Vanna Lei was soaked on her own thoughts as she waited for Clyde. Sinabi nitong lalabas lang sandali para bumili ng pagkain pero mag-iisang oras na ay wala pa rin ito. Ni hindi na niya naisip na puwede naman itong magpa-deliver sa suite kaysa lumabas.

For a moment, her emotions shut when she felt something strange. Even in her misery, her instinct as an agent is working.

Dahan-dahan siyang tumayo at binunot ang baril. Her forehead creased when all the CCTV monitors were off. May monitors kasi sa pinakang taas na bahagi ng pader sa palibot ng suite. Tumaas pa ang balahibo niya sa batok. Bakit ngayon niya lang napansin?

Setting aside all the drama, she inhaled deeply as she calmed herself. Mabilis niyang binuksan ang pintuan ng suite at iniumang ang baril sa hallway. However, the place is deserted. Wala ring kahit na anong ingay. She slowly walked towards the fire exit. Naiiling siyang naglakad pabalik nang wala namang makitang tao.

She was walking back to her suite when she noticed a small stain on the cream wall. Naningkit ang mga mata niya nang malapitan ito. It's a droplet of fresh blood.

Ibig sabihin tama lahat ng naramdaman niyang presensiya ng tao kanina.

She went to the elevator and saw that it stopped on the basement. Malakas ang kutob niyang may nangyayari.

Bumalik siya sa suite. She turned on her security gadgets and checked the footages of the entire building. Nagtagis ang bagang niya nang makitang pati ang personal monitoring system niya ay na-hack. Hindi ito dapat basta-basta naha-hack ng sino man.

What puzzles her is that from the moment Clyde stepped out of the pentsuite, all footages stopped and were shutdown. Agad niyang tinawagan ang binata pero hindi na ma-contact ang number nito.

She paced back and forth. Nawala pa ang lahat ng kadramahan niya kanina.

Nang hindi makatiis ay nag-drive siya papunta sa residensya ng mga Lee pero wala nang katao-tao roon. Nagpunta pa siya sa isa pang bahay ng mga ito pero wala ring tao.

Bumalik siya sa suite at doon na nagpalipas ng gabi baka sakaling bumalik ang binata pero wala ni anino ni Clyde ang nagpakita.

What happened to him? Was he attacked in her own territory? The thought left her wondering.

*****

Wala siyang ginawa sa sumunod na tatlong araw kundi mag-imbestiga sa loob ng hotel building nila kung may nakakita kay Clyde pero wala siyang nalaman ni isang impormasyon.

Naalala tuloy niya ang sinabi ni Cloud noon. Clyde has entries in South Korea but there were no traces that he stayed there.

Gustong-gusto niyang pumunta ng agency para magtanong kay Cloud pero naalala niya lagi ang sinabi ng global head nila na huwag na huwag na siyang magpapakita sa anak nito.

She sighed as she remembered him.

She must admit she missed him.

She missed his presence.

She inhaled deeply as she stared at nothingness. Nasa loob na siya nang sasakyan at di makapag-isip nang susunod na gagawin.

She swallowed hard after a moment. She slowly input some commands on her phone. Ilang araw na niyang iniiwasang gawin ang bagay na ito.

Her heart sank when she saw the result. She no longer had marriage entries in the countries she was trying to hack.

Dapat maging masaya siya. This is what she wanted. But why does she feel otherwise?

Ang gulo.

Was it because at some point she looked forward to that one year with Cloud?

She held a deep breath. She thought she was falling for Clyde. Why does thinking of Cloud hurts more than Clyde disappearing?

*****

Ilang oras na siyang nakatanaw sa building ng agency pero hindi niya magawang lumapit. Ayaw naman niyang humingi ng tulong sa mga kasamahan para sa impormasyong kailangan niyang malaman baka madamay pa ang mga ito.

Para nga bas a impormasyon ang ipinunta niya? She wasn't that sure. She shrugged the thought off.

Naiiling niyang kinabig ang steering wheel at nilisan na lang ang lugar.

*****

Vanna was home for days but she can't seem to rest. She's been thinking whether to appear in front of Cloud and apologize or just let everything pass for a little while. Baka salubungin siya ng bala ng inang kalawakan kapag nagpakita siya sa anak nito.

Nagtaka na rin ang parents niya kung bakit ang tagal ng bakasyon niya. She's not sure if Liam knew what's happening because he remained silent when she said she was on vacation.

Hindi niya alam kung suspendido ba siya o tanggal na sa IF dahil sa mga pahayag ng global head nila noong huli.

She can't blame Mother Uni Verse for being personally biased about the situation. Above from being the head of IF, she's a mother who loves her son.

Sa unang pagkakataon, natatakot siyang magtanong dahil alin man sa dalawa ang kasagutan ay tiyak na masasaktan siya.

Kaya nag-focus na lamang siya sa pag-iisip kung ano ang posibleng nangyari kay Clyde at iba pang anggulo sa iniimbestigahan bago pa man sila nagkagulo ni Cloud.

Her suspicion of US-NoKor war pops from time to time. That issue had been dead decades ago. Pero gusto niyang malaman kung tahimik lang ang bangayan ng mga ito. Kailangan niyang malaman kung tama ang haka-haka na sa North Korea ang nakitang armas noong na-wiped out ang US military forces sa Syria.

There is still a way to know it. So, she immediately flew to the US using one of their private planes.

"Are you seriously asking me to breach US protocol?" Strongman whispered when she asked for the details of the weapon found in Syria. Pasimple itong tumingin sa paligid. Nasa loob sila ng hindi mataong café.

She drew a deep breath.

"C'mon Strongman, this isn't new to you," giit niya. The man chuckled. Tumitig ito sa kanya ng matiim. His blue eyes raked her from head to her hands on top of the table.

"There is a price to pay, dear." Hinawakan nito ang kamay niya pero maagap niyang nabawi.

"How much?" agad niyang tanong rito. Mas lalo namang natawa ang kausap.

"You," he said after. She felt her face burning. This is one of the reasons why Cloud don't want her to deal with the guy.

"Walgreen's grenade wants to say hi to you," sarkastiko niyang tugon. Muling natawa ang kausap.

"Your Walgreen?" sambit nito. Her insides felt a twinge of pain. Every person in IFA used to address Klein Rich as her Walgreen when talking to her. Wala kasi itong pinapalapit sa kanya noong lalaki.

"Yes my Walgreen," she said without batting an eye. "So, will you help me for old time's sake?" tanong niya rito. Nag-isip ito ng malalim at muling tumitig sa kanya ng matiim.

"I can't give you what you need," he muttered. Huminga siya ng malalim.

"But you can get it yourself," he grinned. Her forehead creased.

"You have an hour to break in the Archives section tomorrow night while I am out," sambit nito bago tumayo. Bumunot ito ng dollar bill sa wallet at iniwan sa lamesa.

How could she possibly break inside one of the most advance security agency in the world? That will be suicidal.

Naiwan siyang nakatunganga sa iniwan nitong pera hanggang sa makita niya ang isang microchip na nakapailalim doon. Napangiti siya at pasimpleng hinila ang pera.

She immediately went back to her hotel suite and opened the chip.

Naglalaman ito ng blueprint ng Archive Department sa loob ng FBI kasama ang security checkpoints at alarms.

She took out her palmtops and pins and opened several window screens on the wall to plan for her entry. Nabuhay ang dugo niya sa nakatakdang gagawin. She broke into highly secured establishments before but she knew FBI per se would be much more dangerous plus she only have an hour to do it.

Using the list of employees on the chip, she chose an employee that will go on duty that night to clone so that she could get inside the building.

Iyon ang una niyang ginawa kinabukasan, habang naglalakad ang babae sa gilid ng daan, itinigil niya ang sasakyan at kinuha ang atensyon nito. She discreetly pushed a pin on her nape as if guiding her to hop in the car. Dinala niya ito sa hotel na tinutuluyan niya.

She put contact lenses in the woman's eyes and used a laser to clone it. Naglagay din siya ng coating sa kamay nito para makuha ang finger prints nito at maidikit sa mga daliri niya.

She prepared all her pins. They function as alarm stoppers, radiation blockers, passkeys and of course sedatives and sleep inducers. Ayaw niyang magdala ng baril dahil madali itong ma-detect ng security system.

She tied her hair in a bun and did her make up that would resemble like the woman sleeping on the bed. She used her FBI uniform, too.

She waited outside the building for an hour. Nang makita niyang lumabas si Strongman saka naman siya pasimpleng naglakad papasok. Nobody doubted her. Mabilis siyang nakapasok. Tinahak niya ang daan patungo sa Archive. There are doors leading to other doors, hallways leading to another hallway. Napag-aralan na niya iyon at may parte na wala nang access ang babaeng na-clone niya kaya kailangan na niyang gamitin ang hacking skills niya.

Like what she always do, she used her pin to stop the CCTV footages inside. She walked briskly as she went from door to door, hallway to hallway. Pakiramdam niya ay parang maze ang pinasukan niya. May mga nakakasalubong siyang agents pero kapag napapansin ng mga ito na iba ang badge niya agad niyang pinapatulog gamit ang pins. The CCTV's are already static so she need not worry.

Ang alam niya nasa dulo ang central archive ng ahensya kaya't binilisan pa niya ang galaw.

She was panting when she reached the far end. May mangilan-ngilan pa kasi siyang pinatumba habang papunta roon.

She almost gasped when she opened the door. It was an unmanned computer database. Kung hanggang saan ang abot ng mata niya may computers na nakabukas at nagfa-function mag-isa.

She went into the mother system and used Strongman's passcode to get the information needed. It took a while before it loaded. Tiningnan niya ang relo, may tatlumpong minuto pa siyang natitira. Kapag nakuha niya ang impormasyong kailangan, ang paglabas naman niya ang magiging problema.

She typed weapon and Syrian war on the bar when it blinked. Kasabay no'n ay ang pag-alarm ng buong area. Bumilis ang tibok ng puso niya.

"Shit!" she muttered when the all the computer screens turned black and when it opened it flashed red alert. She felt her jaw tensing.

Tumambad sa mga mata niya ang CCTV footages ng mga paparating na fully armed agents papunta sa lugar kung nasaan siya.

She gritted her teeth as she realized it was a decoy.

Gusto siyang ipahuli ni Strongman. Kaya pala ang bilis lang niyang nakapasok sa loob. Hindi na siya makalalabas ng buhay.

How did she ever forget that Strongman was once a spy to the IFA? Saan na napunta ang utak niya?

She walked inside trying to see an escape route but she can only see walls from side to side.

Naglakad siya papuntang dulo nang makitang papasok na ang mga agents sa pintuan. She disconnected the surveillance camera inside so they wouldn't see where she was.

She crawled to the far end. Alam niyang palapit naman ng palapit ang mga huhuli sa kanya. Her heart beats faster when it was a dead end.

"You have no way out," saad ng isang agent. Nakita na siya ng mga ito. Wala rin naman kasi siyang mapagtataguan maliban sa mga cubicles na kinalalagyan ng mga computers.

She got up and looked the men pointing guns at her. Once she moved one bit, she's dead. Her heart sank.

Itinaas niya ang kamay bilang pagsuko.

Ano ba 'tong gulong napasok niya? Her dad can't probably do anything to save her from here.

Boluntaryo niyang inilahad ang kamay nang maglabas ng posas ang isa sa mga lalaki.

Nanlamig siya nang hawakan na nito ang kamay niya. Kasabay niyon ay ang pagtalikod nito sa kanya. Pinagbabaril nito ang mga kasamahang nasa malapit. Sedating gun ang gamit nito. Naghagis ito ng teargas gun sa mga natitira pa bago siya mabilisang hinila patungo sa gilid. He pushed something on the wall causing it to open. It was a small elevator intended for food. Umupo pa sila para magkasya. May mga pinindot ito bago nagsara at bumulusok pababa. Halos malagutan siya ng hininga.

Naguguluhan siya sa bilis ng pangyayari. Nang tumigil ang elevator, tumambad sa kanya ang karimlan.

The man used the little flash on his wristwatch to light their way. Hinila siya nito sa kamay at mabilis na tinahak ang tunnel.

"Who are you? Why did you help me get away?" tanong niya rito pero mabilis lang itong naglakad habang hila-hila siya. She was mystified as their footsteps reverberated around the tunnel. Hindi nagsalita ang lalaki.

Malayo ang tinakbo nila bago sila tumigil sa tapat ng pabilog na parteng naiilawan. Doon lang niya narealize na nasa loob sila ng canal kaya pala mamasa-masa ang dinadaanan nila. The man helped her up from the manhole.

Lumabas sila sa isang kalsadang walang katao-tao. Naguguluhan na talaga siya sa nangyayari. Magtatanong sana ulit siya nang may tumigil na sasakyan sa tapat nila, isinakay siya ng lalaki. Wala siyang nagawa.

"What were you doing there? You were not thinking!" the man muttered as he lifted his mask.

Vanna's mouth flew open recognizing the man's voice. Her heartbeats rumbled seeing his face.