The Wicked and the Damned

040: Monster

DENNIS PRINCE SALVADOR

The blaring sound of the emergency alarm on my device startled me from my sleep. Agad akong napabangon at automatic na dinampot ng aking kamay ang pantalong nakakalat sa isang gilid para isuot iyon. Dinampot ko ang aking jacket at susi ng aking kotse bago ako nagmamadaling nagmaneho patungo sa Hidden Heaven.

I tried to contact Trevor, but there were no answers from him. Ilang araw na rin nang huli namin siyang nakausap nang maayos. Habang nasa daan ay si Jeric lamang ang sumagot ng aking tawag.

"Ano na naman ang nangyayari?" agad na tanong nito.

"I have no idea, and I can't reach Trevor. Hindi ko pa nakakausap si Art," sunod-sunod na sagot ko sa kaniya habang nakatutok ang aking mata sa kalsada.

"May kinalaman kaya ito sa nabanggit sa atin ni Trevor?" mahinang usal ni Jeric. That triggered the memory of what Trevor told us the other day. Para nga siyang sinapian dahil sa sinabi nitong magtiwala at sumunod kami sa kung ano mang instruction na ibibigay sa amin ni Falcon.

It was pretty weird, but it felt like he knew and understood Lance momentarily. Sana lang ay tama siya sa parteng iyon dahil kapag hindi ay kawawa siya.

"I don't know, but most likely," tahimik na sagot ko.

Pagdating sa conference room ay naroon na sina Falcon, Passerin, Eagle, Flamingo at Hawk. Mukhang kanina pa sila nandito, probably for another task, but the situation called for an emergency meeting.

Lance's calm facade could never fool a keen eye. Kalmado man pero kung titingnan nang mabuti ay mababakas ang pag-aalala nito sa mahina at tila ba walang pasensyang pagtapik ng kaniyang paa sa lapag.

Ano kaya ang nangyari?

Sparrow arrived after a few minutes, and tailing him was Jay. When the two of them settled down, Lance stood from his seat and started explaining.

"Apologies for the emergency call, this is an urgent mission," panimula nito bago nito binuksan ang screen sa table.

Isang hindi pamilyar na floor plan ang bumungad sa aming lahat.

"Crow received an email from Lyrie asking him to offer his loyalty to her, and I instructed him to just go with the flow for us to get information about the Umbral Consortium. He was able to gather some important information about their headquarters, but in exchange for that, they were able to get Leirin, too."

That's why this became an emergency meeting, but when Sapphire Ivy got Leirin before, hindi naman ito naging urgent. Anong iniisip ni Lance?

"Originally, we are supposed to wait a few more days and plan thoroughly before launching an attack. The problem is Crow's patience. He snapped out of Lyrie's hold, and now they were both in danger. We must act fast, or it will be too late for us."

Oh, I see. Trevor and his anger management. Baka hindi nito kinaya ang ginawa ng Umbral Consortium kay Leirin kaya naman agad na pumitik ang pisi ng kaniyang pasensya. Minsan talaga ay may katangahang taglay ang isang iyon. Masyadong mainitin ang ulo.

Jeric side-eyed me as if he understood what I was thinking. Yes, we are judging Trevor and his decisions.

"Our goal now is to retrieve the two of them. According to the feed we received from Crow, the two of them were located here." Lance zoomed in on an area before he enabled the screen's pen. He encircled the area and drew two stick figures in them.

I tried my best not to laugh because this was a freaking grave situation. I do not have the time to laugh at stick figures.

"Passerine's job is to alter their security systems. Crow provided sufficient information for us to figure out what kind of security system they were using. However–" he paused, zooming the plan out before marking another part with an x–"this is where the control room sits. As you can see, it was strategically located almost in the middle of their headquarters."