We immediately ran to the main building where Xander said they found the hostages (I was still trying to be objective). Nadatnan namin siya sa isang silid na nakaambang sa likuran ng main building kung nasaan ang tambakan ng mga lumang laboratory and hospital equipment.
"Where are they?" Bungad ni Dominic. Lalapit sana siya sa bintanang kinaroroonan ni Xander, pero pinigilan ko siya. Baka masira niya ang diskarte ng The Hunter.
"Andoon sila sa gitna ng tambak ng mga sirang gamit." Sagot naman nito nang hindi inaalis ang tingin sa telescopic scope ng sniper rifle niya. "Strapped on an operating table with wires connecting to heart monitors and bags of IV fluid injected to each of them. They're alive, but unconscious."
So they were treated like the man we saw in a laboratory on the third building. Anong gagawin sa kanila?
"Thank you. I got a picture." Sabi ko at pumihit patungo sa pinto.
"Saan ka pupunta?" Pigil sa akin ni Justin.
"I'll
I revved up my black Maserati at the same time the song "My Immortal" reached crescendo. The music kept me alert while driving. Mula kasi noong insidente sa lumang laboratory, madalas na akong mawala sa sarili. It wasn't remote viewing. Hindi na nga gumana 'yon mula ng gabing ‘yun, eh. I just...felt lost.It had been two weeks since that night. Apat na araw akong walang malay at nasa ospital. Sa loob ng apat na araw na 'yon, ang daming nangyari. My stepfather was brought to jail for homicide. Umamin siyang sangkot siya at si Raphael sa pagkamatay ng mga magulang ko. Kinupkop daw niya ako out of guilt at araw-araw niya raw pinagbabayaran ang kasalanang iyon. My stepmother didn't bear the news well. Mabuti na lang, nasa ospital pa siya kaya't nabantayan siya ng mga doktor nang malaman ang balita.Raphael was dead. He was cremated two days after para maiwasan na ring pagkainteresan siya ng mga bampira. Although malabong bumalik agad si Jacques Havillard sa ban
I revved up my black Ducati and raced past the red sports car. Ang tagal na mula nang maranasan ko muli ang ganoon—speeding up along a traffic-free province road, with the fresh morning air fanning away my denim jacket along with the dark part of my soul. Ni hindi ako nag-aalala kung mahuli akong nag-o-overspeeding as long as I was feeling good.I heard the frantic beeping of the car’s driver, but I only smirked and let him know I didn’t care. Then I felt my phone vibrate inside my jean’s pocket. I sighed and slowed down a bit. I reached for a button on my helmet and pressed it. The internal speaker and microphone of my helmet activated and I heard a mad voice of a madman.“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”I clenched my teeth. What the hell?! May balak pa yata siyang bingihin ako.“Don’t shout at me! I’m not deaf and for your information, I’m driving!” I shouted back.
Our organization spoke for its name. It was literally underground.Napapalibutan ng mataas na pader ang headquarters just like the other headquarters in different parts of the country. We gave our passwords before we reached the main and only building which was five kilometres away from the gate. Before they could enter, agents from other headquarters were provided a password through a cryptic message which only the members of the organization could decipher.Apollo parked in front of a huge white mansion. For an outsider’s eyes, it would look like a vacation house of a rich family, but we knew better. I parked my motorcycle next to the sports car. There were other cars too, pero walang ibang motor. Ako lang talaga siguro ang mahilig gumamit ng motor sa trabaho.Sinalubong kami ng dalawang security guards. They were both wearing black t-shirts and black fitted pants na bumabakat sa malalaki nilang katawan. Each had a pistol tucked in their belts.
We don’t yet know what kind of monster the killer or killers are, but we are sure it isn’t human.I stared blankly on the dark horizon before me while my mind drifted off to the far corner of imagination. The case was by far the most ridiculous thing that would ever happen to me.Hindi ko maitatangging naexcite ako ng ibigay nila ang kaso sa amin. Unang beses ko kasi iyon na hahawak ng isang kasong coded Black.All cases the organization handled were sorted according to how dangerous the case was and how much time it required. It was sorted in four colors: White, Grey, Brown and Black. White coded cases were the easiest. Three days was the longest timeframe for those cases to be solved. It also needed only one agent to solve it. Grey coded were the cases that required a week or two. Often it involved one or two agents. Sometimes it required a team. The brown coded ones were the cases which remain unresolved for the long period of time.
The next morning, we went underground after eating breakfast. Kasabay ko si Apollo samantalang nauna na daw si Justin sa amin.Dumiretso kami sa conference room tulad ng bilin ng guwardyang sumalubong sa amin sa labas ng elevator. Wala pa masyadong tao sa building sapagkat maaga pa naman, pero may mga mangilan-ngilan na abala na sa kanya-kanyang opisina at halata mong wala pang mga tulog.Resident agents of every district could go in and out of the establishment depending on them. Minsan may mga field agents na pumapasok lang para magreport ng mga nakukuha nilang impormasyon tungkol sa kasong hinahawakan nila. May iba naman na magre-report lang sa opisina kapag tapos na nila ang kaso. Ang mahalaga matapos nila ang kaso base sa timeframe na inilaan dito.Agents were classified based on their experience. It was not based on age or sa kung gaano ka na katagal sa organisasyon. New recruits were called Novice Agents. Sa kanila ibinibigay ang White coded cases o
The meeting didn’t last long. Xander just discussed what had been included in the folder, but he didn’t mention the ridiculous theory. It was either he didn’t know or he didn’t want to share it with the rest of the team. Like I said, trust no one.After the meeting, Senior Agent 7 led us to our office. Nasa iisang opisina lang kaming apat which was irritating. Buti na lang hindi namin kailangan araw-araw magkita…or so I thought.I checked myself in the mirror one last time before grabbing my handbag and a brown envelope containing my school documents. I was a college student again.Dumiretso na ako sa parking lot kung saan naabutan ko si Apollo na naghihintay. Tulad ko, naka-school uniform din siya. White polo, dark blue slacks at black shoes ang suot niya. Ganoon din ang kulay ng suot ko: white blouse, dark blue pants at black shoes. May idinagdag silang palda sa ‘costume’ ko pero ayokong gamitin ‘yon.
Bago pa man mapatay ni Justin ang makina, nakalabas na ako ng sasakyan. I was fuming!Why on earth didn’t they tell me that the evil brother of mine was also working on that goddamn case?! Why?!Justin came out of his car and faced me. His handsome face was blank and I couldn’t read any expression on it. Or was I just so upset?“Huminahon ka nga!” Utos nya sa akin.“Sino bang hihinahon sa napaka-awkward kong sitwasyon? Oh, please!”“We don’t know yet kung ano ang role rito ng Dominic na ‘yon kaya ‘wag ka ngang aburido diyan. Ilalaglag mo tayo, eh!”Marahas akong bumuntong-hininga. Of course, it was possible that they would seek the help of Dominic in that case. It was a homicide and he was an excellent police detective!“What would I do now? Should I hide every time I see him? At tsaka you just said that you already met him. Then he probably knew you already
Pagkatapos ng klase namin, hindi agad kami nakaalis ng classroom. Sasadyain sana naming magpahuli na lalabas tulad ng mga nakasanayan kaso inulan na agad kami ng interview ng mga kaklase namin.Ang daming tanong—kesyo, saang school daw kami galing, bakit kami lumipat, gaano na katagal ang relasyon namin (na masayang sinagot ni Apollo ng dalawang taon), paano nanligaw sa akin si Apollo, anong pabangong gamit ko, paboritong ulam, pangalan ng aso ko, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. May nag-imbita rin sa amin na umattend ng Acquaintance Party sa darating na byernes ng gabi.Hinayaan ko na si Apollo na sumagot sa mga tanong nila. Matipid na ngiti, tango at iling lang ang isinasagot ko. Kahit na kating-kati na ako lumabas at sundan ang lalaki sa unahan ko, hindi ko na nagawa dahil mabilis pa sa alas-kwatro itong lumabas pagkasabing ‘class dismiss’ ng professor.Paglabas namin ng room (sa wakas!) ay dumiretso kami sa canteen ng college para bumili