[ONC '24 SHORTLIST] When a group of assassins is onto her irritating escort, a happy-go-lucky bodyguard must ensure they survive their trip before his escort's past demons catch up to them.
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No one expected easygoing Aspen Mendoza to be acce...
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New Vito Cruz Station
Manila, Metro Manila
1 February, 08:39
The Inter-Philippine Rail Network is the first and only transport system that can cross the seas and gulfs that separate every major island of the country. It's the first and the only one of its kind, the innovation of the century. And I'm gonna be one of the first people to ride in it.
The thought gives me bubbles in my chest. If I weren't in serious mission mode right now, I would've whooped and pumped a fist into the air. I was just that proud that my homeland, the third-world country that was infamous for reeking corruption and slow progress, could finally show that we Pinoys could create something as awesome as a train that put Japanese bullet trains to shame.
Mr. Juan dela Cruz, CEO of the Rizal Railway Company and the mind behind IPRN, ends his inaugural speech and cuts the ribbon with a pair of giant golden scissors. The crowd bursts into applause, myself included. As I do, my eyes scan across the people around me. Familiar faces of local and international celebrities and politicians catch my attention. Cameramen from various media networks pan their cameras over everything in sight. And, of course, just like in any event, bulky men in shades and earpieces blend with the guests.
With this attendance, I might as well have been standing at the Oscars.
"Thank you, everyone," Mr. dela Cruz says as he hands the scissors to a nearby attendant. He waves a hand toward the doors in a flourish. The plexiglass doors slide open with a hiss of smoke. "Please enjoy your ride."
I clap a little harder. I love me some movie magic on a train.
"Stop that, will you?" an annoyed voice pipe in beside me. "We're being left behind with your incessant clapping."
I perk up at my escort. Lucas Tan, age 25. Adopted son of two prominent public figures back in the UK. Standing at 5'11" with a lean and muscular build (a rare statistic for someone who's a full-blooded Filipino, by the way), his dark hair is styled in a slick undercut. His forever-squinting eyes are a deep brown that have a hint of darkness within them.
My Brit mom's genes blessed me with a 5'6" figure and brunette hair, and my Pinoy dad blessed my skin with a slightly dark shade, but neither one is helping with the bodyguard-escort situation. So it sucks that I have to politely explain more than once that I was the bodyguard, not Lucas.
Sure, both of us were wearing suits, but one of us had a pair of Glock 19s on her belt while the other had nothing but a rose pinned on his breast pocket. Everybody else should've gotten the idea the first time.
Can't complain about it though, since this is my first job as a field agent. It'll make or break my career if I don't get through the five-day ride with him. Simple enough.
