Professor Layton and the Conspicuous Organisation

Chapter 11: The Professor Returns?

"Please...be okay!"

"Now go and investigate that scene and kill them if they survived!" Cyrus ordered. "Make sure they do not escape!"

"Yes, sir!" some thugs responded.

"Oh no. If they find Luke, they'll kill him! I need to find him fast!" Flora sped up and ran as fast as she could to the apartment building. Her stomach started to hurt her from all the running and she eventually started to slow down. She looked behind her only to notice the thugs that were chasing her, disappeared. Flora was nearby to the apartment building - she was only a road away. She turned the corner and went straight to the back entrance. Some thugs managed to see her go towards the back and followed her, slowly and quietly. Flora noticed Luke, Emmy and Dimitri hanging outside the apartment building. Dimitri had finished whatever he was doing and was on his way to the apartment when he saw it get destroyed which made him rush towards the site.

"Luke!" she called for him.

Luke turned around as if he had expected her.

"Flora! What are you doing here? Why aren't you in the Casino?"

"Clive's cover got blown and...he forced me to run back to you whilst he took care of the men inside the Casino."

Luke noticed her wrist which had now become severely red.

"What happened to your wrist?"

Flora didn't say anything.

"Flora, what happened to your wrist?"

She shedded a tear at two things: Clive and her wrist. She hid her wrist in her sleeve.

"I...I got attacked."

"Attacked? By who?" Those words made Luke angry. The fact that someone would attack Flora, especially when he wasn't there to help her.

"By some big man inside the Casino." Flora started to wail even more. "He...he tried to punch me. But Clive...he stepped in and protected me. The man attacked me...because I accidentally bumped into him...without knowing he was there. He grabbed my wrist...hard...and tried dragging me back. I tried to run away...but he was too strong. It's all my fault." Flora looked towards the floor. "None of this wouldn't have happened...if I had seen him behind me."

Luke walked up to comfort Flora. He put her hand in his hand.

"No. Don't worry. It's not your fault. You don't need to blame yourself for anything."

"But Luke...I did absolutely nothing. I let the man try to take advantage of me. I really am...useless. A burden to you and everyone else!"

"Don't say that Flora! You are not useless! You have already proved yourself to be useful many times. And going to the Casino to gather intel was one of them. Not only that but you tried your best to stop Cyrus from taking the gold back in St. Mystere." Luke hugged Flora and she cried on his shoulder. "You are more useful than you think. And don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. I promise you Flora, the time will come when you will have to show off your skills, maybe to save people or even a town or the world. Until then, be brave and don't think that you are useless."

Flora continued crying when she decided to say something.

"Chinatown." She squealed.

"What?" Luke asked.

"Cyrus is in Chinatown. Clive told me...and I heard him on the way here. He's looking for you, Luke. And Emmy too."

All of a sudden, the Targent thugs who followed Flora, burst in to the back lot of the partially destroyed apartment building.