Part Two: Bicycle Ride

The next morning, James woke up with a smile on his face for the first time he could even remember. Jasmine had captivated him completely, and by the time he had finished breakfast, all he could think about was seeing her again. As with most things, the desire got the better of him quickly.

"I'm going out for a while, Jessebelle," he shouted as he took a jacket off of his coatrack.

"Where on earth are you going at this hour, James dearest?" her rich southern accent rang from the kitchen, but he had already slammed the door behind him.

Hopkins immediately opened the door to the family limo, but James winced, "uh, no, Hopkins. I think I'll take another car myself." Hopkins raised an eyebrow, but retreated obediently back into the mansion.

James walked into his garage, where he kept the additional vehicles. There were three in there, two luxury sedans and James's old, dirty, childhood bicycle. He looked at the cars, looked at the bicycle, and grinned.

He must have looked rediculous, riding a bicycle top speed in a gentlemanly blue business suit. All of them looked alike, of course; Jessebelle had decreed that the only color that wouldn't clash with his hair was blue. So what? He liked black, but she said it made him look like a giant bruise.

He was surprised at how little this unexpected exercise took out of him. 'I guess those workouts in the basement gym paid off,' he thought proudly,visualizing himself with huge muscles.

He made it all the way back to BMP headquarters in record time with his insanely fast peddling. He parked the bike next to a telephone pole, annoyed with himself for forgetting to bring a lock. A familiar smell hung in the air nearby, and he looked around curiously, trying to place it. He soon realized what it was: a small rose bush in front of the BMP. He picked one carefully, easily avoiding the thorns, and entered the building.

He walked into the impressive, glass-filled lobby and up to a desk, where a short blonde woman with glasses greeted him with the customary "may I help you, sir?"t

The woman said nothing, instead turning to a computer on her desk to quickly type something. A minute later, Jasmine's face appeared on the screen. She wasn't wearing her glasses, James noticed. "Yes, Emma, what is it? I was just about to go to lunch.

The woman, (Emma, Jasmine had said,) looked at James questioningly. "Tell her that James is here to see herr," he whispered.

"Oh," she said. James smiled. If he wasn't mistaken, she was blushing. "Well then...send him up." Emma offered him directions, but he refused them. He could have found her with his eyes closed. Ten minutes later, James appeared in the opening of the cubicle with a rose and a grin. "Mmmm," she said, closing her eyes as she smelled the flower, "roses are my favorite flowers."

He stared at her, captivated. The rose was pressed to her equally red lips, and her red hair framed the picture perfectly, everything contrasting to her pale skin. "Mine too," he said distractedly, "you seem to like red quitea bit."

Her eyes opened again and a smirk played on the corners of her mouth, "I wouldn't talk, James," she replied, tugging at his blue sleeve and looking up at his hair, "is that your natural color?"

"Yes!" he cried defensively.

Jasmine laughed and set the rose back onto her desk, "well, anyway, James, I'm sorry, but I haven't heard a thing on your Growlithe."

"That's not what I came here for," he replied quickly, "I was wondering if you would want to go out to lunch with me."

Jasmine's heart skipped a beat, "really? I'd love to!" 'Maybe Jessebelle is just a sister or something!' she thought excitedly.

They walked to a restaurant that was only two blocks from the BMP building, where James ordered them a lavish meal that Jasmine would never have been able to afford on her measly agent's salary. They chatted lightly until the food came, but when it arrived, all coversation ended. James dug greedily into the food, practically swallowing it whole. At this ludicrious sight, Jasmine lost it. She began to laugh, softly at first, until it progressed into full-blown hysterics as Jasmine, unable to even touch her food, held her hand over her mouth, trying desperately not to disturb the restaurant's other patrons.

"Are you goingsh to eat dat?" he asked, mouth full of food.

Jasmine laughed harder, so hard it hurt, and she had to put her other hand on her aching side. "Yes!" she managed with some effort, "you certainly seem to enjoy eating quite a bit!"

"Mmmm hmmm!" James agreed, finishing the complimentary rolls. Jasmine could only laugh.

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"Shut up!" Meowth hissed, "da customas will overhear ya! Do you want someone to call da police? Da poker game's downstairs." The man he was talking to nodded and crept downstairs without another word. The pokemon turned around to resume his post and saw the most shocking sight he had seen in years.

"It's her!" he almost shouted as the familiar face came into view. She was dressed differently, and her hair was done up, but she looked almost exactly the same anyway. She certainly seemed to *act* differently, more giddy and girlish. "Wow, it's been a long time," he said.

He moved out of the shadows to get a better look. "Oh, god," he cried in amazement, "he's here, too!" He looked at his other old friend, shoveling food into his wide open mouth. "Well at least he seems pretty much the same," Meowth muttered. His already large eyes opened even wider, "wait a minute, the two of dem are together again! I have to tell the boss!" He began to run down the back stairs. After a few steps, he suddenly stopped and turned around.

"Jessie and James," he murmurred, staring again at his old friends. They *had* been his friends, he understood now, and the only ones he'd ever really had. Since they had been fired, he had quickly learned just how well off he had been. First, he had been stuck with Butch and Cassidy, and after they were promoted, used only for dirty work. Like being the lookout for Giovanni's weekly poker game. His time with Jessie and James, he reflected, had been the best time of his life.

"I can't do this to dem," he said miserably, "not after what we've been through together. Not after what da Boss did to dem."

Meowth returned to his post.

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James, meanwhile, continued to ravage his seventh dinner plate happily. 'This is so much fun! Everything with Jessebelle is always so formal.' He sat, blankly staring in front of him, as his more serious mental voice said to him, 'Jessebelle, yout wife. Remember her? So why are you here, with some girl you just met yesterday?'James didn't know, or maybe just couldn't bear to answer the question, so that inner voice answered itself, 'because you like this girl a lot more than you probably should.'

"James?" Jasmine said concernedly.

'Where are we?'

When there was no response, Jasmine put a hand to his shoulder and repeated herself, "James? Are you all right?"

He suddenly shook and pulled away from her, as if he'd been scalded by her, "What?"

She suddenly pulled back into herself, "never mind."

"No," he said, shaking out of a daze, "no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell." She nodded, though making it painfully obvious that she was still hurt, so obvious that even thick-headed James noticed. He put his hand on top of hers reassuringly, "I really mean it, Jasmine." She managed a weak smile, and he returned it warmly.

When they finally left, the sun hung high above their heads. James looked away, squinting, and Jasmine shielded her eyes with her hand, so neither of them saw the brown blur coming swiftly at them. Moments later, Jasmine was completely knocked over by a large, barking Growlithe that promptly began to lick her face.

"Growly!" James said excitedly, falling onto his knees to join them on the concrete sidewalk. He pet the dog, who now sat completely on top of the hysterical woman.

"So this is Growly," she laughed, "he tickles!"

James laughed heartily, "yes, my childhood pet."

"Growlithe!" it replied.

Jasmine looked over the red mass of dog with sparkling eyes, "let's take your Growlithe home."

They walked swiftly back to the BMP, where they closed the case officially, and with an enthusiastic commendation from Supervisor Jenny. Once that was finished, they loaded James's bike into Jasmine's trunk, put Growly in the backseat, and drove back to James's mansion, wher a woman in a pink and white dress waited on the steps with her hands on her hips.

The minute the car got close enough for them to see her face, her angry scowl dematerialized into an extra-wide smile. 'She looks like me!' was Jasmine's first thiought. Growly whined and James's grin dissappeared as both master and pet sunk back into their seats.

"James, dearest," she sang, "you should have told me you would be gone for so very long! Your lunch has gotten cold!"

James's face was a roadmap of depression, "yes, Jessebelle," he moped, like a child being scolded. He got out of the car and took his bike out of the trunk.

"And why don't you introduce me to your new friend?" she said, peering into the car to see this girl's face. Jasmine opened the car door and stood up.

James sighed, "Jessebelle, this is Jasmine Burke. She's with the BMP. She found Growly."

Jasmine flashed a smile-'I should have known, he's married'-and opened the door to reveal Growly, who whined again and backed further into the car.

'It's her!' Jessebelle thought, eyes opening wide with alarm. "Ever so charmed to meet you, Miss Burke," she said predetorily, extending her hand.

Jamine looked uncomfortably back and forth between the unhappy couple and took the hand for a quick shake. "Listen...I, uh, better get back to work now," she said nervously. She walked quickly back to the car, pushed Growly out, and sped away from that place as quickly as she could.