"Sir Damian, it's just finding two people. Is that really so hard for your esteemed organization?"
Lusamine felt this boy was just brushing her off.
Damian only chuckled at her words.
"Our organization just set foot in Alola. We've got a mountain of things to deal with right now."
Damian's tone was light.
"At the moment, we haven't even fully consolidated our turf in Alola. We're already short on manpower."
"Chairman Lusamine, we'd be more than happy to build a solid working relationship with you. But asking us to spare people to help you find two kids at a time like this just isn't realistic."
Damian tilted his head slightly as he looked at Lusamine.
"Besides, we're Team Rocket, an evil team. Tracking people down isn't really our line of work. You should be hiring a private detective for that."
Lusamine stared deeply at this seemingly lazy, freewheeling boy.
"These two people are extremely important to me. I must ask your esteemed organization to help me. You'll be handsomely rewarded afterward."
She didn't buy Damian's neat little speech.
If Team Rocket really wanted to help, there was no way they couldn't free up a few people. He was just fishing for better terms.
After all, he'd said "it won't be easy," not "it can't be done."
"I see. Since Chairman Lusamine is being so sincere…"
A slow smile curved Damian's lips as he gestured at Caitlin.
Caitlin took out a file they'd prepared in advance and handed it to Lusamine with practiced elegance.
They'd even prepared the conditions ahead of time?
Lusamine kept her expression under control as she accepted the documents. A few glances were enough to make her brows knit tightly.
"These properties—Chairman Lusamine, we'd like you to buy them up and then transfer them to us. That work for you?" Damian asked with an easy smile.
Proton had been stuck on the same issue for a while now: the locals in Alola just weren't willing to sell land to him, and there wasn't much available to rent either.
But if Lusamine made the moves, it'd be a different story. She was a local, and she had an excellent reputation in Alola.
Of course, that was assuming Lusamine was willing.
"Sir Damian, aren't you pushing it a little too far?" Lusamine lifted her gaze to Damian, eyes sharp as blades.
"With this much real estate, no matter how discreetly I move, anyone paying attention would notice. Where exactly does that leave my Aether Foundation?"
There was a hint of frost in Lusamine's voice now.
Buying property and then transferring it to Team Rocket wasn't the hard part. The hard part was pulling it off without anyone catching on.
If the outside world ever discovered that the Aether Foundation and Team Rocket were "in bed together," the public persona and image she'd spent so many years carefully maintaining would go up in smoke.
Damian, however, remained completely unruffled.
"If Chairman Lusamine finds it difficult, we can take it slow. No need to buy everything at once. As for the money to purchase the properties, we'll cover that."
He smiled at Lusamine.
"Of course, if Chairman Lusamine isn't willing, we won't force you."
Lusamine's expression didn't shift, but inside she was seething. This Team Rocket boy was going way too far!
The light and gradient in her pupils slowly faded, leaving a hollow gaze that made one's skin crawl with goosebumps.
This was Lusamine's physiological tell: whenever her mind slipped into a paranoid state, her pupils would change.
"You will find those two children for me."
Her voice was cold.
In other words, she'd agreed.
Compared to Cosmog, this level of risk was something she was willing to take on.
"Of course. Here's to a pleasant partnership, Chairman Lusamine."
Damian's smile deepened. Seeing the lofty Lusamine this annoyed yet forced to bow her head was… entertaining.
After a few more casual exchanges, Lusamine excused herself, saying she had work to attend to, and left.
"Once someone has a weak spot, they're just too easy to play."
Damian lounged lazily back in his chair, taking a sip of wine as he spoke.
How to put it?
If she wasn't desperate to get Lillie and Nebby back, there was no way Lusamine would've agreed to those terms.
"These two… they're probably Chairman Lusamine's kids, right?"
Caitlin picked up the photo and took a glance. It wasn't hard to guess their relationship.
Both Gladion and Lillie bore a noticeable resemblance to Lusamine.
Which only made it weirder, didn't it?
They were her own flesh and blood, yet Lusamine was willing to risk so much to hire an evil team like Team Rocket to bring her children back.
"Also… Damian, Gladion's already one of the organization's people, isn't he?"
Caitlin looked over at Damian, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. She'd never met Gladion herself, but Damian had mentioned him while discussing business with Plumeria before.
Caitlin, ever attentive to detail, remembered it clearly.
"Yeah. Gladion joined the organization a while back," Damian nodded.
As for telling Lusamine? Why would he?
Talk about "keeping your word"? Please. You're trying to talk honor and credibility with an evil team?
Damian would bring Gladion to see Lusamine eventually, but not now. At this stage, Lusamine's head was crammed full of Ultra Space and Ultra Beasts, like she'd been possessed.
Gladion just didn't have enough "Special Attack" on the current Lusamine.
Once Lusamine "mended her ways," both Lillie and Gladion would truly become the children she cherished more than anything.
"Damian, you really are a liar."
Thinking back on Damian's conversation with Lusamine earlier, Caitlin couldn't help making that remark.
Not that she disliked it. If anything, with his status and ambitions, how was he supposed to grow bigger and stronger without being at least a little cunning?
"Once we get the chance, we can take over the entire Aether Foundation. Then our plans in Alola can really take a big step forward."
Damian's eyes glinted faintly. In his blueprint, Lusamine was someone he absolutely had to get a firm grip on. There simply wasn't a better candidate than her.
And Aether Paradise was prime real estate.
"Mmm~"
A smile played on Caitlin's fair, delicate face, and her soft, crisp reply carried a faint nasal lilt.
Adorable.
Meanwhile, Damian was already plotting how he'd use Lillie and Gladion to threaten a restored-to-normal Lusamine.
For the sake of her beloved children, this otherwise great mother would surely be willing to make sacrifices.
"I call you sis and you call me dad? Man… isn't that a bit too wild?"
Damian muttered under his breath. He liked to think he wasn't that kind of guy… right?
"Damian, did you just say something?"
Caitlin looked puzzled. Damian's voice had been too soft for her to catch.
"Nothing. Just thinking about how to completely reel Lusamine in."
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