12: Regret it Later

I was more than exhausted when I returned to Bane Lab. Tahimik na bumalik ako sa palapag ng opisina ni Sage, only to find the place more tense than I was.

Sa common hall ay nagkakagulo ang ibang mga researchers. They were busy talking about something kaya lumapit ako sa kanila ng bahagya.

"How will Dr. Ravago relay this to Wolff Bane?"

"I cannot imagine Dr. Ravago absorbing all the rage from him."

"Gosh, I pity the man."

"Balita ko pa naman masamang magalit ang mga Glass."

I cleared my throat to get their attention. Sabay silang napaayos ng tayo, trying to do something like fixing their lab gowns at kung anu-ano pa, just to appear less awkward. I know they're aware I am Sage's secretary kaya naging maingat sila sa mga sinasabi.

"Anong nangyari?" I asked. From how it seemed, mukhang nag-aalala sila para kay Sage.

Nagkatinginan sila na para bang ayaw nilang sabihin kung ano ang problema, but in the end, they decided to tell me.

"We worry for you too," sabi ng isang doctor doon. "Kahit alam naming mabait si Dr. Ravago, you should not bother him much, okay? I'm sure he's thinking of a way to make his reports about the theft case so it would appear less bad."

"Oo nga, Dani," dagdag ng isa. "Ang bait ni Dr. Ravago. I worry he's in panic right now dahil malamang magagalit si Wolff Bane kapag nalaman kung anong kemikal ang nawawala."

They already found out what the intruder got?

"Anong kemikal ang nanakaw?" I asked.

Sabay-sabay silang napabuntong-hininga bago umiling. "We don't know. But from the looks of it, it must be something very important."

I looked at them, silently demanding further explanations. One of the junior pharmacists tried to explain further.

"Dr. Ravago made three personal inventory counts after two others made by staff. We all know Dr. Ravago is keen enough, but no matter how many times he does physical counts, there's one that's missing. Though we don't know what it is, we just know it's important dahil nasa special bio vault iyon at si Dr. Ravago lamang ang may access."

One tapped my back. "Don't get in his way, Dani," sabi ng isa. "He might be in a bad mood. Dr. Ravago may seem silent and awkward, but who knows how he will react after this."

I get their point. Of course, I don't want to bother Sage lalo na at ganoong problema pala ang kinakaharap niya. I kept in mind the fact that it's not just Sage who had access to the vault, kundi maging si Wolff—na hindi nila alam na malayang nakakasalamuha lamang nila.

I forced a smile before nodding at them. "Thanks for informing me," sabi ko sa kanila at nagpaalam. Even though ayaw kong munang pumasok sa loob ng opisina ni Sage, I have to inform him I've delivered the files to Odin Gozon.

Nang pumasok ako sa opisina niya, it was calmer than I expected. Siguro ay hindi lamang si Sage ang tipong nagwawala kapag may kinakaharap na problema. He sat in his chair, seriously looking at the monitor and constantly glancing at his phone. Nang mag-notify iyon na hindi reachable ang tinatawagan nito, he sighed heavily before redialing the number, only to hear the same operator message.

Ibinagsak niya ang cellphone at napamasahe sa noo. He's distressed, I can tell. Napansin niya ang presensya ko kaya muli siyang napabuntong-hininga.

"N-nandito ka na pala, Dani."

I slowly nodded before walking towards my desk. "Mr. Gozon received the file personally," pagbibigay-alam ko sa kanya. Hopefully that mysterious guy didn't tattletale about what happened at his office. Right, I lost my cool and acted without thinking much. And yes, I deeply regret it, only if it has caused more problems for Sage. Sana lang ay hindi niya iyon sinabi.

He nodded. "T-thanks, Dani. I a-also received h-his notification. T-thank you."

Ngumiti ako at tahimik na tiningnan siya. At surface, I know he has no idea what happened at Cielo Rosa. Salamat naman at pinili ni Odin Gozon na huwag iyong sabihin kay Sage.

Muling nagsalita si Sage. "Sorry, if y-you find me like t-this," napabuntong-hininga siya. "I'm s-sure you've heard from the other staff tungkol sa nangyari."

Tumango ako. "Is there anything I can do to help?" Sekretarya niya ako, so it's my responsibility to know how I can help. Isa pa, nag-aalala ako sa kanya. Paano kung magalit nga si Wolff kapag nalaman niyang isa sa importanteng kemikal nila ang nawawala? What if Wolff Bane would throw his fit at Sage?

Oh no. Sage is too good to be treated like that. So if there's anything I can do, I am willing to help.

"The matter is at hand," sagot niya. "Although it's important, w-wala na kaming magagawa kung iyon nga ang nanakaw na chemicals. M-my problem now is I cannot reach W-wolff."

Bigla akong kinabahan. What if he cannot reach Wolff because he decided to become Odin Gozon?

Argh, I don't know.

Or worse...

What if he cannot reach Wolff because he's on the brink of dying due to a pen stab wound?

Shit.

Mahinang sinampal ko ang sarili upang alisin iyon sa isipan. That would make no sense. Pero, dammit, bakit hindi ko maialis ang posibilidad na iyon?

"Uhm, Sage, this may be a weird question but is it possible to die due to a pen stab wound... sa braso?" biglang tanong ko.

Bahagyang nagulat si Sage at nag-aalalang napatayo upang lumapit sa akin. "D-did you hurt y-yourself with a pen?" He grabbed my hand as if he was searching for something, ngunit biglang napatigil at nahihiyang binitiwan ang kamay ko. "S-sorry, I got c-carried away."

Napayuko ako. "Uhm, not me. A f-friend of mine. Yes, kaibigan ko." Even though Wolff and I are not friends.
We will never be.

"If it d-does not hit any vital o-organ, I don't t-think that's f-fatal. P-pero kung na-infect ang sugat, that could l-lead to complications."

Shit talaga, shit! Paano kung tama nga ang sinabi ni Wolff na mai-infect iyon dahil maruming tela ang itinali ko?

I'm doomed.

But wait, the old saying goes, "matagal mamatay ang masamang damo."

Wolff is definitely a "masamang damo." I have to at least feel at ease knowing he would not die that fast. Isa pa, matalino si Wolff—maybe he'll find a way to treat himself or whatever.

"I see," tanging sambit ko. I tried to ask about the theft case in a way that I didn't sound pushy. "Uhm, tungkol nga pala sa nangyari rito sa lab, was that stolen chemical really important?"

He nodded, looking worried as ever. "It's a chemical formula Wolff and I d-developed together."

I may be thinking too simply, but I wanted to know. "Kung kayo naman pala ang gumawa, can't you just do it again and forget about the stolen one?"

Ngumiti siya. "I h-hope I have your optimistic t-trait, Dani. Sad to s-say, it's not just some simple chemical we developed. It was developed through time, and after so many trials and errors. Although it's s-still not perfect, we c-cannot make such in a short time. The o-only way is to retrieve it."

"Was it really that important?" tanong ko. I felt Sage's dilemma. Even if Wolff will not get angry over its loss, malulungkot pa rin si Sage sa isiping ninakaw ang bagay na ilang taon nilang pinaghirapan. I think he's that kind of person.

Sagittarius Ravago may look awkward and easy on the surface, but when he's in concentration, you can tell he has the will to finish what he started. He's dedicated and precise when it comes to making things perfect. He may be a little like Wolff, sort of a perfectionist but tolerable.

He's no doubt an admirable person. Bilib ako sa mga taong dedikado sa mga gawaing naka-set na sa isip nila. It's a shame that Sage's well-going career has been tainted by a theft case.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, pero para saan iyon? Is it for the lab's new drugs?" usisa ko. I wanted to know a few details about it, kahit may ilang hindi ko maintindihan. A part of me wanted to be useful to him, and maybe having a gist of what that chemical is about will help.

He shook his head. "A-actually, kahit ako ay hindi alam kung para saan iyon. It's something that Wolff developed a few years ago, until he came to ask for my help. H-he would ask me to do something, and I always did, but he never told me what it was for. Its c-composition is different from the usual drugs we develop here, so I thought it's for his personal use. Hindi ko r-rin siya tinanong tungkol doon. I know b-better than to question W-wolff about anything."

"It has become s-something we developed t-together. I would conduct comparative tests and other analyses as per W-wolff's request, while he did other tests and development of such." Huminga siya nang malalim. "Kami lamang ni Wolff ang may access sa bio vault, but the defector outwitted us by c-causing a power outage and making us issue C-code Black at the s-same time."

It was enough for me to realize it's really a huge matter to worry about.

"B-but there's m-more to worry."

My eyes immediately shifted towards him. Sage looked more distressed than ever.

"Although I have no idea what that was about, I've gathered information through the years of working on it," napabuga siya ng hangin. "I d-don't know what W-wolff is thinking when he started developing it and as time goes by, I've drawn a c-conclusion that s-such was a dangerous one. It could be used as b-biological weapon, D-dani."

Tila mas bumigat ang pakiramdam ko dahil sa nalaman. What the hell is that Wolff thinking?! Hindi ba niya naisip na maaring mangyari nga ang ganito? What if the theft who stole it would use such for selfish personal reasons?! Ano na ngayon ang mangyayari?

Damn it, geniuses are sometimes stupid! Take Wolff for example!

Speaking of Wolff...

"I have another weird question," sabi ko kay Sage. He fixed his glasses before awkwardly looking at me. "Bakit hindi kilala ng mga tao rito si Wolff?"

He froze, slowly turning at me. "He didn't tell you?"

I shook my head.

"H-he didn't tell me either," sabi niya. "Maybe he's thinking I'm not gonna t-tell anyone that he's Wolff."

Well, given that awkward and aloof behaviour, I may agree with Wolff that it's no necessary to tell him to keep his identity a secret. Sino nga naman ang pagsasabihan ni Sage, eh halos hindi nga siya nakikipag-usap sa ibang narito sa lab?

"He w-wanted to keep his profile l-low so he c-could freely watch over his p-people."

Well, makes sense. Pero nakakagulat pa rin na walang nakakaalam, maliban sa iilan. "Kung ganoon ay anong tawag sa kanya ng mga tao rito?"

"P-people here calls him Dr. Jin, at k-kilala siya bilang assistant ni Dr. Lee."

Dr. Lee, as far as I can remember, he's the doctor I've seen at Zone Z. Paano kung makilala iya ako at matandaan ang mukha ko? No, that's impossible... or maybe.. ugh, I don't know what to think anymore.

"I t-thought W-wolff informed you about it," sabi ni Sage.

"No," I replied. It maybe fun for Wolff to see me so confused like that. Kung bakit hindi niya sinabi sa akin na hindi siya kilala bilang Wolff Bane sa sarili niyang Laboratory, siya lang ang nakakaalam.

"Maybe he f-forgot," sabi ni Sage.

Right, I'll just take it that way.

Our conversation was suddenly cut by his ringing phone. Mabilis na sinagot ni Sage ang tawag at may pag-aalala sa kanyang mukha.

"Wolff, where are you? I've b-been trying to call you..." He paused as if listening to what Wolff on the other side was saying. "I'll b-be t-there."

Nang ibaba niya ang tawag ay agad akong nagtanong. "What happened?"

"W-wolff is sick," sabi niya at mabilis na hinubad ang suot na labgown. He fixed some of his things. "I'm going to see h-him. He's a bit sadist t-to his health. S-siya lang yata ang may-ari ng pharmaceutical laboratory na hindi naniniwala sa epekto ng gamot sa sariling k-katawan."

Or maybe he's too egoistical to think he's mightier than any illness.

"Can I go with you?" tanong ko na parehas naming ikinagulat.

What the hell is on my mind, bakit ako sasama para bisitahin si Wolff?

Before I could take it back, nakatango na si Sage.

"That would be h-helpful," sagot niya. "I tend to panic w-whenever I see him sick so you c-can be of help."

Damn, I'll just go... and maybe regret it later.

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