Ground Wire || Giovanni + Lt. Surge
Giovanni checked his watch for what must’ve been the tenth time in half as many minutes. The gesture made him grit his teeth, frustrated by his own impatience. Realizing he’d been doing nothing but watching the minutes tick by was the last straw—Giovanni stood and bent to grab his suitcase by the handle on its side.
There was no point in waiting around in the city when he could be waiting on board the Sinnoh-bound ship. The vessel would not be departing for another two hours, but there was no harm in being on it well before it left the harbor. At least then he would not have the added stress of having to worry over everyone who so much as glanced in his direction.
Not that he was very obviously himself, of course. His 'disguise' was nothing spectacular, but it served its purpose. In the cold weather of a Kanto winter, a thick black coat and hat hardly stood out among the other, similarly-dressed citizens. He’d left his hair un-styled, too. It was not a look he was fond of, with his hair falling distractingly into his face, but it was a successful enough obfuscation.
As he left the cafe he’d been waiting in, Giovanni adjusted his gray knit scarf to fall over the bottom half of his face—another concealment of his identity. The timing and weather was part of why he was in the region at all, given how much easier it was to hide one’s identity when hats, scarves, and bulky jackets were the norm for the season.
The other reason for his chancy visit to the region was far more compelling, however.
In five years, Giovanni had done more training than he ever had at any other point in his life. He had a new team of Pokémon, new strengths, next to nothing to lose, and everything to gain from his plans. The time he’d lost after his failure would not go to waste; the return of Team Rocket would be gradual, an insidious infiltration that would be undetectable until the moment it became unstoppable. This was his plan. He had not traveled to Kanto, the source of all his troubles, for mere sentimentality, after all.
The thought of the progress he’d made on his trip compelled him through the streets of Vermilion City towards the harbor. He’d never spent much time in Vermilion, but he knew it well enough to navigate; there was a shorter route to his destination that involved some paths between buildings. They were narrow—wide enough for two people two walk shoulder-to-shoulder—but would keep him out of the open until he arrived at the shore.
He could see the water and was nearly through the path when someone stepped in front of the view. A tall man with blond hair that made Giovanni halt in his tracks, stunned and infuriated by the sight. He might’ve laughed, if the situation wasn’t so utterly terrible. Who but Lieutenant Surge? Who else would cross his path? Could nothing ever be easy?
The man was looking directly at him. There would be no sense in pretending they didn't both know exactly who they were looking at, even if it took the Lieutenant a moment to truly believe his eyes.
With the ever-familiar feeling of the situation unraveling out of control before his eyes, Giovanni lifted his free hand to pull his scarf down and address the Vermilion leader. "Ah, Lieutenant," he said, his hand returning to rest in his pocket. "Isn't this an... unexpected surprise." To put it lightly.
