“I can't believe you did that!” she said in disbelief.
The woman was walking around a table, absorbed in her thoughts. The sound of her footstep resonated throughout the room, breaking the silence. The man was sitting on a chair at the corner of the room, his arms crossed. Despite her outburst, he showed a calm and collected look, waiting for her to calm down. After two full turns, she stopped and focused on her respiration. He looked at her, patiently waiting for her to relax. The only sound they could hear was the sound of the ventilation. When she finally calmed down, the woman turned her head towards him.
“How do you think the boss is gonna react to that?”
“No need to make a fuss about it. That dude won't do anything stupid,” the man replied.
“I wouldn't be making a fuss about it if you didn't lie to him, you know. How did you believe that this would solve anything?” The man, who was first laid back, tensed up at her question. “You should see the positive side,” he argued. “Now, he won't join the Trainers' Federation.”
“Do you think I care about him not joining them?” she asked him rhetorically. “Right now, he might be risking his life. At best, we'll be wasting money to save him. At worst, his death will give ammo to the anti-pokémon crowd. And guess what? Since you're under my command, I'll be the one responsible for the mess you made.”
Putting two and two together, he figured out what that would mean for him. His eyes widening, he stood up in panic, visibly startled by that realization. “No, please, don't fire me! I'll do anything.”
“Well, you better bring that man back here before he meets the PLF.”
The man took a step back. “Wait, the PLF is down there?”
“Yeah. For some reasons, they've decided to show up in Vastwood. Some rangers are already there, but we need more people on the field. You'll go there and find him before it's too late.”
“But why have they decided to show there now? Are they trying to recruit more members?”
“I've got no idea and we ain't got time to speculate. They're there, and that's all there is to it. Now get moving, ranger!”
“Yes, ma'am!” he said before storming out of the room.
The woman sat down on a chair and sighed. She reflected on her day, exhausted what she had just gone through. In the morning, they had told her that the scouts had underestimated the PLF troops in the region. They needed more than triple the number of rangers that they already had to defend against them, but she wasn't allowed to have more. And now there is someone who decided to go through the battlefield, unaware of the dangers that he would have to face. It was that ranger's fault. He told him he could be part of their forces, even if it was impossible for him to be. The woman stood up again and walked towards the door. She knew that she would have to sleep well to be wide awake for tomorrow. She knew that tomorrow would be another arduous day for her and her crew. And that man had just made that even more complicated.
“What an idiot,” she muttered to herself before leaving the room.