1971 {Rodrigo Duterte x Leni Robredo}

11 Stop

A/N: To those who read and voted on the previous chapter, thank you so much! I appreciate every single one of you!

Present

PNP Chief Bato de la Rosa had finally finished tracking the source of the message that they received on New Year's Eve.

It was fifteen minutes past midnight, but he knew that the president would be waiting for his call no matter how late it got. Rodrigo Duterte was adamant to get to the end of this, that he had decided to personally take care of the case.

The president had been unable to rest properly ever since the incident. His only solace was knowing that he was doing everything in his power to seek justice where it was due.

"Sorry Mayor, ngayon lang namin natapos yung imbestigasyon," Bato spoke as soon as the other line answered.

"That's fine," the president replied. "Anong natuklasan niyo?"

"Nagpalipat-lipat po ng IP address yung sender, halatang gawa ng isang professional hacker," the PNP Chief said. "Kaya medyo natagalan kami. Pero natunton na namin yung lokasyon ng mismong source."

"Saan? Kilala niyo na ba kung sino ang nagpdala ng mensahe?" Digong asked directly. He was getting impatient.

"Na-trace po namin ang source sa New York City," Bato replied sensing the urgency in the other man's voice. "Na-pin point rin po namin ang establishment kung saan nanggaling yung IP address ng sender."

"At?" Digong inquired further.

"Kilalang tao po yung may ari nung establishment. Sa katunayan nung nakaraang eleksyon si Roxas po yung sinuportahan niya. Tapos nung elections before 'nun, si Aquino naman yung sinuportahan niya."

"Sigurado ka ba diyan, Bato?" the president asked, unable to believe what he was hearing. He knew the person who Bato was referring to. Was his suspicions correct from the very start? Did they do this to her? He needed to know for sure.

"Sigurado po, mayor," Bato assured the president.

"File a warrant for Aquino this instant," Digong said. "Kailangan ko siyang tanungin personally."

"Yes, mayor," Bato replied before the call ended.

——

Ninoy Aquino International Airport was named four years after the assassination of then Sentaor Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr.

Terminal 1 was specifically for international travels and here, the late senator's namesake was waiting to fly to another country.

Benigno Aquino III, would never have thought that his plans for the day was about to get disrupted. He was going to New York to visit a family friend, but upon seeing the familiar face of the PNP Chief, he knew that getting out of the country was not a choice he could make.

"What brings you here, chief?" he asked the sullen looking men. It didn't look like Bato had enough sleep the night before.

"May warrant of arrest kami para sa 'yo," he spoke without much preamble and presented the document to the predecessor of the current president.

Ninoy Aquino stood up from his seat and read the warrant. He wasn't much of a fighter, he didn't plan on resisting his arrest, but the conclusion of their investigation highly amused him.

"Sa tingin niyo ako ang gumawa nito?" he scoffed and smiled. "Isang malaking pagkakamali."

"Malalaman rin namin kung tama ba kami o mali," Bato replied. "Kailangan mong sumana sa amin."