Frontline Mission #7

Jackson was walking down a long hallway with his partner pokemon, Atlas, at his side. He grew more nervous as a man stopped in front of a door, taking out a key card and tapping it against an electronic lock. It made a beeping noise as the lock clicked out of place and he opened the door. He entered and held it open, waiting for the trainer to follow.

Jackson had come to Grovehart city after finding requests the police had put out a request for information about gang activity. The reward being offered was tempting to him, but the trainer still hadn’t really decided if he wanted to give any information over to the police. A significant amount of his income came from working on electronics for rather shady characters. Times were tough, and he had to make money where he could.

Regardless of his eventual decision, Jackson had no choice but to keep going along with it as he entered the room. Several other people were sitting around a table in the room, their discussion ending as he entered.

“Got our tech specialist here.” The man who had brought him over said. Jackson stood nervously as the group stared at him.

“Have a seat and let’s talk business.” One of the members of the group said as he motioned for Jackson to sit down. The trainer did as he was instructed as Atlas sat down next to him.

“What we really need right now is for someone to hack a new shipment of holopads we recently got in.” Another man at the table began to explain as he motioned to a few stacks of holopads that were nearby. Jackson tapped his fingers lightly against the table. Hacking holopads wasn’t that serious all things considered. It mainly just allowed them to reach additional portions of the network, especially in regards to the blackmarket and other illegal trades.

“Alright… What’s your offer then.” Jackson said carefully. As the group replied the trainer found that their reward was more tempting than the police’s. Plus, it didn’t have the risk of becoming known as a snitch. Not only would he lose his main income but he also knew that many of the criminals he had done business with in the past would come after him. He looked down at Atlas for a moment, who’s tail wagged. Even if his pokemon didn’t fully understand the conversation it gave him a boost of confidence.

“I’ll do it.” The trainer agreed as he shook hands with several of the men around the table. They then gathered up the holopads for Jackson to take, putting them into a mundane looking bag. After he was instructed to drop the holopads back off when they were finished he was led to the exit.

Before Jackson left the door the guard stopped to watch the cameras, looking for any sign of the police. Once he had confirmed the coast was clear he opened the door. The trainer entered a room that appeared to just be for storage as the wall slid back behind him and another man ushered him out a different door.

Jackson left the alley as quickly as he could without looking suspicious, his noctyena still walking at his side. He did relax when he thought about the fact that he currently hadn’t committed any crimes. The trainer was just carrying a bag full of holopads. Sure it looked suspicious but certainly wasn’t illegal.

The trainer and his pokemon walked to the train station and boarded the first one that was heading towards Thunderdale. Jackson sat down on one of the seats as he set the bag beneath him carefully. Atlas sat in the seat next to him before curling up with his head resting on his trainer’s lap.

Jackson stroked the noctyena’s ears until the train finally came to a stop at Thunderdale. He grabbed his bag and departed, immediately walking towards his apartment. The trainer occasionally glanced back over his shoulder to make sure no one was following him. He didn’t notice anyone eyeing him in Grovehart but he still always checked his surroundings.

Soon enough Jackson was unlocking the door to his apartment and setting the bag down on his workstation. Working on the holopads would take some time and for now he was exhausted. Atlas seemed as equally tired as he laid on Jackson’s bed and closed his eyes. The trainer yawned as he checked some of his messages before heading to bed.