A/N:  The second day of the second wave of updates! Magtutuloy-tuloy kaya ang araw-araw na update?

LORELEI

"Hello there. You thought you've already seen the last of me, didn't you?"

AUGUSTUS IS dead. That's a fact. There's no way he could still be alive. There's no way that he could have sent this video himself.

So that clearly means na ang video na pinapanood namin ngayon ay isang trick. As Alistair and Loki had pointed out, posibleng may ginamit na application si Augustus para ma-send ang video na 'to o may ibang tao na may access sa email niya.

"He couldn't have faked his death, could he?" tanong ni Maggie bago napatingin kay Loki. "I mean, that only happens in fiction."

Augustus' death was unexpected. Kahit siya mismo, hindi niya in-expect na mamatay siya sa board room. No matter how forward-thinking he may be, I doubt he could have prepared an elaborate plan to fool us.

"I talked to the medical examiner yesterday," Sir Jim Morayta spoke, looking down at our chairwoman. "He confirmed to me that Augustus is dead. His body was brought to the morgue."

"Unless he managed to fool the medical examiner, he's pretty much dead," Loki replied. "This can be a pre-recorded video. He probably shot this days or weeks before his untimely death yesterday."

"If you're watching this video, that means I'm already dead," Augustus said.

Alam kong patay na siya, pero nakahinga pa rin ako nang maluwag. Maybe the thought of him returning back to life terrified me.

"I don't know how I'm gonna meet my end, but I'm well prepared for anything that might happen to me," the late editor-in-chief continued. "Oh, don't be so amazed on how I pulled off this stunt. I expect that there's no wi-fi in the afterlife so I can't send this email myself."

"He probably meant there's no wi-fi in hell," Loki muttered. I shushed him.

"Someone out there is executing my will," Augustus said, still looking straight at the camera. "That someone is my dead man's switch. Upon my death, he's gonna be activated to carry out my last wishes."

I swallowed a lump in my throat. I thought our battle with Augustus was finally over. His death would mean that we could move on to our next game. Pero mukhang may rematch pa pala. The only difference was that he's fighting us from the afterlife.

"Listen closely," Augustus said, leaning forward. "I have a dossier of damaging information against some personalities in Clark High. From the school officials down to the housekeeping personnel. I kept these materials just in case I might need to make them... cooperate. Most of these files haven't been exposed yet. And I assure you, the contents will shock you to the core."

"So his so-called Pandora's Box is real," Maggie muttered, her eyes still glued to the screen. "His threat is also real..."

"Maybe we should start calling it the Augustus' Box now," Loki commented.

"I have written in my will that should I die under any circumstances, the pieces of information that I have gathered throughout the years would be leaked to the public," Augustus said, touching the bridge of his glasses. "Secrets that others wouldn't want to be known. Sins that others would want to be forgotten."

I gulped. The thought of him exposing Luthor's secrets was worrisome. Remember the notebook that he intentionally left in the drawer for us to find? Meron siyang mga "resibo." If people make the connection, they would deduce that Luthor has involvement in M's organization.

But what worries me the most is Loki finding out about it. He laughed at the thought na posibleng kasama ang kuya niya sa mga taong matagal na naming sinusubukan na pabagsakin. He never considered the possibility! I can't say kung magagawa niya pang ngumiti kapag nalaman na niya ang totoo.

"Now I want us to play game," Augustus said. "You know you have secrets. I know you have secrets. It's only matter of time before they get exposed. My switch can press the button and unleash the secrets you've been keeping. But that will be anti-climactic. I mean, where's the fun in that, right? I want my final act to be more thrilling."

Here he goes with the game again. He could have easily spilled the tea on everyone whose secrets he knew. Pero gusto niyang pahirapan muna at magdulot ng stress sa mga biktima niya.

In retrospect, his fondness of "thrill" was what cost him the game. When he confronted me about not following his layout, chinallenge niya ako at binigyan ng 24 hours para sabihin kay Loki kung ano ang nabasa ko sa notebook niya. Kapag patuloy ko pa ring itinago ang alam ko, siya na mismo ang magsasabi kay Loki. He drove me into a corner there.

But that was his major strategic blunder. He gave me 24 hours to decide. Dahil doon, nakapag-isip kami ng plano kung paano namin palalabasing umaayon ang lahat sa kanyang "layout." If only he told Loki and the execom the moment he knocked on our door, it would have been a game over for us and he would have won.

Unfortunately, he became overconfident that no matter what happens, everything would go exactly as he predicted. Nothing could go wrong for him.

And we proved him wrong.

"I will give everyone 48 hours to come clean and confess their sins," Augustus said, smiling. "Once the 48 hours are up, the people would know about everyone's secrets. Should you tell them yourselves? Or would you let me tell everyone? Your clock is ticking."

And the video ended. Halos sabay-sabay kaming huminga nang malalim at nagkatinginan. No one dared to break the silence in the office. Parang pina-process pa namin ang lahat ng sinabi niya.

"He's quite generous, if you ask me," Loki said as he returned to his seat. Nagsibalik na rin kami sa mga upuan namin. "He gave everyone 48 hours to come clean, or else! It's a race against time."

"Paunahan lang," dagdag ni Alistair na may kasamang pag-iling. "Kahit sino ang mauna, Augustus will win in the end. Kung sobrang damaging ang mga secret na alam niya, it doesn't matter who makes the revelation. Masisira at masisira ang reputasyon ng mga taong involved."

"Bakit 'di na lang siya manahimik sa kabilang buhay?" may pagbuntong-hiningang sabi ni Jamie. "He should rest in peace and he should let everyone live in peace."

"This is no time to praise him," tugon ni Maggie na napasandal sa kanyang swivel chair. "Kailangan nating mapigilan ang leak bago mangyari 'to."

"We should all pray for Augustus' soul and offer him some expression of gratitude," Loki quipped. "In effect, he also gave us 48 hours to stop his own box from being opened. But we've got to hand it to him. Even after his death, he still finds a way to haunt us."

"To stop the leak, we need to find the person to whom Augustus entrusted the dossier of secrets," Alistair suggested. Isa-isa niya kaming tiningnan. "If we fail to find that person, aayon ang lahat sa last will niya."

"We can't afford that, can we?" Maggie asked. "We're lucky kung ang tinatawag niyang switch ay isa sa mga estudyante rito sa Clark High."

"But there are more than 600 junior and senior high school students in the campus," Rye commented, still biting that lollipop stick. "It's like finding a needle in a haystack."

Forty-eight hours may not be enough to search everyone.

"I'm sure that we can narrow down the list of suspects to people who he considered as his friends, colleagues or acquaintances," Maggie added. "He obviously trusts this person so much that he's willing to give this person access to his dossier."

"Why do I have a feeling that Augustus is confident na hindi natin mahahanap ang kanyang switch o mapipigilan ang leak?" tanong ni Alistair, dahilan para mapatingin kami sa kanya. "Why would he give us 48 hours? Why not 24 hours? Parang sinadya niyang bigyan tayo ng mas mahabang oras dahil kumpiyansa siyang balewala ang efforts natin."

"If the switch is someone from the outside, mahihirapan talaga tayong hanapin siya." I clicked my tongue. "We don't know every person in his life."

Kung ako ang nasa posisyon ni Augustus, I might consider trusting someone na wala sa Clark High. Someone na hindi kaagad mate-trace ang connection namin. Someone na hindi basta-basta paghihinalaan ng mga magtatangkang maghanap nito.

"Wala tayong mapapala kung magte-theorize lang tayo," pailing-iling na sabi ni Maggie. "We have to make a move para ma-narrow down natin ang list ng potential switch. We only have 48 hours. As our late friend said, our clock is ticking."

"I will inform the admin about this development." Tumayo na si Sir Jim at naglakad patungo sa may pintuan. "Nabanggit ni Augustus na dawit ang ilang school officials. I need to give them a heads up para fully aware sila sa nangyayari."

Ganito kalawak ang reach ni Augustus. Mula sa pinakamataas na school official hanggang sa pinakamababang personnel, hindi ligtas sa kanyang threat.

"By the way..." Lumingon sa amin si Sir Jim pagkatapos niyang buksan ang pinto. "...Don't forget to take a break. I know that this new case is important, but you have to take care of yourselves. Huwag n'yo ring pababayaan ang studies n'yo."

"This is more exciting than studying," Loki commented as soon as our adviser shut the door.

"Alam n'yo, tama ang sinabi ni Sir Jim. Kailangan muna nating kumain!" masiglang banggit ni Jamie at saka siya tumayo. "We haven't enjoyed our morning break yet. Nag-a-alboroto na itong tiyan ko sa gutom!"

I don't really have an appetite lalo na't dumagdag na naman ang iisipin ko. But her suggestion might distract myself for a while. Ayaw kong malunod sa sarili kong thoughts.

"I'm currently enjoying our morning break," Loki said, reclining to his chair. "This is far more satisfying than grabbing a sandwich from the cafeteria. Augustus' game is afoot and I can afford to not eat the whole day. We've got some work to do! At least, we're no longer cutting crepe paper."

"Loki dear naman!" padabog-dabog na tugon ni Jamie. "Kailangan mo ring kumain! Baka mahimatay ka riyan habang nagde-deduce ka. But if that happens, ako ang mag-aalaga sa 'yo. I will wake you up through a princess' kiss!"

Ano 'to? Sleeping Beauty kung saan si Loki ang walang malay na princess habang si Jamie ang prince charming? Clark High is about to be bombarded with scandals pero itong si Jamie, iba ang iniisip.

"Huwag mo na siyang pilitin," I muttered. "Mysteries are like fuel to him, they keep him going. Sasagutin ka lang niya ng favorite niyang quote na..."

Nagmuestra ako kay Loki na unang napatingin sa akin bago kay Jamie. "The brain works better in an empty stomach, as Sherlock once said."

Biglang hinawakan ni Jamie ang kamay ni Loki at hinila siya mula sa kanyang upuan. "May pa-empty-empty stomach ka pang nalalaman diyan! Gusto mo bang magka-ulcer? Kapag oras na ng pagkain, kailangang kumain!"

"I don't need to eat anything during the morning break." Loki tried to resist, pulling his arm back.

Parang naglalaro ng tug-of-war ang dalawang 'to. From the looks of it, mukhang mas malakas pa physically si Jamie kaysa kay Loki.

"Bakit, kumain ka ba ng heavy breakfast, Loki dear?" tanong ni Jamie. "Marami ba ang kinain mo kanina kaya 'di ka nakakaramdam ng gutom ngayon?"

"No, I haven't!" sagot ni Loki na nagpupumiglas pa rin. "I haven't eaten since last night."

Napabitaw ng hawak sa kanya si Jamie. She rolled her eyes to me at tiningnan ako na parang may mabigat akong kasalanan sa kanya. Mukhang alam ko na kung ano ang susunod na sasabihin niya.

Three, two, one. Here we go.

"Lori, bakit mo naman ginugutom si Loki dear ko?" nakapamewang na tanong niya. "Hindi mo pa siya pinapakain magmula kagabi? Hindi ka ba marunong magluto? Dapat yata lumipat na ako sa apartment n'yo para may mag-aalaga kay Loki dear, eh. Baka mangayayat siya!"

"Hey, I'm not his babysitter kaya hindi ko responsibilidad na pakainin siya," depensa ko. Seventeen years old na itong si Loki at alam na niya kung ano ang tamang oras ng pagkain. Hindi na siya bata, kahit minsan, childish ang kanyang reasoning. "And to be fair, I asked him repeatedly last night to eat kahit kaunti lang. But he refused, saying that his mind was too preoccupied for him to think about hunger."

"Parang may alaga ka palang bata sa apartment n'yo," natatawang komento ni Alistair. Hininaan niya ang kanyang boses dahil baka marinig ni Loki. "Keeping up with him is a feat."

"I got used to it already," pabulong kong sagot. Makasama mo ba naman si Loki sa ilalim ng iisang bubong sa loob ng ilang buwan, talagang masasanay ka na sa kanya. Not to mention, magkasama pa kami hanggang dito sa school.

Ibinalik ni Jamie ang kanyang tingin kay Loki. Kung meron siyang dapat pagalitan, 'yon ay walang iba kung 'di ang "dear" niya. "At dahil wala ka pang kinakain, kailangan mong sumama sa amin sa cafeteria!"

"I said I don't need to eat!" pagpupumilit ni Loki. He grabbed on the table so Jamie couldn't fully dragged him, but his fingers slipped. He was pulled into Jamie's arms at natumba silang dalawa sa sahig. Napailing na lang ako habang tinulungan silang tumayo ni Alistair.

Okay sana kung kaming apat lang ang nasa office. Kaso nandito rin sina Maggie at Rye na tahimik na nakamasid. Nakakahiya. Para kaming nanonood ng dalawang batang nag-aaway.

"Fine! I'll come with you!" naiiritang sabi ni Loki. Inayos niya ang kanyang necktie at pinlantsa sa kamay niya ang lapel ng kanyang coat.

Ngiting tagumpay naman si Jamie. She finally got what she wanted.

"I admire the three of you," Maggie commented once everything was okay na. "You can keep up with his childhish antics. Paano kaya ang struggle noon ni Rhea para makontrol 'yang si Loki? He must have given her headaches every day."

Parang may anghel na dumaan sa execom office. Tumahimik. Naging awkward ang atmosphere dito. Sinagot ng tingin ni Loki si Maggie. Their eyes locked into a staring contest.

"Tara na nga! Gutom na gutom na ako!" Jamie shattered the awkwardness in the room. "Kapag nahimatay ako sa gutom, ipabuhat n'yo ako kay Loki dear, ah?"

"Can you buy me a sandwich?" utos ni Maggie sa amin. "And a canned soda too!"

Hinila na ni Jamie palabas ng office si Loki. Sumunod naman kaming dalawa ni Alistair sa kanila matapos kunin ang pambayad ni Maggie.

Noong meron pa kaming club, lagi kaming nagte-take out ng food mula sa cafeteria at kinakain namin sa clubroom. Since we don't own the execom office at nakatambay pa roon ang aming chairwoman, we decided to stay in the cafeteria. This is one of the moments na naramdaman kong para akong isang ordinaryong estudyante ng Clark High. Lining up at the counter. Listening the idle chatter. Waiting for some students to leave an occupied table.

We imprisoned ourselves in the clubroom that we failed to enjoy and experience what was around us.

Lahat kami'y bumili ng sandwich at juice drink. Pinag-take out din namin ng snacks si Maggie. Dahil natakam ako sa pagkakagawa ng sandwich, bumalik na ang appetite ko. Noong una'y ayaw pang galawin ni Loki ang sandwich niya. When Jamie offered na susubuan siya, he quickly grabbed the sandwich and took some big bites.

Nang matapos na kaming kumain, nag-stay pa rin kami sa table namin at pinanood ang ilang estudyante na enjoy-in ang kanilang morning break. Minsan, naiisip ko ring mabuti pa sila, walang ibang iniisip kundi ang mag-aral o mag-participate sa mga club activity. Kaming apat, kahit wala na ang club namin, involved pa rin kami sa peace and order ng campus.

If only these students knew that two days from now, the secrets of some would be exposed, malamang kakabahan na rin sila.

"There's a reason why pinilit ko talagang kumain tayong apat dito sa cafeteria," panimula ni Jamie habang nagpupunas ng kanyang labi. Naging seryoso rin ang kanyang tono. "There's something that I need to tell you na hindi ko pwedeng sabihin sa presence ng ibang execom members."

Teka, epekto ba 'to ng banta ni Augustus? Was she already coming clean with the secrets na itinatago niya?

Napaisip tuloy ko. Augustus in the afterlife was generous enough to give me 48 hours to think whether I should tell Loki about the notebook or not. Natawa tuloy ako sa isip ko. Nalusutan ko nga ang banta niya noong Monday, pero hahabulin pa rin pala ako ng threat niya hanggang ngayon. Hangga't dala-dala ko 'to, may mabigat akong pasanin na nagda-drag sa akin.

"What is it?" Alistair asked curiously.

Jamie looked down, tila pinag-iisipan kung dapat na ba niyang sabihin kung anuman ang nasa isip niya. Lahat kami'y nakatingin sa kanya, nag-aabang kung ano ang lalabas sa kanyang bibig.

"About Augustus' death," she said.

I gulped as my eyes blinked at her repeatedly. Sumagi na naman sa isip ko ang nangyari sa board room at ang possibility na isa sa mga kasama ko roon ang lumason sa editor-in-chief.

Was she about to say that she had something to do with it? Did she poison Augustus?

Sa pagkakaalala ko, katabi ko siya noon. Dalawang upuan ang pagitan niya kay Augustus. Let's assume that she's the killer. She couldn't have poisoned Augustus while the lights were on dahil may ibang makapapansin sa kanya. She would have probably taken advantage of the blackout. I don't know kung paano niya natamaan si Augustus gamit ang isang blowdart or anything, but given her distance, she could have pulled this off.

How about the motive? Augustus' last word to me was her brother's name: Jaime. Maybe she wanted to silence the late editor because she doesn't want something to be revealed? Augustus willingly admitted that Stein is M and tried to explain more, hadn't it been for the blackout and his death. Kung handa si Augustus na ibulgar 'yon, who knows kung ano pa ang pwede niyang i-share sa amin?

Napabuntong-hininga ako. Kung ano-ano na namang theory ang pumapasok sa isip ko. I couldn't easily erase my suspicions on Jamie, but I don't wanna think that she killed someone. I don't wanna think she's capable. But if she did so, there must be a compelling reason behind it.

"Stein had nothing to do with Augustus' death," Jamie said.

Eh? That wasn't exactly what I was expecting to hear.

"M didn't order any of his minions to kill Augustus?" Alistair asked. Gano'n din ang itatanong ko sana, but he beat me to the punch.

Jamie shook her head. She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "Kahapon kasi, tinawagan niya ako't tinanong kung ano ang nangyari sa board room. I told him exactly what I witnessed. He sounded so... worried. Parang hindi niya in-expect na mangyayari 'to. Parang hindi niya nagustuhan ang nangyari."

"Augustus got cornered, so it isn't far-fetched to think na kapag may nangyaring masama sa kanya, M would be our primary suspect," Alistair said, caressing his chin. "So now he's saying that he had no involvement in Augustus' demise?"

"I got the sense that Stein wants Augustus to remain alive," Jamie muttered. "Remember what Augustus shared? He felt na untouchable siya at never siyang sasaktan o papatayin. Stein sounded like he wouldn't dare to lay a finger on him."

Nagawi ang tingin ko kay Loki. He looked back at me. I told him last night that it doesn't make any sense for M to have Augustus killed. Mukhang tama ako. And the reason?

"Because if Augustus dies, the secrets of their organization will be leaked," I said. He made that very clear when we confronted him. "It would be wise for Stein to keep him alive. As long as Augustus breathes, their secrets are safe. Unfortunately, that's no longer the case."

Loki chuckled. "Do you see how this situation is also a win-win for us? Whether we stop the leak and retrieve the Augustus' Box or we watch the world burn, we would still know the secrets that M and his cabal are hiding."

"But M won't let that happen," Alistair argued. "We don't know if they're already aware about the 48-hour deadline, but they will surely act on this threat to their organization. Hindi sila basta-basta uupo at hihintaying dumating ang araw na mabunyag ang mga sikreto nila."

"If there's any good news, we can assume that Stein is not yet in possession of the Augustus' Box," Loki said, smirking. "The fact that we received an email with a video attachment from a dead man's account this morning means that the switch still has the box."

"It's safe to assume that they will search where the box is." Alistair nodded. "So it's only a matter of who will get it first. Them or us."

Of course, I would want us to steal that box from the switch. That should really be okay, right? But for me, it isn't. Sakaling mapasakamay na namin 'yon, Loki would be able browse over the contents. If the audio clip of my conversation with the late editor was there, as well as the information on Luthor's involvement with M's organization, only God knows what would happen next.

Even in the afterlife, Augustus managed to give me a headache.

"I know that we're focused on the leak, but there's something else that we need to think about," Jamie said. "Kung walang kinalaman si Stein sa pagkamatay ni Augustus, then who had him poisoned?"

q.e.d.

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