Perfect Omega Chapter 7.2 - Ambush

“Found it.”

—Administer it intravenously.

“Dose?”

—For now, 50mg, administered slowly over one minute.

Nick deftly pulled out an empty syringe and filled it with the injectable. Owen’s rolled-up forearm already bore bloodstains, likely from rough injections earlier. Nick gritted his teeth and carefully inserted the needle, avoiding the injured area.

“Done.”

—The maximum effect should appear within five minutes, so monitor for signs of blood pressure reduction.

Five minutes.

Five minutes could feel excruciatingly long.

Nick leaned forward to check Owen’s condition. Then he turned his head to look at the monitor. The ominous beeping sound and colored alerts still dominated the screen.

“Boss.”

Cooper cautiously called out to Nick, who was endlessly alternating between looking at the monitor and Owen’s face.

“Talk to Team Doc directly.”

Nick responded without taking his eyes off Owen.

“Team Doc, they used an anesthetic to kidnap him here. That was at 12:30 a.m. today. The dose was too high, so they waited for him to wake up, then administered an antidote around the time we arrived. Then they followed up with the first dose of Acid Pheromone, but the dose…”

Nick listened to the same information through the open internal comms while observing the monitor. Finally, the ear-piercing noise from the monitor changed. Owen still hadn’t opened his eyes, but the frantic beeping sound’s rhythm shifted.

The urgent beep-beep-beep slowed to a longer beep… beep…. Nick went to the monitor to check the numbers. They were dropping. Only then did he toss the empty syringe he was still holding into the trash.

“Team Doc, you seeing this?”

—Yes, I’m seeing it. Thankfully, it’s coming down from the first dose. John’s scraping emergency treatment data for Acid Pheromone patients from medical sources right now. Even checking a few key points will give us critical information, so I’ll guide you on the next steps. Hold on a moment, boss.

Suddenly, Locke, leaning against the wall, started giggling.

“What’s with this lunatic?”

To Cooper, a beta, it just looked like a crazy person doing crazy things, but Nick knew why Locke was laughing.

Owen’s scent was bursting forth. Lowering his heart rate and blood pressure had prevented shock, but now it seemed the Acid Pheromone was starting to take effect in earnest.

“Cooper, drag that guy out of here.”

“What…?”

Nick didn’t want to share Owen’s pheromones with anyone, especially not like this. Though the scent was released unconsciously while Owen was defenseless, it was starting to arouse Nick the moment he caught it. If that lunatic, claiming to be an alpha, got aroused too, Nick felt he’d throw all priorities aside and focus solely on crushing him.

“Uh… boss?”

Cooper, caught off guard but moving to follow orders, made a troubled sound as he approached Locke.

Nick had thought Locke was leaning against a wall, but it must have been a secret passage, because Locke had slipped through it. Nick had noticed Locke’s wriggling movements out of the corner of his eye but let it go, figuring he couldn’t escape far with his injured hands within the building. He hadn’t realized there was a door there.

“How do we open this door?”

Since it looked like a wall, there was naturally no handle or button. Given that Locke had entered, there was likely a recognition pad somewhere, but it would only be visible to someone who knew where to look.

“Cooper, get the computer from Hugh.”

“Oh, the situation outside is all cleared up. It’d be faster for Hugh to come here.”

Cooper said, reaching for his earpiece, ready to call Hugh immediately.

“No. From this moment, all team members stay in their positions. No one comes to the third floor.”

After telling Cooper no, Nick touched his own earpiece and broadcast to the entire team.

—Got it, boss. Cooper, come down. I’m right at the first-floor stairs.

“Oh…”

Finally understanding the situation, Cooper signaled his acknowledgment. As a beta, he couldn’t smell it, but Owen’s scent was growing stronger.

“John, if we connect our computer, can you access this one?”

—Probably. Bypassing the firewall remotely would be tough, but connecting our system directly should work.

It was just a matter of running down and back up the stairs, so Cooper returned quickly. Knowing what to do without explicit instructions, Cooper immediately located the main unit connected to the monitor. He opened the computer bag he’d brought and plugged in the cable.

“Tell me when you’ve cracked it.”

That was directed at John.

“And Cooper.”

“Yes, boss.”

Cooper, having finished connecting the computer, stood up and responded.

“Take this and try it on the door that bastard went through. It’s the security chief’s, so it might work.”

Nick handed over the card he’d taken from the security chief to open the lab door.

“If it doesn’t, interrogate the researchers we’ve detained downstairs to find out how to open it.”

“Yes, sir!”

Cooper answered energetically, and Nick added to close the door on his way out. Owen’s scent was already filling the room. Keeping the door open might help with air circulation, but Nick didn’t want the scent spreading further.

“Hey, guard dog.”

At that moment, an unfamiliar voice came from the ceiling.

It wasn’t hard to guess it was Owen’s lunatic cousin, who’d disappeared through the wall. Instead of responding, Nick walked to the wall where the trail of blood ended. He searched for the door’s seam, but the iron wall, designed to look like a large safe, had intricate vertical grooves, likely intentional. It made finding the seam impossible and even distinguishing where the door began and ended confusing.

“Cooper, did you open it?”

“Someone outside keeps trying the wrong card, but this won’t open.”

The lunatic cousin answered faster than Cooper.

“This is my bedroom. Bring all the explosives you’ve got and try blowing it open. It won’t open without entering the code. And even if you get the code, it won’t open without my biometric data.”

Another giggling laugh followed.

“John, what’s he talking about?”

Nick called John instead of engaging with the lunatic cousin.

—Uh… I think I saw something about ordering bulletproof panels in the documents. It was in an estimate for building this lab. They’re panels used in aircraft. If he turned his bedroom into a panic room… you can’t open that. It’s layered special alloy panels, 20cm thick. You get what I mean? C4-level explosives won’t breach it.

“How convenient. I just needed an alpha for an experiment.”

Whether he was lonely or in pain, the lunatic cousin kept opening the comms to talk.

—Boss, it’s Team Doc. John’s connected the monitor feed to show us, but something’s off. Can you check Chairman Rose’s condition?

Nick ignored the voice from the ceiling and stepped away from the wall, returning to Owen’s side in one stride.

Kneeling to examine Owen, he noticed Owen’s cheeks seemed slightly flushed. Lowering himself further, he saw Owen was breathing heavily through slightly parted lips.

“His breathing’s rapid. Is his blood pressure rising again?”

Nick stood to check the monitor. Fortunately, the monitor wasn’t beeping. But one graph had changed strangely.

—Boss, are you seeing this?

“Yeah. I see it. What is it?”

—It’s the pheromone levels. They’ve been rising since a bit ago.

“Isn’t that because of the Acid Pheromone?”

—Probably.

“Hey, guard dog, can you tell anything from that screen?”

The lunatic spoke again, seeing Nick standing in front of the monitor.

“So you’re the alpha Owen Rose has been sleeping with lately? I’m going to show the world Owen Rose’s true nature today. Shouldn’t you be thanking me? You’re being too harsh! It hurts too much!!!”

His panting voice echoed for a while. Knowing about Nick and Owen’s relationship meant he had contact with their family.

“You made a big scene, but you’ll soon regret whether he was worth it. Guard dog, you don’t think I ran in here because I’m scared of you, do you? That’d be really disappointing.”

Locke had fled to his bedroom right after Owen’s pheromones surged. His words just now were practically a confession that he feared Owen.

“Owen Rose is a monster. An omega monster that devours alphas.”

It seemed the childhood trauma lingered more deeply with the lunatic cousin than with Owen.

“I gave him a dose fit for a monster. It would’ve been a shame if he’d died earlier, but luckily you saved him. Thanks to that, he might die now. Heh heh.”

With his shattered wrists, he should barely be able to move, yet he sounded so excited. Nick suspected he might be on painkillers.

“My drug has no antidote. It either gets pounded into you until your holes are shredded and you burn out all your pheromones, or you die from shock because you can’t release the heat. Either way’s fine, but for the audience’s sake, it’d be better if you two put on a show right there.”

The giggling went on for a while.

“Oh, guard dog, you didn’t get the script? I’ll tell you how you’re going to die.”

“….”

The lunatic cousin was talking as if this were entertainment.

“It starts with you two going at it in heat. But the genre changes soon. It turns into a horror movie. Even a big, strong alpha like you is helpless before a monster like Owen Rose. Instead of happily finishing inside, you suddenly foam at the mouth and collapse.”

He started giggling again, as if that were amusing.

—This cousin doesn’t just seem crazy but like a seriously perverse deviant.

John, listening in, couldn’t hold back his opinion. Nick didn’t respond to either of them and approached Owen, still breathing heavily, to check his pulse again.

“While you’re dying, Owen will keep thrusting away, oblivious. The noble Chairman Owen Rose, who worked so hard for balanced omega-alpha relations, devouring an alpha—that scene will be recorded as is. Oh, what a shame. You won’t get to see it, guard dog.”

“….”

At this point, an urge to argue surged within Nick. Both this guy and Owen earlier seemed so certain that Owen would harm him.

“After devouring you, Owen will be exhausted and docile for a while. That’s when I’ll open this door and step out. I’ll step over your pathetic, omega-eaten corpse and claim your omega. I’ll tame the omega that brought down a giant like you. Imagine it: Owen wakes up to find he killed his precious guard dog with his own hands and realizes he’s accepted me as his imprinting alpha. How much would that suck? Ooh… it’ll take a few hours. How will I wait?”

The regret in his voice sounded genuine.

“John, tell me you can shut up that nonsense.”

Nick had endured enough. He couldn’t listen anymore.

—Can do, boss. The comms and security lines are separate, so even if we can’t open the door, we can cut the comms.

“Do it.”

—Yup.

—Boss, it’s Simon.

A different voice came through the earpiece.

“Speak.”

—Bad news. None of the cards from the researchers, guards, or maintenance staff can open that door. That’s from truth serum, so it’s legit. The good news is there’s no other exit from that room. It’s used as a bedroom, so the layout’s simple. One side’s a full-length window, but it’s reinforced glass, so he can’t break it and escape alone.

“Got it. John, make sure that lunatic can’t see anything.”

—Done. Comms are cut. Now the crazy cousin can’t see, hear, or speak through internal comms. He can’t even make calls, except maybe on a cell phone.

—The only variable left is police response, then? How much time do we have, John?

Hugh, listening in, chimed in.

—Team Doc here. I’m going through the research data John pulled, and in my personal opinion, they probably won’t call the police.

—What? Why? Oh, because the research is unethical? Team Doc, you know how shameless these types are. They don’t think about what they’ve done and play the victim flawlessly when they’re in a pinch. What’s the jurisdiction here?

“No need to worry about the police. Team Doc’s right, and so is Hugh, but they won’t call the cops.”

The lunatic cousin, Locke, would want to complete this stage he’d set up. Police would interfere. Plus, he thinks he’s safe in there now, so as he rambled earlier, he plans to come out in a few hours.

—And honestly, in the current situation, even if they called the police, it wouldn’t be a problem, right? We can say we were hired by Chairman Rose to rescue him from a kidnapping. He’d confirm we were hired, wouldn’t he?

Cooper, listening, threw in a practical suggestion.

—We’ve got plenty of evidence secured anyway.

—Uh… about that evidence.

—Don’t tell me it’s insufficient, John. Lawsuits are a nightmare.

—It’s more than enough. Overflowing. That’s not it. Boss, Team Doc has something to say.

Amid the team’s back-and-forth, John called Nick. Nick closed the open channel and opened a private line with Team Doc.

—Boss, I’m looking through the research data Locke compiled.

A hesitant voice came through the earpiece first. Not a good sign.

“So, what treatment do we need to do?”

Nick suppressed a bad feeling and pressed for an answer.

—Boss, calm down and hear me out first.

“…Speak.”

—First, I looked at emergency treatments for patients brought in with Acid Pheromone overdoses over the past year, and… it’s confusing. Some records say an antidote worked for certain patients, others say atropine injections prevented cardiac arrest. But another hospital’s shared data says never to use cardiac stimulants, and in short, recommended treatments vary widely. A treatment that worked in one ER was useless in another, with mixed reports.

That’s not the kind of frustrating news Nick wanted to hear. Academic research was for doctors to handle, and all Nick needed was what to do to bring Owen back to consciousness, but Team Doc was only giving vague answers.

—The reason medical opinions conflict is simple: the drug’s different. So I dug into the cousin’s data John showed me. As expected, this crazy cousin—or crazy scientist—kept tweaking the drug’s formula.

“Just tell me about the successful emergency treatment cases.”

—There was a patient brought to the ER after intense sex who was successfully treated. But that was with the early drug. The early recipe included fentanyl, which has somewhat effective countermeasures.

“He’d have used the final version on Owen. Look at the recent data.”

Nick understood what he was getting at, but he wasn’t interested in old stories. While anxiously awaiting Team Doc’s response, Nick examined the first-aid kit Cooper had handed over. One drug caught his eye.

“What about naloxone?”

From what Nick knew, it was used as an antagonist to counteract opioid effects. He grabbed a syringe, ready to inject immediately.

—Won’t work.

But the response was negative.

—Naloxone only works on opioids. There are a few Acid Pheromone recipes, but as you said, let’s focus on the final version. According to this recipe, the name Acid Pheromone is a misnomer. It does contain some LSD components, but it’s heavier on amphetamines. As you know, for amphetamines, there’s no—

“Antidote.”

Nick lowered the auto-injector he’d been about to jab into Owen’s outer thigh.

“But with all these drugs, why isn’t there a suppressant?”

—Suppressants won’t work! For amphetamines, you need drugs that promote excretion. Suppressants won’t do.

Team Doc shouted urgently.

“I know. I need it for myself.”

The latter part was a mutter to himself. Owen’s scent was so overwhelming that Nick felt like he’d go into rut any moment. He’d craved Owen’s scent, but not like this.

—Uh… boss?

John cautiously opened the comms.

—You should probably see this video.

“Just tell me.”

Nick sat down, staring only at Owen.

—It’s easier to see. My language skills can’t describe it.

Reluctantly, Nick looked away from Owen and activated the monitor on his wrist.

The screen John sent looked like an experiment recording. A deeply disgusting one. Nick sped up the playback.

—This crazy cousin is like a real mad scientist straight out of a comic book. There was a reason he connected the lab to his bedroom… he conducted experiments in there too. Well, if you can call that an experiment. There’s a lot of footage, but the outcomes are all similar.

The person on the screen wore a collar similar to Owen’s.

“What’s the outcome?”

Even at fast-forward, it hadn’t reached the final scene yet. Nick asked dryly.

—Death. The cause is listed: cerebral hemorrhage, cardiac arrest. Team Doc says it’s shock from an overdose.

Nick shifted his gaze from the monitor to observe Owen. His breathing looked a bit rapid, but he seemed to have passed that stage.

“Team Doc, so we just wait for the drug to wear off in this state?”

—Yes, since it’s a mix of hallucinogens, stimulants, and pheromone enhancers, inducing excretion from the body seems the best approach.

That was at least good news. Nick didn’t want to watch the disturbing footage anymore and turned off the screen.

He propped his knees up and briefly buried his head between them. He let out a sigh of relief no one could hear. His own body needed a suppressant, but he could hold out.

If possible, he’d move Owen to a more comfortable and secure location, but with pheromones emanating, that wasn’t feasible. As the lunatic had said, it seemed they’d have to stay here for a while.

—Boss, you okay?

Nick, still with his head buried between his knees, only listened to the voice coming through the earpiece.

—With just the data I’ve seen, I could probably get that guy sentenced to over 300 years. Take some comfort in that.

Nick couldn’t let that bastard live out his days comfortably in a prison.

“How much control do we have over this system?”

—For now, we’ve got control over everything the computer manages. But to breach the security system, we can’t do it remotely. We’d have to go in person.

“Then come. Bring Team Doc too.”

It’s roughly a five-hour trip, give or take.

—Yes, sir.

“My suppressant when you—”

Nick cut off mid-sentence, interrupted by an ominous sound.

The beep-beep warning alarm started blaring again. Nick sprang up and rushed to the monitor. Owen’s blood pressure was rising again.

“What’s going on? Team Doc!?”

—Yes, I’m seeing it. It’s likely an overdose.

“It was stabilizing!”

—There are cases like this in ER reports. The effect kicks in, then it relapses.

“So? What’s the next step?”

A growl escaped Nick’s lips, dreading the possibility that the next words would be about Owen dying.

—….

Ominously, Team Doc chose complete silence.

Nick pressed his fingers to his brow and took a deep breath. He had to stay calm. There was no problem without a solution.

“What about using labetalol again?”

—To answer directly, I can’t recommend it. Even with five-minute intervals, you shouldn’t exceed 200mg total. Of course, you could try about three more doses. But too many drugs have already been administered since last night. It would damage the liver too much. Since there’s no clear antidote anyway, it’s better not to inject anything more, whatever it is. Boss, since it needs to be excreted, try inducing excretion instead.

At that moment, the lab experiment footage John had sent for Nick to watch flashed through his mind.

“Are you seriously telling me to hold Owen here and now? While he’s unconscious?”

—…….

Sensing the weight of anger in Nick’s voice, Team Doc wisely chose silence again.

—…Boss.

“….”

Team Doc cautiously called out again, but Nick remained silent.

—At the very least, try inducing the free release of pheromones. Right now, it looks like something’s suppressing them. Compared to the other test subjects—

“Choose your words carefully, Team Doc.”

The term “test subject” grated on him. Did the person in that footage really consent to being part of a mad scientist’s experiment?

While Nick examined Owen’s still-closed eyes, Team Doc, who’d hesitated briefly, continued.

—…The patterns shown by other victims are slightly different. Based on the assumption that Locke kept accurate records, according to his notes, victims who survived the first shock immediately ‘erupted’ with pheromones. The term ‘erupted’ is repeatedly used to describe the temporary depletion of pheromones.

“…Is it because of the suppressant?”

Owen had been using suppressants regularly.

—It could be. Whatever the cause, the current situation isn’t good. If they keep building up internally, they’ll burst at some point. According to records of other victims, once the pheromones are fully depleted, it’s over. At least for the effects of Acid Pheromone.

“….”

Nick didn’t need to be told what that lunatic Locke did afterward.

The monitor was still blaring its long beep… beep… warning. Nick placed a hand on his earpiece and opened the general comms.

“John, from this moment, turn off every device in this room that could record video, audio, or anything else.”

—…Done.

“Move out, then. Everyone else stays on alert until the next orders.”

After hearing the acknowledgment, Nick pulled the in-ear out of his ear.