Chapter 58: Apollo

Tinahak ko ang pamilyar na daan sa likurang bahagi ng Bridle. I've been here kanina nang hinatid ko si Zywon palabas. This small hole here comes in handy at times. Nang makalabas ako doon ay agad akong pumara at nagpahatid sa direksyon na nasa isip ko.

I cannot believe that I am standing in front of this huge gate again. Hindi ko na kailangan pang magpakilala sa gwardiya dahil kusa niya iyong binuksan. He must have known me as the youngest Vander dahil nakayukong binati pa niya ako.

Habang tinatahak ang malawak na bakuran ay hindi ko alam kung paano ko sasabihin ang pabor ko sa taong iyon. He's not really that friendly kahit noong inakala namin na magkapatid kami. Bahala na, kung kailangan ko siyang takutin, I will.

Bahagya akong napakislot nang maramdaman ko ang mahinang pagbusina ng sasakyan sa likuran ko. I saw Red with his sunglasses on and he looks like a living model of a glossy magazine habang sakay siya ng convertible na kotse. He stopped the car at tinawag ako.

"Hey Amber, what a surprise", he said at ngumiti nang matamis. His skin was properly sun-kissed and it made me wonder if he made some efforts to achieve such skin.

"Red, is Ryu around?", tanong ko sa kanya. Call me rude for not returning his greetings to me. Sa ngayon ay wala akong panahon para makipagbatian. Gusto ko ngang sapakin ang sarili ko dahil nagkaroon pa ako ng panahong purihin ang morenong balat nito.

He opened the door for me. "Yup. Hop in."

One of the traits of a reaper. Good sense of feeling. He may have felt that I have to see Ryu urgently kaya hindi na ito nagkaroon pa ng maraming tanong. I am thankful that he arrived too since malayo-layo pa ang mansyon sa malawak na bakuran. Nang makasakay ako ay agad niyang pinatakbo ang kotse papunta sa mansion. Maging sa pagbaba ay hindi na siya nagkaroon pa ng maraming tanong.

"I guess you already know where to find him", wika niya pagbaba ko. Bahagya siyang nakasandal sa kotse at nakatingin sa akin.

"Yeah. Thanks Red", sagot ko sa kanya at nagmamadaling pumasok ngunit muli itong nagsalita.

"Oh, by the way, he's not being friendly lately— I mean he's not really friendly but it has gotten worse."

"Anong ibig mong sabihin?"

He let out a sexy. "Let's put it this way. How do you see him?"

"Uh.. A devil?" Yeah, that's Ryu.

"Hmm. Good choice. Yeah, he's like that but he became worse. He's not approachable these past weeks you know", banta ni Red sa akin. Ryu's evilness has gotten worse? May mas ikakasama pa pala ito?

Nagpasalamat na ako kay Red at tinahak ang mahabang hagdan. I've been in his room dahil minsan na akong humingi ng tulong kay Ryu. It was during the time that I asked him to hack Dad's cards. Nang makarating ako sa pamilyar na pinto ay hindi na ako nag-abala pang kumatok at nagtuloy-tuloy sa pagpasok which I regretted so much.

He was only wearing his BOXER SHORTS!

"Shit!", parehas naming wika. Tumalikod ako sa kanya while he grabbed the pillow on the bed. Not that it's my first time to see someone wearing boxer shorts. It's just— ahhh basta!

"Magbihis ka nga Ryu! Ba't ka ba nakahubad, kita mo ngang may tao!", I hissed habang nakatalikod. I can hear a door being opened and I'm positive that it's his cabinet.

"What the fuck Amber?! And who told you to barge into my room without even knocking?!", inis na wika din nito. His voice roared like a thunder inside his room. Oh, so this is what Red is talking about.

Nang maramdaman kong tila hindi na ito gumagalaw ay hinarap ko ito. He's now in his shirt and shorts.

"I need your help."

"What made you think that I will help you?", he asked. And yeah, there goes again his annoying smirk.

"You will." It's a statement. I am positive that he will help me.

"Dream on. You may now leave. Can't you see I'm busy?"

Not because he's back to the old Ryu, the evil, bipolar at may topak na lalaki, doesn't mean I'm back to the old Amber too who often freeze by the mere sight of him.

"I don't see a guy in his boxer shorts busy here a while ago."

"I have a lot of things to do.".

"Pwede ba Ryu! Tulungan mo ako! Ikaw lang ang nakakatulong dito. You will benefit in this too, it's about the organization—"

"Hindi ako ang makikinabang dyan. It's the mafia", putol niya sa akin. The bored look on his face is still there na tila ba sinasabing wala siya sa mood na makipag-usap sa akin.

"Ryu this is really important! Alam na nila ang tungkol kay Daddy. And they also started to market the drugs–"

"And what are you gonna do? Save the world? Geez, you're not a hero Amber and don't act like one", wika niya which heats up my anger.

I am doing this not because I am trying to be a sick hero, I am doing this for the people around me. Napapahamak sila at posibleng marami pa ang pwede pang mapahamak. Kung hahayaan ko lang naman palang marami na namang buhay ang mawala, what difference does it make me from them?

"Ryu kailangan ko talaga ng tulong mo. I am willing to do everything for you, just help me with this", wika ko sa kanya. Di bale ng masyado na akong naging desperado. And I wanna take back everything I said when Ryu's smirked was replaced with a naughty grin.

"Lahat?", he asked and took a step towards me. Umatras naman ako and I don't know if what I'm thinking is right but is he thinking about uhhh....

"Say something Amber. I'm asking if you really mean what you said", wika niya at nagpatuloy sa paghakbang palapit sa akin while I took few steps backward until I felt the door behind me.

Damn!

"Ahhh.. A-ano kasi...." Think Amber! Think!

He put his arms on my side, completely trapping me in. Oh no! What if he wanna offer his help in exchange of me becoming one of his bitches?! What the hell? Saan nga ba nila madalas na ginagawa iyon gaya ng sabi ni Ryu dati? Sa banyo? Sa kotse? Basta I'm positive that it's not in his room.

"A-ano kasi..."

Just then, someone opened the door in full force making me flew into Ryu's arms. Napasubsob ako sa dibdib niya and he supported me by putting his arms around me. Sabay kaming napalingon sa nagbukas ng pinto and there I saw the raging Mnemosyne.

Nanlaki ang mga mata nito nang makita ang pwesto namin ni Ryu. We looked like a couple sweetly cuddling with each other.

Yuck.

I wanna puke on the word Couple.

And Eww.

Ewww for the phrase cuddling with each other.

"What are you two doing?!", she asked with wide eyes. Tumaas ang isang kilay niya at tila naging hudyat iyon upang lumayo kami ni Ryu sa isa't-isa.

"What the hell are you doing here Mnemosyne? Hindi na ba uso sa inyo ang pagkatok?!", galit na tanong ni Ryu but his anger cannot compensate Mnemosyne's anger. Iniisip ba niyang...

"It's not what you think Mnemosyne!", I shrieked. God, kasalanan niya kung bakit ganoon ang eksenang naabutan niya. Siya ang nagbukas ng pinto diba?

"What are you now, a psychic? Bakit alam mo ba ang iniisip ko?", she asked rudely. Uh, the reaper's mad.

"Leave us alone Mnemosyne", wika ni Ryu. Tila naman nahimasmasan ito nang marinig ang galit na boses ng boss nito. After all, she's just a reaper.

"Fine." She said and glared at me.

"Look Mnemosyne. Hindi sabi gaya ng iniisip mo—"

"I hate you from now", she said. She used to be the bubbly reaper that I know but now she's really mad.

"That much, huh?"

"Yeah. From this day on, I hate you so much. If I will be inside a room with a gun loaded with two bullets and I'm with you, the boss of  a rival mafia and a world terrorist, I will shoot you twice", she said at napasimangot ako.

"That's scary."

"Yeah. But nevermind", she said at ngumiti. Bahagya siyang lumapit sa akin at bumulong. "I know you're into another Vander."

Lumabas siya ng silid at isinara ang pinto. Humarap naman ako kay Ryu. Thank God, he's gonna help me—

"And you, maaari ka na ring umalis", he said.

What the hell?! "What? I thought you're going to help me?!"

"Says who?"

Umakyat lahat ng dugo ko sa ulo. He's just wasting my time. If he would just say yes, edi kanina pa kami natapos. I looked around the room looking for possible thing that would compel him to help me. Napansin ko ang isang maliit at itim na bagay sa mesa. I run towards it, picked it up at itinutok iyon sa kanya.

"You will help me or else I will shoot you."

Hindi man lamang ito nagpakita ng ano mang reaksyon na natakot ito sa ginawa ko. Geez! Why smirk when you're facing a gun?

"Ah, so gone was your fear", komento niya. Yup, I used to fear guns ngunit sa ilang beses ba naman akong makipagbatian sa baril, hindi pa ba ako masasanay? It's just like watching a horror movie, you may be scared the first time you watch it ngunit kapag ilang beses na, you'll be used to it.

"YOU WILL HELP ME."

"Like I'm scared of it."

Arrhgh! Devil! Could he atleast act like he is scared?

"Fine! Ayaw mo ah!"  I reached for the glass of water, binasag iyon and picked up a broken piece and cut my arm. I winced in pain as the blood stared to flow into my arm. He waited for me to shoot but I didn't. Sa halip ay itinutok ko ang baril sa sarili ko. My blood was flowing on my arm. He just look at me, puzzled.

"What now? Pagkatapos mong sugatan ang sarili mo, You're gonna shoot yourself? Go ahead."

Hindi ko siya pinansin at inilabas ang cellphone ko. I dialled a number and turned the loud speaker nang may sumagot.

"Mommy..."

Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Ryu nang mahimigang tila umiiyak ang boses ko even if I wasn't crying. Yeah, I just remembered that I'm a member of the drama and theatre club. Why not use my talent?

"Amber? Are you crying? Nasan ka? Anong nangyari?", Mom sounded so worried. I'm sure na nag-aalala na siya ngayon. She's at the Morisson Mansion right now kaya hindi niya malalaman kung ano talaga ang nangyari.

"Mom... Ryu cut my arm..."

"What the hell Amber!", Ryu said at nagtangkang agawin ang cellphone sa akin ngunit agad akong nakaiwas.

"Si Ryu? Bakit?"

"Hindi ko alam Mom. Right now he's pointing a gun at me—"

"Amber! Stop badmouthing me to my Mom—"

"Aaaaah! Ahh, It hurts! Mommy", I put on my best performance.

"Fine! I'll help you, you little witch!", Ryu declared and I let out a smile of victory.

"Amber? Nasaan kayo?", puno ng pag-aalalang wika ni Mommy.

"Nasa dorm lang ako Mom. I'm practicing my script right now, sorry for using Ryu's name as the bad guy!", sinadya kong siglahan ang boses ko.

She let out a sigh. "Akala ko naman kung ano na ang nangyari. I know my son will not do it. Napakabait niya."

"Yes Mom, he's a good guy because he will help me", wika ko at sinadyang nakasimangot na nakatingin kay Ryu. "I have to hang up now, Mom. Bye, I love you."

"I love you too Sweetie."

Pinatay ko ang tawag at hinarap si Ryu. "So, shall we start?"

He frowned at me bago pumasok sa banyo. When he got out, he tossed a small box to me. Mabuti na lang at mabilis ang reflexes ko at agad na nasalo iyon.

"Treat your wound as I set up my computer", he said.

Ah, so this is a first aid kit huh. When he started turning his computer on, sinimulan ko na ring linisin ang sugat ko. Tsk, it was a big cut and it won't stop bleeding. Ano nga ba ang nakain ko bakit ko sinugatan ang sarili ko?

I dressed my wound at naupo sa tabi ni Ryu na nakaharap na sa computer.

"Now what do you want me to do?", he asked.

"Andi said that the organization started to market the drugs. They've got the GenesisAnonymous.Org as site. Can you trace any email accounts that could lead us towards Brain?"

Nagsimula na siyang tumipa sa keyboard and I just watched him. He searched for it at napakaraming lumabas sa search string. He swiftly moved his fingers on the keyboard with expertise and I wonder how his life as computer genius is like.

I'm not really good with computers kaya humahanga ako kay Ryu.

"Bakit ang tagal? Mahina ba ang internet connection?", I asked impatiently.

"You can help if you would shut your mouth. I'm keeping my search anonymous by making all the traffic I send on the Internet jump through so many servers. It'll take longer to load a website than it would with a normal search."

Nagsimula ulit siyang magtipa while I waited patiently. Ilang saglit lamang ay may pinindot na ito at napasandal sa swivel chair.

"This is what I've got. Not so helpful though."

I looked at the screen at lumabas doon ang isang email address which is used to send multiple emails to different email address.

"Not helpful? You just traced their transactions!", I said. Whoah, impresive.

"It's not like that. This is an anonymous server. It's popular to internet users who wanted to keep their identities confidential. Hindi rin natin magagamit ang iba pang address na nandito since most of them used disposable emails, HMAs and maillanator", he said.

Napasimangot ako sa sinabi niya at tila nawalan ng pag-asa. "So we cannot do anything?"

"I'll keep on trying", he said at nagsimula ulit na tumipa sa keyboard. "Susubukan kong hanapin ang tamang email and snoop on the files."

He did run a thorough search but end up frustrated. "I tried but none is helpful. This email is encrypted with PGP, IDEA and the others with hushmail. They used algorithms."

"Wala na bang iba pang pwedeng magamit natin upang makakalap ng impormasyon?"

"There are a lot but still, it's an anonymous server. What if it's a decoy?", he asked.

A decoy? Andi heard it from the man who got her kaya imposibleng hindi iyon totoo. If they used anonymous servers, I'm sure Ryu can find a way. "I'm sure it's not. Wala ka na bang ibang magagawa?"

He smirked at me. Alam kong labag pa rin sa loob niya ang pagtulong sa akin. He really became a beast these past days gaya ng sabi ni Red.

"I'll try snooping the secured database of the anonymous server that they are using", sagot niya. "Trojan must have handled this. Look how secure it is."

"Is it hard to decrypt?"

He nodded. "Yup. They used ASIC."

Napasimangot ako sa kanya. "I have no idea what ASIC means."

"Application Specific Integrated Circuits, it's a specialized hardware designed for encryption and decryption. It can test 200 million keys per second."

"Pretty useful. How long does it takes people to hack it?", I asked.

"Hmmm let's see. A regular person can hack it for 38 years."

"What the hell?!"

"What? Since privacy crashed, people developed something to maintain anonymity or atleast something that takes time to decrypt. You shouldn't be surprised", wika niya sa akin. Uh, I guess the site and the emails that we got is not really that helpful.

Mawawalan na sana ako ng pag-asa but then I remembered something. "But you're not a regular person!"

"And?"

"You're Apollo. I'm sure it won't take you 38 years", sabi ko sa kanya. Kumunot ang noo nito dahil doon.

"You're saying I'm not just a regular person?", he asked with a smirk. Hello? Kasasabi ko lang diba?

"Exactly!"

Lumawak ang ngiti nito. A sexy lopsided smile. "So you see Apollo not as a regular person, huh? But a computer prodigy—"

I cut him off. "I was going to say devil. You're not a regular person because you're a devil."

Nawala ang ngiti sa labi nito at napalitan ng smirk. He rose from his sit at akmang aalis. "Hack it yourself. I am not helping you anymore." Naupo siya sa kama at sumandal doon. He lazily put his arms on his head and dismissed me.

"Hey! Hindi ka pa sanay na tawagin kang devil? Ipagpatuloy mo na ang ginawa mo! We're almost there. Just a few clicks and we'll find out who's behind these."

"I'm not helping you anymore."

"You leave me with no choice again!", I hissed at may kinuha sa bulsa ko. If I have to blackmail him again, then I would. Muli kong kinapa lahat ng bulsa ko but I cannot find my phone.

"Looking for this?", he asked and raised his hand holding my phone. "You can't call Mom again."

"Akin na yan!"

"No way."

"That's my phone kaya akin na yan!"

"Uh-oh. That's if you'll be good to me and follow everything I say, then you can have your phone back", wika niya. Shit, why did the tables turn? I'm in control of everything kanina, right?

I picked up the gun and aimed it to him. Gaya kanina ay hindi pa rin ito nakitaan ng anumang takot dahil sa ginawa kong panunutok ng baril. Tumayo siya sa kama at dahan-dahang lumapit sa akin.

"Don't come near me or else I'll shoot you!", banta ko sa kanya ngunit nagpatuloy lamang ito. "Sabi ng wag kang lalapit!"

"You can't shoot me."

"I can! Hindi porket takot ako sa baril dati ay hindi na kita kayang barilin. Thanks for telling me not to hold a gun if I can't pull the trigger", wika ko sa kanya.

"I told you, you cannot shoot me."

"Kaya ko sabi!"

"You can't! Tanga ka ba? How can you shoot me when there's no bullet in it?", wika niya. Nang tuluyan siyang makalapit sa akin at may pinindot siya sa baril. Something was removed and there's really no bullets.

"See?", he said with a smirk. Napalunok ako ng ilang beses at muling nag-isip ng paraan upang matulungan niya ako ngunit naupo na siya ulit sa harap ng computer.

"You're loud and annoying. Let's get this through", he said and faced the computer again. Thank goodness. I don't have to wound myself again. And oh, please remind me to punch him later for calling me "Tanga."

Pinabayaan ko na lamang siya sa ginagawa niya and after a few minutes ay nagsalita ito.

"The mail to this address is suspicious", he said. "It's encrypted."

The email that he pointed was a file with the name Stx2. "That's what they are marketing. Their product", komento ko.

"Yup. Encryption is not just a useful tool for spies and hackers and others who wants to remain private. It's also an asset to the business."

"Can you open it?"

"This is a symmetric encryption. It's easy to make a mathematical function to the plain-text and convert it to an encrypted cipher but they've got Trojan who ensures that no one can decipher it. And that's a harder part, to ensure that no one can decipher it unless authorized", Ryu said.

Geez, mathematical encryptions and algorithms. I wanna curse Julius Caesar for the early introduction of encryption, this is giving me a hard time with codes and ciphers.

"Even if I use brute-force. I think it will take time", wika niya sa akin. "This isn't just an encrypted algorithm, there's shifting decrypted cleartext."

"Uh, I think I'm about to have a headache. Make it simple for me please", wika ko. PGP. IDEA. ASIC. Encrypted algorithms. Decrypted cleartext. Meh, I don't get a thing.

"Let's put it this way. Let's wait for a miracle and give me time to do this", wika niya. I looked at him intently and I am positive that he can do it.

"Okay. I will entrust you everything", wika ko. He tossed my phone to me at natarantang sinalo ko naman iyon. God! It almost hit my face and if it did, baka masapak ko pa ito.

"You may now leave. I'll call you as soon as I figure this out. I prefer to work alone", he said and opened the door for me.

"Tsk. Aalis naman talaga ako! You don't have to sue me away."

He gave me his last smirk before he closed the door. Agad naman akong lumabas doon, not minding the maids that keep on greeting me. Pagdating ko sa baba ay nandoon sina Red at Mnemosyne. Mmemosyne is still frowning at me and she's giving me killer glares.

"What?", I asked her.

"Nothing", she said. "I just wanna know if you need a ride."

Right now, I really need it but if Mnemosyne will drive, errr— I won't be seeing the world for sure.

"Yeah, I badly need one but I'd like to decline your offer and ask Red to drive for me instead", wika ko sa kanya.

"Sure thing", Red said at tumayo. Sumunod naman ako sa kanya at ganon din si Mnemosyne. She sat in front at sumakay naman ako sa likuran. Kasalukuyan ng binabagtas ng kotse ang daan nang nagvibrate ang cellphone ko. Agad ko iyong tiningnan and checked the message. I almost froze when I read the message with a familiar format.

It reads:

I'm amazed that you've able to crack the first one. How about this numbers placed here given the clue 3x9.

2x2(1)—1x2(3)—1x1(1)—1x2(2)—2x3(1)
1x3(3)—3x1(1)
2x2(2)—1x2(2)—3x3(2)—3x2(1)

—Brain

Then it was really Brain who's behind all of these. I have to stop him from doing harm! Marahil ay isa na namang mahalagang tao sa akin ang mapapahamak and I cannot let that happen. I took a deep sigh and told Red to drive faster.

 #

—ShinichiLaaaabs.