CHAPTER 59 : HIDDEN

The loud sound of a siren was heard as two black bags were loaded into the back of an ambulance. The police officers present cordoned off the area with safety tape, while some examined the surroundings and took pictures.Khairul observed from the roof of a nearby factory building, then moved back. He saw Nasuha and Nur sitting together, turning to face Khairul as he approached them."I overheard a bit of their conversation down there. They were both scientists kidnapped by the White Tigers," Khairul said, pointing to his ear."Who would have thought, huh? We were the ones who found them," Nasuha replied, standing slowly."They just tossed them aside like garbage... What the hell! Ugh..." Nur was frustrated. She recalled how her brother was killed so easily by Zaki but quickly tried to forget it."Is there really nothing we three can do to find them? Isn't Khairul's power useful for locating people?" Nur asked."Looks like we unintentionally helped by finding those two scientists. They probably don't want us to get involved. After what happened before, they want to protect us; I heard them talking about it unintentionally," Khairul sighed, his expression slightly disappointed. Nasuha looked at Khairul and Nur, who seemed tense, then exhaled deeply."Everyone has their own duties. We eradicate Strays for the safety of others too; don't think we're doing less than anyone else," Nasuha advised, and Khairul and Nur turned to her."Trust the other HOPE members; when they need us, we'll be there," Nasuha smiled."We can assume they got whatever information they wanted from our two dead scientists," Syafiq sighed. Several members of the Special Force, including Rose and her unit, as well as Bella with other scientists, were in the middle of the Special Force headquarters."Amna and Imran worked closely with me, so they knew a lot about our operations here..." Bella crossed her arms, her face troubled as she remembered her two lab mates who were killed."The autopsy results show there were holes in the back of their heads, signs of strangulation on their necks, and the cause of death was a broken neck. They were tortured, that's for sure," Rose responded."If what the White Tigers want to do is attack us, I can only think of two reasons: we have a member of theirs in our custody, and they want to steal our lab research. They stole lab equipment when they attacked our truck. We also know they are doing research and technology related to mutated monsters and mutants..." Bella raised two fingers, lowering one as she recalled Riza at the base and then lowering another when she thought of the exoskeleton technology discovered at the White Tigers' base."I dare them to attack us! I don't care what mutant powers they have; here, we have all kinds of weapons and tools to ensure we can defeat them. We will avenge the deaths of our people! I'll make sure of it... For now, we just need to be ready," Syafiq declared, looking fierce. Rose and Shaurya exchanged worried glances.After a while, they dispersed..."If we really get attacked, we will lose," Bella lamented, stopping alongside Rose and Shaurya, who were following her."Imagine, bullets have no effect on them; even shooting an RPG might not hurt them that much either. Most of the technology to capture mutants is still in the prototype phase; we're not at all ready... for a full fight with mutants," Bella explained, gesturing towards the weapons and equipment on the walls of the base."There are HOPE members close to the base, Mikael and Kyoko... They also know there's a possibility the White Tigers will attack this Special Force base, so don't worry; they can come help," Rose replied."Do you really trust them? Remember, they lost to the White Tigers before..." Bella looked at Rose in surprise."I believe in them, Bella. Who else can we trust?" Rose asked, and Bella sighed softly."I hope we can truly place our hopes on them..."Purple lightning quickly surrounded the area near the Special Force headquarters. Kyoko avoided the cameras set up by the Special Force and stopped on the roof of a skyscraper, where Mikael was setting up a small tent formed from his shadow powers."It's really hot..." Kyoko removed her mask and moved under the tent. Mikael created a fan from his shadow."Your powers are really amazing, Mika," Kyoko praised, facing the shadow fan."Did you find anything?" Mikael asked."Nothing. There are several buildings that I couldn't access because of cameras... I just followed orders, sir! You said not to let the cameras see so the Special Force wouldn't misunderstand, sir!" Kyoko replied, then teased Mikael."Maybe I should go check myself; I can hide in the shadows, but I'm not as fast as you, so it might take time..." Mikael thought, walking to the edge of the roof."It's been nearly a week since we started looking for them, and we haven't found a trace. It's frustrating..." Kyoko complained."I really hope we can stop them before they attack the Special Force base... I don't want anyone to get killed; we can't lose to the White Tigers again and let them escape," Mikael pondered, remembering when the White Tigers managed to escape using Nora's monster powers.Ali moved into the living room of his house, carrying a photo frame. It was a picture of him with Danielle and Arfan when they were young. He sat down on the sofa and opened his phone, typing Arfan's name in the call log and making a call."Assalamualaikum, Arfan, can we meet?"A red car stopped in front of a house, and Arfan immediately opened the gate with a smile. Ali got out of the car and returned the smile."Assalamualaikum, Ali." Arfan approached Ali and hugged him gently."Waalaikummusalam... It's been a long time, huh?" replied Ali."We've all been busy... especially with the quarantine." Arfan said as they walked into the house."Uncle Ali!" a curly-haired boy exclaimed excitedly upon seeing Ali."Hey, Ryan. You've grown up!" Ali responded with a smile. Ryan immediately ran and jumped towards Ali. Quickly, Ali caught Ryan and lifted him."Ryan... Calm down a bit." Arfan scolded as he sat on the sofa. Ali sat next to him, still holding Ryan."It reminds me of someone too, when he was little, he was hard to calm down." Ali teased, causing Arfan to chuckle."He still isn't calm even now, Ali... He has a lot of antics." A woman in a long scarf entered the living room, carrying a baby dressed in pink."Assalamualaikum, Zati. How is everyone?" Ali asked."Waalaikummusalam... Alhamdulillah, we're doing fine." Zati replied. Ryan jumped down from Ali and moved towards his mother."Alright, Zati will leave you two alone... Come on, Ryan, don't disturb Daddy and Uncle while they talk." Ainul suggested, placing her hand on the back of Ryan's head."Okay!" Ryan followed his mother into the kitchen."There must be something important for you to want to see me right now... What's going on, Ali?" Arfan asked as soon as his family left. Ali looked at him with a slightly sad expression."I want to ask you, what happened to Danielle? You were the one who helped him after I met him with Ustaz Umar that day... I don't know anything about him since then, and I feel guilty now; I have a lot of regrets..." Ali asked, gripping both hands tightly."Isn't Danielle doing okay now? Ustaz told me he met him the other day, you were there too..." Arfan replied, looking confused."Just tell me what happened," Ali sighed."Okay, okay... I took Danielle to get therapy, to see a psychologist. He was placed in a mental hospital, but he ran away, and no one has seen him for the past 5 months. But he suddenly appeared the other day, looking fine..." Arfan explained."Why didn't you tell me anything?" Ali's expression shifted to confusion, and Arfan sighed deeply."I didn't want to burden you with what happened to Danielle, it was also Ustaz Umar's request. You were focusing on your new job... We all understood you were tired. Unlike you, I didn't put in as much effort, so I took responsibility for this." Arfan clarified, patting Ali's shoulder with a bitter smile."I'm not a weak kid who needs to be protected anymore..." Ali lamented."I'm sorry, Ali," Arfan said softly."I'm not trying to make you feel guilty; I'm just asking. Why did Danielle run away?" Ali shifted the topic back to Danielle."I'm not sure of the exact reason. His psychiatric treatment didn't go very well; Danielle didn't cooperate." Arfan replied, and Ali nodded in understanding.I kept asking about Danielle, but there were also times when we reminisced about the old days. No matter how regretful I felt about Arfan's and Ustaz Umar's actions, in the end, their choice was to protect me and Danielle.I was also at fault; I was too focused on my own world that I left my own family to suffer...Danielle is my responsibility."Next time, please don't hide anything important from me," Ali requested as he opened the car door, and Arfan offered a bitter smile."I promise.""Ms. Bella!" A scientist rushed towards Bella as soon as she entered the lab."What's wrong?" Bella asked, puzzled by the frantic scientist."The mutant is moving!" said the scientist, and Bella's eyes widened as she moved towards Zaki's capsule. It looked like his mouth was moving slightly; his eyes opened a bit, and his first sight was Bella surrounded by other scientists and lab assistants."K-Khai-Khai... rul...." Zaki said softly.But suddenly, his eyes opened wide, transforming like a wolf, fur covering his body, and his face morphed into that of a beast, his teeth becoming sharp fangs."Where am I! Let me go!" Zaki screamed, and the other scientists and lab assistants quickly stepped back in fear and confusion, but Bella stood fearlessly in front of Zaki.He couldn't move inside the capsule.Another problem on top of another, huh?"We saved you! If you don't calm down, I'll kill you right here," Bella challenged, and Zaki turned to her."I know who you are and what you've done... You should be grateful we kept you alive instead of tearing your body apart to use as lab materials," Bella said with a sharp glare. Zaki's nostrils flared, and he smirked."You're bold... just for a little human," Zaki said mockingly. A few members of the Special Force entered the lab along with Syafiq, all armed. Rose and Shaurya also appeared, their sharp glares fixed on Zaki."Everyone, calm down; he can't escape right now," Bella said. She turned to all the Special Force members, then looked at Rose with a confident smile, but Rose's expression changed to confusion."So... Special Force and the police... I know you, woman." Zaki simply stared at Rose, while Shaurya stepped forward, blocking him from continuing to gaze at Rose with a murderous look."I'm still alive? Hahaha.... What a joke my fate is..." Zaki hung his head."You owe us, Mutant. We could have let you die, but we chose to help you. Cooperate, and we won't have to spill blood unnecessarily," Syafiq said, stepping forward."What do you want from me? I don't care about anything; there's someone I need to torture and kill... I don't have time for all this," Zaki grumbled."If we kill you now... You won't be able to fulfill any of your desires. But if you cooperate with the Special Force, you won't have to die," Syafiq offered."What-?" Rose looked at Syafiq with a frightened expression."It seems I have no real choices," Zaki smiled again.After the situation calmed down, Rose left the lab, quickly walking to catch up with Syafiq, who was surrounded by other Special Force members."What were you thinking, captain?!" Rose asked angrily."Rose..." Shaurya pulled her arm, preventing her from getting closer to Syafiq again."We're about to fight the Mutants, Rose. Do you understand we need his strength, or do you have another idea? Do you have any Mutant friends who can help us?" Syafiq questioned, and Rose fell silent upon hearing his words."I don't want any of my people to die unnecessarily. We will find a way to negotiate with that Mutant, whatever it takes; we need his strength right now, whatever kind of power he has will be useful," Syafiq explained before continuing to walk away with his team, leaving Rose grinding her teeth."Damn it!" she cursed under her breath, then stomped the ground forcefully."Sister Rose, calm down..." Shaurya pleaded."How can I calm down?! I... I'm lying to Khairul right now, lying to all the HOPE members. I've hidden something important from them... I don't want to hurt Khairul... but I still can't tell him." Rose hugged herself, her expression filled with conflict, and Shaurya looked on sadly at Rose's condition.I really can't do anything in the end...Why am I so weak?How can I be someone to support Sister Rose if I'm still like this?Rose continued walking, not looking at Shaurya and remaining silent. Shaurya followed her from behind but stopped when he heard a cracking sound. He looked down and lifted his foot.There was a small plant under his foot."Huh... Huh... Huh..." Mei gasped for breath, her entire body sweaty from the heat. Chyou sat beside her and placed ice on her head. Khalid moved towards Furioswheels, then opened the door and got inside."I... tried but couldn't find anything... My body overheats quickly when I try to scan the whole city..." Mei complained, holding her heavy head."Don't push yourself anymore, Mei... You've been using your power at maximum almost every day; I don't want you to get hurt. Rest for now," Khalid replied, and Mei simply nodded."We haven't found anything, Khalid... My sister has tried her best; please don't push this investigation that's leading nowhere..." Chyou scolded, and Khalid turned to him, seeing the disappointment on Chyou's face."If... the White Tigers plan to attack the Special Force, we wait and help when they attack... Let my sister rest..." Chyou pleaded, and Khalid remained silent, unable to say anything more.