He had recognised Vance as well. Wasn't this the young fellow who had worked alongside him?
The man next to him said something quietly in his ear, and then his eyes lit up and he came over quickly and took hold of Vance.
"Well, well, brother — you've come at just the right moment. There's a credit about to land on your head."
Idris said it warmly. He happened to be short of men here, and Vance had walked up in front of him; if that was not fate, what was?
And the man was a familiar one, with nothing wrong about his standing. Worth trusting.
"What credit?"
Vance's face was as usual, without the least change in it, and he put on a puzzled air and asked him, to draw out what they were really after.
At the same time he gathered himself and took note of what was around him, to see whether there were others.
If there were — who they were, where they were placed — so that he could put up a proper guard; otherwise, at this Idris's level of strength, it was hardly likely he could be the one to settle it.
After a look round he found no suspicious persons at all.
Either they were very good actors, or Vance's own eye for finding them was wanting.
Vance thought it was the former. He found nothing here; there were one or two who looked the part, and he read the feelings they let show as well — they were not sent by the League.
That was odd. Did the League mean to have these few pull out this Team Rocket base?
Apart from Idris, were the others masters of their craft?
By the look of them, not very likely.
"That's you all over. Careful as ever."
Idris clapped Vance on the shoulder in praise.
It had not even begun and he was already taking note of the surroundings; his first move was a sweep of the place. More professional than they were.
"Er — not really."
Vance did not quite follow, and agreed at random.
"Modest as well. Good. Since you're here, come and act with us and we'll take the man. This is what he looks like. When we move, you hold that direction and we'll take these; don't let the two of them get away. There'll be a credit down for you afterwards."
"All right, all right."
And so Vance was in on the job. He looked at the sheet Idris handed him: on it were pictures of two men, with faces that looked as though they were not to be trifled with, savage.
"Who are these? How strong?"
Vance asked, holding the sheet.
"Over here."
Idris glanced round and pulled him aside.
"We've had intelligence that these two used to belong to a criminal outfit and have lately made contact with Team Rocket. When somebody turns up, we take them. They're not good men in any case, so we can't go wrong; there's reason enough to take them."
Idris said it quietly, telling Vance what he had in hand.
"Team Rocket."
"Yes, yes, Team Rocket. We might land a big fish this time — follow the trail up and drag out the Team Rocket outpost here in Celadon City."
"It's just that we're a little short of men, and here you are at exactly the right moment, ha ha."
"Ha ha ha. That is a coincidence."
Vance answered him with a smile, already thinking of letting Sylas know so that he could make ready.
"I tell you, nine times out of ten this comes off. They've no idea we're working in the dark — even the investigators don't know; the few of us decided on the spur of the moment to come here for a few games, and ran into it by the way."
"Good, good."
"Then we move."
"OK, OK."
Vance went to the place appointed and waited, and a communicator appeared in his hand, and he sent Sylas a message.
"I'm sorry. There's nothing for it but to fail your trust."
Vance murmured it. This Idris had looked after him well, but there was no help for it; he was Team Rocket.
He could only fail him; and blame the man's bad luck too — of all the people he might have pulled in, he had called on him, so there was nothing to be done.
"Ah!"
Before long there was an uproar over there, and people screaming with it, and the crowd went to pieces; the Game Corner, crowded to begin with, grew more chaotic still in the panic.
"Out of the way, out of the way."
The two men came barging through, and one of them was struck by someone who rushed out at him and pinned him to the ground; the other was running this way, toward Vance.
"Stop him!!"
Over there, Idris was shouting for Vance to stop the man.
"You dare stop me? Not afraid of dying, are you."
The man said it savagely, and two Pokémon appeared beside him and charged forward with him.
One look told Vance they were only a little over level thirty. He had taken him for some great personage, and he turned out to be small fry.
As he came on, the Sandslash's figure appeared in front of Vance, its two claws faintly glowing, ready.
This was the sort of place for a small creature like the Sandslash to take the stage.
"Go."
"Ssh—"
The Sandslash went to meet him full of confidence, disposed of the Beedrill first, then with a Rollout knocked the man off his feet, and carried straight on to meet the other Pokémon.
"Smack—"
The man went down in front of Vance. From that one blow of the Sandslash's several of his bones were broken; he struggled to rise and could not.
Idris and the others came running up behind and held him down.
"Ha ha ha. I knew you were reliable, Vance. Putting you here was the right call."
"How did it go? Did you catch Team Rocket's contact?"
"Not yet. The two of them made a move, so we went in. We'll take them back and put some questions to them and see."
"Is that so. A pity, then."