Bente-Quatro 2 - Star Witness (Completed)

Commercial - Flashback

A/N: At dahil po may utang ako for yet missing another deadline yesterday, I'm giving you our first in a series of flashbacks in form of a commercial.

Don't worry, it's not going to be another 24-hour thing. Mental torture na po yun kay otor.

This flashback is brought to you by Omega. Not the watch, but the pain killer. Yun lang po ang kaya ng budget natin. Ngayon, kung pahihiramin n'yo ko, baka ma-afford natin kahit Seiko, ang wallet na masuwerte. Waley? Sabi ko nga eh.

Doon po pala sa naka-gets ng Royal True Orange na joke ni Agent Pogi sa last chapter, may libre kayong Mirinda drink soda. Coke, not Pepsi. Gets? Sabi nga ni Baste, no explanations. Okay, last ko na po.

Eto na nga. Tingininging. Flashback, pasok!

Present - 08:00pm, inside the charter plane (A/N:Intro lang po sa flashback)

Maine tried to be still in her seat as she waits for the final descent of the plane and finally the much anticipated touchdown.

But behind the sleep mask, beneath the closed eyelids, instead of sleep, consciousness is her current companion. Instead of dreams, memories.

Flashback: Monday, January 8, 2018

5 pm

Atty. Maine absent-mindedly reached for the ringing phone inside her bag on top of her modest desk. She's reading the transcription of a witness deposition in one of the cases assigned to her. There's been so much work after the holiday break that she's really looking forward to hit the sack once she gets home tonight even if it's just a Monday.

A sweet smile naturally came while her eyes lit up when she saw the identity of the person calling. One of the few bright spots of her challenging first month in her new job.

An accidental bright spot.

"Public Attorneys Office, ano po'ng maipaglilingkod ko?" Her new number is only available to a selected few and this person is one of them.

"May irereklamo po sana 'kong tao. Na-hit and run po ako Atty." The voice sounds serious.

"Na hit-and-run? You mean ng sasakyan?"

"Hindi po, tao po talaga!"

"Paano?" She enjoys their silly conversations to help her with her Tagalog.

"Kasi mula nung tinamaan niya yung puso ko, hindi na siya tumigil tumakbo sa isip ko." There was a pause, as if he's waiting for her response. "Atty. hindi mo ba itatanong pangalan n'ya? Na-plakahan ko po yung ID."

Pickup lines are still a novelty to her that she almost laughed. "Funny Richard, very funny! How are you today? Did you already take your medications?"

"Hindi nga, sagutin mo muna tanong ko. Gusto mo ngang malaman pangalan niya?"

"Ok fine. Sino ang irereklamo mo?"

"Dinner muna tayo."

Her free hand automatically  cupped her cheek."Dinner? Dinner sa inyo? I didn't receive any invitation from your Lola. Nakakahiya to arrive unannounced."

"Oo nga e, miss na raw niya yung private nurse ko. One week nang hindi nagpapakita."

"The last time I checked, you're on the road to full recovery, Mr. Auditor. Plus, your 'private nurse' already sent her regrets last week because she needs to fulfill her duty as a public attorney of the Republic of the Philippines."