Project LOKI ③

Chapter 44: Dead Man's Switch X (The Switch)

"We're lucky," I said as I strapped in my seatbelt. We got inside Alistair's car. "Today's a Saturday. May therapy session mamaya sa private rehab center si Sir Ephraim. This might be our chance to retrieve the box."

"Teka lang, Lori," tawag sa akin ni Jamie sa likuran. "Babayaran mo ba ang hinihinging P20,000 nitong blackmailer? He threatened na kapag hindi ka nagbayad within twenty-four hours, ire-release niya ang audio recording, tama?"

The switch texted me last night, around nine in the evening, about the details of the transaction. Gusto niyang magbayad ako through G-Cash, an electronic transaction app. He gave me the mobile number, which was different from the one he used to text me, at doon ko raw ita-transfer ang pera. I don't know if he's being careless, but as far as I know, pwedeng ma-trace kung kanino naka-register ang number na ibinigay niya. Requirement 'yon kapag gumagawa ng G-Cash account.

Maybe he's using his own name. Maybe he's using another person's name.

"If we can steal the box from him before nine o'clock, there's no need to transfer even a single peso," sagot ko. If worse comes to worst, naka-ready naman akong magbayad. My savings can shoulder the fee.

"Let's hope that we get the right apartment this time," sabi ni Loki na napangalumbaba sa car window. He had his sight focused on the scenery outside. "I don't want to waste time and effort again today."

"Shall we continue the search?" Alistair asked as he started sa engine.

Bumalik na naman kami sa Barangay Balibago. Dahil weekend na, may kaunting build-up ng traffic sa major highways sa city. This time, we know in which part of the barangay we're supposed to go.

Last night, after his brief lecture on cell tower triangulation, Hershey sent us a high-resolution photo of the map where the switch's location can be found. There are at least five streets in the area. Lumiit man ang scope ng search namin, hindi pa rin gano'n kadali ang hanapin siya.

"So what's the plan?" tanong ni Jamie. She leaned forward into the space between my seat and Alistair's. "Magbabahay-bahay ba tayo rito?"

"I suggest na i-check muna natin ang mga apartment sa lugar na 'to," tugon ni Alistair na inihinto muna ang sasakyan.

"Pero mukhang marami-rami ang itse-check natin, ah?" buntong-hininga ni Jamie. Lumingon siya sa aming likuran at tumingin sa hilera ng mga bahay. "Marami tayong apartments na nadaanan on the way here. It's like—what's the phrase again?—finding needle in a haystack."

"Then we must start removing some haystacks," Loki spoke after minutes of silence. "We must get out of this car and ask people around. We can't accomplish anything if we stay here."

"'Yan din ang naisip ko," pagtango ni Alistair sa kanya. "That's the only way we can further narrow the scope of our seach. We have a picture of him, don't we?"

I nodded. Ipinakita ko sa kanila ang litrato mula sa files na ibinigay ni Maggie. "We can show this picture around and ask kung may nakakita o nakapansin ba sa kanya sa area na 'to."

"Pero hindi naman gano'n kadali 'yon, 'di ba?" komento ni Jamie. "Sa dami ng mga taong dumaraan sa streets na 'to, they may not accurately recall seeing that person. Unless they have a retentive memory like me."

"Luckily, Sir Ephraim has a unique characteristic that people can easily notice," Alistair said, looking confident.

"His leg injury!" I exclaimed. "Mas tatatak sa memorya ng mga residente rito ang isang lalaking may hawak na steel cane at nahihirapang maglakad kaysa sa mga lalaking normal na dumaraan."

"Looks like his accident has some benefit to us," Loki jested, smirking. I glared at him, making his smirk fade in an instant.

"So let's go?" Akmang aalisin na ni Alistair ang pagkakalagay ng kanyang seatbelt, pero bigla siyang hinawakan sa balikat ng kasama namin.