Chapter 3 – I Could Live Here

Chapter 3 – I Could Live Here

(*Note: all of Prof. Eric Antonio's dialogue is now translated into English, take note that he still talks to Dr. Aahmes Abdel in Filipino)

I woke up with my back aching.

It seems I have fallen asleep in the laboratory.

I look at the notes I had written and was about to stand up when I heard the door slam open as it hit the adjacent wall.

"W-what are you still doing here?!" Prof. Antonio shouted.

"Are you feeling better, Prof. Antonio?" I asked him calmly. "You were feverish last night, so I gave the dinner I bought to the guards and ordered some porridge for you instead."

"The porridge I ate was from you?" he glared at me.

"Don't worry, I didn't put anything in your food. Why would I poison the person I look up to?"

"S-shut up! Tell me what you're doing in my lab!" he looked at the broken pieces of equipment on the floor and at the new set of test tubes I placed on the rack. "D-did you do something to my stuff?!"

"I simply organized it for you."

"What do you mean `organized'?! How the hell could you organize my – "

I handed him my notes.

He looked at them, suspiciously at first, then with shock and disbelieve.

"Where did you get this?! It this the data you stole from me?!"

"Have you given me access to such information?" I asked him.

He looked at me furiously.

"All I did was write down what I found in your smashed experiment."

Prof. Antonio turned pale.

"So... you really are a spy..." he edged towards the door.

"If I were a spy, would I still be here, telling you what I found?"

That made him stop and think.

"Also, I think you would be interested in the findings I concluded on the last page."

He frowned as he turned the pages of the notes I gave him.

"How did you come up with this?" he asked, looking at me in a different light. "I've been studying this genome for some time now... how did you..."

"It's because this genome is closely related to that of a very unique species, and that is – "

He suddenly rushed towards me and covered my mouth.

This was a surprise since he seems to hate touching other people, even if he, himself, is such a filthy slob.

"Not here," he whispered. "I'm not feeling so good... do you mind if you take me home? You have a car, right?"

We arrived at in a private subdivision about an hour later and stop in front of a detached, 2 storey house surrounded by high concrete walls. He opened the gates, looked around, and signaled me to park my car inside.

"You have a nice house," I told him as I stepped out of my car. "Do you live here alone?"

The professor went to the back seat and carefully took out a container where his samples were tightly sealed.

"Why do you ask?" he asked, looking paranoid. "Do you plan to murder me in my own home?"

"No one opened the door for you," I answered, looking at the dusty windows. "Also, the place looks deserted."

"Hmph. Just follow me."

I did as I was told.

The house was spacey and mostly empty except for a room on the second floor where he led me to. It was fully furnished with state of the art laboratory equipment.

"I could live here," I found myself saying out loud.

"What, so you can steal more data from me?"

"If you don't trust me, why did you bring me here?"

"Because the lab isn't safe."

He went to a corner and turned something on. It was a signal jammer. I then noticed that the walls were padded and the ceiling was made of metal. Probably aluminum. He carefully took his samples out one by one and placed them on one of the long tables in the room.

I was about to help him, when he sent me away.

"Don't touch! Stay in that corner, or else..." he paused.

"Or else what?" I asked. "We are the only people in your house, alone in a sealed room, what could you possibly do to me, who is obviously stronger than you?"

"What ever! Just stay there or else... or else I'll fire you!"

I chose not to reply.

I am interested in his work, after all, I have no intention of getting fired, even if I am not actually working for him.

"So... just where did you come from, exactly?" he asked after setting up his materials. "Who are you, really?"

"I already told you when we first met, Prof. Antonio. I am Dr. Aahmes Abdel. I am 22 years old, with a PhD in Molecular Biology, Neurophysiology, Neurology, and Psychiatry, and I want to study under your tutelage."

"And just what more do you want to learn from me? When you have just summarized overnight, what I have been working on for half a year!"

"That is only because you have already paved the way, I merely followed it."

"Yeah, right. Why don't you pull the other leg?" he came slightly closer to me. "You're one of them, aren't you?" he asked, holding his hand up to whisper. "A dominant omega?"

I smiled.

He shivered and stepped back.

"I see you know about our kind."

"Did the Spider send you?!" he sneered.

"No," I replied, "I have no idea who that person is. In fact, I am curious to know how many dominant omegas there are in your country."

He seemed to be taken a-back by what I said.

"If he didn't send you... then just who the hell are you?"

I took a deep sigh.

"I already told you, I am Aahmes Abdel..."

"I know, but why don't you just tell me who you really are?!" he's starting to panic again.

"Okay, listen carefully," I tried to calm him down. "I am a member of the Egyptian royalty, and a scientist in my own right. I finished my doctorate in Oxford, you may check with them if you wish. I have written dozens of studies, particularly about secondary gender personality disorders, and I have read each and every one of yours. I am a fan, and am fascinated by how detailed all your research are, considering, you are not even an omega."

He continued glaring at me.

I believe it is less hostile now.

"I still don't trust you! The last person who tried to get close to me just did so to steel some of my ideas..."

"Yes, that was for the omega suppressant, was it not?" His eyebrow raised. "I recognized your style in that certain doctor's dissertation. I was also following your study at that time, about the new omega suppressant that has less side effects compared to the current ones in the market. It was good that he didn't get the whole formula. I believe It is only a matter of time until Universal Laboratories releases this new suppressant to the public?"

"Hmph. That's because I never gave the whole formula to anyone!" he said proudly.

"Yes, you have everything in here." I pointed at my temple.

"How did you know that?!" he asked, wide-eyed.

"You told me last night."

"Oh..." he looked away, embarrassed. "Anyway, earlier you were going to explain how you noticed the genome I discovered."

"Yes, since that genome is very similar to those seen in a very unique species of omegas, of which I am a part of."

"That's right. It is from the pheromone sample of a dominant omega," he said, "and I find it hard to believe that I am now face to face with another dominant omega..."

"And I am willing to let you study me, if you would agree to take me in as your disciple," I said with a smile.

"What makes you think that I need you?" he asked me, stepping back. "You don't even know what I'm working on!"

"You are looking for a way to tell a child's secondary gender even before they reach puberty."

The professor turned pale again.

I find teasing him quite satisfying.

"H-how did you guess?" he asked

"I did not. I studied your samples. The blood specimens in the test tubes you broke all came from children aged 4-8 years old. All of which are pre-adolescents."

"You can tell that?"

"Yes, I have a very sensitive sense of smell, I can even tell their overall well being at the time the samples were taken." He seemed to be impressed by that. "But, what brought me to that conclusion, was the genome sequence you were mumbling while you were resting in the clinic."

"I was mumbling?!" he looked surprised.

"Yes. You were mumbling different genome sequences of a newly awoken omega, one by one, as the genome mutates from male to omega."

"That's still not enough for you to conclude that I was working on a gender testing kit!" he insisted.

"Then there is that catalyst gene you discovered."

Professor Antonio's eyes widened.

"And how did you know about that?" he asked.

"The combinations you were mumbling. There was one sequence I was not familiar with."

He glared at me.

"I can not believe you actually discovered a new genome, more than a decade after the discovery of the original ones. Truly, you are an outstanding scholar worthy of my admiration!"

"Psh. Flattery won't get you anywhere!" he mumbled.

"I am not simply flattering you. I tell you the truth, that is why I am offering myself to you."

"A-and w-what makes you think that I want you?" he stammered.

"I am a dominant omega," I answered back. "Like our alpha counterparts who can control their pheromones and are on top of the alpha hierarchy, we dominant omegas have control over our pheromones as well. And not just our pheromones, we can suppress our own estrus and that of others, we can even control dominant alphas if we choose to do so. We are the ones who are truly on top of the gender hierarchy, on top of the whole human race, to be exact."

"And that is exactly the reason why DOME's are a guarded secret!" the professor said.

DOME's?

So, that's what they call our kind in this country.

"Yes," I continued, "in most countries, governments hide us as a natural treasure, while in others, we are hunted and killed like demons. That's how powerful we are. That's why we are treated as gods."

"And you?" he asked. "Why bother coming to this small country to meet a mere professor, if you think of yourself as a god?"

"Because I am interested in you," I told him. "Your studies fascinate me, and I want to learn more from you, if not with you."

He looked at me skeptically.

"I already told you, I am part of the royal family. In our country, dominant omegas are a tightly guarded secret. We are treasures to them that must be hidden and well guarded. That is why I never told anybody the truth about myself."

"If that's so... then why tell me about it?"

"Because then, I can make a deal with you."

"W-what if I tip them about you?" he blurted out. "I bet they'd force you to go back if they find out that one of their 'treasures' had escaped. Or maybe I'd just tell our country's defense minister about you and use you for our own good?"

I laughed and watched him cringe.

"I know how close you are to omegas. You will never hand me over," I deducted, "even though you've been suspecting me as a spy and tried hard to push me away, you still treated me and the other omegas in your team with more patience, compared to the betas and the few alphas in the laboratory. Also, I have never seen you raise your hand on anybody, no matter how foul mouthed you are," I continued. "In fact, I observed your reaction last night when you guessed what I am. You didn't say `hindi na ako babalik', (I'm not going back) you said `hindi na ako magpapagamit', (I won't let you use me again) meaning you did not hate working with a dominant omega, which makes me wonder as to what happened in the past and about this other dominant omega you seem to know."

The professor looked away and decided to keep silent.

Perhaps he realized that he had already said too much.

At least he isn't cursing me anymore.

"By the way, professor," I called his attention, "I am currently looking for a place to stay, and since we will be working together, may I ask permission to live here in your residence?"

"Ha?" he frowned at me.

"I can pay for rent and help you in your research, even take part of it. You can use me any way you wish."

"What are you talking about? Why wwould I let you live here? When I hardly even go home?"

"I shall also be your personal chauffeur."

"Ha?"

"I doubt it would be ideal to conduct the experiments back at the labs, since you would be using a live `DOME' as a test subject..."

"W-who said I'd be using you?!"

"And I can also take care of you so you don't pass out of hunger while you work."

"W-who said I passed out?"

"I also know how to cook."

He didn't seem to have a reply for that.

"A royal prince? Wants to cook and take care of me?" he mocked me, "Unbelievable!"

"I may be a prince, but I am also a man of science, first and foremost, and as such, I like to learn different skills and experience everything first hand."

"Ugh... speak for yourself," he mumbled as he finally loosens up and sits on a stool. "So... you want to stay here? And you're willing to cook, drive, and slave for me?"

"Correction, I am already your 'utusan'." (slave)

Prof. Antonio laughed, and for the first time, I did not sense sarcasm in his laughter.

"That's right, you're already my runner, butler, and coffee maker," he said, smiling at me. "Let's see how wlong you can last." He gave a sigh and stood up from the stool he was sitting on. "Now, stay here and..."

"You are leaving me alone with your experiment?" I asked him.

"Of course not," he looked at me, his eyes, suddenly leaden, "I just need to lay down for a bit..."

"Professor!"

It was good that I was near him. He simply fell where he stood and almost hit his head on the counter.

"Are you okay, professor?!"

I was answered by a soft snore.

It seems he was already at his limit.

I guess he was so paranoid about my arrival that he completely forgot to take care of himself. Or perhaps he has always been like this?

He was very light and skinny. I took him to one of the rooms opposite the laboratory and found one with a dusty bed inside it.

Well, that would have to change from now on. After all, I wouldn't want him to die before I learn everything from him.

Now, all I need to do is to make him want to let me stay.