We entered Dr. Gregorio's office and were greeted by his secretary.
"Dr. Abdel, welcome, Dr. Gregorio is waiting for you in his office."
"Okay."
We both stared at the professor who lead the way towards the double doors to Dr. Gregorio's inner office.
"Um, Prof. Antonio, Dr. Gregorio only asked for Dr. Abdel," said the secretary.
"That is right, professor, it might be a personal matter," I told him.
The professor looked back at us, pouted at me, and sat on a chair near the double doors. I couldn't help but think that he looked like a sulking child.
"Hmph. Good thing I have some snacks with me," he said, while stuffing his mouth with pretzels. "Hurry up before they run out."
I sighed and touched his shoulder as I entered the room.
"Please close the door behind you," said Dr. Gregorio from inside.
The room was very spacious, furnished in lavish antique mahogany and a plush, intricately designed red velvet carpet. He sat behind a large, carved desk of black wood. On the wall behind him was a painting of himself, with a lovely young man sitting by his side.
"You have a message for me, Dr. Gregorio?" I asked as I stood in front of his desk.
"Yes, please take a sit." He motioned me to a chair. "I believe you talked with Dr. Gonzaga earlier?" he asked with a smile.
"Yes. I asked him for an authorized person I could talk to, regarding an issue I wanted to raise."
Dr. Gregorio chuckled.
"Ah, yes, so let's get to the point, won't we." His smile disappeared. "Prof. Antonio is not for you to take."
"I believe, that is for him to decide."
"Exactly." He showed me a big, evil grin which made his face look more wrinkled than it already was. "There is no way the professor would leave the country."
"Because of your threat against his family?"
His grin wavered.
"So, he has told you about that. But that's not the only reason he would hesitate to leave."
"Are you talking about the neurochip in his head?"
His grin disappeared completely.
"You're really something, Dr. Abdel," he said, shaking a finger at me. "Who would have thought that Eric would actually open up to you?"
"He loves my coffee."
The doctor snorted.
"Prof. Antonio is very special to us. We can't just let him go."
"And that is why you are holding him against his will?"
Dr. Gregorio laughed.
"Do you know what he wanted to do, Dr. Abdel?" he asked me. "He wanted to be a grade school Science teacher in some far away province, teaching less privileged omegas for free." He shook his head and frowned. "Can you imagine? The greatest mind in this generation, wasting away in some no-name school? Teaching snot nosed little brats about biology? How could I possibly let that happen, when he could save billions of lives developing medicine here in Universal Laboratories?"
"While you rake in billions in profit from his discoveries, you mean?" I asked. "Yes, I can imagine that."
"Then what do you propose?" he asked me. "You think he would agree to leave his vulnerable family on their own? The brother he adored asked him to look after them before he died. And I know you know how much he loves his kuya. There's no one in this world that could ever take his place in Prof. Antonio's heart. Not even you, Dr. Abdel."
"You have a point there," I answered him, "But I wonder, what the other Universal Laboratory branch heads would say, if they find out that you people are still using the banned neurochip on one of your top researchers?"
The doctor simply glared at me.
"I want you to disarm it, Dr. Gregorio. Or I will contact my superiors once more and tell them that you have been using banned technology on your top researcher," I dared him, "and on a dominant omega as well."
"So... he told you about the DOME project, too..." he said dangerously.
"No, Dr. Gregorio," I corrected him. "I already knew about the DOME project when I came here. In fact, that is the real reason why I wanted to take him back with me. I am, after all, the new head of the Prime Omega Project in our country."
We looked at each other, each, trying to stare the other down. He flinched first and looked away.
"I knew there was something fishy when Universal Laboratories UACME sent you here," he said, staring at me once more. "I was wondering how you could possibly last that long with Prof. Antonio. Now I know the real reason."
"On the contrary," I answered back, "I would have stayed with him, even if he had nothing to do with the DOME project which your company have obviously hidden from us. He is a very talented person, and I would do anything to take him back to work with me."
He glared at me once more before answering again.
"For your information," he starter, "The main branch in the US have known of the project all along. But, so be it," he continued, "I'm still positive the good professor would never leave the country." He stood up and stared at the painting behind him. "Let me just tell you, though, that I had no plans of using the neurochip on the professor. He had already done and given so much to the company. In fact, my only son looks up to him. That's the real reason why I want him to stay here."
"Then why haven't you disarmed it yet?"
"Who said I didn't?"
I stared at him as he touched the painting which swung open half way like a door. There is a safe at the back which he opened. He took a flat, rectangular box from within it.
"I never armed it in the first place," he continued, "I didn't need to. I knew the threat to his family was enough to keep him on a leash. Besides, Eric would never betray the company. He may be everything else, but he's no traitor, nor is he a murderer."
He placed the box on the table. It was about five inches long and four inches across.
"Show me your hand."
"Like this?" I raised my hand, palm out.
He took my hand, placed it on top of the box, and grinned his big evil grin.
The box gave a soft beep.
"There, you just armed it."
"What?!"
I quickly pulled my hand away and glanced at the doorway.
"Don't worry, it won't detonate unless you trigger it. You need to wait for 24 hours before you can disarm it again."
He opened the box and showed me a flat rectangular stick about two inches long. There is a sensor at one end.
"The instruction are inside, I suggest you read them thoroughly," he said. "Enjoy!"