Death Trap Pandemonium (COMPLETED)

Chapter Twenty-Six

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

A Hunt for Answers

November 3, 2015; Wednesday
Municipality of Santa Filomena

The man with pink hair grinned when the telephone began to ring. For a few moments, he let the sound of ringing fill the empty room before relenting and leaned forward to answer it. Mayroong malapad na ngisi sa kanyang labi nang inilapit niya ang telepono sa kanyang tenga.

"Santa Filomena's resident nuisance eliminator, who are we killing today?" he asked cheerfully.

"Kailangan mo na ng bagong tagline," sabi ng boses sa kabilang linya.

The man let out a high-pitched laugh. "Cut me some slack, I'm working on it," he replied. "Now, what can I do for my favorite little murderer?"

"How about we start with keeping us out of the police's radar and out of jail?" came the reply. "Matapos mo kaming pabayaan buong linggo, baka gusto mo namang maging aktibo na ngayon?"

He leaned back on his chair, grin growing wider. Alam niya base sa tono nito na maikli ang pasensya ng kausap sa oras na iyon. But he was himself and he couldn't resist the urge to 'poke the sleeping dragon,' so to speak.

"Kailangan niyo ang tulong ko?" pagmamaang-maangan niya. "Why? Can the great Grim's acting skills not pull this one off?"

Ilang sandaling tumahimik ang boses sa kabilang linya. Habang hinihintay niya itong muling magsalita, pinagmasdan niya ang mga newspaper clipping at pictures na naka-frame sa dingding. Hindi niya maiwasang mapangiti. Mukhang may madadagdagan na naman sa koleksyong ito.

Maybe I should open up a gory museum for this, he thought with a laugh. After several more moments, when it became clear that Grim won't speak again, he decided to break the silence.

"What's the matter?" he asked in a condescending tone. "Are you not up for the task? Did I put my confidence in someone-"

"I'm not Chaos. That's gonna work on me. Pero wala akong panahon ngayon para sa mind games mo." Mahinahon man, mababakas ang tensyon sa boses ng kausap. "Ilang araw nang bad mood si Apollo dahil sa pagkaka-bulilyaso ng plano. You set this up so it's your responsibility to ensure we succeed. Now, are you gonna do something or not?"

The man dramatically heaved a deep sigh, hiding the impressed grin that was still on his face. Hindi man niya aminin, hindi niya maiwasang bumilib na nagawa nila ang mga kailangan nilang gawin nang hindi halos humihingi ng anumang tulong sa kanya. He was more than impressed. And he was quite sure his predecessors would be as well.

I definitely chose well. Not that they need to know that right now, he thought. Three cheers for me, though!

Tumikhim siya bago muling magsalita. "Alright, I'll see what I can do. Hang on tight there. Don't let anyone else die-oops, too soon?"

Tanging click na lang ng pagkaputol ng tawag ang narinig niya. He has definitely ruffled the dragon's scales but what else would they expect from him? All harm, all foul was his motto in life. There's beauty in the havoc he wreaks, they will just have to see it the way he does soon enough.

"Still, a promise is a promise," he murmured as he began to dial the telephone.

May katotohanan naman ang tinuran ni Grim; may responsibilidad siyang kailangang akuin. Bagamat sa tingin niya'y iyon ang pinakanakakabagot na parte ng mga plano nila, someone had to do it. At nasisiguro din niyang malamang may kaunting galit si Grim sa kanya, kahit na hindi nito sinasabi, dahil sa pagkamatay ng mga kasamahan nila. Doing this was but a small favor that would benefit him in the long run.