It Started in the Library (Completed and Editing)

Chapter 25: Let The Games Begin

Chapter 25: Let The Games Begin

"Yaya Maring napansin niyo po ba si Panther?" tanong ni kuya Ali. Si Panther ang alagang pusang itim ni kuya Ali.

"Hindi ko pa nakikita. Baka kung saan lang sumuot ang pusang yun," sagot ni yaya na nagwawalis sa sala.

"Ang weird lang. Usually naghihintay yun sa'kin sa garahe pagdating ko pero wala siya kahapon pa," Naka-kunot-noo si Kuya Ali.

"Naku kuya, hindi kaya nasagasaan si Panther?" tanong ko sa kanya. Umupo siya sa tabi ko sa sofa at inilabas ang palm computer niya.

"Hmmm... tignan ko yung tracker," he murmured to himself. "Oo nga pala, pahiram ng cellphone mo. I-check ko lang yung prank caller mo. I-trace natin."

I put down the bag of almonds that he gave me as pasalubong. Nagulat na lang ako kaninang umaga nang  umuwi ako at sinabi niyang kakagaling lang daw niyang HongKong, "Eto po kuya," I handed him my I-phone. I'm watching a re-run of Lord of the Rings sa HBO while waiting for Prince na ihatid si Shiro dito sa bahay.

"That's strange," he frowned. He pulled out a connector at ikinabit sa phone ko. His scowl deepened as he keyed in a code on my phone, "Diosa gaano katagal nung huling tumawag yung prank caller mo?"

"Hmmm... mga two minutes?" I tried to remember, "mga ganon po kuya. Bakit po Kuya Ali?"

"Pahiram muna nitong phone mo ha," he stood up from the sofa and went up the stairs but he stopped on the last step, "Pakisabi din kay Prince na pahiram ng phone niya pagdating."

"Okay po," I turned my attention back to the screen.

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I closed the door to my room and put the locks in place.

Something strange is going on and I'll be damned if I can't get to the bottom of this.

I turned on my computer and keyed my username and password for the classified international database that I'm using. Ito ang isa sa mga perks ng trabaho ko. I can access anything online and well, virtually hack into every piece of data available as long as it is electronic.

My BPO job is mostly a facade. Well, technically it is because I really am an employee of a prestigious BPO in Eastwood. I made sure na nasa database nila ako at pumapasok ako araw-araw para ma-count sa employees but my consulting job only takes about fifteen minutes a day and the vast majority of my time is spent wrecking havoc inside the world's most secret underground facilities.

The company is a front at pag-aari ito ng US Government to hide their activities here in the Pacific. They have provided me with my own team and a whole floor to oversee our missions. Akala ng lahat, na-bore ako at nag-resign kaya ako umuwi. Only the higher-ups know the real reason why I had to go back home. The truth is masyado nang mainit ang pangalan ko sa US kaya naman kinailangan kong mag-lay-low pero hindi ako pwedeng mawala ng tuluyan sa scene. I need to keep working in the shadows.

Una kong binuksan ang call log at tri-nace kung saan galing ang tawag.

"You're good," I have to admit na may skills kung sino man ang gumawa nito. He managed to make it appear that the call came from Australia, before backtracking to four other countries, until finally na-trace ko ang tawag na nanggaling dito mismo sa Quezon City.

Why go through all this trouble? Anong meron kay Diosa para gumawa ng ganito ka-elaborate na ruse?     

I sent out one of my own creations. A virus that masks itself and attaches to any data log, so much that everytime the user calls or receives a call, the GPS function immediately sends me a signal. Everytime it connects via Bluetooth or Wifi, na-i-infect niya ang ibang device at kumakalat sa system undetected.