"New client."maikling sabi ni Venus at ipinatpng sa lamesa ni Benjie ang isang folder.
"Okay ka lang ba?"Benjie tried to hide every hint of concern in his voice.
"Puyat lang."walang ganang sagot ng dalaga. Umupo siya sa couch doon sa opisina ni Benjie. "Bakit? Maaga naman tayong umuwi kagabi ah."
"Wala ka na don."masungit na sabi ni Venus habang nagbubukas ng bote ng red wine.
"Tanghaling tapat, wine?"puna ni Benjie.
"Can't you just work there quietly while I work here while I drink my wine?"
"May lakad tayo mamaya."sabi ni Benjie habang nagtitipa ng mga letra sa kaniyang laptop. "Saan?"
"Bar hopping."
"I don't do bar hopping."
"A sexy girl like you doesn't do bar hopping?"hindi makapaniwalang tanong ni Benjie.
"You think I'm sexy?"
"Yeah."wala sa sariling sagot ng binata.j
"So that's why you ask me to change my clothes everytime I were sexy ones. You're attracted to me." nakangiting saad ni Venus.
"I am most certainly am not!"pagtanggi ni Benjie.
"Oh come on, you tried to flirt with me the first time you saw me!"
"Okay you know, let's not just talk about that. I don't care if you don't do bar hopping, you're coming with me."may pinalidad na sabi ni Benjie.
Saglit silang binalot ng katahimikan, only the sound of the clicking of their mice and keyboards could be heard.
"Tatlonghari?"Venus lifted her head to look at Benjie. "Yes?"
"Does your family know about your job?"
"Wala akong pamilya."she casually said the finished a whole glass of wine.
"My Dad left me with my Mom who later on died because of cancer. Yung kapatid ko, hindi ko na alam kung saan napadpad. Naampon kasi sya ng isa sa mga tyahin namin. Dinala naman nila ako sa orphanage, kung saan ako nahanap ni Modesto Tatlonghari.
Like you, I was taught how to hold a gun at a young age. Ipinasok nila ako sa agency nila right after I graduated. And here I am now."pagk-kwento ng dalaga.
"Hindi mo na hinanap yung kapatid mo?"
"Nope. She hated me anyway, hindi kami magkasundo at masaya pa nga sya noong napahiwalay sya sakin. Wala na akong pake kung nasaan yung bruhang yon."sabi ni Venus habang nagsasalin ng wine sa kaniyang baso.
"Vee?"
"Ano nanaman?"
"Are you proud of your job? Proud ka bang ganito ang naging trabaho mo?"
"Honestly, noong una hindi. But right now, yes. I'm very skilled at what I'm doing and I'm proud of everything I've achieved. Before I even turned 21, nakapagpatayo na ako ng sarili kong mansyon without the help of Papa M. How 'bout you?"
"I guess? Kasi ito yung paraan para mapasaya ko yung tatay ko eh. Yung gawin ko 'to. So I guess I'm proud kahit na alam kong mali 'tong ginagawa ko sa mata ng ibang tao."
Muli na naman silang binalot ng katahimikan.
"Venus,"
"Hindi ka ba talaga nauubusan ng topic, 'no?"pairap na sabi ni Venus, na halatang naiirita na sa dami ng tanong ni Benjie.
"Ano meron sa inyo ni—"naputol ang sasabihin ni Benjie nang biglang bumukas ang pinto.
"Dantes. May kailangan ka?"
"Sir, Agent Tatlonghari, ipinapatawag kayo ni Sir Antonio."
"Susunod na kami."
Sid nodded and left them again.
"Okay, Agent Tatlonghari. Before we get going to my father's office, I want you to answer my question. Anong meron sa inyo ni Dantes?"
"It's my personal life. I don't think you should interfere with it, Viceral."Venus closed her laptop and stood up. "Let's go?"
"Nope. Answer my question first."pamimilit ni Benjie.
"Fine. We're seeing each other. Happy?"pairap na sabi ni Venus. "Before or after you arrived here?"
"After."
Napatango naman si Benjie. Venus let the way out of the office and Benjie quickly followed after her.
They sat on the seats infront of Mr. Viceral's desk. The man looked very serious and stressed out too.
"Someone hacked our system. Surely, who ever did it found out all our transactions."Mr. Viceral took off his glasses and massaged his temple.
"So, na-leak din po yung identities natin, Sir?"tanong ni Venus.
"For some reason, not all of our identites. Only mine. The rest of the employees, hindi nila kilala, kahit kayong dalawa ni Benjie."
"Ano pong gusto nyong gawin namin, Dad?"
"We know who did this, the Vice President."
"Alam na po ng gobyerno ang tungkol sa inyo?"
"No, Benjie. The Vice President of the Philippines is also selling munitions illegally. Kalaban niya tayo sa bentahan kaya gusto nya tayong sirain."nanlaki ang mata ni Benjie at Venus sa narinig.
"I need you two to sneak into their premises and help our company. With the expertise of Agent Tatlonghari, I'm confident that you two won't fail us."Mr. Viceral handed a folder to each of them.
"Pero Dad why don't we just hire some other agent? Bakit ako pa?"
"You need to learn, Tutoy. Atsaka hindi na tayo pwedeng magtiwala ngayon. There's a double agent within Viceral Inc., we can't risk letting another one in."
"Fine."
"Give us one week to prepare, Sir. After that, we'll start the mission. Kailangan muna naming gumawa ng strategies at pag-aralan kung ano man po ang gagamitin naming gadgets, especially Benjie. He has no experience being a field agent, so we need to warm him up before his first mission."
"Granted. You have one week, Agent Tatlonghari."
"Thank you, Sir."
Lumabas na silang dalawa sa opisina at bumalik muli sa opisina ni Benjie.
"Warm me up? How?"Benjie asked playfully.
"Alam ko yang iniisip mo. Tumigil-tigil ka."
"But seriously, I don't need that warming up you're saying. Marunong akong humawak ng baril, Tatlonghari."
Venus stood up infront of his desk and rested her palms on it.
"How about when you don't have a gun? Kaya mo bang makawala sa pagkakatali sayo without the help of anyone? Of course not."inirapan lang naman siya ni Benjie sa inis. "I'm going to teach you how to survive the field. I'll teach you how to be an agent like me."
Of course, he had no choice. She was right, if he were to survive the field, he'll need her help.
"That also means that we won't be bar hopping tomorrow."
"Pero—"
"We'll be getting up early tomorrow. Walang pero-pero."
It was seven in the evening, Benjie was in his office in his house. This office—like his room—is not accessible to anyone who enters his house. The door is protected by a 6-digit pin only Benjie knows. Noone, not even Sid knows the pin.
Nandoon siya upang makapag-isip-isip. Who could be the traitor? Sino ang hayop na tumraydor sa kanila ng tatay nya?
He was also reviewing the CCTV cameras in his house, noone looked suspicious. So it must've been someone who works in the 'headquarters'.
Nagulat si Benjie nang biglang tumunog ang kaniyang pintuan at bumukas. Iniluwa nito si Venus, who was wearing a red silk nightgown and a red silk robe over it.
Puta ang sexy na naman.
"H-How did you get in here?"
"You're bad at thinking of passwords, Benjamin. I typed in your birthday and surprisingly, tama ako."she sat down on the narra chair infront of Benjie's desk.
"Pinag-aaralan ka ng mga kalaban mo, Benj. They'll know everything about you, and your birthday's just a very basic piece of information. Kung meron mang magtatangkang makapasok dito, napakadali lang gawin noon para sa kanya."she explained.
"So?"
"So, change your PINs and whatever other passwords you have. Facebook, Twitter, password ng cellphone mo, lahat. Make all of them hard to get into for the amateurs. Nagpagawa na rin ako ng chips sa technical team para maging hack-proof 'tong office at yung kwarto mo. Even the vault in your basement."
"Bakit ko ba kailangang palitan pati yung sa Facebook at Twitter? Mahirap naman hulaan yung password ko doon eh."
"Ano bang password mo doon? Araw na grumaduate ka? Araw na natanggap mo yung una mong kotse?"
"Ano...QWERTY."
Napatawa naman ng malakas si Venus sa sinabing iyon ni Benjie. "QWERTY? Ano ka, highschool?" Inirapan lang naman siya ng binata.
"Bakit ka ba nandito?" inis na tanong ni Benjie.
"I'm here to give this to you,"inabot niya kay Benjie ang isang silver na flashdrive. "Kapag wala kang ginagawa, aralin mo 'tong mapa ng mansion ng Bise Presidente. He's having a party a week from now, and that's when we'll get in. He's busy entertaining his guests and his security is busy protecting him from them. May mga secret passage papasok sa mansion niya na hindi guarded ng security.
Sasauluhin natin ang ins and outs ng mansion niya. That way, we'll know where to run just in case."
"I also talked to your Dad. You won't be going to the office starting tomorrow."
"What?!"
"You need to stay focused on this mission of ours. Kaya hindi ka muna papasok sa trabaho."
Tumayo si Venus and went for the door. She smiled at Benjie before twisting the doorknob.
"Lesson One tayo tomorrow. Good night, Pretty Boy."kinindatan niya ito at linisan na ang opisina.
The following day, Venus woke Benjie up with nonstop knocks on his door. Kumukusot-kusot pa ng mata si Benjie nang pagbuksan niya ang dalaga ng pinto.
"Ala sais palang. Ang aga mo naman manggising."reklamo nito.
"Come with me to your walk-in closet."
They entered his walk-in closet. It was filled with different kinds of clothes for different kinds of occassions.
"Do I wear a suit? You know, tulad noong mga nasa spy movies?"
"No. You'll be wearing this."Venus picked a baby blue button-up long sleeves polo and one of the few leggings Benjies has. "Wear any pair of shoes you want. I'll meet you in your office."
"Wait!"
"Ano?"
"Bakit ikaw 'tong pumili ng susuotin ko?"
"Umay na ako sa suits mo. Maiba naman."
Naligo na si Benjie at isinuot ang mga damit na pinili ni Venus para sa kaniya. He then went to his office, kung saan prenteng nakaupo si Venus sa kaniyang swivel chair.
"Get a chair and sit here beside me."utos ni Venus. Hindi naman nag-atubili si Benjie at sinunod ang dalaga.
Lesson 1: How to hack the CCTV and Security System, Tatlonghari-Viceral Style
Venus opened their laptops and showed him the view from all his CCTV cameras.
"I'll teach you how to use our gadgets to make sure noone catches us when we're in there."
Ipinasok ni Venus ang isang flashdrive sa laptop nila.
"Now, with this Shuriken, we'll get to disable all the CCTV cameras from afar. We'll just throw it towards one camera. Automatic na didikit ito doon at mabibigyan na tayo ng connection sa lahat ng camera.
Pero syempre, masyadong obvious kung magiging disfunctional lang ang cameras diba? We'll place a loop of footages sa monitors nila. All they'll are blank spaces. Kahit rumampa pa tayo, hindi nila tayo makikita." she explained. Inabot niya ang Shuriken kay Benjie to let him examine it.
"Throw it towards that CCTV camera."she pointed at the camera in the corner of the room.
"I'm not ruining my security system for this."
"Hindi naman masisira eh. After this, it'll all be back to normal. I promise."Venus even raised her right hand to prove to this.
"Sige. Sabi mo eh."Benjie aimed and threw the Shuriken to the camera.
It barely even made it.
Kulang nalang ay gumulong-gulong si Venus sa kakatawa.
"Ano yon?"natatawa nyang tanong sa binata. Inirapan lang naman sya ng huli.
"Here, try it again."she handed another Shuriken to him.
Benjie took a deep breath before throwing the Shuriken towards his target. He smiled as the Shuriken latched on the CCTV camera.
Hindi nagtagal ay lumabas na ang lahat ng kwartong may CCTV sa laptop ni Venus.
"Now, watch this closely."
Venus clicked and typed. Benjie was just watching her every move.
"And just like that, all the cameras are offline. Now, we instert the footage and...voila! Hindi na nila tayo mapapanood sa monitors nila."
In-undo ni Venus lahat ng ginawa niya at hinayaang si Benjie naman ang gumawa ng itinuro niya.
Venus was impressed by how good Benjie's memory is.
"It took me five tried to memorize all that. Paano mo natandaan lahat yon?"she asked.
"I liked memorizing stuff when I was a kid. Mahilig akong mag-laro ng mind games, mag-aral, and all that other stuff. Kaya siguro hanggang ngayon matalas pa rin kahit papaano yung isip ko." he shared.
"I used to wear glasses too. Pero noong nagsimula akong i-train ni Daddy na humawak ng rifle, he pushed me to wear contact lenses instead. Masyado daw kasing distracting kapag nakasalamin. Two years ago naman, nagpa-Lasik surgery ako kaya I have my 20-20 vision back." pagk-kwento pa niya.
"Wow. I can't imagine you used to be a nerd."
"Grabe ka naman sa nerd. Mahilig lang mag-basa."
"Venus, was that always your name?"tanong ni Benjie.
"No. I used to be Sandy Padilla. Panget ng pangalan ko 'no? Hindi bagay sakin,"
"Sandy. Mas bagay na nga sayo ngayon yung Venus. Pang-inosente masyado yung Sandy eh."
"Yep. That's why Papa M changed my name."
Silence filled the room until—
"So...the next part of our lesson is hacking the security system. All the alarms, PINs, we'll get to control all of them. Kahit yung mga napapanood mo sa TV na lasers? All of them we'll be under our command."
Venus opened another thing on her laptop.
"Let's go outside, we'll do it to your door."
Nang nasa labas na sila ng pinto, kinuha ni Venus ang isang screwdriver at binuksan ang keypad. She disconnected the red wire and cliped a gadget to it.
"Habang nasa mission tayo, one will go and do all these attaching and stuff while the one works on them on the laptop."she said.
Pinakita nya ulit kay Benjie ang gagawin, and like earlier he quickly memorized every detail.
"Sino sa atin ang tatrabaho sa loob at sino sa atin ang magkakalikot sa laptop?"tanong ni Benjie.
Binalik na nila sa dati lahat ng mga kinalikot nila at bumalik na rin sila sa loob ng opisina.
"I'll get in first. Kapag na-disable na natin lahat ng ito, susunod ka."
Tumango-tango naman si Benjie.
"Now, let's go have some breakfast before our next lesson, Mr. Viceral."
Ihinain ng mga katulong sa harap nilang dalawa ang pancakes at waffles na ni-request ni Benjie.
Benjie watched Venus as she ate their food. She likes putting alot of butter and syrup on them. She also likes eating the pancakes more than the waffles. For some reason, he was memorizing these few details about her.
"Stop staring, Viceral."
"I have a question."
"Of course. You always do."
"Have you ever had a boyfriend?"
Tinaasan naman siya ng kilay ng dalaga.
"Come on. Sa ganda mong yan? I'm sure you've had plenty."
"Nope. Wala pa."muling binalik ni Venus ang kaniyang atensyon sa kaniyang pagkain.
"Bakit, gusto mo bang mag-apply?"