neededlassie | IC contact post

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"Hi, I'm Shaun Mars. I'm not here right now, but if you leave me a message, I'll call you back later, okay?"

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I see. So Agent Jayden's been taking good care of you?

Uh-huh.

...But there's another guy here. From my world.

Is that Lieutenant Blake? He's talked to me before. He wasn't very nice to Zack, either.

[There's a waver in Shaun's voice when he answers.]

He shot my dad.

He did what?!

[Her surprise here is actually authentic; even if she knew some of the details of Shaun's experiences prior to this conversation thanks to Norman, it's another thing entirely to hear it from Shaun firsthand.]

Some man dressed as a policeman kidnapped me and put me in a drain. He...He told me my dad was gonna come get me. He said I'd be okay, that my dad could save me...

I-I dunno how long I was down there, but then I woke up and my dad was there. I wasn't in the water anymore, and he was there, and...and... He promised me he'd never leave me again. He promised-- [His voice cracks, and a quiet sob crosses over the line.]

And then Lieutenant Blake shot him. He took my dad from me. And now he's lying!

Shaun. Shaun, don't cry...

[HOLY SHIT HOW DOES SHE EVEN DEAL WITH SOBBING CHILDREN THIS IS NOT EDUCATIONAL SHE IS A LITTLE OUT OF HER DEPTH HERE OH GOD EMOTIONAL CONUNDRUM HALP.

Okay no you know what she's cool she's got this she's Carmen Sandiego she can jump headfirst off a fucking building, this is cake. Yeah. Really.]

Shaun, listen to me. Don't cry. I believe you. Take a deep breath, all right? Is Susie there with you? Get Susie and bring her over, okay?

[He's about five steps ahead of you on that one, Miss Carmen. Or rather, Susie is. She's climbed into her trainer's lap, and over the sound of Shaun crying Carmen might be able to hear the Buizel fretting as she smooths her little paws over his cheeks worriedly.

Shaun takes a couple of deep, shaky breaths that keep him just this side of breaking down entirely.]

That's good. Slow breaths.

[Her voice is calm and reassuring, but there's steel underneath it.]

No one is ever going to hurt you like that again.

[Shaun nods, before remembering that it's audio, not video.]

I...I believe you.

[He trusts you and Norman to protect him.

Well, that and his team totally wiped the floor with Blake's team.]

Listen. I have a secret I want you to keep, just between the two of us, all right? I want you to stay close to Agent Jayden as much as you can. He'll take care of you, and he'll answer to me if Lieutenant Blake so much as looks cross-eyed at you.

[DAMN RIGHT.]

But if something happens, this is our plan, okay? If something happens, I want you to head straight for Goldenrod City. Fly if you can; ask someone for directions if you need to. When you get there, you buy a train ticket and take the Magnet Train to Saffron City. I'm going to make sure you have enough money in your account that you can do that at any time, and to cover the cost of a room at any hotel. But you save it for an emergency. And you call me anytime, day or night, if you have to. No one is going to hurt you again.

[The plan takes Shaun by surprise. He's never been trusted with that much responsibility and autonomy for his own fate so explicitly before.

It's easier for him to trust Miss Carmen, because teachers are basically the only authority figures who have never broken a promise to him, and even though she told him she wasn't a teacher, he's still settled her in that category in his head. He's taking notes in his head. He wants to be able to do it right, if he has to.]

O-okay. I promise I won't tell anybody, Miss Carmen. Go to Goldenrod and take the Magnet Train to Saffron.

I-I thought bad things didn't really happen here... I thought it was safer...

No, no, you're right. Things are different here, much different. But it never hurts to have a plan, and a little thought goes a long way.

I hope you'll never have to use this plan of ours, Shaun. But better to have it and never use it than the other way around, right?

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