MORIARTEA

[06] Grand Experiment

MAVIEL

SINO BANG nasa matinong pag-iisip ang basta-basta pipindutin ang doorbell at tatanungin ang mga residente ng isang unit kung may hawak silang hostage?

Wala.

Ngunit may isang lalaking hindi nagdalawang-isip na gawin 'yon. Walang iba kundi si Sigmund. All this time, I thought: he's with me, what else could go wrong?

Thanks to his "everything-is-prepared" attitude, nakagapos na ang mga kamay namin at nadagdagan pa ang hawak na hostage ng mag-asawa. We were supposed to rescue Marianne, but we ended up being in the same danger as her.

Sinubukan kong alisin ang pagkakatali ng tape sa aking pulso. Ngunit sa sobrang higpit nito, balewala ang effort ko. Siniguro talaga ng dalawang matanda na hindi kami basta-basta makatatakas.

"Just relax," bulong ni Sigmund na nakasandal sa likuran ko. Magkatalikod kaming iginapos. "Everything is going to be fine.

"Paano ako magre-relax e hostage nila tayong dalawa?" I hissed at him. If I only knew that this would happen, sana pala'y hindi na ako sumama sa kanya rito at nag-stay ako sa cafe para mag-serve ng tea. E 'di sana wala ako sa panganib ngayon!

"They cannot kill us," he whispered. "And I will never allow them to kill either of us."

"Do you have a plan?"

"I sure do."

"What is it?" I asked desperately. "Para makatakas na tayo rito at makabalik na tayo sa cafe!"

"Kalma lang," he answered as if we weren't in danger of being killed or harmed. "Let's enjoy this moment together and wait for a miracle to happen."

Was this guy serious? After he put me through this trouble? Ayaw ko pang mamatay! May tatapusin pa akong assignment sa World Literature subject namin!

"Don't worry, we are not going to die, sweetie." There was not a single trace of fear on Sigmund's face and voice. He was acting as if nothing serious might happen to us. I wonder how he managed to keep his cool in these circumstances. "I am the chief strategist of Moriartea Cafe. Everything that happened and about to happen have been accounted for."

No matter what angle I looked at in this situation, only one plausible conclusion could happen: we would be dead in a few.

"Why are you so negative?" Sigmund asked nonchalantly. "Just relax and wait for the events to unfold. Executing a plan is like preparing your favorite tea. You need to wait for the water to boil before pouring it in a teacup."

This wasn't the time for an analogy between making plans and making tea! "Hindi mo ba naiintindihan? Alam na natin ang mga mukha nila! Pati ang intensyon nila, aware na tayo. Sa tingin mo ba basta-basta nila tayong papalayain nang buhay?"

"Focus on the now, Mav. Huwag mo munang i-second-guess ang kapalaran. Who knows, it might surprise you in the end."

"Hoy, hoy, anong pinagbubulungan n'yo diyan?"

Lagot!

Lumapit si manong sa amin, hawak-hawak pa rin ang kanyang baril. I was wondering how he managed to smuggle that gun inside the hotel despite the security. Merong metal detector na naka-set-up sa mismong entrance kaya kung dumaan siya roon, maaalerto ang guard.

"We were discussing about Sun Tzu's The Art of War," Sigmund answered casually. Ano na namang random palusot ang naisip niya?

"Sun Tzu? K-Pop artist ba siya? Art of War? Bagong K-drama ba 'yan?" tanong ng ginang na lumabas mula sa kwarto. Kinaladkad niya ang isang babae patungo sa living room. There was no doubt that she's the female student seen on the security footages. Her mouth was sealed with tape and her hands were bound by rope.