Passion Under Fire: Part I
By The Jolt Master

"We want to be a part of Team Rocket."

James remembered saying this over three years ago, standing with Jessie, on that dark night when they arrived at the Team Rocket headquarters. They were brought in and put through a brutal indoctrination, and accepted among their ranks. They were provided uniforms, money, documents on being a part of Team Rocket; it was exhausting. He smiled to himself, remembering how silly Jessie looked in her new Team Rocket outfit. She hadn't developed that much, so she looked like a multi-colored totem pole with a wild pink feather plume. He didn't look much better. They didn't have his size, so it appeared he had to rummage through his father's closet. The bluish hue added to his hair only made him look like his father. But he was really happy. He was a part of Team Rocket and it was his 14th birthday.

Months of training went by and they were teamed together, since they already knew each other. A year went by and they became known as the best team in the history of Team Rocket. They finished their assignments with incredible
efficiency, under budget, and on time. They had picked up the nickname "Jessie James," mainly due to their "cowboy" cunning and ruthlessness they showed when they were capturing pokemon or dispatching those who interfered with Team Rocket's operations. No one could touch them. They had the respect of the entire Team Rocket clan.

One day, it would all end.

It started with a direct call from the top man himself: Giovanni. They cheered wildly together after hanging up the phone as they had been invited to see him immediately. "Jessie James" quickly made their way to see him at the Team Rocket Headquarters. Once they arrived, they were immediately escorted into his luxurious office. They looked around, noticing the impressive array of artwork, carpeting, interior design, and more gadgets than Radio Shack. Obviously, he profited very well as the head of his criminal organization. Behind the desk, sat the man. A broad shouldered individual in his early forties with dark hair that was slicked behind him. He was dressed immaculately in a dark gray three piece suit, coupled with a blood red tie. His voice was firm and authoritative.

"There's a special pikachu I need you to get," Giovanni told them. "That's your new assignment." He handed them a dossier of information: pictures, field notes, the works. The pictures showed three kids and a pikachu. They quietly reviewed the packet, and then Giovanni spoke up.

"What do you notice about this trio and the pokemon?"

James and Jessie looked at each other, a little puzzled by the question, but a sly look crossed Jessie's face as she answered him.

"They're three little kids walking through the forest, lost and confused by the big world around them."

James smirked at that. His tone was as condescending as hers as he offered up
his answer, sounding like a profiler for a murder case.

"The kids are about ten to fifteen years of age, but experienced campers from
the wear and tear on their equipment. But-"

"What?" Giovanni replied, but already knowing the answer.

"The pikachu is out of his pokeball," James responded, sounding confused. "It's sitting on the trainer's shoulder like a parrot would for the captain of a pirate ship."

"Exactly," stated Giovanni. "This pikachu seems to display extraordinary loyalty to its trainer and appears to be remarkably intelligent. The field notes explain that in further detail."

Jessie and James thumbed through the notes and he was right. All the other teams had failed constantly, using all sorts of different pokemon to capture the pikachu. The pikachu didn't always use its electrical attacks to win the battles either. One battle detailed how after exhausting attacks against other pokemon, the stubborn rodent had taken down a charmander by slapping it repeatedly, but that attack was not commanded by the trainer, Ash Ketchum. James put the dossier back on Giovanni's desk, both smiled evilly.

"We're your team, sir," said James. "We can get that pikachu for you."

"Of course you can and you will," replied Giovanni. "There's a lot riding on
this for you two. You hit this and you'll be the pinnacle of what Team Rocket
members should to be. Your future here in Team Rocket, as well as the world,
will be your oyster."

Jessie and James grinned with pride at hearing that, then left his office to
capture the pikachu. Giovanni's face scowled with hatred and malice. His voice was a low growl as he muttered.

"And if you fail, I will make your lives miserable until you catch it."

-

That was over a year ago. True to Giovanni's word, they were in hell. Constant failure, disrespect from other members of Team Rocket, their morale was hitting rock bottom, but they were determined to capture the pikachu. They had to. While James was reliving the past, he smelled the rose he always had with him. The symbol of the fragility and evil that love is. The dark pink silky rose petals could be ripped away so easily while the thorns could stick you with its sharpness, causing pain and heartache. James furrowed his brows for a moment. Why is love so fragile? Why is it evil? More importantly, what is love? Poets write about, writers compose novels based on it, singers wail incessantly about it, and prostitutes sell it. What was the big deal about love? Was he missing something?

The two of them were perched atop a short building in some city they didn't
know, or cared about, the name of. He turned and looked at Jessie, who at the
moment, was watching The Loser Quartet via binoculars as they trekked along the rather empty sidewalk. He started to look her over. It was a more clinical look over, than a lustful one. They were friends and had grown up together...at least, through their more important years. She had filled out her uniform very nicely at that, what little of it there really was. Put simply, she had turned out to be a very attractive young woman. Not as attractive as some of the other women they've seen in their journeys. He certainly knew what lust was and rather enjoyed it. She didn't seem to share his enthusiasm and would often smack his arm to make come back to the real world and the situation at hand. This time was not about to be any different as her icy blue eyes glared at him.

"James?! Did you hear anything of what I said?"

He blinked and became flushed. No, it was apparent that he hadn't. He smiled a bit sheepishly at having been caught staring at her like a pervert. She scowled at him, then smacked his shoulder forcibly. "Just get the rifle."

James nodded and retrieved the satchel the rifle was being carried in, rubbing his shoulder. He unzipped it and pulled out the single-shot weapon. He checked the air-pressure gauge to make sure that the tranquilizer dart would travel the distance. He laid himself flat, an elbow propped up on the lip of the roof. The scope's crosshairs zeroed in on the pikachu. He aimed just ahead of them to lead the shot. His open eye narrowed with determination, his finger pulled the sensitive trigger, then drew in and held his breath.

An audible crack echoed in the quiet street as the rifle fired. The pikachu fell off Ash's shoulder, the tranquilizer dart working immediately before it even hit the ground. James screamed in blazing agony as he was forced onto his back. He looked at his right shoulder and it was covered in blood, staining his pure white Rocket sweater. Jessie screamed in horror at what just happened and frightfully looked where the shot might have come from. James quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her down as hard he could. Another crack and a bullet whistled over her head. She trembled visibly as she laid on top of him. James' voice spoke harshly, but weakly.

"Get behind...the air vent...go!"

She quickly got up, dragging him by his left hand as he scrambled to keep up,
but was too dizzy to focus on running. Another crack and the bullet ricocheted off the rooftop, near his foot. They dove behind the air vent. Jessie landed and placed herself flat against it, whereas James had landed on his now bad shoulder. He cussed sharply and profusely to the sky above in searing pain. Miraculously, he had managed to hold onto the rifle he was using. He weakly tossed it to Jessie.

"Look...through the scope...see who's shooting at us."

Jessie looked at her weakened, bleeding partner. Her shaking hand picked up the rifle and fumbled with it.

"James, I can't do this! I can't handle this!"

James' breathing was becoming more shallow and was feeling cold. She was upside down to him as he peered up at her from the ground. A hint of her panties were visible beneath her short skirt, but he forced himself to look higher at his scared partner. His voice was now a harsh whisper.

"Are you...telling me...that you're too..scared to do it?"

Jessie blinked at him as another crack was heard and the bullet zinged by the
metal air vent. She couldn't recall a time that James had ever spoken to her like that. She became rather calm suddenly, now a bit impressed with him showing a little spine instead of always cowering. A little sly smile appeared on her
face.

"We'll see who's scared." And with that, she moved around the corner of the air vent and slowly brought the rifle up and pointed it across the street. She peered through it carefully. She gasped at what she saw.

"They're Team Rocket members!" she exclaimed.

As she looked through the scope, the assassin Rockets appeared to be talking to something on their wrist. The gunman's head was turned to face his partner, as the other spoke.

"Shoot...them....Jessie..."

Jessie looked a bit anxious about that, but then she remembered that they were just tranquilizer darts, not bullets. She held the rifle carefully, saw one of their heads, and pulled the trigger. The rifle gave a little pffft and the dart struck the wall just above them. Jessie cursed and reloaded her weapon. The assassin Rockets didn't seem to notice that they had been shot at. She aimed again, held her breath this time and pulled the trigger. Pffft! The next dart hit the back of the skull and within a moment, the member with the rifle keeled over. The remaining one looked at the first one in surprise, then anger, apparently unaware of what happened. She quickly reloaded, aimed and fired again. Pffft! Right in the jugular vein. And he dropped like a rock. She sighed a breath of relief as she returned to James, very pleased with herself. Unfortunately, James couldn't share in her happiness as he had become unconscious and cold.