Covert Aim

Chapter 6

Mara and Rita served the table—a platter of honey-glazed roasted chicken, bowls of brown rice, half-cooked vegetable salad, and warm beverages. All began to help to prepare for dinner.

The noise of silver-colored spoons and forks made every tummy more craving. Plates were in stack, so were the plastic glasses.

While getting a fork, Efren got nosy, "I was just wondering . . . where did you three get these."

Joseph fixed his plate. "Of course, we enter the town not far away from here. We buy goods there."

"So . . . you three are already here living?" Calixto passed a bowl of rice to Diether.

Joseph laughed. "No, just for a week before when the fake news exploded."

Calixto nodded. They began to eat when Leon appeared.

He sat quietly between Mara and Nilo. "Ugh, that was a bad headache."

"Are you now alright, Dad?" Rosana queried.

"Yes, don't y'all worry about me. Let's just eat."

"Will we sleep here?" Efren added. "I mean . . . um . . . I'd like here—"

"Don't worry," Nilo said. "This's the deepest part of Abra de Ilog. It's safe—"

"I agree with Efren," Marco cut Nilo. "This is a good place, but spies and rivals are everywhere."

"I'll take responsibility for you all," Nilo added. "Let's just eat for now. Worry not, please."

Leon stopped the others that would ask queries for he knew Nilo was doing what was better for them. He did not realize how mature Nilo became. He was a witness of Nilo's ill-conduct when he was in his teenage. But when Nilo, including Mara and Joseph, took training for being a police hitman, they changed a lot, from their physical appearance to moral attributes—especially humane reasoning. Leon then grabbed a plate and served himself food.

The dinner lasted for an hour and a half, doing nothing but to eat—for they were tired after the anonymous firing—and chitchat about their lives, individually. After the feast, the girls helped each other on washing the dishes. The boys then prepared their rooms. The lodge was a small square building, one-story, and divided into four quarters—two bedrooms, a restroom, and one for the living room and kitchen. All was done with their what-to-dos. They all collected themselves in the living room, filling every pew out of vacancy.

"What should we talk about?" Leon started the conversation.

"Your safety?" Efren smiled.

"Oh, Young Efren, mind me not right now. Am surrounded by a horde of greatest bodyguards of the Philippines."

All laughed, except for Nilo. He felt great sorrow when he saw their father's smile. He thought of a reason why their father was being chased by the government but could not find anything bad with Leon.

Leon was a fairly mustached and bearded thirty-nine-year-old man of great wealth and welfare. He was used to doing good things for the people around than for himself. Although he was an averagely big man, he was a sensitive one—specifically with children. He could not take seeing children suffer, whether from being abused or being homeless, children having great burden in life. He began adopting kids when he once saw Nilo being maltreated by his boss when he was in his seven years of age, working in a wet market's slaughtering area. The last child Leon adopted was Efren. He stopped adopting for he saw that the next generations of youth were cruel and not disciplined already.

The whole family talked about things they missed when they were not in touch for years. They had fun knowing what everyone achieved in study and life. After some hours, Ben's team felt sleepy, so they went to their room, so did David's. The ones that were left were Leon and Nilo's team.

Joseph then stretched his whole body on the empty pew on the left. "Aren't we . . . going to sleep yet . . . Mara?"

"Woah." Mara yawned. "Okay, okay. Let's go sleep."

"Then, good night, you two," Leon greeted.

The two disappeared.

"How 'bout you, Nilo?" Leon added

Nilo shook his head. "Nah, not tired yet."

"Hey." Leon put his left hand onto Nilo's shoulder. "We thank you for saving our lives."

"Dad, it's my responsibility, too. And besides, the children are new to this environment. They need guides on how to survive on their own."

"Aren't you mad at me?"

"What? For what? "

Leon sighed. "Aren't you curious why this all happens?"

Nilo got silent. He could not bear to tell to his father what were his thoughts at that time. He could not ask questions going circles in his mind. He was afraid.

But, never minding the possible outcomes, he questioned, "are you the founder of Patriregula syndicate?"

Leon suddenly chuckled. "Tell me, if I was the founder of that syndicate . . . would you report me to the authorities . . . or maybe . . . would you kill me?"

As the two talked in great earnest, at Ben's team's room, Ana and Diether were still awake.

Ana got curious about what happened at the firing, "Tell me, Diether, how did you make a plan amid guns and bullets?"

"That?" Diether twittered. "You know, I was in the field of um . . . how should I say this? Um, in the field of a secret agency. Tsk, doesn't matter how I can make a plan, you could, too, if you'd like to."

"I'm weak in terms of plans and blueprints, but," Ana put out her revolver, her unlicensed revolver, "I have this. I kinda like to aim, aim, and aim."

"What the . . . where did you get that?" Diether sat in shock. "Do you even know how to use that thing?"

"Oh, this thing? I used this once, so this only has five more bullets in it."

"What? Lower your voice, Dad might hear us, you know. What did you shoot? Hope it wasn't a person."

"What? Of course not, it was just an old branded shoe."

"You know how to use that?"

"Yep."

"How?" Diether began to lie on a green mat. "I'm just curious."

"By watching tutorials online."

"Pshaw, that's disappointing."

"What? Why?"

"You surely don't know how to use that gun."

"I know how—"

"Nah, nah," Diether looked away, then shut his eyes. "Sleep now. Make sure not to use that gun, Ana, okay?"

"Huh?" Ana sighed. "Yeah, alright."

She lay on the same mat, between Diether and Efren. She looked at her gun. She could see how sheen that was.