Covert Aim

Ana's alarm on her phone rang. She opened her eyes then stood up on the bed. She accidentally tapped the snooze alarm. She yawned while stepping down the floor. She heard a loud buzzing sound, so she went downstairs. She saw the owner of the public house she rented tsk-tsking while looking at the small television on the wall. She listened carefully but her phone rang again, causing the owner to look at her in confusion. She shut it down, then she smiled. After a couple of minutes, and while sipping a cup of hot chocolate from the beverage rack, the owner turned off the television. In curiosity, she asked her, "missus, what was on the TV?" "Oh, that one?" the owner replied. "News said the founder of the most wanted syndicate here in the Philippines is now spied by the authorities." Ana suddenly spat a teaspoonful of hot chocolate when she heard such words from the owner. Curiosity could kill her if she would not ask more questions. So she queried again, "what's the name of the syndicate?" "Oh, little girl, don't you know it?" The owner laughed in silence, making Ana somewhat embarrassed. "It's the Patriregula syndicate." Ana made herself smile. She knew she grasped it but she just could not say the word. She stood up and put the soiled cup in the sink. She went back to the waiting area. She could not make herself calm, so she asked again, "who's the founder of Patriregula, missus?" "Um . . ." the woman murmurs, "it's . . . he's Leon." Ana got more confused, "Leon?" "Leon de Torres?" Ana sighed in relief. She thought what she thought was correct. "Yeah, I remember. It's Leon de—" "Leon who, please?" Ana's hands jerked, badly wanting to know behind the syndicate. "I must be wrong." "His name's Leon de Vera." The owner's words made Ana in shock. Her spirit was triggered. Her hands began to be shaky. Her eyes wide open, thinking actual things were not real. She swallowed her saliva. Without noticing, she saw her feet walking on their own upstairs. She did not bother to take a look back at the wondering owner of the public house. She entered her room and sat on the bed. She would break into tears when she stopped herself. She put out her phone and opened mobile data. She went in their group chat. She asked the other four in the group if they saw the news. No one replied, so he texted them one by one. After tens and tens of seconds, there was still no reply. She stood up and went beside the glass window. She looked at the busy people walking in the streets. She could see couples holding each other's hands, children playing with the slow-moving cars, and market people in panic. Instead of wasting time, she thought of the message she sent to the four people online. She sat on the floor and did not notice she was crying already. She wiped those tears then stood up. She got her traveling bag and started packing. She brought clothes and personal stuff into it. She also got her lucky charm—a revolver. She got her important things once more then put out five thousand pesos from her lacking wallet. She put her backpack on and grabbed the traveling bag. She did her shoelaces neat then opened the door. She went downstairs. She ran to the public house owner then put the money in her hands. "I'll leave now, missus." "Why so fast? I thought you'd be here for a week." The lady crossed her arms. "I have to do something." "Okay then." The lady smiled. "Take care, Ana." Ana smiled back in agreement. She walked out of the public house. She breathed in the scent of busy streets. She started walking fast. She turned left when already in the middle of a noisy crowd. She turned right, main road ahead. While she walked, she whispered words many times, "he can't be. This can't be, this can't be happening. I trust the truth, he's no bad." Her thoughts disappeared when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She quickly put it out then stop at the sidewalk. She ended up sitting on a bench occupied by two more people. She looked at her phone. Four messages were on the screen. She opened those by one and found the four on the other lines agreed with her idea. She smiled bitterly. She stood up when she heard a beep from the moving bus. The bus stopped. A barker in casual clothes got out from it. "Here! Two more! Two more! Laguna! Quezon! Up to Sorsogon, folks! Will go through Laguna, Quezon, to Bicol Region for the last time!" "Yes." Ana quickly ran toward the bus. She took the steps. She went to the empty seat then sat. She relieved herself from the bags she carried all minutes long. She sighed then opened a packed cookie she bought yesterday beside the public house. She ate it quick for she knew the bus run would just be short. She took a sip of yogurt, too. After the short break, she took a look at the Philippine map online. She planned to go to Oriental Mindoro, so she asked the bus conductor, "sir! Sir, will we go through Batangas?" "No, we won't," the man said. "How about Cavite?" "Neither won't we." "What?!" Ana did not stop herself. The conductor said, "we'll go through Rizal, Laguna, and Quezon. We'll skip the two provinces, for now, folks." Ana got disappointed. She could not believe she would go farther from her planned destination. She sweated heavily, so she wiped her face and neck. She looked again at her phone, at the map. Without notice, the bus rolled on the road. "Tsk," she whispered. She looked outside, at the running, picturesque urban buildings, then sighed. She thought of having a stop in Laguna. She would be too far if the ride would continue to Quezon. The bus conductor sat on the seat in front of hers. The conductor seemed to be tired, he was sweating, too. Ana tapped his shoulder. "Are you okay, mister?" "Sure I am." The conductor smiled. "I have a bottle of water here." "No, no, miss. I have here, too." "Um . . . sir," Ana hesitated to ask one more, but she did, "can we stop when already in Laguna?" "Why?" "I'll go to Occidental Mindoro, sir." "Oh, I see. Sure, we'll stop there then," the conductor said with a smile. Ana thanked him silently. She took minutes on chatting with her four contacts. When the phone was out of battery, she tried to take a nap. She then fell asleep. A voice, with a mixed rumbling noise, woke her up. She saw a man looking at her. "Laguna, miss," the conductor said. "Oh . . . yeah," Ana replied, standing and packing her things. She put out her wallet and handed the conductor a hundred peso. The conductor smiled, giving a twenty-peso change to her. "It's only eighty pesos, miss." Ana thanked him then finally got off the bus. She wandered her eyes around. She could see people were busier than she expected. She started walking all through the horde of tied-up people. When she saw an empty stool, she sat on there. Because she was already tired of walking, she texted her four contacts to pick her up in Laguna.