Chapter 45: Perfidy
My hands are shaking as I pull my cellphone out from my clutch. I can't believe what I'm about to do but I have no other choice but do it.
Nakaabang sa harapan ko ang pulis na pumulot sa amin sa madilim na eskinita. Zywon keeps on explaining about the misunderstanding ngunit nais pa rin nila ng parent o guardian para sumundo sa amin. I already texted Je about my situation now ngunit hindi pa ito nagre-reply. Marahil ay abala pa ito sa kakasayaw ng YMCA sa mga bago at sikat na tugtog.
I gave the police Ryu's number. Sa ngayon ay siya na lamang ang maaasahan ko. I cannot tell Mom about this dahil mag-aalala iyon, even Bernard, my make-believe Dad and Rionessi, my real Dad.
Nakakunot ang noo ng pulis nang matapos nitong ibaba ang tawag. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang sinabi ni Ryu sa kanya ngunit base sa ekspresyon ng pulis ay hindi iyon maganda.
"Sigurado ka bang kapatid mo iyon? Puro ingles ang sinabi", wika ng pulis. Nagpalipat-lipat ng tingin sa amin ni Zywon ang pulis. I don't know where they brought the two other ladies na nauna nilang nahuli kanina. Tatlong pulis ang naiwan doon para sa gabi.
It was past midnight and I wasn't feeling sleepy at all. Panay ang hampas ko sa binti ko dahil sa dami ng lamok dito sa pulis station. I also erased the thick lipstick that I was wearing using my handkerchief at ibinalik sa dating ayos ang magulo kong buhok.
Ngayon ko lamang naramdaman ang pananakit ng mga paa ko dahil sa kakatakbo ng nakayapak. As of my wedge, God knows where I threw it. Manaka-nakang sumusulyap si Zywon sa akin habang nakakunot ang noo nito.
Wait.
Don't tell me he's angry and he thinks that I dragged him into this mess because I didn't! Hindi sinasadya ang pagbundol namin! Isa pa ay siya naman ang basta-basta na lamang sumusulpot out of nowhere!
Ngayon ko lamang napansin na may pasa ito sa gilid ng labi. Did he fight with someone?
Ilang saglit lamang ay hinubad niya ang suot na jacket at itinapon iyon sa mukha ko.
"Aray! What the hell?!", I said at tinanggal ang jacket sa mukha ko. Mabuti na lamang at mabango iyon. It smells so manly at naaalala ko si Gray sa amoy na iyon.
Uh, bakit ko ba inaalala si Gray?! He must be enjoying the night with Math samantalang nilalamok ako dito sa police station and mistaken as a callgirl!
"Wear that. Bakit ganyan yang damit mo? It looks like it's ripped", wika niya at ibinaling sa iba ang kanyang tingin.
Yes Zywon! Math ripped my dress!
Hindi na ako nagpakipot pa. I immediately wear his jacket. Kanina pa kasi ako naiilang sa paraan ng tingin ng isang pulis na mataba. Panay ang pagdila nito sa labi. Ew.
I happened to glance at his body. Natatabingan lamang iyon ng kulay abo na Tshirt, making his large bruises visible to me. Malalaki ang pasa nito na tila binugbog.
I couldn't stop myself from grabbing his arm which made him flinched. It must still hurt.
"Anong nangyari sa iyo?", tanong ko sa kanya. Iniiwas niya ang kamay mula sa akin at nagtangkang tumalikod so I grabbed him by his shoulders at napangiwi ito sa sakit.
"F*ck!"
"What happened?", mahina ngunit buo ang boses ko na tanong. An officer is busy writing in his notebook samantalang nagkakape naman ang iba. Hindi nila kami maririnig but I need to be cautious.
"None of your business Just Amber", sagot niya. Mahina niyang hinawakan ang nasaktang balikat. I'm positive that he has a wound there.
"Zywon! Tell me!"
"Wala sabi-awww!" Napangiwi ulit siya nang pinisil ko ang braso niya. Oh, if I have to use violence just to make him spill everything, I would!
"Now tell me!"
Nag-alangan ito at nagsukatan kami ng tingin. He was the one to give up first. "I'm beaten."
"Obviously", wika ko sa kanya kasabay ng pagpaikot ko sa mga eyeballs ko. "I mean how did you acquire those?"
"I was caught spying the high positioned people of Genesis during their shipment."
"Shipment?"
He nodded. "They started shipping the drugs." Oh, that explains the missing students! They must have been used for the shipment! That heartless organization!
"And?"
"Nahuli nila ako. I was beaten to death dahil pinaghihinalaan nila ako. Good thing I was able to escape", wika niya.
"Alam na nila ang tungkol sa pagsali mo sa organisasyon? They might harm your family!", nag-aalalang wika ko. I remembered the bubbly Crystal! What if kunin ito ng organisasyon? What if - arggh! Ayoko na lang isipin!
"Like I said, members with ion codenames are not that significant. They won't exert much effort on us so I don't have to worry pero nag-iingat pa rin ako."
"So hindi ka na si Cyanide? You're not part of Genesis anymore?", tanong ko sa kanya and he slowly nods his head. Then if that's the case, I cannot have updates about the Genesis from him anymore.
No! It can't be! Hindi siya pwedeng mawala sa Genesis! I know that I am USING him and it's one of the words I hate. To be USED. But having Zywon as an immediate source of information about Genesis is very helpful. It occurred to me how will I be able to seize the organization? Ano ba ang kayang gawin ng isang Amber Sison laban sa isang malaking drug syndicate?
"That doesn't mean that I already gave up. I will chase them but I am using the Vander Mafia", wika niya. I give him a questioning look. Right there, I thought guiltily about using him but we're walking on the same path. He's using the mafia too, MY mafia and I cannot imagine how he would do it. Does he have a plan? First he infiltrated the Genesis to obtain information, now the mafia?
"You infiltrated the mafia?", I asked. I wonder how his reaction would be if I tell him that I'm part of the mafia that he resents. Ang alam lamang niya ay malaking tao sa Genesis ang ama ko, he doesn't know that my real father is a big fish, too but of the mafia. Ano kaya ang magiging reaksyon niya? Would he give me the cold shoulder like the way he treats Gray?
"I tried but I failed. They're in extra security lalo na at ilang transaction na ang nabulilyaso sa kanila which cost them millions. It seems like there are snakes within that mafia", wika niya.
Snakes? Traitors? May mga nabubulilyasong mafia transaction? I didn't know about all of those but I have no interest in being active in the mafia. Alam ko na illegal iyon and I'm keeping my hands off that thing. Mafia things are wrong. Wrong things are wrong even if everyone is doing it.
"But you were able to obtain information like those. How?", nagtatakang tanong ko.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Let's just say that's where I'm good at. Getting private informations in the most dangerous way like eavesdropping. Now, what are you gonna do Miss Mafia Heiress?", he said in a very sarcastic way.
So he knows all along?! Ngunit bakit tila hindi siya galit sa akin?
"Don't be surprised. I told you, that's where I am good at." Sumandal siya sa inuupuan niya at nagde-kwatro. If I would be active in the mafia, I would consider recruiting him. He works by himself and I have no idea if he got any cronies. Ngunit hindi ba niya naisip na ikakapahamak niya ang ginagawa niya or he's just blinded by his anger?
The door swung open at padabog na isinara iyon ng taong pumasok, making everyone notice him. Well, a devil just walked in and he got a very dangerous facial expression. The kind that you wouldn't want to mess with.
Lumapit siya sa akin at hinila ako patayo sa upuan. "Who the hell among these three stupid ugly creatures brought you here and mistook you as a harlot?", galit na tanong ni Ryu. Tiningnan niya ang pulis na mataba na kanina pa panay ang tingin sa akin.
"Is it this pig or whatever creature he is who will die in a way that his thick tongue will be pulled out from his mouth and roped it around his ugly, smelling body, stretching it out until he dies?", Ryu asked. Tiningnan niya ang isang pulis, the one who seized Zywon kanina. "Or is it this skeleton over there who will die even if he doesn't look alive at all, in a tortured way? Ako mismo ang babali sa lahat ng buto mo sa katawan," he paused for a while at tiningnan ang pulis na siya namang dumampot sa akin. Ito rin ang nakausap niya sa telepono. "Or is it this ass-faced being that I'm not even sure if he is human or not? You know what? You look like a swollen boil in a beggar's calloused foot. I'd be glad to scrape your eyeballs out from its socket and toss to somewhere everyone would step on-"
"Ryu!", saway ko sa kanya. I can't imagine his tormenting words to the police na halos hindi na makagalaw. Nalaglag ang mga laman ng folder na hawak ng matabang pulis samantalang nabitawan naman ng isa ang kanyang kutsara, producing a loud clinking of metal on the concrete floor.
Zywon is just sitting there comfortably at wala man lamang akong nakikitang emosyon dito, not even amusement with Ryu's grand entrance.
"Stop it. It's just a mistake!", wika ko sa kanya. God knows if he's carrying a gun beneath his leather jacket and I don't know what he's capable of doing with a gun in this circumstance.
Then the door flung open at niluwa niyon ang tatlong pigura ng mga taong kasama ko kanina. Galit na galit ang mukha ni Gray nang hilahin niya ako mula kay Ryu.
"Jeremy told me that you're here. I'm sorry kung ngayon lang namin nabasa ang text mo", wika niya. "Who brought you here?" His mood is as scary as Ryu's nang tiningnan niya ang tatlong pulis na halos hindi pa rin makagalaw like they were frozen there.
Oh please Gray. They already lost their color after Ryu's words and anything from you would be another torment for them kaya mas mabuting itago mo na lamang sa sarili mo ang mga nais mong sabihin para sa kanila.
"Sorry Bestie", nakayukong wika ni Jeremy. Lumapit naman si Math sa akin at hinawakan ang mga kamay ko.
"Amber, I'm so sorry. I think it was partly my fault, sorry talaga", she said sincerely.
"No, no. It wasn't anyone's fault, okay? There's just some mistakes", wika ko sa kanila. Walang magagawa ang pagsisisihan sa mga sandaling ito. All we need to do is leave this place.
"Why are you with Amber?", tanong ni Gray kay Zywon. Nagkunwari naman ang huli na tila ba hindi nito narinig ang sinabi ni Gray.
"We bumped into each other. Wala siyang kinalaman dito", wika ko. Zywon shot me a glare ngunit wala pa rin itong sinabi.
"We're leaving", Ryu said. Kinuha niya ang wallet at naglapag ng pera sa mesa and I didn't waste time thinking how much it was. He hold my wrist and pulled me but I stopped him.
"How about Zywon?", tanong ko. Mukhang walang susundo sa kanya.
"M-maaari na rin siyang umalis", wika ng isang pulis na tila nahimasmasan na.
"Thank you", wika ni Zywon at tumayo. "You can have my jacket Just Amber", wika niya at nauna ng lumabas ng pinto.
Ryu continued pulling me hanggang sa nakalabas kami ng police station. Hinarap niya ako at tinanong.
"What were you doing in that dim street Ryle? Hindi mo ba alam na pwede kang mapahamak? And why are you out in the streets this hour?", galit na wika nito. Gray, Je and Math were on the side watching my big brother scolding me.
"We're in the club—"
"What the hell!"
"It was all a mistake—" What's wrong with clubbing?
"Where are your shoes?"
"Pwede bang patapusin mo ako!", I hissed. What's bad with Vanders like us? Well, we're short tempered. Never mess with us.
"Go on. Oh, on the second thought, let's go home first." Sinulyapan niya si Gray at ang iba ko pang mga kasama. Zywon is already out of sight, marahil ay nakasakay na ito ng taxi.
Tiningnan ni Gray ang mga kasama. "Math, Jeremy, you can stay in the hotel for the rest of the night-"
"Haaaaaa? No way!", protesta ni Je at niyakap ang sarili. He distanced himself from Math who is now frowning because of his reaction. "Paano na lamang ang aking puri, dangal at dignida-"
"As if I would take that away from you!", singhal ni Math sa kanya. "And we're not staying in one room!"
"I'll drop you to a hotel, okay? Ryu, you can take Amber. Susunod ako", wika ni Gray. Ipinasakay niya sina Math at Je sa kanyang kotse at naiwan kami ni Ryu doon. Nasa di kalayuan lamang ang kotse ni Ryu ngunit nanatili lamang ito doon. His phone rang at agad niya iyong sinagot.
"Zeus", wika niya. Oh, Cooler? He paused for a while at nakinig mula sa kabilang linya. I saw his expression became dimmer. There might be a big problem.
"Gather everyone. I'm on my way", wika niya at pinatay ang tawag. Tila naging iritado ito matapos ang tawag. He kept his phone in his pocket at hinarap ako. "Let's go Ryle."
To my surprise, lumapit siya sa akin at binuhat ako!
IN A BRIDAL STYLE!!
"What are you doing?!", I asked in surprise. I am not used to these kind of things lalo na kay Ryu! The first and last person who carried me in such way is Gray!
"Kinakarga ka."
I know it! "Put me down!"
"Why, what's wrong with carrying my baby sister?", he asked at patuloy lang sa paglalakad. "Paika-ika ka kung maglakad kanina so it's just right to do this, isa pa ay nakapaa ka lang." Hindi na ako nakapalag pa dahil nakarating na kami sa harap ng kotse niya. Binuksan niya ang pinto at pinapasok ako. Umikot siya sa kabilang pinto at nagsimula ng magdrive. His mood is not good, I can sense it kaya nanahimik na lamang ako hanggang sa makarating kami sa Vander Mansion.
Nang makapasok kami sa loob ng mansion ay nagulat ako nang makita ko ang mga reapers. Ares, Artemis, Eros, Hermes, Mnemosyne, Hades and Poseidon. Nandoon din ang 'Twin Cities' na sina Paris at Berlin and I didn't bother to identify who Berlin and Paris are. Nandoon din si Adonis and two others which I fail to recognize. What? They're having a party at this hour? It's past 1 AM now. They are not smiling at all so I figured out that it isn't a party. They looked at me like they don't care at all. Wala ring nagtangkang bumati sa akin, everyone is silent.
Cooler is on one side with his brows meeting. Nakapamulsa ito at matamang tinitingnan ang bawat isa. There is a glint of happiness in his eyes when our eyes met ngunit agad din iyong nawala. Lumapit sa kanya si Ryu.
"What happened Zeus?!"
"The transaction was off. Someone sabotaged it", sagot nito. He didn't even bother to greet me. Well I can't blame him, they're facing a huge problem.
So, that is why the reapers are here.
The main door opened at iniluwa niyon si Gray. He was surprised to see the crowd too but he didn't mind them. Lumapit siya sa gawi namin.
"Sabotaged? Again?! This is the third time! And in just a span of few weeks, we lost three huge transactions na sa atin iniasa?! What the hell is happening here? I believe there is a traitor!", wika ni Ryu. He is really pissed by the idea that he came up with.
Nanatili ang walang ekspresyon na mukha ni Cooler and I guess that's how he is when he is pissed. Unlike Ryu, Gray and Cooler shared a common attitude when pissed. They are cold and silent, evident that they're not in a good mood.
"That's what I thought too", wika ni Cooler. I remembered the time when he said about what Cookie of the Fortune Cookie told him. There will be a traitor. Mukhang ito na nga iyon.
"Listen everyone!", malakas ang boses na wika ni Ryu. The reapers raised their heads at bumaling kay Ryu. "I know there is a traitor within this group. I hate snakes! Sa oras na malaman ko kung sino sa inyo ang ahas, you will face the Vander's wrath and I'm warning you, you wouldn't like it."
Namayani ang katahimikan sa loob ng mansion. Each reaper bows their heads, malamang ay natakot ito sa sinabi ni Ryu. Is this really how the mafia works?
"Makakaalis na kayong lahat", wika ni Ryu. Agad namang nagsitayuan ang mga naroon hanggang sa kami na lamang ang naiwan doon. He is still pissed at hinarap ako. "Now tell me what happened."
"Don't use that tone to me. I am not your reaper", wika ko sa kanya. Kung natatakot ang mga reaper sa kanya sa tono niyang iyon, pwes not me.
"Ryle-"
"I said do not use such tone on me. Kung galit ka sa kanila maybe you should cool down before you talk to me!"
Gray and Cooler stared at us. Tila ayaw nilang makialam sa away naming magkapatid. Well they really shouldn't. It will only make the situation worse.
Ryu let out a big sigh. Saglit itong pumikit, as if he's controlling his temper at hinarap ulit ako. "Tell me what happened." Sa pagkakataong iyon ay malumanay na ang boses na kanyang ginamit.
"It was all a mistake. Napagkamalan lamang ako ng mga pulis. I'm with Gray at nasa club kami."
"What the hell. Clubbing? At bakit ka nakapaa?", he asked again, still controlling his temper.
"I was chasing someone", wika ko. I don't want to add anything about it dahil baka mas lalo lamang magkagulo. I know the mafia knew about the existence of Genesis ngunit makakadagdag lamang sa problema nila kapag sinabi ko ang tungkol kay Lowie.
"Don't go doing anything silly. Kailangan mo ring mag-ingat. Cronus wouldn't like it if you got scratches on your welcome party this sunday."
Parehas kaming nagulat ni Gray sa sinabi ni Ryu.
"Welcome Party?", Gray asked.
"Yeah."
"This sunday?" tanong ko. It's already past midnight kaya sabado na ngayon, so it means tomorrow is sunday. "That fast?"
"Well that's how Vanders work. We do everything in an instant", Cooler said at naglakad palayo. "Good morning everyone."
"You will be officially introduced to everyone as Ryle Vander Morisson tomorrow", Ryu said. "You should take a rest for now. I will call a maid to prepare your room."
Nang umalis si Ryu ay naiwan kaming dalawa ni Gray doon. Like me, he is surprised to hear about it.
I was dumbfounded that moment. Oh tomorrow, huh? I should be used of having everything in an instant. I guess that's how a Vander life is supposed to be.
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-ShinichiLaaaabs