Alab ng puso, sa dibdib mo'y buhay.
At exactly 4 a.m. local time, three Bell Long-Rangers made its touchdown to the Philippine territory. The 12 man-team of Fire Investigators and specialists, special agents, forensic pathologist and other supplemented personnel of IRT slowly piled outside the helicopter.
The International Response Team (IRT) is formed under the agreement between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). Foreign government that is facing crisis and in need of technical/forensic assistance and oversight in arson and explosives investigations may request ATF's assistance. Medical examiners fall in the supplemented category of forensics and it is no surprised why their presence is highly needed when the general public is concerned.
Sophia waited for the cadre of specialists got off first before gathering the flight case that stored her medical examiner paraphernalia and followed close Dr. Millard with Moran not far behind towards the waiting unmarked police car.
Bracing herself, Sophia seated at the back of the last car next to Dr. Moran and as soon as they were all settled they leave the tarmac shortly for security and head to People's Palace where the president wishes to see them before going to 'New Bilibid' in Cebu.
The road trip took long enough for Sophia to wrap my mind to the different possibilities that awaits us in taking this mission. She hadn't thought of it when she's packing two weeks' worth of clothes supply earlier today. It's been years since she has gone to Philippines. Sophia remembers clearly that her mother is a Filipino before she'd married her father and changes her citizenship. Their family often visited the country that has once become her mother's home but when her sister was diagnosed to a malignant disease they stop travelling and focused on Polly.
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"Dr. Millard, I am very grateful to have your team here. Please tell us what else we can do to help."
The current president of the Philippines, Emmanuel 'Eman' Rocco Franco asks after the live presentation of hell in Muntinlupa, Cebu.
Sophia wondered if she had seen the president before for he looks familiar. I might've seen him on TV. With that thought, she averted her gaze to the Presidential Security Guards blending well in the background.
Two men in their barongs caught her attention. One has a red hanky loosely hanging on his side pockets that looks like he hastily put it there while one having a monocle and is holding a newspaper, the hellfire being its headlines. The two doesn't fit to be guards and it explains why they occupied the vacant seat along the long table.
"May taong nasa likod nito senador. Hindi kailanman nangyari ito noon. Kung tungkol sa druga na naman ito ay hindi ko na alam ang gagawin ng kapatid ko dito. Malapit ng matapos ang termino nya masyado naman atang pinapahirapan nila ang kapatid ko."
"Matalino ang kapatid mo Roman. Kung tama ang hinala mo ay madali nalang nya itong masusulosyunan ng kapatid mo. Ang malaking problema nya ngayon ay kung pa'no ibalita sa mga pamilya ng mga priso ang pagkawala ng mahal nila sa buhay. Alam mo namang maraming hindi nakaligtas sa sunog may mga pulis nga'ng nadamay."
