"Agents regroup." I listened to each of my units answer the affirmative. The drive back to the HQ felt like a lifetime.

The heavy atmosphere permeated the room. The operation is in shambles: Tiu managed to escape with Maria and some of her family members as hostages, one of my brothers is in the hospital, my sister's best friend is also caught in the crossfire, and we've lost men in the operation.

The only silver lining is that we got Alex and Lana.

Fucking can of worms.

You can hear the drop of a pin in the war room.

"Pascual, Fache, Luna, Lawrence, clean up duty." Each agent gave a curt nod of her head. It would take them hours and hours of negotiations to get the proper authorities moving to clean up the mess we made.

"Clauson , Reaper, evidence clean-up. I want every CCTV, computer, or mobile device wiped."

"Yes Boss." Clauson gave a salute before ushering Reaper out of the room to start their long, grueling hours of poring over data.

"Sanada, report for HQ. Prepare a story." Her grim expression did not change. The scrutiny of the entire force is on us. The spiderweb of politics is so thick in this case that it would be hard not to step on toes. Being in the law enforcement is more complicated that crossing a tightrope.

I turned to the last agent in the room with me "Yellow, you are coming with me."

***

"What is it?" We stopped in the middle of walking through the double doors of the HQ's rooftop. Yellow gave me a sidelong glance before replying.

"I want to check on Red."

"The mission—"

"I know." She cut me off. She gave a nod, but I can see from her eyes the reluctance. "You asked."

I heaved a sigh. "You know there are better ways to appease the need to avenge her."

"I know that too." She smirked before pushing the doors open. "I'll make sure they wished they never crawled out of their mother's arse," she said with her signature smile.

We made our way to the helipad where the Bird waited. Clauson and Reaper has done a great job in preparing the brief from Yellow's reports. I gave a nod to the pilot and sat on the co-pilot's seat. Yellow made herself comfortable and buckled herself. The captain followed the coordinates that was sent by I7 from the GPS tracking system we've planted on Tiu. It hasn't been long and the trail is fresh. Barely two hours have passed since he'd taken Maria and her family hostage.

"They're flying out to Singapore," Yellow said as we started ascending to the air.

"We'll intercept them at the airport."

"How sure are we that they are using the public airports? With Tiu's connections, he could be in a heli or a private jet on a secret airfield right now."

"Yelle we have access to air traffic control," I reminded her.

"Yup!" Icen chimed in from our private line. "Reaper is scouring all the flight data as of the moment. Nothing with wings and a decent engine can fly by without alerting us."

I looked at the red dot blinking on my Ipad showing Tiu's location moving steadily south.

"Um, Boss..." Icen's voice broke my musings.

"Yes?"

"Somebody came to HQ and wants to talk to you."

"Who?"

"It's 43's ahma."

"Tch. What does she want now?" Yellow arched her brow. "That stupid witch made things more complicated for us."

"Tell her I'm not turning back the Bird for her." I don't need her to muddle the waters even more for me. This business with Tiu is so much bigger than her greed. Every second counts.

"Uhm, ano... okay boss," Clauson replied. "She says you don't need to talk to her face-to-face. She'll talk to you now. "Before I could even speak, I heard someone clear their throat.

"Is this Alistair Zabala?"

I could see Yelle at the corner of my eye roll her eyes.

"I know you are after Mr. Tiu. I want you to stop what you are doing. You don't know who you are dealing with."

"Mrs. Lee it's not for you to decide how and why I do my work."

"You will sacrifice my grand daughter?" There was a lot of bitterness in her voice. "If you don't stop, Mr. Tiu will kill her."

"And aren't you the first one to sacrifice her to Tiu? The pot calling the kettle black?"

"I don't expect you to understand because you did not grow up in our culture. That is a sacrifice for the legacy of our family. "

"I don't think I want to understand. All I know is, you love your family one and all."

"How dare you!"

"Sir, we are approaching the landing point," the captain cut-in. I heaved a sigh.

"Look Mrs. Lee, I will not turn a blind eye on my duties. You also have no authority over me or my team. Don't worry about Maria, when this ends she will be my family, not yours."

"You are a fool Mr. Zabala."

"Like it or not, I'm the best chance you've got."

***

I hate stress-debriefings.

I don't have the patience to deal with the shell-shocked civilians and the rattled officers. Especially when you're trying to sell some far-fetched story of how two entire blocks have to be cordoned off, shrapnel and bullet holes riddled store fronts, and several lamp posts are down. I'll leave all that to the experts. Buti na lang kasama namin si Luna at maaasahan siya dito. Kasi kung kami lang ni Fache, malamang kung saan-saan mapupunta ang usapan. Si Edge naman hindi 'yon nagsasalita at goodluck kung magkaintindihan ang lahat sa tinginan lang.

While Luna joined the group activity, we took on the job of sweeping the crime scene. Walang dapat maiwan na bakas bago buksan ang mga shops at kalsada sa publiko. All CCTV tapes are brought to HQ to be downloaded then wiped clean. Bullets, fragments, shell casings have to be taken to the lab for evidence. We also have to clear Brian's condo unit and Maria's too. Kasama na ang ibang unit na tinirhan din ng mga tauhan. Lahat ng naiwan na valuables, gadgets, at papeles ay dapat i-scrutinize at i-file. It's going to be a field day in the lab.

"Agent Pascual, is your team almost done?" Reaper's voice asked from my transponder.

"May dalawang kalsada pa kaming susuyurin, bakit?"

"Pag-uwi niyo pabili daw ng Nutella si Icen. Wala naman daw si Boss kaya baka naman..."

"Luh siya, baka mahuli tayo sa cctv." Napailing na lang ako. Pasaway na kabute talaga 'tong si Clauson.

"Gagawa ako ng false feed sa cctv," sagot ni Icen sa kabilang linya. Medyo rinig kong ngumunguya siya kaya malamang e galing na naman ito sa pantry. Baka naubos na naman ang lahat ng snacks na naka-stock.

"Ituturo kita pag nahuli tayo ha."

"Tch. Busy si Boss ngayon. Kakagaling nga lang dito nang lola ni 43. In pursuit pa rin sila Boss at Yellow pero tingin ko malapit na sila."

"E ba't nakikipagdaldalan ka dito sa feed? Lagot ka kay Boss pag may nakalusot na naman diyan sa comms mo. Roast kabute ka talaga."

"Hmp, 'ge na nga. I7 over and out."

***

I find it terribly hard to listen to the news, because most of what I hear is bad news no matter how hard I try to find a silver lining.

I could choose not to listen and not to react and live in blissful ignorance, but what does that make me? No more than a cancer in this society.

How can you sleep peacefully when your leaders are selling your land to the bullies? When every Filipino worker pays taxes but these foreign workers don't, and worse they act like they already own this country. How can you not feel your blood boil when you hear the lies spewed from the mouths of these bloody men in powerful seats which we ourselves voted for in the hopes of real change? How can the leaders of this country not have faith in their own nation, their own team, or their own blood? General Luna must be turning in his grave.

There is change definitely, but change does not always mean for the better. Change can be only in who holds the power. Change can be who can manipulate the news and fabricate more lies and sell to a different bidder. A higher one.

There is no real freedom in this country. Every party has their own agenda. There are no allies for the masses; the real masses. It is our own bloody fault in the end. For being so entrenched in the system of corruption and "utang na loob" and lack of integrity.

A public servant may start as good, then end up being swallowed by the system. How can he stay as pure, if he crosses the business of some other corporation or magnate or jueteng lord or drug lord who is funding somebody higher in position? The ending, the good ones are deprived of projects or taken out of their political party. No projects, the people lose their trust. Then on the next election, he no longer wins.

All these realizations I carry in myself as I complete this mission. It is terribly hard to do your job well, knowing that somebody up there in the ranks is doing everything they can to undermine you.

I have to admit that Yellow's intel gave us an extensive list of people. The more I read that list, the more I feel like this is nothing but a foolhardy mission. In truth, I already got a call from HQ calling things off.

Seems like the moles have been hard at work.

"Yellow," I called her attention. She raised her brow at me. "This mission is no longer approved by the HQ."

"And?"

"I'm giving you a choice. Stay with me and see it through the end, or leave. I won't hold you accountable for anything."

"I'm already here Jaguar."

"You don't have to stay. This is no longer your job."

"And regret not getting dibs on Tiu?" She pouted. "No way."

***

             An abandoned airfield lay before us. As expected Tiu's group did not use the main roads or the international airport. Their team went directly to a private air field in Laguna before they ghosted our GPS tracker.

There is electricity in the air, the kind of cold before a brewing storm. The weather mirrored the churning inside my gut. You can smell the ozone with each ribbon dancing across the heavens. The weather report says there's a low pressure area approaching.

Stein tied her hair up in a messy bun as she surveyed the scene. Her favourite Jericho is slung over her right shoulder. Wispy tendrils that escaped her bun framed her grim face.

"Did Icen get it wrong?"

I shook my head. Clauson did not do anything wrong. They are here. I can almost smell Tiu's stench.

"Hold your position Yellow." I walked forward into the darkness, my footsteps barely made any sound in the short brush. The darkness made the ground almost imperceptible. Here the grass is short overgrown on the cracked cement path, but still my instinct tells me there is something unnatural.

"Here." The spot my foot landed was not ground but harder and smooth. Metal. Hollow on the inside.

Stein went on her knees and placed her ear against the ground. "Quiet as a grave." She stood up and brushed her knees. "I bet it only opens from the inside."

"Okay, move back a little." I went on my knees to touch the surface, trying to look for the edges. The doorway is easily eight feet in width. Enough for a vehicle to enter and exit. I wonder if there are other entrances? I pulled my knife from my boot and sliced the end of my thumb, letting one drop of blood to fall on the metal doorway. I pressed on the spot where the controls are embedded on my arm. "Seek."

I heard Yellow gasp as the drop moved like an obedient pet, skimming on the edges of the target. In the blink of an eye it slipped inside the crack in between where metal met cement. I put on the special lenses that Shan and Reaper designed so I can see what we are working against. The door is thick, and designed to withstand a nuclear blast. I slipped further inside to the complex mechanisms and circuits that made up it's security defense system. I studied what we are working against before I searched for it's weakness.

There. I found the target. "Destroy." The tiny nanobots detonated on cue. Even the back up system and secondary alarm didn't have a chance to activate. We felt a slight tremor on the surface before a little smoke emanated from the edges of the door.

I stepped back and felt for the edges of the door. I heaved and this time it gave way.

"Let's go."

Yellow flanked my left as we descended below grounds. The place is as dead as a tomb. Weak light filtered from sparsely placed light bulbs on the ceiling. Water damage lent a color of old rust from the ceiling to the floor. The area looked surprisingly clean even though it looks old and unused. We didn't encounter any guards yet. Where the hell are they?

"There's an exclusive subdivision a quarter of a mile from here. You think they exited there?" Yellow whispered.

"Possibly."

We stopped at the end of the narrow corridor where it branched. The right side was not lighted, while the left one was.

"Left?" Yellow asked in confirmation.

"Right."

She gave me a questioning stare. I bent down and picked up the bracelet with the initials ADZ. "We go right."

A/N:

It's been years! While it's true that I've updated last June, but that chapter's been half-written for years. Now, this one's been written in 16 days. XD Now that's progress! :D I don't think any sort of apology will work because I cannot promise to be consistent in updating. The only thing I can say is, I will do my best to finish. Not perfect, but finished.

I'm writing cold. That means there's no muse here. I've re-read my entire MS for both ISITL and SC in the past months to get an idea of where I am in the story and what I've forgotten through the years. I've caught up, I've seen the holes, and now we go and get to the task. I just hope I've still got the same writing style, and if not, I hope this one's better.

You can give me some love by voting and commenting. xD