Cassidy found great amusement in watching cops run by and not recognize her. And why would they? They were looking for a young blonde woman with braids wearing a black tube dress, instead of a shorter, pony tailed girl in white with black leggings. Inversion was a great disguise.

Now she had to find a place to stay and come up with a new plan of action. In the city of Los Angeles alone, there were at least three dozen Team Rocket contact points where a Rocket could go when she got in trouble or needed to hide. Four of them she had traveled to had been abandoned which made her quite nervous and jittery. The fifth one was the charm, but was troubled to see that it was run by a skeleton crew.

The young Rocket grunt led her to his office, which used to be an abandoned apartment. A makeshift doorway had been made to connect with the flat next door.

“You see,” he explained, “with Giovanni’s assets frozen, we’ve become nothing more than a volunteer group to help wayward Rockets. Without money, a lot of them just deserted and tried to make a criminal life of their own. Some went back home.” The grunt paused briefly to add contempt to his next statement. “Others went into law enforcement.”

Cassidy narrowed her eyes scornfully, while the grunt simply shook his head in dismay and typed out a few things on his laptop. Before she could say anything, the grunt spoke up.

”But you, Cassidy, are an inspiration! Now, we get to do what we’re supposed to be doing. Rocket Relocation!” The grunt tapped a couple more keys, then announced, “Okay, I’ve hacked into the Westin Bonaventure’s computer system and got a room for you. It’s only for a couple nights, but I’ll bet it’s more than enough for you.”

The grunt then pulled a card out and slid it through a card reader. The machine gave a beep and he handed her the card.

”You’re in room 1469. Just take the yellow elevator to get there. We have some spare clothes in the back, so I’ll have Ted take you there. I’m not sure there’s a uniform in your size, but there’s plenty of street clothes, which I’d advise you go with until you’re ready to work.”

”Excellent,” said Cassidy, taking the card and patting him on the shoulder. “Your loyalty will not go unrecognized. And not just you, everyone here. Once Giovanni wins his trial, we will regroup and be more powerful than ever.”

”Thank you,” he replied, his chest swelling with pride. “We appreciate that.” Cassidy turned to follow Ted, but the grunt stopped her. “One last thing, Cassidy. I noticed the cuts and bruises on your face. Every Team Rocket medical facility has been either shut down or abandoned. Whatever links we had to any civilian medical buildings have been broken. Put simply, if you get injured, you’re on your own.”

Cassidy’s eyes widened at this. This was really bad news, but she quickly recovered. She nodded, then struck her fist to her chest.

”Go Team Rocket!”

”Go Team Rocket!” he replied, striking his own chest in return.

*** *** *** ***

Cassidy entered the hotel room an hour ago without arousing any suspicions. There was no reason she would have either, dressed in a simple denim mini-skirt, tight white t-shirt and black flats. She was just another anonymous face in a city of millions.

She cracked open her seventh mini-bottle of whiskey taken from the mini-bar and took another long swig, nearly emptying it as her head swirled with questions. How could things have gotten so out of control? How could I have let things get so bad? She finished off the bottle, then blindly tossed it wherever. Her mind drifted back to the first rape, where she had desperately fought with Butch and lost. She remembered how she was going to seek her revenge on him. The plot that had made her smile the most was where she would get him really drunk to the point of passing out, use a very sharp knife to cut off his manhood, then put the tip into his mouth. After he bled for a bit, she would slap him awake so she could watch him scream and die in an unmanly way.

She smiled now as she opened and drank mini-bottle number eight. Her mind drifted again, back to the day they kidnapped Jessie. They had an hour to wait before James was supposed to arrive. Butch was already anxious.

*** *** *** ***

“I hate waiting,” he said, his gravelly voice edgy, like a drug addict in need of a fix.

”You already know he doesn’t get back from work until six,” Cassidy replied with little enthusiasm. “Remember, this was your plan.”

”Shut up, bitch!” Butch yelled. It was obvious he was ready to go postal, but after darting his eyes at Jessie, then back to Cassidy, he brought himself under control. He stated his words slowly, but tensely. “I’m…I’m going to get a soda.” With that, he left the hotel room, slamming the door behind him.

Jessie, now with blonde hair as part of her Witness Protection disguise, had been sitting submissively in her chair, her gaze locked to a single point on the carpeted floor. Her pregnancy was hard to hide. She even had that glow pregnant women get; simply radiant and beautiful. God, how she wanted to slash her face.

Cassidy looked down at her, just as Jessie looked up at her. She was ready for any sort of psychological warfare Jessie might try on her. She could not wait to hear her voice speak up with that lame bravado she always carried with her. Her icy stare was met with the softest gaze she had ever seen.

”What happened?” she asked quietly.

She blinked at Jessie. She was not ready for that one, but she quickly bounced back.

”There’s nothing wrong, dear girl,” she replied smugly. “We’re simply completing our mission to eliminate both you and your lover. We couldn’t be more delighted.”

”He broke you, didn’t he?” Jessie’s voice was still soft – almost concerned.

"We’re still a team,” Cassidy replied defiantly. “We’re the best of Team Rocket!”

”But there is no Team Rocket,” Jessie said calmly. “And I seem to recall that for every mixed team, the girl was the dominant member – always. ‘The Rocket Girl takes charge and inspires the Rocket Boy to be the best Rocket.’ Remember that? Remember all the self defense classes you and I took together? To keep the boys in control? You and I were the top of our class. Remember how we would send each other the infirmary every other week with broken ribs, nasty kidney punches, sprained fingers, even a broken leg?”

Cassidy’s icy glare melted a bit and some joy returned as she remembered being in the leg cast for six weeks. The week after the cast came off, she returned the favor back to Jessie by breaking her arm in three places.

”So what happened, Cassidy?”

Cassidy paused for a moment, looking away, as a flash of fear swept through her, cautioning her about telling the truth. Since Jessie was going to die, the truth would never leave this room. She spoke almost as quietly as Jessie had.

”He raped me. He’s been raping me for the past few months. Hell, he would have done it just now before he left, but I think he doesn’t want any witnesses.”

Jessie’s jaw became agape as Cassidy confessed to her. During her Team Rocket days, she had only heard of two rapes that had happened. Both of the boys were dealt with so harshly, you never even breathed their names. This was worse now because Cassidy had no one to turn to – not Team Rocket or even the police. Jessie’s eyes widened at another realization. It would only be a matter of time before Butch killed Cassidy.

”Oh my God,” Jessie whispered.

”Yeah,” Cassidy said, looking down again at her hostage with a somber gaze. “And just so you know, your little plan to turn me didn’t work. I’m still going to kill you.”

Jessie blinked a couple times, then stood up slowly. Normally, Cassidy would have taken a defensive stance, but it was obvious that Jessie was not going to fight because she was pregnant. The two stood face-to-face. There was a tear streaming down Jessie’s cheek.

“The moment you said you had been raped,” Jessie started, “my plan went out the window. We may loathe and despise each other, but we were always Rocket Girls – and more basic than that, we are women and we are human beings. Butch violated a trust and violated you in the worst way possible.” The tears were really flowing now. Jessie seemed almost hysterical.

”And by staying with him, you’re practically giving consent that it’s okay to continue to demean you; to dehumanize you. Leave here with me. Let’s get away from him before he kills you! You know that’s what it’s going to lead to, right? You see that? We need to leave!”

Jessie was now breathless and busily wiping the tears from her eyes. Cassidy simply looked at her and slowly clapped her hands. She spoke dryly.

”Wonderful speech, dear girl. Truly an Oscar winning performance.”

Jessie stopped, taken aback by her comment, then anger flashed in her eyes. For all the years the two Rockets had sparred in their self defense classes, Cassidy had never been able to match Jessie’s speed. The resounding smack of Jessie’s slap showed that tonight was no exception as the solid smack echoed briefly in the small hotel room and surprised Cassidy.

”What’s wrong with you?!” Jessie yelled, sounding like her old self. Cassidy’s face stung, but only caused her to start laughing.

”Is that all you’ve got? You hit like a girl!”

”At least James treats me like one. I can’t say the same for you. To Butch, you’re now just a piece of meat.”

That statement incensed Cassidy, which sped up her reflexes to slap Jessie back. However, the Queen of Speed kept her title by blocking the slap. Cassidy’s look of anger was met with Jessie’s impassive stare; like a master to a pupil. Jessie spoke softly.

”The truth hurts, doesn’t it?”

Before Cassidy could respond, the door started to open. Butch had returned with his soda. Panicked, Cassidy quickly forced Jessie to sit back down before the door had opened all the way. From Butch’s standpoint, everything was just as he had left them…almost. Jessie’s eyes were red from crying and he pounced on that.

”Aw,” he teased, his gravely voice made his taunts take on a creepy tone, “is little Jessie scared? Are you crying because you know you’re gonna die?” His evil cackles sent chills down Jessie’s spine. Butch stepped forward and cupped Jessie’s chin. She gasped and trembled as Butch spoke in a low growl, all teasing aside.

”And I’m going to enjoy humiliating your boyfriend in front of you. I have waited so long to show him what it’s like to be a real man. To take charge. To be in control. I’m gonna destroy the whiny little bastard!”

”Destroying one person isn’t enough?” Jessie blurted out. Butch blinked a couple times, then the light went on.

”Ah,” Butch started as he slowly stepped over to Cassidy. “Naughty naughty girl, Cassidy. That was supposed to be our little secret.” Cassidy shook visibly as Butch stood before her. With blinding speed, Butch’s fist struck her face with incredible force. Her left eye saw a blinding white light as she staggered back and crashed into the wall behind her. Jessie gasped loudly and stood to help Cassidy, but before Butch could stop her, a loud wailing echoed through the door from the hallway.

It was the fire alarm.

Butch lifted the front of his black Team Rocket sweater and pulled out a 9mm pistol and immediately pointed it at Jessie. She froze on the spot, eyes wide with fear.

”You even think about yelling for help, I’ll blow your brains out.”

Jessie nodded quickly in fright as Butch went to the door. He looked through the peephole and saw a few people walking in the hallway, responding to the fire alarm. Butch opened the door and peeked through the crack. Not seeing anything odd, he opened it a little wider. That was when a boot kicked the door hard, slamming it into Butch’s face on it’s way open. A dark haired assailant rushed in and immediately grabbed Butch’s hand that held the gun and twisted it hard. Butch yelled as the gun popped out of his grip and landed between Cassidy and Jessie. Butch struck the man and forced him away. Jessie could not be happier, even though Cassidy had gotten to the gun first.

“James!”

And so it was. Instead of the usual blue or his natural dirty blond hair, he had straight shoulder length, dyed black hair. This was part of his cover in the LAPD’s Witness Protection program as Mark Morgan. He assumed a standard fighting stance and looked over to Jessie, his expression went from focused to worried.

”Are you okay, Jessie?”

”Oh, she’s fine,” Butch replied disdainfully. “We’ve been having a real party without you. I’ve been showing her a really good time.” He chuckled maliciously as James narrowed his eyes in rage.

”I am going to kick your ass, Butch.”

”Oh, I doubt that,” mocked Butch. “I seem to recall you were the weakest in our self defense class. The certificate of completion was honorary.”

James remained stoic, but Butch was right. He was often used as his punching bag in class. A pang of humiliation swept through him.

”You may find that I’m full of surprises,” bluffed James.

”Heh, I doubt that too.” With this, Butch took an attack stance and launched a fast kick. James was barely able to sidestep it, but was not fast enough to evade the double-punch that followed the kick. James took the two to his face and stepped back to avoid him. The wave of dizziness passed quickly and he took his stance again. Butch laughed spitefully.

”Well, well, I am surprised, James. You’re not bleeding like you usually do.” His eyes darkened. “I’ll fix that.”

Fear motivated James to move faster and was able to block some punches and another kick. But Butch found a hole in James’ defense and exploited it mercilessly. Soon, James’ face was swollen and his nose bled profusely. Jessie could not stand to watch her lover get beaten any more. She screamed for Butch to stop and squarely kidney punched him. He yelled in pain. He spun around with lightning speed and struck Jessie across the face. Jessie cried out, but it was short as she fell to the ground, unconscious.

”Jessie!!”

James watched her fall from Butch’s forceful strike. James’ breathing quickened as his face went from pale to flush as he started to grit his teeth. The evil Rocket only laughed.

”Say good night, wussy boy.”

Butch threw his hardest punch, confident that nothing would match its speed or power, as it raced to James’ face. He imagined the gory damage his fist would do to the dark-haired pretty boy and grinned through his clenched teeth.

His fist never reached its destination.

Butch blinked in complete shock at what James had done. He had reached across his chest and caught Butch’s fist by the wrist. Even more amazing, he had stopped the fist dead in its tracks with an iron grip. James turned his gaze to Butch, their eyes locked, and he provided him with a defiant smirk.

”Surprise.”

With a hard clockwise twist, James forcefully turned Butch’s arm backwards, which painfully brought Butch to his knees. James’ own knee connected with Butch’s face several times. Butch fell over sideways, away from his opponent, covering his face with his free arm. Fierce kicks to Butch’s spine followed, all the while, James never let go of his enemy’s wrist.

Butch yelled out with each kick, but after a couple, he finally had enough. He planted his left foot to help anchor his impending attack. With a move that a contortionist would be proud of, he swung his leg back hard enough to sweep James off his feet.

James saw this coming when Butch anchored his foot. Just as James reached the apex of his airtime from the sweep, he spun his body hard, still holding the wrist, which turned Butch’s shoulder almost 360 degrees. As James painfully face-planted onto the carpeted floor, he could not help but smile.

The loud pop of Butch’s shoulder joint was muffled by the sickening crunching and snapping of his upper arm.

James could almost visualize the splintered bone tearing through the muscle and skin as he beamed with pride. Butch screamed in excruciating pain and agony. He kicked hard to get away from James. James could only laugh as he leisurely released his opponent’s wrist and stood up. Butch tried to scramble to his feet, but the excruciating pain made him very lightheaded.

James darted over to where his lover laid unconscious. She was breathing evenly and Butch’s strike to her face was beginning to swell. He would cry later on for this marring of her beauty, but he now was focused on leaving.

”Where do you think you’re going?” snarled Butch.

James did not bother to reply as he lifted Jessie, then gingerly put her over his shoulder. With the fire alarm still blaring, it would not look out of place when he walked through the lobby to leave the hotel.

”You can’t escape me, little man.”

James carefully moved past Butch, who was still struggling to stand up. His mouth, however, was not struggling at all. His voice becoming progressively louder and more aggressive as Cassidy idly held the pistol, a blank look on her face.

”I will find you. I will hunt you down.”

Yes, he will, she thought, her mind started racing and her heart rate accelerated. Butch now stood up unsteadily.

”Over and over again. NO ONE can save you from me!”

Dear God, no.

”Not the police. Not the FBI. Not even your mom!”

I have to get away.

”I will not stop! I will not rest!”

Leave me alone!

”I will find you and destroy you! I will always be there, no matter where you go!”

Stop it! Stay away!!

James closed the door behind him, not heeding Butch in the least.

”I will kill you!!”

NO!

Butch barely heard the gunshot over the fire alarm, but felt the bullet plunge into his back. He turned around wearing an expression only the shock of betrayal could create. Reaching out to Cassidy, he took a single step forward, then fell to the floor and died unceremoniously.

Cassidy’s gun was still smoking and pointed where Butch had been standing. A glazed look covered her face as the screams in her skull rose to an unbearable din. She was sure her head would explode as she shut her eyes tightly, cringing in pain. She had crossed a major line and a deep, indelible etch was being made into her soul to mark this moment forever. The screeching reached its climax as the darkness seemed to envelop her.

Suddenly, the screams died out.

Despite the wailing fire alarm, only a deafening silence echoed inside her head. Her body felt hollow and black. She began to breathe again, but could not fill her lungs with enough air. Looking down, she gazed upon her dead partner, her dead friend, her dead tormentor and felt nothing. He was gone. She was now safe. She was free of him forever.

Suddenly, there was a strong twinge in her belly.

She immediately dropped the gun and put her hands there to determine what the source was. A flash of fear swept through her body with an awful realization. The rapes had been unprotected. She was over a week late with her monthly cycle. She felt another twinge. No…dear God, no!

She was not free of Butch.

*** *** *** ***

She sat against the wall in her dimmed hotel room. Her denim mini-skirt and panties were missing now, so her bare skin meshed with the soft plush carpeting. The alcohol had done its job. Her body was numb and heavy. She took a deep breath and grabbed an old wire hanger she had found hanging in the closet.

She started to bend the hanger into a crude implement for her surgery. It was not going well as she mumbled numerous swear words under her breath. In her inebriated hindsight, she vaguely realized that she should have done this before she started drinking.

Finally, she finished bending the hanger to her drunken satisfaction. The hanger had its base pulled away from the hook into a very elongated diamond; going from about eight inches tall to nearly two feet long. Should be long enough to get it out of me, she thought as she looked at the hook. The hook had been the hardest part to shape. Instead of its semi-circular shape, so it could hang clothes, it was shaped more like a sharp dentist pick that was used to scrape out plaque in between the teeth, but was still slightly curved at the tip.

I’m going to put that where? she would have said if she were remotely sober. But her glazed eyes focused as best they could on the task at hand. She took a deep breath and opened her legs. Holding the hanger by the now slightly curved tip, she pushed it into her intimate opening. She pushed more of the wiry steel into herself and could feel it scraping against her inner walls. Cassidy sucked in her breath strongly through her gritted teeth as she pushed in more of the wire diamond. The hanger gently forced her opening wider. She cringed and could not help but wonder why she had not gone to a hospital for this. Her fuzzy brain reminded her that she had no money or insurance and cops hung out at hospitals. Someone would have spotted her. So, she painfully pressed on.

More importantly, she wanted Butch out. Out of her body. Out of her life. Out of her mind.

She felt a pointed poke in her upper abdomen. The alcohol took the edge off, but she realized the hanger was inserted far as it would go. She exhaled slowly as she turned and pulled on the hanger. Now she went on her seek and destroy mission. She moved it to the side and pushed down. Nothing. She repeated the process a few times. Some pokes stung more than others, but her heavy drinking helped the pain move along.

She pushed down again and suddenly, a very sharp pulse raced through her body. She broke out in a light sweat as her uterus throbbed. She released strained breaths as she repeated her previous action. The pain ripped through her like someone had shoved a metal stake into her stomach.

That has to be it, she thought wildy. That has to be Butch.

She pushed down hard on the hanger and the pain magnified a hundredfold. She could almost see stars, but miraculously, she did not scream. She pulled on the hanger hard, thinking she had speared the embryo, and she did scream this time. Breathing hard, she geared herself up to pull out the hanger; to finally remove Butch once and for all. With another yank, the hanger was out. The intense pain throbbed fiercely. In the dim light, she could see little globs of tissue on the carpet. A wave of relief washed over her, renewing a flash of sweat all over her body. She felt a wet, warm sensation between her legs, but did not care. So what if she pissed herself? Butch was out. Butch was gone. Forever. She celebrated by opening another mini-bottle of something and draining it all. She breathed easily, despite the pain, but could feel the lightheaded buzz of the alcohol.

The wetness had quickly reached her knees and seemed to be spreading faster. She blinked a couple times, then looked down. She puzzled over why there was so much urine. Had she drank that much? Something clicked in her head and she reached down and touched the warm liquid pouring out of her opening. Looking at her stained fingers, she noticed an absence of any stench associated with urine. Another, much stronger, wave of dizziness hit her and her discovery struck her like a bolt of lightning.

She was bleeding to death.

The alcohol was still heavy in her system, but her panicked eyes were wide open. She looked around and spotted the phone. It sat quietly in the dimness about twenty feet away. Her heart raced as she tried to move her legs, which felt like lead weights. She became faint and collapsed in her pool of blood. Her white shirt and bare abdomen were painted red and glossy as she shakily pushed herself onto her hands and knees. Blood flowed without hindrance from her sex as she crawled forward. Two steps later, she collapsed again. She was having a hard time seeing. She could not stay focused. Her panicked heart, while trying to keep her alive, was unwittingly killing her. She tried again. Blackness. Collapse. Shallow breathing. Her survival instinct left her. Her last whisper was of Butch.

”You bastard.”

*** *** *** ***

Epilogue:

Officer Jenny stood inside the hotel room, watching the medical examiner instruct the paramedics to put the body bag on the ambulance’s gurney and drive it to the morgue. As they left, she stared hard at the blood drenched carpet. It was still moist despite death occurring two days ago, by the medical examiner’s guess. She could see bits and pieces of flesh that were missed by the crime scene investigators. Jack walked up slowly as she tried to figure out what they were.

”It looks like a botched abortion,” he said. “She bled to death from a tear in her uterus. That’s what they think it was, anyways. An autopsy will confirm it.”

Nicole nodded, then suddenly made the connection on what the bits of fleshy tissue were. She immediately became queasy and turned around, covering her mouth. Jack moved quickly to catch her and guided her to a chair like a pro, having done so for many other victims and their families.

”God, Jack…I thought she was smarter than that.”

”She was probably desperate. It’s been my experience that when you’re doing your own medical procedures, you’re more alone then you ever have been in your life. You feel like no one cares about you. No one is there to sympathize with your pain or your plight.”

”And there wasn’t for her,” she started. “She escaped from us, likely killed Butch - her only friend turned rapist, and with Team Rocket destroyed, she had nowhere to go...she was completely alone.”

Nicole considered this for a long moment. She thought about her job, her life and where it was going. No parents. No kids. No friends. Would she be missed? The whole situation of her lonely life hit her like a freight train. She blinked from her epiphany and simply said, “I don’t want to be alone…anymore.”

Jack perked up his eyebrows at her. She looked at him and flushed a bit.

”Not with you. Nothing personal.”

“Fine,” he replied, smirking, “Toy with my feelings. See if I care.”

Nicole stood up and good-naturedly patted Jack’s shoulder as she passed by him to leave the room. Once out in a quieter part of the hallway, she pulled out her cell phone and punched a few numbers.

”John Harrison? Hi! It’s Nicole Jenny….Yeah, hey, I don’t think I thanked you properly for dinner the other night at the Panda Inn. Soooo, I was thinking I could cook you dinner at my place. Say around seven…”

THE END