Free Web NovelChapter 303: Catch these guys
"Huh?"
Ashley, Raka, and Julius sat in one of the classroom cafe booths. Raka’s face twisted as he listened to Ashley’s story about Lucian.
Julius, on the other hand, could only stare at her in shock.
Both of them knew that someone had "fainted" last night, but neither was aware that it involved vomiting and coughing up blood.
"Wait," Raka raised a hand in front of Ashley’s face. "Did you say idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis?"
Ashley nodded. "Yes."
"And it’s end-stage?" he asked again.
She nodded.
To both her and Julius’s surprise, Raka suddenly slapped the table between them.
Ashley flinched as she watched his expression twist.
"I am amazing as I am, but I’m not God," he said. "If it’s only in the early stages, maybe I can help him with my research. But end-stage? You shouldn’t even be here. You should be by his side, holding his hand."
"Is it that bad?" Julius asked, earning a look from both of them. "I know it’s bad, but is it like... cancer-type bad?"
Raka deadpanned. "Why are you even here? You’re not contributing anything."
Julius raised his hands in surrender while Ashley sighed heavily.
"It is worse in terms of prognosis." Raka leaned back, picked up his lemonade, and sipped through the straw. "Cancer in that area can be just as aggressive and carry a poor survival rate. But what this woman’s husband has is permanent scarring in the lungs that cannot be reversed."
"But aren’t you working on a miracle drug?" Ashley blurted out, making Raka frown even deeper.
"Call my research a failure, and I’ll make your life a living hell," he warned before she could continue. "Don’t even try."
Not that Ashley had planned to.
She came looking for Raka because that underground quack had sent Raka’s research facility to Omen. She had hoped there was a connection—or that there was something Raka could do.
"I’m sorry, okay?" Raka leaned against the table. "I don’t like you or your husband, but I do feel bad for him."
Since Ashley had told him about Lucian’s condition, Raka even felt guilty for the way he had treated him before.
Lucian might be annoying, but there were lines Raka wouldn’t cross.
"But my drug—even if I’m confident in it—can’t reverse that kind of damage. It can’t revive lungs that are already failing," he added. "What my drug does is fight diseases before they progress any further. But this?"
His voice softened as he shook his head. "I’m sorry. Believe me or not, I’m really sorry."
Ashley stared at him, her lips pressed into a tight line.
"And a transplant is the only way?" she asked.
Raka nodded.
"Based on what you’ve told me, it sounds like it," he replied. He then sighed heavily and met her gaze. "Look. I know this is hard, but if I were you, I’d stay by his side."
Ashley could only stare at him, her heart sinking a little further.
It wasn’t as though she had high hopes, but it was still demoralizing to hear even Raka say there was no hope for Lucian.
"Is... that so?"
*****
Minutes later, Julius and Raka walked side by side through the hallway.
Ashley had left after asking a few more questions, while Julius stayed behind for some reason.
As for Raka, he remained quiet until they heard the announcement that the concert was about to start.
"You’re not lying to her, are you?" Julius asked, breaking the silence between them.
Raka frowned deeply and glanced at him.
"Julius, you’re a judgmental person, and I get it. But do you really think I’d say all that just because I felt like it?" He clicked his tongue and looked ahead. "I’m not that heartless. If anything, I kind of feel bad for her."
Did Raka like Ashley and Lucian? Not at all.
But that didn’t mean he lacked even the slightest sympathy for them.
"What’s heartless is giving her false hope," he added knowingly. "That... is what being cruel is."
Julius paused, staring at Raka.
His lips parted, but in the end, he chose not to ask anything else. Instead, he stopped following Raka and headed back to where his son and the other parents were.
When he reached the concert hall, he stopped at the sidelines.
His eyes drifted to where his son stood beside Primo.
Then they moved to Ashley. ƒrēewebnovel.com
Everyone was listening to the student band performing on stage. The audience waved the light sticks that had been handed out. Some students were jumping and singing along while others simply enjoyed the music.
Meanwhile, Ashley stood in place, staring into nothingness. Julius let out a shallow breath.
Even though he had only known Ashley and Lucian for a day, he couldn’t help but sympathize with her.
Despite the nature of his work, he felt sorry for her.
As his gaze shifted again, he spotted Raka standing with his son, Sammy, and a group of parents.
Just like him, Raka was staring in Ashley’s direction.
"Is there... really no hope for him?" Julius wondered, thinking of Lucian. "He looked completely fine until the last minutes of the game."
There had been no signs that Lucian was sick.
Only shortly before he left the gymnasium had he looked terrible.
Before that?
He looked as healthy as anyone else.
"Life... is truly unpredictable," Julius muttered to himself.
He was about to join his son when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.
Julius frowned and pulled it out.
"I told them I’m on leave," he grumbled when he saw a familiar name from work on the screen. "Seriously. They won’t even let me have a day or two with my son."
Since the concert hall was loud, Julius walked away in search of a quieter place to take the call.
Once he reached a nearby building, he looked around before answering.
"I hope this is worth calling me while I’m off spending time with my son," he said.
Then he furrowed his brows as the person on the other end spoke urgently.
"Captain, we got a lead on the Black Dragon! Our intel says Dominion is about to collapse because something happened to him. There are already signs of power shifts."
Julius’s expression darkened. "What did you say?"
"We’ve been tracking movements in the underground world," the caller continued. "And aside from that, we received a tip that the Black Dragon is currently being treated somewhere in the country."
The caller paused before speaking more seriously.
"Sir, the underground will be at war if Dominion collapses. The chief is calling you back to headquarters. This may be our best chance to catch these people."
