Chapter 3: Secret

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Saka lamang ako nakabalik sa aking pag-iisip nang marinig ko ang boses ni Zywon. He was standing behind me with his hands in his pocket. Sa isip ko ay hinuhulaan ko kung ilang piraso ng chocolate ang nakatago sa bulsa nito ngayon. I haven't heard of him lately. Saka ko lamang ibinaling ang atensyon ko sa cellphone. It wasn't from Ryu but from Andi. Just a message telling me to take pictures of the museum.

"How are you Amber?"

"Kailangan ko pa bang sagutin ang tanong mo?", I asked. I don't mean to be sarcastic but it just slipped out of my mouth. Zywon shrugged his shoulders at hindi na lamang pinatulan ang sinabi ko.

"Hindi naman." He replied. Kumusta na kaya si Zywon ngayon? I don't know if he is still updated from all the happenings in the organization. Maybe his friend Trojan gives him update.

He's one of those who gave me warning about the discovery of Dad's treachery to he organization. Too bad for me, I overlooked their warnings and end up like this. All alone.

Hindi na ako nakasagot dahil bigla na lamang tumunog ang security alarm ng museum. Nagkagulo ang mga staff at estudyante dahil sa tunog na iyon. Naguguluhan ang bawat isa kung may nangyari bang sunog o kung ano.

"Firm alarm?", Zywon asked at hinila ako papalapit sa kanya. The crowd panicked at nagkabunggo-bunggo na ang bawat isa sa loob. Everyone tried to find an escape route but end up running in circles. Agad namang tumunog ang broadcasting system ng museum telling everyone not to panic dahil walang sunog na nangyayari and that it was the burglar alarm.

Nagkagulo pa rin ang mga tao at patuloy sa pagkataranta. I felt a hand grabbed me from Zywon and it was Gray. Wala itong sinabi at dire-diretsong kinuha lamang ako mula kay Zywon.

Maging ang mga guards ay nagkagulo na rin. They sealed the entrance and exits of the museum at pinakalma ang bawat isa. They let us gather in the huge hall grouped by school. Nagkaroon ng bulong-bulungan na may nakawang nangyari at posibleng isa sa mga estudyanteng naroon ang responsable. The museum's security was of high quality kaya posible umanong isa sa mga pinapasok na estudyante ang siyang responsable sa nangyaring nakawan.

When the museum director went out at kinausap kami ay saka lamang namin nalaman na ang gold bars at mga singsing na sinasabing bahagi ng Yamashita's gold ang nanakaw. The protective glass case was destroyed and they still don't know who's responsible. I am not surprise that it was the stolen item. Everyone was dazed with such treasure and I am sure that was a considerable amount.

"Please help us check everyone's body dahil baka nasa iilan sa inyo ang mga pag-aari ng museum. Hindi namin kayo pinagbibintangan pero kailangan lamang namin itong gawin para makasiguro", the director said. He had a very worried look in his face and he should be. They are the one responsible for the whole museum.

They paired us to Athena's students at nagkapkapan kami ng katawan. The guys checked each other's body at gayun din ang ginawa ng mga babae. Wala namang nagreklamo at patuloy lamang sa ginagawa. Good thing everyone cooperated. Nasa kalagitnaan kami ng pagkakapkapan nang magsalita si Gray.

"Excuse me Mister Director. Hindi niyo ho ba nai-check ang security footage?", he asked out of the blue causing everyone to freeze from searching each other's body. Oo nga pala. There are enough CCTV cameras around ay maaring makatuling ang footage para sa paghahanap ng kung sino mang kumuha sa mga pag-aari ng museum.

"We already checked but nothing is helpful. The CCTV cameras are covered with spray paint", sagot ng director and I saw Gray and Khael become more interested.

"Can we see the footage?", suhestiyon ni Khael. The director hesitated for a while ngunit ng sinabi ng ilang mga estudyante na maaaring makatulong sila ay nagpasya itong ipakita ang footage.

They already alerted their security but still haven't called the police. Ayon sa director, such robbery will be a big news at maaaring makaapekto sa kredibilidad ng bagong bukas pa lamang na museum. Good thing they got a quite number of security force who assured us that no one has left the premises yet dahil pagtunog mismo ng burglar alarm ay agad na nilang isinara ang mga pwedeng lagusan. Geez, they got a number of security force yet nanakawan pa rin sila.

They brought Khael and Gray inside the facility at naiwan kami doon sa hall upang magpatuloy sa pagkakapkap.

"Ito na nga ba ang sinasabi ko Bestie eh", I heard Je said habang kinakapkapan ito ng isang taga-Athena. When I glanced at Math, she's also searching someone's body. Sa lumipas na mga minuto ay iyon lamang ang ginawa ng bawat isa. Just then, a girl from Athena cried out.

"Oh my God, nawawala si Cloudette!", she screamed. Nang sinabi niya iyon ay nagkagulo na ang iba pang mga taga Athena as they searched for their schoolmate named Cloudette. They tried calling her ngunit walang sumasagot sa telepono nito. The girl who noticed the absence of her classmate started to weep hanggang sa isang maintenance crew ang lumapit sa amin.

"Maam, may nakita po kaming walang malay na estudyante sa CR", wika nito and the teachers who accompanied us headed towards the CR na sinasabi ng maintenance crew. Naiwan ang mga estudyante doon and when they returned, they brought along a girl na tanging spaghetti top at cycling shorts lamang ang suot. That's when Zywon removed his coat at pinasuot iyon sa babae na tila nahihilo pa.

"What happened?", the teacher asked her habang ang lahat ng mga estudyante ay nakapalibot sa kanya. This is a very serious matter. A thief just stole some valuable things- no, not just some but a really valuable one. Gold bars and gold rings. Ngayon naman ay may estudyanteng ninakawan ng kanyang uniporme. What is this situation?

"May humampas sa akin at pagkatapos niyon ay wala na akong matandaan", she said habang hapo-hapo ang ulo. Mabuti na lamang at wala itong sugat kundi simpleng bukol lamang. Hinang-hina pa ito and she really sounded so weak. It was Cloudette that the other guy just said that's missing. The students let her rest at nagpatuloy sa pagkakapkap. When everyone was done ay saka lamang din nakabalik sina Gray at Khael but both of them had a wrinkled forehead.

"Gray! What's up inside?", Jeremy asked at sinalubong ang mga ito. The two came out but neither of them looked resolved nor got something really useful.

"The footage isn't really useful. Mukhang mahusay ang pagpaplanong ginawa ng magnanakaw" Gray replied. Sinulyapan ko si Math na abala sa kanyang pinapanuod sa kanyang cellphone. Lumapit ako sa kanya at tiningnan ang kanyang ginagawa.

"What are you-Hey! This is the footage of the museum, how-"

"Ssssh!", she said and she covered my mouth. Hininaan niya ang boses at sumagot sa akin. "I put a camera on Gray's collar. My spy cameras are useful at times like this", she said with a wink. Meh, a tech geek like Math has her ow ways, why should I'll be surprise? Who knows she keeps on putting us spy cameras in our everyday life. Pinapanuod niya ako sa nakuha niyang footage. Mabuti na lamang at hindi masyadong malikot si Gray sa loob kaya naaaninag namin ang nakuhang video. Pagkatapos manuod ay tinanong ako ni Math kung ano ang masasabi ko tungkol doon.

"The culprit is left-handed", wika ko. "Look at the gloved hand who sprayed the paint in the camera. I am positive na kaliwang kamay ito." Komento ko ng mapansin ang kamay. May theory was supported by the position of the shadow on the wall na nakunan ng camera.

"Right!", she said and called Gray and Khael. Sinabi niya ang tungkol sa obserbasyon ko and the two were amazed. Meh, hindi ba nila napansin iyon?

"Good observation Special A", Khael said. "Also I am positive that the culprit is a woman. Thanks to your observation that leads me to my theory."

Napatingin kaming lahat sa kanya. The culprit was a woman? How can he say so? The hand was gloved and it was difficult to determine whether it was a man's or a woman's. Other than that, wala ng iba pang footage ang makakatulong para malaman namin kung sino ang salarin.

"Paano mo naman nasabi iyon?", Jeremy asked him.

"Ah, I get it Alonzo", Gray said. "It's the flower jar right?" kinuha ni Gray ang cellphone ni Math at pinakita ang ibig niyang sabihin. On the former part of the video ay may average-size na vase na may mat sa ilaim nakapatong sa babaw ng glass case. But now the vase was on the corner of the floor, still neatly above the mat. "No man would steal and would bother to neatly place the vase on the floor. No doubt this is a work of a woman."

I totally agree with their observation. Ibig sabihin niyon, we can narrow down our suspects to left-handed girl including those ambidextrous. I remembered the girl that I saw staring at the Buddha kanina. And when I tried to recall, she pointed on my back to remind me na napag-iiwanan na ako ng grupo and she pointed using her finger of her left hand! Shoot! Could she be the one responsible for it? I looked for her in the crowd but she was nowhere to find!

"Do you have any schoolmate, tall girl and wearing a cap with a natural curly hair?", tanong ko sa kay Khael. She was suspicious kaya posibleng siya ang may gawa nito.

He shrugged his shoulders as he eyed the students around. "I haven't seen any Grade 12 students at Athena na may natural na pagkakulot ang buhok. They got their hair rebonded while others curled their hair. Why?"

Just as I thought! She could be the one responsible!

"May nakita akong babae kanina. Nakasuot siya ng uniporme ng Athena pero hindi siya sumama sa inyo. Nakatayo lamang siya kanina sa harap ng glasscase ng Buddha!"

Just then a security guy jerked inside the room. "Nasa kabilang dako ang lalaking nakaitim!", he told the other security guys na nakapalibot sa amin. Sumunod ang mga ito sa lalaki as they headed towards the direction where the first guy run into.

Lalaking nakaitim? But we just concluded that the culprit was a girl! Could it be that we had a wrong theory or they got the wrong culprit?!

"I guess they are making a huge mistake", Gray said. "Sigurado ako na hindi lalaki ang may gawa nito."

"I also think so."

Kahit pinigilan sila ay hindi pa rin sila nagpaawat na tumakbo patungo sa direksyon na pinuntahan ng mga security. Naiwan kami sa harap ng glass case at nanatili lamang doon habang hinahabol ng mga security ang salarin.

"Magandang hapon", a woman said as she entered the hall. "Ayon sa director ay hinahabol na ng security ang kahina-hinalang lalaki. Sa ngayon ay inaanyayahan ko kayong lahat na sumunod sa akin palabas ng bulwagang ito. Ayaw namin baka pati kayo ay madamay", she said at pinasunod niya kami palabas ng museum hall. Sa harap ng malawak na museum niya kami dinala. From our place ay matatanaw namin ang mga nakaparadang school bus na dala ng kanya-kanyang paaralan. Jeremy stood beside me at nanatili sa tabi ko habang sumusunod kami sa babae.

"Huwag ho muna kayong aalis", she said at bahagyang yumuko sa amin bago muling pumasok. I stared at her intently and think of how unfortunate they were. Kakasimula pa lamang ng bagong museum ngunit agad na nagkaproblema. She was about to close the door nang mapansin ko ang kanyang buhok. Her hair was neatly-looking in a bun ngunit may napansin akong kulay brown na piraso ng buhok mula sa kanya. Her hair was ebony black but I am pretty sure that it was a brown curly hair that I saw.

Nang tuluyan na siyang makapasok ay dahan-dahan akong sumunod sa kanya. Good thing Je did not notice me leaving the group at nang makapasok ako ay agad ko siyang hinanap. Just like what I anticipated, I found her in front of the glass case na binasag, she stood there for a while and stared at the broken glass.

Gaya ng konklusyon ni Gray at Khael, the culprit was really a woman. I saw her put back in the broken glass case ang gold bars na itinago niya sa loob ng mga jar na nasa paligid. She also returned two of the three rings bago tumakbo patungo sa elevator. She opened the door at tinanggal ang suot na wig which displayed her long curly hair. She tore something on her neck at sunod na tinanggal ang maskara na suot.

What the hell?! She was wearing a prosthetic mask?

Nang tuluyan niyang matanggal iyon ay saka ko lamang nasulyapan ang kanyang mukha. It was the same face that I saw a while ago. The girl who was wearing an Athena's uniform. Hinubad din niya ang suot na heels at maingat na iniangat ang sarili paakyat sa maliit na lagusan na binuksan niya.

I cleared my throat and that caught her attention. She was surprised for a while to see me ngunit saglit lamang iyon dahil napalitan ng ngiti ang kanyang pagkagulat nang makita ako. Maybe she does not expect see me following her.

"Where are you going? Escaping after leaving the valuable things?", I asked her. Nakapagtatakang iniwan niya ang mga gold bars at tanging iisang singsing lamang ang kanyang kinuha. And I doubt that she's a low class thief. Based on how I see it, she's used to what she is doing. Masyadong malinis ang ginawa niyang pagnanakaw. From how I see it, she's an expert in such trade.

"Hi Amber", she said and it surprised me. Kilala niya ako? Maybe she heard my name habang nakikipaghalubilo siya sa amin kanina habang naghahanap ng magandang tiyempo bago simulan ang kanyang planong pagnanakaw.

"You know me?"

She smiled sweetly at nanghinayang ako kung bakit sa ganda niyang iyon ay pinili niyang maging magnanakaw. Her smile was so innocent but their was danger behind. Her skin is flawless kahit na hindi siya maputi. She's tall and her long and natural curly hair is so vibrant that it makes me jealous. If it would be other time, I would have asked her shampoo brand so that I could use the same too.

"Sabihin na lamang natin na kilala kita by name. Madalas kang naikukwento ng isang dating kaibigan", she said. Her smile is so genuine that it makes me wonder how she was able to project such smile even after she's caught. Baka sadyang bahagi na iyon ng kanyang plano. Lure everyone with her smile and then escape. I should be alert.

"Really huh? Then your friend must have informed you that I kick asses", wika ko sa kanya. She just caused a huge commotion and I cannot spare her after what she did.

"Hindi niya nasabi iyan. Matagal na rin kaming hindi nakakapag-usap ng kaibigan ko kaya sa ngayon ay wala na akong masyadong alam tungkol sa iyo", she answered. Alam ko na kinakausap niya ako pero sa loob niya ay nag-iisip siya ng paraan upang makatakas. I should be very watchful too and not let a criminal like her just escape easily.

"Now you've been informed. Is this friend of yours a friend of mine too?"

"Yup. Sa nakikita ko ay malapit kayong dalawa sa isa't-isa. May endearment pa nga kayo eh", she let out a chuckle but I noticed a little sadness in her eyes. Endearment? May kaibigan ako na kaibigan din niya at may endearment kami? Uh, what?

"Before I bring you to the museum's management, tell me why you only get one ring. Let me remind you that the ring doesn't even half the cost of those gold bars", wika ko sa kanya. I'm sure alam niya iyon ngunit nakapagtatakang iniwan pa rin niya ang mga iyon.

"Salamat sa impormasyon pero hindi ang gold bars ang ipinunta ko dito. Nagpunta ako upang kunin ang ninakaw sa amin. Ang pangit kasing pakinggan, nanakawan ang magnanakaw", she said with a smile. I guess the smile is always plastered on her face. Is that her defense mechanism or strategy? Again, whatever it is, I will not let my guard down and stay alert all the time.

"Hindi ibig sabihin niyan ay hahayaan na lamang kitang makawala", wika ko at agad na pumasok sa loob ng elevator. I grabbed her by the arm ngunit agad niyang naiwas ang kanyang katawan. She swiftly carried her body and swung it up upang makaakyat siya sa maliit na lagusan na mula sa ceiling ng elevator.

"Crap!", I was able to grabbed her foot ngunit naisipa niya lamang ang kanyang paa. I ended up huddled on the floor after she kicked my head.

"Sorry!", she shouted from above.

Dali-dali akong tumayo mula sa pagkakaupo sa sahig. I tried following her up but I wasn't as tall as her to reach the ceiling and I am not good in carrying my body unless I am climbing a tree. "Bumalik ka dito!", I shouted at her but she only waved goodbye to me.

"Hey!"

She was about to swing in the steel bars on the side but then she leaned down to look at me. "May nakalimutan nga pala ako", she said and tossed a little thing to me. I was caught off-guard at mabuti na lamang ay magaling ang mga reflexes ko and was able to catch the thing she tossed. It was a ring. Hindi iyon ang gintong singsing na pagmamay-ari ng museum. Sa halip ay isang singsing iyon na may malaking dyamante. Sigurado ako na mahal iyon if ever totoo ang bato na nasa singsing.

"Give that to your Bestie", she said and winked at me.

"What's your name?", I shouted dahil wala na siya sa harap ko at nananakit na ang leeg ko kakatingala sa kanya. I wasn't expecting that she'd give me her real name. Meh, sinong magnanakaw ba ang magbibigay ng kanyang tunay na pangalan?

"Secret!", I heard her said as she disappeared from above.

#

-ShinichiLaaaabs.