Undercover Bride (ON HOLD)

“Where are we going?” I asked Hudson as soon as I went out of my Porsche Panamera. I was surprised when he called me and asked me to come over to the headquarters. As far as I know, wala pa naman kaming pending mission dahil katatapos lang ng isa. I fixed my hair as I adjusted my bloody red satin dress which perfectly embraces my body. Its neckline’s enough to not let anyone got a peek of my hidden treasure. “You’re late,” he said. Tumingin pa siya sa orasan niya habang nakasandal sa kaniyang Mercedes-Benz S-Class. I can’t help but to ignore him and admire his car. I really want one of that collection but unfortunately, Hudson got one and I am not fond of the idea that we have the same car so I was taken aback and picked Porsche instead. “Nice talking to you, lady in red.” “Oh,” I acted as if I was shocked by his presence. “I didn’t notice you.” “How would you notice me if you’re too busy admiring my car and wishing it's yours?” I glared at him. He smirked. “Don’t threaten me with that glare, Skylar. I won’t get intimidated by it.” I rolled my eyes on him. “Damira’s waiting for us,” he added. He walked towards a modern building with a silver and metallic accent and I immediately followed him kahit na inis na inis ako sa kaniya. Hindi naman na bago dahil lagi naman akong naiinis sa presensya niya at alam na alam niya rin kung paano ako iinisin. I eyed the building in front of us. Sa unang tingin, aakalain mong simpleng building lang ang papasukan namin. But as they say, don’t judge a book by its cover. This simple building houses our organization, the El Carter. It was founded since 1970 and I became one of them when I was nine. The goal of El Carter is clear, to eliminate whoever or whatever there is to eliminate, mostly those people whose presence in the world cannot be tolerated. We get orders from The Hub, the El Carter’s own version of dark web, and we execute it. The Hub also decides whoever in El Carter must perform the said mission. No one, not even the President, can demand for a change. What The Hub wants, The Hub gets. We are the agents assigned to different missions, not only here in Washington but also in other parts of the world. Each missions are carried out by two to four people which plays different roles per mission. In my case, I work with a single person and that is, unfortunately, Hudson. Our organization also has this special autonomy which means that we are free from any jurisdiction of the government itself. We can also perform whatever we have on our plate without any hindrances and again, not even the President of this country. Hudson entered the elevator and I followed. He clicked on the button that will take us to the secret ground floor of this building. This is a special elevator that only El Carter’s member can enter. After arriving at the ground floor, we walked through a tunnel that will lead us to the El Carter’s headquarters. Sa lugar na ‘to binibigay ang magiging utos sa amin na nanggagaling pa sa Hub and this is the area for briefing. After here, we have to go to El Carter’s Armory to pick up our weapons or go straight to our houses since we were entitled to our very own weapon collection. “Hey, Damira,” bungad ni Hudson kay Damira na prenteng nakaupo at mukhang may pinagkakaabalahan sa laptop nito. When she saw us, she immediately closed it to welcome us. She looked very presentable in her formal wear. Hindi rin halata ang edad nito dahil na rin sa galing niyang magdala ng damit at mag-ayos ng sarili. She’s El Carter’s secretary. “How’s your last mission?” she asked. “It was easy,” Hudson answered. Hindi ko naman naiwasang maparolyo ng mata dahil sa tono ng pananalita niya. Clearly, he’s boasting but if I am not mistaken, mas marami akong napatumba sa mga kalaban kesa sa kaniya. He’s a sniper, he handles everyone na nasa labas ng perimeter while I was on combat and I, well, handles everyone. Mapalabas o mapaloob, kailangan kong mabantayan dahil ako lang ang nasa ground. Kung tutuusin, two-manned missions are quite dangerous but we were trained for it and we don’t want to disappoint El Carter. “How about you, Brielle?” she asked me. Halos kilabutan naman ako nang marinig ko ang second name ko mula sa kaniya. We’ve been working together for years pero hindi ko kayang masanay sa kung paano niya ako tawagin. “Well, I was too busy cleaning Hudson’s mess,” I answered. “Woah.” I looked at Hudson at tila hindi ito makapaniwala sa sinabi ko. “It was just a one man, Skylar. Don’t be too harsh on me.” “One man who might’ve killed me, Hudson.” “But you’re here, still alive and kicking, lady. Give me some credit.” “I am still alive, thanks to myself.” I flipped my hair as I watched how his jaw dropped. Napailing-iling pa ito sa inasta ko. Wala ng bago sa kung paano naming pakitunguhan ang isa’t isa. For pete’s sake, I’ve known him since I became a part of El Carter’s training. Alam na alam ko na ang galaw ng bituka niya. “Have some decency and stop arguing inside my office,” Damira said. Wala naman akong ibang nagawa kundi ang manahimik. She went back to her table at saka may kung anong kinuha mula sa drawer na naroon. “Here’s your passport and other documents to support your identities for your next mission,” she said then handed us a passport, a plane ticket and papers secured in a white folder. Agad kong binuklat ‘yon isa-isa. It was a profile of people that aren’t familiar to me but one thing’s for sure, someone wanted them gone, asap. “Since you’re going to India, we handled everything including the need for visa on arrival to that country. You both know the power of El Carter, you can easily bypass the customs,” she added. Napangisi pa ako nang makitang panibagong identity na naman ang nakalagay sa passport ko. May iilang papeles din na nagpapatunay na ako si Nathalie Scott. I prefer Skylar Brielle dahil ang bantot ng Nathalie. “Why do they want these people gone?” Hudson asked. “Business competition,” Damira answered. Binuksan pang muli nito ang laptop niya at may kung anong tinipa roon at saka iniharap sa amin ‘yon. It was a footage. Mula roon ay malinaw ko ring nakikita ang tatlo na nakasama sa mga kailangan naming trabauhin. “Last month, an ambush happened in India. The culprits took the modern weapons that were set to be delivered to one of the most powerful businessmen in the industry. I can’t name him due to protocols.” “Go on,” Hudson said. “It was a great set back to his business and he wanted a revenge. Upon conducting their own investigation, they found out that another powerful organization was behind the ambush. He does have the power but doesn’t have the man who fits in the job so he hired us to eliminate his enemies,” she explained. “He’s rich and I am sure he can hire not just one organization to finish the job so why us? Why El Carter?” Hudson asked. “Look closely to profile of the second man,” Damira ordered. I browsed through the files related to the second man she’s talking about. “Oh, damn,” Hudson muttered. “He’s still alive?” “Lionel was one of us but he betrayed El Carter. The businessman I am talking about knew about that. I am not surprised because given his reputation, he must’ve had a lot of connections. He said that a revenge is sweeter if it will be done in two reasons at one specific target.” “We’ll make Lionel pay for what he did to us and at the same time, make him pay for what his organization did to our client,” I said. “Everything’s settled, then,” said Hudson. “Let’s take him down.” “Not so fast, Hudson,” Damira said. “He was a member of us so he knew how we work, how we move, how we go through things. You might have a hard time dealing with Lionel. He’s smart and a pain in the ass.” I stood up, full of confidence. “You know us as well, Damira. We’re smarter than that idiot.” “Really, huh?” Hudson asked me as he crossed his arms. “How do you say so?” “If he’s smart, he’ll investigate about the perimeter he’s in, Hudson,” I said. “If there are any surveillance cameras, if what time do people stop passing by at that certain area and other important and smart things that a real agent has to consider. I don’t even recognize him as an ex-member of the organization because he’s too careless and being careless isn’t part of our vocabulary.” Hudson chuckled at saka tumayo na. Hindi ko alam kung para saan ang pagtawa niya because clearly, I am not kidding. That Lionel guy brought shame to El Carter’s reputation. “I guess, my partner and I have to go, Damira. We still have a lot to pack.” “It is not a vacation, Hudson,” Damira said. I chuckled a little because of her tone. It’s as if she’s warning Hudson to not make this mission as another vacation trip. The last time he did that, we messed up. Big time. “It is not but it can be,” Hudson cockily answered then looked at me. “Let’s go.” I gave Damira a simple nod as a farewell gesture and she gave me one in return. Proudly, I exited her dungeon. Pare-pareho ring abala ang mga tao na nasa headquarters. Normal naman sa amin ang ganitong senaryo dahil madalas naman talagang busy ang lahat sa kani-kaniyang misyon. “Do you want to go to the Armory or go straight home?” Hudson asked me. “Armory,” I simply answered. Wala naman na siyang sinabi at sumunod na lang sa akin papunta sa Armory. Buildings were normally created to add extra floors on an existing floor to make it higher and higher but in our case, it was the opposite. Ground floor houses the headquarters while the Armory can be found on the next lower floor. Mahirap sa isang organisasyon na gumalaw kung maraming nakakaalam sa kinalalagyan no’n so the leaders decided to designed it this way. “You’re back,” bungad sa amin ni Denver, our weapon specialist. Napatingin ako agad sa mga bagong koleksyon niya ng mga baril habang busy naman makipagcatch up sa kaniya si Hudson na akala mo naman ay ang tagal nawala. We’re out for just a week, please. “So, where to next?” he asked. “India,” simply, I answered without taking a glance on him. “Close combat?” he asked, I nodded as an answer. I went to his collection of hand guns and picked a Ruger Lightweight and a Smith and Wesson bago humarap muli kay Hudson. “Which one?” “I prefer the Ruger Lightweight,” he answered. “It’s highly concealable given its weight plus it’s a nine mm caliber with seven rounds magazine. You’ll be dealing with three people so it’s more than enough.” “Its capacity’s seven plus one, not just seven,” I corrected him. “But I prefer Smith and Wesson as main and Ruger as back up.” Denver laughed because of my answer. “You asked me yet create your own choice,” Hudson sarcastically said. I shrugged my shoulders. Humarap naman ito kay Denver para magtanong sa mga sniper rifle dahil ‘yon ang kailangan niya. Tumingin lang ako sa ibang koleksyon nila. I picked up a dagger but chose to not picked any grenades since I don’t want this mission to be very bloody. We’re dealing with a priest and friends here. “If you’re dealing with really long range shot, I suggest Barrett M82A1,” Denver said. “It can shoot up to one thousand five hundred yards plus few yards longer than that. Any ranges that are too long, bullet drop might start interfering.” “I can work with that,” said Hudson. “We added little features to every guns here in Armory. The hands guns were now built in with sound and flash suppressors. Put it in the right angle and you’re good to go. Even the experts can’t tell where the shot came from. The sniper rifles are now equipped with facial recognition and follow-me system. Allow it to settle on a specific target and sure bull’s eye once fired. All of our guns are now built in with special self destruct program and a target detector. Using the special smartphone we built, you can monitor whether your bullet made it to the target or if your target managed to escape. By using the same phone, you can program it to self destruct. Give it not more than ten seconds and you can act like nothing happened.” I smiled. “Perfect.”