Hauling on the winch he held steady with a practiced hand, James managed to surpress a grimace at the weight of the box now gripped in the magnetic clamps at the end of the rope. This was hardly a routine heist - the security lasers criss-crossing the floor of the mansion made a straightforward approach impossible. And that was why they drilled a hole in the roof and sent down the clamps instead. The mansion itself was owned by one of the elite citizens of Sienna City; the box contained gems that were rumored to be worth quite a large sum.

"James, if you drop that box, I really will kill you."

This from Jessie, who was standing close beside him, so close that her breath tickled along his neck. Meowth was on the ground making sure the escape route was was clear.

"Thanks for the motivation," James muttered through gritted teeth, but still managed a smile. Of course she wouldn't kill him. Everything was going perfectly according to plan. The only thing nagging at the back of his brain was the fact that there weren't any security guards. No hidden cameras either. A place like this should definitely at least have that. But it didn't matter now. Just a few more feet, and...

The sound of an alarm suddenly cut through the silence of the night as sharply as a Scyther's blade. Distant shouts also marred the stillness, and what sounded very much like Meowth yowling something, but all this was made incoherent by the piercing noise of the alarm. James jumped, nearly dropping the box before he managed to gain control of the winch again, breathing hard with fright.

"James, just drop it!" Jessie shrieked, obviously just as terrified as James. Her eyes darted in all directions as though seeking the direction from which they would be attacked.

"But Jessie--"

"DROP IT, James! There's always next time!"

His mind screamed at him to say there would be no next time, but it would be useless to mention it. Quickly he let go of the winch and allowed himself to be pulled by Jessie over to the edge of the roof, where the ladder was waiting. The hot air balloon had been necessary to transport the equipment to the roof, but it could hardly stay overhead for too long, as it might have been noticed, even if it was the middle of the night.

Going down the ladder was tedious work, however, made also nerve-wracking by the fact that they could be discovered any minute. Jessie descended first and kept a careful eye out for anything as James came down.

"Hurry, you have to hurry!" she hissed in a near-whisper as he neared the bottom. Once again James refrained from any comment, knowing it wouldn't be worthwhile.

He let Jessie grab his hand and take off at a run, partly from leg-numbing fear, and partly from the fact that he'd been led everywhere by everyone for a large part of his life - it was by habit now that he let someone else take control when it really mattered. And his life certainly mattered. And Jessie's... that might matter even more. He sped up considerably so that they were running side by side, making holding hands unnecessary. But it definitely was comforting.

The thick growth of bushes surrounding the mansion wasn't helping to make escape any easier. That was Jessie's annoyed thought as she ran as fast as she could along with James, now caught up with her but still holding her hand. That was wasn't the important thought though - the most important was how to escape alive. And also, beneath that, the thought that she must make sure James kept up and wasn't left behind. Once that had happened, and... no, that wasn't something to think on now. Instead, run faster. Hold James' hand tighter. We're going to make it.

A small figure shot out of the bushes to their right, causing them to skid to a stop and clutch each other tightly. Purely reflex, of course.

"MeOWTH! What took you two so long? And where's the stuff?"

"There wasn't time! Where'd you put the jeep?" A cat driving a car would have been a hysterical thought some other time, but Jessie didn't find it so amusing now.

"Right over there. If we hurry, no will ever--"

Meowth was cut off by the sudden appearance of five or six human shapes in the dim light, obviously all police officers. There didn't seem to be any way to escape. After all they had been through, to end up like this...

Jessie turned to James to find him turning to her, just like always. Their timing had never been off, not once in years. Holding each other tightly, they both recognized the desperation in each other's eyes.

"Stop right there! And don't try anything, or else--" Anything the man had yet to say was stopped by what looked like a wall of smoke, rising out of apparently nowhere between the police and the three Team Rocket members. Utter confusion was the result, at least on the part of the police. Jessie, James, and Meowth just stood staring in utter disbelief. A female voice arising to their right, however, brought them out of their daze.

"Hurry! C'mon now, while they're confused!"

Without thinking, they dashed to follow the sound of the voice. When she thought about it hard enough, Jessie realized that she knew that voice. They continued running until they reached the jeep. No time for any recognition now. Escape came first. Everyone piled in, and it wasn't until they were safely out on the road that Jessie turned to look at who was sitting in the driver's seat.

"Pearl."

"Who were you expecting? Cassidy, perhaps?" The blonde-tressed Team Rocket member laughed lightly as she turned the jeep down a dark alley. She stopped the car just as Meowth flung two paws around her neck.

"Poil, Poil!" the cat Pokémon chorused happily.

"Alright, alright Meowth, it's nice to see you too," Pearl replied with a grin as she returned his hug. "It's good to see you ALL again... Jessie... and James."

Turning to find the blue-haired man, she laughed aloud to see him trying to distance himself as much as possible from a small furry Pokémon that was sharing the seat with him, yet it persisted in rubbing it's head on his uniform sleeve.

"Eevee isn't going to bite you, James. She's obviously quite happy to see you."

James gave a short nervous laugh, but still only patted Eevee's head a few times without visibly relaxing much.

Pearl turned to Jessie then and tossed her the keys. "Since I don't know where you're headed..."

"Back to our place, I suppose," Jessie replied with a sigh, abruptly remembering the night's events.

"You live here in Sienna?" Pearl questioned as they switched seats so Jessie could drive.

"For now... but we can talk about that later."

Pearl watched in amusement as Jessie and Meowth argued about who would share the front seat, which ended with Meowth being literally thrown into the back seat, narrowly missing James and scaring Eevee so much that it jumped up onto Pearl's lap. The jeep started up as Pearl settled comfortably into her own seat. This experience definitely wasn't going to be boring. It was more likely to be entertaining.

"So what are you doing away from your job..." Jessie began, obviously meaning to say more but stopping as though she had changed her mind.

"Oh, for a little excitement, adventure... the usual," Pearl responded with a grin, watching James' hand creeping up from the back seat, dangerously close to Jessie's leg but obviously reaching for the radio dial.

"I see," Jessie commented, slapping James' hand away without giving any other sign that she'd noticed it at all. The hand was quickly withdrawn with a yelp, which Jessie didn't acknowlege either. The grin on Pearl's face grew wider. Definitely entertaining...

Chapter Two
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