Kissed by Fire (Fire Series #1)

Chapter 59: Ride Or Die

Rodriguez Eduarte is the forty seventh president of the country. He was sworn in the office, three years ago. Hindi ako gaano updated sa kanya but as far as I know he's a working president. Siya yung tipo ng presidente na hindi kinukulong ang sarili sa opisina. He goes to many places to meet his constituents or more often kapag may nangyayaring sakuna sa lugar na yun.

"Help me here, babe" Blaise said, snapping me back to reality. Together we dragged Eduarte away from the water. Pinagmasdan ko siya nang mabuti. Namumutla siya. His lips are also violet already dahil na rin siguro sa lamig.

Right away I started looking for pulse and listen to a heartbeat. Mahina ang pintig ng puso niya but one thing is sure. He's still alive. Barely but he is.

"Buhay pa siya" I told Blaise with conviction

He nodded "I'll perform CPR. Move away" nagmamadali niyang sabi as he positioned himself to do it. Agad naman akong tumabi dahil alam kong kailangan. As far as I know if you are going to give a CPR kailangan may hangin.

I stayed behind Blaise as he put his hands on the president's chest and started giving it compressions.

"Maybe we should call for help? I'm going to call an ambulance" akma akong tatayo but Blaise stopped me at pinaupo ako ulit. Nagtataka ko siyang tinignan.

"Don't. There is a high possibility that this is an assassination attempt. You said he's breathing, right? Kailangan muna natin siyang magising" he said na ikinagulat ko.

An assassination attempt? Is this even possible? Isn't it na ang president may mahigpit na security especially kapag nagt-travel siya? Blaise has a point pero paano kung aksidente pala to?

It seems like forever already when suddenly the president opened his eyes at umubo nang sunod-sunod. Water is coming out from his mouth habang hawak niya ang dibdib niya.

"Mr. President, can you hear me?" Blaise asked and hold him still to steady him. Nakatingin lang siya sa'min. Maybe still disoriented from what happened to him.

"Nasaan ako?" tanong niya

"Nasa Tingloy, Batangas po tayo. Masasa Beach. You're safe with us. I am Blaise Rafaelo Gandia. Apo po ako ni William Herondale. This is my girlfriend, Arya Astrid Fonacier"

In other times, it will really be a great honor to me na makilala ang presidente ng bansang ito but not now. God, I hope everything is alright.

"Nice to meet the two of you. It's good na kayo ang nakakita sa'kin" he said wincing and struggled to stand up. Agad naman siyang tinulungan ni Blaise.

"What's happening, Mr. President? Aksidente po ba ang nangyari sa'yo?" I inquired curiously. He shook his head.

"They want me dead. Yung kwarto na pinags-stayan ko overlooking yun sa dagat. Yung commander ng PSG ko pinasok ako kanina habang natutulog ako. Itinulak niya ako sa bintana para malaglag sa dagat"

My eyes widened at that. Ang nagtangka sa kanya ay ang commander ng PSG niya mismo?! The person who should actually protect him at all cost?!

"What's the real deal here, Mr. President? Sinabi ba niya kung bakit ka niya gusto patayin?" Blaise asked him

He nodded "You're William Herondale's grandson, right? So you perfectly know how people look at me. Marami akong nakakaaway dahil marami akong pinatalsik ng mga may posisyon sa gobyerno dahil sa korupsyon. Marami na rin akong mga bagay na nadi-diskubre. Pinagkakaisahan nila ako ngayon para mapaalis sa pwesto. They want the vice president to take over dahil kakampi nila yun"

Blaise and I looked at each other as I felt a pang of fear crawled inside me. Hindi ko rin maiwasang maawa kay Eduarte. I used to think that being a president is actually a cool job. VIP ka. Kahit saan ka magpunta, diyos ang turing sa'yo ng mga tao. But upon hearing what Eduarte said nagbago yun. I can't imagine being the person that everyone wants to kill. See, matutulog na lang siya ay pinagtangkaan pa ang buhay niya.