VIEWPOINT

Chapter Twenty

I go to the dark streets of San Pedro City, watching and looking around very carefully. I must go to Baclaran Station as soon as possible. I find vehicles around, bound for Cavite; I know they are the best choice right now because there are no vehicles here that are bound directly into Baclaran.

     I reach Baclaran Station earlier than I anticipated. It is only 4:38 AM, so much time to prepare for the worst case scenario that is about to happen later on. I don’t even know when will Ria arrive by this station, though there is only one thing to do, to watch the entrance carefully, to see her enter here. As soon as I see her, the mission commences. I am alone right now so I can’t afford to fail.

     I look at the station. This is the typical LRT station, elevated. This Manila Light Rail Transit System, also called the LRT1, is one of the major railways that can be found in Manila and neighboring places. It serves as an alternate transport to the commuters who want to avoid the traffic jam of the city. Though this is not the worst transit line, because the worst is the MRT situated in the EDSA, it is also hard to commute in one of its train when it is peak hours because many people also use this, mostly students. I remember a meme, not sure if where I saw it, maybe from a newspaper, about riding one of the trains. It says: “Pumasok kang Estudyante, lumabas kang Mandirigma” – You entered as a student and exit as a warrior; this is true in many cases, because not all of the passengers of the train are capable of taking a bath. With the lack of spaces inside, and in addition to the hot temperature inside the trains, it is evident that you catch their scent, so disgusting that you would want to take a bath again after riding one of those trains.

     The time strikes 5:00 AM, the LRT begins its operation. It is dark still, and before that, I must find a safe place to stay because I am drawing too much attention staying in the entrance for a long time. Maybe I arrived here very early. What if Ria will actually ride this thing at 8:00 AM, that sure doesn’t sound good, I will wait for a long time.

     I look at the people going inside the train. There is an inspection booth by the stairs; they are not a problem though. Judging from the way they inspect the passenger’s bag, they won’t even notice my gun in the bag, because they don’t inspect carefully.

     I wait, and I find myself getting bored, I am not nervous at all. I know that today might be my last day, so I will give it my all. I will kill as many PSS members as I can that could be a threat on Ria.

     Ria arrives near the station. She arrives so early I don’t know if the PSS members are already here. I look around, no suspicious movement. She walks towards the inspection booth. She looks simple, wearing a sleeveless shirt with a jacket to cover her arms. She also wears a bonnet, and an ID lace. I am suspecting that is her disguise. She knows that many students take this train on their way to school, however, that is not enough as a disguise to fool the PSS. I stand in my current position and I walk closer to her, not letting her know that it is really me. I am directly behind her when she goes into the inspection booth. As expected, I got away with my gun from that booth.

     I look behind, now I see four suspicious movements. They are so precise and it seems that they are already planned. Fool, they don’t have any idea that there is a PSS member here, who will be their greatest nightmare. As expected, they also passed the inspection booth without a problem. Judging from their movements, they are one of the best in the PSS. Let’s just see how strong they are today, they will surely not do it their all because this mission will be easy for their part.

     Ria stands in one of the markers. These markers are painted in the tiles in yellow, which signifies where the train’s doors will be when the train stops in the train. She positions herself in the far right. I go in the second marker, next to the marker she is standing into. I see her, keeping her balance. It is quite scary when standing in these platforms because you may die anytime when you fall there and be collided with one of the trains, or die due to the electric shock from the rails, because the LRT is operated using electricity, unlike the PNR which uses raw power of the train’s engine.