"Damn it all. Who leaked it?"
Locke's mood could hardly have been worse.
He had beaten his chest and guaranteed that nothing would go wrong, and now something had, out of nowhere.
It was not that he himself had been exposed — he had not been — only that Lord Shadow had been forced out into the open.
How exactly they had found out, and by what means, he had no idea.
It was beyond anything he could reach.
Besides that, seeing the S.S. Anne blown open all over again made his heart bleed.
It had taken so much to get hold of the S.S. Anne, and now look at her.
Last time it had not hurt him, because she had belonged to somebody else, and once she was wrecked he would be able to take her over in the confusion.
So it had not hurt at all; he had worried instead that the damage would not be heavy enough.
Now it was different. If she were smashed, where would that leave him? His whole value lay here.
"Don't upset yourself, Chairman. There's no getting into a fight like that."
Seeing him worked up, his men held him back, so that the blood should not go to his head and send him charging in, or send small fry like themselves in ahead of him.
"I know."
Soon enough Locke had himself in hand again. He set the men to making their preparations and slipped away inside himself, about who knew what business.
He knew as well as anyone that there was no mixing in the fight above.
At a time like this, the one thing to be done was to call for help.
He had done what he could.
In a shuddering room Locke got through.
"Boss, something has gone wrong here. Lord Shadow is being set on by a party that came out of nowhere......."
"Kreee—"
In the sky Zapdos beat its wings and poured lightning down as though it cost nothing, aimed at the Gengar.
Several Elite-Four-class Pokémon about it joined in, concentrating on the Gengar.
"Gengar, break out. Stay any longer and we are in danger."
The man Locke had called Lord Shadow was standing not far from the Gengar, and said it to him.
"Sss-heh—"
Gengar nodded to show that it understood.
It gathered all its strength at once, and a violent explosion went with it.
Gengar carried him out through a weak point in the net closing round them and made off across the open sea.
"After them!"
Meat that had reached your lips was not to be let go.
If they could not take him now, there would be no next chance.
Team Rocket's support would be here before long.
Once he had his breath back there would be nothing left for them. To kill him and get hold of the thing the report spoke of, this was the only chance.
Team Rocket needed it; the Sacred Order needed it too.
The League's people alongside them gave chase as well.
The League party in this was led by an Elite-Four-class investigator.
Their reason for following was that the Godbeast Gang's people were in such a frenzy about it; whatever it was had to be extraordinary, to set two organizations fighting over it.
"Thorne, get word to the nearest investigators and have them come as reinforcements. And send it to Lance of the Elite Four as well; set the situation out for him. I am going on ahead. Follow after me, and take care of yourselves."
With that the middle-aged man went after them with the rest, leaving Idris to call for help at once.
"Yes, sir."
Idris heard him out and set about it.
Once the message was away he went up high and looked about him, but there was no sign of Vance.
If there had been, he would have wanted the Conference champion in on this; at a moment like that they needed every man.
Vance was stronger than the investigator leading them, and with him along the thing would be far surer.
Only just now the scene below was all confusion, and he had been over it several times without finding where Vance was.
"Thorne, come on. What are you waiting for?"
One of his companions was hurrying him; the case was urgent.
"Coming. Let's go."
There was no help for it. Idris gave up the search and hurried after them with the rest.
And at that moment Vance was taking a call.
At the other end of it was Giovanni.
"Vance. I know you are aboard the S.S. Anne. I am ordering you now to move at once, go to Shadow's support and keep hold of the article he is carrying. It is extremely important."
From the other end of the line Giovanni, for once, was giving him an order.
"Yes, sir."
Vance took it.
"The thing matters a great deal. Even if you are exposed by it, it is worth the price."
Hearing that, Vance understood that it must really be important.
"Set your mind at rest, Boss. I will go at once."
Vance said it briskly, then called out Aerodactyl, mounted him, and flew off that way.
Giovanni put the phone away, and a thoughtful look came into his eyes.
"Team Rocket wants putting in order. The old hands too."
His fingers rapped at the desk, and Giovanni made the decision.
"Yes, sir. I will give the orders now."
Matori, beside him, answered at once.
"Go. It does want putting in order — welded tight as an iron cask. Team Rocket is not the League, full of holes like a sieve!"
There was anger in Giovanni's voice as he said it.
In no more than a few days, his latest decision had been exposed.
And the movements of Shadow, his hidden officer, had become known.
Did that not mean there was a problem?
It was not to be borne! The thing had to be strangled at birth!
Over there, having had that rare order from Giovanni, Vance took the matter to heart and rode Aerodactyl after them.
"This way."
Vance followed the traces still hanging in the air and told Aerodactyl where to go.
With his uncanny sense for the energy of living things, even coming along behind he could tell which way they had gone.
"Roar, roar—"
Aerodactyl beat his wings and hurried after them, but he was still a little short of the pace.
"Roar, roar—"
Just then Hydreigon's Poké Ball shook on his belt a few times, and Hydreigon came out of it and signalled for Vance to ride on his back.
"Roar, roar—"
"All right. You have just evolved, so this suits well enough. Aerodactyl, rest a while — there will be a battle to fight when we get there!"
Aerodactyl had no objection and went obediently back into his ball, and Hydreigon took over without a break.
With Vance standing on his back, he beat his six pairs of wings.
The wind went whistling past his ears. Elite-Four-class Hydreigon was, of all things, a shade faster than Aerodactyl, and the flying he had been so unsure of was growing practised by the minute.