"I'll be fine," Clive protested as Yulia's Beartic approached him. "It won't be too far." Still, despite Clive's protesting, Zita remained close by. Clive trudged along slowly as they made their way back to the station, his mind sorting through the details of everything that had transpired. Maybe he was jumping to conclusions, but there was something ominous about his interaction with Sierra. Even before the mysterious Psychic had appeared, Sierra's attempts to flee suggested a motive beyond her need to escape. Was she leading him away from something?
While trying to focus on the experience, Clive could feel his blood pressure rise in frustration. For hours, he had been pushing aside the anger he felt towards... everything,, but now this damn sprained ankle was going to bring the worst out of him. Each step he took was too short, was not in tempo and hurt, and he could feel his foot swell more and more in his shoe. He filled his lungs to capacity before letting out a loud sigh, and made a motion at Zita, finally giving in and accepting the help that was offered. Beartic were typically a bit taller than an average person, so Clive had to reach upward to place his hand on the Pokemon's shoulder to pull the weight away from his ankle. As awkward as it was at first, he quickly decided that the relief from the pain made it worth it.
Finally, they reached the police department. It felt like it had been so long since Clive had seen the broad, dark doors that lead into the front. Upon entering, the place looked strangely empty, despite being busy. Every single body was constantly in motion. Not one single person was sitting at their desk, and those who were present were rushing to get to wherever they were going. It was going to be a stressful few days, nights... weeks, Clive knew.
When he was finally given the opportunity, Clive gently lowered himself onto a chair. He panted silently as he worked to loosen his shoelaces, and slowly, very slowly, peel his shoe off of his foot. "I wish I wore my boots," he thought out loud, thinking that the added support may have prevent the injury. After the sharp pain from removing his shoe, there was a bit of relief as his ankle was given the chance to breath. Yulia rushed over to hand him a small bag full of ice, and Clive studied his partner's face as he took the bag the from her. Part of him wanted to tell her to stop looking so damn guilty like everything revolved around her, but that was a dangerous, slippery slope he did not want to go down just yet. Any chink in the armor, and bend in the bars of his cage, and he would let too much of his emotions go at once. He continued to assure himself that there would be a time, and a place.
Clive watched Yulia leave for her debriefing. When she was out of sight, he glanced down at his swollen ankle, gently icing it. Knowing that all there was to do was to debrief and plan next steps, the intensity, panic, and adrenaline were all starting to ebb away. With Clive's frustrations locked away, all that remained was exhaustion. Exhaustion, and the notion that despite everything Avarice had done, there would be a tomorrow, an opportunity to bring justice and remove the threat that Avarice has become.
A burst of green flashed in Clive's peripheral vision, and he glanced up quickly to see Natasha march down the hallway. "Nat? You're here?"
The woman lowered herself down onto a chair next to Clive, sitting in it sideways. "We got things under control at the department store, mostly. We are working with the management there to finalize the numbers for all of the stolen goods. I needed to come back for a debriefing before the chief goes in front of the press. You know how it is. The longer it takes for his message to go out, the more panicked and upset people will be. An incomplete message is better than a late one." She glanced down at Clive's foot, before glancing around the hallway. "Where's your partner? Where's Jean? What happened at the Gym?"
The zipped bag of ice nearly burst when Clive clenched it tightly. "No one...?" He paused, his eyes still as they stared straight back in Natasha's. His question morphed into a plain statement. "No one told you."
Natasha's head tilted suddenly. "Told me what?" she snapped. "What happened?"
Not a single muscle moved on Clive's face, until he broke himself away from his colleague's gaze and turned away. "Nat... Avarice had a trap set up at the gym. A contingency plan if things didn't go there way. Jean got hurt. Really bad. He's in the hospital right now. He had lost a lot of blood." Finally having blurted it all out, Clive, turned his head to look at Natasha again, and he almost grimaced, feeling his heart sink into his stomach. Natasha's lips had turned white and dry, and her eyes were widened, frozen in shock. Worry painted her face with wrinkles, rippling across her forehead and branching away from her lips.
"You saw it happen," she asked, weakly.
"Yeah, we got there right before it happened," Clive replied.
"He shouldn't have even been there."
"Nat, you couldn't have kn-"
"Well, you should have!" Natasha snapped. "This was your case! You've been on Avarice for months, and yet you did not realize how big of a threat they would become. No, somehow you ended up on the other side of the continent while they planned to tear the roof off of our city." She stood, concluding the discussion before Clive had a chance to speak. "I need to go." With that, she hurried off. Clive sat in silence until it was time for his debriefing.
The conversation with Natasha, the showdown with Sierra, and events at Saffron all swirled around in Clive's head while he gave his debriefing. After eventually offering up everything he could offer, he stood up, assuming he would be dismissed.
"And where do you think you're hobbling off to?" the Chief asked. "No, no. You're coming to help me prepare for this press conference. This was your hot case, and now it's on fucking fire. And you're gonna have to say a few words too."
Before Clive could interject, another man spoke up. It was the mayor of Goldenrod. "Detective, what he means to say is, you and your partner have the most awareness of the Team Avarice case. In addition to the clarity your experience can provide, the people of Goldenrod need to know that the case is being worked by people they can trust. You helped resolve a city-wide crisis early in your career, before I was even mayor. The chief just needs you to help ensure his statement is accurate, and you just need to read a short script afterwards. Show the people that someone who has helped protect them before is part of the team working to protect them again now. No need to answer questions or any of that. What do you say?"
"I'm sorry, but shouldn't I be working the case right now? I have a suspect in booking right now, and-"
The Chief cut him off. "Yulia can work the suspect. Tell her, then come to my office. Those are orders and that's that." He slammed his notebook shut, and hurried off. The mayor politely nodded towards Clive and stood to gather his things.
Clive made his way outside to where Yulia was, and leaned himself against the wall of the GRPD. "Hey. I need you to work Sierra for me. I'm going to be busy. The Chief wants me to help him put his statement together."
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