COPULA TRILOGY: Her Vengeance

Frame #16: Cracking Location

[Chapter Sixteen: Cracking Location]

I was sitting on the side of the bed, staring at my alarm clock on the side table of my bed. Nakapangalong-baba lang ako habang hinihintay na pumatak ang saktong alas-siyete ng umaga. Walang-imik lang akong nakatingin dito, as the silence of the whole apartment covered my whole space.

My apartment is just minutes away from the HQ. Hindi rin ako mahihirapan kung wala akong masakyan.

Lumipat ang tingin ko sa pader, kung saan may picture frame roon na nakasabit. It's a picture of a woman with a big black bike motor, hands on the motor as her smile nearly touches her ears. Binalik ko kapagkuwan ang tingin sa alarm clock at nagpatuloy sa pagtitig dito.

When I finally heard a buzz from the alarm clock, doon lamang ako umayos ng upo at tumayo mula sa kama ko. I pressed the button of the digital clock, which made the buzzing sound stop. I stretched my arms and head before making my way towards the bathroom, with my bath towel on my shoulder. Mabilis akong naligo at agad na lumabas ng banyo.

I wore my uniform and fixed my hair in front of the mirror. Hindi ko sinuot ang coat ko at sinapay lamang 'yon sa braso ko. Pagkatapos, I took my bag with me and headed out, locking the door of my apartment afterwards.

"Good morning, Miss Eris."

I smiled at the front desk staff when she greeted me after stepping out of the elevator.

"Good morning. How's everything going?" I asked the male receptionist as I stopped in front of his desk to chat for a bit.

"All is well. I haven't seen you entering the building for, like...I don't know, nearly a month?"

"Oh, that." I looked down and laughed a bit. "Operation abroad kind of went longer."

I dap him up when he raised his hand.

"And you cut your hair."

"I did." Inayos ko ang pagkasakbit ng bag ko bago muling nagsalita. "I'll get going now. Nice seeing you again."

After bidding each other goodbye, I left the building and hailed a taxi.

Nang makasakay ako, sumandal lang ako sa car seat habang pinagmamasdan ang paglayo ko sa apartment building na tinutuluyan ko.

That building is owned by a retired officer of CCI. The staff that I talked with was also a former analyst of the organization, and I have no idea why he quit. And since what happened to me for the past few weeks was very sensitive and confidential, I needed to make up some story to cover up what really happened. Although the building is very safe for anyone working in CCI, dropping information is still prohibited.

When I arrived at the headquarters, I quickly clocked in before going to my office to drop my bag.

Sinuot ko ang coat ko at inayos 'yon sa harapan ng salamin. I looked at my wristwatch to see the time after fixing my coat. 7:50 AM. Better be at the meeting at this point.

Naglakad papunta sa elevator para pumunta sa conference room. I pushed the up button and waited for it to open.

The headmistress didn't say anything about the assembly that I will be attending. She called me first in the office, saying I'll be included in a team meeting. Later after that, she called again while I was having my lunch, talking about the time of the meeting.

I looked to my left without moving my head and body when I heard footsteps and saw a figure walking towards my direction. Huminto ito sa tabi ko, also pressing the up button afterwards.

When the elevator finally opened, it was empty inside. Pumasok ako sa loob at pumwesto malapit sa mga buttons. The time that I moved my hands to push the number for the twentieth floor, the hand of the woman beside me also moved her hands to the same button, making me move my head towards her direction.