Lady In Red

My father is one of the men who set up this rag-tag group of scientists. Mavericks, most of them, oddball geneticists, biologists, researchers. Together they are conducting some of the most extensive research into Pokemon ever done. I guess you could say that they helped invent the term "Pokeologist". Most of this research is secretive, ordered by the government to investigate and understand the powers of these strange creatures at the genetic level, ultimately to harness them in order to benefit humanity. After all, things such as fossil fuels aren’t going to last forever and doctors cannot cure everything. My father and his colleagues are sure that there are many more Pokemon in unexplored regions of the world, far more than the hundred or so already known. They are hoping to get more money from the government to set up field expeditions to find more Pokemon throughout the world. This research is very much ongoing – new things are being found all the time, and if there are many undiscovered Pokemon in the world, it could well go beyond my own lifetime. Hence why my father managed to make a deal with the government that this group of scientists pass on our research in return for money. That was over a year ago, and so far Project Rocket, as it is known, is flourishing. New people are being recruited, but only after a thorough vetting. I didn’t need any such procedure to get in, for I’ve always shown an interest in my father’s work, and he was only too happy to offer me a place as a researcher. I was happy to accept it. As a little girl I would sit on my father’s knee fascinated as he showed me pictures of Pokemon and explained their powers to me. I was pleased for him when he managed to get a decent job that allowed him to carry on with something he loved, he deserved it. There is only my father, my sister and myself. I never knew my mother, for she left my father soon after I was born. My father always said it was just as well, for she was an alcoholic amongst other things, and he was surprised that she hung around him long enough to have two daughters. I don’t think much about my mother, my work and the future is more important to me than what might have been. My elder sister is the odd one out. She has never cared much for Pokemon. Never cared much for anything really, though now she has her baby I think that has changed. God knows who the father is, I don’t think she knows either. She lives in Pewter City now, so we don’t see her much. Anyway, Araminta is the least of my concerns. My report on variations in bug Pokemon is taking up most of my time. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Christa trying to flirt with Eric. I narrow my eyes and write a few more words. Poor Eric, can’t Christa see he’s not the slightest bit interested in her? So much make-up I’m surprised her face doesn’t fall off. I have no idea how she was allowed in. Eric mumbles some excuse and leaves the room. For some reason Christa feels victorious for she comes over to me. I look up at her and frown.

"Isabella, I think Eric likes me," she giggles, perching on the edge of my desk.

"And what makes you think that?" I ask, venomously. Christa is so wrapped up in herself she either doesn’t notice or ignores my tone.

"I just know. You can always tell with shy men like him. Anyway, I have plenty to get on with and so do you by the looks of it."

"Yes, I do," I answer, and start writing again as she makes her way back to her side of the room. Stupid woman has Eric figured out all wrong. He isn’t shy, just quiet. He gets on with his work, which is more than some people do round here. Eric’s a very intelligent man, but without being like some stuffy intellectual. He’s far too good for the likes of Christa. I shake my head and try to concentrate on my report instead. Christa leaves for some reason, and a few minutes later Eric returns.

"Is it safe?" he asks, jokingly.

"For the moment," I reply. "Next week it’ll be Drew or someone."

"I hope so, she’s driving me up the wall." He flicked absent-mindedly at a forelock of his black hair and put his reading glasses on, looking through his work.

"She’s always driven me up the wall," I growl. Eric smiled at this, though he didn’t say anything. He seemed preoccupied, actually. I returned to my report, but couldn’t concentrate. I had to put an end to Christa’s efforts before she drove me insane. I got up and went over to Eric. He looked up at me with a smile, his blue eyes sparkling behind his glasses. Beautiful eyes.

"Eric, how would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?" I asked. I expected him to leap a mile, seeing Christa had been bothering him all day, but instead he broke into a grin.

"Well, you’ve beaten me to it," he said. "Yes, I’d like that very much."

"Good. I’ll meet you at seven by the fountain in the town square?" Inside I jumped for joy, but outwardly I remained composed.

"Okay," he replied. I smiled my best smile at him, and went to sit back down. I ignored Christa when she came back in. Maybe I could get my father to move her, I thought. There were five of us sharing this office altogether, though the other two were out somewhere. Christa started talking to Eric again.

"So, got anything nice planned this weekend?" she asked.

"This and that. I’m quite busy actually," he replied, not really looking at her.

"Oh, that’s a shame," she said. "Not even room for me?"

"Nope," he said shortly.

"Ah well, maybe next weekend," Christa said, finally going back to her own desk. Eric turned his head towards me slightly and winked. I smiled, and then glanced over towards Christa. She was going to be in for a surprise on Monday.

I took Eric to one of those little places that are neither upmarket nor downmarket. The food was better than my own cooking, anyway. It was a pleasant evening, and I found it nice to have him all to myself. Eric had taken me back to the house my father and I shared, and had walked me up to the gate. I could tell he was dying to kiss me but was afraid to do so, so I had given him a gentle touch on the cheek before we said our goodnights. Nothing wildly exciting, but hopefully it would leave him wanting more, which I think it did. The memory of that night made me smile whenever I thought of it. My father had teased me.

"Izzy, what’s happened to your frown?" he had asked me on Sunday. I didn’t go around frowning all the time, but I was not renowned for being Miss Sunshine either. All the more amazing that Eric was attracted to me. My father has always told me I am beautiful, but of course that is not the same as other people telling you that, especially those you want to be close to. The Monday after had been quite funny, from my perspective. I had come in to find a lovely posy of flowers in a vase on my desk. I knew who had put them there of course, but Christa didn’t. She spent the morning trying to guess who, making mountains out of it, only to be quite deflated when she realised it was Eric. Which meant that by the end of the day, half of Project Rocket had heard that I was in a relationship with Eric. I was annoyed about it, for we had only had dinner together, and hadn’t yet planned anything else. I was all for having a word with Christa, but Eric stopped me.

"Let them have their gossip. They’ll find something else to talk about soon," he said, then asked if I wanted to come to a demonstration of the powers of psychic Pokemon with him that was happening in a couple of days time. Psychic Pokemon intrigued Eric the most and he had been looking forward to it for weeks. I agreed, partly because of the Pokemon, mostly because of Eric. It turned out to be a lot more interesting than I had thought it would be, and we collected some useful information from it. Afterwards we went for a walk through a nearby park. Autumn was setting in, and this was one of the last warm evenings. Still, I put my arm through Eric’s and kept him close. We stopped on a bridge that spanned part of a lake.

"I didn’t think psychic Pokemon could be so powerful," I said, leaning on the wall.

"Very much so," Eric replied. "Except against ghost Pokemon."

"Surely with training they can overcome that?"

"Possibly. I guess that’ll be another project." He smiled at me. "Isabel I…"

"Isabella. Don’t call me Isabel, I hate it," I interrupted. He looked at me puzzled.

"There’s not a lot of difference."

"I know, it’s just one of those things," I told him. Eric shook his head, amused.

"Bella?" he asked.

"Definitely not," I said. My last boyfriend had nicknamed me ‘Belladonna’ after the beautiful but poisonous plant.

"How about Izzy?" I hesitated. I never allowed anyone but my father to call me Izzy. Not even past boyfriends. Yet…

"Izzy is fine," I said. "But why do you want to shorten my name?"

"Just one of those things," he replied, cheekily. I narrowed my eyes at him, but Eric wasn’t bothered. Instead he leaned forward and kissed me. It was a proper kiss this time and I let myself be drawn into it. It can’t have lasted more than half a minute, but it felt longer than that. I couldn’t do anything but smile almost shyly at him before we kissed again, this time bolder about our feelings. I had liked Eric for ages, but now I was sure it wasn’t just some crush. I was in love with him. I’d been in love before, but there was something different about it this time, something that I couldn’t explain for it felt so powerful. Seldom had anything in my twenty-one and a half years made me feel so…so…happy.

Later I arrived home to find my father still up. His pet Growlithe was curled up asleep at his feet.

"Enjoy the lecture?" he asked.

"Yes, I think you’d have enjoyed it too," I replied, shrugging out of my coat. He just nodded, disinterested. It wasn’t like him to be so. I pushed aside my news, and took a chair opposite.

"What’s the matter?" I asked him.

"The government wants to close us down," he said, almost wearily.

"What? They can’t do that!" I exclaimed. The Growlithe stirred at my raised voice.

"Yes they can."

"They need us," I said, angrily. My father shook his head.

"We need them more than they need us, Sweet. Without them there is no money."

"We can raise our own money."

"And how do you propose we do that?" my father asked me. I sat in contemplation.

"Research is information. Information is a valuable commodity. Even if the government closes us down, there must be people within it who still wish to receive information about Pokemon, even if it comes at a price. And there are other parties too of course."

"Izzy, I can’t take Project Rocket underground," my father protested.

"Isn’t that practically what it is anyway?" I argued. "Secret testing, findings that sometimes don’t go public for months, if ever?"

"How do we find these people anyway?"

"They will come to us," I said. He looked doubtful. I leaned forward and placed one of my hands on his. "Father, I know we can manage on our own. We always have, haven’t we?" The corners of his mouth tugged upwards slightly.

"You’ve always been a headstrong girl," he said. I didn’t respond. He leaned back in his chair. "I don’t know Izzy," he sighed. "I need to think about this and talk it over with some of the others."

"Please think about it," I said. "What else are we going to do anyway?" My father could not answer me. He seemed older than he was. I could sense that he felt hurt and betrayed. This job was something he put everything into and to loose it now would be a devastating blow, not financially, for we had become reasonably well off, but to his spirit. I was angry at these people who saw fit to take away a part of my father’s life. He had done so much for my sister and myself. Now I was going to do what I could to make sure he got what he deserved.

The forest made a change from the city, I suppose. I watched as the builders put the finishing touches on our new headquarters. It had been several months since the government tried to close us down. After much arguing amongst my father and his colleagues that saw some of them going their separate ways, we set up on our own. From the original Project Rocket, my father had with him two of his co-founders. I was there of course. So were several other trusted people, but thankfully for me, Christa was not amongst them. She and others that were not needed were told that we were finishing, then hustled out of the picture as quickly as possible. Eric was also there at my insistence. Not because my father didn’t want him there, for he liked Eric, but because Eric disapproved at the idea of turning criminal. It had been the first thing we’d argued badly about, but after several days he had come round to the idea, though I think a lot of it was to do with our relationship. I had told him that he could stay with Project Rocket, and stay with me, or he could go elsewhere. It was agreed that my father should be in charge as he had done the most to set up the group in the first place. Our name was changed from Project Rocket to Team Rocket. As I had thought, some people in high places had approached my father soon after we had ‘officially disbanded’. One of them had given us this land deep in Viridian forest to build a base on. At first, father dealt with them, but soon there was a demand from outside too, and he asked me more and more to help. I think part of this was to do with the fact that he found some of these shadowy figures intimidating, while I was much tougher. My father was happier dealing with Pokemon. Eric didn’t like me going off to do deals with strangers, but he knew that I was capable of looking after myself. And if I needed help, I always had my Pokemon. I had a Flareon that I had evolved from an Eevee I got as a present as a child, a female Nidoran that was more of a pet, and a Venomoth. Though as a child I never had any wish to go on a Pokemon Journey, they still had quite a bit of battle experience. For the past couple of months, I was practically living with Eric, so when we had finally moved into the headquarters about a week ago it didn’t seem strange to be under the same roof and sharing the same bed. We had plenty of privacy, for my father occupied a separate wing of the house. I smiled to myself, remembering the first time I had woken up with Eric beside me. I shook my long, slightly wavy ebony hair into place. Business was the priority at the moment. Eric and I were planning to go away to the coast this weekend, so I had plenty to get done. I walked into the main building, past the lobby and into the interior where my father and I had offices along with a couple of other people we had deigned worthy enough to have them. The research part of Team Rocket was well under way again. At the moment, I was busy drawing up new plans for work away from the base. We now had sufficient money to begin hiring people for fieldwork so that the scientists were not taken away from the labs. I did not think it would be a good idea for the majority of these to know exactly what went on at the heart of our business. I sat at my desk and frowned. Who would be the best people? They would have to be skilled at catching Pokemon and have a reasonable knowledge of what they were looking for. I decided that building up a good team of field agents would have to be a gradual task. First we should target wannabe Pokeologists and Pokemon Watchers. Then maybe some actual trainers would be good. The notes on my desk grew larger and larger. Then I realised that we would probably need a training gym for the agents to practise their skills in. A small gym had been built underground for experimental purposes, but that would be no good for what I had in mind. Another mark on the financial plan, but it was not a worry. Someone would pay for it. My phone rang.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Miss Lucas, there’s a Mr Dawson here to see you."

"I’ll be right down," I replied, and put the phone down. I had hoped he would show up. He was going to help pay for my – our -- field agents even if he didn’t know it yet.

It had been years since I had been anywhere near the sea, and I had spent the past day wondering how I could not have missed it. The smell of sea air was even more refreshing than the smell of pine. It was nice to get away from Team Rocket and spend a couple of days doing things normal people do, but work was always at the back of my mind, which made it impossible to completely relax. That evening, Eric had dragged me out for a walk.

"Why can’t you forget work, just for a day?" he asked.

"There’s so much to do at the moment," I replied.

"Those plans haven’t even been finished. And anyway, this could be about the last chance you have to enjoy yourself for ages," he said, then squeezed my hand. "Look, you’ve got me talking about it now."

"I’m sorry," I said. We walked along in silence, not needing to say anything. I liked the way the beach was almost empty as the day drew to a close. There were only the odd one or two couples, out for a stroll like us. The sun turned from golden to an orange-red, making the sea and skies an orchestra of colour. I liked the colour red, and had made sure it was Team Rocket’s main colour. Red stood for so many things for me. It was the colour of rage, but also of strength and passion. I snapped out of my daydream when I realised Eric was pulling me to the ground. I ended up sat between his legs, and he put his arms round me.

"May as well take a rest and enjoy the sunset," he said.

"Strange how they never look like this in the city or the forest," I said. "In the city they go almost unnoticed, and in the forest they seem more golden."

"I suppose it’s a lot clearer here," he replied. "And the sea adds to the effect."

"It’s nice," I said, leaning my head back against his shoulder.

"It is," he agreed, and kissed the top of my head. There was another silence, only broken by the sound of the waves breaking on shore. Eric hugged me tighter.

"You know what would be even nicer than this?" he asked.

"What would be nicer?" I replied, not really paying attention.

"If you would marry me," he said. I giggled, thinking he was joking until I saw that in front of me he held a box with a ring in. I managed to turn round to face him, my eyes wide.

"Well?" he asked, a hopeful little smile on his face.

"Yes," I almost whispered. I took a breath, annoyed at myself and spoke more normally. "Yes, I’ll marry you." The smile broke into a wide grin, and we hugged and kissed each other.

"Try it on," he said, giving me the ring. I slipped it on, and found it was a perfect fit. It consisted of a large ruby and several tiny diamonds.

"It’s beautiful," I said, admiring it and leaned forward to kiss him again.

A few weeks later and my father came to me with some news I wasn’t keen to hear.

"Izzy, I’ve just been talking to your sister. She’s going to come and stay for a few days."

"Is that a good idea?" I asked him.

"Minty knew all about Project Rocket and she didn’t mention it to anyone," my father argued. "Besides, it’ll be nice to see her and Stefan again, won’t it?"

"Yeah, great," I said unenthusiastically. My father gave me a look.

"Well, you can wrap yourself up in your office for the whole time then."

"It’s not that I don’t want to see her, I just don’t think she should be coming here," I said.

"You’ve spent too much time dabbling in the politics of secrecy," my father said, then left me alone to my work. I sighed, and looked at the papers on my desk. The first field agents had been hired about a month ago, and weren’t doing too badly. At the moment I simply asked my father what pokemon they needed in the research labs and passed the information on to the agents. Most of them worked alone, though I think that for longer, more distant missions it might be better for them to be in teams. I still hadn’t got my training gym yet, which annoyed me. I would have to clear it with father first, which these days was easier said then done. We didn’t see much of each other, for I was busy planning things, and he was in the labs. I thought about going behind his back, but decided against it. I absent-mindedly played with my engagement ring. Eric had been gone for nearly a week on business, and I was quite lonely without him. I realised then how much distance I had put between myself and most of the other people who worked for Team Rocket. I brushed these feelings aside.

"Trust no one, do not rely on anyone, for they all let you down in the end," one correspondent had warned me one meeting. There were exceptions to every rule, but I got used to treating everyone with suspicion. Even Eric and my father at times, though not very often. It seems harsh, but after all my own mother abandoned me. My sister was the one I trusted least of all. As we had grown up, we fought like the majority of siblings do, but we now had an amicable relationship. I wouldn’t say we were close, we were too different for that, even though there were only two years between us. I think that what bothers me the most is Minty opening her mouth without realising it. I sigh again. It had been a good year since we had seen each other, and she had probably changed, as had I.

The following weekend came too fast. Minty was arriving this Friday evening and leaving sometime on Sunday. The guard at the gates radioed over to say that she had arrived, and soon enough there was a knock at the door. I sat in the living room with Eric as father went to open the door. Even from here we could hear her.

"Dad! It’s so lovely to see you!"

"You too. How’s my Araminta?"

"I’m fine. Really good."

"And is this Stefan? He was tiny last time I saw him."

"It certainly is! It’s a shame you don’t get to see us more often, he’s growing so fast. He started walking a couple of weeks ago." They came into the room, and I stood up to greet her. She gave her son to my father, and came and hugged me.

"Isabella! You’re looking great!" she beamed.

"Not too bad yourself," I said, noticing she’d let her hair go back to its natural chocolate colour instead of being bottle blonde. She looked a lot better for it. Minty turned to look at Eric.

"And who’s this?" she smiled at him.

"This is my fiancé, Eric. Eric, this is my sister Minty," I said, introducing them.

"So this is Eric," Minty said, looking him up and down. I fumed internally.

"Pleased to finally meet you."

"Likewise," Eric smiled. We all sat down, Minty seating Stefan in her lap. He stared at everything with wide eyes, looking like he had landed on another planet.

"How old is he now?" I asked, feeling a little guilty that I didn’t even know the exact age of my nephew.

"He’ll be two in a couple of months," Minty told me, stroking the top of his head. He turned and smiled at her.

"Is he okay with strangers?" our father asked.

"He’s not bad. Here," she stood up and placed Stefan on our fathers lap, then went and sat back down. Stefan looked a little disconcerted, but a bunch of keys soon sorted him out.

"So what are you doing at the moment?" I asked.

"Oh, this and that. I haven’t got a job at the moment, but we get by with the money dad sends," Minty smiled. "I didn’t think Pokemon could get you so much money." I glanced at my father. I had no idea he gave money to Minty. That explained how she could afford reasonably expensive items while not having a job. I got the feeling she wasn’t going to get one in the near future, either.

"It’s not too late for you to get some," I said. Minty laughed.

"No way, I’m not a Pokemon person. But if Stefan wants to be a trainer or something, then I don’t mind. That’s his life."

We had dinner soon after. Eric and Minty seemed to get on well and chatted away to each other. By the end of the evening, I was burning with jealousy and began thinking completely unreasonable thoughts. Rage often made me irrational.

"So, what do you think of Minty?" I asked Eric as we were getting ready for bed.

"She’s nice enough, certainly not all the person you made her out to be," he replied.

"She’s changed a bit since having Stefan," I admitted. "Anyway, you two seemed to get on well."

"Yeah, I was glad of that," Eric said, getting into bed. I remained seated on the edge so my back was to him.

"Why’s that?" I asked, fighting to conceal my feelings, something I was not used to.

"Well because I’ve never met her before, plus she’s your elder sister." He snuggled down under the covers. I played with my engagement ring, a habit I had when I was distracted.

"You wouldn’t say we were sisters, would you?" I asked.

"From your looks, yes, but not your personalities," he replied. "Aren’t you getting into bed?"

"So you think she’s attractive?" I said acidly, still not looking at him. There was a rustle, and I turned round to see Eric sitting up, staring at me.

"Now I see what you’re getting at," he said.

"You do, don’t you?" I hissed, unable to control the green-eyed monster anymore.

"No I don’t," he replied. "Don’t be stupid."

"Stupid?" I almost yelled. "She likes you! Don’t tell me you didn’t notice."

"So what if she does? It doesn’t mean I’m going to like her," Eric told me. Though he was far more even-tempered than I was and usually didn’t snap, I could see he wasn’t far off.

"Yeah well it didn’t seem like it," I snarled. Eric scowled.

"What would you like me to say to her? ‘Sorry Minty, but Isabella doesn’t want me to talk to you in case we try and run off together’? Well, thank you for having the audacity to trust me not to do that, Izzy," he said with as much sarcasm as he could muster. He glared at me, his blue eyes steely. "Do you think I wonder every time you go off for a meeting with some bloke that you’ll run off with him? Of course I don’t." He seemed to be about to say something else, but changed his mind. He lay back down, and turned his back to me. My rage subsided as quickly as it had risen, and I lay down too, pulling the covers round my head. I turned on my side, and placed a hand on Eric’s shoulder.

"Eric?" There was no response, and I knew I had really hurt his feelings. "Eric, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any of it. I know you wouldn’t do that." I paused. Still no response. "I love you," I said, then let go of his shoulder, turned onto my other side and closed my eyes, cursing my temper.

By the morning it had all been forgotten. Minty and Stefan left on Sunday, promising to see us soon. My father managed to see Stefan for his second birthday. Not long after was Eric’s twenty-fifth. By now, a couple of months later, we had recruited a good pool of field agents, and some more scientists. There were several major projects going on, and the money was pouring in. I had also set up a scheme of buying and selling Pokemon in the form of pet shops, which looked to be a success already. I began to turn my interests to investing some money in other things. Things that could serve as a front for Team Rocket. We needed to expand out, for there were too many people based at the Headquarters now. I mentioned this to my father.

"What about building another lab somewhere?" I asked him.

"Why?" he said, warily.

"Well it’d be better for studying certain types of Pokemon, wouldn’t it? It would save us money if we didn’t have to transport Pokemon from all over the country." My father laughed.

"Look at the money we have, Izzy. A little on transporting Pokemon isn’t going to dent the bank account."

"I’m only trying to make things more efficient," I said. Father put his arm round my shoulder and hugged me affectionately.

"I know you do a lot of things for me, Sweet, like some of the deals and organising the agents, but don’t forget I’m still in charge overall."

"I know that," I said.

"You work too hard for someone so young. You’re not even twenty-three yet," he said. "You should be out enjoying yourself more."

"I like my work," I protested. "And I still get plenty of time to myself." Father smiled at me.

"So much free time that you haven’t even begun to plan your wedding yet? When exactly do you plan to marry your young man?"

"Well I…that’s up to Eric and me. We’re in no rush," I said, trying to remember the last time we’d discussed our wedding.

"All work and no play makes Izzy a dull girl," father said. "I think I’ll restrict you to working only three days a week." While most people would have been ecstatic about that, I was decidedly underwhelmed.

"I can’t do that!" I exclaimed. "I have a lot to do."

"I’ll get someone in to take care of some of your lesser tasks," he replied.

"It’s my job! I don’t want someone else doing it for me," I argued.

"They won’t be. Think of it as having another secretary."

"Four days," I said. "I won’t work Fridays."

"Okay then, four days. But if I catch you working on the Friday, I’ll make it three days."

"Done," I said. Part of me couldn’t help wondering if he thought I was either not doing my job properly, or maybe doing it too well. I practically ran the non-lab part of Team Rocket now. Maybe he felt he needed to assert some power, just to keep me in check.

"One day you’ll be in charge, Izzy," father was saying to me. "But I don’t want it to consume you yet."

"I understand," I said, a little dejected. He ruffled my hair, then left me alone. So, how could I get round not doing any work on a Friday? It wasn’t like I could spend the extra time with Eric, which I think is what my father had in mind. I don’t know why, we see plenty of each other despite the fact Eric usually spends time during the week travelling round to various lectures and demonstrations gathering information. He’s shattered by Friday, and usually spends the evening sprawled on the sofa. I can’t get him to talk about the weekend never mind wedding plans. Yet I got the feeling my father was anxious for us to get on with it. I put it down to being old-fashioned. He had disapproved at first when I began spending the night at Eric’s before we moved to the Headquarters, but in the end he has almost always let me go my own way. Though I wanted to marry Eric, at the same time I was quite happy being Isabella Lucas.

Chapter 2