Let's Go Down To Business

"Mama won't be coming with us?" Lily asks as Denver holds her hand and her eyes are still puffy from crying.

Denver looks at her little sister with a pout, "You didn't obey Mama earlier, why would she go with us?"

Eunica sighs, "Come on, you two. Mother's busy. She has to talk to Lara so we need to give them some time."

Maid Marga carried her bag and leads them to the car.

"Miss, do you want to go somewhere?" The driver asks.

"Hmm... how about the mall?" Eunica asks. It's been a year since she last went to a mall.

Lily and Denver nodded, "Yes! Let's go to the arcade!"

"Miss, do you want to buy a phone? I see that you don't have one."

Eunica looks at Marga who's sitting in the front seat with confusion, "Phone?"

Lily brings out her phone from her little bag, "Like this!"

Denver nodded, "You're getting old, Sis. You don't even know technology anymore."

"I'm not getting old! I was secluded!"

Eunica took the rectangular gadget and stared at it, "So what does this do?"

From what she remembered, phones don't look like this. It has keys and a small screen.

"It can do anything. You can take a picture, play games, messages someone, call, video call, play music--"

"PLAY MUSIC?" Eunica asks with amazement, she almost forgot about music. Her player's even with Jin.

Denver and Lily nodded like professors who knows everything.

"Then, let's buy you a phone," Maid Marga smiled.

After looking around and buying clothes and things, Maid Marga helped Eunica pick a phone.

"Can we buy one for Jin too?" Eunica whispers to Maid Marga.

"Oh... No, we can't. The Master monitors the things we buy."

"Does sis wants something else?" Denver asks.

"Yes," Maid Marga leans at Lily and mouthed, "She can't buy it."

Lily ran to Eunica, "Then, we'll buy it."

Eunica laughs, "Come on, it's fine. You kids don't have anything than coins. You need to save for years to--"

Lily and Denver showed them their gold ATM cards, "You were saying?"

Eunica's eyes went wide, "Don't I have an ATM too?"

Maid Marga laughs, "You have but it's still being processed."

After a battle of yes and no, Lily and Denver ended up buying Eunica another phone.

"This is for my friend, you shouldn't have..." Eunica smiled at Lily and Denver.

"If it's sis' friend, it's my friend," Lily said and ran.

Denver nodded, "Let's buy your friends gifts!"

"They don't have any friends, that is why they want to do that," Maid Marga followed Lily and Denver.

They bought some clothes and foods, Maid Marga and Eunica's having a hard time carrying the bags while Lily and Denver ran to a cake shop outside the mall near the parking lot.

"Oh, they're hungry," Eunica laughed.

"Eunica," Luke called from the bushes.

Maid Marga knew that scent, she took the bags Eunica's carrying and gestured her to go.

"Oh, wait. The gifts!" Eunica runs to Maid Marga and took the bags with Lily and Denver's gifts.

Luke and Jin watch her, Iaz tries to know from what tribe Marga's from while Rio checks their surroundings.

"Jin," Eunica smiled when she saw her beloved partner and lunges to hug him.

"Come on, you two. We don't have time. Eunica, did you find something else?" Rio asks.

"No, we had a feud about Mother and my other Mother. But... here," Eunica gives the bags to Rio, "Those are clothes from my siblings. I want them to meet you but now's not the time."

Jin smiled while watching his friends smiles widens with the things she brought.

"Here, it's a phone. We can contact each other with this."

Eunica handed Jin the phone and demonstrated how they can call or message each other.

"Lily and Denver will handle the bills. Anyways, give this to my uncle. I guess he knows already. Mother told me he saw her."

Rio and Luke stared at each other, "Yes, and he's not handling it very well. He's been drunk since last night. I guess, he can't believe it," Rio answered.

"Thank you, Eunica," Iaz said, "But be careful."

"Yes, any updates?"

Jin opened the camera and took a photo of Eunica speaking, he chuckled and took another photo of Luke then of Rio and Iaz.

"We'll meet them here. It was really good that we stumble upon you," Luke said with a wide smile and a peace sign as Jin takes a photo of him.

"I see. How many scientist?"

"Three of them. We'll ask about the revival fluid too," Rio said as he stares at Jin with a blank face while the camera's focusing on him.

"Yes, thank you. Jin..." Eunica took the phone and kissed Jin's cheeks, "Don't waste the memory and be safe. I downloaded some music if you want to listen. It's my favorites."

Luke rolled his eyes when he saw Eunica kissing Jin again.

"Be careful too," Jin whispered.

"Let's go, they're here," Rio heard the scientists low voices.

"Eunica, we'll be going," Iaz said and walks with Rio towards the park.

"Goodbye, see you," Eunica pushes Jin towards Rio and Luke, "Go on."

"Bye," Jin took another glance of Eunica before walking away.

Eunica went back to the shop, "Hey, where's my cake?" she asks.

Lily and Denver looked at each other and smirked, "We ate it."

Maid Marga laughs after she took a bite of her honey lemon cake, "Yes, they did. But don't worry, I ordered another one for you, Miss."

Eunica smiled at Marga and looked at Denver and Lily, "Bleh," she stuck out her tongue as the waitress serves her with the cake ordered for her.

Jin and the others entered the mall with the scientist they met in the parking lot.

"Mr. Gerald Torrez," Rio shakes the hand of a huge man with a long hair tied in a ponytail, "I'm glad to meet you."

"Miss Jeane Park," Jin smiled and shakes the hand of a fair small lady with thick glasses, "Thank you for coming."

"Mr. Gat Lariz, you got nice clean hair," Iaz complimented the short man with swept black hair as he shakes his hand.

They all seated in the corner of a restaurant in the mall. The old scientists brought their security guards to take care of their surroundings in case one of Luinn's men pass by. They all acted as if they're also customers seated near the entrance.

"We're glad to be able to help Mr. Raye to get back the institution," Jeane adjusted her glasses as she stares at Jin.

She remembers this young man, he was nothing but the second subject of the experiment. The first planned hybrid. Eunica Angel was nothing but a prototype. Her birth was the most devastating event that happened during their experimentation, except the sickly hybrids they created. They lost a lovely woman, the President's wife, Lara during her birth.

Jin knows that between these three scientists, Jeane's the one who can remember who he is clearly. She's the one who's always sent to the nursery to check on him and the other hybrids. She even sometimes play with them before.

"Did you miss me?" Jin asks Jeane with a genuine smile. Jeane was one of the nicest people he met despite how mean she looks with her thick glasses.

Jeane smiled and nodded.

Gerald clears his throat, he was the type of scientist who always tries his hardest not to be attached to the experiment objects, but even though he denies it, it broke his heart to leave the young hybrids and even contribute in erasing Eunica Angel's memories and DNA.

"May we assess the situation we're facing now?" Gerald asks as he tries to avoid Jin's gaze.

He did cry after leaving the institution, not because he lost his job, but he was scared what the young hybrids would have to face after they're gone.

Iaz nodded, "Yes, of course. Jin, can you tell them?"

Gat took out his notes and readies his pen to write what Jin would reveal about the SINS and Luinn. But as Jin explains the latest news he and Eunica found, Gat slowly stops writing in shock also he got more absorbed in listening and ingesting the information he hears.

"Eunica said this liquid might be from one of your experiments," Jin said as he leans on the backrest.

Their foods arrived after a short moment of silence between them. The scientist and even Rio and Iaz can't believe that Lara is alive.

Jeane furrows her brows, "Yes. I think that it might one of our failed experiments. Right, Gerald?" she looks at him with eyes that were sure. There's no hint of doubt in her eyes as she recalls the time they were working on a fluid that can bring back someone's life after Lara's death.

Gerald sighs and massages his temples, "Yes, we left the notes about it in the lab. I knew it was impossible. It was all out of Mr. Raye's grief from his wife's death."

"Yes, but look what happened now. She's really alive. She's breathing. That means our experiment worked, they only had to change and adjust a few things and voila, she's alive!" Gat smiled in triumph.

Rio shakes his head with a wrinkled brow, "What do you mean this is Raye's plan?"

"Yes, it was Mr. Raye's plan to revive his wife," Jeane nodded.

Jin and Luke looked at each other, "Then... this was not Luinn's plan?" they whispered in unison.

"The idea of bringing back Lara was Mr. Raye's idea, yes, but Luinn's using it take advantage of him. I think that's how this works," Gat taps his pen on his notebook while reading the information he jots down earlier.

"That also means, we can't take back SINS."

Gerald took his suitcase full of SINS papers and research and stood up, "I'll go back to work. This won't go well," he said and turned around.

"Gerald, no!" Jeane hurriedly stands up and catches up on Gerald, "We can't let this continue. Especially that we're working for the government now. Luinn's a traitor. He's our country's enemy."

"No, he isn't. He's not doing anything against the government, Jeane. Let's just stay away from Raye and Luinn's feud, okay?" Gerald took Jeane's hand to bring her with him but Jeane pulled her hand away.

"No! Didn't you hear? Luinn's manipulating the country's defence! Hybrids are our number one safety source. If not for them, the war must've destroyed our country's peace and order. And we know Luinn, he destroys everything he controls."

Jin nodded, "He doesn't care about hybrids, Gerald. He abused his power. He treats us like we're not living creatures. If not for the nice people left in the SINS, I know I would be dead by now."

"What do you mean?" Gerald turns around and stares at Jin with a cold dark expression, "Do they hurt you? The hybrids?"

Jin nodded, "Yes. They wound, beat, maltreated and even kill hybrids, Gerald. We can only live up to 20 years, and I would be dead if I still stay there. I was supposed to be sent to the military if the accident didn't happen."

Gerald clenches his fist as he grinds his teeth, no one hurts his precious hybrids. His heart's even crying for the hybrids that the present useless scientists made after Luinn took over. Yes, it was inhumane to create hybrids, but at least under Raye's authority, they were treated like humans.

Jeane knows how Gerald deeply loves hybrids, and with this knowledge, she's sure that he will do whatever it takes to save the hybrids.

"Okay, let's go down to business. What's the plan?" Gerald went back to his seat and smiled like he already won. He knows that with the help of the native hybrids, and Eunica and Jin by their side, they can take Luinn down and save the hybrids in danger.