Kabanata 3
1313 Words
"Virgel Agassi is a notorious loan shark. Ilang beses nang naglabas-masok ng kulungan dahil palaging umaatras ang nagkaso. My guess is his men threaten those who press charges against him."
Kali tapped his fingers on his desk after hearing what his cousin Kaius just said. He personally asked Kaius to find someone who can track the people who beat up Eldritch a week ago. Nahirapan pang paaminin ni Kali si Eldritch kaya kahapon lang nakakalap ng impormasyon ang imbestigador na kinuha ni Kaius. Katwiran ni Eldritch ay ayaw nitong madamay siya sa gulong pinasok nito.
Well, Kali was persistent. Mabilis siyang napalapit sa kaibigan kaya ganito siya kapursigidong tulungan ito. He's always been the friendly type but Eldritch is giving-off the kind of vibe that he couldn't resist. Hindi lamang niya matukoy kung ano iyon ngunit gustong-gusto talaga niya itong nakakasama sa mga gala niya kahit na hindi naman ito gaanong nakikihalubilo. Tila ba sapat na ang presensya nito kahit hindi mahilig sumabay sa mga trip niya.
Umayos ng upo si Kali. "But we can sue him, right? Eldritch said he only owed the guy around six hundred thousand but they want him to pay them roughly seven million."
Sumipol si Kaius. "Do they have a contract?"
"Nope," he said, popping the p. "And half of that six hundred k? Virgel made Eldritch put it on a bet."
"Kaya noong natalo, sinabing utang niya?" Kaius scoffed then shook his head. "Mautak ang putangina pero siya rin ang nagpahamak sa sarili niya."
"Can you make sure that guy and his men will never set foot outside prison anymore?" tanong niya kay Kaius. "Kawawa ang iba pang mabibiktima ng lintik na 'yon."
Ngumisi ito. "You know I'm a better lawyer than my brother." Tumindig na ito. "I'll give you a ring once I'm done finalizing everything. Don't forget to bring Eldritch to my office. I'd like to have a word. I need all the information that we can use against Virgel Agassi."
Tumango na lamang si Kali saka na ihinatid ang pinsan sa elevator. Pagkasakay ni Kaius ay nagtungo siya sa Engineers' office upang silipin ang ginagawa ng mga empleyado. Isang bagay na palagi rin naman niyang ginagawa. Ang kaibahan lang ngayon ay mas napapadalas ang pagdalaw niya roon sa hindi niya matukoy na dahilan.
Kali scanned the place. All of them looked busy on their own desks. He even spotted Eldritch on the far corner with a wrinkled forehead. Sinilip ni Kali ang kanyang relos. Alas diyes pa lamang ng umaga ngunit parang ilang beses nang nasabunutan ni Eldritch ang sarili. Ano na naman kayang pinoproblema nito?
Nakapamulsang humakbang si Kali palapit sa pwesto nito. Bigla naman itong umayos ng upo na tila nahiya sa kanya.
"Sir," bati nito.
Kali glanced at the blueprint that Eldritch was looking at. "Is there a problem with the design?"
Eldritch sighed as if he's getting frustrated. "Parang may mali, Sir pero hindi ko ma-figure out kung ano."
Kali leaned his hand on the drawing table, making his body bend a little lower and closer to Eldritch. His eyes were focused on the blueprint. Dahil may kaliitan ang ibang detalye ay kinailangan niyang ilapit pa nang kaunti ang kanyang mukha roon kaya halos ilang pulgada na lamang ang pagitan ng ulo nila ni Eldritch.
Wala naman siyang ibang ginawa ngunit parang naestatwa si Eldritch sa kinauupuan nito sa hindi niya malamang dahilan. It was like Eldritch became anxious all of a sudden. Inamoy tuloy niya ang kili-kili niya. Wala naman siyang putok pero bakit ganoon ito kumilos?
His forehead creased. "You okay?"
Napansin niyang mariing sumara ang mga labi ni Eldritch saka tumangu-tango nang hindi siya tinitingnan sa mga mata. "A-Ano lang ho, Sir. B-Baka lang ho sabihin ng ibang engineer ay . . . nagpapalakas ako sa inyo."
Kali sighed. "Do you often give a damn about people's opinion? 'Cause if you do, man you've got a lot of work to do."
Kumunot ang noo nito. "Ho?"
He tapped Eldritch's temple, making Eldritch purse his lips again for an unknown reason. "In your mindset, E. You gotta work on your mindset." He smirked. "Sometimes people's opinions don't really matter. It's just that, our inner critics agree with what they say because our own selves are against us." Tinapik niya ang balikat nito. "Make sure your inner cheerleader is louder than your inner critic."
Napansin ni Kali ang paglamlam ng mga mata nito. Maya-maya ay bumuntonghininga si Eldritch saka nito binasa ang ibabang labi. Kali accidentally watched him do that. Kung bakit ay hindi rin niya alam.
"Hindi ba mas may nararating kapag self-critical tayo, Sir?"
Kali suddenly went back to his senses. He inhaled a silent breath before he stood up straight. "Nah. You will get further in life when you understand that you're not perfect but you're ready to grow." He checked his watch. "I have a meeting in ten minutes. If you won't be able to find what's wrong with the blueprint, bring it to my office after an hour."
Tinapik na lamang niya ang balikat nito saka siya lumakad palabas. He went to the conference room and spoke to the finance and budget department. Ibinalita sa kanya ang quarterly reports at ilan pang mahahalagang impormasyong may kinalaman sa departamentong hawak niya.
The meeting lasted for less than an hour. Nang natapos ang meeting ay bumalik siya sa kanyang opisina para magtrabaho. Hindi naman nagtagal ay natanaw na niya si Eldritch na tila nahihiyang pumasok ng opisina niya.
"Sir," tawag nito habang hawak ang blueprint.
Kali leaned on his swivel chair and then pushed it a bit to the side before he gestured his hand. Mukhang nakuha naman ni Eldritch ang nais niyang sabihin. Lumakad ito palapit sa kanyang tabi saka tila kinakabahang inilatag ang blueprint sa kanyang desk.
He tried to look at the blueprint while Eldritch explained some parts of it. Tahimik siyang namangha sa bagong kaibigan dahil ultimo iyong pinakamaliliit na detalye ay kabisado nito. It was as if Eldritch had put so much effort into the project that he remembered it like the back of his hand.
"I figured out what the problem is," he said.
Tinitigan siya ng natural na mapungay na mga mata ni Eldritch. "Ano ho, Sir?"
Kali smirked. "You tend to over-analyze things. That's the problem." Umayos siya ng upo. "Why? Too scared to make mistakes so your mind makes you think that there's something wrong with the design, hmm?"
Umiwas ito ng tingin bago bumuntonghininga. "Hindi lang maiwasan, Sir. Ayoko lang na . . ." Eldritch pursed his lips. Napansin din ni Kali ang paglamlam ng mga mata nito na tila mayroon itong naalala. "Ayoko lang hong mapahiya ang kapatid ko at . . . syempre kayo. Hindi naman ho basta-basta 'tong ginagawa naming mga inhinyero. Buhay . . ." Eldritch sighed. "Buhay ho ang nakasalalay sa bawat kalkulasyon na ginagawa namin."
Kali stood up and gave Eldritch a brotherly tap on the back. "I hope you know that I hired you not just because of your sister's recommendation. My gut feeling told me that you deserve a chance, and so far, I do not regret the decision I made." He smirked. "Man, you can do things I can't. You should be proud of yourself."
Umaliwalas ang mukha ni Eldritch. "Pinupuri mo ata ako, Sir nang mayaya mo na naman akong mambabae."
He scoffed. "'Di ka rin naman sasama so why bother?"
"Pasensya na, Sir. 'Di bale ho, marami naman hong manginginom sa department natin."
"Nah. Let's just grab some beers later and talk about why you're so critical with yourself."
Ngumisi ito. "Baka magsisi kang ipinagpalit mo ang mga babae mo para sa akin, Sir Kali."
A smirk made its way to Kali's lips. "Then don't make me regret choosing you over all of the p*****s waiting to be licked by me . . ."
- Writer
