Chapter Two: Decisions

Two months later, life had pretty much returned to normal in the ranks of Team Rocket. The sense of efficiency and order had returned, with the only break in the mood being the baby in room 326. She was the only child in the headquarters, save the Boss’ own child, and was certainly the only one who had a child’s mindset and mentality. Giovanni, despite being only 10 years old, was always following his mother around, studying how she ran the organization in the hopes of taking it over himself someday.

The only other young people in the headquarters were a couple of fourteen-year old assistants to agents, and this made Miyamoto worry occasionally…what kind of life was this for a baby? There were no other children for her to grow up around, no children to play with, no place to play save Miyamoto’s own living quarters…

It was too much for her to think about at times… this life was all she had known for so long. Had she been subconsciously intending to disrupt that life 11 months ago when she had had that one night fling with that agent from the Orange Islands? Maybe she had… She had been with Team Rocket for so long, and she loved it.. at least, she thought she did…. But now this new baby was making her rethink things drastically.

Over the next month, Miyamoto returned to her former duties and missions, leaving her baby with her friends at headquarters when she would be gone. Miyamoto hated this, not because of doubts about Musashi’s safety, but because of the separation from her beloved child. She was turning out to be far more suited to motherhood than she could have ever imagined, and as much as she loved this feeling, it was tearing her apart. On one hand, she loved her baby and couldn’t bear to be apart from her, on the other hand, she loved her life with Team Rocket and felt that she couldn’t leave.

All these feelings and emotions made her weigh her options… She considered sending Musashi to live with her sister… Miyamoto knew her sister was unable to have children and had always wanted one of her own, despite the fact that she was so poor. Miyamoto reasoned that her Team Rocket paychecks would be able to help her sister cover the expense of raising Musashi, but she still couldn’t bear the thought of giving up her only child. Of course, if she were to remain in Team Rocket, eventually she would have no choice but to send the child away. This was no environment for a sweet little girl like her daughter. However, if she quit Team Rocket, how could she support her baby? Nobody on the outside would hire her with her criminal record… It was a matter that tortured Miyamoto and gave her countless sleepless nights HHHuntil she finally came to a decision.

After returning from yet another mission and spending some time with her little angel (God, she was getting so big in just four months!), Miyamoto carried her daughter in her arms and walked through the corridors to her boss’ office. She knocked on the door with only a bit more apprehension than she had ever had before. The curt voice of Madam Boss told her to come in, and Miyamoto walked in holding Musashi in her arms.

"Ah, Miyamoto. What can I do for you?" Madam Boss asked, eyeing her and smiling at the baby, who returned the smile with a little raspberry.

Miyamoto swallowed hard and took a deep breath. She had been wondering in her mind how this meeting would go, if she’d be able to pull it off. "Well, Ma’am, since I had my baby, I’ve been giving my future a lot of thought, and I’ve come to a conclusion."

"Really. Go on." Madam Boss urged, not sure if she’d like what she was about to hear. From the corner of the office, Giovanni walked over to stand by his mother, abandoning the book he had been quietly reading.

"Well, I mean no offense to you or your son, ma’am, but I’m just not sure if I feel comfortable raising a child here… It just doesn’t seem like the right kind of environment, especially when I’m gone on missions and such…. "

Madam Boss nodded, placing her fingertips together in from of her. "Well, I suppose I can understand that… even if I am raising my own son here…." She glanced at Giovanni, who simply stood there like the leader he would become, staring at Miyamoto with a face devoid of expression.

Miyamoto had anticipated this reaction. "Well, Ma’am, with all due respect, you don’t really go out in the field… you can always be around Giovanni." She replied nervously, hardly liking the gaze from her boss.

"Hmm. Very true, my friend, very true." Madam boss replied. "Tell on."

"So, what I would like to do- God, I can’t believe I’m saying this- is leave Team Rocket." Miyamoto finished nervously, looking at her boss with an ever-increasing worry. She had seen agents try to quit before, and it had never ended pleasantly.

Madam Boss eyed Miyamoto and weighed the matter in her mind. She could see Miyamoto’s point… The life of a Team Rocket field agent wasn’t really the life for a mother. On the other hand, she couldn’t just let an agent with such knowledge of Team Rocket walk out just like that. She hesitated a moment as she considered this, and then returned her gaze to Miyamoto. "And where will you go after you leave?" she inquired, glancing occasionally at the squirming baby in her arms.

"Well, I was thinking I would go stay with my sister…. You know, she can’t have children, and she’s always wanted one…." Miyamoto began.

"But your sister is also rather poor, if I’m not mistaken?" Madam Boss asked, already knowing the answer. She knew much about her agent’s families on the outside… such knowledge came in handy at the oddest times.

Miyamoto was unsettled by this question. "Well, yes, but…"

"So how do you propose to support little Musashi in such a situation?" Madam Boss asked airily. "Honest employment is not easy to find with a record as well known as yours, my dear."

"I realize this." Miyamoto replied humbly. I was hoping that perhaps you could- well- help me in that area? Maybe with a connection on the outside." She looked at her boss with hope, praying that one mother would understand the plea of another. Finding that her boss’ face was clouded with thought, Miyamoto glanced down to Giovanni, but he too seemed lost in thought as he looked up at her with narrowed eyes. Finally, Miyamoto glanced down to the baby in her arms, her precious child. She was a comfort, a loving face in a sea of coldness.

Meanwhile, Madam Boss examined the situation in her mind. Such an arrangement would be possible, and it would allow Miyamoto a way out and honest work, while still allowing her to keep a tab on Miyamoto. She smiled coldly as she realized this. "I could do it." She said finally, making Miyamoto return her gaze back to Madam Boss. "Yes, I can… I think it would work out very well…. Provided you do something for me in return."

Miyamoto looked at her boss. Surely whatever it was, it would be worth it to have her life with Musashi. She wanted to jump up and down, cheer and yell, and fall down to her knees thanking Madam Boss. At this moment, she had given Miyamoto what she had been lacking for a few months now: hope for a safe and well-off future for her baby. With great effort she composed herself and said with a smile, "And what might that be, ma’am?"

"Giovanni, get me file 9543 from the cabinet." Madam Boss said to her son, who hurried to the cabinet, removed a manila folder, and returned to his mother’s side, a slight look of disapproval on his face. Madam Boss noticed this, and looked at her son as she took the file. "You have something to say, Giovanni?" she asked curtly.

Giovanni gave Miyamoto with a look of disgust, hiding it when he turned back to his mother. "No, mother." He said darkly.

"Then return to your book. You still have much to learn and this matter does not concern you." Madam Boss said firmly. Giovanni still held the look of disgust on his face as he sulked over to the corner and picked up the book he had set down earlier, resuming his reading.

Miyamoto looked over at him nervously, as if sensing the devil himself in the boy. She turned back to Madam Boss again as her voice brought her attention back to the matter at hand. "Miyamoto, I’m sure you know the legend of the Lost City of Mew."

Miyamoto nodded. After all, who didn’t know the story? It had been a popular myth for a good 400 years or so, passed own from generation to generation… a romantic tale of a city of the legendary extinct Pokemon Mew, hidden in mountains somewhere in the world. However, the legend had always been just that to Miyamoto… a legend. Surely if such a city had existed, it would have been found by now, wouldn’t it?

"Well, we have reason to believe that it’s not a legend." Madam Boss said, her tone very serious. "Agents in the Andes have found more and more evidence of the city… fossilized remains, stone carvings, artifacts with carvings of Mew… all this kind of evidence." She said as she opened the file folder for Miyamoto. Miyamoto looked into the folder at the pictures of the artifacts and the typewritten reports. Musashi looked at the sheets with interest, despite her lack of comprehension.

"But couldn’t this just be from a tribe of Mew? We know that they banded together and produced things like this at times." Miyamoto asked.

"Possibly. But I don’t think so." Madam Boss replied. "Look at the pictures. The artifacts match those in the legends, as does the appearance of the mountains. It all matches!"

Miyamoto looked at the pictures and recalled the legends in her mind. Madam Boss was indeed right. They did match. "But then why has the city not been found?" Miyamoto asked.

"Well, legend, of course, has it that the city was buried by an avalanche, but I believe that the city was mostly underground to begin with. The agents there have found a shaft that leads down into the mountains, but no records exist giving a reason for it to be there. I have forbidden the agents from entering it, because I know that most of the agents in that sector would not have the level headedness to properly explore it."

Madam Boss paused here, and looked up at Miyamoto. "You are one of my top agents, Miyamoto. I want you to go to the Andes, and lead the expedition to find the lost city."

Miyamoto’s mouth hung open. "But that could take months!" she protested. "What about Musashi?"

"Oh, I’m sure your friends here would be more than happy to look after her… rest assured nothing bad will happen to her." Madam Boss replied.

"But- but- how can I be away from her for so long?" Miyamoto asked, her face a mask of sad disbelief.

Madam Boss’ face suddenly softened uncharacteristically. "All right, Miyamoto. I can respect that." She said, truly understanding Miyamoto’s feelings. As cold and uncaring as she could appear to be at times, Madam Boss wouldn’t be able to be apart from her child for months, either. "You will lead the expedition for one month, keeping careful records and reporting daily. At the end of that month, another agent will take your place, though I fear yours will be a hard act for them to follow."

Miyamoto smiled, and looked at her boss with admiration. "Thank you, Madam." She said humbly. "I guess I’d better start preparing for the trip." She turned to leave, cradling the now-dozing Musashi in her arms.

"Oh, and Miyamoto? One more thing." Miyamoto stopped in the doorway and turned back to face her boss.

"Yes, Madam?" she asked.

"Take care of that little girl." Madam Boss said, her voice and expression as serious as it had ever been in a direct order to an agent.

"Yes, Madam." Miyamoto replied, and turned to leave, feeling more relieved than she had felt in months. She hurried out of the room to head back to her quarters to prepare herself for the mission.

After she was gone, Giovanni set his book down again, and approached his mother, who was still looking the pictures of the artifacts and the mountain ranges. "Very clever, Mother." He said with an evil smile.

Madam Boss turned her attention to her son. "What?"

"Setting up Miyamoto like that. Very subtle."

Madam Boss stared at her son. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Oh, come on, Mother… That whole lost city of Mew thing… when are you going to order her killed?" Giovanni persisted. Madam Boss looked at her son now with anger in her eyes. "I have no intention of having her killed." She said firmly.

"But- But she’s trying to leave Team Rocket! That always means death…" Giovanni persisted.

Madam Boss looked at Giovanni angrily, and slapped him across the face. "Miyamoto will not be harmed. I’ll still have tabs on her in the outside world, and she will abide by the rules." She snarled.

"But mother-" Giovanni started to say, stopping when he saw his mother’s hand rise again.

"Are you questioning me, boy?" Madam Boss growled at her son.

Giovanni looked at the floor angrily. He knew his mother was making a mistake, but he was powerless to stop it. "No, Mother." He replied.

"Good. Now take your book and go back to our quarters. I’ll be along eventually." She said, still obviously angry.

Giovanni scooped up his book, and walked out of the office, angrily marching to his and his mother’s quarters. Suddenly, he stopped in the hallway and smiled to himself. His mother may be making a mistake, but perhaps he wasn’t so powerless to correct it…. A conniving smile spread across his face as he scurried off in the direction of their quarters.

Chapter Three: Fatal Interference