Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Sin City ❯ Chapter 4

“In this town of pain/You could be the lucky one/Fate turns on a dime/The only thing that will change/Are the lights when they get brighter/They replace the sun/Out the door you get burnt/And there is no way back in/You got nothing/Snakeyes, the house always wins…”

Loud music. Alcohol. Shouting. People dancing like they're possessed. I'm rich, single, young, smart and white. I'm in the perfect place in society. I'm the guy all the adverts are aimed at. My name is Bradley Staunton and I'm on Giovanni's legal team. So how did I end up on a mission to catch a drug fuelled ex criminal who used to be my best friend? Why am I trying to ignore this loud music/alcohol caused high at eleven o'clock on a Friday night? In other words somewhere I would never normally be. Why am I at a frat house party that's somehow grown up? Why am I waiting for a man I've never met to give me information I don't really need for a purpose that's never been explained to me? How did I get into this mess?

 

I guess it started at 9:30 am this morning, some 13 hours ago. I was invited to Giovanni's office, a regular occurrence for me, since I'm his lawyer, and a rarity for everyone else. There are only two things to learn about Giovanni. The first is his image as an autocratic leader is what keeps him in a position of authority. The second is he isn't like that. If you work on his side of this business, or Adam's, you have to present an inscrutably, tough image. You've all seen how he acts. He seems like a shadowy, lethal figure whenever he's giving orders to a large group of people. He can't afford to show weakness. If you're given the privileged glimpse of him I am…No. I've got a better way of telling you. Let me give you the example of what happened when I turned up for the meeting this morning. He was loosening his tie when I entered. He felt safe. He had breathing room. People either see us as evil, Nazi-like dictators, or stupid thugs. That isn't right. I know no one thinks of themselves as evil, just flawed like Adam's personal habits are a personality problem. He used to say “Sure we're an ordinary business, like Murder Inc was an ordinary business.” However you can work for a cigarette company, or a comical plant accused of polluting the planet, and you still won't be malevolent. Your most likely an average guy who goes home to his wife, and compliments her on her cooking skills then plays baseball with his kids. You just get on with doing your job and forget the rest. What do you call five hundred lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A good start. I hate jokes like that, and once your working for the company they just get worse. I wouldn't work for the Nazis. My grandparents were at Auschwitz.

“Sit.”

Ok, so maybe he's a little abrupt but that hardly makes him Stalin.

“Yes sir. Is there…”

The phone started to ring. Giovanni (I hate not being able to call him Mr. Something) get up out of his leather chair. I remained seated in mine. There's about 20 different extensions on the phone.

“Yes…How did that happen? It was a very simple…Fine. Get into damage control mode. Get them out of there, then phone the press…What complications? I…Fine. Find a way. I don't know. That's your job….Good. Deal with it. `Bye.”

A red light went on, one of the other lines.

“You wait for ages for one phone call, then three turn up at once. Excuse me” Giovanni said to me. He gestured vaguely to his mini-bar. I couldn't think of a way of telling him I didn't drink at 9 am without using words. Why does everyone have an addiction?

“If I hear a single letter of the words `Team Aqua' again…Well you know how to fix that. It will take men, equipment, money and time but…You have Pokemon I assume…Well that's my fault for not instructing you well enough I suppose…Fine. If you start to lose back down. We can use the element of surprise our selves next time…Fine. I don't have time for any more of this. Bye.”

He made himself a Jack Daniels.

“Sir, please, you can't start drinking at 9 in the morning. Even if your not concerned about your health, then surely you realise someone will notice eventually.”

“How exactly do you know the amount I take? Your never here.”

“That's because I'm too busy keeping you out of the courts sir. We've been fighting this wrongful death case for 21 months now.”

“I may start early, but have you ever seen me without full command of my self? I didn't call you in here to discuss this anyway.”

“Then why am I here?”

“I want you to find Meowth for me.”

I looked at my watch.

“He's probably just about to leave the mess hall. I can…”

“His employment here has been terminated.”

“I'm aware of that but knowing him as well as I do I suspect he had a farewell breakfast before he actually went out the door.”

“I've never seen a side of him that's that pleasant.”

“Yeah. I wouldn't expect him out till some time tomorrow afternoon to be honest.”

“Speaking of breakfast, can I get you anything?”

“Thanks you sir but I don't mind…”

“Just because I employ you doesn't mean I'm testing you every time I offer you a free meal.”

“Toast, with no spreading fats. And milk please.”

“That's the strangest breakfast order I've ever heard.

“You haven't noticed I'm eccentric yet?”

Giovanni used another one of the lines to order the food. I observed that he didn't order anything for himself.

“Aren't you going to have anything? You might disturb my guilt complex.”

“I already had something. I don't mind watching people eat.”

“Thanks. So is it policy that if someone leaves unwillingly you don't organise a farewell ceremony?”

“Please don't ask. Then I won't have to lie, or refuse to explain.”

“Sorry.”

“Stop apologising. I'm not going to shoot you for asking a straightforward question. It's counterproductive to kill members of your staff. Just remember it for next time. I only talk on a need to know basis.”

“Fair enough. Why do you want Meowth hunted down if you dismissed him?”

“Let's say he has something of mine that I want back. He may not realise its significance but significant it is.”

I didn't know what would happen to Meowth if my mission was successful. I'm a professional. I don't ask questions about other departments and I certainly don't refuse an assignment. However, if I felt Meowth was in danger I would think of an alternative plan that wouldn't compromise my position or his health.

“How do I find him?”

“Brad, can I call you Brad?”

“I prefer Bradley. Brad makes me sound like a 17 year old punk rock musician.”

“Bradley, it's not my place to say how you'll find him. I don't have any experience in that area. That's why I hire people who do.”

“I'm not someone who does. I…”

At that moment the food arrived, interrupting me. I could tell by the taste that it was made in large quantities. Because it would feed a large group of people it was created efficiently instead of well, but I was used to it.

“Do you have any suggestions for where to being? At least help me with that” I said.

“The reason I chose you is your intimacy with Adam Kails. They were others who knew him but recently, as you may have noticed, he's been spending less time with them and more with you.”

That's not a surprise considering that he kept such a vital truth hidden from them.

“No one knows the new him better than you, and I know, from discussions with Meowth's known associates, that he intended to seek Adam out if he ever left my service. Find Adam, using your personal relationship with him as a tool, and you'll find your real target. I want him brought here so I can recover my possessions. Do what you like with Adam. The rest, as I said, is need to know, and I need to know that you won't worry about the implications of any other information I give you.”