[header] Montagne Khastil - Unranked - June 9th, Evening - Lumiose City, Kalos [/header]
"I'm not asking, I'm telling you to get in the ball!" It was a command, but Oracle didn't react to it like one. Instead a low growl sounded from the Absol in protest, and her ability flared up as Monty brandished a black and gold sphere. The trainer understood her aversion to being confined in the small space, given how they had met, yet that didn't change the fact that the Steamed Corphish didn't allow Pokémon. At least, none not already on a plate.
The pair had been arguing, or rather Monty was arguing at Oracle, in front of one of Lumiose City's most acclaimed fine dining restaurants for the better part of five minutes; one of the longest arguments the criminal had ever had without starting a fight.
"Tch. And knock it off with the Pressure!" Monty commanded, though his partner only relented when he withdrew his Luxury Ball wielding hand. After their encounter with Evelynne, Oracle had finally allowed Monty to catch her with the Ball. What should have been a breakthrough turned out not to matter much, though, as the Absol immediately popped out in a flash of red light and stubbornly refused to stay inside since.
"Listen, I can't have you bursting out in the middle of this restaurant," Monty implored with his partner to no visible avail. "I just need to talk to the Boss for a bit and get out. It won't be that long." The Absol still seemed unconvinced until her trainer added, "We'll try some battling tomorrow if you behave." Oracle weighed her options for a moment before turning her nose up at the Luxury Ball without activating her ability, which Monty took as a sign that she begrudgingly accepted his terms.
"Took you long enough," the criminal muttered as he recalled his partner. With the insubordinate Absol safely stowed away, Monty could meet Cormier without the fear that she would betray how difficult controlling her was. That still didn't remove the fear that the Boss had something even more outlandish than yesterday cooked up for him, but it was a start.
Monty swung open the Corphish's tinted glass door and stepped into the low-lit restaurant, and after a brief exchange with the host and more than a few side-eyes from the uppity clientele he found Cormier at a secluded table next to the railing on the upstairs patio. The Boss wore a deep purple suit, different from yesterday morning, and his protegé felt the eyes of similarly well-dressed patrons boring into him as he crossed the patio in his street clothes.
Cormier's face lit up when he spotted Monty, and he amicably gestured to the open seat across from him.
"Welcome, Montagne! Take a seat, I already ordered for us both." Cormier took a final drag from his cigarette and put it out in an ashtray on the table, opting to leave it there rather than discard it over the railing.
Monty thanked him as he took the seat, and Cormier waved a waiter over as he asked, "How did it go at the docks last night?"
"Michel didn't give you a report?"
"That's not what I asked," Cormier stated as he turned to the waiter and ordered, "Surprise me with something...Johtoan. A red, preferably."
The waiter nervously commended him for his choice and quickly departed, and Cormier crossed his long arms over the table as Monty began relaying the previous night's events to him. "Michel and I scouted out the dock until Wabash got there, " he started, "But there were...complications. Apparently the feds got to Wabash before he could leave Sinnoh, so his crew and half his cargo got left behind."
"I already know about that," Cormier said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Was your task successful?"
Oh, that. "Yes, sir. I picked the strongest looking one he had, an Absol."
Something which Monty didn't recognize passed through Cormier's eyes, but the Boss simply closed them and said, "Good. How did it do in battle?"
The younger criminal froze like a Deerling in headlights. How was he supposed to battle with Oracle when just getting her to stay in her ball was a chore? Still, Monty needed to say something. "It did well-"
"You haven't battled with it yet." Of course the Boss called his bluff.
"Well, no, but-"
"But?" Cormier echoed. "But what? But you will battle with it eventually?" Monty's blood began to rise, but he nodded in an effort to placate his tablemate. "You need to take this a little more seriously, Montagne. There is too much to do for you to laze around at that brothel."
"Why do you care about what I do when I'm not on a job?" Monty demanded brashly. Cormier's expression instantly told him he'd overstepped his bounds, and the Boss waved a hand dismissively as he hissed, "Now's not the time for that discussion. Especially when you are on a job." Cormier's gaze snapped upwards and a faux smile graced his lips as the waiter slunk up to the table with their wine.
The younger man opened his mouth to retort, but the waiter's anxious return made him hold his tongue. "A vintage Johtoan red," the man announced, showing off a deep-green bottle. He poured two glasses and bowed, and Cormier thanked him as he took his leave. The older man lifted his glass and swirled it, watching the deep-red liquid coat the glass, and took a small sip before exhaling softly.
"You do not have that Absol merely for the sake of having a Pokémon, Montagne," Cormier said, staring into his subordinate's steely eyes. "You have it because it will make you stronger. Back in the old days-" More talk of the old days. It struck Monty as strange that someone so obsessed with his city was so focused on the past. "-our fists were enough. Then new players started moving into Kalos, and they brought their Pokémon with them. Still, our predecessors refused to adapt. You're like them in that way, Montagne."
Was that pride in Cormier's voice? Monty could never tell. "It was their downfall." Definitely not pride. "Slowly, building by building, street by street, and city by city, we lost territory to other players," Cormier continued, "Those old fools wondered why, but the answer should have been obvious."
"They weren't strong enough." Monty said. The Boss nodded, and took another sip of his wine before elaborating further. "Precisely. That is why it is so important that you take this task seriously."
Cormier kept saying it, but Monty had no idea what his task even was. "So you want me to get stronger?"
"I want you to make the Old Guard stronger," Cormier corrected. "But more simply, yes." Great, now he actually knew what he needed to do. Still, it was easier said than done for someone with no battle experience.
"'Get stronger' is a little abstract for my tastes, though," the Boss continued, "So I'll give you a benchmark. You're familiar with the Kalos League, right?" Monty nodded affirmatively. "Good, so when I tell you to obtain at least one Gym Badge before the end of June, you know what I mean?"
A Gym Badge before the end of June? That didn't sound too hard to Monty. He nodded affirmatively again, and Cormier smiled contentedly. "Magnifique! Now let's indulge a little more in this wine. It's délicieux, no?"
Monty and Cormier made small talk as they finished off the bottle together, and after a few minutes their food arrived. The Boss was spot on with his order, and his subordinate had to hold himself back from tearing into the tantalizing Bouffalant steak set in front of him.
Monty studied his tablemate as they shared their meal. He recalled his thoughts from the previous night, and wondered if he really did hate the man before him. Cormier had been the chief figure in his life for well over a decade, and Monty had to admit that this man who represented the pinnacle of authority might be the only one who held his admiration.
Still, Monty couldn't stop his blood from rising when he thought of how Cormier was keeping him from going back to the life he knew before his second incarceration. He remembered their conversation the previous morning, and thought that maybe Cormier was right about him being like their predecessors. Too stubborn to change, but hindered by their stagnation. At the very least, Cormier was right about him needing to be stronger. Maybe he was right about this task of his being the best way to do it, too.