NAGISING si Celine sa isang kulungan, nakahiga sa malamig na sahig at tila nanghihina,
She still can't control her body because of the drug that has been injected to her.
She can feel her wounds aching as well but she can't even let out some grunts, she's regaining her strength as of the moment. Fighting the pain she's feeling.

The darkness were surrounding her, she can only see a light from afar.

Where am I..

Ilang beses napamura ang dalaga dahil sa sobrang sakit ng kanyang katawan. Her Boss injected a substance to her before so that she can feel less pain. But this time someone injected her a drug that contradicts the substance she took before. Causing her to ache.

She recalled what happened before she got here. At bahagyang nag dilim lalo ang kanyang mukha nang mapagtantong gin*go lang sya ng isang lalaki na kala nya ay kliyente.

"Maxis.. That a**hole."

Maya-maya lang ay namataan ni Celine ang isang CCTV sa sulok ng kulungan na kinaroroonan nya.
Nanghihina man,
Pinilit ni Celine na bumangon upang makaupo nang maayos.

She can hear footsteps.. She knew that another danger is yet to come.
Inihanda ng dalaga ang sarili at agad lumikha ng plano sa isip.

"You're awake." Bungad ng lalaking may malalim na boses.

"Sinclair wants to see you, prepare yourself. Eat up so you'll look presentable and he can talk to you properly" dugtong pa nito.
Binuksan ng lalaki ang pintuan at inilapag ang pagkain sa harapan ng dalaga.

"Eat."

" Bring me to him this instant" Malamig na tugon ni Lady Sy. Ayaw sa lahat ng dalaga ay naghihintay sya sa walang kabuluhang bagay.
At gustong gusto nya nang bangasan ang mukha ng Sinclair na yon.

Nagtago nang ilang taon ang dalaga para sa paghahanda pero ngayong nandito na sya.. Makikita nya na ang ungas na pumatay sa angkan nya..
Pero.. Wala syang laban ngayon.
Walang armas.. Walang kakampi..

Nilapit ng lalaki ang kanyang mukha sa dalaga upang makausap ito nang masinsinan, hindi man tuluyang sabihin ng binata, hindi nya maipagkakailang nabibihag sya sa kagandang tinataglay ng nasa harapan nya ngayon. Hanga pa ito kung paano umakto ang dalaga sa ganitong sitwasyon.

"Hmm.. Unlike the other ones.. You're calm and chill.. I'm starting to like you" ani ng binata.
Lady just smirked.
Hindi na nag-aksaya pa ng tyansa ang dalaga at agad nyang inumpog ang kanyang ulo sa binata upang mawala ito sa konsentrasyon.
That's for you injecting drugs on me!

Agad namang naglakbay ang kamay ng dalaga sa leeg ng binata upang pindutin ang pressure point nito upang tuluyan itong mawalan ng malay sa loob ng ilang minuto.

"Gusto kitang patayin pero gusto ko, sa nguso ng baril."
Pinilit ng dalaga na tuluyang makatayo at saka nya lang napagtantong naka-kadena pala ang kanyang mga paa.
Naghanap ng susi ang dalaga sa mga bulsa ng binata ngunit wala syang natagpuan.

Mierda! She cursed.

Dahil sa prustrasyon ay sinakal ni Celine ang binatang si Maxis sa pamamagitan ng kadenang tinutukoy.

Akmang kikitilin na ng dalaga ang buhay ng binata ngunit may isa pang lalaking pumasok sa selda at nagsalita.

"Don't kill him, please. He's a goodguy."
Marahas namang napalingon si Celine sa pinanggalingan ng boses na iyon.
It's so dark, but she knows that voice too well.
His voice rings the bell.

"Ikaw..?!" di makapaniwalang tanong ng dalaga.

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"DON'T move Zinc. " Ani Draco Kay Thorn.
Wala namang pakialam si Thorn sa sinasabi ni Draco.
Thorn needs to get going, so that he can go back home.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the training area? It is prohibited to lurk around without a valid reason.."
Hindi nakinig si Thorn sa sinabi ni Draco, nagpatuloy syang bumangon na syang dahilan ng pagkirot ng sugat nito.

Thorn hissed in pain, and Draco just laughed at him.

" That's what you get for not listening to your cool doctor "
Thorn gave him an 'are-you-serious?' look that made Draco laugh even more.

"Chill, the pain will disappear later. I already stitch those cuts of yours and you owe me life. Welcome."
Doctor pala 'tong kupal na 'to?

"T-Thank you.. How can I.. Return your --"

"Find me a wife. That's all I ask"
Ngumiti nang nakakaloko si Draco at iniwang nakatanga si Thorn sa loob ng silid.
Maya-maya pa ay may pumasok dito na syang ikinayuko naman ng binata bilang pag-galang.

"Zinc, you have a new mission, I understand your state, But you're the only one who's present here with a knowledge of the country who's in need. It's urgent. "
Xien paused.

"P-Philippines?"

"Yes."
Bumilis ang tibok ng puso si Thorn nang muling maalala ang babaeng nakilala nya sa Pilipinas habang nagtatrabaho.
He smiled out of nowhere and that made Xien cringed a bit.

"There is another victim in the Philippines. That victim is in danger. It's highly possible that Niccolo is present in that country.
I want you to go there.. Find him and bring him to me."
Muling bumalik sa reyalidad ang binata nang muling marinig ang nakakatakot na baritonong boses ng kanilang pinuno.

" What about the victim, Master? "

" It is for you to decide. But my suggestion is, leave that behind. "
Napatango ang binata sa sagot ni Xien.

"Are you up for this mission?" Tanong ng matanda.

"Yes, Master Xien."
Kahit pa na kumikirot ang sugat nito, minaigi nyang tumayo nang maayos at muling yumuko bilang paggalang.
Paalis na ang kanilang pinuno ngunit huminto ito upang sabihin na..

"Come back alive, Son."
Napayuko si Thorn sa narinig.

"I will. I am Zinc anyways."

Umalis na ang kanilang pinuno sa silid na kinaroroonan ni Thorn.
Bilang lang sa daliri ang pagkakataong gaya sa nangyari kanina.
It's rare for him to call me Son.

"This mission must be really important for him."

Thorn was lost in his own thoughts when his doctor, Draco, came back.
Muling binigyang lunas ni Draco si Thorn dahil sa tigas ng kokote nito.
Thorn is bleeding again, unlike before, thorn is now quiet. He's not even flinching anymore.

Its been seconds for him to realize that there's another person in the room.
Kaya't pinilit ni Thorn na bumalik sa reyalidad.

"Are you really a doctor..? Or you were trained here?"
Tanong niya kay Draco.

"I am. I studied so hard, worked my butt for it.. It's nice to help."

"How did you came up with this type of job then?"
Thorn noticed something in Draco's monolid eyes. It's pain.

Draco sighs.

"Let's just say.. The world really hates me." Draco flashes his rectangular signature smile.
He's good at pretending too.

"When I failed for the first time they all blamed me. I left.. I changed my name.. My story.. My identity.. My passion..I want thrill.. To feel alive. "

"And your face?" Thorn asked.

"Let me ask you bud, if you have something perfect with you, would you change it? Would you replace it?"

Umiling si Thorn.

"Exactly. Now you know why I didn't changed my face. --"

"--because it shouts perfection"
Draco said. Emphasizing the word 'Perfection'

"Anyways, Goodluck on your mission, Zinc. Don't forget to find me a wife wherever you go!"
And by that, Draco left with pain flickering through his eyes.

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XIEN already prepared the plane which Thorn was gonna use. Uminom na rin ang binata ng gamot na ibinigay ni Draco bago sya umalis upang pangontra sa mga kirot na nararamdaman.

He needs to find that Niccolo.

So that he can love freely.
He can go home without danger on his back.

It took less than five hours for the plane to land.
Hindi na nahirapan si Thorn sa paglabas ng airport. He has his ways. The process went smoothly.. He came out without being interrupted.

Agad sumakay ng taxi ang binata at nagtungo sya kanyang sariling apartment upang kumuha ng mga datos at mga posibleng impormasyon.

It took him hours to grant access.

Maya-maya lang ay nakatanggap na sya ng coordinates mula sa hq na pinakamalapit sa kanya ngayon.

Nasa isang warehouse ang pinangyayarihan ayon sa sattelite image na lumitaw sa screen ni Thorn.

Hindi na nagaksaya pa ng oras ang binata at minainam nyang magtungo na agad sa lugar na iyon para kompirmahing nandoon nga si Niccolo.
He needs to move quick, to act precise, in order to get things done accordingly.

He tucked his gun on his belt, packed some explosives, goggles. And most importantly, his sword and his mask.

He came unnoticed.
He's like a shadow that no one owns.

Before he finally gets in, he immediately secure the route his gonna take for an escape.
There's a lot of ways to get in, but there's only two ways to get out.
One is to drive madly, or two, to swim hard.
The warehouse is located near the cliff where the ocean was crashing loud.
And Thorn isn't a great swimmer.

That's why he secured his way for him to drive mad later on.

Pagkapasok ni Thorn sa loob ng warehouse ay bumulaga sa kanya ang isang batalyong kalalakihan na nagbabantay sa isang silid na yari sa bakal.

A shipping container.. But remodeled.

"The victim must be inside" Thorn said to himself.
But why are there so many troops?

Sa lahat ng misyon na dinaluhan ni Thorn sa paghahanap kay Niccolo ay ito ang pinakamaraming bantay na naengkwentro nya.
They're all busy guarding the particular room.

Hindi man lang nila napansin na may pumasok sa bintana at ngayon ay naglalakad sa kanilang itaas.

It's really dark in the warehouse. Only few lights we're lit, the moonshine helped him to see as well.
Thorn cannot use the night vision of his mask.

Pero kitang kita ni Thorn ang isang lalaki na pumasok sa loob ng container.
Thankfully, he has a night vision goggles with him.
At minuto lang ang lumipas, namataan na ni Thorn si Niccolo na sumunod papasok sa container na 'yon. He has a rifle with him.

What on earth is happening?

Thorn changed his spot for a perfect angle.

A minute later, a girl come out with a rifle on her hands, shooting everyone she sees. Brutally ending everyone's lives while her hair covering her face.

It's one battalion versus one girl.

They are exchanging bullets rapidly.

Hindi alam ni Thorn ang gagawin. He just silently watched the entire show.
He even smiled.

I thought this mission's gonna be hard.

He enjoys the show so much. He even saw the girl backed down for a while to reload the gun in a swift motion.

Maya-maya lang ay natamaan ng bala ang babae. Thorn was surprise that the girl didn't stopped firing bullets at them.
And a couple of minutes later, ang isang batalyon ay nakabulagta na at wala nang buhay.

The cleaning team will suffer because of this mess.

The girl walked elegantly towards someone, she grabbed the dead man's shades and wear it as if she owns it.
Maya-maya lang ay may dumating na sasakyan.

A powerful looking man came out.
Pointing a gun at her.

At si Niccolo at ang isa pang lalaki ay lumabas ng container na puno ng pasa at galos sa pagmumukha.

Three guns are now pointing at her.

One on the left, one on the right, and one in front of her.

She tied her hair into a simple bun, she elegantly touched her chin, as if she's wondering what to do.

And that's when Thorn realized, It is...

"Celine.."

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(A/N : This is the concept photo of the warehouse.. with the shipping container at the middle.

Mas malawak nga lang sa storya na ito para maraming matakbuhan lol. 😂

Photo not mine.
Credits to the real owner. )

Found on Pinterest.

__aponilarionabini