THE BORDER'S CRUSADERS [Part 1]

004 THE HEADQUARTER

004
THE HEADQUARTER.

Llonard took the lead to slide down. One after another. A good 10-second amount of time ng pagpapadulas pababa ng madilim na tunnel.

Sunod-sunod na 'argh' ang naririnig habang isa-isang narating ang dulo ng pababang lagusan.

A bouncy and black net. Iyon ang sumalo sa kanila. Kaya patong-patong na nagsipag-arayan ang mga miyembro nang lahat na ay nakababa. They were helping themselves to get down of the net.

Nang tuluyan na silang nakaalis sa net ay doon lamang sila naghalakhakan.

"Ang bigat n'yong lahat!" Reklamo ni Angel. "Akala ko wala lang ang isang dosena pero wow lang ha. Magsi-diet na kayo, please lang!"

"Hoy, correction, siya lang ang nakadagan sa'yo!" Si Llonard na itinuro si Zarena. "Maka-reklamo ka, ikaw ba nauna sa ating labing-dalawa? Ako 'di ba?" May pag-aray pang nakapameywang na giit nito.

"Stop." – Cherry.

And the members obeyed.

They were now facing the south bound of the tunnel. A long hallway could be seen from where they were standing. It wasn't dark like above dahil may dalawang mahabang ilaw sa magkabilang-gilid ng kisame niyon. Puti at sobrang liwanag.

Nagsimula silang maglakad. Halos walang imik ang lahat nang may isang boses na nangibabaw ang muntik nang magpahiyaw sa kanila.

"Tuloy daw po ang lahat sa assembly hall."

"Si Kim ba 'yon?" Angel asked curiously. Pero walang sumagot sa kan'ya.

Itinuloy na lamang nila ang paglalakad.

The hallway is composed of fourteen doors.

Two rooms are parallel to each other. The aisle's distance to the rooms in each room is three meters. Then the distance between the door to the next door is five meters. Ganoon kalawak ang lupang kinatatayuan nila underground.

The closed-circuit television or the CCTVs are located at the far corner of the hall.

The first two rooms are storages. The room on the right is for those things na puwede nilang gamitin unlimitedly. Pero ibang usapan na kapag kasama iyon sa punishment. While on the left is a storage for their disguise. Nagagamit lang nila ang mga bagay na nasa loob kapag may malaki at espesyal na kaso silang nahahawakan. Nakapaskil sa dalawang unang silid ang isang handsign for the letter W. Ang meaning daw ng W na iyon ay 'whatever' ayon kay JL.

The next four rooms are for their overnight stay. Sa kanan ang silid para sa mga babae, sa kaliwa naman ang para sa mga lalake. All four rooms are air-conditioned. Pare-parehong may seventy-five inches na flat screen television at may sari-sariling toilet and shower rooms. May tag-iisang malaking beds sa bawat silid. Ayaw nila ng bunk-beds kasi hassle lang daw at maasikaso kapag cleaning duties. Also, the rooms have an intercom. Doon sila nakikipag- communicate sa mga tao sa labas dahil soundproof ang mga silid na iyon. May isang monitor naman sa loob niyon para makita ang mga nangyayari sa hallway by the help of the cctvs outside. There is also a built-in closet para sa mga damit na mayroon sila. Sa bawat pinto ng apat na silid na iyon ay may nakapaskil na pictures. In the female doors, there are photos of Monica and with a plus sign and the word "friends". Samantalang sa silid ng mga lalake ay nandoon sa pinto ang mukha ni Edrian at ang plus sign and that "friends" word, too.

Ang sumunod na isang silid sa kanan ay isang gym. The insides have a mini sparring ring on its right side. It is a well-built ring with a measurement of six by six meters side by side. Sa kaliwang parte niyon ay may isang pares ng stationary bicycles. Sa dulong bahagi naman niyon ay may isang itim na speed bag na nakakabit sa isang pole at isang puting hanging bag that weighs forty pounds.

The room adjacent to the gym is a mini office. Dito ginaganap ang mga private calls and outside legal transactions from the government. Two persons are occupying the entire office — the overall head of the team and the commander-in-chief. It is a restricted area.

Kusina naman ang space na kasunod ng gym sa kanan. Samantalang ang silid na kaharap niyon ay isang infirmary. It has airconditioner. Three people are assigned to this area of the headquarter— Cherry a registered nurse, Llonard a general surgeon, and Glen a medical technologist. The three are licensed from the same hospital.

An open library is next to the kitchen. Some of the members are bookworms, thus a unanimous decision to build it. Famous wattpad books with the author's signatures, school textbooks, atlases, almanacs, encyclopedias, history books, and all sorts of books with different genres are present inside. An olive-green carpet is lying on the floor. May mga throw pillows sa lapag kaya the reader can sit freely. Mini foldable tables are in there also. The library is airconditioned, too.

Next to the infirmary is a laboratory. The room is divided into two parts. Sa unang kalahati ginagawa ang lahat ng may kinalaman sa kemikal, poisons, experiments, and etc. The second portion is for technology-making, devices, bombs, weapons, and varieties of survival things. Kung gusto mo pa ng mahabang buhay, then this corner is not for you dahil maya't maya ang pagsabog sa loob. Ang clinic, kusina, at ang mini office ay ang mga silid sa headquarter na may water sprinklers, just in case.

The last two doors are connected to that one whole room — the Assembly Hall.

Either of the two doors can serve as an entry way to the Assembly Hall. Once entered, sa likurang parte ng hall ay makikita ang isang babaeng nakaupo sa isang itim na swivel chair na  pinagigitnaan ng dalawang lalake. Busy sila sa pagtipa sa keyboards. Seven computer monitors are in front of them. The three are wearing prescribed eyewears. Glen, Kim, and Carlo, the hackers and trackers of the team.

A u-shaped table can be seen at the center of the hall. There are nineteen office-typed chairs, face-to-face, and two director-typed on the far corner. A projector is hanging above the ceiling of the hall, facing south of the white wall. Sa kanang bahagi ng hall ay isang built-in cabinets for the hardbound copies of any documents but the restricted ones are in the mini office. Sa kaliwang bahagi ay isang malaking quartet cork board. Different cut-outs are pinned on it. Newspaper articles, magazines, and even flyers. Mas nakaagaw pansin ang mapa sa gitna niyon, na may maraming nakatusok na pushpins at ang pamilyar na pulang sinulid na nagkokonekta sa isa't isa– the web of conspiracies and theories.
Sa kanan, at dulong bahagi ay isang locked door. Nobody, except the commander-in-chief can unlock it and knows what's behind of it.

Pagkapasok ng labing-dalawang dumating sa Assembly Hall, naalarma agad sila sa nakahanda nang folders sa mesa. Each of them proceeded to their respective seats. Cherry strided to one of the director-typed seats and faced the woman sitting beside her.

"Ate." She called.

"Che." She smiled.

"It's been a while." Sabay na sabi nila at humarap sa mga taong nakapalibot sa conference table sa loob ng Assembly Hall.