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She had called him.
He didn't take the time to wonder how she even managed to get this very confidential number, she was Malva anyway, of course she had it. It didn't matter on the moment. He had to hurry. He couldn't run to avoid raising suspicious looks, but by Arceus he wanted to. He could only walk at a fast pace, trying to think harder with every steps, making theories, drawing conclusions, thinking of what to except. Since Malva knew about Emma whereabouts, it meant that she was still in contact with others ex-Flare members,or at least that she had a clear view of the whole situation, and knew that he was close to Emma. She was such a good spy, it was almost a shame that she wasn't among interpol units, they could use someone as talented as her.
But Looker had to wonder. What else was she aware of ? Did she know that he had spent the last few months tracking Team Flare under the disguise of a simple private detective, did she know that he had been awfully bad at this job, which was given to him specifically because Anabel wanted him to have an easy, smooth, out of the action kind of mission, and yet couldn't even do this properly ? Did she knew he still had quite the information about her links with Team Flare, and that the only reason he hadn't got her arrested yet was because he was just that much under the weather and missed all the evidences ?
It hurt to admit, but he felt ashamed of himself. This whole mission has been a calamity, he couldn't even prevent the Geosenge Disaster despite his researches, as he failed to focus on the mission way before he even took Emma in. Which was something he didn't regret at all, and he was ready to fight Anabel for this if needed. Would he have done it if he had been in another mindset ? Pehaps no, maybe yes. He knew it was against Interpol's protocole, but he was never that good with protocole to be fairly honest. He simply couldn't bring himself to regret it. The kid needed his help, and he helped her, that's what his job was supposed to be at its core, after all. She returned the favor, as Emma had been such a breath of fresh air in his life, helping him finally thinking about something else than the loss of his dear pokemon. He missed to have a friend constantly by his side, but Emma managed to fill that void he had been so desperate to ignore ever since that mission in Unova.
There, he did it again. Focusing on all the personal stuff instead of the matter at hands. It was too late, as he already arrived at the point of rendez-vous. No more time to think. He rushed in the hotel, and looked for the number Malva gave him on the phone. Room 37. There. He opened the door, and his hurry was met with a perfectly calm and relaxed woman sitting on the couch with a gigantic Pyroar. A welcoming smile grew on her face as she noticed Looker, who was sweating and catching his breath.
''Hello. You look like you went through the sewers my friend. Take a minute to take your breath.''
Oh he hated her so much. He had met many criminals in his life. But she was something else, even though he had met her only a few times while undercover. She was almost as unsefferable and scary as Nanu, which was something. He didn't like that casual welcome, and took it as a provocation.
''Tell me where Emma is and what you want in exchange. Don't make me waste my time.
-Quick on buisness I see. I like to take the time to make good deals though, so please sit on that chair and stay still if you can and try to calm down. I don't bite.''
Oh no, she just assist megalomaniac into wiping out the entire population. Why shouldn't he be calm, being around a person like that. His shoulders were so tensed it started to hurt, and he remained at the threshold for a bit, observing her irritably joyful eyes. He didn't like this. But he had to comply for Emma's sake. He carefully took a few steps, but didn't sat on the chair as asked. He couldn't just comply to anything she was saying.
She remained silent, scanning him through her pink glasses, waiting for him to feel uncomfortable enough to break the silence. In other circomstances, he would have try to win at this game. But there was no time to waste : this wasn't about a case, this was about Emma. The guilt of his failure and the fear of being too late were making speech more difficult to articulate, but the responbility he had toward the girl's well-being helped him to maintain a fierce stance in front of Malva.
''Well. Tell me what you want in exchange of what I came for.'' He simply asked.
Ignoring him, she turned her attention back to her Pyroar, still sitting on the couch. Her movements were menacingly slow and her eyes so worringly full of confidence. Looker felt like she was already winning a game that hadn't even started for him yet. She took her time to pretend thinking about a fitting answer, and she was still seemingly ignoring him as she responded :
''Oh nothing much. Nothing that could be too much struggles for you. You see, I'm a grieving woman. I know that Lysandre won't be missed by many, all things considered, but he was a very dear friend to me. I'm quite tired of your friends coming to my door, annoying me with little details of the past. I'd like to move on.''
Her words seem to be composed for compassion, but her tone was so cold and calm and calculated, it ringed as a mere fact rather than a confession of vulnerability. He didn't believe Malva ever has been vulnerable in her life. One could mistake her cold attitude for the signs of an ice type user, but the look in her eyes, while as cold as Articuno itself, had a determination and confidence that made it clear that she had the destructive power of fire. And she was perefctly aware of that.
Looker tried to reposition himself against the desk in the middle of the room, crossing his arms as if they'd be able to defend him against whatever kind of manipulation she was willing to throw at him. She refused to be clear about it for now, but he feared to understand what she actually meant. It was actually worse than he thought.
''So you want me to... pass a note, so you'd be left alone ?''
-That is a lovely way to put it. The last few days have been a bit of a hussle. I'd like to go back to my league duties at once, Kalos need a strong League at the moment after all, in such times of crisis.''
She stood up and got closer, somehow more menacingly than her Pyroar following close. Looker frowned but didn't move.
''You got the situation very wrong. You can't go back to the league unless you're proved innocent. Dianthea would never accept that. Interpol either. I can help you to lesser your sentence if you wish, but you have to tell me where Emma is. I don't have much time.
-Oh but I don't have that much time myself you know. I see you're confused about my demand, so allow me to be more clear. You're going to sit on this desk. Use your computer to access my file. And nullify all the charges and suspicions against me.'', she articulated while slowly getting closer, ''Clean my slate. And I'll tell you what is happening to Emma, and where you can find her. Without my help, you're taking the risk of being too late. You don't want to lose another one of your partners, do you ?'
Looker flinched but was quick to regain his composure. That was low, even for her, but it also meant that she was aware of some parts of his personal life. Well, he had lost his pokemon on the job but anything happening in this job was always also personal. Including this very moment.
''Don't threathen me. I'm an interpol agent, I can throw you in jail for decades to come.
-No you can't. Besides, you'd risk the life of that random kid you found in the streets ? You are more clever than you seem after all.
-If I do what you're asking of me, what guarantee do I have that you'll tell me the truth about Emma instead of one of your disgusting lies ?
-That's the point of buisness my friend, you have to trust people. You seem even more devoid of faith in humanity than I am.
-Having faith in people is part of my job.''
She just smiled. He hated this situation. He knew whatever his decision, it would have consequences. In any case, Anabel was going to kill him. But hesitating for too long could be a fatal blow to Emma's fate, and he couldn't let that happen. Of course he wasn't sure wether her life was in danger or not, but he just couldn't bring himself to take the risk.
''You can have faith in me then'', she said after a few seconds, ''I won't bite anyone, so relax. Emma is waiting though.''
He couldn't respond anything and just sat on the chair, in defeat, softly led by Malva cold hands, a grin of victory distording her face.
''Why did you do it ?'' He simply asked while putting his laptop on the desk.
Her Talonflame, that was perched in a corner of the room, followed his every movement closely with its wide eye, perching itself a bit too close. Malva was behind him, standing still, staring at the laptop.
''You mean why I helped Lysandre ? I told you. He was my friend.
-Is that enough to help for a massive wipe out of humanity, costing the lives of many pokemons in the process ?
-I think it is. You shouldn't judge me. You're about to erase the criminal record of a woman for one of your friends. You should understand me.
-It's not the same ! You... I'm doing this to save someone !
-And Lysandre wanted to save humanity. Quit complaining and unlock that damn computer of yours.''
He was torn between slowly taking his time just to infuriate her (which seemed like quite the impossible task, but still worth a try), and going as fast as possible to save Emma from whatever trouble she was stuck in. He couldn't understand her mindset. To give so little care about so many lives. What could have lead her to this. And he was about to let her remain at the League. Remain at a position of power. Remain free. Was it selfish of him to risk the future of Kalos for the sake of one person ? While he wasn't even sure that her life was actually in danger ?
Emma appeared in his life unexpectedly, at his most vulnerable moment, and he couldn't help but feel like he was responsible for her. It took time for her to trust him, for her to feel at ease in the office, and he couldn't betray that precious trust, as trust isn't something that you can just repair from broken shards. He never had a child of his own but the constant feeling of worriness made him understand those parents that were sometimes deemed irrationals. He paused while taping his passwords to access restricted documents, wondering if he'd be able to look at Anabel in the eyes while explaining his decision. Anabel's judgement was a good guide for his conscience, usually. He left his fingers hanging above the keyboard, not aknowledging Malva's burning gaze behind his back, and thought. She would be mad but she wouldn't shot him.
He decided it was enough and proceeded.
He typed his password in silence, the towering presence of Malva looking behind his back staring to put more and more pressure on his fingers. He threw her a glance. Her face seemed so calm, patient, and almost warm, yet her posture was cold and menacing, the mere way she was tapping the back of the chair he was sitting on made him feel like time was against him. His own fingers seemed to move unnaturrally toward the right files on the screen, feverishly selecting Malva's file. He just had to fill a few checkboxes and write some lines, and as simple as that, he would finish his investigations on Malva on nothing. He felt the need to add a warning :
''If you don't hold your part of the bargain, I can nullify this anytime.
-Are you doubting the reliability of my sources ?
-I'm doubting the reliability of your good will.
-Fair enough.''
It seemed to him like it took forever to fill the blanks, check or uncheck the boxes, corrupting the files with lies. He was sure to receieve a call from Anabel soon enough after that. He would answer after making sure that Emma was safe. He was growing tired of the staring eyes of Malva and her pokemons, weirdly exhausted once he finally sent the completed, corrupted file.
He didn't even look at her, he just knew what kind of grin was crossing her face. She finally left from behind his back, leaning against the couch in front of him. She seemed satisfied.
''Thank you very much for your help.
-Where's Emma. ''
She laughed at his impatience, which just managed to anger him more. He stood up, ready to leave at the second he got his information, but he knew he couldn't force her to spit the beans, as she probably wouldn't find an issue in asking her pokemon to deal with him. And he didn't have any pokemon by his side anymore. Thankfully, she also liked to be straight to the point.
''Xerosic gave her the suit, but I believe you had arleady figured that out. You can find your girl and arrest him in the process, his lab is under the Flare Cafe. Don't be in a hurry, he needs the girl alive and is probbably giving her cookies. Not that it would stop him from running any kind of more or less legal experiments with her. Don't ask me what he's working on exactly, I don't know and I never really cared.''
Her disdain toward the ex-team Flare was palpable, letting out some kind of human emotion for the first time. In the confusion of a false sense of relief mixed with his everlasting worries, he felt intrigued enough to ask :
''Why do you seem to dislike him so much ? Weren't you two partners in crime ?
-This rat joined Flare for selfish reasons. Mere scientific curiosity. He was never a friend of Lysandre. Unfortunately, Lysandre was too blinded by Xerosic beautiful passion for science to see his disgusting greed. Lysandre saw the ugliest things in humanity as a whole, but always saw the most beautiful asset in one's soul. He was a complex person.''
For a second he saw the griveing woman behind the cold manipulations and twisted plots. This honest affection she had for Fleur de Lys sure was puzzling. But he didn't really have the time nor the need to try to know anything about her personal life. He had more pressing matters at hand, and he was rather mad at what she made him do. Cleaning the slate of a criminal was compeletly against his ethic, his morals, his principles, against everyhting he has ever worked for ever since he became a cop. He wouldn't forgive her for that.
Under the eyes of her Talonflame, he packed up his laptop as quickly as possible and as little awkardly as his clumsy hands could, then rushed to the door, daring one last glance at Malva. Her posture was again as cold as ice and her eyes seemed to be trying to burn him alive.
''I'll keep an eye on you, after I'm gone from the region.
-I doubt you will. I'll behave either way, go save your little girl.
He ignored her comment and opened the door, but she stopped him one last time :
''You're going to need this card to open the door to the lab. Don't forget to arrest the little rat. I don't want to have him in my sight again.
-I don't suppose you'd be so kind to accompany me to the entrance, to make sure I'm in the right place ?
-I have some other places to be I'm afraid. I need to meet someone.''
His glance was a bit too judgemental, but she seemed more amused than anything. He couldn't understand how she could feel so at ease at sharing all kind of informations as personal as these. It felt like she was just doing it to confuse him and laugh at him.
'I'm not coercing every single person I meet. Besides, the poor man might need to talk. Just like little Emma needs you. Don't forget to take this.''
He stared at the card in her hand for a second, grabbed it, and slammed the door behind him. Once again he hurried, just in case there was a mere possibility of being too late. It seemed uncomfortably easy to forget how he just betrayed his own morals, as he ran toward the Cafe, but he couldn't care enough. He had more important matters at hands. Losing a job was nothing compare to losing a family. It was all worth it.
He needed Emma to be safe.