Chapter 4 – The Argonauts

The next morning, we went underground after eating breakfast. Kasabay ko si Apollo samantalang nauna na daw si Justin sa amin.

Dumiretso kami sa conference room tulad ng bilin ng guwardyang sumalubong sa amin sa labas ng elevator. Wala pa masyadong tao sa building sapagkat maaga pa naman, pero may mga mangilan-ngilan na abala na sa kanya-kanyang opisina at halata mong wala pang mga tulog.

Resident agents of every district could go in and out of the establishment depending on them. Minsan may mga field agents na pumapasok lang para magreport ng mga nakukuha nilang impormasyon tungkol sa kasong hinahawakan nila. May iba naman na magre-report lang sa opisina kapag tapos na nila ang kaso. Ang mahalaga matapos nila ang kaso base sa timeframe na inilaan dito.

Agents were classified based on their experience. It was not based on age or sa kung gaano ka na katagal sa organisasyon. New recruits were called Novice Agents. Sa kanila ibinibigay ang White coded cases o kaya ay isinasama sa mga teams na nakatoka sa Grey, Brown o Black coded cases upang maging deductive members. Sila yung mag-iimbestiga ng kaso habang nasa loob ng opisina.

And, speaking of Novice Agents, may naalala ako.

“When will the old men promote you to a Junior Agent?” tanong ko sa kasama ko. As far as I knew, Apollo was still a Novice Agent. Una siyang ipinareha sa akin nung hawakan ko ang isang Grey coded case sa District Three. Simula noon, hindi na kami pinaghiwalay labag man sa kalooban ko.

Apollo smiled like he knew something I don’t. Pinagtaasan ko siya ng kilay.

“They already did. Three days before we travelled here.”

Sumimangot ako. Kaya pala ang lakas ng loob na sigaw-sigawan at utusan ako.

Field Agents naman kaming Junior Agents. Kami ang isinasabak para mag-imbestiga ng isang kaso habang nagbabalatkayo. Isang taon lang akong naging Novice at na-promote agad bilang Junior Agent. At two years bago kami ipareha ni Apollo, sinosolo ko madalas ang mga kasong ibinibigay sa akin. Marami na akong White and Grey coded cases na nahawakan, pero unang beses ko iyong hahawak ng Black coded at umaasang makakahawak ng Brown coded. Kahit noong Novice pa ako ay field agent na ako. Isang beses lang akong naging deductive member kung saan una kong nakasama sina Justin at ang the Hunter. Ang kasong ‘yun ang nakapagpromote sa amin bilang Junior Agents dahil natapos namin ang isang Grey coded ng tatlong araw lang.

Umakbay sa akin si Apollo. “The Seniors are afraid na baka kung anong katangahan ang gawin mo kaya prinomote na nila ako nang hindi mo masabing nakakataas ka sa akin para utus-utusan kita.”

I sighed frustratedly. They still doubted my skills as an agent. But why would they even consider me as the second best Junior Agent kung ganoon lang din naman at hindi nila ako pagkakatiwalaan?

Umaga pa lang, pero sira na ang araw ko.

“Tuwang-tuwa ka naman,” inis kong sabi.

“Of course. Para naman hindi mo na ako binabalewala. We’re on the same level now, sweetheart. And we’re partners for more than two years already. Baka gusto mong i-promote na rin natin ang relationship natin. What do you think?”

“Idiot,” sabi ko at marahas na inalis ang braso niya sa balikat ko. Mas lalo pa niya akong inaasar simula nga nung huling kasong hinawakan namin ng magkasama.

Tungkol kasi iyon sa isang foreign syndicate na ang modus ay gumawa ng pornographic videos. At ang loko-loko naman naming District Head at mga kapwa agents, kami ang pinagpustahang isabak sa trabaho. I blew our cover bago pa man umabot sa sukdulan ang love scene namin ni Apollo which was I knew, a bad move, pero I wouldn’t be considered as one of the best Junior Agents kung hindi ko magagawan ng paraan na mahuli ang buong miyembro ng sindikato.

Pagbalik namin sa headquarters after the case, I gave each agent who threw their bet a black eye. Walang galang ko ring siningil ng 50,000 php ang District Head namin and demanded a solo mission afterwards. Pinagbigyan naman ako. I finished a Grey coded case alone in just five days. Since then, natakot na silang biruin ako.

Pero si Apollo, hindi pa rin natinag. He was practically grinning ear to ear when our District Head gave us the mission. We were in it again together, but they assured me that it wouldn’t be like the last time. Takot lang nila sa akin.

May mga tao sa loob ng conference room pagpasok namin. Mga sampu marahil. Nasa isang sulok si Justin at nakikipaglandian sa nag-iisang babaeng agent sa kwarto maliban sa akin. Ang iba ay nasa kanya-kanyang upuan sa magkabilang panig ng mahabang mesa.

Tumayo ang isang agent na sa palagay ko ay mas bata sa akin ng dalawang taon. Payat at nakasuot ng makapal na eyeglasses ang agent at sa istima ko, bago pa lang ito.

“Agent 13, nice to meet you,” bati niya sa akin at inilahad ang kanang kamay. I shook his hand out of politeness. He had a firm handshake which was opposite of his physical appearance.

“Agent 21, nice to meet you,” bati niya naman kay Apollo at ganoon din ang ginawa.

“Nice to meet you, too,” ganting bati ng kasama ko. “And you are?”

“Novice Agent 53 po, Arthur Torres,” sagot nito.

Hindi ko na naitanong kung anong ginagawa ng Novice Agent sa kasong may top secret at kung ka anu-ano niya ang head ng District Three dahil may magkasabay na pumasok sa room.

Well, well, well. Ang pinag-uusapan pa lang namin ni Justin nang nakaraang gabi ay dumating na.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, kindly take your seats now. Magsisimula na tayo,” sabi ni Agent 7.

Napansin din ni Justin ang kasama ng matandang agent. Nakangiti, pero may bahid ng pagtatakang lumapit ito sa bagong dating at binati ito.

“Agent 11, long time no see,” bati nito at tinapik ang balikat ng ahente.

Ngumiti lang ito bilang tugon at ipinaraan ang paningin sa mga naroon. Sumaludo ito nang makita ako. Isang tango lang ang isinagot ko.

It was Agent Xander Villanueva a.k.a Agent 11. Kilala rin siyang bilang the Hunter, ang call sign niya. Kung si Justin ay magaling dahil sa killer instincts niya at ako ay sa keen senses ko (at psychic ability na tanging si Apollo pa lang ang nakakaalam), si Xander naman ay malupit sa deductive reasoning at logic plus madiskarte. Mabilis din siyang magtrabaho. Kaya niyang matapos ang isang Grey coded case sa loob ng tatlong araw ng mag-isa. Ang alam ko nga, humawak na rin siya ng dalawang Black coded cases kung saan kasali siya bilang deductive member.

Sure akong that case would promote him to Senior Agent.

Dalawang taon ang tanda niya sa akin at dalawang taon din ang tanda sa kanya ni Justin. Magkasing-taas at magkasingkatawan lang si Xander at Apollo, pero nakita ko na silang pareho kung paano magtrabaho at alam kong mas maliksi kumilos si Xander. Sharp shooter din siya dala ng family background niya. And unlike Justin, Agent Hunter was a gentleman. Hindi rin ito palaimik. And unlike me, he was good tempered.

Sa pagdating niya, hindi ko na alam kung paano ituturing ang kaso. Was it too dangerous to include the top three Junior Agents or too harmless to pass it to the Senior Agents?

We took our seats at the table. Apollo sat next to Agent 53 and I sat next to him. Next to me sat Xander. Katapat ko si Justin na saglit akong binigyan ng makahulugang tingin bago lumingon sa unahan. Alam kong pareho ko, tinitimbang nya rin kung gaano kabigat ang kaso.

“I’ve been thinking kung kelan uli tayo magkakatrabahong tatlo ni dela Riva,” bulong sa akin ni Xander.

I grinned. “And we’d been thinking yesterday if they will include you in this goddamn case, then boom. You’re here.”

“Actually, I volunteered.”

He volunteered?!

I looked at him in shock. As usual, his face was calm, but there was some strange expression stirring underneath that calmness. He knew something about this case—something big and dangerous. This was not just about puncture wounds or missing corpses. It was more than that. And Agent Hunter knew that, that was why he volunteered in that case.

“And why is that?” I checked my voice for skepticism. Buti na lang wala.

“I heard that the Night with her Day together with the Justice will be working together. At matunog ang patayang nangyayari sa lugar na ‘to kaya naisip kong baka dito kayo maa-assign. Tama naman ako,” sagot naman niya. Blanko ang mga matang ipinako niya sa akin, pero kilala ko na siya. Kaya alam kong hindi ‘yon ang pinakarason kung bakit siya nag-volunteer sa kaso.

“Mukhang nahahawa ka na kay Kinse, ah,” biro ko na lang.

Mahinang tawa lang ang iginanti nito.

Inilipat ko ang pansin sa harapan. Nakapatay ang mga ilaw roon at naka-project sa white screen ang isang litrato. Nakita ko na iyon kagabi nang tignan ko ang laman ng puting folder. Kuha iyon ng isang bangkay ng babaeng naka-uniporme ng pang-kolehiyo. Nasa damuhan ang bangkay.

Halatang maganda ang dalaga noong nabubuhay pa. At kahit na ang kamatayan ay hindi nanakaw ang kagandahang iyon.

Matiim kong pinasadahan ang litrato. Sa unang tingin, hindi mapaghahalataan pero alam kong edited ang larawan. Hindi maalis ang tingin ko sa mga pictures na ‘yon kagabi.

“Una sa lahat, gusto kong ipakilala ang apat sa pinakamagagaling na Junior Agents ng Psyche Underground,” panimula ni Senior Agent 7. “Agent 11 of District Fifteen, Agent 15 of District Seven and Agents 13 and 21 of District Zero.” Both Justin and Apollo waved and smiled like idiots while Xander and I just nodded.

“They will be the field agents for this case. As planned, Nyx and Apollo will infiltrate the university as students while Justin as a part-time professor. Xander will infiltrate the local government. Your documents and other necessary information you need will be handed to you before you go out. At sa ngayon, walang kasiguraduhan kung kelan matatapos ang kasong ito. Just solve it as soon as possible.”

As soon as possible. It was the first time I heard that phrase in the organization. I never imagined that case as difficult.

“The rest of you will work inside the District. The information that will be gathered by the four field agents and our detectives will be studied by the deductive members. Actually, we already have an existing team that is solving the case, pero wala pa ring progress sa kaso. That’s why mula na rin sa abiso ni Caput Agent Zero, kinailangan ng organisasyon na bumuo pa ng isang grupo. But I won’t tell you who the members of the other team are and vice versa.”

A Black Coded case which involved top secret information and required the service of two teams of agents, one of which includes the Night and Day, the Justice and the Hunter. Could it get any better?

“Your team will be named as The Argonauts and each of the four field agents will be given assigned keys for deciphering coded messages that will be transmitted from the headquarters. Ang Crypts ang bahala diyan.”

The organization had a very basic organizational structure.

Psyche Underground Intelligence Agency was headed by a Caput Agent who was Agent Zero. The second Caput Agent was Agent 3 whose call sign was the Blacksmith. Each district had a District Head. Then the Senior Agents were next. Tapos kaming Junior Agents, then ang Novice Agents. The Detectives were agents planted inside the police force. Librarians were those who sorted cases to colors. Ang mga bahala naman sa mga passwords at codes ay ang mga Cryptographers. We called them Crypts for short or the Creeps for joke. Then we had the Tech People who took care of the satellite or ground transmission of communication and information in and out of the headquarters.

Usually, teams were created only if a certain case required them. A team was led by one agent and composed of field agents and deductive members. At para sa kasong iyon, ang team leader ay si…

“Agent 11 will be the team’s Jason.”

But I thought siya ang team leader? Sinabi niya ‘yon, hindi ba?

“I won’t be leading the Argonauts, but I will be supervising both teams since I am currently solving a Brown coded case together with other Senior Agents,” he explained, answering my silent question. “Agent 11?”

Bago pa tumayo si Xander, inunahan ko na siya. I raised my right hand to gain Seven’s attention.

“Yes, Agent 13?” tanong nito.

“Before I forget, I wonder if I could have a copy of that picture on the screen and the rest of the pictures of the victims.” I needed to check if I was right.

Tila naman hindi inaasahan ng mga naroroon ang tanong ko. It was an outright question and a very different topic from what the Senior Agent just discussed. Everyone in the room, except Apollo, gave me puzzled looks. The jerk must have noticed it too since I already taught him how to distinguish an edited photo from a real one.

“Pero included na ang mga ‘yun sa folder na ibinigay ko kahapon,” the old agent said.

Of course I knew that, old bat. Pag-alis ng dalawang asungot kagabi, binasa ko na ang laman ng folder. Ang like I said, I scrutinized every picture there was.

“I need the soft copies,” sagot ko.

Matagal bago nakasagot si Senior Agent 7. He was looking intently at me, but I didn’t let him win his staring game. “Okay. I’ll send it to your e-mail account,” he said finally.

“Thank you.”

Umalis na sa harapan si Agent 7 hudyat para tumayo na si Xander. Justin and I exchanged glances while Xander was making his way to the front. Naramdaman ko rin ang pagpisil ni Apollo sa kaliwang kamay ko sa ilalim ng mesa.

We were trained not to trust anyone even our comrades and Senior Agent 7 just reminded us that. And another thing—ako lang ba ang nakapansing labing-tatlo ang bilang ng miyembro ng team namin?

Thirteen districts, Agent Thirteen, thirteen members of the Argonauts. Malas.