A/N: The sixth day of the second wave of updates!
LORELEI
I FEEL bad when I make other people feel bad.
After walking out of the execom office, hindi na bumalik doon si Jamie. I understand her emotional outburst. She felt she wasn't trusted. She felt that she was betrayed. She felt that the world was keeping secrets from her.
Sounds familiar? Ganyan din kasi ang naramdaman ko sa confrontation namin sa hotel. She lied to me. Loki hid the truth from me. Nagmukha akong tanga. That's the source of my rage back then. Gusto kong sabunutan si Jamie. Gusto kong sampalin nang ilang beses sa mukha sa Loki. Mabuti't napigilan ko ang sarili ko. Like Jamie, I chose to get out of the room to cool my head.
Kaya I understand what she might be going through. Siya na ngayon ang nasa posisyon ko noon. While we didn't lie to her, we forgot to tell her what we knew.
To be fair, I myself can't trust Jamie a hundred percent. She lied to us before, she could lie to us again. But she'd been helpful in the past few weeks. She gave us a lead on where we could attack Augustus. Thanks to that information, we managed to drive the late editor into a corner and cut off one source of funding to M's organization.
That was a big deal kung tutuusin. Malaking dagok 'yon sa organisasyon ni M. Their operations would have been affected. With Augustus gone and the embezzlement scheme exposed, parang napilayan na ng isang binti ang trono na kinauupuan ni Stein.
If Jamie was loyal to them, would she really make that kind of risk?
I sincerely wanna believe that she wasn't lying when she said that her loyalty belongs to us. Mas transparent na siya ngayon. She's been sharing with us pieces of information na direkta mismo kay Stein. And they weren't lies or misdirection. How did I know? Luthor's statements supported hers.
Loki calling her a drama queen made the situation worse. He could have been slightly more sensitive about what Jamie might feel. In our defense, not telling them immediately about what we figured out wasn't a sign of mistrust.
From one angle, Jamie was only making a mountain out of a molehill, hence Loki's drama queen comment. From another angle, meron na kasing precedent. Alistair and I intentionally didn't tell her about the Loki-Luthor charade last Monday. Tapos dumadagdag pa ang "successor" clue ngayong Thursday.
Ang ending, nagkapatong ang dalawang issue kaya nakarating siya sa conclusion na hindi namin siya pinagkakatiwalaan.
After the confrontation at the hotel, the three of us agreed to an unspoken rule of being transparent to each other. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. That was never the case. I know some things that they don't. Loki probably knows some things that we don't. Jamie might also know more than what she lets on.
Kapag may pumutok na naman, siguradong magkakagulo kami. I hope that day doesn't come, even if it might be inevitable.
"Mukhang ang lalim ng iniisip mo, Lori?"
Napaangat ang aking tingin mula sa librong binabasa ko. I've been reading the same page over and over, but my mind couldn't absorb anything. Masyado na yata akong preoccupied sa case na iniimbestigahan namin at sa issue ni Jamie.
Rosetta was staring at me curiously, her eyes squinting. "Kanina mo pa binabasa ang page na 'yan."
Absent ang instructor sa World History subject ng afternoon period, but we were asked to read the history of monarchs of Spain. I was reading the part about Queen Isabella I of Castile. I found out that she's the inspiration for the figure of the queen in modern chess.
"Hindi ako makapag-concentrate sa pagbabasa," sagot ko sabay sara ng libro. "Masyadong maraming nangyayari sa paligid natin, parang hindi na ako makasabay."
"I don't mean to offend you, pero 'di ba dissolved na ang QED Club?" maingat na tanong ni Rosetta. Don't worry, I wasn't offended. Totoo naman kasi. "What else can make you busy?"
I showed her the metal pin on my collar, the proof of my affiliation with the executive committee. "You thought na panggugupit lang ng crepe paper ang ginagawa namin. But there's so much more."
"I see," Rosetta nodded. "Meron sana akong iko-consult sa 'yo, pero mukhang you have a lot on your plate already. Baka makadagdag lang ako sa iisipin mo."
Kumunot ang noo ko. "Go on, tell me. I might need a distraction right now."
"Sigurado ka?"
Tumango ako.
"Ganito kasi 'yan." Inayos ni Rosetta ang kanyang pagkakaupo at umanggulo sa direksyon ko. "Yesterday morning, I received an email from an anonymous person. He calls himself Tiberius Roman. I checked my socials, pero wala akong fina-follow na gano'n ang pangalan."
When she said the word "email," she got my full attention. "Ano'ng sabi niya?"
"He said na may alam daw siyang sikreto ko," pabulong na sagot ni Rosetta. Kinailangan ko pang mag-lean sa kanya para marinig siya nang malinaw. "He gave me 48 hours to confess my sin. Kung hindi, siya raw ang magbubunyag nito. Sounds creepy, right?"
I gulped. Malakas ang kutob ko na ang taong nag-email sa kanya ay ang switch ni Augustus. The sender's name gave it away. Tiberius. Roman. In Roman history, Tiberius was the second emperor who succeeded Augustus.
"I dismissed it as a bad joke kasi wala naman akong sikretong itinatago," Rosetta said confidently. "I don't have a video scandal or nude photos! Ano ang dapat kong ikatakot? Baka meron siyang picture ko na tumatawid sa maling tawiran. But can you seriously use that as a threat?"
I have no idea what secret Rosetta might be hiding, but her story revealed na isa-isang kinokontak ng switch ang mga taong may sikreto sa Augustus' box. He's giving them a heads up bago ang revelation bukas.
If that's the case, why haven't I received my threat email? Maybe Augustus didn't have time to save it in the box? So am I safe? I don't wanna be so sure. Baka may inihandang twist itong si Augustus para sa 'kin.
"At heto ang mas weird!" share ni Rosetta. "Some of my friends also received this email. And they're freaking out! Chill lang ako kasi wala akong tinatago, but my gals are worried. Feel ko may ginawa silang 'di maganda kaya natatakot sila. So I was wondering if you can find out who's behind these creepy emails?"
"Actually, we're on that case already," pabulong kong tugon. "May natanggap din kaming email, pero hindi galing sa isang Tiberius Roman, na nagbabantang ire-reveal ang mga sikreto ng ilang tao rito sa Clark High."
Napatakip ng kanyang bibig si Rosetta, bahagyang nanlaki ang mga mata. "So you mean, this threat is legit? My God, ano kayang hawak niya laban sa akin?"
"We can say that it's sort of legit that's why we can't easily dismiss it as a prank," sagot ko bago lumingon sa aking likuran. "Al!"
Ayaw ko sanang istorbohin si Alistair mula sa pagbabasa, but he might have some idea on what we can do. I gave him a nod and he closed the book he was reading. Lumapit siya sa aming dalawa ni Rosetta.
"What's up?" tanong niya. "Is something wrong?"
"Rosetta here received a threatening email from someone named Tiberius Roman," I said, jerking my thumb toward my seatmate. "I believe na related 'to sa dead man's switch case natin."
"Dead man's switch?" Rosetta repeated, looking at me then at my childhood friend.
"At meron pang ibang naka-receive ng email individually," dagdag ko. "So the switch is communicating via email to his targets."
Rosetta looked confused. "Sorry, I don't understand what's goin—"
Napahawak sa kanyang chin si Alistair at napatingin pababa, tila nag-iisip nang malalim. His eyes slightly widened, probably an idea popped into him. "Loki has a friend who's a tech genius, right? The name's Hershey, I think?"
I nodded. Hindi ko lang sure kung "friend" ba ang turing ni Loki kay Hershey. What I know is that he's one of his so-called Irregulars. "Are you thinking of tracing the IP address and the location of the email sender?"
"There's a chance na ima-mask niya ang kanyang IP address, but we can still try," Alistair nodded. "Maybe the switch isn't as smart as Augustus."
If he's as smart as the late editor, we're doomed. Augustus was a formidable opponent. We needed to fool everyone in the campus just to outsmart him.
"Rosie, may copy ka pa ba ng email?" tanong ko sa aking seatmate.
Rosetta happily nodded. "Yup! Gusto n'yo ba ng access para mabasa n'yo? I can give you my school email address and password. Wala naman kayong makikitang confidential message doon."
"That will be a great help, Rosie!" tugon ko. She texted me her account credentials and wished us good luck on our search for the creepy email sender.
Pagkatapos ng afternoon period namin, muli kaming nag-meet sa execom office. I'm excited because we might have an additional lead, but at the same time, concerned if Jamie's already okay.
Pagkarating namin ni Alistair sa office, nadatnan naming nandoon na si Jamie. Siya lang mag-isa, nagbabasa ng magazine. Wala pa ang Loki dear niya.
"Good afternoon," bati ko bago umupo sa tabi niya. She normally replies to my greeting, but she might not be in the mood yet. Ako nga noon, I had to sleep para ma-clear ang mga bumabagabag sa isip ko. Maybe tomorrow she'd feel better. Maybe not.
Nagkaroon ng awkward silence sa room. The three of us pretended that we're busy with our own businesses. Nagbabasa ng magazine si Jamie, nagbabasa ng notes si Alistair habang ako'y nagbo-browse sa aking phone. Puro buntong-hininga at tunog ng aircon ang naririnig namin.
"Jamie," Alistair broke the silence. He put down his notebook. Hindi na siguro niya natiis ang awkwardness sa office. Honestly, the silence was deafening and uncomforting.
Jamie continued on flipping through the pages of the magazine na parang wala siyang narinig. She was pretending na wala kami rito sa kuwarto.
"I'm sorry for not telling you about the plan last Monday," my childhood friend went on kahit na tila walang pakialam ang kanyang kausap. "It was my decision not to inform you."
Nagawi ang tingin ko kay Alistair. Why was he taking full responsibility himself?
"Your decision?" Sa wakas, tumigil na si Jamie sa paglipat ng page at iniangat ang kanyang tingin sa kasama namin.
Alistair nodded. "Lorelei asked me kung dapat ba naming sabihin sa 'yo at kay Maggie. She wanted to make sure na aware kayo sa plano. But I dismissed her concern. I reasoned na kailangang authentic ang reaksyon mo kaya mas mabuting hindi namin sabihin sa 'yo."
Yeah, I remembered asking him kung sasabihin din ba namin ang plano kina Jamie at Maggie. But I can't help myself but share the blame. "I should have insisted on the idea of telling you. Kinabahan ako sa desisyon naming huwag sabihin sa 'yo, dahil inisip ko na baka may maging effect 'yon. Mukhang meron nga. I'm also sorry about it."
Maintaining a straight face, Jamie kept staring at me, then at Alistair. Hindi namin nilubayan ang kanyang titig. We could argue na pinapalaki niya ang isang maliit na isyu, pero mas lalala ang sitwasyon kung gano'n. And we also felt genuinely sorry kaya naisip kong ang pahingi ng tawad ang pinakamainam na paraan upang plantsahin ang gusot.
"Naman!" Napabuntong-hininga si Jamie at napakamot ng ulo. "Ang hirap um-acting na wala akong pake sa mga sinasabi n'yo. Parang nasu-suffocate na ako rito. Yie!"
"Napaka-awk—"
The door creaked open, interrupting our conversation. Kakarating lang ni Loki na pakusot-kusot ng kanyang mga mata. I could tell that he slept all throughout his classes. Napapahikab pa nga siya.
"What's with the intense aura?" he asked, dragging a chair and sitting on it. "Are you in the middle of a serious discussion? Do you need me to give you the room?"
Tatayo na sana siya pero hinala ko pababa ang kanyang kanang sleeve. "Sit down."
He silently obeyed and slid back to his chair. Ilang segundo ko rin siyang tinitigan bago niya sagutin ang aking tingin. His eyebrows knitted as he stared at me, confused on why I was giving him the look. Ngumuso ako sa direksyon ni Jamie. Hindi niya agad na-gets kung bakit kaya kinailangan ko pa siyang bigyan ng isang nagbabantang tingin.
"So this is the part where I say—"
"Yes!" I cut his words short, then whispered, "Just say it."
Huminga muna siya nang malalim at sandaling ipinikit ang kanyang mga mata. Pagmulat ng mga ito, humarap siya sa babaeng katabi ko. "Jamie, I'm sorry for calling you a drama queen earlier. That was rude of me. Maybe I got carried away by my conversation with Stein, but that was not an excuse. I was inconsiderate of your feelings. I didn't mean to invalidate your emotions."
Napayuko si Jamie at napapikit.
"Do not think for a moment that we do not trust you," Loki continued as Jamie opened her eyes and looked at him intently. "Yes, we may still have some lingering doubts, but our trust in you outweighs our reservation."
We can't easily erase our doubts on someone, can we? Ang pagdududa ay parang pagtanggal ng mantsa. Nangangailangan ng oras at effort para mabura ang dumi. Hindi pwedeng sa isang pitik lang ng mga daliri natin, mawawala na ang duda natin sa mga tao.
"Here's how you can be certain that we really trust you: You're still here. With us," Loki said, shooting sideward glances at me and Alistair. "If we don't trust you, we would have kicked you out of this office because letting you stay poses a risk, given your affiliation with them. We may not tell you or anyone here of what we know immediately, but don't take that as a sign that we don't trust you. We only need to find the right time to tell you. Still I—or we—apologize for what happened."
"When you put it that way, how can I not forgive my Loki dear?" Napapunas ng kanyang nangingilid na luha si Jamie, muntikan na yatang maiyak sa mga narinig niya. "Honestly, talagang nainis ako sa inyong tatlo. Pinaramdam n'yo kasi sa akin na parang 'di ako katiwa-tiwala. Na okay lang sa inyo na ma-left out ako. Na parang 'di ako belong."
Even if we have doubts in her, the best thing we can do as her friends was to trust her. But not too much.
"Gusto ko ring mag-sorry," Jamie sniffled, wiping her nose. "Nadala rin ako ng emosyon ko kanina. Sorry, tao lang! I accused you three na hindi n'yo ako pinagkakatiwalaan, then na-realize ko na parang napaka-ipokrita ko. Para kasing 'di ko rin kayo pinagkatiwalaan. Inisip ko lang na porke't 'di n'yo ako agad sinabihan, wala na kayong tiwala sa akin. That shouldn't have been the basis of trust. Very wrong. I should have trusted you and waited for the right time na sabihin n'yo sa 'kin. Kasi alam kong may reason kung bakit n'yo nagawa 'yon."
Ramdam ko 'yong mga huling sinabi niya. 'Yon din ang realization ko matapos ang confrontation namin sa hotel. Na may reason kung bakit hindi basta-basta sinasabi sa amin ang mga bagay na dapat naming malaman. Loki said it himself last weekend na kung may itinatago ako sa kanya, maiintindihan niya. Dahil alam niya raw na may mabigat na dahilan kung bakit ko gagawin 'yon. And he's right.
Nakahinga na tuloy ako nang maluwag. Sana'y magsilbing learning experience itong mini-debate namin tungkol sa trust. We can't afford to be divided, lalo't may pressing case kami na dapat imbestigahan. We should be focused.
"So!" Jamie clapped her hands. Pinilit niyang ngumiti kahit medyo namumugto pa ang mga mata niya. Mabuti't hindi natuluyan ang pagluha niya. I know that she's a good actress and she may be faking it. But there's something in her that told me it's real. "Any chance of a group hug? Come on, guys! Minsan lang 'to!"
Tumayo si Jamie at naglakad patungo sa kinauupuan namin. Kaso bigla siyang natapilok sa paa ng kanyang upuan at napadapa sa sahig. I rushed to her side and pulled her up carefully. Tinanong ko kung okay lang siya. Hindi naman daw masakit.
Tumayo na rin sina Loki at Alistair saka lumapit sa amin. We huddled together in front of the round table. I could say Loki wasn't used to group hugs dahil hindi niya alam kung saan ilalagay ang mga kamay niya.
"Shall we get back to work?" nakangiting sabi ni Jamie. She must be feeling better now. I hope so. "May mas importante pa tayong gagawin kaysa sa drama ko."
At least, naayos na agad namin bago pa lumala. If she kept her feelings to herself, baka mas grabe pa ang naging reaksyon niya kapag may dumagdag pa. We needed to put out the fire before it spreads. That, we did.
"Tapos na ba ang open forum n'yo?"
Parang kabute kung sumulpot si Maggie sa may pintuan. Nakakrus ang kanyang mga braso at may hawak-hawak na folder sa kanang kamay. "Geez. Dito pa talaga sa execom office n'yo ginawa ang heart-to-heart talk n'yo. But that's okay. Now you can focus on our task."
"Did you hear...?" tanong ko.
Maggie nodded as she walked her way to her seat. She slapped the folder on the round table. "I thought of interrupting you, but when I heard Loki delivering a heartfelt explanation, I decided to listen. We would have kicked you out of this office because letting you stay poses a risk, given your affiliation with them. May I know who you are referring to as them?"
Uh-oh. We already solved a problem, but it seemed that we created another one. Maggie had no idea that Jamie is part of M's organization. We decided to keep that information among ourselves to not complicate matters.
I grunted mentally. Bakit ba kasi ganito ang sitwasyon? Ang dami naming pinaglilihiman.
"Please don't repeat my words," Loki muttered, looking down. Mukhang nahihiya siya na may mag-quote sa mga sinabi niya.
"I don't know what you four are hiding from me," Maggie said, reclining to her seat. "But if you also trust me, sasabihin n'yo rin sa akin sa tamang panahon, tama?"
We replied with what looked like a nod.
"And now's not the right timing, I guess?" she went on.
Again, we replied with what looked like a nod.
"I agree, because right now, we need to track down the switch." Maggie pushed the folder to my side. "We only have sixteen hours left before the secrets get leaked. We need to act fast."
"Maybe we can try to trace the IP address of the person who sent emails to the targets," Alistair suggesting, looking at me sideways. "One of our classmates, Rosetta, claimed that she received an email from a man named Tiberius Roman."
"Can Hershey accommodate our request?" tanong ko kay Loki.
"I've already commissioned his services," he answered. "This afternoon, I asked him to track down where the late Augustus—may he rest in anything but peace—sent his email to the student council and the execom. I gave him the log-in credentials of the execom. I hope that's okay with you, madam chair?"
"What?!" kumunot ang noo ni Maggie. "Paano mo nalaman ang log-in details ng execom? And why didn't you consult me first? May mga confidential email doon na hindi pwedeng makita ng iba, lalo na ng isang outsider."
"You said it yourself," Loki replied. "We don't have much time so we need to act fast. What's more important is that Herschel will try to track down the IP address of the late Augustus Moran's email account."
"Baka pwede mo ring ipadagdag 'yong pag-track down kay Tiberius Roman?" I asked him. "Rosetta gave us her log-in details. I can send it to you then you can forward it to Hershey."
Loki gave me a thumbs up. Natuon ang kanyang tingin sa folder na ipina-slide ni Maggie sa direksyon namin. "What's in this folder?"
"Details about our three suspects," Maggie answered. "Rye confirmed from the campus police that Arturo Miguel is still detained in the city jail. Wala rin siyang access sa kahit anong device magmula nang makulong siya."
So he didn't have the means to send the threatening emails to the students.
"He's off the list then," Jamie muttered, to which I agreed. "There's no way he could have sent the email to Rosetta while in prison. One down!"
"How about Sir Friedrich?" Alistair asked. "Can we cross him off our suspect list?"
"Sir Rich has worked as a book editor at a major publishing company in Manila," Maggie answered, folding her arms. "Nag-transfer siya rito sa Pampanga four weeks ago. For some reason, he decided to change his career. From an editor to a senior high school teacher."
"If he's the switch, maybe he had prior communication with Augustus before he transfered here?" tanong ni Alistair. Talagang malakas ang kutob niyang hindi katiwa-tiwala ang bagong adviser ng Clarion. I can't blame him though. His gut feeling must be telling him to dig deeper.
"Naisip ko rin 'yan," Maggie nodded. "But he didn't visit Pampanga in the last seven years. He's been busy in Manila. Mukhang malabong nagkaroon na siya ng contact kay Augustus during those years."
"How about those journalistic press conferences?" Alistair asked next. "Sir Friedrich has some experience in the publishing industry. Baka may kumuhang speaker sa kanya sa isa sa mga contest na sinalihan ni Augustus at doon sila nagkakilala?"
Maggie shook her head. "Sir Rich has never been involved in press conferences, he said. I also thought of looking at that angle so I did a quick search on the speakers invited to the competitions for the last three years. His name wasn't there."
"So that leaves the former adviser, Sir Ephraim?" sabi ni Jamie bago tumingin sa amin. "He's the most suspicious among the three."
"Sir Ephraim has been out of work since he recovered from the accident," paliwanag ni Maggie. "He's focused on getting better. May isang faculty member ngang nakakita sa kanya na nasa isang private rehab center. Mukhang nagpapa-physical therapy siya para sa kanyang leg injury. Do you think he can pull off this stunt in his condition?"
"Sherlock once said that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains however improbable, must be the truth," Loki recounted. "We can't eliminate him as a suspect for the sole reason of him getting injured. If he lost his arms, that will make him less likely to be a suspect."
Binuksan ko ang folder at mabilisang binasa ang files ng dalawang adviser ng Clarion. Nandoon na ang mga relevant information—mula sa buong pangalan, birthdate, place of birth, blood type, permanent at present address.
"If Hershey can successfully track down the IP address and the geolocation, we can compare it with their present addresses, right?" tanong ko kay Loki matapos mabasa ang address nina Sir Rich at Sir Ephraim.
Loki nodded. "Whoever's nearest to the tracked geolocation is our switch. I should be hearing from Herschel in a bit."
Hiningi ni Alistair ang folder at binasa rin ang mga nakasaad doon. "It might only take fifteen to twenty minutes para makarating sa residence nila. I can drive us there later."
"Wait, you already have a plan on how to deal with the switch?" tanong ni Maggie.
"We plan to sneak into the residence of our most likely suspect..." Loki went on explaining his plan to our chairwoman.
Nagawi ang tingin ko sa aking kanan. Mukhang may hinahanap si Jamie. She's been checking the space underneath the magazine.
"Where's my phone?" I heard her mutter. "Nandito lang 'yon kanina, ah?"
Napatingin ako sa ilalim ng round table. Nadapa siya kanina kaya baka nahulog ang phone niya rito. And I was correct. I saw a black rectangular object below.
"Heto yata?" Yumuko ako sa ilalim ng mesa at pinilit na abutin ang phone. Nang mahawakan ko na, biglang nagliwanag ang screen nito. Napindot ko yata 'yong power button.
I was about to press the button again when I saw something that, maybe, I shouldn't have. My eyes widened at the sight of the screen. Mabuti't nakayuko ako sa ilalim ng mesa. No one would see my surprised reaction.
There on the phone screen, I saw the name of Stein Alberts on the notifications.
And the message? They were strange symbols, but the young mastermind wouldn't send a senseless message.
ΔεστρωιΤηεΒωχ
"Nakita mo na, Lori?"
I quickly pressed the power button para magdilim ulit ang screen. Umayos na ako ng upo at iniabot ang kanyang phone.
"Here," I said, smiling at her.
She pressed the power button and slowly lifted her gaze at me.
"Thanks, Lori," Jamie said, smiling back at me.
q.e.d.
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