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Alright, welcome to my latest work, titled No Honor Among Thieves. This story is the result of me wanting to do something different, something that I had never seen done in a Pokemon fanfiction before. The story is told from the perspective of an OC named Dustin Drake, former elite trainer and university prodigy. He grew up to become the president of his late father's technology company, but more importantly he has become the leader of a plucky gang of professional thieves to strike back at the morally and financially corrupt corporations and politicians whom Dustin thinks are ruining the world piece by piece.
Due to the fact that each of the main characters uses at least one alias over the course of the story, I'm putting a brief character summary sheet in this post above the table of contents to make it easy for you to keep track in case you forget who is who.
Name: Dustin Drake
Age: 25
Aliases: Dirk Potter, Drake Nathan, James Dalton
Name: Daphne Asher
Age: 24
Aliases: Ashley Williams, Lisa Georges
Name: Terrance Fowler:
Age: 23
Aliases: Michael Keyes, Hal Emmerich
Name: Vincent Johnson
Age: 24
Aliases: Tyrese Carter, Robert Dozier
Table of Contents:
Chapter One: Textbook Perfect (found in this post)
Without further exposition by me, here's the first chapter:
Chapter One: Textbook Perfect
Whenever I found myself standing in front of a safe that I was about to crack, I occasionally had a weird sense that I had finally slipped over the edge. I tend to ask myself if what I am doing is right, even if it is clearly illegal. Each time, I always come to the same conclusion that even if I’m not perfect, I’m surely better than the corrupt oligarchy that I’m aiming to bring down. Tonight was not one of those nights. Because tonight was personal.
“Dustin, are you getting this?” I heard the voice in my earpiece and smiled.
“I’m getting it on my mobile.” I confirmed in a voice barely above a whisper as I took a brief glance at my portable computer, which although only the size of a mobile phone had all the features and capabilities of the most advanced laptops on the current public market. “And you’ve confirmed that those are the complete specs I presume.” I stated as I took a look at the thick steel door in front of me and took note of the numerous flashes coming from the sophisticated security system. Even though it was clear that whoever had built the safe knew what they were doing… there was still no way that they had built a safe to keep Dustin Drake out. Then again, to be fair, there was no such thing as a security system that could keep me out, and there never would be.
“I have.” I grinned as I heard the new voice blaring in my ear. It was cold as ice, yet strangely beautiful and it was coming from Daphne Asher, a notorious seductress with a smile that could make even the strongest man weak at the knees and putty between her thin fingers. I just thank Arceus that she’s working with me.
“Okay Daph. I trust you. Not that you would ever sell me out.” I replied cheekily in a clearly sarcastic tone.
“You know I would in an instant if I could Dustin. And honestly, I’m tempted to let the fact that there’s a pair of dirty crooks in the safe slip to a certain corrupt politician anyways.” Daphne teased me as she always did.
“You wouldn’t know what to do without me in your life.” I shot back in a flirtatious manner and I was happy to hear Daphne’s audible sigh in my ear. Score that round for me.
“Alright you two. Knock it off.” The first voice in my ear was back; this gravelly voice belonged to technical savant and my resident hacker Terrance Fowler. “You and Vince need to crack that final encryption to unlock the safe. I can’t hack into it from here because I can’t get a wireless uplink into there.”
“Shit.” Vince said from his spot, crouched next to me, his black jumpsuit keeping him from being noticed by the vault cameras. Not that it would have mattered because Terrance was feeding a loop to the security systems. But it was always good to be vigilant. Just in case. Because in this line of work, you never know when something is going to wrong and the proverbial shit is going to hit the proverbial fan.
“Okay.” I took a deep breath as I patted down my belt and eventually pulled off two Poké balls. I softly flipped them into the air and hoped that the sound and the flash of light from the release of two of my Pokémon wouldn’t set off any alarms that I had somehow neglected to deactivate. “Perfect.” I looked at my Scizor and Pikachu, who were both standing at attention waiting for a command. “Pick, I need you to short-circuit the security on this final safe door. And Blade, I need you to cut through the door itself.” I pointed out the situation to my two partners, who began to do their work.
“Vince. You ready for the extraction?” I asked the question even though I knew the answer. The hulking former collegiate football player was always prepared to carry the goods out of the vault with the help of his Machamp, which he had just released.
“Of course Dustin.” Vince answered in his southern drawl which contrasted with my own accent, which was typical high-class civility with just a hint of a British accent. “Ya’ll can trust me.”
“I know Vince. I know.” I replied confidently instants before hearing four sizzling sparks. The security system on the safe door was disengaged. A brief pause followed before I heard metal being viciously torn apart. It only took a moment before a mutilated piece of metal which had been a highly reinforced steel safe door lay useless at Blade’s feet. “Great job you two. Now we can get to the good stuff.” I was grinning wolfishly as I stepped into the safe before returning my two Pokémon to their homes, their jobs completed flawlessly as usual.
“You’re in. Security is seemingly uncompromised. But you only have forty seconds until my loop on the entire security system expires and shit will go down if you’re not out of there.” Terrance said calmly, but there was just a hint of worry in his tone. Forty seconds to case the safe and retrieve the jewels, the currency and the documents that were the entire purpose of this endeavor in the first place. Not the easiest heist to pull, but I’ve handled worse.
“Send in your Gardevoir.” I requested and once again I heard Daphne sigh in my ear. But a moment later, the elegant green and white psychic type had teleported into place in front of me. Now before you ask why we didn’t just have Rose teleport into safes to begin with… well people aren’t that stupid you know. Every basic security system has an anti-teleportation measure of some kind built in. Not to mention that doing that would ruin the fun of being a professional thief.
“Hello again Rose.” I said softly to the Gardevoir, which was looking for the expected request from me. For some reason that I never understood, I had a rather close connection with the psychic type even though she was trained by Daphne, not me. “Would you please find those documents and prepare to teleport away with them?” I asked gently. Rose nodded and began to search the safe using her psychic abilities. Meanwhile Vincent and his Machamp were quickly filling large burlap sacks with every valuable thing they could find.
“Twenty seconds. I would recommend getting out of there now.” Terrance said into my earpiece. I nodded and released two of my other Pokémon. “Blaze, Rocky.” I said to my Infernape and Arcanine. “You both know the drill. I need Blast Burns on the weak spot behind the back of the safe. Let’s blow this place.” I nodded to Vince and the two of us crouched behind Rose. “Protect, please.” I asked and a green psychic shield enveloped us as two massive bursts of flame blew a hole in the wall of the safe, revealing a passage out into the night. “Vince.” I said in a dull tone and my friend nodded before running off into the night with his Machamp, each of them holding two hefty sacks over their shoulders. They appeared to be simple black duffle bags, but the truth was that each bag held slightly more than $10 million in jewels and cash inside. I quickly returned my two other Pokémon and then turned to the Gardevoir standing beside me, a portable USB drive clutched in her fingers. “Rose, would you please bring me back to the party? After all, I need an airtight alibi.” I asked the Pokémon, which nodded and walked over to me as I took a brief second to make sure we had taken everything that we needed from the safe. “Another job well done by my entire squad. Another crooked man deservedly ruined.” I thought as Gardevoir teleported me into the men’s bathroom two hundred feet above the safe, on the third floor of the mansion we had just cased.
“Thanks Rose. Go back to headquarters until we get out of here.” I muttered and Rose disappeared without a second thought. I walked over to the mirror and adjusted my black bowtie before brushing a small accumulation of dust off of my tuxedo. After all, it was a high-society party, one that required the finest clothing. Stepping out of the bathroom, I casually went over to the bar and ordered myself a dry martini.
“Mr. Drake. I trust you are enjoying the party” I spun around and it took all of my considerable charm and talent to keep my face calm, rather than burst out laughing or punch the man across from me.
“Mayor Rossbaum.” I said cordially, which was a complete act. After all, I had planned for over a month to break the man, and I had just robbed him blind. “Of course I am. As always.” I looked at the girl on his arm for a brief moment. She was a thin blonde with perfect curves in all the right places, stunning ice blue eyes, and soft yet defined facial features. “And who might that be?” I asked the mayor in order to keep up appearances. After all, being known as Saffron’s premier playboy meant that I’d have to ask about every girl who looked like that.
“How could I forget? Dustin, meet Lisa Georges. She’s a freelance photographer. Lisa, this is Dustin Drake, heir to Drake Technologies.” The mayor introduced us, clearly having no idea that ‘Lisa’ and I had known each other for more than five years, and more importantly that ‘Lisa’ was actually Daphne Asher, who had just played him like the proverbial fiddle since the moment she met him a week prior. “Now Dustin, don’t go stealing her heart.” He scolded me jokingly, something that had always irritated me. “You know how that always ends up causing trouble.” At this, Daphne and I had to hold in laughter once again. If only Mayor Rossbaum knew the trouble that had just gone on under his nose and who had caused it. But there would be no reason to suspect Dustin Drake, close friend and influential donor who had always shown support for the corrupt and criminal mayor, or Lisa Georges, the mysterious woman the mayor would never see again after that night.
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“Scandal in Saffron City this morning… the mayor, Mitchell Rossbaum, has been found to have committed numerous ethical offenses; including taking bribes, extortion, obstruction of justice and allowing certain criminal activities to go unchecked throughout the city.” Sitting in my penthouse apartment in the nicest building in Saffron, I couldn’t help but smile. After all, the news station had gotten their ‘exclusive documents’ from me the night before.
“So we’ve brought another bad man down, am I correct Dustin?” Vince asked me from the other side of the room. He was perched in his usual chair that looked out the large bay window that had a view of the financial district of the city.
“Yes you are Vince.” I replied without looking over. “And the money doesn’t hurt either. I haven’t gotten…”
“10.2 million each Dustin.” Terrance said without looking up from his laptop. I really need to pull him away from that thing once in awhile. His life revolves around that machine. “The total take was valued at 40.8 million. 20.7 in currency and 20.1 in gems and other valuables.”
“That’s more than I made modeling in a year.” Daphne pointed out from next to me on the couch. The fact of the matter was that she and I got along much better when we were off the job than when we were on it. She’s a consummate professional on the clock and well… I’m a lovable rogue. I’d rather mix myself a dry martini inside a target’s house and relax for fifteen minutes than try to escape without an incident. It’s a fault of mine I suppose, but not one I’d care to change. Because after all, that cool confidence is what allows me to keep myself under control and remain a good, reasonable, intelligent leader even while under fire. But I digress.
“Well, I’ll get to work running this money through the company. For now…”
“We know. We’ll use your company credit cards as always.” Daphne looked amused, which was perfectly understandable. After all, the four of us had been following the same post-heist routine for nearly two years now: The morning after the four of us would gather in my apartment and watch the target stutter through a press conference after having their sins exposed to the world. Vince would always sit by the window eating a turkey sub wearing his old football sweatshirt. Terrance would always be sitting with his laptop in the corner, listening to the television and not watching it. Daphne would always wear the same white sweater and jeans and she would always sit on the left side of the couch with a bowl of cereal. And me; I would share the couch with Daphne, wearing a light gray suit and enjoying a self-made cocktail. To add to the monotony, I would always say that I didn’t count the take, at which point Terrance would give the amount. After this, either Daphne or Vince would make a comment about how much money we had each earned. I would then start to tell them that they would use my credit until we could launder the money, at which point Daphne would cut me off and finish my sentence. After that, Vince would inquire as to how much…
“Say Dustin, just how much do we each have left on our lines of credit?” Vince asked after a moment. See, I told you he would. Terrance will now answer with a fairly good…
“Upwards of 25 million each. Close to 30 to be precise.” Terrance replied right on cue. Am I good, or am I good? You see, to some people, a highly memorized (even subconsciously) routing like this one would be boring to some people… but to us, it’s a comfort. After all, being professional thieves as an occupation means that there’s not going to be too much boring in our lives. Plus, going through the routine is a subconscious signal to each one of us, a signal that the heist of the night before went off without a hitch. No one was wounded. No one was captured. No shred of evidence points to anyone in the crew. And that means life can go on and we can celebrate our success.
One last note: It's late at night here. So I know I missed some spelling and grammatical errors in here. Please point them out. As always, all comments and reviews are appreciated. Hope you enjoy the ride.
Due to the fact that each of the main characters uses at least one alias over the course of the story, I'm putting a brief character summary sheet in this post above the table of contents to make it easy for you to keep track in case you forget who is who.
Name: Dustin Drake
Age: 25
Aliases: Dirk Potter, Drake Nathan, James Dalton
Name: Daphne Asher
Age: 24
Aliases: Ashley Williams, Lisa Georges
Name: Terrance Fowler:
Age: 23
Aliases: Michael Keyes, Hal Emmerich
Name: Vincent Johnson
Age: 24
Aliases: Tyrese Carter, Robert Dozier
Table of Contents:
Chapter One: Textbook Perfect (found in this post)
Without further exposition by me, here's the first chapter:
Chapter One: Textbook Perfect
Whenever I found myself standing in front of a safe that I was about to crack, I occasionally had a weird sense that I had finally slipped over the edge. I tend to ask myself if what I am doing is right, even if it is clearly illegal. Each time, I always come to the same conclusion that even if I’m not perfect, I’m surely better than the corrupt oligarchy that I’m aiming to bring down. Tonight was not one of those nights. Because tonight was personal.
“Dustin, are you getting this?” I heard the voice in my earpiece and smiled.
“I’m getting it on my mobile.” I confirmed in a voice barely above a whisper as I took a brief glance at my portable computer, which although only the size of a mobile phone had all the features and capabilities of the most advanced laptops on the current public market. “And you’ve confirmed that those are the complete specs I presume.” I stated as I took a look at the thick steel door in front of me and took note of the numerous flashes coming from the sophisticated security system. Even though it was clear that whoever had built the safe knew what they were doing… there was still no way that they had built a safe to keep Dustin Drake out. Then again, to be fair, there was no such thing as a security system that could keep me out, and there never would be.
“I have.” I grinned as I heard the new voice blaring in my ear. It was cold as ice, yet strangely beautiful and it was coming from Daphne Asher, a notorious seductress with a smile that could make even the strongest man weak at the knees and putty between her thin fingers. I just thank Arceus that she’s working with me.
“Okay Daph. I trust you. Not that you would ever sell me out.” I replied cheekily in a clearly sarcastic tone.
“You know I would in an instant if I could Dustin. And honestly, I’m tempted to let the fact that there’s a pair of dirty crooks in the safe slip to a certain corrupt politician anyways.” Daphne teased me as she always did.
“You wouldn’t know what to do without me in your life.” I shot back in a flirtatious manner and I was happy to hear Daphne’s audible sigh in my ear. Score that round for me.
“Alright you two. Knock it off.” The first voice in my ear was back; this gravelly voice belonged to technical savant and my resident hacker Terrance Fowler. “You and Vince need to crack that final encryption to unlock the safe. I can’t hack into it from here because I can’t get a wireless uplink into there.”
“Shit.” Vince said from his spot, crouched next to me, his black jumpsuit keeping him from being noticed by the vault cameras. Not that it would have mattered because Terrance was feeding a loop to the security systems. But it was always good to be vigilant. Just in case. Because in this line of work, you never know when something is going to wrong and the proverbial shit is going to hit the proverbial fan.
“Okay.” I took a deep breath as I patted down my belt and eventually pulled off two Poké balls. I softly flipped them into the air and hoped that the sound and the flash of light from the release of two of my Pokémon wouldn’t set off any alarms that I had somehow neglected to deactivate. “Perfect.” I looked at my Scizor and Pikachu, who were both standing at attention waiting for a command. “Pick, I need you to short-circuit the security on this final safe door. And Blade, I need you to cut through the door itself.” I pointed out the situation to my two partners, who began to do their work.
“Vince. You ready for the extraction?” I asked the question even though I knew the answer. The hulking former collegiate football player was always prepared to carry the goods out of the vault with the help of his Machamp, which he had just released.
“Of course Dustin.” Vince answered in his southern drawl which contrasted with my own accent, which was typical high-class civility with just a hint of a British accent. “Ya’ll can trust me.”
“I know Vince. I know.” I replied confidently instants before hearing four sizzling sparks. The security system on the safe door was disengaged. A brief pause followed before I heard metal being viciously torn apart. It only took a moment before a mutilated piece of metal which had been a highly reinforced steel safe door lay useless at Blade’s feet. “Great job you two. Now we can get to the good stuff.” I was grinning wolfishly as I stepped into the safe before returning my two Pokémon to their homes, their jobs completed flawlessly as usual.
“You’re in. Security is seemingly uncompromised. But you only have forty seconds until my loop on the entire security system expires and shit will go down if you’re not out of there.” Terrance said calmly, but there was just a hint of worry in his tone. Forty seconds to case the safe and retrieve the jewels, the currency and the documents that were the entire purpose of this endeavor in the first place. Not the easiest heist to pull, but I’ve handled worse.
“Send in your Gardevoir.” I requested and once again I heard Daphne sigh in my ear. But a moment later, the elegant green and white psychic type had teleported into place in front of me. Now before you ask why we didn’t just have Rose teleport into safes to begin with… well people aren’t that stupid you know. Every basic security system has an anti-teleportation measure of some kind built in. Not to mention that doing that would ruin the fun of being a professional thief.
“Hello again Rose.” I said softly to the Gardevoir, which was looking for the expected request from me. For some reason that I never understood, I had a rather close connection with the psychic type even though she was trained by Daphne, not me. “Would you please find those documents and prepare to teleport away with them?” I asked gently. Rose nodded and began to search the safe using her psychic abilities. Meanwhile Vincent and his Machamp were quickly filling large burlap sacks with every valuable thing they could find.
“Twenty seconds. I would recommend getting out of there now.” Terrance said into my earpiece. I nodded and released two of my other Pokémon. “Blaze, Rocky.” I said to my Infernape and Arcanine. “You both know the drill. I need Blast Burns on the weak spot behind the back of the safe. Let’s blow this place.” I nodded to Vince and the two of us crouched behind Rose. “Protect, please.” I asked and a green psychic shield enveloped us as two massive bursts of flame blew a hole in the wall of the safe, revealing a passage out into the night. “Vince.” I said in a dull tone and my friend nodded before running off into the night with his Machamp, each of them holding two hefty sacks over their shoulders. They appeared to be simple black duffle bags, but the truth was that each bag held slightly more than $10 million in jewels and cash inside. I quickly returned my two other Pokémon and then turned to the Gardevoir standing beside me, a portable USB drive clutched in her fingers. “Rose, would you please bring me back to the party? After all, I need an airtight alibi.” I asked the Pokémon, which nodded and walked over to me as I took a brief second to make sure we had taken everything that we needed from the safe. “Another job well done by my entire squad. Another crooked man deservedly ruined.” I thought as Gardevoir teleported me into the men’s bathroom two hundred feet above the safe, on the third floor of the mansion we had just cased.
“Thanks Rose. Go back to headquarters until we get out of here.” I muttered and Rose disappeared without a second thought. I walked over to the mirror and adjusted my black bowtie before brushing a small accumulation of dust off of my tuxedo. After all, it was a high-society party, one that required the finest clothing. Stepping out of the bathroom, I casually went over to the bar and ordered myself a dry martini.
“Mr. Drake. I trust you are enjoying the party” I spun around and it took all of my considerable charm and talent to keep my face calm, rather than burst out laughing or punch the man across from me.
“Mayor Rossbaum.” I said cordially, which was a complete act. After all, I had planned for over a month to break the man, and I had just robbed him blind. “Of course I am. As always.” I looked at the girl on his arm for a brief moment. She was a thin blonde with perfect curves in all the right places, stunning ice blue eyes, and soft yet defined facial features. “And who might that be?” I asked the mayor in order to keep up appearances. After all, being known as Saffron’s premier playboy meant that I’d have to ask about every girl who looked like that.
“How could I forget? Dustin, meet Lisa Georges. She’s a freelance photographer. Lisa, this is Dustin Drake, heir to Drake Technologies.” The mayor introduced us, clearly having no idea that ‘Lisa’ and I had known each other for more than five years, and more importantly that ‘Lisa’ was actually Daphne Asher, who had just played him like the proverbial fiddle since the moment she met him a week prior. “Now Dustin, don’t go stealing her heart.” He scolded me jokingly, something that had always irritated me. “You know how that always ends up causing trouble.” At this, Daphne and I had to hold in laughter once again. If only Mayor Rossbaum knew the trouble that had just gone on under his nose and who had caused it. But there would be no reason to suspect Dustin Drake, close friend and influential donor who had always shown support for the corrupt and criminal mayor, or Lisa Georges, the mysterious woman the mayor would never see again after that night.
******************************************************************************************************
“Scandal in Saffron City this morning… the mayor, Mitchell Rossbaum, has been found to have committed numerous ethical offenses; including taking bribes, extortion, obstruction of justice and allowing certain criminal activities to go unchecked throughout the city.” Sitting in my penthouse apartment in the nicest building in Saffron, I couldn’t help but smile. After all, the news station had gotten their ‘exclusive documents’ from me the night before.
“So we’ve brought another bad man down, am I correct Dustin?” Vince asked me from the other side of the room. He was perched in his usual chair that looked out the large bay window that had a view of the financial district of the city.
“Yes you are Vince.” I replied without looking over. “And the money doesn’t hurt either. I haven’t gotten…”
“10.2 million each Dustin.” Terrance said without looking up from his laptop. I really need to pull him away from that thing once in awhile. His life revolves around that machine. “The total take was valued at 40.8 million. 20.7 in currency and 20.1 in gems and other valuables.”
“That’s more than I made modeling in a year.” Daphne pointed out from next to me on the couch. The fact of the matter was that she and I got along much better when we were off the job than when we were on it. She’s a consummate professional on the clock and well… I’m a lovable rogue. I’d rather mix myself a dry martini inside a target’s house and relax for fifteen minutes than try to escape without an incident. It’s a fault of mine I suppose, but not one I’d care to change. Because after all, that cool confidence is what allows me to keep myself under control and remain a good, reasonable, intelligent leader even while under fire. But I digress.
“Well, I’ll get to work running this money through the company. For now…”
“We know. We’ll use your company credit cards as always.” Daphne looked amused, which was perfectly understandable. After all, the four of us had been following the same post-heist routine for nearly two years now: The morning after the four of us would gather in my apartment and watch the target stutter through a press conference after having their sins exposed to the world. Vince would always sit by the window eating a turkey sub wearing his old football sweatshirt. Terrance would always be sitting with his laptop in the corner, listening to the television and not watching it. Daphne would always wear the same white sweater and jeans and she would always sit on the left side of the couch with a bowl of cereal. And me; I would share the couch with Daphne, wearing a light gray suit and enjoying a self-made cocktail. To add to the monotony, I would always say that I didn’t count the take, at which point Terrance would give the amount. After this, either Daphne or Vince would make a comment about how much money we had each earned. I would then start to tell them that they would use my credit until we could launder the money, at which point Daphne would cut me off and finish my sentence. After that, Vince would inquire as to how much…
“Say Dustin, just how much do we each have left on our lines of credit?” Vince asked after a moment. See, I told you he would. Terrance will now answer with a fairly good…
“Upwards of 25 million each. Close to 30 to be precise.” Terrance replied right on cue. Am I good, or am I good? You see, to some people, a highly memorized (even subconsciously) routing like this one would be boring to some people… but to us, it’s a comfort. After all, being professional thieves as an occupation means that there’s not going to be too much boring in our lives. Plus, going through the routine is a subconscious signal to each one of us, a signal that the heist of the night before went off without a hitch. No one was wounded. No one was captured. No shred of evidence points to anyone in the crew. And that means life can go on and we can celebrate our success.
One last note: It's late at night here. So I know I missed some spelling and grammatical errors in here. Please point them out. As always, all comments and reviews are appreciated. Hope you enjoy the ride.
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