THE BORDER'S CRUSADERS [Part 1]

011 MISSION MEGA FLASHBACKS PART 1

011
MISSION MEGA FLASHBACKS PART 1

FEW YEARS BACK...

As the story about the founders and the original crusaders went open in the public, the Scorpions, which was said to be a notorious group, made themselves exposed to bring chaos to the country's freedom and all they do was to inject fears, threatened the government, and tried to mislead the people's information about them.

Until one day, Mike and the other founders decided to take actions against the Scorpions.

Naghanap ng kahit na anong puwedeng maging ebidensiya ang grupo laban sa mga mapanganib na mga tao.

Uuwi silang pagod, puyat, at walang sapat na kain dahil sa araw-araw na paghahanap ng mga kakarampot na detalye tungkol sa mga itinuturing nilang kanser ng lipunan.

And then, having few and limited data and information regarding the Scorpions, unti-unti nilang naramdaman ang presensiya ng mga kalaban ng bansa.

Isang gabing dapat ay pagpupulong ang magaganap sa loob ng kanilang headquarter ay ibang kapalaran ang napuntahan ng kani-kanilang mga pamilya.

An invitation message has reached the founders, one by one.

Isang berdeng envelope na may wax seal stamped by an image of a scorpion at may papel sa loob ang dumating sa kanila. Written in it was the message:

"A MASQUERADE PARTY AWAITS YOU! WE WELCOME YOU AS GUEST. PLEASE BE AT THE MANSION, AT 8P.M."

Ang nakapagtataka doon ay ang nabanggit na THE MANSION ay ang address ng isa nilang co-founder, the famous photographer na noo'y isa rin sa mga walang ideya sa nangyayari.

And as they proceeded to attend the said party, a very sophisticated but monstrous way of getting them killed has been forgotten alongside their trauma.

Not to mention that no media coverage has been made despite the popularity of the said place.

PRESENT...

[Headquarter]

"Na-gets mo 'yon?" Manel asked Jo about the caller's story having to do with a certain content of a K-pop group. Dahil inaamin niyang wala siyang naintindihan. Pakiramdam tuloy niya hindi siya puwedeng tawaging isa sa mga Gen-Z. Idagdag pang medyo natapakan ang ego niya as a lawyer because she really was thoughtless.

Ibinaba ni Jo ang burner phone at matamang tumitig kay Manel. "I-I need to dispatch some of you tonight. Sino-sino kaya ang pwede ngayon? Pero kasi kakatapos lang ng meeting natin, baka maabala ko kayo. Maybe... maybe I should go instead of you. Baka mas mapahamak kayo. I... I have to make sure that my friend will be safe and breathing for the next hours. A-ako na lang ang pupunta. Ako na lang ang magliligtas sa kaibigan ko. Kasalanan ko naman." Natatarantang sabi ni Jo forgetting about Manel's presence. Handa na itong kunin ang silver cane when Manel stopped her.

First time makita ni Manel ang ganoong kilos ng pinakamatanda sa team. Malaki ang respeto at sobra ang paghanga niya sa Ate ng grupo but seeing her like that made her heart broken. Naalala niya tuloy ang mga panahong nagkaroon ng awkwardness sa pagitan nila just because she found out that Jo had a huge crush with her Kuya. Siya rin mismo ang unang pumansin sa nakatatanda.

"Ate..." Inalalayan niya itong muling maupo sa swivel chair nito. She needed to be careful sa mga sasabihin niya because she couldn't bargain Jo's vulnerability. "Naiintindihan kita. But first, please calm down. I know you're willing to trade everything even your safety for your friend's life. I want to help you. Pero hindi sa ganitong kalagayan mo..." Malumanay na sabi ni Manel sa kausap. Nakaupo na ito. Manel served her another cup of tea. Mabuti na lang at mainit pa rin iyon. "Pull yourself together, commander. You're not alone. You have us. Kung ano ang laban mo, laban din namin."

Jo sipped in her cup of tea. She inhaled and exhaled, deeply. Pinahid niya na rin ang nagbadyang mga luha."Right. I shouldn't be acting like this. My friend needs me. Kaya dapat klarado ang isip ko. Salamat, Manel." Sumilay ang kaniyang ngiti.

"Anytime, Ate." She reciprocated Jo's smile. "Now , let's go back sa sinabi ng kaibigan mo. Whenever you're ready, you can explain it to me nang dahan-dahan."

"Alright." Kumuha ito ng notepad sa drawer at dinampot ang ballpen na nasa ibabaw ng mesa. "Watch and listen." She picked her personal phone, too. Jo opened it and then went to youtube app. While typing something in the search bar, ipinapaliwanag niya kay Manel ang sitwasyon. "Eonnie ang tawag sa akin ni Reynalyn kapag may emergency siyang sasabihin and that includes her whereabouts in a day. Ngayon, iyong sinabi niya about sa kumpleto raw ang pito, ay ang bilang ng mga taong may hawak sa kaniya." Ipinakita niya kay Manel ang latest content about the boy group playing as detectives, they have fake guns and fake handcuffs. "She needs help right away dahil mga armado ang kumuha sa kaniya. Hindi ako sigurado sa sinabi niyang naka-mask but I have an idea. I'll ask her once we rescued her."

Jo wrote in the notepad the number seven, mask, the 6p.m., bunny, and halloween. She encircled the word 'halloween', twice.

Naguluhan pa rin si Manel. "I'm sorry but can you explain it again? What's this 6p.m. and bunny? How about the mask, what's wrong? At itong halloween..."

"Halloween is the place where they are holding her as captive. Minsan na kaming naligaw dati dahil sa pag-ro-roadtrip nang gabi at napunta kami sa highway na malayo dito sa sentro pero medyo tanaw pa rin ang Duke's hotel, her fiancé's. We named the old warehouse as halloween kasi para kaming kinakain ng dilim doon habang naghihintay ng tulong dahil naubusan ng gas ang motor niya. Daanan rin iyon papunta sa dating bahay ng lola ko na noon ko lang din napansin." Tumango-tango naman si Manel. "As for the bunny, kamukha raw kasi 'yan ng mapapangasawa niya. My instinct is telling me na pupuntahan siya ni Min. To the rescue daw ang bunny eh. And if my decoding skills is correct, 6p.m. ang nakatakdang oras because that's the time of the release of the song ni peach."

"The mask that she mentioned is this." Pinakita niya kay Manel ang timestamp where the video was paused and showing the guy na suot ang mask na hiniram nito sa staff.  "Maybe one of those people who is with her this very moment is someone we know."

Manel had a goosebumps upon hearing that last sentence of Jo.

"Hopefully, I am wrong with that one." Yumuko ito at muling napahinga nang malalim. Ayaw man niyang isipin, subalit parang nagkakaroon na ng eksplanasyon ang mga hinala niyang isa sa mga miyembro ng crusaders ay nakikipagsabwatan sa mga alakdan.

'Sana nga lang talaga, kinakalawang na ako, Manel.' She thought.

"What's your plan?" Nalihis ang isip niya dahil sa tanong ng abogado.

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