CHAPTER 18
"The Creepy Smiling Hacker"

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18: 33 PM

• Sakura •

"What? Why are you looking for me?" I asked. Medyo binaba ko ang baril ko pero alerto ako.

Lumapit sya ng konti, "I found out that you are also looking for them. Because like you, I'm also looking for them. I'm also looking for the Men in Black."

Gulat akong nakatingin sa kanya, "W-What? H-How? Someone told me that I'm doing this mission. Me. The Gangster Queen. I'm not informed that there is another one for this mission."

"That's because no one assigned me. I'm doing this for myself. That organization killed my parents." sabi nya. Pansin ko din na nakayukom ang dalawang kamay nya.

"How can I trust you? I mean, how can I know if you're an ally or a foe?" tanong ko.

He shrugged, "You can do anything you want to me. Do a background check, know my identity, or just torture me. I'm ready to do what you want me to do. For one thing." he smiled innocently. "Let me join you."

"Are you insane?" patanong na sigaw ni Keith. Napalingon ako sa kanya. Nasa gilid ko na pala silang tatlo. "And why would we want to do that?"

"Simply because, you need me. You don't know it yet, but I know you need me." sabi nya.

"Okay, I'm convinced." simpleng sabi ko at tinago ang baril ko.

"Queen! Are you insane?" inis na sabi ni Cloud.

I rolled my eyes, "Of course not."

"Then why?" sabi ni Rui.

"Well, he has a point. We can do a background check and kill him if he is lying. Simple as that." sabi ko. Lumapit ako dun sa lalaki.

"Let me introduce myself." I bowed, "I'm the Legendary Gangster Queen. Nice to meet ya."

He smiled at me, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Queen."

"Pleasure's all mine."

---

19:13 PM
Sakura Fujioka's Mansion
San Francisco, USA

"Welcome to my mansion. Make yourself at home." sabi ko kay Ace pagpasok namin.

Agad akong hinila nung tatlo palayo at naiwan si Ace sa living room.

"Nababaliw ka na ba?" sabi ni Cloud. "Di natin sya kilala. Buti sana kung si Dharyll, Iann or Jarred yan eh." tinanggal nila ang mga masks nila.

"Or sina Daiki, Akira, at Akio." sabat ni Keith.

"Pero sya? He is a total stranger." patuloy ni Cloud.

"Well, hindi naman. We met him earlier. Nagpakilala pa nga eh." sabi ni Rui kaya sinamaan sya ng tingin nung dalawa.

Inalis ko ang kamay nilang tatlo na nakahawak sakin.

"Don't worry. We'll be thorough. And kaya ko syang patayin once na malaman kong niloloko lang nya tayo. Kilala nyo ako. I won't be this reckless if I don't have a plan." sabi ko.

Saglit naman silang napatahimik at unti unting tumango. I smiled at them. Naglakad na ako papuntang living room at nakita kong nakaupo si Ace sa sofa. Nakangiti sya habang iniikot ang paningin nya. His smile is so innocent. How can someone look so naive?

Actually, wala akong plan. Siguro kung meron, yun ay ang patayin sya kapag niloko nya ako. But obviously, not a normal death. Pag niloko nya ako, I'll make sure na pagsisisihan nyang kinalaban nya ako.

"You can take off your mask, Ace." sabi ko at umupo sa harap nya. I crossed my arms and legs.

Tinanggal nya ung mask nya at ngumiti sakin. Dun ko nakitang buo ung mukha nya.

Medyo mahaba ang buhok nya. Singkit ang mata nya na parang nawawala lalo na pag nakangiti sya. Matangos ang ilong nya at maputi sya. If I base it on someone's taste in boys, he's kinda cute.

"Let me introduce myself again, Queen." he smiled again, "I'm Jaxton Akinari Hada."

Tinanggal ko na din yung mask ko na may voice changer. "I'm Sakura Miku Fujioka. Nice to meet ya." nagsalute ako sa kanya.

"So we're both Japanese. And I didn't notice you were using a voice changer." he smiled again.

"What's with you and smiles?" naiirita kong sabi.

"Oh, sorry. Don't mind me. I'm always like this to everyone."

Ramdam kong nasa likod ko yung tatlo.

"What can you do? What makes you think that we need you?" sabi ni Keith.

"Well, I'm a hacker. I can hack through anything. Especially gated or other types of sites. And also, cctv cameras in almost everywhere. I can hack anything." confident nyang sabi.

"Prove it." sabi ni Cloud.

Bigla namang lumitaw si Rui dala ang macbook ko. (Dalawa ang macbook ko. One for the mission and one for myself)

"It's been months since we found this site. But we only passed through it's gate. We can't get any updates." sabi ni Rui habang nilalagay ang macbook sa harap ni Jaxton.

He opened the macbook, "Uhm, can anyone type the password or something?"

Tumayo ako at tinype ang password at agad kong binuksan ang site ng mga Men in Black.

"Oh, so this is this site. I never had the time to search for this." sabi nya habang hawak ang chin nya.

"Yeah. I tried my best to enter their site and I did it. But I can't get any further. And I can't seem to get updates." sabi ko. "If you really are a hacker, you can get through that."

"Well, this one is easy for me."

Pumunta kaming apat sa likod nya para tingnan ang ginagawa nya. Sobrang bilis ng pagtatype nya. Para syang nagsosolve ng code sa macbook. Di ko sya masundan. Wala pang isang minuto ay lumitaw ang isang website.

"What's that?" tanong ko.

"This is their real website. The one that you broke into is only a decoy. It's for unwanted people. People outside their organization." paliwanag nya.

"Tangina. Naisahan tayo, Sakura." inis na sabi ni Cloud.

"Oh, so you can speak tagalog? Good. Para di na tayo mahirapan." sabi ni Jaxton na ikinagulat ko.

"Marunong ka magtagalog? Dapat sinabi mo agad!" nakapout na sabi ni Rui. "Nauubusan na kami ng english eh."

(A/n: Sorry, ako talaga naubusan ng English HAHAHAHA)

He chuckled, "Sorry, my bad." nagfocus ulit sya sa harap ng macbook. Nagscroll sya.

"Totoong decoy lang yun?" I asked him.

"Oo. Maingat silang organization. No one can hack this further. I'm not bragging or anything. Nagsasabi ako ng totoo. Even the elites in FBI can't do this. Medyo nahirapan din ako kanina."

Napairap ako.

Sobrang humble naman nito. Nahirapan? Di naman halata.

"So what now? Anong meron dyan sa site nila?" tanong ni Keith.

"Andito lahat ng mga pangalan ng members nila. Not all. It is still updating. Unahan lang ang nabreak ko. Marami pa ang kailangan kong ihack. This may take a long time even for me." sabi ni Jax.

"Then let's continue that tomorrow. Pwede kang magstay dito if you want, Jaxton. Or pwede ka na din umuwi." sabi ko.

Siniko naman ako ni Cloud ng konti dahil sa sinabi ko.

"Sure. I can't say no to the Queen." sabi nya at humarap sakin at ngumiti.

I patted his shoulders ng ilang beses at sinigurado kong nahahawakan ko ang leeg nya. Nagplant ako ng maliit na device sa kanya. Pumasok yun sa loob ng katawan nya.

Tumayo ako, "Well, have a good sleep, Jaxton. Nice meeting you."

He smiled, "It's nice meeting you, too."

***

Hey guys! I'll follow the first five na magcomment at magvovote. Sincere comments ha? Not just 'UD po author'.

I'll wait!!!

Kang Hyung Gu (Kino) as Jaxton Akinari Hada/Berserk Ace