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SIMULA
Everything seemed to stop. For the first time in years, his breath hitched as he pointed his gun at his target. Hindi, hindi siya kinakabahan. Malayo sa kaba ang nararamdaman niya ngayon.
The living room where they are currently in is dark, ang tanging ilaw na nagbibigay ng liwanag sa kanila ay ang poste ng ilaw na direktang nakatayo malapit sa bintana ng sala ng maliit na bahay. Aiden’s eyes slowly trailed from his target’s eyes to the gun she is currently pointing back at him. Ano ang ibig sabihin nito? His eyes met her gaze once again. They are sharing the same wide-eyed look, both surprised at the turn of events. Ano ang nangyayari?
The room felt heavy. Ang tanging tunog na naririnig ni Aiden ay ang ang malakas tibok ng kanyang puso. Gulong-gulo siya. Paano nangyari ito?
Ang isip niya ay bahagyang lumipad pabalik sa planong inilatag niya sa kanyang utak. Pulido ito. Ilang ulit niya itong nirebisa upang masiguradong walang anumang butas. Simple lang naman ang plano. Hihintayin niyang sumapit ang alas-dose ng gabi, ang oras kung kailan palaging nagpapatay na ng ilaw ang target upang matulog. Maghihintay muli ng isa pang oras upang makasiguradong tulog na ang target. Kapag sumapit ang oras ay tsaka siya dahan-dahang papasok mula mismo sa front door. Alam na alam niya na ang password nito dahil sa hindi mabilang na beses na pagpunta niya sa nasabing lugar. Saulo niya na din ang layout ng bahay, alam na alam niya kung ano at saan ang tamang lusutan. Dahan-dahan niya lamang na bubuksan ang kwarto kung saan natutulog ang target at saka siya tahimik na papatayin gamit ang dala niyang pistol na dinugtungan niya ng silencer. Simple, hindi ba? Kaya naman nakakapagtakang humantong sa ganito ang pangyayari.
Naibalik sa kasalukuyan ang isip ni Aiden nang marinig niya ang pamilyar na tunog ng pagtanggal ng safety lock ng baril. Just then, flashbacks of the past months came crushing down on him. Shit. It all makes sense now.
He gulped when he saw her grip tighten, finger twitching on the trigger. Hindi maaari ito.
He postured himself, ready to tackle her when the light in the living room suddenly went on. They both got too busy predicting each other’s next moves that they failed to hear the padding of the set of small feet coming to their direction.
Ang mga mata nila ay sabay na bumaling sa batang nakatayo sa ilalim ng switch ng ilaw. Ang pinto ng kwarto na dapat ay papasukin niya ay naiwang nakabukas.
They were both quick to hide their guns, clicking on the safety lock.
“Mommy?” the child called out while rubbing her still sleep laden eyes.
Mommy?
Isang libong tanong ang tumatakbo sa utak ni Aiden ngayon. Mommy? May anak siya?
He heard a loud gasp when the child turned her gaze on him. Aiden’s brows furrowed when recognition flashed in the child’s eyes. Sa ikalawang pagkakataon ngayong gabi, Aiden’s breath hitched in his throat. Ang mundo ay tila ba tumigil sa pag-ikot nang marinig niya ang sumunod na salitang lumabas sa bibig ng bata.
“Papa?”
Kaugnay na kabanata
Target Acquired 1
8:00:03 p.m; Florence, Italy"Target going east, AC," Aiden heard his partner, Armand, say from his earpiece. Siya ang umasikaso ng surveillance ngayon.Aidan shifted his body along with the sniper he's holding, carefully locating the target. There he was, peacefully sipping wine and talking to other businessmen.Aidan has his set up on the rooftop of a hotel across their target's location. He's been crouched on his position with his sniper gun for almost an hour now, naghihintay ng tamang tyempo. Ito na yata ang pinakamatrabahong misyon na natanggap niya. Kinailangan nilang bantayan ang target nang halos isang buwan para lamang makagawa ng ng pulidong plano, at ngayong gabi na nila balak tapusin ito. Hindi biro ang kinailangan nilang gawin lalo pa't h
Target Acquired 2
9:32:02 p.m: Manila, PhilippinesAiden removed the sunglasses he's wearing before checking the time on his wrist watch. It's already 8 pm and he can already feel the fatigue from the 14-hour long flight seeping in his bones. Nakaupo siya ngayon sa isa sa mga café na matatagpuan sa airport. The service his agency got for him got delayed kaya naman naisipan niya munang maupo.His phone lit up from a message notification just as the barista called his name. He stood up to collect his order while opening his phone to check his message."Arriving in ten," the text said.Kinuha niya ang kanyang order mula sa counter at saka bumalik sa kanyang lamesa upang kunin ang maleta at iba pang mga gamit niya. Sampung minuto na
Target Acquired 3
The first thing he registered when he finally came to his senses was the sterile scent in the room. And he immediately wanted to groan. Fuck. The second thing was when he opened his eyes and saw the familiar white walls. Too white for his liking. He has never felt the biggest urge to run away since.He is not in a hospital, he knows. Well, it is a hospital, but not a typical one. It's more of a clinic. Ang agency mismo ang nagmamay-ari nito. It's for emergency situations like this. Kapag masyadong kahina-hinala ang pinsala na tinao nila na maaaring magdulot ng suspetya sa normal na hospital.He forced his eyes to open, getting blinded by the too bright light above him. Narinig niya ang tunog ng sapatos ng kung sinumang kasama niya sa kwarto. His eyes slowly gained focus and his eyes met the face of his best friend. He had never groaned
Target Acquired 4
The brown envelope made a smacking noise as it collided with the huge mahogany desk of Mr. Suarez, their Top Commander here in the Philippine headquarters. Aiden met the man’s eyes, his gaze burning with anger.“What’s this?” Aiden quite literally spat out. Ang tingin ni Mr. Suarez ay nanatiling kalmado, ang kaliwang kilay niya ay bahagyang tumaas.“Hello to you too, Mr. Williams,” the man replied sarcastically. Eyes never straying from Aiden’s.Huminga nang malalim si Aiden upang maikalma ang sarili, pinapaalalahanan na superior niya pa rin ang kanyang kaharap. He limped his way to the man’s desk.“Have you recovered yet? Hindi ba’t kahapon ka lamang nasaksak?” tanong nito habang ang mata ay nakatingin sa kanyang kanang hita na may balot na benda sa ilalim ng kanyang suot na jogging pants.Aiden disregarded his ques
Target Acquired 5
Aiden was quick to school the expression of shock on his face into a blank one.“Hey, you still there?” tanong ni Klyden mula sa kabilang linya. Aiden averted his gaze from Artemis. Kumuha siya ng ilan pang sitsirya at inilagay ito sa cart niya bago ito muling itinulak. He fixed his hold on his phone. He can feel his hands shaking for some reason. Is he nervous? Embarrassed? Flustered? Guilty?As he pushed his cart past her, their eyes met once again. Nanikip ang kanyang dibdib sa ekspresyon ni Artemis. She looks so confused. He willed himself to keep it cool. Aiden gave her a small smile, her eyes widened for a fraction before giving a small smile too, immediately averting her gaze after.He reached the next aisle still feeling dazed. Ang maliit na interaksyon ay paulit-ulit na naglalaro sa kanyang utak. Sa maikling sandali ay tumatak agad sa kanya ang lahat. Her dark brown hair, she used to have it long, no
Target Acquired 6
His eyes burned holes at the envelope on top of his work desk. Halos isang oras niya na itong tinititigan, hindi malaman ang kaniyang gagawin dito. He sighed for the nth time in the past hour, mabilis siyang kumurap nang maramdaman ang panunuyo ng kanyang mata. He raised his hands to rub his eyes, groaning as he did so. This has been his routine for almost a week now. As if staring at the envelope would suddenly answer his questions. He really wants to know why, ano ba ang ginawa ni Artemis sa mga nagdaang taon upang masama sa ganitong business ang kanyang pangalan. Artemis, despite being a really sweet girl is firm and opinionated. Alam niyang ipaglaban ang sarili niya. Did she accidentally anger someone with her opinionated nature again? He suddenly remembers that one time they had a date and intended to watch a movie but ended up in the mall security office. - Aiden reached out to put his hands on Artemis’ tense shoulders.
Target Acquired 7
The third time they met, believe it or not, was purely on accident. Apat na araw na ang nakakaraan mula nang magkita sila sa hospital, pinadalhan siyang muli ng kanyang agency ng lokasyon, as expected, but after hours of waiting, she didn’t show up. He went home feeling a mixture of disappointment and relief that day. Disappointed that it delayed the progress of his mission, at the same time relieved for the same reason.He was jogging around the small village, a habit he formed every time he’s injured so he would heal faster, when he accidentally saw her walking out of her house. They were both shocked at the sight of each other.“Oh,” ani nito.“Ikaw ulit.”Huminto siya sa labas ng bahay nito, eyes focused on her.“I didn’t know you live here,” he said. That’s partly a lie, he kind of deduced she lived somewhere near the area if his a
Target Acquired 8
He stood behind the cash register, preparing for the rush hour. Sa gilid niya nakatayo si Evelyn, ang in-charge sa counter, aalalayan siya nito ngayon na mag-asikaso. Ikatlong araw na ng pormal na pagtatrabaho niya rito at maayos naman ang nagiging takbo nito. He is yet to make a move, kailangan niya munang masiguro na hindi magiging kahina-hinala ang bawa’t galaw niya.Artemis is currently cleaning tables; it seems to be her duty around the café. He tracked her every move, eyes following every movement.“Magkakilala po kayo?” he heard Evelyn ask, it’s the first time she directly talked to him since his first duty. Naputol ang pagtingin niya kay Artemis nang bumaling siya rito. Bahagya niya lamang itong nilingon. She’s a petite girl, pretty eyes hidden behind big glasses, small nose and thin lips. Her head is the same level as his shoulders, kaya naman kinailangan niya pang yumuko nang bahagya.&nb
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