~NIGHT SLAYER~

5

"Good job about yesterday night guys," ani Alyssa sa kanila then gave a satisfied nod. "We've successful defeated most of the vampires at our target points."

They were at the deepest part of Cassie Enterprise. Walang sinuman sa loob ng kumpanya ang maaaring pumasok sa bahaging iyon ng Cassie maliban sa kanilang miyembro ng organization. They were having their meeting at an early hour of that morning. Kumpleto sila sa round table. Well, may isang bakanteng upuan doon dahil as usual, nakatayo na naman ang partner ni Jeron na si Thomas. Sa hindi maunawaang kadahilanan ay hindi ito kailanman umupo sa upuang nakalaan dito. It was none of her business anyway.

Inilibot ni Mika ang paningin sa paligid. Tahimik ang mga naroroong kasamahan niya. Everybody seemed normal. May pasok sa trabaho nang araw na iyon kaya naman ang ilan sa kanila ay nakasuot ng business suit at attires. Napadako ang tingin niya kay Victonara na noon ay seryosong nakatingin lang sa nagsasalitang si Alyssa. She was wearing a three-piece signature suit and was wearing her clear eyeglasses. Her hair was well combed and her face is very charming.

She looked like an average working guy... Well not that average because her looks were above average. And so were the rest of the other guys who looked like typical working businessmen by day but hiding in a cape of being a slayer at night.

At sino ba naman ang maghihinala na may ganoong part-time job ang mga naroroon, lalo na ang mga babaeng kung tutuusin ay puwedeng maging mga modelo sa magazine o television. Well, most of the women in that group were a part of the Galang family. It was probably the genes in the Galang Clan, that was why they were blessed with good looks.

Well, the Galangs were not an ordinary clan since they were not ordinary humans. They had the slayer's blood running through their veins and gifted with superhuman strength to equal those of their enemies.

Karamihan kasi sa mga naroroon ay miyembro ng angkan ng Galang. Victonara and Alyssa were first-blood cousins. So were Thirdy, Rex, Kim, Andrei, Noreen Gabriana and LA. Sa kanilang lahat, si Noreen Gabriana ang pinakabatang slayer. While LA had an amnesia of some sort. Dalawa lang ang babaeng (literal na babaeng-babae sa puso hindi tulad ng iba sa kanila na babaeng may pusong lalaki) pinsan ng mga ito ang naroroon at kabilang sa grupo; si Gretchen at si Cha. And the rest like her where recruited because they had somehow been associated with the Galang. Richard was a half werewolf and was recruited by Aly herself. Gayon din si Jeron at ang palagi nitong kasamang si Thomas.

Mika heard Jeron had a brother named Jeric but she never saw him even once. But it would be nice if his brother was not as stiff and as serious as Jeron. Pero kong namimisteryosuhan siya kay Jeron, nahihiwagaan naman siya kay Thomas. Bukod sa weird nitong kilos and weird din nitong manamit. He was always wearing a butler type of clothing, and acted like a butler to Jeron. Iniisip nga ni Mika kung ang tunay nitong pangalan ay Sebastian. Because she heard that most of the butlers were named Sebastian.

"Kianna gave me these," narinig ni Mika na wika ni Alyssa kaya muling napadako ang tingin niya sa leader ng kanilang grupo. Idini-distribute nito ang mga itim na metallic folders sa kanilang lahat. She, apparently, was the president of Cassie Enterprise. "For the meantime, lie low ang mga kalaban natin. Halos maubos natin ang mga Orfeos nitong mga nakaraan nating shows kaya naman tiyak na gagawa sila ng panibagong strategies at pansamantalang magtatago sa kanilang mga lungga."

"Bakit hindi na lang natin sugurin ang mga pinagkukutaan nila?" biglang wika naman ni Majoy. "With Kianna's intelligence gathering techniques, it's possible for us to hunt them down at their very own turfs."

Napabuntong-hininga si Bea sa sinabi ng katabi. Magka-partner sina Bea at Majoy sa mga shows. At iisa ang naging maestro at nag-train sa mga ito upang maging vampire slayer, the veteran vampire slayer, Manuel Galang. He was the Galang cousins' uncle and also Majoy's adoptive father.

"I'll take note of that suggestion, Majoy," sabi na lang ni Alyssa. Wala naman kasing bago sa suhestiyong iyon ng babae dahil wala na yata itong ibang nasa isip kundi puksain ang mga kalabang lahi. Nagpatuloy naman si Aly sa sinasabi. "As I was saying, makakapagpahinga tayo pansamantala sa pagtugis sa kanila dahil sa pagtatago nila. But stay alert and never let your guard down as always." Tumayo na ito mula sa pagkakaupo. "Sa ngayon ay iyan na lang muna. Ipapatawag ko na lang kayo kung sakaling may meeting uli tayo. For now, you can go on with your daily normal jobs."

Sunod-sunod nang nagsitayuan ang mga kasama ni Mika. Siya naman ay ganoon din. Dinampot na niya ang kanyang canvass bag na may lamang paraphernalia na gagamitin sa pagpipinta. She has a scheduled exhibit at the end of next month and had to finish one or two painting before that.

Madali lang sana iyon kung nasa mood siya. Kaso, nasira ang mood niya nang nakaraang gabi dahil sa kagagawan ng isang tao. At isang malaking no-no sa isang artist na tulad niya ang nasisira ang mood dahil naaapektuhan ang kanyang trabaho.

And the sole reason why she was not in the mood that morning was the woman who was walking towards her.

"How's your wound, Mika?" ani Vic nang huminto ito sa mismong tapat niya.

Pinigilan ni Mika ang umikot ang mga mata sa sinabi ng dalaga. Tila kasi siya bata kung ituring ito, sa totoo lang. "My wound is fine, Vic." Walang dahilan para sirain ang kanyang buong araw at magtatrabaho pa siya. "I asked Den for help and she healed it." Den was a vampire huntress and sorcerer. Kanina, bago magsimula ang meeting nila ay pinatingin niya ang natamong sugat sa laban nila noong nakaraan. It was a good thing that she was associated with people who weren't really normal, that was why a mere scratch like that wasn't alarming. Overacting lang talaga si Vic kadalasan.

"See? No scratch whatsoever." Ipinakita niya ang brasong wala nang sugat upang tantanan na siya nito.

Mukhang namang nakuntento na ito at tumango na lang. "Saan ka ngayon?" tanong nito sa kanya pagkatapos ay saglit na sinulyapan ang canvass bag niyang puwede yatang magkasya ang laman ng kanyang bahay. "Painting somewhere?"

"Yeah," tipid niyang sagot. "Ikaw?"
"I have a company case to handle." Tinawag si Vic ni Aly kaya nilingon nito ang pinsan.
"I'll be at your office," she simply said then turned to her again. "Take care, okay?"
"Yeah, sure," sagot na lang ni Mika pagkatapos ay dumeresto na patungo sa secret door nila.