A/N: I know. This chapter has been too long overdue. My fault. Sorry.

Hindi na ako nakapalag nang hawakan ni Brian ang braso ko at kaladkarin ako palabas ng condo suite ko. Gulong-gulo ang isip ko. Was he just pretending all this time?

I tried to remember all the things that he did and said. Am I seeing the other side of Alistair Zabala? Is this why he is such an enigma? Pilit 'kong hinihila ang braso ko ngunit parang bakal sa higpit ang mga daliri ni Brian na nakakapit sa akin. Pahangos rin na humahabol sana ang mga kamag-anak ko ngunit pinigilan sila ng armed personnel na kasama ni Alex. Kinikilabutan ako sa mga tingin sa akin ng lalaking ito na animo ay hinuhubaran ako sa kaniyang titig. Nakalabas kami ng unit at pilit ko pa ring kinakaladkad ang aking mga paa kaya walang anu-ano'y bigla akong binuhat ni Brian at isinampay sa kaniyang balikat na parang sako.

"Let me go! Hindi ako sasama sa'yo! Hindi ako magpapakasal sa'yo!" I hit his back with my fists. Wala na akong pakialam kung nag-eeskandalo kami. Bumukas ang ilang unit at nakita kong may mga sumilip na taga-kabilang unit.

"Who said that you still have a say?" he asked. He slapped my bottom hard at napaigik ako.

"Bitawan mo ko! Tulong! Parang awa niyo na!" I twisted and turned dahilan para mabitiwan niya ako. Napapikit ako nang bumagsak ako sa marmol na sahig. I felt a hand grab my hair. Narinig kong sumigaw si Ama at nagkagulo sila.

"Please, please pabayaan mo na ako. Please si Ama," I begged. "Please?" Nanlilisik ang mata ni Brian at alam kong kayang-kaya niya akong patayin.

"Bitch!" Isang malakas na sampal ang nagpatuliro sa akin. Namanhid ang aking mukha sa sobrang sakit. Umagos ang luha sa aking mga mata habang pinagmamasdan siyang palapit. I tried to crawl away pero mahigpit ang hawak niya sa aking buhok.

"Do. Not. Push. Me!"Halos magdilim ang aking paningin nang naramdaman kong tumama sa pader ang likod ng aking ulo. Para na akong mawawalan ng ulirat.

Ali, you said you would protect me...

"You have no say on things little girl." May humaplos sa aking pisngi at narinig ko ang boses ni Alex. I moved my head away from his fingers. I could feel something sticky trickle behind the back of my head. "Tingnan mo nga naman... I knew he'd screw up one day," I heard him say before everything faded to black.

***

"Progress report."

Reaper lifted tired eyes to me. Malalalaki ang kaniyang mga eyebags at mukhang hindi pa nakakaligo ng ilang araw. Inangat niya ang kamay upang pagtakpan ang kaniyang paghikab.

"We got good progress. Icen and I have started reverse-engineering the codes. It's largely a guessing game."

"You have forty-eight hours to crack the thing." Nakita kong nanlaki ang mga mata ni Reaper at nalaglag ang panga.

"B-but Jaguar..." Ilang beses siyang napalunok at nanlalaki ang matang nakatulala sa akin.

"No buts, Reaps. Crack the code and consider it your pass card to the program." I smirked at him. Mukha siyang nalugi. Bumukas ang pinto ng control room at nakita kong pumasok si Icen na nakasuot ng gray bunny slippers, puting long sleeve na masyadong mahaba sa kaniya at pink na knee-high socks. May dalang dalawang mug ng hot chocolate si Icen na inilapag niya sa lamesa ni Reaper.

"Yo Boss," bati niya sa akin. "Hot choco?" She offered me her mug na may disenyong Pusheen the cat.

"No, thanks. I already had coffee," pagtanggi ko. "How is the plan?"

Ngumuso si Icen bago sumagot, "agents have been assigned to each of the temporary recruits. Yhona for A6, Edge for A5. Rin's assigned to watch over the target. Trixie and Shanvie are on standby."

"Good. XH23?"

"He's on the move. Rin is closing in on him, but..." napabuntong-hininga si Icen.

"But?"

"She's been asking permission to make a move. Di siya mapakali kahapon pa. I really think we should have sent Shan instead. The Zebra is too unpredictable and too trigger-happy."

"Tell Shan to get ready to relieve her."

Tumango si Icen. "On it."

"Icen." I gave her a long look. "43?"

"Nothing yet." She lowered her voice. "I think the bugs have been found. I've been trying all night to get them back but the hacker sent us a nasty and I had to shut down the whole thing before it finds a backdoor and infects our system."

"You sure it didn't get in?" Malaking problema kung magkakaroon ng security breach. Alam ko ang kalibre ni Alex. He'll stop at nothing to get to me.

"Positive. I've run my diagnostics twelve times plus the back-up system you installed has not been breached."

"Monitor the system round the clock. Kumuha ka ng technician kung kinakailangan. Ayokong malibang ka sa paglalaro ng game at baka may makalampas sa depensa natin."

"Of course not, Jaguar." She had the audacity to pout at me. Iniangat niya ang oversized glasses na parating nahuhulog sa dulo ng kaniyang ilong. "I can do this."

"You know what will happen, Icen."

She nodded solemnly. Icen may look and act like some kid, but that is just a diversion to the mad genius that she is.

***

I closed my eyes and rubbed a hand over them. I opened my tired eyes and stared at the white ceiling of my office. Kagabi pa namatay ang signal ng bugs na inin-stall namin sa unit ni Maria. Only the feed coming from the security cameras in the stairwells gave us a vague idea of what is happening in there.

If it weren't for the fact that I'll be compromising the mission, I'd have stormed in there and took her out. Hindi na siya dapat madamay. Pinagsisisihan ko ang pagsagi sa isip ko na pupuwede kong pagsabayin ang trabaho ko at ang pag-ibig.

If it weren't for that one stupid decision, I wouldn't be this torn between duty and my stupid feelings.

Regrets? Hell yeah!

An image of her smiling face came to my mind. I told her I'll protect her, pero ako pa ang nagdala ng agarang kapahamakan sa kaniya. Kung hindi ako nakiaalam, she'd be married to Brian and she'll be living the life of a priviledged trophy wife.

A life she'll never have with me. Yes, I could provide for her comfort, but I doubt if we'll ever be truly peaceful. Death and destruction follow the path I chose for myself. Am I really willing to subject her to that kind of uncertain future?

Napangisi ako sa naiisip ko. I don't think kaya kong sikmurain ang mabuhay siyang nakakulong sa gintong hawla. Just the idea of someone else touching her and destroying her innocence is enough to make my blood boil.

I really got it bad. She bewitched me.

A blinking green light on line seven caught my eye.

"Sanada?"

There was slight static on the line before she spoke.

"Negative. The last feed we got before the line completely died was XH32 waving at the camera."

"Where is 43?"

"No news yet. We are scouring every feed from nearby CCTVs and even the feed from the MMDA livefeeds. I think they also used a scrambler."

"I don't think they've gone far. They want us to think otherwise. He's hiding on plain sight. I'll have I7 check all the records for Tiu's properties in the area."

"He's going to strike soon. I know this asshole. He just can't resist the window of opportunity." Sanada cursed. I could hear the sounds of wind. She must be in the rooftop of some building.

"We are on him."

I saw the light blinking from line one.

"I have incoming. Can you hold for a bit?" Agad kong sinagot ang tawag galing sa control room.

"Boss!" Icen's excited voice greeted me.

"Yes?"

"I found your 43," she said. "One Serendra. Just a couple of blocks from her unit. I still haven't figured out how they escaped, but I'm suspecting aerial or underground."

"Good job, Clauson." I felt relief wash into my system. Parang nabunutan ako nang napakalaking tinik sa aking dibdib.

"And Reaper said he has something important to tell you regarding the Myght. Says it's important."

"Okay, I'll be there in a sec. I have Sanada on the other line." I closed the line and initiated a video call to Sanada.

"Sanada?" I saw my agent gave a gentle shake of her head.

"Tahimik. It's actually alarming how quiet they have been."

"I7 found her."

Natawa si Sanada. "Now do you believe me when I told you she's the best in her field," she said in a self-satisfied tone. "We still need to have an extraction plan. Tiu's people have been off the grid for almost twelve hours. They know we are on them."

Damn it. I hate this feeling. Yung alam mong may mangyayaring malaki; the calm before a storm. "Sanada, I'm going in."

"You can't be serious."

"I am. Dead serious." About her.

***

"You have something for me?"

Reaper is hunched over something on his desk.

"Come closer," came his mumbled reply. The lights have been dimmed but there was a an illumination of some sort over his desk. He pushed away and a glittering brilliance followed his hand where a square silver gadget rested.

"Is that?" I am in awe. I told him to crack the code in two days.

It took four hours.

"Trust me, I didn't know how. One minute I was puzzling over a piece of code when everything clicked into place." He was gazing at the glittering mass licking at the palm of his flesh.

"Is it under control?"

"I believe so. It hasn't done anything sinister for the last half-hour." The cloud of shining particles followed the movements of his fingers like an obedient dog. "What I know is just a tenth of what it could do if we are going to believe the data Yellow sent the HQ."

"Show me."

He threw a similar silver gadget to my direction and half of the cloud obediently left to follow the arc it made before connecting to my palm.

"How do you control it?"

"That receiver controls it." He pushed the side of the silver square and it unfolded to a miniature keyboard. "Set it to manual control. I've inputted your data on that one."

The tiny cloud moved in perfect unison to the movement of my hands.

"Welcome to the agency, Agent Reaper."

***

"We will what?" The girl in front of me giggled.

"We'll be playing decoy." She looked me up and down. "Hmm... you're a few inches shorter than him but I think when you get on the motorcycle it would be dandy," she spoke with a European accent. She handed me a paperbag. "Change."

Pagod kong tiningnan ang laman nito. Black jacket, white shirt, wayfarers. I turned back and went inside my car to get changed. Hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala na totoo ang mga nangyayari at magiging parte kami ng isang operasyon para mahuli ang isang sindikato.

Pagkatapos kong magbihis ay agad akong lumabas sa kotse. Naabutan kong nakasandal sa hood ng blue Honda Jazz ko ang agent na ipinadala ni Kuya Ali. She's changed her clothes too. What the hell? Ninja ba siya? Saan naman dito sa parking lot siya nagpalit? In broad daylight?

"We're just in time I7. We'll rendezvous with A5 and Edge at grid 7." She gave me a look of appreciation. I could tell from the tiny smirk at the corner of her mouth. She handed me a helmet that looked like Prince's. "What?" I looked at her alarmed face. "Okay, okay. We'll be there. Tell the Zebra to calm the hell down." She glanced at me.

"Anong nangyayari?"

"Mission's been initiated." She gestured to the big bike in front of us. "C'mon, love. Time to play the rabbit."

I straddled the bike and kick-started the engine. It purred beneath my touch. "You never told me your name."

"I'm Yhona, A6."

***

So this is how it feels.

"Left on the next turn." I heard the click of a gun as Yhona fired another shot. There was a scream and a thump.

"Amateurs," she murmured. "Fuck!" Mura niya nang dumating ang dalawang grupo ng mga armadong lalaking nakasakay sa motorsiklo. We've been weaving the streets to shake them off, pero halos kasingbilis nang pagligpit ni Yhona ang pagdating naman ng ibang mga kalaban.

"Keep it steady. I need to see where I'm shooting." Naramdaman kong inangkla niya ang braso sa akin before she lifted herself up and swung to my front.

"Fuck! What are you doing?" Damnit. I could feel her warm body against my front and it's freaking... arousing. Damn, Adam. May girlfriend ka. Think of other thoughts.

"The lights are red," I cautioned her.

"They will change, trust me."She placed her wrist over my shoulder, using it as a perch for her gun. I hazarded a glance at her.

"I might get deaf."

She smirked at me. "There's a silencer, don't worry."

"Damn," I cursed.

"Five seconds," I heard the voice in her transponder say. Halos nakadikit ang baba niya sa dibdib ko. She moved to get a more comfortable angle and I swear I almost lost control of the bike.

"Relax, lovey. I got this." Ilang sunod-sunod na putok ang naramdaman kong nag-vibrate sa balikat ko before I heard crashing sounds. The light turned green. May nagsigawan na mga tao and I turned to look. Isang grupo ng mga estudyante and nagtatakbuhan palayo samantalang mayroon ding nakaestatwa. Four men are down in the space of a few seconds. Damn. This girl can shoot.

"Fache to HQ. We're done here." She licked her lips and looked up at me. "Good work A6."

***

There was a collective breath of relief that washed over everybody in the room nang halos sabay natapos ng grupo ni A5 at A6 ang kaniya-kaniyang assignment.

"Damn, that was so good." Pumalakpak si Shanvie na kanina'y napapatili tuwing magba-banking si A5.

"Ang suwerte ni Edge. I wanted dibs on that one," mahina niyang bulong sa akin na may kasama pang giggles. Lord, matindi talaga ang kamandag ng magkakapatid na Zabala. My mush-mush senses are telling me there might be several catfights. Aba, akalain mong madami pa palang Zabala na available tapos nag-aagawan kami sa isa na malala pa sa the unreachable star?

"Si Yhona pasimple pa." She smirked. "She could have brought down those agents with one eye closed."I nodded in agreement.

"Icen. Boss needs you. Party's over," Trixie announced. Nagsimula siyang ligpitin ang nagkalat na cups ng soda at potato chips sa ibabaw ng mga counters. I flipped open the overhead monitor.

"Yes boss?"

"Tell Trixie I need her to make plans to modify a supercar. I'll send her the specs I want."

"Sure thing boss." I saw Trixie cock an ear. Shanvie popped more potato chips in her mouth.

"Prepare kuroneko. I'm going out tonight. Who's agent is assigned to baby girl right now?"

"Komova."

I heard a soft curse.

"Tell Shan to make sure she does not screw up."

"Righty-O Jaguar." I saluted. Whoa... this job is becoming totally real. I can't believe I've been so busy na hindi man lang ako naka-log-on sa Life Guardian for two days. My hands are itching pero baka mamaya ay malintikan ako kapag nagsingit ako ng play time.

I hope this blows over soon. I really need some sleep and play... or play, then sleep.

And drink hot choco. Yup, hot choco is love, hot choco is life.

***

"What? Anong ibig mong sabihing nakawala?"

I've been awake for some time now pero ayokong gumalaw dahil baka malaman nilang nakikinig ako. I heard the crash of something against the wall. Nagwawala si Brian.

I tried pulling my hands against the restraints pero matibay ang pagkakatali ng aking mga kamay. The room is cold pero malambot ang kinahihigan ko. I wonder where my family is. Pati ba sila ay idinamay ni Brian? My Ama still has very strong connections in the community, he can't simply do this to us!

"I don't care about that. Gawin ninyo ang trabaho ninyo."

"They say he's cracked the code of the Myght," isang boses ang nagsalita sa background.

"In a week? Our people had it for months but no one was able to figure out how." There was a touch of awe in another's voice.

Wala akong makita dahil sa nakapiring ako. I tried to move my feet at naramdaman ko ang dulo ng aking pinaghihigan. By the shape, sigurado akong nasa ibabaw ako ng isang sofa.

"That fucker is too good."

"All of you, get out!" Brian bellowed at them. "Nasaan si Alex? Our people are dead. Ito ba ang under control? The damn son of a bitch! Kung ano-ano ang pinagkakaabalahan..."

His voice trailed off. Narinig ko ang pagbukas at pagsara ng pintuan.

Pinawalan ko ang aking hininga. My head is still throbbing at masakit na ang mga balikat ko sa mahigpit na pagkakatali ng kamay ko sa likod.

Gusto ko na lang gumising sa bangungot na kinasasangkutan ko. I wonder, had I not fought—would I be in this situation? Malalagay kaya ang pamilya ko sa peligro?

I know hindi sila naging mabuti sa pakikitungo sa amin ni ate, pero hindi iyon sapat na dahilan para kamuhian sila at ipahamak.

Naramdaman ko ang pangingilid ng luha sa aking mga mata.

Do I regret meeting Alistair? But I've only ever felt alive again when I met him.

Can I ever get out of this place? I just want to feel safe again.

***