A dept repaid - R5: Chapter 1

It had been a number of weeks since the break in at the Johto prison on Whirl Islands, and since then, most officers and guards had picked themselves back up from the rubble and defeat and had gotten back to work. The fewer remaining prisoners had been carefully handled and watched over by double the amount of guards than before, but a certain Captain had noticed one of his better MPs hadn't been volunteering for prisoner work.

Alberto Dalcour had been summoned to the Captain's office the night before the rest of the military would be sent off to Snowpoint in order to retrieve some valuable information. Alberto, of course, had no interest in heading to the front line again, he was to stay back and direct the rest of the guards to ensure that no other prisoners escaped again.

Or so he thought.

He knocked on the door a few times before opening the door without an invite. He stepped inside, shutting the door behind him, "You wanted to see me, sir?" Had it been a time where the entire military wasn't on their top game while preparing for battle, then perhaps Dalcour would have made a less formal entrance. But he knew something had to be up this evening. Sterling wanted something.

Madigan was busy scribbling away with yet another piece of paperwork, trying to finish as much as possible before the following day. It was silent as he finished his thought on the paper, his hair was less greasy than normal, a few strands falling over the side of his scalp. He had been busy lately, lacking sleep as well from the way Alberto could tell when he finally lifted his head and pen from the paper.

It must have been that damn rock again, Alberto thought.

"Dalcour, you're earlier than I expected, I thought for sure you were busy ignoring responsibilities again or taking some other whore to bed. Actually, the latter would surprise me considering that my desk is currently being used for its proper intention…" The older man spoke, lowering his hands together onto the desk.

Alberto shook his head, resisting the urge to snicker at the Captain, "I figured it was important, the cadet sounded as if you were in a hurry, sir."

"As a matter of fact, Dalcour, it is important. Very important. In fact," He wasn't sure what it was, but Alberto was sure that the small grin Madigan was showing him meant bad news for him. "You've got yourself the most important mission of all. I need you to go out to Snowpoint tomorrow and kill the Cossack."

There was a brief moment where the police man felt as if he had been blown back with the task. A mission? Out to Snowpoint? To kill the Cossack?!

"W-with all due respect sir, that's really not my place… Snowpoint, or killing. Honestly, how many times do I have to remind you? I'll do anything so long as it doesn't involve killing. Why can't you go? It's obvious you rather enjoy killing Cossacks," Alberto argued, trying to keep his composure. There was no way he would survive in that snow, let alone survive against the Cossack.

The Captain sighed, then reached over with a lazy hand, readjusting the alignment of the pen and paper on his desk, "Oh come now Dalcour, a Cossack is far from human! It's another impurity that runs free through these regions, they need to be wiped out. I can't go out, I have to keep feeding Koschey, they're always hungry. Besides, if I happened to fail, then all my extensive work and research would go to waste."

"Oh, so, you want me to be wiped out instead? That's what you're trying to say to me?" Alberto spat, his tone far from serious now. There was no way he was going out in that snow!

Madigan's little smirk disappeared from his stone cold face, his hands coming together once more, "Dalcour… might I remind you that ever since you let your prisoners escape, you have become seriously relaxed in your methods of extracting information… Not only do you visit the prisoners less, but they often come out with no information and little bruising. I don't appreciate how soft you've become, Dalcour… Not to mention that I've been filling in for your wasted efforts and extracting my own information from them."

The Captain sat back in his chair as he spoke, "I need that man killed in order to complete my experiment. The spiritomb won't be stable until that Cossack has taken his final breath. Then – and only then! – will we have a deathless monster who will lead Johto to victory!" He slammed his fist on the table, in a mix of frustration and enthusiasm hoping Alberto would finally get the message across.

The grin tugged at the corner of his lips once more, "And don't worry about being face to face with the Cossack. You'll be up in the air with Pilot Peter Samson. His charmeleon and Crobat will provide a defense around your plane. The plan of attack is simple: I understand that your Electrode is equipped with a move that will cause it to self destruct and wipe out anything around it, no? When you spot the Cossack, you will release your Electrode down, then order is to self destruct. When you're done, you and Private Samson can go hunting for some more prisoners."

"And besides…" Madigan's grin grew into a playful little smirk. "I hear your dear mummy sent you a brand new jacket for the cold."

Alberto's eyes narrowed and he let out a scowl, "You expect me to kill one of my monsters for a Cossack?"

Madigan's eyes flashed at the younger man as if he had threatened his superior, "… Do you have a better idea? Besides…" He paused, then grabbed a stack of paper to the side of his desk and run his fingers over it slowly, as if he had something important in front of him. "… I may be able to pair you up with a new electric monster at the end of all this… Something strong… Something on four legs…"

There was a long pause in the room, but then Alberto slowly nodded his head with weak sigh, "Deal. But this is the one and only time I'm doing this! This is the last time I'm heading on the battle field…"