Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Deeper Minds ❯ Introduction, 1, 2, 3 ( Chapter 3 )

DEEPER MINDS

By Kadel Amys

Introduction

In the Words of Shakespeare, or Something…

I like writing introductions. I think they are the best part of a book. Of course most people put something of themselves into their writing but the introduction for me is usually the only window in a book into my soul which it is easy to get too. In this introduction you can read me like a book (no pun intended.) Here I am. In all my glory. To be serious for a moment though I wrote this introduction partly to explain a few things. Firstly I have to face the fact that I will probably never be a best seller or not for a long time anyway. I don't think some people like my work. Firstly I'm not a master of suspense or just about anything else but my books are about these things. I have only ever had one book published and I wrote that with the help of my English class in the somethingth grade. Secondly I don't often finish my work. Most of my work is not a good enough idea in my opinion for me to finish it. That's what I need to inspire me: an idea. "There is no art to seeing the heart's purpose in the mind" or something…I don't know. The point is this: even if you dislike most of my work please read this. This is my best. As a side point I'd like to ask if you have any good ideas you'd like me to include in an upcoming story? Now I have some serious things to say which are not me but are forced onto me by the law.

Firstly this book was not written for profit and I do not own Pokemon. I do however own all characters, places and situations in this book which are not included in the TV series of Pokemon up to the point of the most recently shown episode. If you wish to take my ideas please ask me before you do so. You can contact me at Adam.Kyles@btinternet.com

Secondly this story contains some violence and bad language. Also it has some nasty subject matter in the manner of The Silence of the Lambs or Seven for example. It is basically about murder. You have been warned. I would rate this story R.

There's just one more thing I'd like to say. I have given the chapters rather strange and cryptic names which I don't fully explain. This is because I want you to think about them and this story. You can treat it like a game if you want. Just try to figure out my reasoning as to the chapter names. Thank you.

Adam Kyles, 4th April 2002

1

The Thought/Action Divide

Outside the rain was thick. You could literaly see it as one torrent. High above the clouds were grey and imposing. Despite the evergreens, it was unlikely that the people who would soon arrive would get any shelter. These were John Harland's thoughts as he glanced briefly through the large, occasionally blinded although not on this occasion, window of his office. He turned back to the report he was writing on his Apple computer and saw from a small display in the corner that it was 10:34. He looked back to his report. It was vital and needed quickly. He was being distracted by the human error that was lateness when he desperately needed to be writing about his progress on the recent "Election of Death" murders. The basic thing was that he was awaiting his best hope for so many things in one man. Naturally if that man was late he was a little agitated. He turned back to the screen. The "Election of Death" murders had started ten days ago. The elections for President of Kanto, Johoto, The Orange Islands and the Traniso Islands were to be held in two months from ten days ago. The debates had been heating up…and one of the candidates had been shot, as had his body guards. All that had been discovered was his body and typed note reading "From Team Rocket. We are the only real leaders." The police were baffled. Although the only bullet, which had gone into the victim's head (there for eliminating the need for a second bullet) had been discovered, the gun had not been found. Since the note had been typed the hand writing could not be traced. There were no finger prints. The fact that Team Rocket was behind it was obvious but since no evidence of it except the note had ever been found, it was impossible either to find the place from which TR operated, or to make any legal argument against them if they could be found. Since he had been officially hired by the current government to stop any of TR's activities in Kanto, Johoto, the Orange Islands, and the Traniso Islands, Harland had soon been called in. He had travelled from the military base which was his head quarters in Traniso to the crime scene. Despite the base, the latest equipment and the large number of Army officers under his command he still had not found anything that the police hadn't already uncovered. That had been the start of the "Election of Death" case. Since then he had failed to save two candidates. There were now seven candidates left, and only four of them were popular. A pattern, that on the first day after the murder happened there would be nothing, on the second day there would be TR's note and on the third day the murder would take place, had emerged but it hadn't helped much. Thousands of other crimes which TR had committed had already happened. Even just in the three years since he was appointed to stop them, TR had killed forty people and had stolen from many more. Nothing could be done about them. It was now the first day since the last murder. Harland had to do something bloody soon or another body would be discovered. He still had one last hope however. The man who had beaten TR in Mount. Moon, Lavender Town, Saffron City, Slowpoke Well, Goldenrod City and Mahogany Town: Ash Ketchum. He was the last hope. After him, Harland had decided, he would quit and take to getting drunk every night. Of course Ash's most recent triumph, Goldenrod City, had happened eight years ago but if he could save a town at thirteen…

There was a knock on his office door.

"Come in." First came his EO, Captain Steven Reel, next a physically strong, blue eyed woman of about 20, with red hair. She was about 5'8''. Next came a slightly taller 20 something with brown eyes and untidy black hair. The eyes of the two people held a look which made their ages inexplicable. The girl, woman, whatever wore short green pants and a yellow T-shirt with a black bomber jacket. The guy, yes guy, that was better. He didn't need to put an age to the effect of the eyes with the rest of the face. The guy dressed like a Hell's Angle in black leather. The only thing which spoiled this "mean" looking effect was a brightly coloured base ball cap.

"Sir these are Ash and Misty Ketchum" Captain Reel explained.

"Thank you Captain. You may return to you're duties."

Harland watched for a few minutes as Ash and Misty "took in" his office, probably noting the untidy desk, the computer, the window, and filling cabinet. The blue carpet and the white walls and ceiling and finally him. A balding man in a uniform, with fiery eyes who wasn't as fit as he'd like.

"Hi" said Misty after about thirty seconds of silence.

"Welcome Mr. And Mrs. Ketchum. I'm General John Harland" Harland said.

"I found it hard to believe we're welcome when you're men come and arrest us" Ash said. His tone was hostile but his eyes were calm. Harland detected an unusual intelligence and wisdom in them.

"For that I apologise. I didn't think a written invitation would have been kindly responded to. I hope they didn't treat you too harshly" Harland explained. Ash looked at him.

"Actually it was them who should have worried about being treated harshly."

"If they beat themselves up about it they need pay for over time if you see what I mean" Misty added with a smile.

Harland felt a tight annoyance in himself but he tried to keep it out of his voice when he spoke next.

"Very well. I must admit you've surprised me. I expected…well I expected Pikachu to be with you for a star" Harland said. Just for a moment Misty and Ash looked sad, especially Ash.

"I don't…really use Pikachu anymore" he said in less confident tones than he'd shown so far. In his mind Harland began to form a theory. Misty and Ash had been through a lot and they probably had learnt to act though because they needed to in order to survive. The death? Of Pikachu had taken them off guard however and for a while they had and might show their true selves. This was Harland's perfect opportunity but he didn't want to push it too far. Firstly because everyone in Kanto, Johoto, the Orange Islands and the Traniso Islands knew of Ash's deep attachment to his Pokemon and secondly because if he pushed it too far he might produce the opposite effect to the one he was hoping for. He didn't want Ash and Misty on the offensive.

"Very well. I suppose you'd like to know what your doing here" he said. Misty nodded. Harland got out of his chair and without thinking showed his slightly eccentric habit of walking around the room as he talked. This habit had been noticed among his men despite his chagrin towards it.

"For the last three years I've been appoint as an official protector of these islands against a force we know as Team Rocket. I believe you two have also heard of them. It began after a number of murders related to politics in Traniso Islands in September 2019. Two words were scrolled in blood in the rooms the victims were found in. The words were Team and Rocket. Apart from that no clues were found. Up until then there was almost no crime in Traniso so this event shocked the majority of its people. That's why they called me in. They knew my background in the Violent Crimes section of the FBI and as a high ranking military officer and I was perfectly willing to do the job so they sent me to this abandoned military base left over from the war in Cuba in 1998 and gave me ex-Army officers and equipment. Since then I've been trying to find Team Rocket's current head quarters. Since then I've failed miserably." At this point Ash laughed and the apologised after a few seconds.

"Shall I go on? Recently the candidates for the elections for President have gone missing. The official story is that we don't know what happened to them. The truth is they were shot by Team Rocket operatives. There are two days till the next murder and I have to stop it. All we know is that they were shot once in the head. Brains blown out. All we can speculate is because the majority of Team Rocket's victims were political figures they're main aim is publicity. They are unfortunately very good at publicising themselves whilst at the same time withholding any information that might damage them. They have very highly trained operatives. They even managed to kill some of my men…" here he paused. Painful memories began to swirl within his mind. "Including my brother. As you can imagine because of that I am…seeking them more vigilantly than ever. I will not allow them to kill another innocent. Do you understand me?"

"Yes. Perfectly" Ash said responding to what Harland truly meant as well as what his words might suggest on the surface.

"So where do we come in?" Misty asked.

"I've heard of you're adventures. You've save an entire town from Team Rocket. After that this should be a walk in the park for you" Harland said the last phrase with a smile, the begging of the conversation forgotten.

"I'm not used to being arrested by soldiers and then being asked to help people take up a fight I've already finished with."

Oh crap, Harland thought. His best chance was disappearing. Fortunately he had lived through 53 years of life on Earth and he knew how to persuade people. He knew several methods of getting people to do what he wanted. Most people were ranked under him at the base and had been at the FBI so he could just tell them what to do. For others he needed something a bit stronger…and yet for a moment he felt reluctant. Despite those eyes the two people in front of him were still kids and he didn't want to do this to them. They were so nice and obviously very clever. He consoled himself with the thought that they had forced him into doing it and so he said it knowing he was truly full of bullshit.

"Please do this for me. My brother and my colleges were killed and I might lose my job and my chance for redemption if I lose yet another politician. I'll admit I'm a proud man and if I can't stop this murder within two days I don't think I'll be able to live with my self." Ash's eyes took on a calculating look for a moment and Harland could see that he was transparent to Ash. Ash said "I'll do it" and Misty agreed with him but he knew that his scheme hadn't worked. It was his true emotions and motives which had.

"Very well. Then I'll give you a more full briefing of the evidence of Team Rocket's offences."

"Great. There is just one more thing Mr. Harland" Ash said.

"And what is that Mr. Ketchum?" Harland asked.

"We do it my way." Harland nodded. After all he'd gotten what he wanted although by an unexpected manner. He was only briefly worried…what would doing it "my way" entail?

2

IN THE MIND OF THE MASS (MURDER)

"I have some work to do. You can read my reports on Team Rocket in you're quarters. I presume you'll be staying here tonight" Harland said.

"What choice do we have?" Ash asked. He didn't sound angry and it wasn't really a question. It was a statement of a fact.

"No. You do not have a choice if you are going to help me. You may run the investigation in any way you want but you will stay here at night. You will also speak to no one of this unless they have official proof that they can investigate this case. Do you understand?" Harland asked. Ash nodded.

"Indeed: what choice do we have" Misty said, again seeming to support what Ash said instead of bringing her own ideas to the conversation and yet Harland had heard enough about her to guess at her strong personal will. It was probably part of the act that they were forced to put on. Harland got a pile of folders from the filing cabinet and gave them unconsciously to Misty. He then led them down white painted corridors. They passed a few soldiers. There were no windows in the corridors. Soon they reached a door with a sign reading :GUEST QUARTERS.

"I'll talk to you when you're ready. Come back to my office" Harland said and he left. They went into the room. It had a window with a view of the evergreens. It was painted the same white with a blue carpet. There was a desk, which was empty except for twenty sheets of paper carefully placed one on top of another, with the letter MP written at the top. There was no computer. The only other furniture was a bunk bed and two black, leather chairs and a swivel chair behind the desk.

"What do you think" Ash asked of they're recent conversation, sitting down.

"He knows that he can't handle it on his own so he wants us to handle his revenge for him. He's desperate" she answered.

"Do you think we should help him?" Ash asked.

"You've already agreed to it. Even if you hadn't I'd say you should though. We can handle it."

"We'd better look at the reports just in case" Ash said smiling.

Instead of his chair Harland sat on a sea of joy and writer's block. It was mainly joy, and hope. He could at least hope to say on one of his reports that he knew what TR was doing and how to stop it. After he discovered the location of TR's head quarters he would have to kill them. Every one of them he met. He knew this was a very bad attitude but the confessions couldn't bring down all TR's operatives under legal terms. In fact they could probably afford to hire lawyers who could save every one of them. A confession with Team Rocket on it was not a confession with a person's name on it. Despite his plans he still had to write this report. He toyed briefly with the idea of waiting for Ash and Misty to do their jobs, then briefly explain how the HQ had been found and writing CASE CLOSED.

Ash and Misty both skim-read the reports first. They were filled half with theft of money via electrons through transfers from banks, probably to finance the other half: murders. Most of them involved killing important political figures and business men. Occasionally their families would also be slain. That was a very true description. The deaths were brutal, involving agony, disfiguration and gore. Always there would be some kind of message with a statement to the effects that Team Rocket gave people what they deserved. The crimes were not always against the law but it seemed that in the eyes of Team Rocket they were doing justice. That was the way it seemed…

Always, absolutely always, there were no glues except the "confessions" that would reveal the identity of TR's operatives or any of its future policies. Certainly not where it operated the crimes from. In most cases like that it was best to find out what the criminal was thinking but there were know to be at least 2000 Rocket's, even though non of their names were known, and besides there seemed to be no way in which the killers thought. They were simply intent on committing the offence and then leaving the messages, which always made their point simply and in few words. The operatives were committing seemingly perfect crimes. The motives were easy to guess at and the people behind them were more than well known-they were notorious. This should indicate a swift legal action but in the case of TR what should have led to justice instead led to no where. The problem was that Team Rocket was a group and the group was almost stupidly obvious but it was the individuals who were needed to solve the crimes and they were the ones who remained hidden. After reading the reports Misty and Ash shared their ideas.

"Well what do you think?" Ash asked.

"The fact that they exist as Team Rocket not people makes them seem faceless. This makes them better at imtemidating. The "crimes" that Team Rocket claims they victims committed seem to be against them. Its not publicity but revenge. These people tried to go up against Team Rocket. See what happens to them."

"I think as far as motives go its a mixture. Its about revenge, its about telling the world that Team Rocket are out there and they will take over if they can and I think its also about running round people. Us, General Harland, the police. They're trying to prove their better than us. They are doing terrible things and getting away with it."

"If that's the case then we should capture one of them. If he wants to show he's better then he might give us some clues and see if we can work it out from them."

"Hey I think you've got it. That might work. The only question is how do we do it?"

"I have an idea for that too but its dangerous and it might not work."

"What is it?"

"You or I stand for the elections. It dose matter if we've got a real party or not. I'm sure General Harland can arrange something which looks like an up and coming political party. Then they'll go after us. If there are seven victims left and still forty seven days to go before the election and the murders are committed every three days there are twenty six days left over. That's plenty to get rid of another candidate. In fact they're more likely to murder you or me than any other politicians since finding a new politician on the scene will probably brake their three day pattern. They'll get pissed off and they might even make a mistake. The other one of us will wait for them and then capture the operative. Of course all the candidate's body guards were killed but we know what to expect. We can put ourselves into their minds."

"What if the guy we capture doesn't know anything? You don't think…"

"I do think that it is the same person or group of people. There can't be that many people willing to commit these brutal killings and there can't be many that skilled. Also they've just happened in this small group of islands so its entirely possible to travel between places in a day, drop off these notes and then wait."

"That's another thing: why the notes, Surely they'd just make the person in question nervous and so willing to leave the islands."

"They would make the person nervous but if they left their political careers would be ruined by bad publicity and a missed opportunity. Its the best of both worlds. They'd be nervous and they couldn't escape. Proves Team Rocket's genius again."

"I'll do it. I'll be the next victim."

"You know how dangerous that is don't you?"

"Its as least as dangerous for me as it would be for you Misty. No, I'll do it."

"Ok. I guess we'd better tell Harland our plan then."

3

The Best Laid Plans of Men and Militants