Akiko parked her car in the MIT campus grounds. She and Cecilia entered a building and Andalas waited outside. Andalas's cold look was the kind of look that easily raised suspicion. So he stayed behind the wheel just in case they had to bolt from the place.
The two doctors made themselves look like scientiests before coming there. They wore glasses, loosely tied their hair. They walked with hasty steps. As if they were pressed in time for something important.
At the information desk, Akiko registered as Doctor Asuke from the University of Tokyo, and Doctor Celine from Oxford University. They wanted to meet Professor Lian Yang to discuss the Milky Way project.
The receptionist asked them to wait. Akiko and Cecilia sat quietly on the guest chairs. Shortly after, two Chinese men came in and spoke to the receptionist that they had an appointment with Professor Lian Yang. The receptionist also asked them to wait. The two of them sat across from Akiko and Cecilia.
Not long after, a middle-aged man with white hair and very narrow eyes entered the room and registered to see Professor Lian Yang. Akiko was alert.
Akiko remembered him as the man marked by Andalas on the British Airways flight!
Akiko acted calmly. She sent a message to Andalas about the unexpected developments in Professor Yang's office.
Andalas replied by asking Akiko to take photos of the two men who were with them discretely.
Akiko devised something in her head on how to do what Andalas asked her. Akiko quicky change her demeanor by acting as a bubbly foreign scientist. She asked Cecilia to take picture of her in front of the reception desk, the MIT logo, and a few more spots in the room.
Cecilia quickly caught Akiko's drift. This meant something was cooking. She must also be vigilant.
Cecilia took several pictures with various poses and Akiko always had both hands in the pockets of her white lab coat. One hand was on the Glock and the other on her kaiken.
No reaction from the guests. The three guests didn't seem to care about the impromptu photo session of a talkative Japanese scientist.
Akiko quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She sat back down giggling. Cecilia grinned. The Yakuza princess had the talent of a secret agent, she thought.
Akiko sent her photo with the background of two Chinese men to Andalas. She waited anxiously for a reply. Soon after, Andalas's reply appeared on Akiko's device.
You need to get out! These men are the Executor's people!
Instead of leaving, Akiko rose and without a word, she lunged at the two of them. They didn't expect Akiko to start so quickly, they failed to dodge Akiko's attack. Her punch hit one person's neck and her circular kick hit the other's chin.
The two of them were well-trained. They immediately got up and fought back. The three of them involved in a fierce close body fight. Two men against one woman. Cecilia, the female receptionist, and the very narrow-eyed old man took cover behind the reception desk partition.
The once neat and comfortable room turned to chaos. Akiko was able to keep up with them. One of her kicks landed precisely on the jaw of her opponent. The man fell down motionless. Overwhelmed, the other guy pulled a gun under his coat and started shooting at her.
Akiko jumped while swinging her arms as the man started pulling the trigger. Shots were heard only once and ricocheted at the MIT logo behind the reception desk and caused a painting next to it to drop. The man was lying on the floor with blood gushing out from his chest. There was Akiko's kaiken.
Andalas barged in hastily. Seeing that Akiko was fine, the Sumatran man breathed a sigh of relief. But it was temporary.
From behind the reception desk, Cecilia came out with a gun pressed against the back of her head. The very narrow-eyed old man walked slowly to the center of the room with Cecilia as a shield.
Andalas raised both hands after putting down his gun. Akiko did the same. The man glared at them and ordered the two to line up.
The door to Professor Yang's room suddenly opened. A thin man in his late 50s stood there transfixed by what he saw in front of him. The very narrow-eyed person surprised and turned his head. As soon as he saw who was standing at the door, he got confused where to aim his gun. Andalas took the opportunity. In a split second, he did somersault twice and his right foot landed on the head of the slanted-eyed man who immediately fell backwards so that his aim at Professor Lian missed. The bullet hit the glass door which shattered instantly.
Akiko also acted quickly. She immediately grabbed Cecilia and took her to cover behind a large pillar in the center of the room. Andalas continued his attack by jabbing his elbow to the stomach of the assailant who was trying to get up. The man fell back on his back. The fight was over.
Andalas gestured to Professor Yang who stood in silent the entire time and started to look panic and was scared that they would hurt him.
He was not able to receive guests immediately because he was still in a conference calls with his colleagues in Brazil and Egypt.
Cecilia approached Professor Yang saying that she was Willy Booth's friend, and Willy sent them here. Professor Lian nodded. He started to believe that they would not harm him. There was a trance of horror on his expression while he gazed the three bodies strewn in the front room of his office.
"Are they dead?" His hands pointed at the bodies shakily.
Akiko answered casually while pulling her kaiken off of the Chinese man's chest.
"This one is. One fainted injured. And that old man over there doesn't look dead but he's not alright either."
Professor Yang shuddered. He didn't know what to do.
"Sh..should I contact campus security?"
"No. Let us take care of everything. Just put a closed sign in front of the door." Cecilia nodded reassuringly. She took the X-One and called Doctor Aslan.
Professor Yang invited the two people inside. While the receptionist was busy closing the office door including the curtains. Cecilia said that a van with the WHO logo would be there shortly. They should be allowed to enter.
"So what brought you here and why you killed those people in my office?" Professor Yang invited Akiko and Cecilia to sit down. Andalas stayed outside with the receptionist.
"We're working on a project with Willy. He asked us to see you to borrow a device called Star Vision. We want him to read this." Cecilia showed the chip from Pandora to Professor Yang. She wanted to see his reaction and to trigger his curiosity. If he was interested and curious, the borrowing business would be easier.
Just as Cecilia expected, Professor Yang's eyes were widened looking at the chip in Cecilia's hand.
Professor Yang held out his hand to take a closer look.
"May I?" There was a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
Cecilia nodded as she handed the chip to Professor Yang. The Star Physicist flipped through the chips with a long sigh.
"This thing is an invaluable treasure of knowledge." His mumbling was very much like Willy Booth's.
The professor was silent again as he continued to observe the chip. It was as if the small object in his hand was something sacred.
"Hmm, you can use the Star Vision. But in one condition. Let Willy do it here. I also have a right to know since you guys are using my device."
Cecilia and Akiko looked at each other. It was reasonable request. After all, there was no harm in collaborating with someone as brilliant as him.
They then discussed the vulnerabilities of MIT security, which was easily infiltrated by people with ill intentions.
They agreed that Star Vision would be handled and secured by Akiko. They didn't know why those dangerous people were looking for Professor Yang. One of them clearly wanted to kill him. They would read the chip together in his cabin in Mount Vermont.
Akiko kept the small and light Star Vision in her bag. They then came out accompanied by Professor Yang who was really very surprised to see the front room was clean as if nothing happened. No bodies or scattered furniture. No blood or signs of people fighting.
Professor Yang started to think that he was dealing with important people. After all, they could mobilize the cleaning process effortlessly.