Game Over, Engineer

QP

AND IT IS indeed, the youngest. At his age, halos wala itong digital footprint. He has been cleaning his tracks, and they can't believe that a young guy like him could set up a hosting server on the dark side of the internet.

"The youth nowadays is really capable of anything," naiiling na saad ni Jack habang may ginagawa sa laptop nito. She lets out a sigh and nods her head.

"I guess na-influence sila sa social media." She shrugged and sat beside him. Kumunot ang kanyang noo nang makitang nakabukas ang FL Studio nito.

FL Studio is a music production software as far as she knows. She couldn't understand anything, but she saw him drag bars on the piano track and when he clicked the enter button, pumapailanlang ang malamyos na musika na ikinangiti niya.

He's really talented!

"Dang. You're really the Jack of all trades!" She lifted her hand to spank his arm, but before her hand could touch his shoulder, mabilis iyong nahuli ni Jack, and right in front of her eyes, he intertwined their hands.

Nanlaki ang kanyang mga mata at 'di niya maiwasang mapasinghap, lalo na no'ng hinigpitan ni Jack ang pagkakapit sa kanyang kamay habang abala pa rin sa FL Studio nito. Shit.

"Chansing ka, ah!"

"But you held my hand back. Aminin," he gave her a sideways glance, his stare carried a playful look, "gusto mo rin!"

Inikutan niya na lang ito ng mga mata at tumayo, akmang hihilain na ang kanyang kamay, but Jack held her wrist and pulled her to him, earning a gasp from her. Nanlaki ang kanyang mga mata nang paharap siyang napaupo sa mga hita nito and she felt how butterflies fluttered inside her stomach.

"Jack!"

"Shh. . . sorry," he softly muttered. He suddenly pulled her head gently to his chest and she felt his lips on the top of her head.

Shit. Why. . . Why does it oddly feel good?

"Sorry. 'Di na kita iinisin," naglalambing na saad nito at hinaplos ang kanyang ulo, a gesture that made her blink.

He kissed her cheek, and every time he apologized, parati nitong pinapatakan ng magagaan na halik ang kanyang pisngi, and it made her question her ability to breathe properly.

Damn. Hipokrita ba siya kung sasabihin niyang na-miss niya kung ganito ito?

Halos hindi na siya makahinga nang maayos dahil sa pinanggagawa nito, but when he caressed her back gently, her senses calmed down and her brain slowly processed the situation.

She was sitting on Jack's lap, and he kept on kissing her as he apologized.

Instead of stopping him, she let him kiss her instead and succumbed to the warmth of his body. Niyakap niya ito, and she rested her chin on his shoulder. Ramdam niyang natigilan ito, but she didn't mind him and instead, closed her eyes.

Hugging him will always bring her peace, even now.

Maya't maya pa ay narinig niyang nagpakawala ito ng buntonghininga na para bang nabunutan ito ng tinik at saka siya niyakap pabalik.

"Sorry, Jill. . ." he muttered once again in a low voice. . . and she could feel how that two-word sentence carried a lot of unspoken emotions.

And she's fucking curious about what Jaxavion is truly sorry for.

THE MOMENT SHE read the poem again, and she finally understood the code.

Hitman Cipher and Playfair Cipher, and the password for the Playfair Cipher is the title of the image itself-Trade.