The Empire Series 5: Vanna Lei Shrewd

Chapter 46: Intentions

Pareho silang walang imik habang nasa loob ng sasakyan. She stayed alert the whole car ride. She made sure her gadgets strategically placed on her pockets are in tact. Her hair was braided. Nakatago roon ang ilang pins niya. Tinulungan pa siya kanina ni Cloud na iayos ang mga 'yon bago siya umalis ng bahay nito.

Itinigil ni Clyde ang sasakyan sa tapat ng isang gate na may puting arko. Tanaw niya mula sa kalsada ang malawak na damuhan sa loob. May mga nakalinyang puno ng akasya sa paligid at benches sa ilalim.

Sinundan niya ang binata nang pumasok ito sa loob ng nakabukas na gate. Saka lang niya napansin na memorial park ang pinasok nila.

Tinayuan pa siya ng balahibo. Paano pala kung may balak itong ilibing siya ng buhay? She must not forget he belongs to NoKor and it may be possible that he's lying when he said that he's no longer under their shadows. That thought made her stop walking.

"Ano'ng gagawin natin dito? Bakit dito mo ako dinala?" Tanong niya. Clyde also stopped walking and looked at her. Kahit anong gawin niya, wala talaga siyang mahinuha sa awra nito na may binabalak na masama.

"Mas tahimik," tugon nito. He went to the bench under a tree and sat down. It took few minutes of contemplating before she went to his side.

Nakatingin ito sa hile-hilerang lapida sa harapan nila nang umupo siya.

"Ang totoo niyan nagtaka ako kung bakit lumitaw na naman ang mga kasamahan ko sa NoKor nang gabing 'yon kasi nagkasundo na kami na titigilan na nila ako," umpisa nito matapos ang ilang minuto. Tinitigan niya ito ng mataman.

"Paano mo sila napapayag na tigilan ka?" she asked skeptically. Clyde stared at her for a moment. Then, he inhaled deeply.

"I gave up our gold mining in North and South Korea," he said inhaling deeply. Napakunot-noo siya. It doesn't sound convincing to her.

"What's with your gold mining? Bakit gusto nilang makuha?" tanong niya. Tumingin naman ito ng mataman sa kanya.

"Konti na lang iisipin ko nang secret agent ka na ipinadala ng kalaban ng NoKor para makakuha ng impormasyon," nanunudyo nitong wika sa halip na sagutin ang tanong niya.

"What do you mean?" she asked shaking her head. She mentally noted that he did not entertain her question about the gold mining. May parte ng utak niya ang nagsasabing hinuhuli lang siya nito pero habang titiningnan niya ito sa mata, nakikita niyang mukha naman itong walang alam sa trabaho niya. Well, who knows?

"Do you remember Emma? The girl who broke my heart?" he asked back.

She nodded. How could she ever forget agent Gabrielle. Sabi ni Cloud nilansi raw ito ni Clyde para mapasok ang FBI. Poor woman.

"She was sent by US to spy on me. She lured me into breaching FBI so they could corner me." He inhaled deeply and pursed his lips for a moment.

"Unfortunately for them, I learned about their plan earlier," dagdag nito.

Napakunot-noo siya. That was opposite of Cloud's report. Sino ba ang dapat niyang paniwalaan?

She looked into his eyes. He really looked sincere. Nagkamali lang ba ang intel nila sa imbestigasyon?

Clyde's claim is quite believable plus she can't see any trace of dishonesty in him. Was he telling the truth or he had just perfected how to appear honest all the time?

Kung sakaling totoo ang kuwento ni Clyde, posible rin talagang hindi aaminin ng FBI na naisahan ito ng isang outsider dahil isa iyong sampal sa kanila.