The Great Pretender

Chapter 4: No Choice

Vaughn Miguel

"Sir, last night, you said to go on the dark web, contact our informants, and do something about the pictures from the sensors," Sabi ni Doodie. "Well, ginawa ko po lahat 'yun buong gabi. Nag-surf ako sa dark web at humanap ng kahit anong lead pero wala po akong nahanap. SNP did leave any trace in the dark web. Whether it's a transaction with someone buying drugs or them buying some messed up thing. Tinawagan ko din lahat ng informants," Doodie looked at Brimley who is currently standing beside me.

Kasalukuyan kaming narito sa gitna ng office dito sa ilalim ng bookstore. It's already six in the morning and we have been working all night, trying to find another lead, another spark that could potentially lead us to any SNP member. Nakapalibot kami dito sa smart table habang nakatayo si Direk sa harap namin. The huge screen is glowing behind him, with the logo of W-1716.

"Yes, Sir. Pinapunta namin sila dito, we interrogated each one of them. We asked kung may alam sila sa nangyari sa warehouse, kung kinontak ba sila ng SNP, or bumili ba sila ng paninda ng SNP. We asked all these kinds of questions but there was nothing they could offer, believe me."

Tumango si Direk habang naka-halukipkip siya. He is grateful for the work that we do but he's not happy at all. Last night, kinailangan niyang sabihin sa mga inactive at honorable agents na hindi namin nahuli si Don Protacio.

Again.

"And ini-upload ko din po sa lahat ng database ang mga litrato noong mga suspek. I went to our own database, even to INTERPOL, CODIS, NDIS, Mexican intelligence, everywhere, but once again, there's nothing Sir. Don Protacio made sure that no member was in the database somewhere."

"The finger prints from the dead body meant nothing. Walang lumabas na pangalan, nationality, and even birth certificates. These dead suspects are ghosts." I added.

In our vocabulary ghosts don't mean mythical creatures or spirits. When we say ghost, it means someone is either untraceable or wala kaming mahanap na impormasyon tungkol sa kanila.

"However, 'yung katawan noong naka-suit na lalaki. We traced him to a shell corporation."

Shell corporation is a non-traditional company. They're a legitimate company pero wala silang official office and employees. They exist in papers and they can do sort of things such as buying other companies and moving money.

And that's why SNP met up with this representative of the company. Kailangan nila ng kompanya na maglilinis at magtatago ng illegal nilang pera.

"Raid their only location now. Brimley, and Ximena go," Utos ni Sir na agad nilang sinunod. "Take the tactical team with you." The ten agents behind started moving since they are part of the said team.

"I'll see you later, golden baby boy." Sabi ni Brimley habang papasok siya sa gear room kung saan naka-store ang lahat ng field weapons at gears, obviously.

Napailing na lang ako sa kanya bago siya tuluyang pumasok sa pinto. He's older than me but I am his superior. Sinusunod lang niya ang rankings kapag nasa field at on mission kami, and now, that we're not, I am just someone that he can bully.

"The rest of you go get rest, and we'll resume the search for this god forsaken syndicate tonight." Direk said bago siya nagtungo sa kanyang opisina.

Humikab naman si Doodie bago siya ngumiti sa akin. Her long hair is tied in frenchbraids habang naka-suot siya ng round frame glasses. Her clothes are very colorful and lively unlike the things that we do here.

"I can't wait to come home to my cat," Sabi niya sa akin. Napangiti naman ako. She has an adorable Gray Scottish Fold Cat.

"Say hi to Mr. Doodles for me."