5: help him or not?

Sam's POV

Pagkalabas ko sa office na 'yon, agad ng lumapit sa'kin ang boss ko.

"How is it, Javier?" he greeted.

"Okay na okay, sir. Though I don't know if okay nga lang ba si Mr. del Fuero. You better go and check him now sir." I answered while smiling at him, pretending that I'm pretty okay but no, I'm too far from that.

I'm almost ready to burst out in frustrations now.

"Yes, yes. I have to. Sige, maiwan na kita." He agreed with a nod before he ran back to his office.

Agad narin kong umalis sa lugar na'yon.

I think driving for hours to Tagaytay won't be that bad afterall. It would atleast calm down myself.

Nang nasa parking lot na'ko, I quickly got into my car and then drove off straight to Tagaytay. Driving like a mad woman.

Liking the feel of the cold air caressing my face.

Yes, this indeed feels so good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just after a few hours of driving on the road, malapit narin akong makarating sa bahay ng auntie ko.

Nangangawit narin ang pwet ko sa kakaupo ngayon. There's still half an hour left before I could finally get a rest and stretch my body.

Ito 'yong pinakaayaw ko sa lahat, ang pabalik-balik dito dahil bukod sa it will take me hours of driving, liko-liko pa ang mga daan rito.

Geez, kung pwede lang sana.. Hindi na'ko pupunta pa rito kung hindi lang sana malulungkot si auntie.

Kung noon gustong-gusto kong bumisita rito, iba na ngayon. Marami ng nagbago after that tragic accident. Everytime na nadadaanan ko kung saan nangyari 'yon, I felt like I had returned back to that time. Time kung kailan nagbago ang lahat, that time that I was so useless and weak..... useless na 'di ko man lang nailigtas ang mga magulang ko and weak dahil hindi ko man lang nakita ang mukha ng taong 'yon.

That thought made me tightened my hold at the steering wheel and speed up my car.

Yes, I was weak that time. But once I find that murderer, I'll be the one to end his very life....

Yes, that's it. I won't even give a second thought to kill them..

After I recovered from my trauma, I decided to start my own investigation. But to properly do that, pinili kong maging P.I. because in way, I can move in my own na walang ibang sinusunod. So long as malulutas ko ang mga kaso ng walang sabit.

I was just about to speed up more but I slowed down when a woman in her mid thirties appeared on the view. She was waving her hand at me which caused me to furrow my brows and observe her.

Her car was parked beside her. I think she's going to the city since opposite ang direction ng sasakyan namin.

I stopped my car right before her and then slid down my window shied para makita nya 'ko.

I noticed her let out a sigh nang huminto ako pero agad naman 'yong napalitan ng disappointment pagkakita niya sa'kin. Probably because she thought I could be of no help to her because I'm a woman.

I mentally shook my head at that thought.

"Need any help?"

"Yes, nasira yung gulong ko and I don't know how to change it." Agad na sagot nito, frustrations visible in her voice.

Sino ba namang hindi mafufrustrate niyan if you were waiting like forever sa ilalim pa mismo ng mainit na araw?

Think, think..

I observed her car and there it was, flat nga ang sa bandang likuran na gulong nito.

Glancing down at my wristwatch,I  checked the time kung makakarating ba'ko on time sa bahay ng auntie ko if I ever help her now.

I don't want her to greet me with her famous sermon kapag natagalan ako rito.

But when I think I could possible do that dahil sa mabilis kong takbo kanina, I quickly got out of my car to help her.

If I haven't mentioned yet, I learned to become independent nang umalis na'ko sa poder ng auntie ko. And aside from that, if I want to save more money, kailangan kong malaman kung paano gawin ang mga bagay-bagay. At isa na dun ang pag-ayos ng sarili kong sasakyan.

"Do you have a spare tire with you?" I asked her nang makalapit na'ko sa sasakyan nito.

She nodded then frowned.

"But do you kow how to change that? Kailangan ko talagang makaalis na rito because I have a very important meeting to attend to now." She cried out.

I just nodded my head while listening to her cries. Pretending that I understand her pero 'di ko lang mapigilang mainis sa tono ng boses nito. She sounded like she was so frustrated now that I am the one who was here and not some macho man na inaasahan nito.

Gusto ko mang sitahin ito, but thinking it'd just be a waste of my time, I opted to just keep it with me. Instead, I took out my own tools from my car to start changing her tire.

Her brow instantly quirked up at the sight of me holding my tools.

"So you know how to do it?" she asked with a doubtful look on her face.

No, I don't. You want to hear that from me you ungrateful fellow? I mockingly thought.

I tjust remained silent and took off my jacket instead and then put it inside my car.

"Where's your spare tire?"

"Inside the trunk."

I nodded at her then headed to the trunk.

"Pwede mo bang buksan 'to?" She just looked at me for a moment, probably doubting my ability.

Geez with this fellow.

Eh kung iwan ko nalang kaya ang babaeng to??

But good thing that after a few moment of just looking at me, she complied.

I quickly took the spare tire the moment she had opened her trunk and then I started the task.

I put the jack and raised it to support the car then quickly removed the hubcap and loosen its nuts using the tire wrench. Then again, I pumped the jack to lift the tire off the ground then removed the rest of the nuts away.

Madali lang naman talaga ang task na'to although it required some strength to do that. Habang ginagawa ko ang task ko, I can feel the woman's curious stares observing me. Probably atat na matapos ko na agad to.

But she was suddenly interrupted when her phone started to ring in her hand.

She quickly answered that call while I just continued my task. But you know me so well that eavesdropping is one of my expertise.

"Yes, yes.. malapit na'ko. Inaayos palang ang gulong.." I heard her answered that but unfortunately, di ko marinig ang boses ng nasa kabilang linya.

"Yes, tomorrow night..you will sneak---"

My ear pricked up when she suddenly stopped her sentence then continued with a low voice.

Oh, confidential..

"You will sneak to his office and get that goddamn file---"

"Yes! The file with DFCS investors on its cover..."

DFCS? Hearing that damn abbreviation again, mas tumindi pa lalo ang curiosity ko to hear more of their conversation  while my hands continued to work on fixing.

DFCS again? What's with that company name na lage nalang sumusunod sa'kin?

"Don't fail us. Yes, bye." Paalam nito before she ended the call.

When I had finally removed the tire, I quickly placed the spare tire in the hub with great effort dahil sa bigat nito. Nang magawa ko 'yon, I quickly tightened the nuts to complete the task. Pero habang ginagawa ko ito, my mind couldn't stop thinking about DFCS.

"Tapos na ba?" 

I nodded at her when she asked that sabay pagpag sa jeans ko. Kinuha ko na agad ang sirang gulong saka inilagay 'ito sa trunk ng sasakyan nito.

"Okay na yan." I said with assurance as I headed back to my car.

She smiled at me with grateful look while sighing, probably relieved na sa wakas, makakaalis na rin ito sa wakas.

"Thank you so much, miss. I don't have a cash here para bayaran ka pero..."she said sabay kuha sa wallet nito.

I was about to stop her and tell her na okay lang pero nang makita kong kinuha nya ang business card nito, hindi ko na itinuloy.

Oh... Kung siniswerte ka nga naman ano.

"Take this card, miss. Then just call me para makuha mo ang bayad ko sa'yo." Sabay bigay sa card nito sa'kin and then with that, she quickly get into her car..

"I have to go now. Bye, miss. Just call me, okay?" She added as she started the engine and then leave me from there.

I just nodded my head habang nakatingin lang sa papalayong sasakyan nito.

Yeah, sure. I'm gonna call you. Not now but maybe soon.

With a smirk, I glanced down at the card on my hand.

Milary S. Diwane

Secretary, DFCS

[phone]

My brows quirked up when I read that.

Hmm.. so she's the secretary of DFCS?

Interesting...

I just slid the card into my pocket then quickly get into my car and drove off from there.

I'm sure umiinit na ang ulo ni Auntie ngayon dahil wala pa'ko. But okay lang yan, atleast may bagong impormasyon na naman akong nakalap ngayon.

But I just don't know kung bakit palagi ko nalang naririnig ang DFCS na 'yon. I think I need to do a quick research about that company once I reached my aunt's house. Dahil base sa call kanina ng babae, tomorrow night sila magsisimulang kikilos. And who could be that person who will do the sneaking??

hmmm.. Probably the other spy of DFCS's arch enemy.

Yes. That's right. It must be another insider. An insider who has ab access in that office na papasukin ng mga ito.

And this becoming more interesting now.

After a few minutes of driving, natatanaw ko narin sa wakas ang bahay ng auntie ko. It was a two-storey house na medyo malaki para sa isang tao. Hindi nakapag-asawa ang auntie ko kaya nag-iisa lang ito sa bahay nya. Kaya nga gusto nyang doon  nalang sana ako titira para may makasama man lang ito rito but no. Aside sa malayo, ayoko ring nahihirapan siya na makita akong 'di parin makamove-on sa nakaraan ko.

When I came near my aunt's house, I saw her waiting outside. Probably waiting for me while grumbling dahil late ako.

I can't help but smirked at the thought of her being annoyed.

I parked my car in front of her house saka agad ng lumabas to greet her with disappointed look all over her face.

"You're late, Sama---"

"Hi auntie. I'm late dahil may tinulungan pa'ko sa daan." I greeted sabay halik sa cheeks nito, cutting in whatever she had to say and making her frowned at me.

"Tulong?" she asked with suspicious look and I couldn't stop but rolled my eyes at her when I saw that look.

"Yes, auntie. Tulong. Flat ang gulong niya and I know how to fix it so I helped her. Just that" I quickly explained.

"Oww,.. okay.." she said while nodding her head in understanding.

"So shall we get in now, auntie? Kasi nakakapagod magdrive papunta rito alam mo yon..." hearing me say that, agad na niya kong hinawakan sa braso and led me through inside.

"So, anong gusto mong gawin ngayon? Gusto mo na bang kumain? I have prepared foods for you.." she queried with excitement in her voice.

"I think I'll pass muna for that, auntie. I need to take a rest first dahil pagod ako sa kakamaneho papunta rito.." I said with my tired voice and pretended to stretched my limbs to add an effect.

Kahit gutom ako, 'di pwede. I have something more urgent to do than that.

"Oh, okay...I'll just wake you up 'pag dinner time na. Go, now." She said while smiling at me which I returned with an apologetic look.

"Thanks, Aunt." I said then ran to the stairs and headed to my own room here.

I have something to do that must be done now, something that involves with that DFCS issue.

Pagdating ko sa kwarto ko, I sat on my bed then quickly turned on my phone to make a quick research.

I quickly typed 'DFCS' and then in just a second, results of DFCS flooded through my phone's screen.

Del Fuero Construction and Supplies, Co.(DFCS)....

My eyes widened when I read that..

Del Fuero? Ito ba yung company ng taong 'yon? Goodness. Sa lahat ba naman ng macocollect ko na infos, tungkol pa talaga sa company ng gagong 'yon?

Kung minamalas ka nga naman ano..

Shaking my head at that, I continued browsing about it. Then a few photos of that granite man appeared. Confirming that it was indeed his company. 

I browsed again in a hope to find more photos of him no more had appeared. 

So, he was so privy with his life?

Hmmm..Sabagay, with the kind of behavior he had, I'm sure masisira agad ang image nito kapag nakita ng lahat ang tunay na kulay nito.

DARK.

After his photos, I checked his profile.

Cameron del Fuero, 28 yrs. Old, born on July 03,1990, Business Tycoon, CEO of DFCS, 6'1" height, single...

Oh? Single? Well, sino ba namang babae ang magkakagusto sa gagaong 'yon? After all, walang feelings ang mga bato...

After his personal profile, I proceed to his company's profile.

.......construct wide variety of projects ranging from small to large scale projects both private and government sectors in Philippines and abroad with 600,000 employees all over the world.........

Oh....Bigtime. Even abroad and with a thousands of employees? wow..hmm

...with an asset of US$60.2 billion, up 14.9% from 2018 and a profit of US$10.2cbiliion, up 85% from 2018....

Shit! bigtime indeed...I didn't know ganito pala kayaman ang gagong 'yon?! No wonder why he had that earthsized ego in him.

Shaking my head at that, I search for any news about DFCS para malaman ko kung sino ang pinaka-rival nito sa business.

....highly competitive company together with Enriquez Construction Co.(ECC), the two are known for being the archrivals....

My brows furrowed at that.

Enriquez? Yan yong pangalan na sinabi no'ng lalaki sa bar and I couldn't be mistaken with that. 

with this realization,mMy brows quickly raised and a smirk grown in my mouth.

Oh...so eto pala 'yong company na 'yon who was planning to steal a document files from DFCS. And base sa specialization ng dalawang company, obvious nga na magkalaban ang dalawang 'to. Pero base din sa services na binibigay ng mga ito, mas angat ang DFCS dahil 'di lang ito nagfofocus sa construction but also with supplying materials...

Hmm kaya naman pala mainit ang dugo ng ECC sa DFCS.

Then after that, I searched for ECC's owner's profile para makita ko ang Mr. Enriquez na'to.

Nang makita ko ang mukha nito, I suddenly smirked.

Gwapo pala ang taong 'to but just looking on how he smiles on his photos, it was obvious na may tinatago rin itong baho.

..Dylan Charles Enriquez, 29 yrs. Old, born on January 10, 1989, Business tycoon, CEO of ECC, single....

I mentally shook my head when again, another single appeared in my phone screen.

Goodness with these people. Siguro malala ang competition ng dalawang 'to dahil 'di man lang makahanap ng babae para maging life partner nila.

I quickly throw my phone beside me sabay higa with my eyes closed. I wanted to take a rest dahil sa pagod but while my eyes was closed, my mind still running and thinking about those two arch rival companies.

Once magsucceed ang taong yon to take down DFCS, then it would be Mr. del Fueros end as well and bankruptcy would follow.

At the thought of that, I couldn't help but feel frustrated about that possibities.

Shit! I have to forget all about it. After all, I'd like to see that man crumble and see his sorry face. I'm sure na kawawa ang mukha ng taong 'yon if his business would suffer from that.

i don't give a damn with those 600,000 employees who'll in turn become jobless after that. It was their problem and not mine!

With that, I covered my hands on my face while groaning, frustrated with it.

Ito kaya 'yong case na sinasabi ni boss na ihahandle ko sana?

Oh, bother! Just forget about it Sam. It's their business anyway and not yours to meddle with.

Yes, yes. That's it. Matutulog nalang ako para 'pag gising ko, makakalimutan ko na ang tungkol dun.

I nodded my head like I was some crazy while trying to convince myself. At dahil narin sa pagod ko, not long, I started drifting on my sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"SAMANTHA!!" I jolted up from my sleep when I heard that booming voice of my aunt beside me with hands on her hips..

 I groaned.

"Oh God... what is this all about now aunt?" agad na tanong ko sa kanya, medyo annoyed dahil sa pangbibigla nito.. katutulog ko l-----

I suddenly froze nang makita ko ang wall clock sa gilid ng room ko and the sunlight coming from my window.

8:00 in the mor----

"Yes! It's indeed 8:00 in the morning at 'di kapa gumigising simula pa kahapon!"

I tightly closed my eyes then groaned again.

Oh God, ganun ba'ko katagal nakatulog?Hindi talaga halatang pagod na pagod ako ano?.

I opened my eyes at saka tumingin sa kanya with an apologetic look on my face.

"Sorry auntie." Sabi ko which she just answered with a scoff.

"Get your sorry butt off of that bed, Samantha. Hindi ka nakapag-dinner kagabi baka mamatay kana sa gutom nyan.. Off your butt! Faster!..." She demanded like an army in a camp na agad ko namang sinunod dahil gutom na nga ako and followed her down to the kitchen.

 And when I got there, may mga nakahain ng pagkain sa mesa.

"Sit you lazy woman." I complied at that and when I was seated, saka ko lang ito sinagot.

"'Di ako lazy aunt, pagod lang talaga.." I said then started digging my food. Her brow raised hearing that while digging her own breakfast.

"Pagod dahil lagi ka nalang nag-oovertime sa mga cases mo just to close it agad-agad."

"why not? Mas maganda namang ganun."

"Huh! Maganda nga but is it good for your health? No." she said with sarcasms while shaking her head.

I just let out a sigh and nodded my head, agreeing to her para matapos na ang topic na'to.

I continued digging everything in my plate, just wanting to be silent. But aunt being my aunt, she quickly broke that silence.

"So anong gagawin mo ngayon? Wala kabang case ngayon? Then it's better."

That made me paused from eating.

Case? Wala 'di ba? You turned that case down because it involves with Mr. del Fuero of DFCS....

Then the memories of my research last night suddenly flashed through me. Causing me to silently cursed myself with closed eyes when I remembered that sneaking thing again na mangyayari mamayang gabi.

"Oh God.." I mumbles in frustrations habang napapahilamos na lamang ng mukha.

"What? What is it Sam??" Tanong agad nito with her worried tone. 

I just look at her pero hindi ko ito sinagot while I still giving it a deep thought.

Oh God... Kailangan ko ba talagang gawin 'to? Problema nila yon so---

"SAMANTHA!!"

I almost jumped out of my seat when my aunt suddenly shouted that at me, shocked with its intensity..

"Oh my God, Auntie! Kailangan ba talagang sumigaw kayo??" reklamo ko agad rito  when I recovered from my shock.

She just raised her brow and crossed her arms at me while giving me a pointed look.

"Ano ba kasing nasa isip mo bata ka, huh? Tinatanong ka pero hindi ka naman sumasagot!"

I frowned at her but then let out a sigh after a moment.

Eh kung tanungin ko kaya siya rito para malaman ko kung anong dapat kong gawin sa bagay na'yon.  Thinking that it was a good idea, I mentally nodded at that in agreement.

Heaving up a deep breath, I looked at my aunt who were obviously just waiting for me to spill it out.

I cleared my throat first and then asked her.

"Aunt? May tanong ako..."I began.

"What's that?"

"Ah what if may isang business na malapit ng mabankrupt at...."

Pero problema nila 'to, Sam kaya---

"At?"

Tumingin ako uli sa kanya saka nagpatuloy.

"And you have something na magagawa para maagapang mangyari 'yon pero may ...consequences ka namang marerecieve kapag ginawa mo naman 'yon.. What do you think was best to do, Auntie?"

My aunt became silent and started tapping her finger on her chin, obviously thinking about it. but after a few moment of her silence, she looked at me with her raised brow.

"Well, I'll go help that business of course! Whatever the consequnces na matatanggap ko for doing that, It doesn't matter anymore. As long as you help that business and..." she looked at me with her very serious look.

"...the employees of that business. That's it, Samantha! There's no other sensible answer for that question." she ended with a proud smile on her face.

Oh God, 'yon din pala ang nasa isip nito. Magkapareho nga talaga kami ng ugali.

Hearing that from her, I heaved up a breath and then slowly nodded at her. Finally made my mind to do what was right.

Okay, I'm gonna go help them for that. And I am just doing this for those 600,000 employees na mawawalan ng trabaho kapag wala akong ginawa.

Just for the employess, nothing else. Alright, yes. Nothing else, Sam. Hindi mo tinutulungan ang gagong yun kundi ang employees niya lang..

I convinced myself while nodding my head then after that, agad na'kong tumayo sa upuan ko with a final decision in mind.

"Okay! I'm gonna do it! Thank you for that aunt!" I stated then came closed to her and kissed her on her cheeks as my thank you. My aunt just gape at me while still popping something on her mouth, looking at me like I had gone crazy.

"I have to go now aunt, see you later. Bye!" Saka tumakbo na'ko paakyat sa room ko, leaving my surprised aunt in the table.

When I got to my room, agad ko ng kinuha ang phone ko then diaedl for the person na alam kong makakatulong sa'kin to complete the task.

After three rings, the receiver finally answered my call.

"Yes, Javier?"

"Sir, can I have Mr. del Fuero's private number? I just have something urgent to tell him sir. Please?" bungad ko agad rito.

Bigla naman itong natahimik sa kabilang linya, probably thinking about it, but when he answered, I was able to let out a sigh of relief.

"Alam mo naman siguro na confident---"

"yes, I know that sir. This is related to his case and this is urgent. Please give me her number sir.."

"His case? Akala koba  ayaw mong ihandle ang case na yon?"

"Yes, you're right sir. Pero kailangan ko lang makausap si Mr. Del fuero tungkol dun kaya hinihingi ko sa'yo yong number nya ngayon sir."

"Ah, ganun ba? Hmmm.." he said, obviously thinking about it.

Just say yes. Just say yes, sir...just...

"Okay. I'll forward his number in your number. Just wait for it." I was able to let out a sigh of relief when I heard that.

"Thank you, sir." Then he ended the call after saying his goodbye.

And true to his words, may number nga na dumating sa'kin.

Good.

I quickly typed a text to that number.

Hindi na nya kailangang malaman pa kung sino ako, ang mahalaga'y mabigyan ko siya ng tip about the plan from his enemy.

After I had type it in, I quickly tapped the send button then throw my phone back to my bed saka humiga uli. Now feeling relieved for doing that. 

I brought my arms under my head and then closed my eyes.

I think enough na 'yong nagawa ko. Wala ng mawawalan ng trabaho dahil dun....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~