Rembrandt Must Die

RMD XXXIII

tw: gun, blood, demise. read at your own risk.

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Celestine Abcde's/

Naalimpungatan ako sa katok sa bintana ng kotse. Umayos ako ng upo, lifting my face away from the steering wheel, at inayos ng mabuti ang suot kong baseball cup bago ko binaba ang bintana.

"Ma'am may room na pong available," sabi nung lalaki nasa front desk kanina.

"Sige salamat. Susunod ako," maikling sagot ko at sinarado muli ang bintana.

Dumapo ang kamay ko sa pisngi na may mga natuyong luha, pinunasan ko pa rin ito kahit hindi na kailangan. Hindi na ako nag-alangan pa at hinila ang duffle bag ko sa likod ng upuan ko at tsaka tuluyang lumabas. As soon as I got out of the car, I subtly looked around me: even if it's only quarter to five in the morning, I cannot just lower my guards off.

"For how many nights po?"

Napukaw ang atensyon ng mga gumagala kong mata, bago ako napatingin sa kanya ng tanungin niya ako ulit. "A-Ah- for two nights," sagot ko at agad na binuksan ang duffel bag. This duffel bag contains half a million in cash, fake passports, and ID's that I could easily throw away after use, a few of my personal clothes and his white polo long sleeve... basically all that I need on this run away.

"Thank you," mahina kong utas pag abot ko ng pera at paglapag nito ng susi sa harapan ko.

Bago ko isinarado ang pinto ay chineck ko kung may tao bang nagtatago sa kwarto. Nang makumpirma kong wala, napabuntong hininga ako habang nilo-lock ito gamit ang isang locking device forbidding someone to open the door from outside.

A small bed and bath, I sighed in relief; this is a little much better than the last one. I grabbed my pocket flashlight, checking for hidden cameras and other recording devices right away. After being pleased with the little security I have, I was able to take a warm shower na hindi ko nagawa for three days. I spared no time for having thoughts as I am vulnerable inside this small bath and I should stay high on alert at all times.

After clothing myself and finally sitting down on the bed, binuksan ko ang tv. Mga ilang minuto akong nagpapalipat-lipat ng channel para sa news pero wala akong nakita na tungkol sa hinahanap ko. Pinatay ko ito at tsaka binuksan ang laptop ko para mag-internet, going about article after article about the event and even after. There was none.

It has been one week since that happened, yet there was not a single news that came out about an attempted assassination of Razael Alferez. I have been hiding for the same length of time; motels after motels, driving without a clear destination, running from something that I was supposed to do yet I failed, again. Bryton must be fuming now.

I have no idea if Bryton has already cleaned up my mess; which was leaving most of my equipment. It's frustrating, almost tarnishing my reputation as all of my past missions were spotless, sparkly clean even; but not this. Considering that this is the grand totality of what I was made for, it's quite ironic of me to leave my mess behind. I've kept tabs from my surroundings on that day, making sure no one is watching as I prepare and aim for Razael, but I am not really sure what happened after I jumped from the building.