Chapter 244 - 244: Terrified

*** At XXX Crime Investigation Headquarters ***

Erick gathered his team for a meeting. He wanted to talk to them. After Elle advised him last night, he realized what he did wrong. He reflected on it and he agreed that she was right.

He made a wrong decision without considering the negative impact of it on his team. Now, all five of them were gathered inside his office. 

The room was engulfed with silence. They could feel the awkwardness around them. Erick was the one who broke the silence first.

"I am sorry for hurting your feelings. I admit that this time I am in the wrong. I hope you can forgive my selfishness and my shortcomings as your team leader." Erick sounded regretful.

His team remained silent. No one responded to him as if they were still waiting for Erick to speak and continue.

"I didn't intend to abandon you just like what you thought. I had a personal reason for doing that."

Erick paused as he sighed heavily. Bryan looked at him, biting his lips. He looked like he wanted to say something but in the end, he just kept quiet.

Then Erick smiled faintly. "But someone made me realize that what I had done was not the right solution. It seems like I am not solving anything instead I am just running away from my responsibility.

"Again, I want to apologize for that." Erick took his time as he watched his team.

The four of them were just silently listening to him. The disappointment in their eyes was no longer visible. They were now looking at him with understanding.

But still, they were upset and anxious. They didn't want him to abandon this case. They wanted him to continue working on it together with them.

"After much thought and careful consideration, I changed my mind. I will not leave my team alone doing this case. I will be with you. It's my duty and responsibility as your Chief."

After hearing that from him, the worries on their faces were washed away. They were happy with his decision.

"Yey!!" Bryan exclaimed as he suddenly stood up. He couldn't help himself from doing that. He was overjoyed by this.

The rest looked at Bryan strangely. Then seconds later, a peal of laughter reverberated inside Erick's office. They started laughing. The tension was gone. It went back to normal as if the conflict within the team the other day never happened.

"Thank you Chief for sticking with us!" April said happily.

"Starting today I will put my hundred one percent effort in this case. I love working along with our Chief. It always inspires me." June also burst out enthusiastically.

"I am so happy. The magnificent five are still complete. Chief, don't scare us again. I thought you were really abandoning us." Rose lamented with her teary eyes.

Erick just smiled at her. Seeing the joyful reaction of his team, it seemed like the heavy burden in his heart was suddenly lifted and he now felt at ease.

"So�� does it mean that I am already forgiven?" he told them as he probed.

The four of them just bobbed their heads frantically. 

"Yes, Chief!" They said in unison.

They started laughing once again. They were in that mood when Allen entered their office in a rush.

"Guys! I have a piece of good news!" Allen promptly said to them. The excitement was evident to his face.

Erick and his team averted their gaze to the newcomer who had just barged in without even knocking.

"Agent Marie, she is now awake! Her mother just called me."

After hearing that, everyone stood up from their seats. There was a glow of happiness beaming with their faces. It was indeed a piece of good news.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go and see her!" Bryan blurted out as he suggested to them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Compared to the joyous occasion in the XXX Crime Investigation Headquarters, things were not going well in a certain Dark Knight Headquarters in the countryside.

The incident happened in the warehouse owned by the Dark Knight the other night had caused turmoil in Alfonso's end.

He was busy checking and inspecting the samples of bio-weapon they created inside the facility when he received the news.

He immediately rushed back to the location. When he arrived there and saw the scene before him his heart clenched up with rage and frustration. The view inside the warehouse looked like a slaughterhouse where several dead bodies of their men scattered, bathing with their blood.

His expression darkened as he clenched his fists. He turned to look at his underlings with his eyes red with murderous rage.

Just a mere look from him they felt terrified. They could feel the cold and gloomy aura emanating from him.

"F*ck! Useless bunch! How did this happen? A massacre happened in our territory?!! One of our bio-weapon samples was put into waste! Just one shot of it cost a billion! What's more infuriating is that our test subject and hostages had escaped!" Alfonso exclaimed frantically, venting his anger to his underlings.

"FIND OUT WHO DID THIS! BRING THEM TO ME ASAP!" He enunciated every word as he gave his order.

Upon hearing his stern cold voice, his men felt helpless. They responded to him but they couldn't look at him in his eyes. His voice was inexplicably sending shivers down their backs.

"CLEAN THIS MESS! AND DON'T SAY ANY WORDS TO THE MAIN HEADQUARTERS!" he warned them through his gritted teeth.

"If the Dark Lord will find out about this, your lives are not enough to satisfy his wrath!" he was reprimanding them but deep inside he was also worried about himself.

If he had someone he feared in this lifetime it would be the Dark Lord. He was terrified. Just a mere disappointment from him could cause him to lose his life.

Meanwhile, the people who Alfonso was looking for and responsible for the cause of his fury today were still in the hospital. Brother Yu and Lu also arrived in that place to reunite with their brothers and Master.

Ling was now feeling better compared to yesterday. They were still mourning for losing their brother Xu.

Ling told them everything that happened- how they were captured by Dark Knight members. It seemed that Alfonso was a meticulous man as well. He didn't lower his guard against his enemies.

He already noticed a few days ago that he was being followed and monitored. He pretended very well as if he had no idea at all. They intentionally lured them and were trapped.

They couldn't retaliate as dozens of men completely surrounded them having high powered firearms aiming at them. He told them how they were tortured and the trial experiment of the Dark Knight was trying to do that night. They lost someone in that process.

Because of this incident, they were aware that it would be difficult to monitor Alfonso's movement again. He would be more careful this time. They needed to come up with another plan.

"Master what should we do now? You are right. Alfonso Ramirez is not an easy target. He is a very dangerous person to handle," Brother Yang said.

They thought Phantom was thinking deeply, that's why he hadn't responded to Yang's question yet. Phantom was leaning on his chair with his eyes closed. His arms were folded together over his chest.

They averted their gaze to their Master, waiting and anticipating for him to speak up. However, a few seconds had passed yet there was still no response from Phantom.

"Master?" Brother Yang called him again.

"Eh, is Master Phantom sleeping?" Brother Lu asked in confusion.

Brother Yu frowned upon noticing the beads of sweats that formed on their Master's forehead. He could also see his uneven breathing.

"I think Master Phantom is really tired. He fell asleep just by listening to Brother Ling's story." Lu commented again as he scratched his face.

"Alright, let's just let him rest. Brother Yu, please help Master Phantom to sleep comfortably on the couch." Brother Chuo suggested.

Brother Yu just nodded in agreement as he stood up to approach their Master.

They were in the middle of discussing their next moves when suddenly they heard the anxious voice coming from Brother Yu.

"What's wrong with Master Phantom?!!" Yu asked them in his worried tone. The moment he touched Phantom's body he felt his very hot temperature.

"Master! Master!" Brother Yu tried to shake him off and wake him up but to his disappointment, there was still no response from him.

Yu immediately turned to his brothers as he shouted. "Hey, Someone, Call for a doctor! Quickly!"

Everyone was in shock. Others who were with him during the rescue mission were thinking of something. 'Is Master Phantom got sick because he was exposed to the bio-weapon injected to Xu?'

They felt terrified of that thought. Lu, who had no idea about it, was the one who rushed out to call for a doctor.