"Oh, bakit parang nakakita ka ng multo?"

'Hindi pa ba multo ang tawag kung bigla na lang susulpot ang ex mo?' Detective Briannova Carlos thought and immediately frowned at him. Huminga siya nang malalim at humigop muna ng earl grey tea (yes, this is her favorite) bago binalingan ang abogado.

"Anong ginagawa mo rito?"

Lelouch smiled and took a seat across from hers. "Wala man lang 'thank you'? How many times do you plan to hurt me, Nova?"

Nova shrugged. "Depends. How many times do you plan to not give up on me?"

"Good point. That's until infinity."

Napapailing na lang si Nova. She wouldn't be surprised if Lelouch was awarded "most persistent man in Eastwood". Hindi na nakapagtataka. Noon pa mang high school sila, hindi talaga madaling sumuko ang isang Lelouch San Andres. He's always the competitive type and up until now, he had won every case he presented inside a courtroom.

Namayani ang katahimikan sa pagitan nilang dalawa. Ilang sandali pa, ang abogado na mismo ang bumasag sa katahimikang ito.

"Olympia let me in. Nagkasalubong kami kanina.. dahil sa'yo rin naman ang punta ko, pinahatid na lang niya sa'kin ang tsaa mo." Lelouch ran a hand through his brown locks and sighed, "As much as I want to devote my time in winning you back, I'm here to consult a case."

'Gosh! He's gotta be kidding me.'

"Kung hindi mo pa napapansin, attorney, may inaasikaso pa kaming malaking kaso ngayon. A serial arsonist slash serial killer is on the loose and we're trying to track him down. Kung gusto mo, ipapa-transfer na lang natin ang problema mo sa ibang detective."

Ngunit hindi natinag ang abogado at may kinuhang envelope sa kanyang gilid. Marahan niya itong ipinatong sa mesa ni Nova at sinimulan nang ipaliwanag ang sitwasyon, "Someone has been stalking me these past few days. Noong una, may anonymous account na nagsesend lang sa'kin ng mga pictures sa email. Isinawalang-bahala ko na lang ang mga iyon hanggang sa may nagpadala na nito sa address namin kahapon."

"A stalker, huh? Hindi na nakakapagtaka. Baka may nabihag ka na namang puso o baka naman galing ito sa mga kaaway mo. Being an attorney earned you quite a reputation."

Out of curiosity, Detective Nova opened the envelope and took out its contents. Katulad ng inaasahan niya, si Lelouch ang subject sa mga larawan. Kuha ito habang namimili siya sa isang shop. Magkakaibang anggulo at malabo ang ibang litrato.

'Looks like someone was following him around.'

Ibinalik ni Nova ang mga litrato sa envelope. Walang-gana niyang itinuon ang atensyon sa dating kasintahan.

"May natanggap ka na bang death threats?"

"None that I'm aware of."

"Then there's nothing to worry about," she dismissed, "Malamang may fangirl na umaaligid sa'yo at nagkataon na nakita ka niya sa shop na 'yon. Baka nagpapapansin lang sa'yo. But just in case you receive any suspicious packages or threats, I'll assign your case to our tracking specialists. Deal?"

Atty. Lelouch hesitantly nodded. Kinuha na ulit nito ang envelope at huminga nang malalim. Sumandal siya sa kanyang upuan, "Got it. By the way, how are you feeling?"

Nova froze. She knew exactly what that question meant. Nag-iwas siya ng tingin at binuksan ang kanyang laptop para maituon sa iba ang kanyang atensyon.

"I'm feeling well. Nothing to worry about---"

Mabilis na isinara ni Atty. Lelouch ang laptop ng detective. Nova was forced to look at him.

"What the heck?"

"Do you want to talk about it, Nova?"

'Malamang nga nalaman na niyang nandoon ako kagabi sa sunog sa Kingstone Industries. Gosh! I hate social media,' napasimangot si Nova at sinubukang ipakita na hindi siya apektado nito. Napalunok siya't matapang na sinalubong ang mga mata ng abogado.

"I'm fine."

"You know that lie won't work on me, sweetheart."

'Damn you, Lelouch!'

Nova sighed in frustration and finally gave up. She avoided eye contact and spoke, "P-Parang bumabalik na naman ang trauma ko sa apoy. What happened fourteen years ago still haunts me. Nawawalan ako ng kontrol sa mga emosyon ko tuwing maalala kong kamuntikan na akong lamunin ng apoy. Bullshit! Fourteen years ago, I survived the fire.. but it had also left unseen scars inside me."

Across the table, Lelouch held her hand. Nanginginig na pala ang kanyang mga kamay habang binabalikan ang masasamang alaala. Eastwood's youngest district attorney didn't even speak, and that was enough to comfort her.

Suddenly, Nova remembered the boy she saw near the fire that almost took away her life.

The boy with burnt marks on his shoulders.

Alam ni Nova na imposible, pero paano kung may koneksyon ang nangyari noon sa Robinhood Arsonist case ngayon? Bago pa man niya mapigilan ang sarili, sinimulan na niyang sabihin kay Lelouch ang teorya niya.

"You already know this story. F-Fourteen years ago, nangungupahan kami sa isang apartment malapit sa siyudad. I was only seven years old that time when my parents left me alone for the night. Doon na naganap ang sunog... n-nakaligtas ako, at ang sabi ng mga awtoridad, nadamay lang daw ang apartment namin dahil sa nagsuicide ang arsonist naming kapitbahay noon. The police told us that he burned himself alive because he was guilty of all the crimes he did." Pinilit ni Nova na lakasan ang kanyang loob. Tahimik naman na nakikinig sa kanya si Lelouch, "Pero paano kung hindi pala isang suicide ang nangyari? Paano kung sinunog talaga nang buhay ang kapit-bahay namin? Maybe.. maybe he real killer just made it look like a suicide."

"Anong ibig mong sabihin?"

"Lelouch, noong gabing 'yon, nang mailigtas nila ako sa nasusunog naming apartment.. may nakita akong batang lalaking nakamasid sa'min. Punit-punit ang damit niya at may hawak siyang container ng gasolina. It was dark, but I can vaguely remember his empty eyes and burnt marks on his shoulders. P-Paano kung siya pala talaga ang pumatay sa kapitbahay namin? Paano kung siya ang nagpasimula ng apoy? A-At paano kung..."

This is crazy.

But being a detective, Nova learned that the best mysteries always have the worst plot twists.

"...paano kung yung batang lalaking nakita ko noon ay ang hina-hunting naming Robinhood Arsonist ngayon?"

It was sick.

But it was also possible.

Labing-apat taon na ang nakakaraan magmula nang mangyari ang sunog na 'yon. Kaya nga napagdesisyunan nilang lumipat ng bahay para mailayo si Nova sa bangungot na 'yon. Her parents tried to spoil her and make her forget about that incident, but the trauma the fire left is still there. It cannot be erased.

At kung ang batang lalaking nakita niya noon at ang Robinhood Arsonist nila ngayon ay iisang tao lang, mukhang panahon na para harapin ni Nova ang kanyang mga bangungot.

It took sometime before Lelouch finally replied, "You still need evidence on that. Paano mo naman malalaman kung may koneksyon nga sila?"

Well, now that he's mentioned it...

"Itinatabi ang files ng mga kasong ito sa opisina ng Eastwood Fire Department."

Kumunot ang noo ng abogado, "With that little scandal you have, baka mahirapan kang kumbinsihin silang ipakita sa'yo ang mga records na 'yon. The video of you shouting at one of their fire fighters is gonna leave a sore spot for quite some time."

Detective Briannova Carlos smirked. "I know. That's why I'm sneaking inside their offices tonight."

Atty. Lelouch sighed.

"Bilang tagapangalaga ng hustisya, dapat kitang i-report sa HELP. Breaking inside a government building is an unlawful and reckless act."

"Alam ko, pero---"

"But sometimes, unlawful and reckless acts will pave way for the truth. Sasama ako sa'yo mamaya." Ngumisi si Atty. Lelouch and pinisil ang kanyang kamay. Hindi na namalayan ni Nova na hawak-hawak pa pala niya ito.

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Gosh! What a righteous attorney. Kapag nahuli tayo, ikaw magtatanggol sa'kin sa korte ha?"

"Yes, ma'am." He winked.

Maya-maya pa, biglang tumunog ang ringtone ng cellphone ni Nova. 'Baka si Nirvana lang 'yan. She's probably gonna tell me how much fun she's having at their camping trip.' lihim na napangiti ang detective. Kaninang umaga lang ay nagpaalam sa kanya ang nakababatang kapatid. Inaya kasi siyang sumama sa camping trip ng kaibigan niya. Pero nang makita ni Nova ang screen ng kanyang cellphone, kumunot ang noo niya nang mabasa ang caller ID.

She completely forgot that she saved his number in her contact list.

"Ano na naman kaya ang kailangan ng airheaded emo na 'yon?" Binitawan niya ang kamay ni Lelouch para sagutin ang tawag.

"If you're calling about my scandal, then---"

"Nova, we have a problem."

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