Night Raven's Park
12:16 p.m.
---
It was a quarter past noon, but Nova found herself sitting on a bench.
On their bench.
"At sa tingin mo talaga darating siya ngayon?" Bulong niya sa kanyang katabi.
Katulad ng kanyang inaasahan, umismid lang si Detective Nico Yukishito at ipinagpatuloy ang pagmamanman sa paligid. The worse thing is, he's not even being subtle about it! Kaya nga kanina pa siya pinagtitinginan ng mga bata at mga tinderong nasa parke.
'Or maybe they're staring at him because of his funny mask?' Nova thought.
"Argh! Yukishito, nakikinig ka ba sa'kin?"
"Loud and clear, Miss Carlos."
She frowned, unconvinced with his cool demeanor. Kung makasandal pa, akala mo walang kasong iniimbestigahan. Nagawa pa nga nito kaninang magpalipad ng paper planes gamit ang flyers ng mga nag-aalok sa kanila ng internet plans.
"I'd love to see UD try to escape my senses now," Nico said and slung an arm over her shoulder. Nova didn't know what was running inside his mind, and she'd be damn to figure it out.
Kani-kanina lang, tinawagan nito si Dan at may inutos na naman dito. Hindi niya alam kung bakit nagpapauto ang isang 'yon sa baliw na 'to, but Dan willingly did as told and brought this white polygonal mask with him.
'Ano bang espesyal sa maskarang 'to? A modified face mask?'
She stared at the odd angles, emphasizing the facial structure. Somehow, Nova thinks this isn't the first time she's seen a mask like this. Why does it look familiar?
Hindi niya lang maalala kung saan o kailan niya ito nakita noon. She made a mental note to ask Olympia about it later, maybe she knows what it is.
Inayos ni Nova ang sariling face mask at inilibot ang mga mata sa parke. They still don't know how UD infects his victims and why. More importantly, it looks like they're no closer to catching him with all the chaos happening in Eastwood right now.
"Nico, UD slipped through our fingers. What makes you think he won't get away again? Nico?"
Sinubukan niyang tawagin ulit ang kasama, pero para bang wala na ito sa pokus. Hawak nito ang kanyang cellphone, may kung anong kinakalikot.
Soon, Nico's eyes sharpened as he held onto the headphone-like extensions on his mask.
"Damn Sherlock!"
Nagulat na lang si Nova nang bigla na lang itong tumayo at tumakbo sa kabilang dako ng parke. Nagtataka man, she quickly ran after him, reminding herself of the gun in her jacket.
"Nico, anong---?!"
May umubo.
Kasunod ng pagbagsak ng ilang mangga sa lupa ang katawan ng isang binatilyo.
Nanigas sa kanyang kinatatayuan ang dalaga nang matagpuan nila ito. Through his face mask, she can see spots of blood. He was already convulsing with the fever. Nova was about rush in to help him when Nico immediately stopped her.
"Don't. We both know it's too late."
Hindi na nakakilos si Nova.
In that moment, she felt so damn useless. Para saan pa ang pagiging detective niya kung hindi niya kayang iligtas ang mga inosente? Kung hindi niya kayang huliin ang taong may kagagawan nito? She gulped down the lump in her throat and dialed the emergency hotline.
Maya-maya pa, nabasag ang katahimikan nang magsalita ulit si Nico...
"Kakagaling lang dito ni Unknown Disease."
"Paano mo alam?"
"Eidos mask."
Nang hindi kumibo ang dalaga, Nico tapped the polygonal mask he was wearing. Tinanggal niya ito, revealing his normal face mask underneath.
The detective held it in the air like a prized possession.
"It's a new technology used to tune in audio information. Imagine the sounds you hear as one big mess of wires... Ang ginagawa ng Eidos mask ay tulungan kang mag-focus sa iisang tunog at i-amplify ito. Wala kang maririnig na 'background noise' o kahit anong ibang tunog. It's like having superhuman hearing," Nico explained. "Nakabakasyon ngayon si Film, kaya pinakuha ko kanina kay Dan sa lab niya."
'Iyon ang dahilan kung bakit hindi niya ako naririnig kanina!' She concluded.
At ngayong ipinaliwanag na niya ito, Nova recalled hearing a similar technology used in SHADOW's special operations. Bukod sa pagiging magkatunggali sa mga kaso, malimit ding nagiging makaaway sa teknolohiya ang mga agency nila.
"Kung ganoon, paano mo nalaman na nagpunta rito si UD?"
Nico picked up the marked stone next to the fallen mangoes and tossed it at Nova. Walang kahirap-hirap naman itong nasalo ng detective, naghihinala pa rin sa pagiging kalmado ng kanyang kasama.
Nico glanced at the kid, just as several officers arrived.
"Narinig kong umuubo siya kanina... Kalansing ng barya... Mga paang tumakbo papalayo, nagmamadali... Just then, I heard that person bark instructions at the taxi driver."
"Kung si UD nga 'yon, mahihirapan pa rin tayong hanapin siya just by his voice---"
"Her."
That made Nova paused. "Excuse me?"
Kahit pa nakasuot ito ng face mask, alam ni Nova na nakangisi na siya ngayon.
"Ever since Benet told us that UD was a male, we started using male pronouns to describe him. Pero sinong makapagsasabing lalaki nga ang nakasalubong ni Benet? Base sa CCTV camera at sa salaysay niya, balot na balot ang taong 'yon. The height doesn't do much help either, since Benet is a short man in the first place. Wala physical force na kinakailangan sa pag-infect ng mga tao, kaya wala rin tayong pwedeng gawing batayan kung isang male o female physique ang involved sa mga krimeng ito. When I heard the feminine voice earlier and the way she panicked, it confirmed everything...
The Unknown Disease is a female killer."
---
BINABASA MO ANG
✔ 03 | Point Of Exposure
Misteri / Thriller"Kailangan natin siyang pigilan bago pa ubusin ng virus ang populasyon ng Eastwood!" This time around, Detective Nico Yukishito and Detective Briannova Carlos are forced to face two enemies... One unseen. One vengeful. Both deadly. What happens when...
