A Discrete Flavor Ch.4

"What's with all the screaming coming from that room," Tom asked.

"Cilan likes my cooking!"

"So you already know him?"

"Duh," I said making a face, "He's the grass type gym leader of Unova."

"What's he doing here, then," Si asked.

"Good question! I'll ask him when I get his autograph!"

My stomach growled.

"But first I need to eat!"

"Oh, we ate it all already," Seviper said, pointing at the pot.

"Eeeeh!?"

I rushed over to the pot to find a little bit of juice and a carrot left in it. I slumped down to the ground. All that hard work, and I didn't get a taste of it. I slowly got back up and slumped down at the table. My stomach growled again. I heaved a sigh while TCG and Cilan came out of the bedroom.

"Do ya really think I can become a tea connoiseur too," TCG asked.

"Of course," Cilan replied, "You already have an extensive knowledge about it, so there shouldn't be a problem. Hm? What's wrong with you, Jamie?"

"I don't get to eat the food I made," I grumbled.

Cilan looked at his bowl, then sat it down in front of me. "Here. It's not much, but it's better than nothing."

"Aw, that's so sweet of you," I said, sitting up."If only the rest of you guys were as generous as this guy."

"S-Sorry," Simon said, "But it was really good."

No one else was paying attention. Cilan  motioned his Pansage to sit at the table across from me before sitting down himself.  He placed his hands on the table with his fingers crossed. a I sat up straight, putting my hands in my lap.

"There are still things I need to talk to you about," He said, smiling, but serious.

"Um, uh, about what?"

"If I'm such a big influence in your life, then why did you turn to a life of crime?"

"No! you got it all wrong!  We're not bad guys! Um, sure you saw us steal all those pokeballs, but you've got it all wrong!"

"Oh?"

"The truth is, I don't think I'm allowed to tell you everything, but we're working with the police in an investigation!"

Cilan sat back, folding his arms with a sneer. "Is that so?"

"Speaking of the gig, I'ma text Looker about last night," TCG said, pulling out his iPhone.

"It can wait until the meeting," Jhon said.

"No it can't."

"Geez, you're really out of it today, CG," Seviper said.

"Y-You guys know, Looker," Cilan asked, surprised.

"It's more interesting that you know him," Jhon said.

"Hm? What's this," I asked, "Is Cilan a bad boy?"

"No. When I was traveling through Unova, I helped him with a case. That's all."

"Looks like Cilan got himself involved with a life of crime," I teased.

"I am not!"

Cilan sat back down and crossed his arms. I grinned.

"Actually, Looker's the reason why we know James," I said.

Cilan would't look this way. He stared outside at the passing scenery.

"Originally he wanted to trick James into committing a crime so he could throw him away for good, but James didn't go for it."

"What a horrible taste," he said, still looking outside.

"I saw that he was just a little lonely, so I invited him into our group."

Cilan turned to me, resting his hands on the table. 

"You don't know what kind of person he's capable of, do you?"

I cocked my head at him.

"I know he's done bad things in the past, but he's really not a bad person."

He closed his eyes and sighed.

"I've seen him do really nasty things. I won't bother with details, but I do trust you to trust me when I say he's got something up his sleeve. He's using you guys."

"Bullshit," Tom said, "He's been with us for two years and nothing's happened."

"Looks like he's in for a long con, then."

"But he's helped me get over my drug addiction," Tom said, "and he's helping people and Pokemon."

"Hmph. He's got you good."

"Enough," I said, standing up, slamming my hands on the table. "There's no such thing as a bad person! As a Pokemon Connoisseur, you should see that in people! And we're changing the world whether YOU like it or not!"

"You tell 'im, bro," TCG said.

Cilan waved his finger at me.

"Even though I'm outnumbered here, I'm not going to change my mind about him. It appears I can't change your guys' minds either. Maybe we should just drop it and talk about something else?"

"I don't care if you're giving up or not! I'll make you see that we're doing good in this world with James! You're helping us with this mission!"

Cilan blinked in surprise. He opened his mouth to say something when TCG let out that weird chuckle of his.

"Ksh, ksh, ksh. It looks like Jamie's decided on something," He said, pushing up his glasses, "You're so fucked!"

"Are you sure that's a good idea," Seviper asked.

"He may not look like it, but Cilan's really strong," I said, "He's a gym leader in Unova after all." 

"Okay then," Jack said, shrugging his shoulders. "If he's as strong as you say he is, then it should be fine."

"I thought you were asleep, Jack," Seviper said.

"I was resting my eyes."

"Uh-uh."

"Well, if I am going to do this, then you're going to have to tell me what's going on," Cilan said.

I plopped down back in my seat.

"Okay, you know the pokeballs we stole last night?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, they were from trainers from around the world. You see, trainers trading Pokemon in the Global Trading Center have been having problems lately. For some reason, uncommon or shiny Pokemon haven't been showing up to the trainers that have been traded. Since it's a global problem, the International Police have been getting involved. They've pinpointed the missing Pokemon to the GTC here. However, they don't have enough evidence to issue a warrant. That's where we come in. We have a reputation of taking care of things that aren't exactly legal. But honestly, the only reason why we're doing this is we're getting paid half a mil."

Cilan put his hand on his chin to think about it.

"So, Pokemon are going missing during trading at the GTC in the Kalos region," He said, standing up to wander around. "They aren't letting the International Police in to check things out, correct?"

"That's right."

"Something smells suspicious. And when there's a mysterious aroma in the air: It's Detective Time!"

I gasped in excitement.

"I, Cilan the Connoisseur Detective, am on the case!"

"You're so awesome," I said, clasping my hands together, "Take me away, Cilan!"

"It sounds like a large piece of the puzzle has been solved already," Cilan said, "So what ingredient will I be to this recipe?"

"Oh, well, my part is coming up soon," I said, "so you can help me with that."

"And what is your part?"

"No! Don't do it,"Si shouted, "Think this through!"

"I have thought this through, and I Am genually curious about this. Is there more than meets the eye, or am I right as usual? And why would a world wide operation put its reputation on the line like this? And most importantly, why are a bunch of well mannered teens such as yourselves hanging out with a guy like James? These are questions I would like answered."

"Can't you just do the logical thing and let the police deal with it?"

"They tried, Si," Jack said," that's why they hired us to help."

"Hmph, you're just asking to get killed if you ask me," Si said, folding his arms.

"Does he always have a bitter taste in his mouth," Cilan whispered to me.

"Most of the time,"I said, "He just cares too much about others safety too much."

As soon as we saw buildings, James stopped the RV and crawled into the back.

"Okay, twerp, you can walk from here. Now out!"

"He's helping with the gig," I said.

"Since when?"

"Since I decided he is!"

James jabbed his fingers into my chest and said, "Listen here, you, I am the one who makes The decisions around here and this is not one of them!"

"I don't care what you think, he's coming with us!"

"He doesn't have a clue about what we do,"James said, raising his voice, "He's just going to get himself Or Somebody killed!"

"That's what I said," Si shouted.

"Besides,"TCG said, pushing up his glasses, "Looker is not pleased at All about how the gig went last night. He at least wants Cilan to attend the meeting."

James narrowed his eyes At Cilan before turning around to the front. 

"I hate you," He snarled.

"And I look forward to the meeting," Cilan said with a smile.