"The adventure of our first days together gradually blossomed into something else: a feeling I'd never had, which I can only compare to the sensation of returning home, of joining a balance that needs no adjusting, as if the scales of my life had been waiting for her all along." 

― Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason, The Rule of Four

The idea of hiding something from HQ did not sit well with me. For the past three years, tanging ang HQ lamang ang nakaaalam ng lahat ng galaw ko, lahat ng desisyon ko, pati lahat ng tungkol sa buhay ko— things that even my family have not been privy too. In a way, the HQ has been the most influential social system that I am in today.

And now I have to keep secrets to myself.

The online trail is cold. Hindi ko maasahan ang intel na nanggagaling sa taas. There's a rat and I've requested Sanada to search for me.

Trust for an agent is paramount, ngunit dahil sa mga kasalukuyang nangyayari ay nawawalan ako ng kumpiyansa. The agency needs to clean itself before I could begin to trust again.

"Icen what do we have?" I saw her look troubled. Buong gabi niyang pinaghirapang i-crack ang file na kinuha ko sa laptop ni Tiu.

"Well it seems that Brian Tiu is bigger than what we imagined." I nodded and gestured for her to continue. Umikot si Icen sa lamesa at iniharap ang laptop niya. The blinds are drawn close and the CCTV in my office is looped with some useless datafeed. It would be easier kung sa labas kami mag-uusap na tatlo ni Sanada, but that could make people suspicious.

"The Tiu's are close friends of the President," Icen started. "They funded his campaign two years ago. This is the reason why they got first priority in government projects. Tiu is the president's cousin, though no one would openly admit to the fact. Nepotism is frowned upon, but it is standard to any political dynasty."

I nodded. Politics is a dirty game no matter how well-meaning an individual is. Power lures the best of men to the dark side. *Acton summed it up in a nutshell, All power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely.

"This is rather sensitive Jaguar." Halatang hindi komportable si Icen sa pinag-uusapan namin at makailang beses siyang tumitingin sa paligid. Paranoia?

"You're stating the obvious, Clauson."

"There's more."

"Go on." She navigated to another file.

"Hernandez is negotiating in behalf of an international terrorist group responsible for the sale of arms to both the government and the local terrorist groups in Mindanao. He's playing double again. Lahat ng ninakaw niyang intel from the agency are put to use. He sold us to the enemy."

"May sa ipis talaga siya. Peste."

"Tiu is behind the negotiations with both the AFP and PNP, and the local warlords. Basically, they're making the most of the 'War Against Terrorism' campaign. We have copies of the blueprints and their payment schedules. The official documents contain all the key persons involved in the proceedings. He has representatives in all major acquisitions... worse, mukhang dinadaya niya ang bidding by threatening all would-be investors. Mysteriously, nag-ba-back-out ang mga ito. Upon closer inspection, there's signs of extortion, money laundering, and even kidnapping."

"But the bigger picture here is that international terrorists have started their plans to make this country their base of operations in Asia. Our country is very strategic because of its location and terrain. Watak-watak at may kaniya-kaniyang agenda maski ang leftist groups. It would take a miracle to muster any substantial defense when the real enemies attack."

"So all the drug trafficking is just smoke then—another way for them to make money and hide their real agenda. Apparently, Tiu has bigger plans."

"What a classic scoundrel." The stakes just got higher. Now I understand why the higher ups created us. The question is, why are they hindering us from doing our jobs? Siguradong may nasa taas pa na sinusunod ni Hernandez and they're doing everything in their power to discredit my team.

"Icen, who can we trust with this information?" She looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Aside from Sanada? Luna."

Clauson must have noticed the change in my expression. It's not that I don't agree that Luna is trustworthy... it's just that she easily loses focus and can be far too emotional for this job. I'd rather have someone with nerves of steel like Red.

But on the other hand, no one would suspect someone like Luna. Perhaps...

"Is there anything else, Icen?"

"Not for now. I'm still working out the rest of the files. There's encryption in each of them courtesy of Hernandez." She smiled wryly.

"Okay, tell me when you unearth something."

I listened to the sound of her receding footsteps before the click of the door locking. I twitched the blinds to open a fraction.

Decisions, decisions...

***

Sanada's intel told us where Tiu is headed for next. She convinced me to ship Yellow to Singapore to follow him and get leads. We basically sent her with only specific instructions so if ever we get caught by anyone snooping, they can't compromise our team. A blind mission.

I hate not having options, but too many hands can spoil the broth.

"How are the modifications for the ghost surveillance unit?" I whispered to Trixie while she pretended to check Kuroneko. I needed a reason to talk to her and this is as good as any. I dare not send her messages via phone or the intranet because someone might be sifting through our network.

"It will be ready tomorrow," she replied with a proud lift of her chin. Puno ng grasa ang mga kamay niya pati pisngi, but her eyes shone with pride. The tech lab is Trixie's home and she could work her magic on anything with wheels, gears, and circuits.

"Good. Let's field test it then. Give me word as soon as you are ready." I wiped her cheek with my hanky and she stopped and looked at me with huge eyes. I immediately withdrew my hand when I saw that look. I placed the cloth in her hands. "Clean up, Luna." I took my leave without saying good bye. Ang hirap kapag bibigyang kahulugan ng agents ang mga ginagawa ko.

There are so many things left to plan our next step in the operation.

I went back to my office to see Rika sitting on the sofa with her feet propped on the coffee table. I lifted a brow at her but she just shrugged.

"I found out what Hernandez was doing in Hong Kong," she announced proudly. I sat down on my chair and waited for her to speak up.

"There's a small company in Hong Kong that successfully built a nanotechnology for spying virtually undetected. They call it the Myght systems."

"I've heard about that. You mean they actually got successful?"My interest is piqued. It's been making its rounds in the DeepNet, or the internet black market for years, searching for potential investors to fund the research. Everyone thought it's a fluke. Myght is basically an industry nightmare. The nanotechnology is said to be capable of passing through even semi-permeable membranes. It is so tiny but has enough power to be programmed to imbed itself in a person's eyes, ears, and skin where it can record and afterwards, self detonate. All it needs to work is a *NFC device and that could be any android phone or laptop.

The Myght was originally commissioned for medical surgery, but the creators thought that their technology has so much more potential than that.

Imagine a microscopic invader capable of spying from inside your body and relay seamless streaming with virtually no lag?

A perfect device for getting information that could be sold to the highest bidders while having the power to kill the host at will.

However the danger of something this invasive proved to be more trouble than its worth. Extraction in a human host has proven to be fatal.

"The inventor Peter Hong was found dead in his house. Somebody stole his technology and the rest of his team are rather close-mouthed about the whole issue. Guess what the poison of choice is?"

"Apitoxin." I closed my eyes and massaged my temples.

So they stole Myght to further enhance their clout. This poses more problems.

"But they don't seem to know how to make it work yet," Sanada continued, "seems like Hong took the knowledge to his grave, otherwise we would have red alerts all over the globe from business empires and world leaders suddenly dropping dead or kidnapped."

"It puzzles me why they would kill Hong." Sanada gave me an inquiring look.

"Maybe he wouldn't cooperate." I shrugged. "That, or Alex thinks he can crack the system without him or get the other members of his team talking."

"Let's pray for the former rather than the latter," Sanada murmured with a yawn. "I need to crash."

"Go ahead."

She got up from the sofa and padded out of my office. I sat back and mulled over all the information I have on Hernandez and Tiu. What a diabolical pair.

In a nutshell, Tiu wants to build his own empire by controlling the influx of weapons, drugs, and information in the country by capitalizing with his connections to the government. Hernandez was the one who set up the system in place for the negotiations with his bosses who wants a strategic base of operations. Asia is rich in resources and full of political unrest. Only a handful of countries are capable of surviving an onslaught of terror activity.

The world is on the brink of war and people like Tiu and Hernandez are making the best of it.

***

After delving into the Deep Net for hours and finding very little I decided to call it a day. Maybe the answers can't be found online or I'm just too tired to think. My phone rang and I picked up when I saw that it was Kuya Alfredo. Weird, this guy rarely contacts me for anything.

"Yeah?"

"I'm behind bars."

"Oh?" Napakunot ako. "Di ba si Kuya Al dapat tinatawagan mo?"

"Gago hindi 'yon. Mas nanalbahe sa kotse ni baby girl," iritado niyang sagot. I can hear a steel door opening and closing.

"And you sent the fucker to his grave?" Napangiti ako sa mura ni Kuya Alfredo. Minsan ang sarap lang talaga niyang asarin.

"Nope, ibang kaso 'to. May inupakan lang akong drunk drivers." He sighed. "Well anyway, sabi ni Diosa may nag-prank call daw sa kanila ni Prince noong nasa Banawe kami. Then ngayon may nag-slash sa lahat ng gulong ni baby girl. You don't mind checking, do you?"

It could be nothing. It could be something too.

"Sige, I'll talk to Diosa once I get home." My smile came back. Lumalabas ang protective instincts naming magkakapatid. "Do you want me to call Kuya Al to get you out?"

***

I decided to take a drive to get my mind off things for a while. Baka sakaling mas makapagisip ako ng malinaw kung lilibangin ko muna ang utak ko. I drove to BGC and entered Fully-Booked to check out new releases. Perhaps some sci-fi or fantasy novel can relax my mind.

The front display held the new releases and I saw the new instalment of the Millenium series kaso iba na ang author. I got myself a copy to check it out. I also found a new release from Sanderson's Mistborn series na sinusundan ko kaya dinagdag ko ito sa aking bibilhin. I was scanning the shelves when my eyes caught a familiar face.

For a week I tried my damnedest not to think about her. I've immersed myself in my job so that I wouldn't have to think about our one-month agreement. Bakit ko nga ba sinabi iyon sa kaniya? Was it just a spur of the moment thing?

I don't think I want to use her, as tempting as that sounds. She is exactly just the type to be manipulated. A lovely little lamb for the sacrificial feast.

"Maria let's go!" I recognized her cousin Andi. She sighed and returned the book she was perusing to the shelf.

"Wait lang, kakadating lang natin," she replied. I found myself drawing close to another shelf to get a closer look at her. The white dress paired with a blue chiffon top she is wearing emphasized her slim waist and the curve of her hips. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun on top of her head and several tendrils artfully framed her face.

"Ugh, this is so boring. I wanna buy some clothes na." I raised a brow at the annoying voice of her companion. I'm almost behind the shelf but she is looking the other way.

"Mauna na kayo, I'll just be here."

Andi rolled her eyes. "Hay naku, Ama will get angry if you are late again. You pa naman laging here with these books. Pakasal na lang you sa librarian." I saw Andi pivot with a swish of her skater skirt before stomping out of the glass doors of the bookstore.

"Kung puwede lang," Maria murmured. I ducked behind the shelf when I thought she would turn and see me.

I feel like an idiot stalking her like this. I felt her take out another volume and caught a glimpse of her thoughtful face between the books. Her eyes widened but the space between the books collapsed and I immediately moved away.

I should stop this. I made my way quietly to the escalator to escape her presence. I risked a glance at her from the second floor. She was looking around and behind the shelf. She clearly saw me. I watched her bite her lip as she tried to look around.

I breathed a sigh. Her face reflected a mix of frustration and longing. Did she want to see me?

We didn't really have any memories but that one day in Sagada. That wasn't really anything, right?

She was furiously scribbling something on the leaves of the book she is holding when I looked again. She returned the book on the shelf before taking on last look around. I could have moved away but I let her gaze find me. I saw her mouth drop open slightly for a moment before she closed it. I thought she was going to greet me or come up to the second floor but instead she gave me a slight smile before she walked out of the bookstore to follow her cousin.

I'm curious as to what message she obviously left for me.

It was a book of poems by Pablo Neruda. On the leaf is a quote from the movie Serendipity:

"Life is not merely a series of meaningless accidents or coincidences, but rather is a tapestry of events that culminate in an exquisite, sublime plan."

And right beneath it:

090-MARIALEE

Author's Notes:

Imbento ko lang ang Myght. Di ko alam kung meron nang nakagawa ng super computer na kagaya niya. Likewise, wag pong i-text ang number ni Maria dahil imbento ko lang yan at di ko alam kung may may-ari talaga niyan hahaha. XD

John Dalberg-Acton, 6th Baronet of the House of Commons. 17th Cent.

NFC – Near Field Communication; is a short range wireless RFID technology that makes use of interacting electromagnetic radio fields instead of the typical direct radio transmissions used by technologies such as Bluetooth.

Maria on the mediabox people. XD