A/N: I know it's a bit late, but here's the ninth update in a row!

LORELEI

"FOUR. RED!" masiglang sabi ni Jamie sabay lapag ng baraha sa sahig. She glanced sideways at Loki na susunod na titira.

"Four. Blue," malamyang sambit ni Loki nang ibaba ang kanyang card. Mukhang wala siyang kagana-ganang maglaro ng card game na 'to, pero kanina pa niya pilit na sinisilip ang mga baraha ko.

I discreetly looked at my five remaining cards. Pinag-isipan ko muna kung ibababa ko na ba ang +2 na card para masira ang diskarte ni Alistair. After taking a deep breath, I changed my mind. Kapag ginamitan niya ako ng special card, doon ko gagamitin sa kanya 'to. "Blue. Eight."

Tumingin sa akin si Alistair at ngumiti na parang may masamang balak. He's really into this game. "Let's change the rotation, shall we? Blue. Reverse card."

We decided to play UNO after enjoying our delightful dinner. Kaming dalawa ni Jamie ang nagluto ng ulam habang si Alistair naman ang bumili ng drinks at snacks para sa sleepover. Loki only sat in his couch, reading another mystery novel. Mabuti't hindi na namin siya kinailangang hilahin para piliting kumain ng hapunan. Nandyan naman kasi si Alistair na ready siyang buhatin from the couch to the chair in the dining area.

So what happened in our car ride when Loki asked me kung ano ang hawak ni Augustus laban sa akin? Well, I didn't answer his question. I merely deflected it by saying na idi-discuss namin kapag nagsimula na ang aming strategy session ngayong gabi. I needed more time to think kung dapat ko bang sabihin sa kanya ang totoo.

As much as I wanted to be honest with him, kailangan kong isipin ang magiging consequence ng aking desisyon. Mas sensitive ang atmosphere ngayon matapos maungkat 'yong isyu ni Jamie tungkol sa tiwala. Maybe if Loki found out that Alistair and I haven't been fully honest with him nang makita namin ang laman ng notebook sa desk ni Augustus, he might react the same way that Jamie did.

Maybe he will. Maybe he won't.

Gusto ko ring mabawasan ang mga iniisip ko ngayong araw kaya kinailangan ko munang i-distract ang sarili ko. Cooking somehow helped. Playing UNO somehow helped. But these were only temporary distractions. Kapag nagsimula na ang session namin mamaya, I would be facing the same dilemma that I was in: whether or not I should tell Loki about the audio recording and the notebook's contents.

For now, let me enjoy the game.

Muli kong tiningnan ang kulay ng reverse card na ibinaba ni Alistair. Blue. Saktong-sakto, may isang baraha pa akong maibaba. I had no choice but to use that card against the person seated next to me.

I slowly pulled the card from my hand and turned to Loki. Pinilit kong huwag ngumiti bilang pang-aasar sa kanya. "Plus two."

Loki clicked his tongue as he drew two cards from the deck. Hindi muna siya pwedeng tumira kaya si Jamie na.

"Palitan natin ng kulay! Yellow!" sabi ni Jamie sabay baba ng baraha.

"Sorry, Lori." Muling napangiti si Alistair sa 'kin. "Guluhin ulit natin ang rotation. Yellow, reverse."

Excited pa naman akong magbaba ng yellow card. Sayang!

"Sorry, Loki dear. Wala na akong ibang card na maibababa, eh." Tumingin si Jamie kay Loki. Tila may pagkalungkot at pagsisisi ang tono niya. "Yellow. Plus two."

Loki's eye twitched as he drew two more cards. Dalawang turn na siyang hindi tumitira. Sa ngyaon, siya na ang may pinakamaraming hawak na baraha sa amin. A total of thirteen cards.

"Yellow. Three," sabi ko.

"Three. Green," baba ni Alistair.

"Sorry ulit, Loki dear!" Jamie frowned. She looked at the person beside her as she put down a +4 card. "Let's change it to red."

Loki clicked his tongue again as he drew four more cards. Parang ayaw na talaga siyang pababain ng baraha. Then in an unexpected move, he threw his cards all over the floor and stood.

"Hey, we're not done playing yet!"

"Balik ka rito, Loki dear!"

"I'm never gonna play that game again!" nagmamaktol na sabi ni Loki sabay upo sa couch at kuha sa kanyang laptop.

"Now you know why this simple card game has the potential of destroying friendships," I quipped. Pinagsama-sama ko ang mga barahang nakakalat sa sahig.

"You three are conspiring against me!" reklamo ni Loki na parang batang inagawan ng candy. "Ayaw n'yo nang magbaba ako ng card."

"There's no conspiracy here," tugon ni Alistair na tumayo na rin. "Nagkataon na 'yon ang mga hawak naming baraha at ikaw ang malas na katabi ng mga may hawak ng +2 at +4 cards."

"I didn't really mean to hurt your feelings," panunuyo ni Jamie. Kung iisipin nga, siya talaga ang reason kung bakit naasar si Loki. If she didn't put down that +2 and +4 cards, Loki wouldn't feel bad about playing the game.

"So what's next?" Alistair asked. "Should we play another game? Or should we proceed with the strategy session?"

I swallowed a lump in my throat. So playtime's over. Back to the real game.

Alistair and I shared one couch while Loki and Jamie shared the other.

It's kinda refreshing to see the four of us in one room that isn't the QED clubroom or the execom office. Maybe I've been used to seeing us in school uniforms than in casual clothes. Nakasuot ako ng dilaw na shirt at pajama habang si Jamie ay may suot na loose shirt at short shorts (no, that wasn't a typo). Sina Loki at Alistair naman, parehong naka-shirt at shorts din.

Loki had his laptop on. Jamie took some snacks and shared them with us. Alistair brought a pitcher of juice. And I prepared my pen and paper to jot down notes.

"Herschel's gonna make a call in about ten minutes," Loki said, putting his laptop away. "That's good news, I guess? He must have tracked down the location of the switch."

"In the meantime, let's discuss some other matters," Alistair said, pouring juice to each of the four glasses on the center table. Para kaming nag-iinuman dito. Well, I don't think any of us drinks alcohol.

"First things first," Loki started the ball rolling. Una siyang tumingin sa akin. Bigla akong kinabahan. "What does Augustus have on you, Lorelei?"

Uminom muna ako ng juice at c-in-ompose nang maayos ang aking thoughts. I had enough time earlier to think about what I could tell them.

Obviously I have three options here:

First, I can tell them the truth. Sasabihin ko sa kanila na may hawak na audio clip si Augustus tungkol sa pinag-usapan naming tunay na laman ng notebook niya. That would finally get something off my chest. But revealing that Alistair and I deliberately lied to Loki and Jamie might have some unfavorable consequences. They could accuse us of not trusting them.

Second, I can lie to them. Sasabihin ko lang na may hawak si Augustus na embarrassing photo o video ko. As someone who values my privacy, revealing that photo or video to the public would cause me a great deal of stress. Jamie might buy that story, but Loki may see through that I'm lying through my teeth. Alistair would automatically know that I'm lying dahil alam niya kung ano ang tinatago ko. The consequence? Daragdagan ko na naman ang mga pasanin ko.

Third, I can choose to not tell them anything. Papalabasin ko na sobrang confidential ng hawak na material ni Augustus laban sa akin, na kahit kaibigan ko silang tatlo, I wouldn't be comfortable sharing it with them. If I use that card, they would surely respect my privacy, but I don't know if they would easily fall for it. Again, Alistair would automatically know that I'm lying. Jamie might believe me. Loki may respect my decision not to divulge anything, but he may still become curious on what my secret might be.

So which of the three options should I choose? Should I come clean? Should I lie? Should I hide?

Huminga muna ako nang malalim pagkatapos ilagay ang baso sa mesa. Ilang sandali pa akong natahimik. Saglit kaming nagkapalitan ng tingin ni Alistair. Whatever I say next would also involve him, lalo na kung pipiliin kong sabihin ang totoo.

Ready? In three, two, one.

"I lied to you," I said, looking at Loki straight in the eye, then at Jamie whose eyebrows furrowed.

"Lied?" kunot-noong tanong ni Jamie. "Tungkol sa na-receive mong blackmailing call kanina?"

I gently shook my head and shut my eyes along with it. Nang muli kong iminulat ang aking mga mata, tumingin ako kay Alistair. He gave me a nod. That must be his signal that it's okay to reveal it now. I never had the chance to consult him dahil walang time kanina.

"Remember that mission to sneak into the Clarion's office?" I recalled. "When we attempted to steal the notebook?"

"Of course," Loki nodded. "Jamie and I were in the grand hall, palying a charade to keep every Clarion staffer in the venue while you and Alistair went into their lair. What about it?"

"What did you lie about that?" curious na tanong ni Jamie.

I sucked some air in. "Hindi totoong walang nakasulat sa notebook na nakita namin."

Loki reclined on the couch and folded his arms. Hindi niya ikinakalas ang kanyang tingin sa akin kaya I also maintained eye contact with him. Maybe he's trying to read whether I was lying right now or not.

I gave my companion that night a sidelong glance. "Alistair and I read something strange in the notebook, and we decided to not tell you about it."

"And?" Loki asked. "What does that have to do with the switch's call earlier?"

"Last Monday, if you remember, nagkausap kaming dalawa ni Augustus," kuwento ko. I remember how nervous I was back then. "He was surprised to see that we were acting so chill. Ine-expect niya kasi na nagkakagulo na tayo dahil sa content ng notebook. He talked to me dahil gusto niyang i-confirm kung sinabi ko ba sa inyo ang nabasa namin ni Alistair. I admitted to him na sinadya naming itago. I didn't know na nire-record pala niya ang conversation namin."

"Bale 'yong audio recording ng pag-uusap n'yo ang ginagamit na pam-blackmail sa 'yo, Lori?" pagkumpirma ni Jamie, bahagyang naningkit ang mga mata.

I nodded. "Kapag na-leak 'yon, malalaman n'yong nagsinungaling kami ni Alistair sa inyo. And I'm really worried kung ano ang magiging reaksyon n'yo. We've been talking about trust, and yet..."

"If I may?" Alistair looked at me as if he's asking for permission to speak. I gave him a nod. "Hindi naging madali para sa amin ni Lori ang gano'ng desisyon. We know how much we value the trust in our team. I really don't want to plant doubts that one or two of us can't be trusted. Kaso sa sitwasyong 'yon, we had to make a wise decision. And the wise decision was not telling you in the meantime."

Sandaling nagkaroon ng katahimik sa living room. Pino-process pa yata ng dalawa naming kasama ang aming pag-amin. Alistair and I exchanged glances. Tumango siya sa akin, tila isang assurance na tama ang desisyon kong sabihin na ang totoo.

Pakiramdam ko nga'y nabawasan na ang bigat sa dibdib ko. This is one of the secrets that I've been keeping since last week. The longer I carry it, the heavier the burden gets.

However, I have only told them a part of the truth, not the entire truth.

"Thank you for the confirmation," Loki said.

"Eh?" Napatingin kaming tatlo sa kanya. Pakurap-kurap ang mga mata ko.

"What did you mean by confirmation, Loki dear?" nagtatakang tanong ni Jamie. I also had the same question.

"I've already suspected that you and Alistair weren't being honest with us," Loki answered. "On the night that you told us you found nothing, I believed it. Fully. I had no reason to doubt you. But the next day, I realized that something was off."

"How?"

"Cameras," Loki replied. "Remember the hidden cameras we installed in the Clarion office?"

Napapikit ang mga mata ko. Yes, of course. On the night of the break-in, nakalagay pa rin ang mga camera doon. We only had them removed in the next few days.

"I reviewed the camera footage and noticed something strange when you and Alistair stood beside Augustus' desk," Loki went on. "You said that nothing's written in it, but you spent a few minutes flipping over the pages as if you were reading them. Also, you took the notebook with you, contrary to what you claimed that you left it in the drawer."

"If you already suspected na gano'n nga ang nangyari, what didn't you say anything at all?" I wondered.

"Because I trust you," Loki said firmly. "I trust you two."

Kumurap ang mga nakatitig kong mata sa kanya. I wasn't expecting that response. I don't doubt that he trusts me, pero iba kasi ang dating nitong sinabi niya.

"Remember what I told you last weekend?" Loki gazed at me. "Should the day come that you need to keep something from me, I would totally understand. Now, in this case, you two consciously hid the truth from us, but I know that you two only had our best interest in mind for doing so."

Now I understand kung bakit biglang nasabi niya 'yon noon. I found myself at a loss for words. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang sasabihin ko sa kanya. This wasn't what I was expecting. I thought he'd be disappointed. I thought he'd be furious.

"If I were the same me in the past, I would have gone ballistic and accused you of not being forthright with us," Loki smirked. "Maybe our discussions about trust have changed my point of view. I admit that I haven't been fully transparent with you before, but I know in myself that I had a compelling reason for acting that way. Now if I get mad at you for not telling me what you should have told me a few days ago, I would be a hypocrite."

"Thank you for...uhm... understanding," I replied to him. Wala akong ibang masabi. Pina-process pa rin ng utak ko ang lahat. "We truly appreciate your trust."

"It couldn't have been easy for people who always follow the rules, eh?" Loki commented, looking at my childhood friend. "To be lying to the people you consider as friends?"

"I struggled with the idea, but I know it's for the best," Alistair answered, smiling.

"Now that brings us to the question: What was written in the notebook?" Loki asked, leaning forward. "The footage was so dark I couldn't read whatever you saw in there. Only you two know what was written."

Here comes the million peso question. I expected that he'd asking about it kapag naging honest ako sa kanila.

So should I tell him the truth about the notebook's contents?

I'm gonna gamble. I'm gonna flip the coin. I'm gonna cast the dice.

I had to be careful with how I choose my words. Loki's interpretation might rely on the delivery.

"You've already heard about it," I said, sighing. "It's the same nonsense that Augustus said in the board room. That your brother is part of M's organization."

The die is cast, like how the quote attributed to Julius Caesar goes.

Loki's face darkened after hearing my revelation. I gulped as I watched the reaction on his face. This is bad. Baka mali ako ng desisyon—

Then he burst into laughter.

Nagkatinginan kami ni Alistair. Tila nabunutan ako ng tinik sa lalamunan. Does that mean my gamble paid off? I only relied on Loki's reaction back in the execom office. He just laughed off Augustus' accusation. He might laugh it off too here.

"Augustus was hell-bent on insisting that nonsense, huh?" Loki said as he calmed down. Talagang joke 'yon para sa kanya. "He must be so desperate!"

"Ine-expect niya siguro na ikaw ang manloloob sa office ng Clarion," I added. "Kapag nakita mo ang laman ng notebook, inaasahan niyang magagalit ka sa kuya mo."

"Which is an obvious diversionary tactic," Alistair nodded. "Lorelei and I believe na sinadyang iwan ni Augustus ang notebook na may gano'ng laman para ma-distract tayo. Maybe he wanted us to focus our attention on investigating the vice president instead of him."

"Y-Yeah," I agreed. "Hindi kasi natin afford na ma-distract lalo na't malapit na natin siyang ma-corner noon. Kaya hindi na namin sinabi sa inyo at gumawa na lamang kami ng palusot."

"Teka, doon n'yo ba nakuha ang idea na magpanggap sina Loki dear at ang future brother-in-law ko na mag-away?" tanong ni Jamie na tinanguhan ko naman.

"Even if you told me this absurd claim that night, I wouldn't have believed a single word of it," Loki said. "I told you, my brother is not a monster. He won't entertain the idea of joining M's organization. I can't imagine him letting Stein boss him around. He wants to be a king. He won't let himself to be a mere subject. He's too proud of himself."

Akala ko, nabunutan na ako ng tinik. Hindi pa pala. Mukhang never talagang cinonsider ni Loki ang possibility na sumali ang kuya niya sa organisasyon ni M. That worries me. The relief that I was feeling right now would only be temporary, it seems.

"Well, at least we got that thing cleared up," sabi ko sabay buntong-hininga. "If we only knew na ganito ang magiging reaksyon n'yo, we would have told you right away."

"But we're still sorry na napaglihiman namin kayo," Alistair apologized. "It really makes me feel bad."

"Ano ka ba, Al?" tugon ni Jamie. "Kung may valid reason naman, maiintindihan naman namin. Hindi na gano'n kakitid ang isip namin."

"That means you don't have to worry about that blackmail threat," sabi sa akin ni Loki. "Let the switch expose it. Who would believe him anyway?"

"But we need to establish communication with the switch," sagot ni Alistair. "Lorelei needs to make it sound like she's willing to make a deal. Para makakuha pa tayo ng info sa kanya."

"May na-receive ka na bang text mula sa kan—"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Oh, that must be Herschel," Loki said, grabbing the laptop beside him. He pressed a key with so much emphasis before placing his gadget on the center table. "He wants to have a video call with us."

"Compress tayo!" Ipinagsiksikan talaga ni Jamie ang sarili niya kay Loki kahit na marami pang space sa couch. Lumipat kaming dalawa ni Alistair sa kinauupuan nila para makita rin kami sa camera. Feeling ko tuloy, ka-video call namin ang isang kamag-anak na nagtatrabaho overseas.

"Hi, guys! Welcome to my channel!" bati ni Hershey habang kumakaway sa camera. He sounded like one of those vloggers nowadays. Wala pa ring nagbabago sa itsura niya. Magulo pa rin ang kanyang buhok at may suot pa rin siyang salamin na may itim na frame.

It's really nice to see him again. The last time we saw him in person, in-edit niya ang mga audio clip na hawak ng Clarion laban sa QED Club. Thanks to him, we survived that ordeal. Come to think of it, that was our first clash with Augustus.

"So what's the update—"

"Kumusta ka na, Hershey?" I cut Loki's words short. Talagang ang lalaking 'to, gusto na laging straight to the point ang mga conversation. He sometimes—or maybe, most of the times—forgets the basic courtesy.

"I'm doing great!" nakangiting sagot ni Hershey. "Thanks to the assignment you gave me, na-challenge talaga ako."

"What do you have for us?" tanong ni Loki.

"Honestly, this is out of my league already," Hershey frowned. "I did everything in my power para ma-track itong email address na sinend n'yo. Sa kasamaang palad, I've already reached my limit. On my own, I can't give you anything else. So that's why I asked for an expert's help!"

Nagkatinginan kaming apat. That sounded like good news.

"As much as I want to share info about this amazing person, I can't. Hindi ko pwedeng sabihin kung sino siya at saan siya nagtatrabaho. Ang masasabi ko lang ay may means siyang i-track ang location ng mga IP address gamit ang access sa cell towers. I hope you understand."

"Of course, we do," Loki nodded.

Kumuha si Hershey ng pen at papel na iniharap niya sa amin. Parang magle-lecture yata siya. "Let me explain to you para mas maintindihan n'yo. My friend traced the cell towers kung saan na-register ang transmission mula sa IP address ng email sender. There are three cell towers in Angeles City and each of them detected the signal."

Nag-drawing siya ng tatlong nag-o-overlap na bilog na parang Venn diagram. Honestly, 'di ko gets kung ano ang ine-explain niya pero tumatango na lang ako at napapa-Hmm.

Hershey pointed at the space where all three circles overlapped. "As you can see, ito ang area kung saan na-detect ng tatlong cell towers ang signal mula sa IP address. If you compare it with a city map, you will notice that this place is in the Balibago area. This comfirms my previous finding na nandito ang inyong hinahanap."

"What's difference then?" Loki asked.

"Sa una ko kasing ipinadalang data sa inyo, sinabi ko na nasa Barangay Balibago lang ang target," sagot ni Hershey sabay kuha ng isang zoomed in map ng area na nabanggit niya. May naka-highlight na part doon. "Now, we can limit the scope of our search within one small area. Doon n'yo mahahanap ang misteryosong email sender."

It may not have exactly pinpointed the location of the switch, but it felt like that moment when our long suspect list was drmatically narrowed down. Malaking tulong na rin 'yon sa amin.

"So we only have to ask around sa area na 'yan kung saan nakatira si Sir Ephraim?" tanong ni Jamie.

"Or we can look at the apartments na pwede niyang tuluyan sa vicinity na 'yan," tugon ko.

"Mabuti na lang, weekend bukas." Napahawak si Alistair sa kanyang chin. "We can start our search tomorrow."

"Thank you, Herschel," Loki said. "We appreciate your help. Always."

"My pleasure! Good luck on your search!"

Little did we know that our search would end the way we've never expected.

q.e.d.

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