Russian Requiem (Book 2 of RR Trilogy)

Requiem #20

Chapter 20

(Death)

"Good news!" Paunang saad ni Gaspar nang makapasok sa kanyang opisina.

Mula sa kanyang laptop ay nag-angat siya ng tingin sa bagong dating. Nang masilayan ang malaking ngisi ni Gaspar ay hindi niya mapigilang mahawa mula rito.

"What is it?" Prenteng tanong niya nang sumandal sa backrest ng swivel chair.

Nilapag ni Gaspar ang iilang larawan sa kanyang harapan. Mabilis niya itong kinuha at pinakatitigan.

Ang nilalaman ng mga ito ay ang nangyaring ambush kay Clade kamakailan lamang. Mula sa malayong kuha, makikita ang apat na itim na van at maraming armadong kalalakihan na nakatapat sa isang lumang bahay.

"Seriously?" Muli siyang nag-angat ng tingin sa kausap. "Ambush? Really?"

Nagagalak na humalaklak si Gaspar. "Yes. Seriously. I also didn't expect that man to launch an ambush like this. It's very classic."

Hindi niya rin mapigilang tumawa. "My goodness. This is indeed a classic move. I thought he will do something grand or spectacular or shocking. I didn't expect this."

"Agree. But Dom," bahagyang lumalim ang boses ni Gaspar. "That Ivanov was able to survive this ambush. Our men thought he was gonna die on the spot because he was alone when these men came for him... But it turns out that he was able to take down some of them before his own men came to save him."

Binitawan niya ang mga hawak na larawan at muling napasandal sa backrest. Malalim siyang nag-isip.

"Hmm... so it only means that Clade Ivanov really got some deadly skills. This also means that we cannot put ambush in our options anymore because he's already experienced it. He will be more alert now. Thus, we have to think of other ways to attack him..." Binalingan niya ng seryosong tingin ang kaharap. "But why did you say that it was good news a while ago?"

Nagpakita ang isang makahulugang ngisi sa labi ni Gaspar. "Remember what you said?"

"What?"

Humalukipkip ito sa kanyang harapan. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend... This ambush may seem cheap, but it was actually a smart move on his other enemy. He knew his exact location at that time which means he really knows how to take Ivanov down. I mean, we've been targeting Ivanov for many years now, but we still can't catch his exact location every single time. That's our problem."

Kumunot ang kanyang noo sa pag-iisip. "You're right..."

"See? We never knew his strategy whenever they travel which is also the reason why we still can't attack him perfectly now. Yes, we're prepared for a war, but if we don't move carefully, we might lose like how Rosco did before. However, we can actually team up with this man to take down Clade Ivanov together. He will be a big asset to us because he knows how to move against him."