Alex and the girls spent a week relaxing at the private beach villa in Undella City before deciding to return home to the base in Kanto. They had nothing left to do once Argent Solutions was completely taken down, along with the League's cleansing of the government. They had already accomplished everything they set out to achieve on this mission, except for the ringleader, Orvan Kestrel.
He was still at large and being hunted by Nyx and the Rotoms across the internet for even the smallest trace at Rhea's behest. She was still quite angry at having missed the mastermind but was already satisfied that her father's legacy was no longer being butchered. She was even pleased with Arset Innovations taking over her father's dreams. If only the mastermind had been killed, her long-standing grudge and thirst for vengeance would have been quelled.
Alex, meanwhile, focused his efforts elsewhere now that the mission was complete. Specifically, he was coordinating with Celise, Maris, and Nyx on what to do with the credits received as a reward from the Unova government and how to expand the Silver Network.
Kanto was already quite full of bounty hunters, resulting in an unprecedented decrease in criminal activity, so it made sense to expand their reach to the other regions to reduce the saturation that was beginning to strain the Underworld's bottom line. Alex neither wanted a war with the Underworld nor considered himself a saint of the people. He was just trying to make his way through life while personally fighting as violently as possible.
"What do you think, girls?" he asked in the command center on the top floor of the base, looking at the girls around the table.
"My side is ready to go," Maris said. "Hawke Delivery has saved up enough funds, bought enough properties in Johto, found enough prospective local employees, and even started making deals with the local companies without much competition. We've been ready for this move for years and have only been waiting for our Champion to protect us as we relocate."
"As expected, the Underworld companies aren't too happy with us moving into their territory. Fortunately, we have ample protection from the Gym Leaders and the League-aligned companies that welcome our bounty hunters' increased activities in the region. Hoenn will probably take a few more years after we integrate Johto, though."
"Our side is also ready to integrate the new region," Celise added. "We have been expanding our system of managers and office workers lately to keep up with the manpower demands required to coordinate everything with Maris's company and Nyx's systems, so we can handle adding one or two regions to our plate."
"We were fortunate that many of the graduates wanted to follow in their family's footsteps, allowing us to retain loyal, hard working, and family centric employees despite our grim reputation as bounty hunters' support. The benefits, which have continued increasing over the years, certainly helped with that."
"Nyx?" Alex asked, turning to the side.
She was in charge of the mission distribution software that combined all assignments from the League and the private sector while coordinating with multiple information agencies in the region to provide the safest possible estimations for each mission, so her role was quite important.
"Good to go on my end," she said. "Clarissa has practically trivialized our dealings with the League and its bureaucracy once she publicly stated her full support. Getting everything integrated with the existing bounty hunter League system was a cinch."
"So, our only problems are Morgan and Dale." Alex stated.
Both Morgan and Dale were the closest to reaching Champion rank among the bounty hunters, excluding Lyra and Mika, who wanted to stay in Kanto with Alex. Unfortunately, they were still quite far from achieving that rank. Perhaps a year or two on a top-quality Champion ranked meat diet would be enough, but even with Alex's payment for the operation in Unova, they were still short. That being said, with the credits he had received from the Unova government as a reward, he was set to provide the necessary funding.
"Have you decided how to distribute the reward?" Nyx asked.
"I'll give 5% to each person who participated in the Unova operation," Alex said. "Whatever is left will go toward building the base in Johto. Whoever between Morgan and Dale reaches Champion first will take the seat, while the other will serve as their temporary assistant to share the early burdens and learn the trade."
"Just 5%? Is that enough to get them to Champion rank?"
"If they focus on their main Pokémon, it should be enough. I'm hoping they work together in the early years, earn enough to get their other Pokémon to Champion rank, and be ready to go on their own in the next region once Maris is ready."
At 5% multiplied by the 12 who participated in the operation, that was 60% of the total funds, giving roughly 50 million credits to each of them. It was more than enough for Dale and Morgan to reach one Champion each. This even included Lyra and Mika, who were even closer to reaching it with their main Pokémon..
Of the remaining 40%, 10% would be set aside to compensate for the losses of the Unova government, leaving 30%, or 300 million credits. That was more than enough to purchase the property and the base, hire staff, relocate the local bounty hunters, and sustain operations for at least a decade as it got on its feet. There might even be leftovers for the Hoenn base in a few years once Maris begins looking into it.
"Any questions?" Alex asked, receiving no response.
"Alright then. It's decided," Alex continued. "Celise, purchase the property and have it built to our base's standards. Include everything we have, including the backyard for the Pokémon. I want them to have a defensive nest of their own to protect the property and provide their bounty hunters and employees with free Pokémon. Try to place it near a danger zone as well so they can gain some free meat. And tell Rhea to have her production line fully operational to arm them with turrets for defenses."
"Maris, prepare to move out. I want your operation fully up and running within a year, once the base is built and Morgan and Dale reach Champion rank."
"Nyx, let Morgan and Dale know about our plans and see what they think. They are more than welcome to turn down the opportunity. Also, have their Rotoms train under Metagross so they understand how the base's defense systems work. Lastly, inform Iris that she should start expanding her Butterfree breeding and training. I want them to have a teleporter of their own once the base is done."
Alex stood and declared firmly, "I want everything ready to go in a year. Dismissed."
Once they were dismissed, Nyx didn't waste any time and immediately informed Morgan and Dale about Alex's plans. Both were understandably ecstatic at the sudden increase in wealth, but they were even more excited at the prospect of having a base of their own.
Over the years, they had grown their respective groups into significant followings, training and supporting many prominent Elite ranked bounty hunters. So, achieving what Alex had accomplished was a natural step on their path to power and wealth. Although they were initially surprised at having to continue providing 10% of their base's income to the main base in Kanto, it was ultimately a very small payment compared to the support they were receiving upfront.
After all, they weren't just receiving a large sum of credits. They were also getting a base and Alex's full setup, which money alone couldn't easily buy. Well, it could, but it would have cost significantly more, considering they lacked the infrastructure Alex already had in place, including connections with the League through Clarissa, Celise's highly trained and trusted managers, Maris's supply depot support for the bounty hunters, and Nyx's integrated systems.
They accepted easily, fueled by the thrill of moving up in the world and the fire of rivalry in their eyes. Both were determined to outdo each other and reach Champion rank as quickly as possible. Hence, that very day, they informed their respective groups and threw their Pokémon into an intense training frenzy, while ensuring there was plenty of meat to go around.
A month later, Alex received the bill from the Unova League government, which totaled 20% of the rewards that had been given. It turned out that no expense had been spared in repairing the destruction they had caused, including hiring top-quality specialists to restore cities, buildings, businesses, forests, and even Twist Mountain, which was getting a full makeover to repair the damaged mountainside.
They truly took their conservation efforts to the next level with the extensive list of items included in the bill. Fortunately, they weren't completely heartless, as they had attributed 10% of the resources left behind by Team Dominion to Alex. Without that, the bill might have consumed half of the total reward.
It put the budget Alex had initially planned for the base in Johto in dangerously low territory, threatening to consume funds from the main base. But that was an expenditure he was more than willing to make, considering the wealth it had already managed to accumulate.
Everything was going as planned until, a month later, a base-wide alert blared for the first time since it had been built.
"Incoming hostile threat! Please evacuate to the bunker!"
"This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill."
"Please follow the evacuation protocols and make your way to the bunker."
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