Night shrouded the vast ocean. Sailing through the darkness, the S.S. Anne was forced to reduce its speed and crawl forward. Even though Captain Iron Heart traversed this route every year, he dared not let his guard down. In this business, it was always better to be safe than sorry.
Roughly two nautical miles south of the S.S. Anne, a speedboat cut through the waves at high velocity. It was flanked by over a dozen jet skis, each manned by personnel clad in black tight-fitting uniforms. Emblazoned across their chests was a massive crimson letter.
The organization's markthe Team Rocket R-Logo!
On the speedboat, a grunt at the helm squinted at the flickering lights in the distance. He shouted a report, "Boss Tyson, we have visual on the S.S. Anne!"
"Excellent!" Standing behind the grunt was a rugged man in a blue-grey high-collared uniform. He had short black hair and a frame so heavily muscled that his uniform seemed on the verge of bursting. This man was even more imposing than Mondo.
He was Tyson, one of Team Rocket's Senior Executives and an A-rank wanted criminal of the Kanto League, carrying a bounty of 20 million.
"Inform all members to increase speed. I must reach the S.S. Anne immediately; Mondo is waiting for us." Having issued his command, Tyson reached into his coat and pulled out two Poké Balls. He tossed them into the air. With two sharp pops, two giant avian Pokémon with wingspans exceeding three meters appeared in the sky.
They beat their massive wings, causing the air to churn and create a localized hurricane effect. Their feathers were brown, their necks long and slender. However, their most striking features were their sharp, twenty-centimeter-long beaks and cold, white eyes filled with the predatory killing intent of a raptor scanning for prey.
These were Fearow, the final evolution of Spearow, one of the two most common bird Pokémon in the Kanto region. Naturally irritable and aggressive, they excelled at using their elongated beaks for Flying-type moves like Drill Run and Pluck.
Tyson's specific pair of Fearow was highlighted in his Kanto League wanted poster. They were his absolute aces, always deployed for his most critical missions. Far larger and more aggressive than their kin, they were masters of aerial pincer attacks; once the two appeared together, the resulting synergy was far greater than the sum of its parts.
Tyson stood on the speedboat with his arms crossed, commanding the two birds above. "Sakon! Ukon! You two head to the S.S. Anne first and make contact with Mondo. If he's in any trouble, deal with it for him."
Gah! Gak!
The two Fearow nodded and let out sharp cries. With a powerful sweep of their wings, they ascended and streaked toward the S.S. Anne at high speed.
The mission to raid the S.S. Anne had been handed down to Tyson by Athena, one of Team Rocket's Four Executives.
In recent years, Team Rocket's rapid expansion had drawn a combined crackdown from the Kanto League and the Johto League. Numerous large enterprises secretly controlled by Team Rocket had been shuttered overnight, and their assets across major cities in both regions had been seized or confiscated. This blow had dealt a staggering hit to the organization's finances.
However, a major experimental project at Team Rocket Headquarters, which Boss Giovanni had poured years of effort into, had reached its most critical stage. The closer it got to completion, the more ocean-like the funding required to ensure its success. Even the daily maintenance costs of the facility were enough to make an ordinary person's head spin.
It was the definition of burning money. Since Tyson had witnessed the project himself, he understood that sometimes money could be as worthless as scrap paper. This five-year experiment had already consumed nearly 100 billion of Team Rocket's capital, and how much more it would burn remained an unknown.
Athena, the only female among the Four Executives, was the person Giovanni trusted most. She was also the organization's primary financial overseer. Naturally, the burden of easing the Boss's worries fell upon her. Since it was impossible to raise such massive sums through slow, legitimate corporate growth, they were forced to use the crudest methods: terror attacks and kidnapping the elite.
There were over 900 wealthy tourists on the S.S. Anne, including over a hundred VIP billionaires. Once they were all taken hostage, the ransom demands would reach astronomical figures.
"What is your name?"
"Lisa."
"What was your purpose in coming here to find me?"
"To eliminate you and collect the five-million-dollar bounty."
"How did you plan to kill me?"
"By seducing you, then using a poison needle once you were... occupied."
Lisa leaned back on the sofa, her eyes dull and hollow as she murmured the answers. Behind her, a pale, Shiny Gengar pressed a spectral hand against the crown of her head, its wicked purple eyes glowing with a faint red light. It was clear that the Gengar was responsible for her current state.
Xiso wanted to see where the poison needle was hidden. Lisa mechanically opened her red lips. Beneath her tongue, a transparent, fine needle was barely visible.
"It's a hemotoxin, the kind that causes instant death upon entering the bloodstream," Kurama explained as he stood up. "I assume this black widow wanted to wait until you were at your most relaxed after some 'harmony' to finish you off."
"She hid a needle like that under her tongue? Wasn't she afraid of pricking herself?" Xiso asked curiously. "Like you said, it's instant death. She certainly has guts."
Kurama rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Shows how little you know. It just means she was incredibly confident in her seduction skills. Hey, kid, you want to give it a try? Opportunities like this don't come twice."
Xiso ignored him. This guy was a real piece of work with a mouth that never quit.
"Anyway, why were you looking for me?"
Kurama snapped his fingers, and the white Gengar released its grip on Lisa's head. A second later, her vacant eyes rolled back, and she slumped into a deep sleep.
Gengar had used Hypnosis to take control of Lisa's minda high-level application of the move. It was a technique often used in police interrogations, though it carried a high risk of causing irreparable neurological damage to the prisoner.
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