No, Smooth Sailing

"Remember, none of the usual announcing your identity, if you don't want to wind up on Interpol's ten most wanted you stay incognito, GOT IT?" Ai asked, and Jessy and James nodded solemnly, then put the one way mirrored masks over their heads.

The call went through. "Am I speaking to the Headmaster of the Kanto Pokemon Academy?" Jessy asked, voice heavily disguised before being transmitted.

"Prove the children are alive and we'll talk." The man on the other end said.

"Answer the question," Jessy demanded.

"Proof of life or nothing." The balding man in an academic jacket countered.

Jessy made a slashing motion with her hand and the feed was cut.

They called back ten minutes later.

"No games, to whom am I speaking?" Jessy asked.

It was the same man, he sighed. "This is the Headmaster. To whom am I speaking?" He asked.

"I said 'No Games'," Jessy retorted, "That's your second strike, play with me again and each of the students ends up with a broken toe. From there we move on to legs, then hands, then jaws. With each injury it becomes harder to cover up: think of your schools reputation. Now, do you have the money asked for in the ransom note?"

"Yes, but only if you prove their alive."

On cue the camera flashed to James who put the front page of the day's newspaper, from twelve major world cities, on one of the students cheats. The camera cut back.

"Send the money to this account," Jessy said, holding a routing number for a bank account in Calico up to the camera, "and they all come back unharmed. Try to backtrail it and they each come back with a T cut in their cheek. You have one hour."

After proof of life the school paid up. The money was sent, no attempt to backtrail, and the students were left out in the forest with a homing beacon...