"Hey." Bati sa akin ni Alonzo nang makarating na ito sa tabi ko.
We were just seated here by the counter, nakatalikod sa magulong dance floor.
He gestured something to the bartender at tinanguan naman siya nito.
"You know him?" Walang gana kong tanong sa kaniya habang pinaglalaruan ang baso sa kamay ko.
"Let's just say, I'm a regular here." He replied in a teasing manner kaya napairap na lamang ako.
"So, what's up?" I asked, changing the subject.
Umayos ito ng upo at pinatong ang dalawang siko sa counter.
"Well, the investigation's been facing a huge roadblock lately. Isa-isa naming iniimbistigahan ang naging mga kasama ni Guillen dati sa senado. Both from his and the opposing parties. Lahat ng kilos nila ay under surveillance 24/7." Panimula ni Alonzo na mas nagpakunot lamang ng noo ko.
It's been three years already or four maybe since Guillen's last term in the Senate. I should like them to realize na talagang wala nang masyadong koneksyon iyon ngayon sa mga bagong banta sa buhay ni Ethan.
If the enemy or enemies really are from his Senatorial days, edi sana ay sa mga panahong din 'yon nakatanggap ng mga gano'ng mensahe si General Celeste.
There are a total of twelve members on the senate, eleven of them are now being considered as hostile by the PNP and are under monitoring for the past month.
"Did it ever occur to you that maybe we're looking at this on a wrong perspective?" I replied before taking a sip on my glass.
I felt Alonzo laid his back on the chair and crossed his legs.
"Andy, we are looking at all the possible angles. We can't leave any stone unturned. Sa ngayon ay iyong sa politika muna ang tinitingnan naming anggulo. Once we are certain that there aren't any involvement from any of them ay magpapatuloy na naman tayo sa ibang anggulo." Alonzo explained and sighed deeply.
The bartender handed him his drink at sumimsim naman agad do'n si Alonzo. Napangisi pa ito at binigyan ng thumbs up ang bartender.
Napailing ako sa kaniyang sagot.
Their strategy is going to take them ages before they can finally figure out the real mastermind. Hindi natin alam, baka ngayon nga ay kumikilos na naman ang mga 'yon laban kay Ethan.
Just this angle on the politics from four years ago alone, and it's already taking them a month to move halfway on their investigation.
"That is so not efficient. Masyadong mabagal." Simple kong sagot bago muling uminom ng alak.
Alonzo chuckled at my response.
"Andy, wala na tayo sa Mafia. We're slow on the investigation because we're doing it the right way. We're doing it the legal way. Baka nakakalimutan mo nang pulis ka na dahil isang buwan na rin simula no'ng maging Mrs. Salvatierra ka?" Mapanuyang komento ni Alonzo sa akin.
Tinapunan ko siya ng masamang tingin bago muling tinuunan ng pansin ang baso sa aking harapan.
"Shut it. Hindi ko kagustuhang malagay sa posisyong 'to. If only my movements aren't that restricted, ay baka gumawa na rin ako ng sarili kong imbestigasyon." Seryoso kong sagot sa kaniya.
"You know you can't do that. Elio and your brother had already made it clear na magf-focus ka lang sa pagbabantay kay Ethan. O nakalimutan mo na? You wanna make your brother angry again? Have you seen his fit last dinner?" Alonzo warned me kaya napatahimik na lang ako.
My brother really is terrifying when he's angry. He rarely loses his cool, at bilang ko lamang sa isang kamay ang mga pagkakataong 'yon.
All my life he has always been the rational one in the family. Kaya bagay na bagay sa kaniya ang pagiging Consigliere. You can't be a strategist if you can't keep a cool head.
"It was a good thing he wasn't carrying his gun with him that time. You know how he is. If one of the family gets hurt outside of training, lalo pa at kung dahil sa kaniya kaya 'yon nangyari, ay talagang sasabog ang isang 'yon." He continued.
Akala siguro ni Castiel no'ng panahong 'yon na sinasaktan ako ni Ethan at hinahayaan ko lamang siya dahil sa misyon. And that very mission was instigated by him.
I felt his guilt that time.
"This is why we should make haste. Judging by the pace this investigation is going, we're putting Leander's life on the line more and more each day." Depensa ko. Pero tama naman ang punto ko. Now that so far everything's been quiet, it's only making me feel worse. Dahil wala na naman kaming lead.
"You know we're doing everything we can. You don't have to worry about your beloved husband getting hurt you know. He's under a Montisanti's watch, the worst that could happen to him is get hurt. But the worst thing that could happen to those who hurt him, is die by your hands." Hindi pa talaga pinalagpas ni Alonzo ang naging sagot ko at mas pinili pang asarin ako.
Why does everybody keep on assuming that Ethan is already my husband? For fuck's sake, this is a fake marriage!
"Shut the fuck up." Irita kong sita sa kaniya at ginantihan lamang ako ng isang malutong na halakhak.
Cousins are the worst.
"How 'bout those drivers from the ambush? Wala ba kayong lead sa kanila?" Pagiiba ko ng usapan.
Napatigil naman si Alonzo sa pagtawa at bigla na lamang sumeryoso ang mukha.
"To tell you honestly, I have been working on that angle secretly." He confessed in a low voice kaya gulat akong napatingin sa kaniyang direksyon.
"Don't give me that look! Hindi ko lang talaga mapigilan ang sarili ko. If Ate Z's the one leading this investigation panigurado ay do'n niya ako pagtutuunan ng pansin." He defended habang nakakunot pa ang noo.
So defensive.
But he's got a point.
"Whatever. So what is it? What did you find?" This time ay sumeryoso na rin ang aking tinig.
"Hindi masyadong marami ang cctv footage na na-recover ko. Some roads didn't have any cameras installed kaya medyo nahirapan din akong i trace ang origin ng sasakyan." He explained.
Hmm. There were indeed some secluded roads we passed by before we got to the next city where the law firm is located at.
"But then you know I'm Horus for a reason. My all-seeing eye was able to trace the cars when Ethan arrived at your Condo. Parang kasabay niya lang itong dumating do'n." Dagdag pa niya.
I let his boastful comment go dahil totoo naman iyon.
But then what he said really bothered me.
"Sinundan nila si Ethan papuntang condo ko? Na-trace mo rin ba kung saan galing ang mga sasakyang 'yon?" I asked further.
Nag-aalalang tumango si Alonzo, at mukhang nag-aalangan pa siyang sabihin ang sunod pa niyang nalaman.
"The odd thing I found about their origin is that, the cars went out from the garage of an empty building near the King's Landing. I looked up that said building and it's been abandoned and staying dormant for the past few years now." He continued, only making the narrative worse.
"The building should be under a private ownership kung hindi pa ito nade-demolish kahit gano'n na katagal? Any lead about the building's owner?" I explained, if the building's been abandoned that long, bakit hindi pa ito nad-demolish?
"I found no data about the owner. Which is suspicious, at mas lalo pang nakakapaghinala ay hindi ko na ma track pa ang footage kung kailan dumating ang mga sasakyan sa building na iyon. It's either there were no camera footage at all, o sadiyang magaling lang talaga maglinis ang mga taong 'to." Alonzo shook his head while saying his theories.
I bit my lower lip as I've come to realize that this threat to Ethan's life must be really more serious than we make it out to be.
My thoughts were disturbed when two girls approached the bar counter, both giggling and flirting with the bartender from earlier.
Napailing na lang ako at hindi na ito pinansin pa.
"You know what's more unsettling, Andy? The fact that they absolutely made no effort to tail Ethan's car the moment you guys entered the expressway. If I didn't know what actually happened, I'd think they've given up on going after you. But by the time Ethan's car entered the City and made the last turn kung saan naroroon banda ang law firm ay nagpakita ulit sila..." Alonzo trailed off.
And what he said only made me feel worse. Fucking hell.
"It's almost like.." Alonzo couldn't finish his sentence in disbelief, so I did it for him.
"Like they knew exactly where Ethan was going that day." Pagtutuloy ko.
Agad akong nakaramdam ng kaba sa aking sistema. It felt like a cold shiver ran down through my spine, giving me goosebumps.
Ethan's being targeted, at hindi lang basta-bastang pagmamanman. His enemies are smart and organized, and that's what's making me terrified now.
They're not rushing to scare or threatened Ethan.
"They aren't just simply making threats, Andy." Alonzo spoke, almost looking like we're thinking about the same thing.
"I know. Whoever is behind the ambush, they clearly want Ethan dead, A." Pagsasang-ayon ko.
And hearing those words from myself, it made me froze in horror.
Marahang tumatango si Alonzo bilang pagsang-ayon sa aking napagtanto habang hinihimas pa ang baba nito.
"But the question is, how? How did they know Ethan's schedule for that day?"
Alonzo's right. We need to know who else had access on Ethan's schedule and run a background check on them.
"Ethan's schedule. Run an investigation about his employees who has direct access on his personal schedules. The list wouldn't be that long, so the investigation should be done quickly." I instructed Alonzo, I heard him sigh deeply before finishing his drink.
"The secretary should be one of those people." Sagot niya sa akin at tinanguan ko naman.
I've met his secretary a couple of times and she seemed timid and shy to me. Hindi nga ito masyadong nakikipag-eye contact sa akin.
I reached for the glass in front of me when I noticed that two guys suddenly went to our direction and approached the girls on our side.
"Another possible reason I was also thinking of was maybe Ethan's devices were hacked or maybe even his car got planted to by a tracker?" He suggested, snatching my attention back to our conversation.
"The tracker part can't be possible. I placed a device on Ethan's car that time during the ambush, kung may iba pa mang tracker ang naroroon sa sasakyan niya ay paniguradong mad-detect iyon ng device na ginawa mo." I simply answered, my attention still wandering off to the ladies beside us.
I can begin to notice the shift on their moods the moment those guys approached them. Mukhang hindi na sila komportableng makipag-usap at parang naiilang na.
"Well, you're right. Kung talagang nagbabalak silang lagyan ng tracker ang sasakyan ni Ethan ay magiging pabor sa atin 'yon." Alonzo murmured his thoughts while I'm still deep into my observation towards the ladies in distress beside us.
"Alonzo." mahina kong tawag sa aking pinsan na ngayon ay abalang umo-order ng isa pang inumin.
"What?" Naiinis niyang tanong.
I subtly gestured the direction on my side where the two girls are now being harassed by the other two guys. Mukhang nagpupumiglas na ang mga ito mula sa hawak ng mga lalaki sa kanilang mga braso.
Men are fucking pigs.
Nakita ko namang napailing lang si Alonzo sa nakita.
Alonzo raised his glass to his mouth, sipping from his drink.
And I also silently did the same.
We were just gonna observe them for a bit nang bigla nalang sinampal ng babae ang isang lalaki kaya ginantihan din siya nito ng sampal.
The other girl screamed in shock kaya sinampal din siya no'ng isa pang lalaki para patahimikin.
When we heard the slap, it triggered something inside us at sabay kaming galit na ibinaba ni Alonzo ang hawak naming mga inumin.
Alonzo and I immediately stood up from our seats and smoothly intervened, so as to avoid agitating the men at baka ay mas manakit pa ito.
Nakapamulsang pumagitna agad si Alonzo do'n sa isang babaeng ngayon ay nakaupo na sa sahig dahil sa lakas ng pagkakasampal sa kaniya.
And I also did the same on the other pair.
I began stretching my arms as I also got in between the second lady who's still standing while holding her cheek and the man who slapped her.
I saw the hint of surprise on their faces at inismiran lamang ito ni Alonzo habang ako naman ay seryoso lang na nakatingin sa kanila.
"Alam niyo bang harassment 'tong ginagawa niyo?" Alonzo asked as he gently helped the distressed woman to take a seat on a nearby chair.
The other guy scoffed at Alonzo's remarks at inirapan pa ito.
"Ba't ba kayo nakikialam? Sino ba kayo?" The guy who's facing Alonzo, asked.
Ang lalaki naman sa aking harapan ay mapanuya pa akong tinitigan mula ulo hanggang paa.
"Oo nga, ang mga babaeng kagaya mo dapat nage-enjoy lang kasama namin. Hindi nakikialam." The guy teased, at malagkit pa akong tinitigan habang nakangisi na parang manyak.
"Ikaw? Sino ka ba? Parang isang desperadong lalaki ka lang naman sa paningin ko. So desperate that you even have to force women to enjoy your company. Kawawa ka naman." Alonzo teased back na siyang nakapag-lukot ng mukha ng lalaki.
The other guy was about to throw a punch on Alonzo pero agad siy nitong napigilan.
Alonzo winked at me and that was my signal to begin the brawl.
Nilukot ni Alonzo ang kamay no'ng lalaki at sinuntok ito sa mukha.
Mabilis ko namang sinikmuraan ang lalaki sa aking harapan bago pa man ito makakilos laban sa 'kin.
I quickly hit his head with my knee and elbowed his neck.
While Alonzo on the other hand kicked the guy's abdomen at muli itong sinuntok sa mukha.
When the guy I've been up to was about to stand up and continue the fight, ay agad kong sinipa ang kaniyang mukha at mabilis na hinawakan ang braso nito.
I positioned myself as I twisted his arm on my side at mabilis itong binalibag.
When he was finally down ay muli kong binalikan ng tingin si Alonzo and his guys was also unconscious and with a bloody face.
Nagkagulo naman agad ang lahat at nagsi-tilian ang karamihan dahil sa takot at kaba.
Maya-maya pa ay nagsidatingan na ang ilang bouncers kasama ang dalawang Private Securities ng bar na ito.
"Anong kaguluhan 'to ma'am? Sir?" Agad na tanong sa amin nang makarating sila sa aming kinaroroonan.
Sabay naman naming hinubot ni Alonzo ang aming ID and badge holders at pinakita ito sa kanila.
When they both saw our IDs ay agad silang sumaludo sa amin.
Alonzo annoyingly waved his hand at them, gesturing them to put their hands down.
"Ano po bang nangyari dito Cap?" Tanong no'ng isang security kay Alonzo.
Alonzo explained everything to them at tumulong din sa pagpapaliwanag ang dalawang babaeng biktima.
We waited there for a few minutes until back up came from the nearby Police Station.
The suspects were apprehended at sumama naman ang dalawang babae sa presinto upang magsampa ng kaso laban sa dalawang lalaki.
The Police Officers immediately recognized us when they arrived at the scene at sumaludo pa ang mga ito.
We instructed them to handle everything and process the complaint that will be filed against the two.
I look at the time on my watch at muntikan nang mapamura nang makitang malapit nang mag-madaling araw.
Fuck!
"I have to go. Fuck ba't 'di mo sinabi sa 'kin ang oras!" I said through gritted teeth.
But the devil only laughed at me, enjoying my misery kaya kumaripas na ako ng takbo papuntang kotse ko.
Ethan's gonna be so worried.