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Cal returned Skye to his ball when they reached the roof. She wanted to get out of there. Like yesterday! She watched as everyone was taken down to the van below. But where was he ride? She looked for someone who might be free and just as luck would have it, Mau was close by. "May I ask for a ride?" It was more of a, 'get me down, now' sort of situation, but she asked as politely as she could.

When they were on the ground, she hurried into the van. Just drive before anything happens... Well, too late. Shots were fired.... Again..... And now they were in this mess. She jerked forward as the crashed, the seat belt catching her. Good thing she buckled up in her haste. Oh, now what? She turned in her seat to see if she could get a glimpse of their shooter.

Cal didn't have any flying pokemon, right... "Yeah." He said, recalling Aki before helping her up onto Ran's back. The bird took off, grabbing Mau in her claws to get them down.

When finally on the ground, Mau recalled Ran. Once in the van, he looked to Nadja. They'd succeeded? They'd succeeded! Having heard about the last couple of missions, and how badly they had failed... This was a huge relief. And-

After the sound of the gunshot, Mau wasn't sure what had happened. He had lurched forward, catching his arm on the seat in front of him. Now he was on the floor, and god damn did his arm hurt. He couldn't see it yet, but his left arm had broken, and the bone was showing through his elbow where it had broken the skin and through his suit.

"Well. Despite the unexpected complication," Nadja was saying, "that was well do-"

Things went dark.



"s**t."

That was Hayes, muffled by the deflating airbag. Things were.. dark, there was the harsh smell of chemicals and burnt rubber, and his whole left side felt.. wrong, moreso in some places than in others. It hurt to breathe, and there was something in his eye.

He could also hear sirens. Not good.

The agent shifted and met soft resistance and long blond hair falling over his shoulder. But Nikki had been in the back-

"s**t. Nikki-" Hayes twisted on his back to look across the seats - the direction that was now 'up' after the van had landed on the driver's side - and inhaled sharply, which was a bad idea in itself. Something definitely broken, or strained, or sprained, but- "Nikki! Hey!" He reached up with his good arm to touch her shoulder, tone urgent.



There was a quiet grunt of effort, the clunk of a door opening, and then the click of a seatbelt freeing its occupant. Then Nadja's voice, from outside the van - above them, because she'd perched on the side. Her stealth suit was considerably worse for wear, torn in places that showed widening lines of blood along lacerations from the glass.

"The police are coming. Everyone out." Her tone was clipped; they were pressed for time. "If you can, help your teammates."

Aila was greeted with a gun's report as she exited the museum, a loud crash following shortly after. The Rockets had met with some misfortune, she surmised. Either that or one of the guards that had been left conscious was a little frustrated and had lapsed into a haphazard bout of trigger-happiness. Perhaps even a combination of the two. The thief briefly entertained the idea of going to their aid but dismissed the thought with an audible laugh. As if they would do the same for her.

"Saur, saur!" Fleur cried, vines wrapping around her trainer's wrist and tugging her forward. Aila nodded and disappeared into the city's labyrinth-like streets. She would retire to her campsite on the outskirts for the night and set out for Camphoreon in the morning.

"We should be thankful," the girl murmured, "that they so kindly provided us with such a magnificent distraction."

Cal struggled to get her seat belt off and shook loose the glass from her hair. It was remarkable, nothing broken, nothing scraped or scratched too bad. Man, she breath a long sigh of relief as the seat belt loosened. She twisted her body upright in the side ways car and began to make her way out by Nadja's orders. She didn't want to stay in there, it would blow up with the luck the Rockets were having tonight.

She turned to Mau who had been throw from his seat and made her way out of the van after him, grabbing onto his hand for leverage. "You alright?" she looked him over happily before..... There was something wrong with this picture. Mau's suit was torn and what was that sticking out or it? Bone!? Cal wanted to empty her stomach contents right there, but she refrained from hurling. "D-do you need help?" Her eyes grew wide and she winced. That looks like it hurts...

The sirens were getting louder. She started to shake a bit. Everything was moving so fast! Someone had shouted to get in to a hot wired car, what? Oh what was happening? Get a grip!

Out of one van and into another. Nyx managed to unbuckle and pull herself out through the roof-door. Amazingly, she was unharmed except for a few scrapes, bruises, and minor cuts from the glass. No doubt she'd be sore for a few days, but that was nothing compared to some of the others.

Nyx redid her seatbelt after she climbed into the new van. If only she could have Langley fly her away without tipping off the cops... then she would never have to ride in a car ever again.

That had.. not been what Lynette was expecting, and for a second the guard stared at her gun like it was a live snake, stunned by the sudden destruction she'd caused.



Once Hayes' partner was out of the van, she went stumbling off across the street, bloody-browed and dazed. That was never a good sign. "Nikki-" the blond started, following after her - or trying. He managed a step before his expression contorted with pain when he put weight on his left knee.

Was she-? He couldn't tell from this- Oh, she'd got the door open. But that wouldn't be any good unless she could hotwire a ca-

She could hotwire a car.

Awesome.

One of the uninjured Rockets offered a shoulder, for which they received a wan grin and a breathless "Thanks," as Hayes limped in the SUV's direction, body protesting as he settled into a seat, eyes on Nikki.

Where the heck had she learned that.



As Rockets began to emerge from the wrecked vehicle, Nadja slipped to the pavement and glared the way they had came. Nothing. Perhaps one last guard, or a faulty tire - the possibilities presented themselves and were promptly filed away for possible later investigation. A hand went to the pouch at her waist as she climbed into the passenger's side again, eyes focused on the blonde agent at the wheel for any signs of faltering.

It seemed like a longer time to transfer to the new vehicle than it really was, the atmosphere tense as the sirens got louder, but at last everyone had crammed in and the stolen vehicle sped off into the night, tires squealing.



In the shadow of a doorway, Lynette waited for her heart to stop racing, dreading the moment that it did - because then it would sink like a lead balloon with her realization. There would be searches and rewards for information later, but at the moment?

Team Rocket had won.