Chapter 26: hell hath no fury

COOLER

I made my way through the cold, eerie area, looking for any sign of life. Nasa gusaling on-going ang construction ako, passing through the equipment and machineries as I helped myself to the elevator. Tahimik ang buong paligid, as if it were the wee hours of the night, but it was just exactly 7 PM. I pressed the elevator button, with a lot of things in my mind.

Una, what am I gonna tell my girlfriend? I can't keep making lies, especially when I expect honesty from her. I cannot lie but I cannot tell her the truth. Babawi ako. I will make sure we will enjoy our weekend, as promised.

Another thing, I knew Achilles is gonna kill me later. He was adamant in meeting me ahead of time, yet I didn't make it because I was contemplating if I'll drug my girlfriend of not. I hate myself for taking time to think about it when the answer was really obvious.

Huminto ang elevator sa palapag na destinasyon ko. I kept walking, grabbing my ringing phone from my back pocket.

"Zeus, do you have a death wish?" nababahalang bati ni Poseidon. "Achilles is fuming right now!"

"Nandito na ako. I'm looking for the area—"

"16th floor, East wing," mabilis na sagot niya.

"Got it," sagot ko bago pinatay ang tawag. Tumambad sa akin ang notification na 36 missed calls and it's all from Poseidon. I kept my phone at sinunod na lamang ang direksyong sinabi niya. I found my way eventually.

Sa labas ay nakatayo ang napakaraming armadong lalaki na nakasuot ng mga maskara. Agad silang napayuko nang makita ako, so I nodded a reply before securing the knot of my mask at tuluyang pinasok ang nakasaradong pinto.

I tugged on my necktie before slowly making my way in, positioning myself beside an old man na may hawak na sigarilyo. His fingers were full of gold rings at nakasandal sa tabi niya ang kulay gintong tungkod.

I figured that the deal had already started, base sa nakabukas na attache cases na naglalaman ng limpak-limpak na pera. The gentlemen at the long table both looked at me with smug grins on their faces.

"Zeus," tawag sa akin ni Achilles. His voice echoed in the corners of the room, enough to make everyone inside shiver.

Narinig ko ang mahinang tikhim ng binatang nasa sulok. Si Ace— I've known him for a long time ngunit kahit minsan ay hindi kami naging magkaibigan despite our frequent efforts to get along for the sake of business. His cold eyes scanned me ngunit agad ding ibinalik ang atensiyon sa perang binibilang. His legs were crossed as he chewed something in his mouth, which I supposed was gum. The crates were neatly piled not far away from us, and the money was on the table.

I wished I could see Poseidon's face behind his mask, dahil tiyak kong nababalot iyon ng pag-aalala.

"Achilles, I'm sorry I'm late," wika ko at tumayo sa gilid niya. No, I'm not. I'm just on time.

He puffed on his cigarette. "Sit down."

Nakakatakot ang boses ni Achilles, at pinakiramdaman ko ang sarili. It's the voice I hated the most. The voice I always heard say bad things about me since I was six.

What? Cooler did not make it to the star section? Mabuti pa si Ryu.

He still cannot memorize all these weapons?

Silver? Silver medal lamang siya? It's not even an academic contest!

What a mediocre kid! You can't seem to get anything right!

I shook off all thoughts before I start to have panic attack.

Napabaling ang atensiyon ko nang tumawa ang matandang kausap niya, bago tumayo ay inilahad ang palad kay Achilles. "I guess that's all for today, Achilles. It's nice doing business with you, as always."

What, that's it?

Nang tumayo si Achilles upang tanggapin ang palad ng lalaki ay tumayo rin ako at inilahad ang palad. The man stood in front of me, with a disgusted grin on his face before turning his back on me nang hindi man lamang tinatanggap ang palad ko.

Ibinaba ko ang kamay at yumuko, clearing the way kung saan dadaan si Achilles. Lumapit din si Ace kay Achilles at kinamayan ito.

"Thank you, Achilles," nakangiting sabi ni Ace. "When you're in charge, everything is just..." Bahagya niya akong sinulyapan. "...perfect."

Bumaling siya sa akin, securing the cigarette between his lips, pulling it out and continued chewing on his gum. He sucked his cigarette again bago lumapit sa akin at ibinuga ang usok. He's lucky na narito si Achilles or else he'd be picking up the ashes of his cigarette from his throat.

"...And Zeus..." Mas lumawak ang kanyang nakakalokong ngisi. "Thanks for nothing."

Tinalikuran niya ako at sumunod sa kasama niyang matanda. So the deal's done now even if it's just 7 PM. Hindi ako late, maaga lamang silang nagsimula.

Hinatid namin sila hanggang sa elevator. When the door closed, marahas na tinanggal ni Achilles ang suot niyang maskara at bumaling sa akin.

"Get back inside."

I watched him walk back inside, and I felt my stomach cramp. It was elementary school all over again. Flashes of those moments came rushing to my mind.

Wala si Cronus dahil dalawang linggo itong may inasikaso sa ibang bansa so I was left under Achilles' care. It wasn't the worst two weeks of my life but it wasn't the best either. Two weeks yet I remembered getting fed only thrice. When I tried to sneak for food, I was grounded and locked. Hindi sa kwarto ko, but in the old doghouse in the yard. Sinubukan kong maging positibo no'ng panahong iyon and cheered up by petting the puppy on the cage with me, ngunit kinagat lamang ako sa baba ng tuta. But hey, that was ages ago and it's just a laughable memory.

Nilakasan ko ang loob. It's not like I had the worst childhood. May ibang mas nakakaawa pa ang sitwasyon kaysa sa akin so I shouldn't make this a big deal.

Nilapitan ako ni Poseidon. He said nothing and just tapped my shoulder before following Achilles inside. My heart was pounding in my chest. Thanks to Poseidon, that tap on my shoulder somewhat comforted me. Hinigpitan ko ang hawak sa door knob ng pinto, Pumasok ulit ako sa pintong pinasukan ni Achilles— only to be slammed with his cane on the side of my head the moment I stepped in.

Tumama ang tungkod sa ulo ko, dahilan upang tumilapon ang suot kong maskara. I staggered, and my vision was blurring but I still tried to stand on my feet. I felt a liquid run down my face at base sa stain na iniiwan nito sa puting sahig, I figured out it was blood.

The metallic scent of blood filled my mouth but I tried to blink it all away. The red liquid was pooling on the concrete floor, at ang dating maingay na paligid ay tila unti-unting napapalitan ng matinis na tunog.

"When will you grow up, Zeus! If I wasn't here, anong mangyayari? We could have lost billions!"

Sa galit niya ay hinablot niya ang baril. He started firing into every corner of the room, at agad na nagsi-alisan ang mga tauhan niya. The multiple gunshots sounded like muffled sounds. Only Poseidon didn't budge on his ground kahit na muntikan na siyang tamaan.

"Didn't I tell you isa ito sa pinakamalaking transaksiyon natin?! And your incapable ass just has the guts to walk here after it's done?!"

Hindi ako sumagot o nangatwiran pa. Of course, I couldn't tell him that it's 7 PM, that I am not late, they just started early.

Lumapit siya sa akin at ilang beses na pinukpok ang noo ko gamit ang kanyang nakakuyom na kamay. Based on the way he opened his mouth, he was saying a lot of words but I only heard a whirring sound. He gutted me using his cane before saying something and exiting the door.

Nang tuluyan siyang makaalis, agad akong nilapitan ni Poseidon. He ripped the mask off his face at agad na dumulog sa akin.

"Are you okay?" Mahinang sabi niya. He touched the gash on my head, muttering something under his breath as his fingers came away slick with blood.

I remained standing, digesting everything that happened so fast. Poseidon was freaking out ngunit hindi ko siya pinansin dahil mas nanaig ang matinis na tunog sa tainga ko. Lumipad ang utak ko at pilit na binalikan ang mga alaalang ako na mismo ang lumimot.

The first time I was learning to use a gun, binaril niya ako sa tuhod and blamed it on my stupidity in using a gun. I was nine.

When I got a dog, he traumatized me by impaling it with my sharp toys. Nang umiyak ako, he tried to console me by aggressively shaving my head.

An the multiple times he struck me with his cane whenever no one's looking.

And don't get me started with my cigarette burns. There was a good reason why I hate cigarettes, other than the fact that they're bad for one's health.

Those things don't matter. Ano lang ba iyon kumpara sa paghihirap ng iba? At least I have a good roof above my head, delicious food on my table and almost everything can be in an instant. Almost.

The whirring noise in my ear became unbearable, kaya napapikit ako sa ingay. I closed my eyes to keep myself conscious at nag-isip ng mga maliligayang alaala.

Rustia's smiling face immediately came to mind. Napangiti ako sa sarili. Right, my girlfriend is waiting. I started to slowly make my way out with blurry vision. Dahan-dahan ang hakbang ko, finding walls for support.

"Damn it, Cooler! Can't you hear me?!"

Bigla akong natigilan nang marinig ang sigaw ni Poseidon. Nang nilingon ko siya, he was red all over. Napangiti ako. His real name is red, and he was red right now. Napansin ko ang nakakuyom na palad niya, his veins not only evident on his arms but as well as in his neck na tila ba kanina pa siya sumisigaw.

What did he say?

Damn it, Cooler?

Ah right, Poseidon is scary when he calls you by your real name, but you know what's scary?

Cursing Poseidon. Hindi pa lumalagpas sa mga daliri ng isang kamay ang bilang pagkakataon na napamura siya, but during the times that he did, hell hath no fury.

Damn, what did I do to make him angry?

Tangis ang bagang na lumapit siya sa akin, grabbing my shoulders as I faced him. His face was filled with anger and pain. He gripped my shoulders tightly, shaking me slightly, but his eyes betrayed his concern.

Poseidon was saying something to me but the piercing ringing in my ears was drowning out everything. I tried to meet his gaze, but my vision was a blur. I reached for the wall for support ngunit malayo pa iyon so I ended up falling on my knees.

Masked men entered the room, probably to carry the money, but then Poseidon started firing aggressively. Wala siyang pakialam kahit bago lamang ang gusali, wala siyang pakialam kahit may natamaan siyang mga tauhan. He fired around like there was no tomorrow, and when his gun was empty, he tossed it somewhere, grabbed another gun, and fired again.

Damn, Poseidon was so good at clearing the room. He fired shots everywhere, but I only heard muffled sounds. Nang wala ng tao roon, he picked me up by grabbing me from the floor, and tightly gripping my jaw. Poseidon's frustration grew, and he slammed his fist against the wall, making a deep dent. He gritted his teeth in anger and pain as he spoke close to me.

"Achilles better pray you're not permanently deaf, because if you are, he'll be losing not only his hearing but his ears as well."

Despite the whirring in my right ear, I'm pretty sure I heard him loud and clear.

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