Project LOKI ③

Chapter 44: Dead Man's Switch V (The Commitment)

A/N: The fifth day of the second wave of updates! 

LORELEI

"How are you, Loki? Did you miss me?"

"Oh, hello there, M's successor."

STEIN ALBERTS is back. The last time we interacted with him, if I remember correctly, was when we chanced upon him in the mall. Gusto sana naming i-cheer up si Jamie noon na parang na-trauma. Ipinagpilitan ni Stein na sumama sa amin, kaya no choice kami kundi i-entertain siya. Pero mukhang mas lumalakas ang malas kapag nagsama kami na tila may sumpa at siya na tagadala ng masasamang balita. A case happened in the mall and we had to investigate it.

Now he's here in the flesh. The only difference from the time we were with him is that the four of us are complete. Naka-coma pa kasi noon si Alistair. Stein floated the idea of joining the QED-4 just in case my childhood friend never woke up again.

I shut my eyes for a second and took a deep breath. Loki's really unpredictable. I didn't expect him to drop the s-bomb nonchalantly. That was an important piece of information in the Moriarty mystery. Pero parang wala lang sa kanya.

His straightforward approach, however, had an effect. Stein went silent for a few seconds. Malawak pa rin ang kanyang ngiti at pakurap-kurap ang kanyang mata na parang Christmas lights. He was stunned. Maging siya, hindi niya in-expect ang sinabi ni Loki.

So we are right. Stein is the incumbent Moriarty. He succeeded whoever originally held the title.

"Successor?" he spoke after five seconds of awkward silence. Yeah, I counted. "What do you mean, Loki?

"You know what I mean, don't you?" Loki asked with a straight face. 'Di naiwasang mapatingin sa kanya nina Jamie at Alistair, kunot-noo at naningkit ang mga mata.

Oo nga pala. We haven't told them about the "successor" clue. We've been busy with the dead man's switch kaya hindi pa namin nasasabi sa kanila. We can't afford to be distracted. We can deal with that piece of puzzle once this is over. I hope they wouldn't feel left out kung hindi kaagad namin shinare ang info.

Bumalik na ako sa aking upuan. Binatuhan ako ng tingin ni Alistair habang si Jamie ay pabulong na nagtanong. "W-What did my Loki dear mean by successor?"

"Later," I mouthed at her before returning my gaze at our unexpected and unwelcome visitor.

"Before your friend Augustus died, he was about to spill the beans on you," Loki went on. Nakasubaybay pa rin ang kanyang mga mata sa bisita namin. "Unfortunately, he was taken from us before he could even finish. So all we had to do is fill in the blanks."

But Stein already knew that. Nag-report na sa kanya si Jamiie noong araw na namatay si Augustus. He would have known about the late editor's unfinished words.

"Ah, yes. My friend Augustus!" Still smiling, Stein locked the door before walking toward the round table. "Do you mind if I take a seat—"