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Chapter 26: hell hath no fury
COOLER
I made my way through the cold, eerie area, looking for any sign of life. Nasa gusaling on-going ang construction ako, passing through the equipment and machineries as I helped myself to the elevator. Tahimik ang buong paligid, as if it were the wee hours of the night, but it was just exactly 7 PM. I pressed the elevator button, with a lot of things in my mind.
Una, what am I gonna tell my girlfriend? I can't keep making lies, especially when I expect honesty from her. I cannot lie but I cannot tell her the truth. Babawi ako. I will make sure we will enjoy our weekend, as promised.
Another thing, I knew Achilles is gonna kill me later. He was adamant in meeting me ahead of time, yet I didn't make it because I was contemplating if I'll drug my girlfriend of not. I hate myself for taking time to think about it when the answer was really obvious.
Huminto ang elevator sa palapag na destinasyon ko. I kept walking, grabbing my ringing phone from my back pocket.
"Zeus, do you have a death wish?" nababahalang bati ni Poseidon. "Achilles is fuming right now!"
"Nandito na ako. I'm looking for the area—"
"16th floor, East wing," mabilis na sagot niya.
"Got it," sagot ko bago pinatay ang tawag. Tumambad sa akin ang notification na 36 missed calls and it's all from Poseidon. I kept my phone at sinunod na lamang ang direksyong sinabi niya. I found my way eventually.
Sa labas ay nakatayo ang napakaraming armadong lalaki na nakasuot ng mga maskara. Agad silang napayuko nang makita ako, so I nodded a reply before securing the knot of my mask at tuluyang pinasok ang nakasaradong pinto.
I tugged on my necktie before slowly making my way in, positioning myself beside an old man na may hawak na sigarilyo. His fingers were full of gold rings at nakasandal sa tabi niya ang kulay gintong tungkod.
I figured that the deal had already started, base sa nakabukas na attache cases na naglalaman ng limpak-limpak na pera. The gentlemen at the long table both looked at me with smug grins on their faces.
"Zeus," tawag sa akin ni Achilles. His voice echoed in the corners of the room, enough to make everyone inside shiver.
Narinig ko ang mahinang tikhim ng binatang nasa sulok. Si Ace— I've known him for a long time ngunit kahit minsan ay hindi kami naging magkaibigan despite our frequent efforts to get along for the sake of business. His cold eyes scanned me ngunit agad ding ibinalik ang atensiyon sa perang binibilang. His legs were crossed as he chewed something in his mouth, which I supposed was gum. The crates were neatly piled not far away from us, and the money was on the table.
I wished I could see Poseidon's face behind his mask, dahil tiyak kong nababalot iyon ng pag-aalala.
"Achilles, I'm sorry I'm late," wika ko at tumayo sa gilid niya. No, I'm not. I'm just on time.
