"You are what we make you. You do what we tell you. And you don't question it. Especially when you're in training, Ash. You never know when an accident could occur…"

-Cold Blooded Killers-

A Pokemon Fanfic

"A spy, like a writer, lives outside the mainstream population. He steals his experience through bribes and reconstructs it." - John Le Carre

*AN: This is not a gay/yaoi/slash fic. It contains Poke, Ikari, Oldrival, and Contestshipping. Read at your own risk.*

One

The house was silent. Nothing moved except the lights on the wall cast from the cars driving on the freeway outside. In his master bedroom, on a bed that could have fit ten of him comfortably, the man slept. He had a book on his lap, and his glasses were askew on his nose. He snored softly due to the dusty room. He never let the housemaids in his room. It was the filthiest one in the whole house.

On the other side of the house, a window had been left open by one of the maids. Abruptly, a hook shot up out of the darkness and latched onto the windowsill. It made a small clack as it was tightened by the man below.

"Now listen," he was saying to his accomplice. He brushed a few strands of purple hair out of his eyes. "We only kill the target. Everyone else who is in the way, we subdue or knock unconscious. Understand?"

His raven haired partner nodded. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Can I shoot the guy this time, Paul?"

"No," Paul said instantly. "You're not ready, kid."

"Aw, come on!" he whined. "I've done all my training. I want to shoot something!"

"You're not ready," repeated his obvious superior. "Now, you go up first, and then you wait for me to join you. Understand?"

"Jeez, Paul, he's not a five-year-old," said another person. This voice sounded as if they were talking through a phone.

Paul sighed. "I don't need your help here, Gary." He cast an angry glare at the van parked at the end of the driveway.

"No, but Ashy boy sure does," cackled Gary.

The black haired boy scowled indignantly. "Don't call me that!" he replied.

"Hey, hey," complained a fourth voice. "If you ladies are done bickering, I'd like to get out of the sewer."

"Why, you don't feel at home amongst all the other pieces of shit?" asked Paul.

The voice sighed. "Just get up there."

Paul smirked and handed the rope to Ash. "Go on," he urged.

With nervous hands Ash grabbed the rope. He looked up to the window high above, and wet his lips uncertainly. The young boy exhaled in an attempt to calm himself. "Okay," he said to himself. "Ready… go!"

He pulled himself up on the rope, his feet helping him up along the side of the house. Speedily he scaled the wall, his nerves pushing him to go faster. In no time he had reached the window and climbed inside. His hand flew to the piece of equipment attached to his ear. Gary's voice crackled from the other side of the connection. "You climbed that like my grandpa's Mankey," he observed.

Ash sneered at the insult. Everyone knew Professor Oak's Mankey jittered and shook like a Chihuahua. "At least I climbed the wall. You can hardly tie your shoes."

Their man in the sewer began laughing. "Oh, he got you there, Gary! Burn!"

"Shut up, Drew," Gary growled. "And I can too tie my shoes."

"In an undoable knot, yes," Paul remarked. He grunted in effort as he made his way up the wall. In another moment he had reached the window and stepped gracefully through. "Let's go, kid," he said quietly.

With a nod, Ash followed his partner. They ran silently through the house, their steps muted by the plush carpet. "Left turn," Gary said. "No, you idiots, left. Okay, his room is the third one on the right."

"From which wall?" Ash wondered.

There was a group sigh from the other three. Paul shook his head at the trainee and proceeded to open what was apparently the third door on the right. Confused, Ash trailed after him, trying to figure out what he had done wrong.

The room was enormous, with a huge four poster bed taking up a good portion of it. There was a large mirror on the opposite wall, and Ash jumped when he saw his reflection before realizing what it was. The only other furniture in the room was a great desk, and every inch of it was covered with papers and other sorts of clutter. One step and a cloud of dust exploded out of the carpet.

In a heartbeat Paul was at the bedside of the target, his gun pointed at his head. He was about to squeeze the trigger when the dust reached Ash's nose, and he sneezed.

The man jumped awake. "Who's there?" he demanded, but he instantly fell silent when Paul pressed the gun into his skull.

"Make any other noise and I'll blow your head off," he said in his cold voice.

The man whimpered. "S-sorry," he stuttered. He raised his shaking hands above his head in an effort of surrender.

"Nice going, kid," Paul snapped, his eyes flicking to Ash.

Embarrassed, Ash looked down and ran his hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, but it's dusty."

"Aw crap," Gary said.

"What's the matter?" Drew asked.

"He's awake," explained the techie.

Drew went silent. "Damn," he swore.

Ash was beyond puzzled. "What's wrong with him being awake? Don't we just pull the trigger?"

"Paul can't kill someone like that," said Drew.

"Yes I can," Paul argued. He turned the gun sideways, glaring at the quivering man beneath it. Abruptly, he swore. "Do you have to look so scared?" he exclaimed.

The man tried to speak, but his fear rendered him speechless. He opened and closed his mouth several times, but the only thing that could be understood were the tears escaping his eyes. Paul stiffened.

"Paul," Gary said quietly, "let the kid do it. He'll be thrilled."

Paul hesitated. He glanced at Ash, and saw everything he used to be. The kid didn't deserve to be as cold as he was.

In an instant, Paul had his arm hooked through the man's and was dragging him out of the room. "We're taking him in," he decided.

"What?" the others cried in unison.

Ash hurried after Paul as he pulled the shaking man down the hall. "Wait, Paul, we can't take him in! The boss will kill us!" He paused. "Literally!"

"I'll take the blame," Paul said without hesitation. He attached their target to the rope and lowered him down.

"Whoa, no way, Paul, not again," Drew insisted. "Please, just shoot the guy. Save us a headache."

"A kidnapping will be even worse than a murder," Gary agreed. They could hear him tapping on his keyboard. "Like, ten times worse."

"Is that an estimate?" Paul said as he slid down the wall.

Gary hesitated. "Yes," he answered in a small voice.

"Then it's not always right, is it?" argued Paul. He had reached the ground and grabbed the guy again. "Coming, kid?" he called to the window.

Ash responded by landing on the ground next to him. His eyes showed how angry he was. "Let's just get out of here." He touched the earpiece. "Open the door, Gary, we're coming."

The man stumbled as Paul forced him to walk faster. They reached the van and climbed in the side door. "Where's Drew?" asked Gary.

"Here," he called, and a man with green hair entered the vehicle. He slammed the door shut. "Let's go."

The others wrinkled their noses at him. "Dude, you stink," said Gary. He put the car in gear and they took off. All sorts of electrical gadgets lurched as he turned out of the driveway.

The van was something of a marvel. Monitors coated one wall of the inside, showing various camera images from inside the man's house. A laptop rested on the dashboard, and another sat on the passenger seat. Wires hung from the roof of the car, a colorful hodgepodge of strings. Spare gadgets for when something broke were piled in the corners. Paul, Ash, Drew, and their captive sat on the hard metal bench that ran across one side of the van.

The man was shaking violently. Every bump in the road sent him into another fit of terror. The gun was still pressed in his back, but now it seemed like insurance more than anything. Finally, he got up the courage to speak. "W-why didn't you sh-sh-shoot me?" he stammered.

"Because Paul is a pansy," Ash said.

Instantly the gun was removed from the man's back and aimed at Ash. "You think I can't kill?" he whispered. "You think I'm scared to do it? Because I'm not. I'll shoot you right here, and splatter your blood all over Gary's precious monitors and watch your body fall to the ground and never, ever move again."

"Ow," said Gary. "Please don't, if only for the sake of my monitors."

Ash, however, was not frightened. He met Paul's deadly glare evenly. "You won't kill me," he said. "I'm the 'secret weapon'."

"Not yet," Drew told him. He was met with a glare from both of them, and shrunk away. "Sorry. Not helping, am I?"

Paul scowled at Ash a moment longer before returning the gun to his victim's forehead. "Let's get Ash back home so he can get plenty of sleep for school tomorrow," he said to Gary.

Ash blinked. "School? I have to go to school?"

"Of course," Drew said. "You're sixteen, right?"

"Seventeen," he corrected.

Drew rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You've got to finish high school, at least. And tomorrow is your first day at Gary's school!" He placed an arm around Ash's shoulder sarcastically. "Our little boy's growing up! I think I'm going to cry." He looked around. "Anyone have a tissue?"

Ash threw his arm off in disgust. "You're weird," he said.

Drew laughed openly. "And yet the ladies love me!" he claimed.

"Oh sure," Gary retorted. "They just like to say they banged a guy with green hair."

"If you don't mind me saying," the man interjected, "you four are the most unprofessional assassins I have ever had try to kill me."

Paul actually chuckled at this. "Thank you," he told him.

"Are we dropping him at HQ?" Gary called.

"I'll take him in," Paul replied. "You guys make sure the kid gets home."

"I don't need to be babysat," Ash grumbled.

Gary pulled into the parking lot of the bank building, and Paul and their target got out. "See you guys tomorrow. Ash, I'm taking you to school. Be ready by 7:15."

With a groan, the young boy nodded and shut the door. "I am not looking forward to tomorrow," he said grumpily.

"Why not?" Gary questioned. He pulled back onto the freeway and beeped his horn at the idiot in front of him. "You get your first Pokemon tomorrow."

"I do? No way!" he exclaimed. Ash was suddenly overjoyed. "Yes! Finally."

Drew snickered at him. "You're excited, aren't you?" he teased.

"Of course I am!" said Ash. "I've been waiting for this day for five years."

"Do you know what you're going to get?" Gary asked him.

Ash sighed happily. "No idea," he admitted. "Hopefully your grandpa will give me something good."

With a grin, Drew reached into his pocket and pulled out the precious ball. It was adorned with stickers and random doodles. The only thing prominent about it was Drew's name, elaborately written in curly handwriting. "My Roserade," he said proudly. He pecked the ball with his lips. "She's a beauty, she is."

Ash stared at the pokeball in awe. He had seen Drew's Roserade once before, and had never ceased to admire the creature.

Gary smirked and reached over the passenger seat. He held two balls in his free hand. "My Blastoise and my Electivire," he said with a tad of arrogance. "The best ones in the business."

"My Roserade could take your Blastoise any day of the week," snapped Drew.

"I highly doubt that," Gary chortled.

"Care to put that big head of yours to the test?" he challenged.

Gary glanced at him in the rearview mirror. "You're on. Tomorrow, after school?"

"The arena on the roof," Drew agreed. He smiled as if he had already won. "I am going to kick your ass, Oak."

"I'll bet you next week's paycheck you won't."

"Deal!" Drew shouted excitedly.

Ash looked between his two friends and had to grin. He couldn't wait until he had his own Pokemon. It would be stronger and more powerful than both of theirs put together, he would make sure of that.

They finally came to a stop at the apartment Ash was living at. He tromped up the stairs to see his mother reading on the recliner. "Hi, sweetie!" she exclaimed, getting up to embrace him. "How was the mission?"

"It sucked," he replied. "Paul didn't kill the guy, and he wouldn't let me do it either!"

His mother smiled. "I'm sure he had a good reason, Ashy. Now why don't you get to bed, hm? You have school tomorrow."

With a bit more complaining, Ash finally climbed into his bed. He hadn't realized how tired he was until he was under the covers, and he drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.

*AN: This will be long, with irregular updates. Thank you for reading and reviewing. And to all my Sky Cat fans who found me again: YOU ROCK! Anywho, till the next ridiculously long chapter.*