Chapter 23 Surprise

  The sun shone so brightly the next morning that Ian had to cover his eyes as he emerged from the tent, Tupp still snoring. A wide grin seemed glued to his face as he breathed in the fresh morning air. Everything just seems so much brighter for some reason.

  "Well good morning young Ian," Colress' voice called out from the front of his tent.

  Ian froze as he saw the disappointment in Colress' eyes as he approached. "I see you're still here," Colress said, adjusting his glasses. "I take it you'll be staying with Team Skull?"

  Ian nodded. "Yeah, honestly it feels right to me for now."

  Colress gave a nonchalant shrug. "Well it can't be helped. If things ever go south with them and you're able to keep neutral relations with the ASF, you will be more than welcome wherever I end up."

  Ian nodded. "Thanks. Do you think you'll be sticking around long though? Won't you be trying to get back?"

  Colress shook his head. "I have no true idea, but considering this world has Mohn as the Aether President as opposed to Lusamine, I would presume Ultra Wormhole research is likely behind where I come from and a few more costly mechanisms will need to be invented before I can even attempt to find my way home," Colress said, a knowing smile appearing on his face. "But considering this is likely my last day with you for a long time, I have some things I want to tell you about your Tyrunt. Let's get some breakfast going for your team."

  Colress led Ian to the other side of the barn where there were just the domesticated cattle loomed in their pasture not too far off. Ian got Sandshrew out, who looked around for its favorite Pokemon to bully before looking at Ian disappointedly. Colress tossed Ian a small ball of condensed food and Sandshrew's demoralized demeanor instantly flipped as Ian knelt down and gave the food to the icy Sandshrew who ate it greedily.

  "Now let Tyrunt out, but don't attack it outright," Colress instructed.

  Ian took Tyrunt's Ultra Ball in his hand and realized he didn't feel nearly as nervous as he normally would with his murder-focused baby tyrannosaur. I must really trust Sandshrew quite a bit now. Ian turned to Sandshrew and gave him a smile and a nod of recognition, to which Sandshrew reciprocated.

  Ian released Tyrunt, who didn't immediately roar its usual, horrifying roar. Instead it eyed its trainer intensely and growled, angry, but more reserved than usual.

  "Great, step one is complete!" Colress announced. "Now, still keep your distance, but feel free to get closer."

  Ian's chest got a little tense as he took the two condensed brown balls of food from Colress, but stepped forward carefully. Tyrunt hissed a little, but gave a loud warning growl, Ian figured he was as close as Tyrunt would allow. "Thanks girl," he said, then took one of the food balls in his hand and held it up, to which Tyrunt snapped its jaws. "Open!' Ian ordered authoritatively, and Tyrunt growled angrily, but did so. Ian tossed the first food ball and Tyrunt caught it in her mouth. Tyrunt gulped it down quickly and took a step to Ian. "Stay!" Ian yelled out, trying to mask how much the six foot tyrannosaur approaching him scared the shit out of him. "Open!" Ian ordered once more, to which Tyrunt growled, annoyed, but did so. He tossed the other food ball into Tyrunt's mouth, who gulped it down happily. Yes, finally!

  Tyrunt then eyed Sandshrew with disdain, to which Sandshrew pointed and squeaked with laughter once more, provoking Tyrunt to roar loudly. Ian had Tyrunt's Ultra Ball at the ready and recalled his baby tyrannosaur in a beam of red light as he sighed with relief. Ian began releasing the rest of his party for their breakfasts as well.

  "Exemplary work, young Ian," Colress said happily as he finished manifesting more condensed food balls. "Seeing as that likely woke up your compatriots, let me explain a little bit more on Alphas," Colress said as he manifested more condensed Pokemon food from his Silph Bag. "Step two of the training process is getting Tyrunt to follow your orders, which will still be a slow process. Once that is finished and you're confident Tyrunt won't just eat any lifeform it sees, you'll be able to get to step three: acquiring its 'Alpha Eyes.' In order for Alphas to get their 'Alpha Eyes' that empower them, they need to be out of their ball and in nature for at least forty minutes a day," Colress explained. "The longer the better though as the eyes' effect can wear off rather easily," Colress continued.

  "Gotcha," Ian said, wishing he had a note pad to write the specifics down but had instead given the last of the food balls to Sawsbuck, who bleated happily. It does seem like a natural progression.

  "And your Sawsbuck…" Colress said, a proud grin crossing his face, his eyes mesmerized in wonder. "I have seen Pokemon blessed by legendaries before, and I'll have you know, that blessed stag may end up learning a move or two its fellow Sawsbuck would not normally learn."

  "Really? Like what?" Ian asked.

  "Probably something like Tapu Bulu's Nature's Madness," Colress said. "And who knows what else. My omnitron isn't picking it up, but it often depends on the Pokemon itself."

  Ian nodded. "Thank you Colress, I really appreciate the help. If I'm ever in your same town in the near future I'll bring Sawsbuck along to let you do a real analysis."

  Colress put his hand over his heart almost over-dramatically. "Oh, to give that Sawsbuck of yours a proper lab analysis would be almost a dream come true. But I digress, your friends are waking up."

  Ian turned to see Tupp stretching as he exited their tent, with Selene and Rapp emerging from theirs with bedheads. Colress began manifesting protein bars and handfuls of condensed food balls for each member of the squad and their teams. "Thank you for keeping all of us fed, Colress," Ian said, extending his hand.

  Colress sighed. "Much more where that came from," he said lowly as Tupp and Rapp approached.

  "Yo bro, why you up so early?" Tupp asked.

  "Last bit of training before we say goodbye to Colress," Ian replied.

  "Oh yeah. When you leavin' yo?" Tupp asked the scientist.

  "When the ASF group arrives with the shipment, I'll have them escort me through the checkpoint," Colress explained.

  "When they comin' through, yo?" Rapp asked.

  Ian shrugged. "No clue."

  "Our host said sometime before lunch," Colress said as he offered protein bars to Rapp and Tupp.

  "Gotta be honest, even though we been eatin' these things for like, four days, these ain't that bad," Tupp said.

  "Glad to hear," Colress said, growing disinterested in the conversation.

  The three newly awakened Team Skull members ate and fed their respective Pokemon parties, and Selene took Ian aside. "You look a lot happier today, and I think Plumeria was even smiling in her sleep. I've never seen that. You guys patch things up?"

  Ian nodded. "We did."

  "Ugh, finally! We're Team Skull, we're not supposed to be having stupid drama like that," Rapp complained bitterly.

  Ian spotted Plumeria emerging from her tent, her hair looking rather frazzled, but she did have an uncharacteristic grin on her face. Yeah that DOES make her look weird. "You're right, but I think it needed to happen. A lot of stuff was building up there, and I think we'll be better off for it in the long run."

  Selene shook her head. "Ian you sound so corny I almost wish Hyde was here to give you crap."

  Ian rolled his eyes. "Was it really that bad?"

  "YES!" Selene and Rapp shouted together before bursting into a fit of laughter.

  ***

  Hyde finished placing his injured right ankle on the cushion on top of the guest house's leg rest he'd been using to keep his wounded foot elevated and groaned as he did. His red and black striped tiger-cat shuffled in lazily from the other room and gave a loud yawn as it jumped onto the sofa and curled up next to its trainer. Hyde began petting his Torracat gently, and Torracat's messy fur coat began to straighten as the Pokemon started enjoying itself. "Thanks for keeping me company, Torracat. This is what, four days since they left? Should be coming back soon…"

  Torracat gave a light, cheerful meow before nestling up even closer to Hyde. As Hyde ran his hands over Torracat's fur once more, he realized his watch had caught on some of Torracat's fur, causing his very large kitty to hiss in discomfort. Once he got his hand away from Torracat's fur, Hyde pulled his newly superglued-together watch off his right hand and placed it in his left, while his right returned to petting Torracat. "My bad there, buddy," Hyde admitted. Torracat chose not to respond, and Hyde saw a hint of his reflection in his shiny watch's surface. As his eyes lingered on his brother's old watch, memories of his brother didn't stream into his mind, but Hyde's own shame. About Ian… Hyde's blood started to boil, but not in anger at the newcomer and potential spy, but Hyde's own actions.

  Hyde shook his head. "It's gotten so bad now I can't hide from it anymore," Hyde told Torracat as he pondered his next few words. "If I hadn't used this watch to tip off Surge's convoy and booked it right for Ian's tree on that first mission with him, he might not even be in Team Skull right now, and of course he then shows up with a Pokemon blessed by Tapu Bulu." Hyde smacked himself upside the head, causing Torracat to raise its head in concern. "The harder I try to screw him over, the better he does, dammit." Torracat gave a low, comforting purr.

  "So Torracat, here will be the deal…" Hyde said lowly. "If all five of the squad come back with no issues, I'll try to not be a dick to that Unovan." Hyde smiled as he figured there'd be plenty of space for him to still get his licks on Ian. I'm the only one that's kept his ego in check. "He has saved us from starving, that has to mean something," Hyde pondered aloud then remembered something very crucial. What if he doesn't come back? What if he takes my advice and dips at Palmer's Ranch? Hyde's chest got tense as he realized the implications. "If he leaves Team Skull and he tells Tupp or Plumeria about what I told him that night before the climb, I'm gonna get blamed," Hyde realized. Well there was the blow up with Plumeria, but there's no way Plumeria doesn't walk that shit back if there's a chance of him leaving. This did little to assuage the feelings of guilt and shame wracking Hyde's heart, and he shook his head. "If Ian comes back, we gotta be cool with him, Torracat," Hyde said, returning to petting his large tiger-cat. Torracat meowed lowly and rubbed its fur-adorned cheek against Hyde's leg, causing a slight irritation for Hyde, but he knew Torracat enjoyed the act far more than it irritated his trainer.

  Five minutes later there was a knock at the door and Hyde groaned. "Who is it?" Hyde asked, annoyed.

  "It is Irida," Irida's elegant, angelic voice responded as if immune to Hyde's hostility. "I have another Driftwood Guild member here I would like for you to share the guest house with."

  "Shit," Hyde said lowly as fixed his hair a bit. "Come on in!"

  The old door with no lock swung open and Irida walked in, mesmerizing Hyde as she always did. Behind her was a brown-skinned, male Driftwood Guild member adorned in their khaki cargo pants, green shirt, and brown vest, with Hyde noticing the standard twisted badge of intertwining pale wood. "And what's your name?" Hyde asked the entering Driftwood Guild member.

  "Elel," he replied casually. "You're Hyde, the Team Skull member?"

  "Yeah," Hyde croaked.

  "Nice to meet you," Elel said, not caring to sound genuine.

  "And Hyde…" Irida began, a soft daintiness in her voice that pulled at Hyde's heart. "...I have some bad news."

  You're getting married? "What's going on?"

  "Yesterday, we received an emissary from Breon, demanding our town's submission and that I deliver that news to him personally, not to return here," Irida said dramatically. "Did you hear about it?"

  Hyde shook his head. "Not at all. I was here most of yesterday," Hyde said, pointing at his elevated foot.

  "It shook us quite a bit," Irida said. "I apologize for not informing you."

  Hyde shook his head once more. "I'm a guest, it wasn't my business."

  "Thank you for understanding," Irida said with a smile that nearly melted Hyde's heart. "The emissary gave us an hour to deliberate and when we rejected the offer, the emissary said there would be dire consequences."

  That's not good.

  "We have increased our sentry rotations and will be expecting an attack any day now," Irida explained. "We of course will do our best to guarantee your safety considering you are injured-"

  "I'll be able to fight if need be," Hyde said, maneuvering up from his chair and standing up, causing what little pressure he put on his right foot to flare up with pain and shoot up the rest of his leg. He stifled a grimace but stayed standing.

  "Considering Team Skull is at peace with Breon, we would not ask that you risk entangling your people in our conflict although we do appreciate your resolve, Hyde," Irida said with a nod. Damn, she's so hot when she compliments me.

  "I'll be fine, you ain't gotta worry about me," Hyde said proudly.

  "I'm glad to hear. The Pearl Clan's leaders have been discussing a number of ideas of how to address the situation, and something that has come up multiple times would be a potential alliance with Team Skull," Irida explained.

  Not sure how Guzma would take it, but I heard Plumeria complaining about a marriage alliance. If someone's gotta marry Irida to make it happen, I'm calling dibs. "I can't speak for Guzma, but Breon going down would be good for Team Skull."

  Irida smiled once more and Hyde felt a fire in his blood. "I am glad to hear. Of course we will have to wait until Plumeria and Ian return from Palmer's Ranch before we propose something formally."

  Hyde gulped as the anxiety in his chest grew heavier and he felt a slight pressure in his groin, indicating he needed to pee soon. Ian coming back might be a big "if."

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  "We good here?" Elel asked.

  "Yes I believe so," Irida said.

  "Hey Hyde," Elel said as Hyde started preparing his body to sit back down. "Since you're up, why don't you make yourself useful and help me look for a Driftwood Badge that got lost here?"

  Hyde readied a sassy retort but noticed Irida's eyes on him and butterflies immediately entered his stomach. "I gotta piss, but sure, I'll help you first," Hyde said, taking a limping step as his right leg flared up with pain after putting pressure on it once more.

  "Hyde, I can have Gaeric get you some ice from his Avalugg," Irida offered.

  Hyde shook his head as he scowled once more, part from the pain and part from dealing with Gaeric again after the first time Gaeric gave a similar offer. He's not exactly my biggest fan. "I'll be fine," Hyde said with a grunt as Elel went to the bedroom where the girls had slept for the two nights they'd stayed in Makamae Town.

  "Okay then, we'll let you know if anything changes," Irida said as she turned to depart.

  "Bye Irida," Hyde said, trying to sound pleasant. He watched Irida's elegant form exit and immediately went for a small closet he'd remembered seeing a pile of clothes in at the bottom of. He checked the cluttered shelf up top, then rifled through the clothes on hangers at his level before he grunted and slowly got down on his knees. He put too much pressure on his ankle and collapsed as pain shot up his leg.

  "You alright kid?" Elel called from the other room.

  "Fine!" Hyde retorted with frustration. He got in a better position and started sifting through the pile of dusty old clothes on the ground. He began probing the ground through the fabric of the clothes before he started putting them behind him. First was a light blue collared shirt, a gray blouse with a flower on it, then a black shirt with a tie-dye design on it, and finally a khaki vest where Hyde spotted the twisted, pale wood badge. "Found it!"

  Elel scrambled over to Hyde who held up the jacket with the pale, wooden badge on it. After Elel swiped the badge from Hyde he offered his hand to help Hyde get up. After helping Hyde to his feet and supporting him back to the couch with the footrest, Hyde elevated his foot once more. "So since I did you guys a favor, can you do one for me?"

  Elel folded his arms but sighed. "I'm not paying you for that."

  "Don't need the money. You guys got all the information though," Hyde pointed out.

  "Nothing too specific."

  "It's a concept really," Hyde said.

  "Okay, shoot."

  "Is it normal for Fallers who come out of Ultra Storms to have these meteoric rises like Ian's had with Team Skull?" Hyde asked.

  Elel grinned. "A more nuanced question than I'd anticipated, I'll give you that. But it's usually not the case, although we have heard of some people saying rather strange and bizarre things when they emerge from Ultra Storms."

  "But there are people like Ian who have risen the ranks incredibly fast?" Hyde asked.

  "To my knowledge, not a lot…" Elel then paused as something came to the forefront of his mind. "There is one trainer I've heard about recently, who's been making waves in the ASF."

  "What's their name?" Hyde demanded.

  Elel scoffed. "Nothing too specific, remember?"

  Hyde growled at the Driftwood Guild member but relented. "Fine. As long as we're not the only ones dealing with someone like Ian it feels a little re-assuring."

  Elel shrugged. "Whatever your floats boat, Hyde-"

  A sudden sound of a horn from beyond the village caused both men to look outside the small window of the guest house. "The hell's that?" Hyde asked.

  Elel shook his head. "They're likely seeing some of Breon's forces."

  As moments passed, more commotion occurred outside and Elel opened the door to check things out, with Hyde limping behind him as he watched dozens of uniformed Pearl Clan members running to the top of the switchbacks urgently.

  "Elel, Hyde, go to the city center!" Irida yelled, pointing to the large building where he'd received most of his meals. And where Plumeria and Ian went in front of their council.

  Elel nodded respectfully and held up his hand to help Hyde get over as well. "Aw, c'mon Irida," Hyde complained bitterly.

  Irida shook her head. "I cannot risk Guzma or Plumeria's ire if you were wounded."

  "Irida!" Ingo's gruff voice called out as he jogged slowly to them, flanked by a few trainers. "I ask that you stay back to defend the non-combatants since Breon's men will be targeting you for capture."

  Irida's graceful, elegant face twisted into a murderous rage as she held up an old looking Ultra Ball and tossed it into the air. "I would like to see them try," Irida fired back as the apricorn-based Ultra Ball opened and a huge, white furred creature with red tips at the end of its fur coat emerged. It reminded Hyde of an anthropomorphic fox but hunched over, with a mane of white fur with red tips coming out of its neck. It gave a proud roar as it manifested, and Hyde's jaw dropped as he noticed its glowing Alpha Red Eyes burning with rage and power.

  "Zoroark, some intruders have come to capture me," Irida said with an elegant cruelty. "Give them something to target."

  Zoroark growled cheerfully and began to glow, then after a moment, the light disappeared and an almost exact clone of Irida stood before the group, but with blood red eyes instead of Irida's normally deep blue ones. Suddenly the faux-Irida's mouth opened, revealing razor sharp fangs and a long, thinner tongue than a human's licked the imposter Irida's lips, eyes burning with murderous intent before turning and running with inhuman speed to join the other Pearl Clan warriors.

  Hyde felt a small tinge of wetness around his groin and looked down, noticing a slight stain. I think I just pissed myself a little.

  ***

  "Is that them?" Rapp asked, looking out from the gazebo. The rest of the Team Skull members turned their attention to the ranch house, and Ian noticed a military humvee driving up.

  "Gotta be," Plumeria said, turning and pointing to Ian and Selene. "You two are with me. Rapp, Tupp, don't wander too far off."

  "Okay Big Sis," Tupp said dejectedly.

  Rapp shrugged, getting into the seat Selene had occupied. "Gonna be boring as fuck anyways."

  Ian followed Plumeria and Selene out of the gazebo and close to the perimeter of the house, and Ian noticed Colress sitting on a chair on the back patio. "Your ride's here!" Plumeria called out to the scientist.

  "I figured that was them," Colress said, getting out of the wooden chair and stretching before standing attentively for Plumeria and the squad.

  When the trio joined the scientist on the deck, they waited outside the ranch house, a tense quiet falling over them. Plumeria finally broke the silence by going next to Ian and whispering. "Do me a favor and don't talk about Sawsbuck or anything please."

  Ian rolled his eyes. "Fine."

  Suddenly a couple knocks came from the other side of the backdoor and a half East Asian woman and European woman opened the door with a smile. "They're ready for you inside."

  "Thank you Kathy," Plumeria said, letting Colress go first.

  Kathy led the four to the living room where two dining room chairs with a small end table had been arranged in the center of the room. Craig Palmer sat in one, flanked by two figures Ian didn't expect to see but instantly recognized.

  To Palmer's right was a woman a few years older than him with purple hair done up in a bun, wearing a khaki soldier's uniform. Anabel? The other wore the same uniform, but had short, blonde hair and bright green eyes. Gladion? Oh yeah, the family never broke up and that's why he's not with Team Skull.

  "Greetings friends," Colress said first, bowing to Anabel. "You may recognize me-"

  "Mr. Palmer gave us the rundown," Anabel said curtly. "You would be most welcome with us, Dr. Colress. Although we may get you confused with our own."

  "Not a problem," Colress said with an unsettling chuckle.

  "Welcome, guests," Craig said warmly. To my right is Major Anabel Towers of the Alolan Security Forces, and her NCO, Corporal Gladion Aether."

  "Hey guys, long time no see," Selene said with a smile.

  The two ASF members gasped as they realized who was before them. "Selene?" Gladion said in shock. "I didn't hear if you got out of Haina Town…"

  Selene nodded. "Had to go east, but Team Skull took me in."

  Gladion put a hand over his heart. "I'm so relieved…" Anabel cleared her throat loudly, and Gladion straightened up. "Apologies for the interruption, everyone."

  "Good to see you too Ms. Anabel," Selene said. "Been a while since that trip to Aether Paradise, right?"

  Anabel rolled her eyes. "It has indeed, Selene. Would you all introduce yourselves, please?"

  "I'm Plumeria Hemlock, one of the 'Bones' of Team Skull, beside me are Selene Tsukino and Ian Cougar," Plumeria said. Ian followed Anabel's eyes, which seemed to take a full body scan of Plumeria. Did Anabel just check her out?

  Selene raised her hand nervously, and Plumeria glared at her but gave her a quick "what?"

  "Ms. Anabel, when did you join the ASF?" Selene asked. "Weren't you the head of security of Aether Paradise?"

  Anabel rolled her eyes. "Well considering Aether Paradise no longer needs one since it's been abandoned, and President Mohn's son Gladion here decided to join the ASF, I was asked to make sure he stayed safe by Mohn and Lusamine."

  "Cool!" Selene cheered.

  Plumeria took the seat across from Craig and the two began going over specifics of the order. Ian found Gladion's focus on him quite a bit, and Ian tried to smile, but would only be met with a scowl from Gladion. You'd think the criminal outlaws would be the ones looking pissed off all the time. Anabel approached Craig's flank and looked over the list of ordered materials.

  "That seems an awful lot for one town," Anabel observed.

  "It's what Guzma asked me to get," Plumeria said.

  Anabel didn't seem pleased with the answer. "Even though there has been no direct hostility between Team Skull and the ASF, doing favors for active hostiles of the ASF would change that designation." She's already sniffed out we're doing a solid for the Rough Raiders, great. "In fact, some of these devices are the opposite of their intended purpose, these water pipes-"

  "We're unsure of what methods will be best for us, so we're casting a large net to figure that out through trial and error," Plumeria said in a polite but firm voice.

  Anabel grimaced, but relented. "Very well then. Although it seems late to be conducting agriculture at this scale, you all should have started a long time ago. Most of these seeds won't be ready for harvest for months."

  Ian could feel Plumeria's eyeroll. "That is for us to worry about," Plumeria said, a hint of attitude in her voice, and Anabel stepped back into her position.

  It took a number of minutes until Craig and Plumeria shook hands, and Plumeria began manifesting treasures, from Star Pieces, gold coins and nuggets to two Comet Shards. Anabel took her high-tech Silph Bag and began selecting options on her touch screen before giving it to Craig, who then pointed his bag at Plumeria's low-tech version. Plumeria's Silph Bag began shaking for a few seconds before it paused and gave an affirmative beep.

  "Perfect!" Craig announced, shaking Plumeria's hand once more. "In an act of unity, may I invite all of you for lunch? Kathy's been working on it all morning."

  Selene gasped. "Home-cooked food? That would be amazing!"

  Plumeria scowled at Selene for a moment but relented. "I don't see a problem with that."

  Anabel nodded. "As do I. I'll get my people from outside."

  "Same," Plumeria said, looking at Ian. Ian got the message and hustled outside. A couple minutes later he was back inside with Rapp and Tupp, with Plumeria explaining to them to not mention Ian's Sawsbuck or anything of strategic value. Plumeria then led them into the living room once again, where Ian realized he recognized even more of the ASF members: There in front of him stood Lana, Hau, and Kiawe who were smiling and deep in conversation with Selene. Neat.

  Gladion was notably absent until Anabel groaned and disappeared from sight for a few moments before coming back. "They'll be in shortly," Anabel announced.

  Hau's cheery smile and voice broke the awkwardness for the new arrivals. "We're kind of like the same, just different groups," Hau said with a chuckle. "I'm Hau by the way."

  "Kinda the same yo," Tupp said. "But we got a Faller who came out of an Ultra Storm just a few weeks back."

  Plumeria gave Tupp a tense look but seemed pleased enough with Tupp not disclosing anything more.

  "We have one of those too!" Hau replied back cheerfully.

  Gladion's voice was heard from beyond the room. "...you gotta put Charmeleon away."

  A feminine grunt answered, and Ian watched as Gladion was hand in hand with a young woman that made him cough in surprise. This woman wore an ASF uniform, but her face looked oddly familiar and Ian felt a sudden tension in his chest. He shook his head as he realized he recognized the young woman's face and hair. That looks like Suzy… like my ex-girlfriend from my world. This can't be real. This can't be happening… Ian gasped as he realized it truly was the mirror image of his ex-girlfriend and he felt an intense pain in his chest. He suddenly noticed the Charmeleon that had followed her in, but it didn't have red scales, instead it had shiny yellow ones.

  Ian didn't realize Gladion had started speaking. "...and this is my girlfriend, Suzy-Marie. She came out of an Ultra Storm a little over three weeks ago."

  No, no, no, no! Plumeria's head turned on a swivel to Ian, and Ian's jaw dropped as his brain short-circuited. It wasn't until Suzy made eye contact with Ian that he felt able to speak. He pointed at the newcomer with anger in his voice and her arm mirrored his, with them both pointing at each other and shouting:

  "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE!?"