*Chapter 27: The Threat

Lunely's PoV

I was just watching the reunion of Leiro and Lilith as I tried not to cry- of course, this moment came unexpectedly so it's really teary...

Well, after a few hours we decided to be discharged so that we could continue our plans to imprison Prof. Seth. Leiro's parents still don't know what happened to us so we have to keep this a secret first because they won't be a hindrance to our plans, I mean not really an obstacle okay?

We rode a white van owned by Charlotte to a place where no one knew us. It's far from Naipass, and it's hidden in a forest- eep? This is a creepy one ...

Minutes later an unfamiliar building in the middle of the forest showed up before us- it's a three-floored one, with a white background and glass windows. There is also a cemented wall surrounding it and there is also a green gate with two guards outside. Eh, is this a hidden base?

When the guards saw our van, they immediately waved their hands to open the gate, and boom! The gate opened automatically as if it was an automatic sliding window for us to pass through.

When we entered, the van suddenly stopped in front of the automatic glass door on the first floor of the building. There were also guards who came to open the door of our van and we slowly got out of the car all of a sudden-

"Don't move, members of the Mini-Lifesavers Institution!"

I was suddenly startled when Yusarine and I were surrounded by the guards while pointing their guns to us. I wanted to scream and run away but in my fear I tried not to move when Leiro suddenly blocked us from the guards while holding my hand which was already shaking.

"Sirs, you're wrong! My girlfriend and my cousin are not our enemies, okay? Please, put down your guns because they are on our side!" Leiro pleaded with them when I suddenly felt relieved... Huhu...

"Please, guards. Put your arms down. Lou and Yusarine are not our enemies. They came here to help so don't worry." Charlotte smiled at them and they slowly lowered their guns. My, thank you... Wait, how did they know we were members of M.L. Institution huh? We didn't wear an office uniform or have an I.D. with us...

"You owe me one, Lou..."

Charlotte just winked at me as we started walking into the building. As we stepped on a mat near the front of the glass door it suddenly opened- ooohh... an automatic one.

You'll notice it seemed like a normal hospital we went to- with a white background, doors with male patients inside. They also have a research lab where female lab workers can be seen in the window experimenting with things I don't understand. Well, I don't mind.

We went to the second floor where there are also many rooms for patients with ESCD, and at the end of that floor there is a door with a "Lab Office" hanging on the door. We stopped in front of that door when Charlotte knocked softly and suddenly an old man opened it. My eyes widened as the person inside the office became familiar to me.

"Wait... Professor Austin?!" I screamed in shock when the old man suddenly laughed. I know this person ... He is the oldest professor helping to eradicate ESCD in the world, and he also almost discovered a cure for ESCD but was preceded by Professor Seth.

"Hey, Lou! It's good that we met again. Hey ... Your size when you were a kid. I still remember you always tailing Seth wherever he went." Professor Austin laughed out loud when my face suddenly turned red. My colleagues couldn't help but to laugh except for Leiro who has a world of his own as he held my hand. My... I thought Lei was on my side.

"That was been a long time ago Professor... Time has changed already..."

I said jokingly when Prof invited us inside. When we entered, I was really amazed at the size- it was the same size as Leiro's kitchen.

His background is also white just like the first floor, although a little elegant. There is a large antique ceiling fan gently rotating, an antique pots with a plant inside, a desk with "Prof. Fernando S. Austin" on a carved wood along with some documents, a small living room on the left side of the bedroom with a large sofa plus a table in the middle, a TV stand with DVD and medium-sized speakers underneath and there is also a 64-inch flat screen TV sitting on top.

"Your office is nice, Professor Austin. Are you the only one here inside?" Yusarine asked Professor Austin when I secretly pout. Alas, Yusarine, that would have been my line!

"Honestly, yes but... I can't say I'm alone because I'm with my granddaughter Charlotte. Well... My jobs here are really easier when she helps me." Professor Austin smiled in his old, raspy voice. Charlotte also smiled at us when she suddenly entered a room on the right side of the office.

"Sit down first, my children. I made you a snack because I know you're hungry." Professor Austin smiled at us again as Charlotte slowly came out carrying two trays of juice and cookies. Well, seeing Charlotte like that, you already know how much she contributed to her grandfather.

"Now, I know you already know what Professor Seth is planning against a man with ESCD like you Leiro. Honestly, I've also been aware of his plans for a long time just because of the wrong remedy he invented." Professor Austin slowly took a pipette — the old cigarette — from a small table as he said that.

"Professor... I'm sorry. I didn't believe your threat to me before. The only thing on my mind is the kindness that Professor Seth did to me when I was little. I'm really sorry..." I pleaded yet Professor Austin just smiled at me.

"Don't think about that grandson. The important thing is that you know the fact that Seth is a murderer. I honestly don't believe in him anymore. I've discovered that the emotions coming from one's little sister can trigger the virus more, for the reason that it might worsen- wait, don't you have an ESCD Leiro? " Professor suddenly asked Lei.

"Yes. Although it's still level one until now." Leiro answered him directly when he suddenly looked at me.

"How strange. I remember that Lou Nylei acted as your little sister for a month. Doesn't your disorder triggered when Lou gets mad at you?" Professor asked Lei once again when my face suddenly turned red again.

"Well, Lunely also thought I considered him a brother. To be honest, I already knew about Professor Salvador's plans when I first went there, and it was my other plan of choosing Lunely not because I wanted to make her a bridge between me and Professor Salvador but because I love her... "

"Cut it out!" I shouted yet Professor Austin just laughed in front of us.

"Oh hey, that's enough now everyone." Professor Austin smiled at us when he suddenly placed a folder on the table. We all stopped speaking once looked at that folder.

"What is this, Professor Austin?"

"That's one of the files Lilith had before she left the ML Institution. It stated the names of the men who had been killed and the ones he wanted to kill- and I assume that you were the secret killer of Professor after Lilith, am I right? " Professor Austin asked as he suddenly looked at Yusarine.

"Y-Yes, Professor ..." Yusarine just bowed her head when she felt like she remembered about what happened to the two of them and Mark Zion.

"No need to be guilty about it, Yusarine. You know, Lilith... She's been like you once, and you know that. But, that's no reason for you to give up. It's time to change what was known about this disease. I don't want to get to the point where men like you Leiro will disappear from this world forever just because of Seth. " Professor Seth smiled again as he folded the folder.

"That's why, I need your help everyone. This is the time everyone is waiting for. We need to work together to end Seth's plans. We need to find a lot of evidences so that we can keep him locked up from what he is doing." This time, Professor Austin got a little serious after he smoked. We all became serious too since he was right.

"Don't worry Professor Austin. We won't let you down-" Leiro suddenly stopped speaking when his cellphone suddenly rang in his pocket. Luh, a phone call on a time like this ?! Oh well, maybe it's important so I just let him go...

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Leiro's PoV

I slowly took my cellphone out of my pocket when I saw that it's my mother who wanted to call me. Maybe she found out about what happened to me ...

"Um, Professor Austin, can I answer this call? It's because my mother-"

"Don't worry Lei, I won't mind." Professor Austin smiled at me as I slowly stood up in my seat.

"Thank you Prof."

I moved a little away from them at the same time answering my mother's call. Alas... I hope she'll never know about what happened to me. If not, maybe I will definitely be grounded for a month...

"Hello-"

Suddenly I was startled to hear a familiar voice. He's a man but it's not my father's voice- never...

"Professor Seth?!"

Suddenly my colleagues including Professor Austin were shocked when I said that. I was suddenly nervous because I knew Professor Seth had done something to my parents.

"Bingo."

"What did you do to my parents?!" I suddenly shouted into my cellphone when I heard Professor Seth's laughs. Anger and nervousness suddenly mixed into my mind as Lunely suddenly ran towards me simultaneously holding my left arm that was in the slingbag, trying to tell me to calm down.

"Well, you took Yusarine and Lou from me, so I'd just did the same by taking your parents. Don't you worry now. You'll still see them..."

Damn, he's laughing evilly once again.

"Look, I'm a nice person, okay? I don't make any harsh decisions so... Let me get this in a straight and smooth way. How about if we decide a bargain, Leiro?" Professor Seth asked me as I heard Mama and Para mumble over the phone.

"What do you want?"

"Simple ... We'll do a trading. Give me Yusarine and Lou Nylei, and I'll give back your parents. And, I'm giving you exclusives, hey! After the trading, never You'll see us again, yet I'll be erasing your name from my list of targeted teenagers. Is that a deal?"

I suddenly lost my mind. I mean, Yus, Lunely and my parents are both important ... But, trading them? I don't think I can do that.

"Remember the ML Institution? Behind that there is a vacant space hidden from people. But I'm giving you the privilege to enter that secret space tonight. If you don't arrive before ten in the evening or you'll call the police against me, you already know what will happen to your parents."

He laughed evilly once again, and suddenly hanged the phone.

I suddenly bowed my head down and placed my cellphone back to my pocket. I wanted to break it so that I could vent my anger but I couldn't do that because my parents' lives depended on it.

Everyone heard what Professor Seth had said, yet they kept on cheering me just to calm myself down.

I took a deep breath while looking at the two bottles of ketchup in my school bag. An idea suddenly entered from my brain when I saw that, as I lookd to my colleagues.

"Guys, I need your help..."

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