Chapter Five - Finding Delaney

"Anong kailangan mo?" Bagot na tanong ni Felix nang makababa siya sa motor na kaniyang sinakyan papunta sa bahay ni Lark. "Make sure lang na may thrill 'yang ipapagawa mo, ah. I sacrificed my own happiness just for you."

"Lame," tipid at malamig na saad ni Lark. Nakapamulsa itong naglakad papasok ng bahay at iniwan na si Felix sa labas na napailing na lang.

"Don't leave me, Lark!"Ma-dramang sigaw ni Felix saka humabol kay Lark papasok. Hindi na niya ipinasok ang sasakyan at maging ang helmet ay iniwan niya na rin sa labas. Mahigpit ang security sa subdivision at kampante siya na walang kukuha niyon, and if ever somebody stole his helmet even his bigbike; then he can just buy another one.

Dumeritso si Lark sa second floor ng kaniyang bahay habang si Felix naman ay lumiko sa kusina at naghanap ng inuming nakalalasing sa naroong fridge. Naka-dekwatro siyang naupo sa sofa at hinihintay na bumalik ang kaibigan. As usual, nasa bar siya na kaniyang pagmamay-ari, he was having a good time with two women when Lark suddenly called him demanding him to go to his house because he needed Felix to do something for him. There was no 'favor' or 'please'. It was a straight order. Lark and his bossy side.

Hindi siya makatanggi sa lalaki dahil baka uminit na naman ang ulo nito at pasabugin hindi lang ang kaniyang bungo—kundi pati na rin ang kaniyang bar.

Wala sa sariling nagtaas ng middle finger si Felix habang nakatutok iyon sa hagdan papunta sa ikalawang palapag ng bahay. Saktong pababa si Lark noon kaya mabilis pa sa takbo ng kabayo na ibinaba niya ang kamay nang lingunin ni Lark ang kaniyang pwesto. Ngumiti na lang siya rito ng peke at sumaludo.

Muntik niya pang hindi masalo ang binato ni Lark na telepono, mabuti na lang at mabilis ang kaniyang reflexes kaya mabilis niya iyong nahabol.

"What am I gonna do with this trash?" Kunot-noong tanong ni Felix habang ini-examine ang hawak na android phone na mukhang pinaglumaan pa ng panahon. Felix tried turning on the phone, but it was locked. It needed a passcode.

"I need you to hack into its system and find out who is the owner of that phone."

"Seriously, Lark? What's so important about the owner of this phone? Was it from one of the women you bed before?"

"None of your business." Naglakad si Lark palayo sa kaniya. Naupo ito sa katapat niyang sofa na animo'y isang hari na naupo sa kaniyang trono.

"You're impossible," Felix muttered aloud. His fingers tapping on the phone screen. He let out a sigh and began to try some common passcodes, but to no avail; every number he entered was incorrect. He was good at tech—that was maybe the reason why Lark called him—but the device had a complicated lock.

Hindi man lang natinag sa kaniyang kinauupuan si Lark. Nakatanaw lang siya sa labas ng malaking bintana kung saan pumapasok ang mala-kulay gintong liwanag ng papalunog na araw.

Felix let out a frustrated sigh, he tossed the phone onto the coffee table. Sumandal siya sa backrest ng sofa at pabirong nagsalita. "Sana naman kung mang-s-snatch ka ng phone, 'yong maayos naman. Wala bang clue man lang d'yan?"

Sa wakas, nagawa na rin siyang lingunin ni Lark. Sumilay sa mukha nito ang isang bahagyang ngisi. "Clues aren't my style. Either you're gonna figure it out, or I will stop sponsoring your bar."

Dahil sa pagbabanta ni Lark ay mabilis pa sa alas kwatro na dinampot muli ni Felix ang phone. "Ito na nga, Sir, Boss, Mr. Chairman. I'm good at this. I can figure it out." Felix raised a thumbs up and another fake smile.

Felix borrowed a laptop from Lark. He wore the eyeglasses he saw at the top of the stairs making him look like a nerdy geek. He stretched his arms and back before going back to the sofa and started doing his business, but not actually his business because Lark just dragged him into this after telling him that it's not Felix's business.

After a few taps or more on the keyboard of the laptop; he switched to the phone, continuously tapping on its screen like some expert hacker. His whole face shouts concentration. After a few more tries, the screen automatically slid up on its own, the lock disappeared.

"Tsk! Easy, basic, piece of cake," pagyayabang ni Felix. Ngumisi pa ito. Satisfaction flooded his blood. Hindi niya na binalik kay Lark ang cellphone. Siya na mismo ang kumutingting doon. Hindi niya alam kung anong pakay ni Lark sa mga nilalaman ng bagay na iyon, ngunit base sa pagmamadali nito ay mukhang malaking bagay iyon.

Nagsimulang mag-scroll si Felix sa telepono, sinusubukang hanapin ang pagkakakilanlan ng may-ari niyon. Binabalot din siya ng kuryusidad kung ano ba talaga ang pakay ni Lark sa may-ari ng cellphone at kung anong kasalanan ang nagawa nito sa kaibigan at kailangan pa siya nitong ipahanap sa kaniya. Nang mapansin ni Lark na sinasarili na ni Felix ang impormasyon sa loob ng telepono ay dagli niya iyong hinablot. Hindi rin naman nagtagal bago niya na-access ang mga mensahe, social media accounts, browsing history, files, at mga dokumento. What Lark found wasn't what he expected, at least not entirely. There were no secret messages from a secret lover or a sugar daddy, there are no suspicious contacts or calls either. From a little diary on its note app and the resumé saved on its files—it was revealed that the woman had been looking for a job. But what surprised Lark is that the constant rejection she faced from the company she had applied for. Walang tumatanggap sa kaniyang kompanya dahil isa siyang undergraduate, wala siyang degree at kwalipikasyon na maipagmamalaki.

The more Lark dug into her personal history, the more he saw the pattern, and the more he gets angrier. Halos lahat yata ng puwedeng trabaho ay napag-apply-an na nito, simula sa mabababang opisina o kaya costumer service level of roles. Malinaw na naghihirap ito. Bumalik sa kaniyang alaala nang makita niya ito na halos kinakaladkad na ng isang kanò sa isang nightclub. At ang naging pag-uusap nila noong lasing na ang babae. Walang ibang naramdaman si Lark kundi ang pagkairita habang isa-isa niyang tinitingnan ang mga job application na ginawa ng babae. How could she let herself fall so low? Maybe, that is one of the reasons why he needed to steal money from him, but that mere reason didn't even falter Lark's decision; he still needed to make her pay for what she did. None of those things excused what she had done. She had taken his money, stolen from him, and ran away. Mas lalong tumindi ang pagnanais ni Lark na mahanap ang babae. She had made him feel foolish. And Lark Fletcher didn't take kindly to feeling foolish.

As the night went on, Lark's thoughts were consumed by one thing: finding Delaney. No, it wasn't just about the money. It was personal now. She made him feel vulnerable and exposed. And he wasn't going to let her get away with it.