CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
HIRAP na hirap akong isara ang dress ko. Katatapos ko lang maligo at makapagbihis ng damit pang-katulong dahil maid ang role ko ngayong araw. Pagkatapos ng ilang minutong pakikipag-away sa zipper ng dress ko ay naisuot ko rin sa wakas.
We're getting ready for the big operation today. Uncle Pyr doesn't like the idea of involving me in this robbery operation of the group. But after some nagging, he finally agreed to it but in one condition: hindi ako pwedeng lumayo kay Flint. Well, wala naman akong angal doon. Pero si Flint ang maraming reklamo. Hhmph! Nakakasama ng loob.
"Handa ka na ba?" Speaking of the devil. Here he is, knocking on my door. Padabog akong lumabas at hinarap siya nang nakasimangot. "Why that face?"
"You don't want to be with me?" I glared at him. Agad naman siyang natawa saka ginulo ang buhok ko na lalo kong ikinagalit. Hinampas ko nang malakas ang kamay niya.
"Halika na at huwag ka nang magtampo riyan. For the record, I really don't like working with anyone," he said before dragging me with him. I inconspicuously smiled while we're walking towards the weapon room.
"Why you don't like working with anyone?" Tanong ko habang kinakaladkad niya ako. Napalingon ako sa kaniya at nakita ko siyang ngumisi.
"Because I am independent," he boastfully said which made me sneer.
"Suit yourself," I replied. When we reached the weapon room, he handed me my sword that looks like a knife.
"Kakailanganin mo 'yan kung sakali. Pero mas maganda kung hindi mo na kakailanganin," sabi niya. Agad ko namang isinuksok ang knife sa ilalim ng skirt ng uniform ko. I am wearing a thigh holster so no one would notice the weapon.
After a minute of bantering inside the weapon room with my cousin, we went outside to meet the crew. The operation starts early in the morning. We are going to rob the mansion of the Caspians, a well-known family who also holds a part in the Royal Court. Kung tama ang pagkakaalala ko, ang padre de pamilya nila ay 'yong matandang lalaking nakatabi ko sa ball noong kararating ko pa lang sa Nevada.
"Let's have a recapitulation. Magpapanggap kaming mga katulong, papasukin ang silid pagkababa no'ng unang grupo, ilalagay ang mga pera at alahas sa loob ng kahon, itatapon sa bintana at aalis. The end," paglilinaw ko bago kami tuluyang sumakay sa loob ng karwahe. Tumango-tango naman ang kasama ko at sinenyasan akong pumasok na sa loob.
Napa-buntong hininga ako saka sumakay na sa loob. Habang nasa byahe ay hindi ko mapigilang hindi kabahan. I know they—we—already planned it well. We just have to make sure everything will go smoothly as what we anticipated it to be.
Uncle is a genius to do this robbery in the broad daylight because they are complacent that no brave souls would sneak into someone's territory and do such crime. Kapag gabi kasi, mas mahigpit ang pagbabantay. Sa umaga, busy lahat kaya wala masyadong makakapansin.
Isa ako sa may mga malalaking ambag dito. Kaming dalawa ni Flint, actually. Magpapanggap kaming mga katulong para hindi kami paghinalaan. And because my hair colour is distracting, I am wearing a scarf over my head to conceal my red curls. Medyo uncomfortable lang ako kasi sobrang naco-conscious ako na baka may mga loose strands at mapansin nila.
Marami kaming kasama at nandoon na sila. Hindi kasi kami pwedeng pumunta ro'n nang sabay-sabay dahil mapapansin nila. Kaya isa-isa lang ang pagpunta namin. Genius, right? Uncle said they've been doing these gimmicks since the group was founded about a decade ago.
