Chapter 1

Casablanca Port, Morocco

"Go at the left side of the warehouse, then you'll see upstairs. There's no one's guarding the area. Be careful; there's a CCTV."

Sinunod ko ang sinabi ni Wayne. Nagpunta ako sa kaliwa at sa hindi kalayuan ay naroroon ang hagdan. Ngunit agad akong napatago dahil biglang may tatlong tao ang nasa hagdan at nakaupo.

"D*mn! I thought there's no one here?" I shouted through the earpiece. I overheard him giggling.

"Oopps, sorry. My bad," he teased, "Alam kong kaya mo na 'yan." Dagdag pa niya.

I huffed and rolled my eyes. Anong tingin niya sa akin hindi nasasaktan? Robot? "Why did I agree to you in the first place? Wayne Martin, if someone saw my face, I'm going to smash you up."

Sumilip ako sa may pader kung saan ako nagtatago. I couldn't understand what they were saying since I couldn't hear them. But I assume they were discussing the drugs. We're on the lookout for a shady deal between two dealers. It was our duty to figure out who was behind the newly developed GEMS drugs. Plus, there is no information regarding those meds that we can find. I remember it being in a liquid form and being green in hue. We also need to know everything there is to know about it.

Then I noticed another person who had just gone down, holding a bottle of beer. What am I supposed to do about these thugs? Hindi naman pupuwedeng umaksyon agad ako dahil malalaman agad ng mga tao sa loob na may nakapasok dito sa lugar nila at ang mas malala pa baka makatakas sila dala-dala ang mga droga.

Kung hindi lang nagkaroon ng injury itong lalaking 'to, hindi ko naman ito gagawin. I was supposed to be in front of the computer and the one who guided them. Para yatang sinasadya na ako ang papuntahin sa operation na ito. Asar!

"As if namang kaya mong gawin. Sige nga, Exis!" singit naman ni Britney sa usapan.

Once again, I rolled my eyes. Isa pa itong babaeng 'to! Ang galing-galing magpakonsensya. Siya kaya ang hampasin k at ihampas ko sa kanya itong maskara ko. Kung hindi ko lang ito kaibigan matagal na siyang patay. Psh!

"Oh, shut up, Itzel. Don't need your f*cking opinion," I said, annoyed. Narinig ko ang mapang-asar niyang tawa.

"Wayne, oh, jowain mo na nga itong babaeng 'to. Palaging may dalaw."

"Sure, why not! Pagbalik natin sa New York, liligawan ko agad siya. Hahaha!"

Sumasakit ang ulo ko sa dalawang to. Gusto ko nang matapos ito nang sa gayon ay makauwi na ako't makapagpahinga. Halos sunod-sunod ang mga mission na binigay sa amin at halos wala na kaming pahinga. Ang palaging nakikipagtransaksyon ay ang mga alipores nito. Pero 'di bale, last naman na ito at pagkatapos ay bibigyan kami ng long vacation.

We are in Morocco after we went in Paris. Up until now, we still don't have led of the person behind this. Sa sobrang galing magtago ang palagi naming nasasagupaan ay ang mga alipores nito mula sa iba't-ibang bansa. Nakakapagod makipaglaro lalo na kung hindi nagpapakita ang kalaban. We're attempting to learn more about their leader, but they won't even say anything at all because their lips are sealed shut.

"Status?" tanong ni Summer, our Captain, through earpiece.

"They are exchanging already—Ouch, let go of me!"

Biglang kumabog ang puso ko nang narinig ko ang sigaw ni Britney. I think nahuli siya.

"Itzel, what happened?" Kahit si Captain ay nag-aalala na rin sa kanya. Hinawakan ko ng maigi ang earpiece. Minutes had passed since we heard her voice. Mas lalo lang tumitindi ang kabang nararamdaman ko.

Paano kapag may nangyari sa kanya? Paano kapag nahuli siya? I immediately shook my head to erase those thoughts. That won't happen.

"Sh*t, sumagot ka, Britney!" I almost yelled. Papasukin ko na sana ang lugar para lang makasiguradong ayos lang siya nang bigla itong nagsalita.

"Sheez! I'm okay, okay? Stop calling me that name. Nasa misyon tayo, remember?" rinig na rinig ko ang mga mabibigat niyang hininga na mukhang galing lang sa pakikipaglaban. Nakahinga naman ako ng maluwag nang nagsalita ito. I thought something terrible had happened to her.

We make our names in this field so that no one knows who we are. In addition, we needed to protect ourselves from enemies who were attempting to assassinate us. Sa sobrang dami na namin naging misyon, marami na ang galit sa amin at pinaghahanap na kami. As for my codename, it was Exis. I get that from my first name, which is Alexis. It sounds corny, but I kind of like it though.

In this team, I play the role of a hacker. To be precise, a well-known hacker. When Wayne is in the field, I'm the shadow and vice versa.

"Make it fast. They already knew that we were here," pagkabanggit niyang 'yon ay napatingin ako sa may hagdan. Ngunit naramdaman ko na lang ang pagbagsak ko sa malamig na semento.

When I tasted blood from it, I touched my lips. I locked my gaze on the man. He has no right to punch me like that! I was about to attack him when I saw his expression change. And too late to realize that my mask was gone. And this guy already saw my face.

"Fvck, your mask!"

I heard Wayne's curse. I cursed at my mind too.

Labis ang taranta ko dahil wala na ito sa mukha ko. Nang matauhan ang lalaki at magsasalita sana sa walkie talkie nito nang agad kong binaril. Nagngitngit ang mga ngipin ko dahil sa nangyari.

Another three persons came to me. Minadali kong pulutin ang maskara saka muling dinikit sa aking mukha kasabay no'n ang pagkalabit ko ng gatilyo. I targeted their hearts with my bullets. After killing them, I searched around to see whether anybody else had seen me. Good thing, wala naman na kaya agad akong nagtungo sa may hagdan.

How could I go so long without noticing that my mask was missing? I was careful with everything so that no one could see my face, but he saw everything. If I hadn't killed them, they're going to spread it. I'm concerned about my image not because I'm appealing, but because I have several opponents that want me dead.

Being dead is the result of seeing my face. No one should know who I am. My parents are constantly reminding me of it. My team, at the same time, my friends, and the boss are all aware of my real identity. They can easily track me down now that my face is exposed.

"Status?" Umakto ako na parang walang nangyari. Pumasok ako sa loob to check if there were still people, but unfortunately, they were gone.

I sighed. Isang pagkakamali, malaking damaged na ang nagawa. 'Yung hindi dapat mangyari ay nangyari.

"We're chasing them. They're cheetah!" Summer groaned as her breath became heavy.

Gustuhin ko mang ngumiti sa joke niya ay hindi ko magawa. Nag-aalala pa rin ako dahil may nakakita sa mukha ko. I was too careless. I wasn't being serious.

"Are you okay, Exis?" Wayne asked.

Tumango ako saka nagthumbs-up sa may CCTV dito sa pinagtransaksyunan ng mga dealer. "I'm going to check the place first, baka may makitang ebidensya na puwede nating makalap," I stated as I search around.

Wala gaanong makita rito. Puro kalat lang katulad ng mga bote at basag na bote, mga tuyong dahon na nagsisiliparan sa loob, mga huni ng ibon dahil ang lugar na ito ay inabandona na. Plus, that fact that it is away from crowded places. A perfect place where to have transaction.

Nang wala akong makita ay aalis na ako para sundan sina Captain at Itzel. But I came to a halt when I observed something gleaming through the moonlight's radiance. Kinuha ko 'yon saka tiningnan.

"I think they dropped this.” Pinakita ko ang maliit na bote sa CCTV. Pagkatapos ay agad kong tinago sa pocket ng jacket ko. “Do you think our laboratory can experiment with this kind of drug?” tanong ko pa.

“That’s newly formed drugs, so I think that out of their capabilities,” he answered, “But I think they can.”

"Afterwards, we'll submit this drug to them to see what it will do to the human body."

“Yeah. I already informing them about that GEMS. They’re ready to examine it when return back to the headquarters.”

Maigi ko pang tiningnan ang bawat sulok ng lugar at hindi pinaglagpas kahit ang mga dumi. Nagbabakasakali ako na may makita pa na ebidensya kahit papel o cell phone man lang nila. Pero nang makasigurado ako na wala na akong makita ay bumaba na agada ko. The lifeless bodies were sprawled all through the floor. I double-checked that all the evidence that could be used against me was destroyed.

“I’m leaving this place. Where are you, Cap?” Kaswal lang akong naglalakad palabas ng abandonadong building.

“In the car, waiting for you. We already called the police, and for sure, they won’t be able to get out of the jail anymore even someone helped them. What did you find?” she questioned.

“Drug,” maikling usal ko.

Habang naglalakad ay hindi ko maiwasang mapatingin sa likuran ko. Someone seemed to be observing me. As if somebody else saw my face. Pero wala namang ibang tao ang naroroon sa pinagyarihan. Perhaps it's just me, but my gut is telling me that's not the case.

Once again, I wandered my eyes around the area. There were several CCTVs there that were still operational. I glared at the CCTV as I went to the Van. They were playing cards and having a good time as if we hadn't just finished a mission. Tinatanong din nila ako ng iba pang mga bagay pero wala roon ang atensyon ko.

“Wayne, delete all the CCTV footages where it saw me,” I ordered. Agad naman niyang ginawa ang utos ko. I was watching him delete all the footage. He gave me a thumbs-up when he deleted everything. But still, hindi pa rin ako mapakali.

If anybody sees me, whomever they are, I'll make sure they never see the world again.

I'll be hunting them no matter what.