Chapter 39 - Ultimatum

"So... Claire's a traitor.."

The professor and Luke were at home. Everyone else had decided to retire to their own homes, after many hours of fruitless searching for signs and clues as to where Emmy, Hershel and Flora might be.

"I'm not entirely sure, Luke..."

"What do you mean?" Luke asked, his head in his hands. "She kidnapped Emmy. She's with Andrea right now. What... Do you think she has a deeper motivation for this?"

"Perhaps... It is difficult to say at present."

"She's jealous of you and Emmy, professor."

"Luke..." the professor shook his head. "Jealous is not the word I would use. She is upset, yes, and in light of the situation, she has every right to be. She has just found out that she is going to die soon, and that her boyfriend is going to move on from her and the whole world will simply carry on without her..."

Luke shook his head. "We all know it wasn't like that, professor..." he placed a hand on the professor's shoulder. "We will find them, and we will get through to Claire. We've seen your future self, and Emmy's; everything will turn out fine. All these things work themselves out in the end..."

"You're right, Luke," the professor sighed.

"Yeah. This particular situation has to work out. We know that. Andrea will have to come to us sometime. Then we can negotiate. And we have Inspector Chelmey and Superintendent Grosky on our side. Scotland yard will have to do their bit to help us..."

"Indeed, Luke..." the professor closed his eyes and sighed. "I need to go for a walk and try to clear my head. Do you want me to pick up anything in particular for dinner?"

"No, I'm not really hungry after all this..."

"Alright, my boy. I'll be back shortly." the professor left the kitchen and exited the front door, grabbing his coat on his way out. He put his hands in his pockets and sighed deeply as he made his way out of his estate and down the ever bustling streets of London.

"Oh, Claire..." he thought miserably. "I wish it didn't have to be this way. I wish things could have been different...i wish we could still be together... There were so many forces that tore us apart... But nothing can change that now..."

Thoughts of this nature ran through the professor's mind as he walked on and on, further and further through London until he came to a high pedestrian bridge. He stopped and decided to admire the view. He stared out at the city, dark now, but with hundreds of bright city lights lighting up the view. It was magnificent. The professor sighed and closed his eyes. No matter how majestic the view was, it still wouldn't find his younger self, Emmy or Flora, or resolve this case.

"Where has she taken them?" the professor wondered aloud. "What am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go from here?"

"Good question."

The professor glared as he heard this familiar voice and turned around to face her. His expression darkened further as he saw Andrea's sneering face.

"Did you miss me, Hershel?" she grinned.

The professor simply stood there and said nothing.

"Well? Haven't you got anything to say? What's the matter, cat got your tongue?"

"What have you done with my girlfriend and daughter?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Well, that depends. To which girlfriend are you referring to?" she laughed.

The professor's eyes narrowed. "what did you say to Claire?"

"You mean, 'What blatantly obvious truth did I point out to Claire?' And is that really your greatest concern? Are you not more worried about your most recent whore and your 'daughter'?"

"Please refrain from referring to Emmy in such a manner," the professor said calmly. He figured that he would be better off not rising to Andrea's comments and that he would be better off trying to talk her into telling him where his girls were.

"Well, I suppose Claire was an even bigger whore than Miss Altava is," Andrea continued. "I mean, having you, Dimitri Allen and Bill Hawkes on the go at the same time... She was a bit of a player, wasn't she?"

"Well I could say the same of you, Miss McIntyre," a voice snarled from behind the professor. "Vaughan was very fond of you, wasn't he?"

The professor spun around to face this person as Andrea's cheeks flushed scarlet. Bronev faced them, his face expressionless.

"Well, he was very fond of you, before he discovered that you were using him. And now you're after poor Layton here. I wonder how many others you've used like that in the past...?"

Andrea said nothing.

"Now, Miss McIntyre, let's get down to business, shall we?" Bronev leaned on the railing beside him. "Where have you taken them?"

"Oh, you'll find out, alright," Andrea smiled. "You wait and see..."

"Well, I assume that we won't have to wait very long. I can tell that ladies like you haven't been blessed with the gift of patience."

"Oh, but I have something much better. I have knowledge of your beloved niece. Something which could destroy her utterly. Something which no one else knows, no one but me and her father."

Bronev raised an eyebrow. "Is that right?"

Andrea smiled. "Yes. I know everything about the girl, you see. She took everything from me. And I could easily assist her on her departure from this world. I'm sure death will be a release from the emotional pain she will suffer after finding out what i know."

"Hmph."

"But not yet. I want her to lose everything she has first. I want her to feel true pain before i tear her world apart completely. Trust me, you will see..."

"Where is she?" the professor asked.

"She is safe, I assure you. As is young Miss Reinhold and your younger self."

"And Claire?"

Andrea smirked. "She'll be in contact very, very soon. I can assure you of that."

"And none of this is going to make the slightest bit of difference to your situation," Bronev pointed out. "it makes no difference what Claire does to try to get Layton, he will never feel for you the way he feels for Claire or Emmeline."

"That's what you think," she snarled.

Bronev shook his head. "So Layton doesn't like you, and you think that acting like a psychopath is going to make him fall for you? Really?"

"No," Andrea snarled. "But when he has to choose between a life with me and the deaths of everyone he knows and loves, I know which one he will choose."

The professor and Bronev looked at each other, then back at Andrea. "And what makes you think it will come to that?"

"Because I have the upper hand here," Andrea smiled. "I have the most important people to Layton in my hands; his girlfriend, his daughter and himself. And I know that he will do as I say in order to save them. Won't you?"

The professor said nothing. Andrea smiled even wider.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Her phone vibrated in her pocket as she said this. She pulled it out and read the text. "it's time. Everything is now set. You both may accompany me now, if that is what you wish. Not that it will make the slightest bit of difference." She turned on her heel and walked away.

Bronev caught the professor's eyes and nodded. They both followed in haste.

Hershel and Flora were both laying on the cold stone floor, fast asleep and slumped up against each other. Emmy was sat in the corner, watching from a distance. She wished she was as able to just curl up and fall asleep while waiting for someone else to get them out of this mess. She was so tired...

Emmy rested her head in her hands. She sighed heavily. Oh, God, everything is such a mess..." Lost in thought, she didn't even hear the trapdoor close above her. "What on earth am I supposed to do...?"

"Emmy?"

Emmy ignored this call of her name and buried her face into her knees. The last thing she needed was someone else pestering her.

"Emmy. Emmy, look at me."

Emmy frowned and lifted her head. Claire stood before her, glaring. Emmy sighed heavily.

"What do you want?"

"We need to talk, Emmy."

Emmy glared back. "I don't want to even look at you, Claire."

"I mean it. You will do as I say." She looked at the children's sleeping forms and lowered her voice. "Now listen carefully..."

"What do you think is happening now, Professor Sycamore?"

"I'm not sure, Aurora. All I know is that poor Flora is missing, and now that I am fit enough to travel again, I have a duty to help."

"As do I, Professor. Flora is my friend. I must help."

"That's right, my dear." Desmond looked out of the passenger seat window out onto the London street ahead of them. They had been driving around for hours looking, since Aurora had bumped into inspector Grosky on her way around London and persuaded him to tell her why he was, yet again, rushing around in a frenzy. And, as of yet, their efforts had been largely fruitless.

Desmond nodded as Raymond parked outside the Layton's estate. "Here we are." The trio got out of the car and approached the door. Desmond stepped forward and knocked sharply on the door. Aurora smiled softly as she heard Luke's familiar voice.

"I'm coming!"

The door opened and Luke stood before them. "Aurora! Desmond! I-"

"We heard about Flora going missing, Luke, and we've been out looking all day and we just came to see how everyone else is holding up," Desmond explained. "Is professor Layton or Emmy home?"

"Er... Well... The professor is out... And Emmy's missing too."

"WHAT!" Desmond yelped. Raymond jumped at this as Aurora took a step backwards. "When did this happen?"

"Earlier this evening. We... Well... It's a long story... Come in..."

...

...

"... So now, Claire's jealous of the professor and Emmy's relationship, so she's assisting Andrea in trying to break them up! She helped to kidnap Emmy and everything! And now, all three of them are missing and we have no idea where they are, and the world is still in danger while Hershel and Claire are still here and in Andrea's clutches... Who knows what she'll do?"

"And where did you say Layton went?" Desmond asked over his cup of tea.

"He went out for a walk to clear his head. He's really worried about Emmy, you know, because of the baby, and Flora too..."

"... Baby?" Raymond frowned. "I was not aware that Miss Altava was expecting."

"Yes. She's only a few weeks gone, though..."

"i wonder if miss Claire was made aware of this? If she was trying to change things around so that everyone stays alive and she remains with professor Layton. But if she were aware that Miss Altava was pregnant, she wouldn't risk the life of an unborn child, would she?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure, Raymond," Desmond frowned.

"Well, I shouldn't think she would be too worried about hurting Miss Altava's feelings because if Miss Claire were still alive and married to Professor Layton, that would possibly eliminate any chance of Miss Altava and Professor Layton having a relationship, correct?"

" Well, yeah, the professor didn't end it with Claire... And you really think that the professor and Emmy kept Claire in the dark about the pregnancy?"

"I suspect that Layton was merely trying to spare Claire's feelings, Luke," Desmond pointed out. "But perhaps if we tell Claire, we can win her back on our side."

"But she knows that she's going to die," Aurora said. "She wants her life to be spared. From her perspective, it may seem like Emmy stole her life from her."

"The only way we can be certain of any of this is if we can speak to Claire personally," Desmond said firmly.

"But we've looked everywhere," Luke said. "And so have you. There's no sign of Claire, or Andrea or anyone."

"Well, do you know Andrea's home address?" Desmond asked.

"No..."

"She would have had to have given the prison an address before she was released so that they could keep tabs," Raymond informed them. "It would be in her Scotland yard file. I suggest we search there."

"But what if she's not there?" Luke asked. "What if she's found another hideout? They could be anywhere!"

"Well, this is our best shot, Luke," Desmond said firmly. "I think we should try." He gulped down the last of his tea and got up. "We must set out posthaste. Grosky should Let's go."

"Where are we...?"

Miles away from London, the professor and Bronev were anxious to see Emmy and the children again. Both men were pondering Andrea's words:

"I have knowledge of your beloved niece. Something which could destroy her utterly. Something which no one else knows, no one but me and her father... I know everything about the girl, you see. She took everything from me. And I could easily assist her on her departure from this world. I'm sure death will be a release from the emotional pain she will suffer after finding out what I know. But not yet. I want her to lose everything she has first. I want her to feel true pain before I tear her world apart completely. I want her to know exactly what she put me through... Trust me, you will see..."

The professor frowned as he recalled this. "What could any of this possibly mean? What could she possibly know about Emmy that we don't? What could she know that she thinks could destroy her?" But the professor didn't have very long to ponder this as the car came to a halt. He looked out the window at the derelict house they had stopped at.

"Emmy is here. Claire is here. This is it..." He got out of the car. Bronev followed suit. As Andrea lead the way into the wreck of a house, the professor's heart began to hammer in his chest. The two people he loved the most in the world were at odds with one another, and if he was quite honest, he had no idea what to do about it. His breathing began to quicken as Andrea silently approached a trap door and opened it. She began to descend a staircase and Bronev and Layton followed.

Layton smiled as he reached the bottom of the staircase. Both Flora and Hershel were fast asleep, which meant that they were safe. His eye drifted over to the corner of the room, where Emmy sat with her head in her hands. His smile faded. Claire was sat beside her. She raised her eyebrows at him. The professor's heart sank. What had Claire said to Emmy? What had happened in his absence? The professor started to make his way towards Emmy, but Claire stood up and blocked his path.

"Emmy. Emmy, look at me please, it's Hershel."

Emmy lifted up her head and stared at him.

The professor looked back at Claire, who stood before him with her arms crossed. "So, I can see that you've moved on from me entirely, then."

"Claire, please-"

"No, Hershel. I don't want to hear it. Emmy has already explained everything to me. She told that I'm going to die, and how you just carried on like I had never even existed."

Andrea smiled at the heartbroken expression on the professor's face. Bronev looked at Emmy incredulously, but she stared expressionlessly at the professor.

"And i know about Alfendi, Hershel."

The professor's eyes widened. "No, Emmy, you didn't-"

"I know that Emmy is pregnant. And i know that if I make the changes necessary to save myself, the baby will die..."

The professor started shaking.

"You know what they say Layton. A life for a life." Andrea smiled wickedly at him.

"It's up to you, Hershel. This is your choice. Me or Emmy. If you really love me, you'll save me. You'll tell me how i died and the precautions necessary to save myself. Please Hershel."

"Hershel..." Tears started in Emmy's eyes.

"Emmy... Claire... I-"

"It's your choice, Layton," Andrea sneered. "Claire or Emmy."