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JAKE's POV
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"What's the update?" Rusty asked.
He's in the parking area while I'm in one of the hotel room where the private gathering of business tycoons are held. I'm in charged of monitoring every bugs (secret cameras and audios) we installed on the said party venue. Computers screen are in front of me. We communicate via earpiece.
"22 people are heading there, they're people of Mr. Kishi." Sagot ko habang pinapanood sa monitor ang mga taong naglalakad papunta sa parking na kinaroroonan ni Rusty.
"Target spotted. What do I do with them?" He said and asked.
"Knock them off for now. Tie and hide them as well." I replied.
I cannot ask Vincent at the moment because he's talking with somebody. Maraming nakapaligid sakanya at binabantayan ang bawat galaw niya. Marami ring kumakausap sa kanya pero tipid lang ang mga isinasagot niya para hindi na humaba pa ang usapan.
I bet representing Hutchison group on this kind of gathering is very exhausting. One wrong move and you'll be judged, people won't consider you worth it of the position.
"Copy." Said Rusty. He wore his mask and pulled down the cap he's wearing as he show up in front of Mr. Kishi's people.
Napatigil ang mga ito sa paglalakad at naalarma. Bago pa nila mailabas ang mga armas nila ay mabilis na kumilos si Rusty at walang kahirap hirap silang pinatumba lahat.
"Woah." Manghang bulalas ko. I didn't know that Rusty improved this much. I feel proud as his senior.
"Order accomplished." Ani‘ya matapos maigapos ang mga walang malay na bodyguards ni Mr. Kishi at maipasok sila sa truck.
"Excellent. Now proceed to the rooftop." Ani ko habang nakatingin sa monitor. One of the UK business tycoon and his people was there. I'm certain that they're connected to the mafia underground. I clearly heard Varlet's name coming out from his mouth.
"What's the mission?" Rusty asked while heading to the elevator.
"Lure Mr. Fernsby and his people to the parking. Give them a good beating then tie them inside the truck too." Sagot ko.
"Copy." Rusty hastened to the rooftop and do what he has to do. He hid himself behind the slight open door. He pretended that he's been there, eavesdropping the whole time. Makalipas ang isang minuto ay sinadya niyang sumilip. He intentionally get caught and then slam the door and run. Agad naman nila siyang hinabol tulad ng inaasahan.
"Careful. They have guns." I warned Rusty when the people chasing after him pulled out their guns.
"I have mine too." He simply responds while still running.
Pagdating niya sa parking lot ay agad siyang huminto sa pagtakbo.
"Did I lure them all?" He asked.
"No. Mr. Fernsby went back to the venue."
"Tell leader to keep an eye on him." He said. He's now surrounded by them. Their guns are pointing at him.
"Who are you and what did you hear?" One of the man pointing a gun at him asked.
"I heard everything." Rusty calmly replied.
"You insolent. Who are you? State your name!"
"I'll let you beat that fool to death." Sabi ko kay Rusty na tinugunan niya ng mahinang pagtawa.
"Why are you f-cking laughing? Do you wanna get killed that badly?" The same man asked. Sinenyasan niya ang mga kasama niyang mas lumapit at kornerin si Rusty na agad naman nilang ginawa.
"I'm... death's underling." Rusty flashy pulled out his gun and starts shooting them. They also did the same but Rusty's fast enough to dodge each and every bullets of them and then counterattack. Ilang sandali lang ay naka handusay na sila sa sahig.
"Are they.."
"They're still breathing, don't worry." Rusty assured as he starts tying them. Mabuti naman kung ganun. Vincent didn't say if we could kill or not. But I prefer not to as much as possible.
"But they might ran out of blood before we could bring them to the basement and get interrogated by Vincent."
"That's their problem." Tanging sagot ni Rusty tsaka sila ipinasok sa truck.
I snorted.
"Fool. Go bring them to the basement and change." Puno ng dugo nila ang suot niya. Mahirap na baka may makakita sa kanya. Pareho kaming malalagot kay leader.
Yes. Vincent's our leader. The one and only leader of HM's Shadow Reapers.
"Noted." Said Rusty before driving off.
Time flew fast and the party is now over. Vincent could finally communicate with me.
"How's it going?" Pasimple niyang tanong. He's politely bidding the other guest a goodbye through handshakes and slight bow.
"Fair enough. We captured all of them. They're now in the basement. Rusty's guarding them." I answered.
"How about this man's butler." He's referring to the man walking towards him with a smile, which is obviously fake.
"I already took care of him along with the people he was talking to the phone."
That man was surely tough. It took me almost 15 minutes to capture him. I even had to pretend as one of the people he was talking to the phone.
"Well done." He responded.
I paid my attention to computer screens to search for tito and tita. I saw them right away. They're talking to somebody.
"What's the next move?" I asked.
"Give ninong a call so they would have an excuse to take their leave right away."
"Copy."
I took my phone right away and give tito a call. My eyes are still on the monitor so I saw how tito excused himself. Lumayo siya sa kanila at sinagot ang tawag ko.
["Yes, hijo?"]
"Vincent wants you and tita to go home now."
["Alright."] Tugon niya tsaka ibinaba ang tawag at bumalik kina tita.
"Honey, our princess just called and she wants us to be home now. You know she wants to spend time with you since you're going back to France in 3 days." Tito told his wife. That was just an excuse he made up of course.
"Alright, hon." Tita played along. Muli niyang ibinaling ang kanyang tingin sa mga kausap niya at nagpaalam sa kanila.
"We'll get going then. I'll see you in France next week, Alice, Elena."
"Alright, see you there."
"You better assist us well in your boutique, okay?"
"Sure thing. That would be my pleasure." Nakangiting tugon ni tita sakanila tsaka nakipag beso-beso. Pagkatapos ay lumabas na sila ni tito sa venue at nagtungo sa elevator. Bumalik naman sa kanya kanya nilang asawa ang kausap ni tita kanina.
"Nakaalis na sila." I informed Vincent nang makaalis na ang kotse na sinakyan ni tito at tita.
"Very well. I'll see you in the car." Ani‘ya.
"Hmh." I stood up from my seat and put my leather jacket on and grabbed my phone.
Pagdating ko sa parking ay agad akong pumasok sa kotse na sasakyan namin ni Vincent papunta sa basement. It took 5 minutes for him to arrived.
Binuhay ko ang makina ng makapasok siya. I was about to start driving when my phone flashed, a notice that I received a message.
"We're being followed." The text message I received from tito. Agad kong nilingon si Vincent at sinabi ito sakanya.
"They need not to worry. Those fools won't last long anyway." He coldly said.
"I have everything under control." He added as a sly smile flashed on his face.
I know that smile very well, it's a smile he wears whenever he plotted something. Something evil.
Judging the look he has right now I could tell what will going to happen to those fools we captured. I'm certain their lives won't last long as well. Poor them, they messed up with this cold hearted devil.
*sigh*
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PRINCESS's POV
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"Anong oras na wala parin si mom at dad." Buntong hininga ni Diane.
"Darating din yun sila maya maya. Stop worrying." Said Victoria as she pat her shoulder and gave her a smile.
"Oo nga, Diane. Enjoy nalang natin movie marathon natin." Nakangiting sabi ni Blake tsaka inalok sa kanya ang kinakain niyang popcorn.
We're currently watching movie but Diane can't stop worrying about uncle and aunt. Kanina pa siya tingin ng tingin sa cellphone niya para tignan ang oras.
"Paranoid." I grunted but it seems like Kyle heard it clear. He let out a soft chuckle.
"She really is." He whispered, but enough for me to hear. Napatawa rin ako ng mahina kaya napunta sa amin ang tingin ni Ash at Drake na katabi namin.
The four of us are sitting in one sofa. Ash is sitting on my left side while Kyle is on my right side then Drake is sitting next to him (Ash-me-Kyle-Drake).
"Why are you two chuckling?" Asked Drake that made me and Kyle stare at each other.
"Nothing." We replied in chorus that made us look at each other again and chuckle once more. Both Ash and Drake's forehead creases.
"It's nothing, really." Ani ko tsaka kumain ng popcorn at nagkunwaring ibinaling ulit ang tingin sa screen.
Ramdam ko parin ang titig sa'kin ni Ash kaya nilingon ko siya. I gave him a 'what?' look na tinugunan niya ng iling.
Minutes passed and I started feeling sleepy. I silently yawned and lean my back comfortably. Ipinikit ko ang mata ko at tuluyan ng nagpalamon sa antok.
–
I was awakened by my phone rang. I groaned as I tried to reach my phone with my eyes closed. When my hand couldn't seemed to find it I was forced to open my eyes to look for it. Nang makita ko ito ay padabog ko itong kinuha. When I was about to answer the call it stopped ringing. What the h-ck!?
I was about to put it back on its place when I saw a text message on notification center. It's from Jake. He was also the one who called.
-
Give Vincent a call in 15 minutes.
Spare these captive foolish people' lives.
-
Those messages was sent exactly 15 minutes ago. And now he just sent me a text message again saying 'Babe!' I don't know what exactly is going on but I think I got the idea. He wants me to call Vin so he couldn't kill somebody.
I unlocked my phone and dialed Vin's contact number right away. It took 3 rang for him to answer.
["Yes, baby?"]
"Where are you?" I asked.
["I'm doing an important business right now, why?"]
I didn't answer. Hindi ko rin naman alam anong isasagot ko.
["What made you call at this late hour, baby? You're supposed to be sleeping right now."] Ani‘ya na naging dahilan upang mapatingin ako sa wristwatch ko. My eyes widened upon seeing that it's already past midnight.
Holy crap! I mentally cussed.
"I.. I had a n-nightmare." An excuse that suddenly came out from my mouth. Nasapo ko ang noo ko dahil dito. It's not a good excuse for pete's sake! Pero bahala na.
"I'm s-scared to sleep again that's why I called you. B-but you seem busy.." I reasoned out, almost whispering.
I'm not really used to lie at Vin. Nakokonsensya ako.
"But it's okay. My bad for the—" He cut me off before I could finish what I was about to say.
"There's nothing to be scared of, baby. Don't worry I'll be there in no time. Wait for me, okay?"
"Y-yeah." Tanging naibulalas ko. I didn't expect that it'd be that easy. I bet he's worried. He probably still remember the first time I had a nightmare.
It was 2 years ago. I dreamt about Angelo's death. It happened a week after he passed away so it caused me a trauma. I wasn't able to sleep for almost 6 days because it was haunting me. I just kept on crying. Thankfully Vin was there. He helped me to overcome it.
Ibinalik ko ang cellphone ko sa kinapapatungan nito kanina at muling nahiga sa kama. Akmang ipipikit ko ang mata ko ng bigla akong mapaupo ulit at inilibot ang tingin sa paligid. I'm in my room. I just realized that I'm in my room! I wonder who brought me here again.
— 20 minutes later.
I welcomed Vin with a hug when he arrived. We stayed like that for a minute without saying anything. It's as if we're silently recharging each other's energy.
"You can go back to sleep now. Don't worry I'll be right here." He said. I pulled back from the hug and smiled at him.
"Thank you." I lay back on my bed and he sat next to my pillow. He took off his coat and loosen his necktie as he starts caressing my hair lightly. I held his free hand and closed my eyes with a smile.
Then he starts humming a lullaby. This is how he put me back to sleep. It sounds childish but it's very effective to me. I felt safe.
"Thank you, Vin." I whispered as I let sleepiness took over me.
～
Nagising akong wala na si Vin sa tabi ko. I don't know when did he left but I sure had a good sleep with him by my side. It's almost 8 o'clock in the morning pero ngayon palang ako babangon. I went straight to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. Mamaya na ako maliligo dahil nagugutom na ako. I'll have a breakfast first.
When I arrived at the dining hall I wasn't expecting to see everyone. I thought it was just me who's going to have a late breakfast but I was wrong. Mukhang kagigising lang rin nilang lahat.
"Good morning, Demonise!" Aunt greeted me with a wide smile upon seeing me. Napunta ang tingin sa akin nina Diane at nag "good morning" din.
"Good morning too." Sagot ko tsaka naupo sa tapat ni tita. Mark is sitting beside me.
"The gift you mentioned to me arrived last night. I put it in the Art room." Mark whispered to me. My eyes widened for a moment because I totally forgot about it. I ended up falling asleep.
"Dang, I totally forgot about it! Thank you so much." I whispered back at him.
"You're welcome. I haven't check what it is but it's surely heavy."
"It really is."
Mark was about to whisper back again but he wasn't able to do so because Aunt and everyone started faking a cough.
"Mind sharing us what are you two whispering about?" Said aunt.
"It's a secret, tita." Nakangiting sagot ni Mark.
"But you'll find it out later." Dagdag ko.
"Hala, unfair!" Protesta ni Blake na tinugunan ko lang ng mahinang pagtawa.
Alam kong mangungulit si aunt na sabihin sakanya what this secret is kaya minabuti ko ng ibahin ang usapan.
"How's the party yesterday?" Tanong ko at nagsimula narin kumain.
"It was stressful. It's my first time attending such important party after all." Aunt heaved a sigh.
"But honey it's nothing compared to what Vincent felt. He was representing the Hutchison's group. His situation perfectly define pressure." Pagsali ni uncle sa usapan.
"But he doesn't seem pressured at all, hon. Even though he was the highlight of the night. That's what I like about him. He's so firm and confident." Sabi't puri ni aunt kay Vin.
"Vincent? Vincent Auxilio?" Kunot noong tanong ni Diane.
"Yes, sweetie. The one and only." She answered with a smile.
"But why would he represent the Hutchison's group on such important event?" Takang tanong rin ni Victoria.
It seems like they know about the event that aunt and uncle attended. Did aunt and uncle inform them about it? How about the bodyguards that were guarding us yesterday, how did they explain it to them? Especially to Diane who was so anxious about it.
"Because neither of James and L could attend. They're both busy." Uncle answered that obviously didn't satisfy any of them. They were silenced. I can tell that they want to ask questions nor further explanation. But too bad, that's something that uncle won't do so.
"Anyway, are your parents available later?" He asked. See? He changed the topic right away.
"I would like to invite them for my birthday celebration later. It will be held in one of the Hutchison's buffet restaurant." Sabi ni tita tsaka ako pinasadahan ng tingin na may kasama pang makahulugang ngiti.
She wants me to wish her a happy birthday. She literally emphasized the "birthday celebration" part as she landed her eyes on me.
"Happy birthday." I simply greeted. I didn't even bother to give her a smile. I pretended that I was busy eating.
"Demonise, that's not how you supposed to greet your beloved auntie on her birthday!" She nagged that made me mentally laugh. I sure know how to tease her.
"Really? How should I do it then?" Painosente kong tanong.
"Put sincerity on it. You could at least give me a smile and tell me that you love me. But it'll be much better if you would prepare a speech for me later or sing my favorite song." Ani ‘ya. I looked at her and smiled that made her face brighten up.
"Not gonna happen." I said as I continue eating that made her gasp. Her reaction was epic LOL.
"H-how could you be so cold hearted? How could you hurt my feelings on my birthday, Demonise? Honey, let's cancel the celebration." Pagdadrama niya. May pa punas punas pa siya ng luhang nalalaman kahit na wala namang luha na lumabas sa mata niya.
"You really suck on acting, honey." Tugon ni uncle na ipinanlisik ng mata niya.
"Do you have a death wish, Arthur?" She told him with a sharp glare.
"No, honey. I love you."
"I love you too hehe."
Aunt's shifting of mood in a split seconds and uncle obedience made me chuckle. But Diane and everyone priceless reactions made me laugh. I bet this is their first time seeing such cringe scenario.
"I'm done. Thanks for the food." I said after drinking my glass of water. Tumayo na ako't nagpaalam sa kanila. Umakyat ako papunta sa kwarto ko.
When I was about to open the door I felt someone's presence behind my back so I turned around to see who is it.
"Ash. Ikaw pala." I opened the door of my room without averting my eyes on him.
"Come in." Pumasok ako sa loob at iniwang naka bukas ang pinto. Tahimik namang sumunod si Ash sa akin matapos e lock ang pinto.
I went to my mini fridge to grab an ice cream for Ash and I. Inabot ko sa kanya ang ice cream niya at naglakad papunta sa balcony. He silently followed me again and sat on the chair in front of me.
"I saw Vince coming out from your room earlier." He said as he also starts eating his ice cream.
"What time?" Tanong ko pero wala sa kanya ang atensyon ko. Nasa kinakain ko.
"Around 5 am."
"I see. You want to know why he was here?" Sabi't tanong ko tsaka tumingin sakanya.
"N-not really." He stuttered. Iniiwas niya pa ang tingin niya sa'kin at nag kunwaring abala sa paglantakan ng ice cream.
I let out a soft chuckle.
"I called him around 1 am. I told him that I had a nightmare and was scared to go back to sleep so he came over and put me back to sleep."
"And how did he do that?" Salubong ang kilay niyang tanong.
"He hummed me a lullaby while gently caressing my hair and holding my hand. That's how he put me back to sleep since way back."
"I see." Ani‘ya. He kinda sounds pissed. I don't know if it was just my imagination.
"Yeah." Ani ko nalang tsaka nagpatuloy sa pag ubos ng ice cream ko.
"Anyway, is your gift for aunt ready?" Tanong ko matapos ang ilang minutong katahimikan sa pagitan namin. Naubos ko na rin ang kinakain ko.
"Nope. I'm actually still thinking what to give her." He sighed.
"Any jewelry will do." Ani ko.
"Really?"
"Yup. I can go with you if you want, I'll help you to choose one for her."
"Really?"
"Really. But I'll take a bath first and you must do the same. Puntahan mo nalang ako dito pagkatapos mo."
"Aye, aye. Bath well."
"You too."
He stood up and walked towards me. Akala ko kung ano gagawin niya yun pala guguluhin lang ang buhok ko. Napa face palm ako dahil sa ginawa niyang yun.
"You don't have to mess my hair." Ani ko na tinugunan lang niya ng mahinang pagtawa.
"See you later." And with that, he left. Pero hindi nakawala sa akin ang pagsilay ng ngiti sa labi niya.
I heaved a sigh.
"Is messing somebody's hair makes you happy? Tsk."