Chess Pieces #5: Loki Von Amstel

Chapter 54

I just stared at Loki after he said that. I didn't know what to react. That shook the hell out of me. I never thought the he made a plan like that.

I mean, I already knew that he's a good strategist. He's smart. He calculated the plan of Dyke and Sieg. He expected that they would kidnapped Artemis to use her against Tracer. All was because he has a good reasoning and deducting skills.

I could see the hurt in his eyes as I stared at him. It was obvious that he's regretting what he did. He's blaming himself when it should be me that he should blame. Their Rook became like that because of the drug that was injected to him. Shielder became like that because I brainwashed him.

But I couldn't see in his eyes that he's blaming me. Sarili nya lang ang sinisisi nya sa nangyari kay Shielder. Like everything that happened was his fault.

"He was a Rook, Eresh." Loki said. His expression was so painful to look at. "But I treated him like a Pawn and made him a bait. Like what I did to Artemis. Like what I did to Alter."

"You have your reason, I'm sure." I said. I wanted to hold him but I don't know how to. "How did you know that I was after him?"

He took a deep breath and sighed. I know that this is hard for him. I can see it in his eyes. There's a part of me that wanted to comfort him like what he did when I was opening myself up to him. But I don't know how to.

I just keep my eyes on him as I listen to him. 'Cause that's what I wanted when it was me who was telling my stories to him. I want Loki to listen to me. To listen to everything that I say because I want him to understand me.

Fuck... I never thought that I'm so lame. I never thought that I will ever feel wanting to comfort someone.

I never even thought that I would fall inlove with someone.

"Shielder got a message that the Red Faction's Queen is interested in him." he said. "At first he tried to ignore it but he decided to think deep about it eventually. He tried to locate the sender using his hacking skills that he got from his brother. But no matter how hard he try, he couldn't locate who the sender is. And that's when he consulted me."

I pursed my lips. Magkaharap kami kaya kitang-kita ko ang lahat ng mga reaksyon sa mga mata nya. He's unguarded. He's being vulnerable in front of me and I'm just falling harder for him. I realized that I'm loving this side of him too.

"He talked to me about it. It was just a simple message that one wouldn't pay any attention to it but as I think through it, if it's not an important message, then the sender wouldn't try hard to hide their identity. With Shielder's hacking skills, he could be compared with L. But he only used that skill of him to provide protection and security for us. He let his brother do the hacking for the team."

I nodded. I remember that King Lancer hacked Alter's laptop. He even defeated her firewall that she built. Means that compared to the three trackers of this chess game, Shielder is the most skillful one.

Pero pinaubaya nya sa kapatid nya ang pagiging tracker ng grupo. It was because he didn't want his brother to feel useless. He wanted his brother to be the one who will find their parents' murderer. Kasi alam nya na mas malaki ang galit ni Tracer sa magkapatid na pumatay sa mga magulang nila. He wanted his brother to get the justice that Tracer wanted for their parents' death.

That's how much Gray loves his brother.

I closed my eyes and swallowed the lump in my throat. Fuck it.

"I offered Shielder to be the bait." Loki continued so I opened my eyes. "I told him that if the message is real, then he's our only chance to lure you out. But Shielder declined. He doesn't want to take the risk as the message was too suspicious. I got his point so I didn't push him through it."