MARKUS SANDATA

Chapter 1 - Too High To Lay Low

The year was 2002, crime and corruption were multiplying in our beloved country, the Philippines. The most popular crime boss of them all was a brilliant executive named, Kenny Sergio. He should've felt the misery every night as he tries to sleep, not the ones who were trying to prevent their ideas from happening. He should be the one who's supposed to be dead, not the ones who were just dreaming of success.

These guys that I'm about to share were dangerous people, and few of these people were close to me like a family, so don't get the wrong idea; I wasn't a cop nor a hero. I was just a low-class criminal, trying to make a living.

My real job was being a stockman and that was the life I could imagine for myself...but that was not the challenging part; I was working for Jose Velarde, the founder of a legal stimulant drug company called, "Velarde Drugs Corporation." He had owned 3.2 Billion pesos in his bank account and his motivation was to wake up in the morning to raise his middle finger to anyone working at Mercury Drugstores, because according to him, that drugstore had rejected his products. Hell, he once told me that the owner of SM Super mall would do the same to that drugstore.

My life as a stockman met its end when I was on my way to Recto Avenue in Manila by night. I'm inside of a jeepney, and my mind was a mess. It was the first time Velarde had gave me a kidnap mission. He wanted me to find a rich juvenile by the name of Joaquin Sergio, Kenny Sergio's son. He even bought me an apartment just to be my hideout.

So what's up with this kid? Well, Velarde had believed that it was Kenny Sergio's plan. He had tried to frame us by having someone insert a sachet of cocaine into one of our products in our company. He also told me that right after he was greeted by Kenny Sergio during the "Top 10 Most Successful Businessmen in the Philippines" TV show that had happened last week, the planting of the illegal drug had begun. It was the first time Velarde had been greeted personally by Kenny Sergio, from the looks of it, it was just a friendly act in front of a camera, but for Velarde, it had seemed that Kenny Sergio had just declared war on him. Kenny Sergio hated competition, so he would destroy his competitor rather than negotiate with it.

We were so lucky to had found the sachet before the products were delivered to its respective stores. All thanks to our clumsy checker, he accidentally dropped one of our products, so as a punishment, Velarde told him to re-check every drugs to see if they were damaged, and that's when they had found the illegal drug.

So when I reached Recto Avenue I went to the apartment. The landlord was speaking with a young woman all dressed up like a prostitute. She glanced at me, gave me her mischievous look, and then the landlord shove her away...after that, he showed me the stairs and then he went outside while talking to his cellphone.

I had a feeling that I might get into trouble so early...so I texted Velarde.

Me via Text Message: boss, r u sure i'm safe here?

But there was no reply for fifteen minutes...I tried calling him, but I was just routed to voicemail.

I opened the door, and the room smelled good. The bed was arranged, and there was even a bottle of Red Horse. I was getting a bit nervous, but I just made myself comfortable by telling myself that that was just how they welcome a new customer.

I peeked at the window...it was so quiet, and according to Velarde, Joaquin can be found in a night club called, "The Night of Lust." It was just a couple of blocks away, and for more information, the owner of that club is...you guessed it, his father. The only hint that Velarde had given me to find the kid was a photo of him ten feet away from the photographer during the top 10. Soon after, I kept telling myself that I must not rest until I find the kid. Yeah...smoking some cigarettes had "helped" me to stay awake during that stressful evening.