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Walpurgis looked down at his communicator as it beeped.

Walpurgisnacht

A man will be transporting a diamond from Motterosa to Katarina. We expect him to use the main path. You are to steal the diamond, and return it to our base in the moutains, using whatever means you deem appropriate. Expect resistance from the local authorities.

Walpurgis clicked the communicator off, and stepped out of his cabin. Looking around, he left to get his gear that he had hidden in the forest.



A series of knocks woke the blonde haired officer. "Hey, Erika! Wake up!"

Erika Hartmann clenched her eyes tighter as she heard the voice beyond the door. "Mm... Shut up...!" But the knocks repeated, and Erika blearily threw off the blanket. "s**t, fine...! I'm up, I'm up..." She protested as she got out of bed and reached for the door. "Yeah, what is it...?" She asked with eyes closed as she threw the door open.

After a moment of silence, Erika opened her eyes to see her fellow officer, Samantha Pierce, staring wide-eyed at her, red as a tomato, mouth working furiously for words that would not come. Finally, "C-could you please put some clothes on!?"

Erika looked down to see herself wearing nothing but her underwear, then fought to remember just how much she had drunk last night; it must have been a fair amount more than usual, at least - she didn't usually sleep half naked. The splitting headache she had would help support that theory, too. Groaning, she turned around and yawned, feeling Sam's gaze on her back. Walking over to the closet, she pulled on a tank top, and reached for jeans. As she stuck a leg into them, she turned to face the other officer, who was still blushing by the door. "What's up, Ms. By-the-books?"

"First of all, it's Samantha. Or Sam. Not 'Ms. By-the-books'. Second of all, the chief has an assignment for us. We're to accompany a man named Mr. Weeks as he transports a diamond from town to Katarina. I figured you'd be here, so I came to wake you up. I just didn't expect you to be..." The woman trailed off again, the blushing renewed. Erika waited for her to finish as she slipped on the jeans, but the other officer seemed to decide against finishing. Instead, Sam motioned to Erika with her hand. "I-if you don't mind my asking, what's with the scars...?" The officer referred to the three long, jagged scars along the blonde's back.

Erika looked over her shoulder and pulled the tank top up. "Oh, these? Got 'em protectin' a friend a few years back from a thug and his pokemon. I don't really notice 'em much anymore. Prob'ly helps they're on my back." Pulling her top back down, she walked over to her desk chair and picked up the jacket that was draped over it. Pulling it on, she sighed at her fellow officer. "Escort missions seriously suck. Let's just get it over with."

The two officers escorted Mr. Weeks outside of the city without incident, and took the main road at his behest. All was going well until a freak blizzard hit the area. It started far faster than should have been possible, and Samantha ordered Erika to stay close to Weeks. The junior officer did as she was told and drew her gun, thankful for her jacket.

As the snow whipped around them, a liepard suddenly rushed at Samantha from out of nowhere, knocking her off her feet and hard onto the ground. Erika leveled her gun at the cat pokemon, but it suddenly vanished. Behind her, Mr. Weeks shouted at something, and she turned to see a figure in a black trenchcoat running away.

"Get him! He has the diamond!" Mr. Weeks called out to her. Before Erika could do anything, Samantha blasted past her, rushing after the thief. "Let's go, Erika!" She called out to her partner, who hesitated a little before following after.

The two entered the forest, blinded by the snowfall, and lost track of the thief. "Erika, let's split up. If we stay together, there's a greater chance of him getting away." Erika nodded her understanding and took to the left while Samantha took to the right.

Officer Samantha Pierce's eyes opened blearily to sterile white surroundings. "Hey." She turned to face the sound of the voice, wincing as she did. Erika frowned. "Ya shouldn't be movin', yet. Ya just got shot, man."

Settling back on the hospital bed, Samantha closed her eyes. "What happened...?" Erika scratched at the back of her head, leaning forward in the chair she sat in. "I got yer call, and came as fast I could. But when I got there, you were bleedin', and the bad guy was no where to be seen." She sighed. "The chief is gonna be pissed at us." Erika's phone rang, and Samantha felt a wave of dread at the sound. "s**t, speak of the devil." Samantha forced herself to calm down, and smiled to her partner. "Erika, let me talk to him. In the meantime, could you get me a drink of water? I'm a little thirsty, and I probably shouldn't move, like you said." Erika shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Have fun." She gave Samantha the phone and walked out of the room.

Placing the phone to her ear, Samantha waited until she couldn't hear Erika's footsteps any more. "Chief, we have a problem. ...No, besides that."

"I think Officer Hartmann is a spy."




Standing beside the doorway, Erika scowled.