Dr. Alvarado was seeing fear in the boy's eyes. He was delighted knowing he had found the right boy. He did not stop smiling even when Jamie turned away from him. He was right and Morgan was as efficient as usual.
Friday and Saturday were terrible days for him. Yes, his plans to cause panic in the district were materialized but for a price. A section of his building was damaged and some of his people, particularly the nurse named Tara, almost got them into trouble. He was honestly devastated and frustrated but Morgan made him calm again. He trusted Morgan and he was right in trusting him. Morgan had been working for him for at least ten years. He had taken charge of his business ventures while Dr. Alvarado worked humbly as scientist in the local office. In fact, not too many people knew the doctor owned those businesses. Morgan was the face and the man behind them. He was his right hand and many times, his brains as well.
Seeing the huge crowd gathered at the marketplace yesterday filled him with envy and anger. How could such a lowly man like Loduvico make people believe that he was the savior in this outbreak? The doctor created the outbreak anyway so he should be the only one to have the cure? What could Loduvico do? Perform some petty miracle healing? He scoffed the idea but it was already winning against him.
"I can't let him do that," Dr. Alvarado could not help but express his exasperation to Morgan while they were leaving the market area.
"Then don't let him," Morgan replied calmly as he maneuvered their car smoothly through the traffic.
"What do you mean?"
Morgan did not reply but simply grinned at him.
That night, he called Morgan to his office and discussed the situation to him again and all possible solutions. Morgan listened critically and before the night ended, they were able to come up with some concrete plans. The doctor smiled to all that they had planned. Truly, Morgan was a genius.
"So who is this boy?" the doctor asked.
"He is James Michael de Jesus," Morgan answered quickly. "Fifth grade. He had chickenpox until Loduvico supposedly healed him."
Dr. Alvarado chuckled. He could not help but poke fun at the idea of miracle healing. Morgan was emotionless as he watched the doctor had some fun. After delivering Dr. Alvarado to his private office, Morgan spent the entire afternoon investigating the mass healing secretly. This led him to understand that Jamie was Loduvico's first miracle out of the outbreak. The people he had talked to claimed that Loduvico had already healed a few people before but it was with the boy that the prophet became popular. It was that moment that made people finally believed him. It was also the moment that triggered Dr. Alvarado to make drastic changes to his plans.
"Is it safe to take the boy?" Dr. Alvarado asked Morgan.
"No, it is not. The boy has a good family. He is popular in school and he has plenty of close friends. Taking him will be too obvious and his disappearance will be felt. It might even reach the papers. We cannot afford that."
"I see. But we need him, right Morgan?"
"Of course, Sir. He is patient zero."
"It is only him who has answers. He is the only one who can quench our curiosity. We need him."
"I agree, Sir. He was the first to be healed and whatever he says from that point on will convince people."
"We need him to speak for us and not for Loduvico."
Morgan nodded.
"I want to see that boy."
So early that Sunday morning, Morgan began stalking the de Jesus family. Coincidentally, they were heading to the local church where Dr. Alvarado regularly attended. The doctor was elated about it and he made sure he would be sitting near the boy.
"Peace be with you," he said softly to the boy when he turned around.
Of course, he did not mean those words. He was not bringing peace but something vile and unforgiving. He was also surprised to see Jamie's reaction. It was as if the boy already knew him. Clearly, he must have known something else that made him afraid of him. Yet, Dr. Alvarado was not a bit concerned. On the contrary, he wanted the boy to fear him. He could easily persaude him if he would be afraid.
The boy immediately ran up to his friends right after the church service. Dr. Alvarado wanted to run after him but he restrained himself. He had his wife beside him and she did not know a thing about his plans. Plus, there were too many people around and the boy was with his friends. He just wanted to talk to him but he cancelled the idea. He should not be too hasty. Otherwise, his plans would not succeed.
Meanwhile, after bidding goodbye to their families, the Biker Brothers ran as fast as they could and as far away from the church as possible. They were breathless as they ran, as if there was a monster chasing after them but there was none.
"Let's stop here," Bogart said and panted, his bold shoulders heaving heavily on his bolder body.
"Yes," Kiko agreed. "I think it is safe here."
They stopped and sat on a bench under a big acacia tree. It was a small bench but they managed to squeeze themselves in, with Jamie and Tonton sitting at the middle.
"He was really scary," Tonton began. "I did not notice him until that part."
Kiko: "He looked like he was going to eat you up."
Jamie: "And that really frightened me. I was not prepared for that."
Tonton: "Dr. Alvarado seemed to know you. It appeared as if he is after you."
Jamie: "I felt the same way. He stared at me straight in the eye. His eyes were menacing."
Bogart: "Did he say anything?"
Jamie: "Nothing but the usual peace be with you."
Kiko: " It looked like he was talking to you from where I was seated."
Jamie: "Yes, his eyes were talking to me, telling me I should be careful."
Tonton: "What could that possibly mean?"
Jamie shrugged. While they were talking, a white car passed by them. The car's windows were open. When it was directly in front of them, the driver turned to look at them. He was smiling. They stopped talking as they stared at the smiling Dr. Alvarado.....