Chapter Four

Angela

"Mommy, Mommy, wake up." I groaned as I felt Asher gently pushing me. "Mommy!"

I yawned and gently held his face. "Just me another five minutes, Honey."

I covered myself with a blanket and hugged a pillow. I was about to close my eyes but Asher pulled my blanket.

"You promised me that we will have a stroll today! It's already 10:00, Mommy!"

I rubbed my eyes before sitting and ruffled Asher's hair. "Okay, okay. Get me my hair brush first."

He jumped out of bed and ran towards my table. "Mommy, ang gulo naman ng table mo! I can't find your hair brush!" He scratched his head out of frustration as he continued to search for my hair brush.

After a few minutes, he handed me my brush.

"I'll go take a bath!" tumakbo na siya palabas ng kwarto.

Narinig ko pa siya ng pinagalitan ni Ellisa dahil muntik na siya ng madulas.

I stood in the full length mirror in my room as I brushed my brunette hair. It has slight waves and it's length has already reached my waist. I decided not to cut it short so that no one can recognize me as one of the Belcher Heiress. I used to have shoulder length hair and curtain bangs but I think spending eighteen years having that kind of haircut is enough.

Right after I gave birth, we saw on the news that the Belcher family announced my demise. Funny thing, they were crying their eyes out. They told the media that I died in a plane crash, they even spent millions of their fortune just to fabricate a scene. I can say that they put in a great effort doing that.

But I think it's for the better. I will no longer have a problem in case I went back to Manila for a Mission.

Matapos ang ilang sandali ay inayos ko na ang damit na susuotin namin ni Asher.

"Going for a stroll?"

Napatingin ako kay Ellisa na nakasandal sa pintuan.

"Yup. I promised him that we will go for a stroll and shop for some clothes and toys today."

"Go and buy some bags of popcorn on your way home. The girls are planning to have a movie night."

"Sure."

"Ingat sila sa inyo." tumalikod na si Ellisa para pumunta sa office niya pero napatigil siya noong tawagin ko siya. "Hmn?"

"Did you find the guy?"

"Actually, I came here to tell you that. But I don't want to spoil your day. I'll tell you everything later."

I was about to speak when Asher came inside running with his head soaking wet.

"Asher, I told you not to run around, especially when the floor is wet!"

He giggled as he looked at Ellisa. "I'm sorry Tita. I promise I won't run again."

"You better be."

"Asher, Honey, come here."

Lumapit naman agad siya kaya pinunasan ko na siya maigi. I put a towel on his back and combed his hair. "I'll do it, Mommy. Go and take a bath!"

"Alright." I smiled sweetly as I gave him his comb.

"Let's just talk later." Sabi ni Ellisa.

"If you insist."

Mabilis na akong naligo at pagdating ko ng kwarto ay wala na si Asher doon. For sure he's already downstairs making a cute face for the customers.

I blow-dried my hair and tied it into a waterfall braid before putting on some light make-up. I wore a pair of jeans and a white shirt. I chose to wear rubber shoes because Asher will surely pull me everywhere.

I grabbed my backpack and put a bottle of water as well as some snacks. I also made sure that I put some weapons just in case something happens.

Nang masigurado na ayos na ang lahat ay bumaba na ako sa cafe. I saw Asher sitting on the counter with a high stool while talking with some customers.

"Eh, ano ang gagawain mo pag nawala ka?"

He raised his hands excitedly while smiling widely "I'll contact my Mommy as soon as possible!"

"Paano naman kung wala kang dala para ma-contact Mommy mo?"

"I'll approach a guard or any authorities!"

"And what are you gonna tell them?"

"Hi, my name is Asher Louis Cordova, I'm six years old. My mommy is missing! Can you help me find her? You can also help me go home! I live at Themis Cafe!"

Natawa na lang ang mga nakapaigid sa kaniya na customers. Nang makita niya ako ay tumalon na siya sa stool at tumakbo papunta sa akin.

"Let's go, Let's go!" hinila na niya ang daliri ko palabas ng cafe.

"Nakapagpaalam ka na ba sa mga tita mo?"

"Yes!"

Matapos sumakay sa sasakyan ay nagsuot na agad siya ng seatbelt.

"Where do you want to go first?"

"I want to ride horses!"

"Okay then, let's go!"

Nagpunta na kami sa park at sakto naman na may kabayo na pwedeng rentahan. He's smiling widely as he wears the safety gears.

"This is not your first time here, am I right?"

He looked at me and he immediately shut his lips. I squinted my eyes and sat on his level.

"Did your Tito Ken bring you here before?"

Umiling naman siya but I can see from his eyes that he's hiding something.

"Asher." I said with a warning voice. He had no choice but to reveal the truth.

"We rode horses last week. But he told me not to tell you."

"What else did you do?"

"We," he took a long pause before looking at me, "went to the camp and he taught me how to use a gun."

Nanlaki naman ang mata ko sa gulat "He what?"

Napatingin sa akin ang tao na malapit sa akin dahil sa lakas ng boses ko.

"He also gave me a cute cutter." inilabas niya ang isang maliit na cutter mula sa bulsa ng shorts niya. It's just like my cutter. And of course I knew it's extremely dangerous. It's not an ordinary cutter, its blade is made of diamond powder that made it very sharp and almost indestructible.

Nanlumo siya at malungot na tumingin sa akin. May nangingilid na rin na luha sa mata niya "Should I give it back?"

Umiling na lang ako at pinunasan ang nangingilid niyang luha. "Keep it. I'm sure your uncle has a reason why he gave it to you."

Ngumiti na ulit siya bago ibalik sa bulsa niya ang cutter.

"But you have to promise me that you will use it carefully. Okay?"

"Yes, Mommy! Thank you!" He gave me a hug and a kiss on my cheeks.

Matapos namin mag horseback riding ay dumeretso na kami sa mall para maglunch. Asher is still full of energy. He even insisted on going to an arcade.

Pinagtitinginan kami sa pinupuntahan namin because of Asher. He's so lively and cute at the same time.

"Mommy, it's already four. shall we head to the grocery?"

"Are you sure? Wala ka na bang gustong puntahan?"

He rubbed his eyes before yawning "Wala na po."

"Okay, then. Let's be quick. Para makapag pahinga ka na."

Pagdating namin sa grocery ay may mga nagde-demo ng mga laruan. Napatingin ako kay Asher na nakatingin sa remote-controlled airplane.

"Do you want that one?"

Umiling naman siya at tumingin sa akin. "I'll just ask Tito Ken for a drone that has high definition camera and sensors."

"That idiot might even give you a drone that fires laser beams."

"He won't. Or else Tita Mira will throw knives at him. The last time he gave me a robot that shoots silver bullets, Tita Mira almost threw a grenade at him."

Natawa naman ako dahil sa kwento ng anak ko. The ladies in the Cafe are also members of the Zodiac Organization. They are in the Intelligence Department, the ones who are in charge of collecting data and as well as protecting the data that has been gathered.

Matapos mamili ay umuwi na kami. Inayos ko na ang mga napamili namin habang si Asher ay dumeretso na matulog. As I tucked Asher to sleep, Ellisa knocked on the door.

"Can we have a talk?"

"Sure."

Sumunod na ako sa kaniya sa sala. The girls is also there.

"We already found the guy. But we don't have his full identity." Sabi ni Abby.

Inilapag ni Mira ang isang folder sa table. I looked at the pictures inside the folder but that certain person made sure that no one would have a good look at his face.

"We tried to track the owner of the car but it only lead us to a rental shop. Nakapagtanong na rin kami sa may-ari kung sino ang nagrenta ng sasakyan niya but he told us that they made the transaction online." paliwanag ni Ella

"How about the bank transaction?"

"It's cash. Iniwan lang ng lalaki ang bag ng Pera sa likod ng sasakyan. We looked for some fingerprints in the bag of money but there's no avail. Maski sa sasakyan ay wala."

"So it's a dead end?"

"Not yet." inabot naman sa akin ni Vera ang tablet. Nag play ang isang video kung saan may sinusunog na mga gamit ang isang lalaki sa isang abandonadong bahay. Malayo ang shot pero my gut feeling tells me it's him. Nasundan ang video ang pag-alis ng lalaki gamit ang isang black Chevrolet Camaro. "This is where things get interesting. The owner of this car is no other than Florence Casimir Lawson.  The only heir of the Lawson Empire and the current CEO of the company."

"But no one knows what he looks like, right? Even the employees are paid a huge sum of money so that they won't say a word about his appearance. It made him quite famous. There are articles claiming that he has a hideous appearance." Sabi ko naman.

"Yup. But according to our Intel in Manila, once they launch their new products, Casimir will make his first-ever public appearance." Sabi naman ni Ellisa.

"We suspect that he is connected to black market. May ilang transactions sya under the table. No one knows kung para saan iyon. Then we discovered that in the past few weeks, he's been in numerous Human Auctions. But unlike what he did last time in the auction that we infiltrated, he's just observing." dagdag pa niya.

"And what are we going to do now? Infiltrate his company?" tanong ko.

Tumingin sa akin si Ellisa saglit na nag- isip "Close to that."

Napakunot naman ang noo ko sa sinabi niya.

"We want you to apply as his secretary. They are looking for a new secretary since a lot of his past secretaries tried to seduce him and even threatened him that they will post his picture. But Casimir is a smart person. He made a move before they even set foot outside the company."

"Are you telling me you want me to go back to Manila and go undercover?"

"Yes."

I frowned and shut my eyes for a few seconds before looking at Ellisa again. "Why can't the other agents do it?"

"This is a long-term mission. Elite agents need to do it."

"Why did I even apply as an Elite agent years ago?"

"You lost the bet. Besides, you deserve it. There are no other agents willing to be a part of the Elites."

"Because being an elite sucks."

"I know. But you need to do this."

"How about the other Elites?"

"Maycee and Mark are teachers, they can't go. Daniella and Ken are hospital workers, they also can't go. Same with Luigi and Shania. Demi is on a mission abroad. While Elijah, Daisy, and Gin can't go because they are famous in the industry. You are the only option."

"What about Asher? I just can't leave him here."

"He'll be going with you. Wala pa naman siyang pasok. You can leave him in the HQ while you're at work. Marami ang mag aalaga sa kaniya roon."

"Fine! As if I have any other choice! Just make sure Ken won't teach my son any tricks."

"Don't worry, I'll talk to him." paninigurado naman ni Mira.

"Kailan ang alis?"

"Mamayang madaling araw."

"What?!"