Ch 437 - Desperate Pleas

Debbie turned around and saw them coming. She didn't want her day with Alex to end, but she could tell that there was something important going on. She turned to him, kissed him on the cheek, and told him to find her later. Then she left.

Just as Debbie walked out of sight, the trio came up to Alex. They were all excited and panting for breath. "Mr. Ambrose," Ethan began, "I'm sorry, but there's no other way. Please."

Celia had an apologetic look on her face. She had always thought that Alex was the best person to protect Heidi, and she had disapproved of Gavin taking over. Now that he had failed, he had the nerve to come back begging for help. She was ashamed to be walking beside him.

Gavin felt the severity of the situation, but he couldn't help but be amused at the sight of Alex in his uniform. We're dealing with a crisis that shakes the entire city, he thought, and we're coming to a university security guard for help. It's ridiculous.

But he hid his amusement. "Mr. Ambrose, I'll give you a chance to work with us," he said quite seriously. "It you would please go and change your clothes, you can come to the scene with us."

"Sorry, I'm not interested," Alex answered calmly. Then he turned and started walking away.

Gavin was stunned. "What the hell's with you, kid?" he blurted out. "Do you realize how many people would kill to work for me?"

His words weren't mere bluster. Gavin had seen countless men and women beg for a chance to work at the agency. He had personally rejected dozens of competent fighters, tacticians, and analysts. People with whom Alex could only dream of comparing himself.

Celia and Ethan turned to look at Gavin, and their faces were serious as the grave. They needed Alex's help, and the director was seemingly doing everything he could to make sure they wouldn't get it. He knew who Alex was, and still, he treated him with disrespect. The man was a danger to their entire enterprise.

As they stood and watched Alex walking away with no reaction, Ethan's frustration was mixed with increasing hopelessness. He was realizing the futility of asking for Alex's help, and he turned to walk away.

Just then, Alex's phone rang. He stopped and answered.

"Who is this?" he said.

It was the principal at Oak Ridge. "Mr. Ambrose, could you come back to us?" he asked. He sounded as if he was about to cry. "Class 6 is in trouble again. They need you back."

The principal was in a desperate situation, and he was at his wit's end. Lance had put laxatives in the cafeteria food, and some other students from Class 6 had smashed the glass in his office door. The immediate situation had calmed down, but it was only a matter of time before things flared up again. Combined with the news of Heidi, it was too much for the principal to handle.

"I'm sorry," Alex said. "I'm busy." He hung up the phone.

Gavin was sick of waiting for Alex to come around. "Mr. Ambrose, don't walk away from us!" he exclaimed. "You know what this opportunity would mean for you."

Celia wanted to slap him for his crude stupidity. Of all the ways to convince Alex to help them, he seemed determined to choose the worst ones.

Alex turned back around and laughed. He walked over to the director and slapped him in the face. "There," he said. "That's what I think of you and your opportunity."

Gavin pressed his palm to his cheek and stammered out a few incoherent words. He was at a complete loss. Whoever Alex was, the thought of being manhandled by a simple security guard was too much for Gavin to handle.

**

When Alex had hung up the phone, the principal put it away and faced the other teachers. They were all gathered in his office, trying to think of what to do. He took a deep breath, scanned the room, and his gaze landed on Billy and Leonard.

"Billy, Leonard," he said in a frustrated tone. "When Mr. Ambrose arrived, you treated him badly. Well, now he's gone. Are you happy? Are we better off? Look around you! Did you think there was anyone who could control Class 6 as well as he did?" The longer he spoke, the more his voice became an angry roar. His face was red, and his forehead gleamed with beads of sweat.

Billy looked at him sullenly. His face was misshapen and discoloured from the beating he had received.

Much more than his face had been beaten. As the main teacher for Class 6, he bore responsibility for the situation. The principal had already held discussions with higher authorities about his dismissal.

The principal calmed down, and then he dismissed them and went out to his car. He knew what he had to do. He was going to ask Alex to come back in person, and there wasn't a moment to lose.

**

Gavin rubbed his cheek again, wondering if Alex's slap would leave a red mark. He still couldn't believe what had happened. He was the director of a government agency, and a simple security guard had slapped him in the face.

Ethan took a step closer to him. "Director, will you please stop being a fool?" he said. "You know why we're here. The next time you need someone's help, please be smarter about it." He turned and walked away. 

Celia sighed audibly. "Well, Director," she said. "I hope you'll learn from this. Maybe being slapped around might wake you up. Our operation will fail, and it's entirely your fault."

Gavin shook with anger. "Oh, I see," he said. "So, you've all decided to make me your scapegoat."

"We brought you here to talk to Mr. Ambrose," Celia answered. "We did our part. The rest was up to you." She was simmering with frustration, and she looked at him with contempt. Then, she also turned around and left.

Gavin was left standing alone. He stood as if in a daze, but slowly his mind became clear. He had needed Alex's help, and he had failed to get it. He had messed up. Ethan was right. He was a fool.

**

Alex had rushed off to find Debbie, but he couldn't see her anywhere on campus. He reasoned that she must have gone back to her dorm, but before he could go after her, the principal of Oak Ridge arrived and ran up to him.

"Mr. Ambrose, please listen to me," he cried desperately, clawing at Alex to make him stay. "We screwed up, especially Billy. I promise that he'll be punished. Please come back and continue your classes."

"I'm not interested in teaching anymore," Alex answered calmy. "I just wanted to try it. Now I have, and I didn't like it. I never want to do it again."

The principal begged him for several more minutes to reconsider, but Alex wouldn't budge. When he realized that it was hopeless, the principal's arms dropped to his sides, and he walked despondently back to his car. His desperate gambit had failed, and he didn't know what else to do.

When the principal was gone, Alex's phone started ringing again. This time, it was a text message. It read,

[Mr. Ambrose, please help me].

It was sent from Heidi's number. As Alex read those five little words, he froze and stood staring at his phone for what seemed like several minutes. He put his phone away, straightened his clothes, and rushed off-campus. 

The principal and the director had set their heart against doing anything to help. They had treated him like dirt, and then they had come grovelling for his help. The director hadn't even asked; rather, he had seemed to demand, as if he was doing Alex a favour. Alex wanted nothing more to do with them or their problems.

But Heidi's message had changed things. The others could go to hell, but she was different. She was his student, and he had to protect her. He would find a way to get her home.