Catch Me If You Can (Completed)

CHAPTER 38: MY MARK

Chapter 38: My Mark

~RYU~

All my life, my role was being the kid who follows what his family wants him to be. Iyon ang buhay namin ng pinsan kong si Cooler. No exception. Bawal umayaw. Kailangang sundin. I breathed heavily as I hurried down the empty hall. It’s past midnight and the whole house was silent.

Nasa mansion ako ni Homer. I’m here to do something. Ni minsan ay hindi ko ginustong pumunta rito. This place is a living hell for me and my cousin noong mga bata pa kami. I didn’t expect I will be here voluntarily tonight.

The halls were dim but the lamp post on the terrace gives an eerie glow in the halls. Nanigas ako sa kinatatayuan ko nang makarinig ako ng mga papalapit na yabag. Sumandal ako sa dingding at nagmasid. Base sa hakbang ng kung sino man iyon, I’m certain it’s one of the PSGs that guard the house.

Mula nang itinakas ko si Victoria ay nagdagdag na ng tao para sa kanyang kasiguraduhan si Homer. He’s a crippled old man. Kahit gaaano pa kanakakatakot ang presensya niya, he cannot do anything without a gun and his limbs.

Mas lalong nagiging malapit ang naririnig kong yabag kaya bumalik ako sa daan at naglakad hanggang sa makasalubong ko ang isa sa mga PSG at umakto ng normal. I stopped in front of him at nag-initiate ng usapan.

“Nilibot ko ang harapan ng bahay, mukhang wala naman akong napapansin. Saan ka naglibot?” tanong ko. My voice is different than my usual speaking voice, thanks to Amber’s friend Math. That tech geek really knows a lot. She gave me a voice changer in form of a necklace.

“Doon ako sa bahagi kung nasaan ang kwarto ni Homer kasama ni Charlie,” sagot ng PSG, no hint of suspicion in his voice. I know he won’t suspect me at all with that question, it’s the same question that the guard I knocked down unconscious asked me. Iyon marahil ang tinatanong nila sa bawat isa kapag nagkakasalubong sila.

Napansin kong nakatingin siya nang maigi sa akin. “Parang ngayon lang kita nakita.”

Damn, my disguised didn’t work? No way. I maintained my calm demeanor. “Kahapon lamang ako nakapasok.”

Tumango ulit ang guard at tila nakumbinsi. “Ah, isa ka pala sa mga bago lamang.”

“Oo, si Jake ang nagrekomenda sa akin.” Tumango ulit siya sa sinagot ko. Jake is the guard I took down on the way here. I got his in-ear and hid him in one of the closet of the rooms in the first floor. “Mag-iikot pa ako sa kabilang bahagi.”

Nilagpasan ko siya at patuloy na naglakad ngunit ramdam ko ang mga titig niya sa likuran ko. Damn, why didn’t he walk on the opposite direction?! I really can feel his gazes behind me.

“Sandali!” narinig kong sabi niya. Damn. Did he see me through?

I sighed silently and walked back towards him. I hate this, I hate people wasting my time but I’m not here as Ryu. I came disguised as a guard so I have to act like a guard. Huminto ako sa tapat niya at hinarap siya.

His eyes dropped on my wrist. “Bakit wala kang suot na relo?”

I looked at my wrist and it’s missing their black wristwatch. I never thought they have a uniform watch, too. I only picked the guard’s in-ear and other important thing like flashlight and gun but I didn’t think that the watch was essential, too.

I rolled down my sleeve and showed my wrist. Walang relos doon ngunit may nakaikot na manipis na chain sa kamay. “Wala akong relos pero meron akong chain.”

“Chain? Para saan iyan?” he asked, looking baffled with the chain on my wrist.

I immediately removed it and in a blink of an eye, it tangled the chain on his neck, choking him. Bahagya siyang nanlaban but in a swift movement, I knocked him unconscious after I hit a pressure point at the ridge of his neck. “This is for smart-asses like you.”