Hunt Down Rose

Chapter 2: Elimination (Part V)

Out of curiosity, I started pulling some folders from the ground along with a few pictures. I was horribly surprised by the photos that I saw.

Scanning all of them I remembered certain cases that I’ve read throughout the NBI database regarding salvage victims during the revolution. However, unlike all of the case files, these are all accurate ones with pictures on how they were tortured and so on.

I pulled some drawers and started reading some of the files with the dates from 1980 to 1998.

This was the time interval of their business transactions with other foreign companies on certain occasions. Without any time to waste, I grabbed anything that I can take as I descend upwards. Then I noticed two folders from a table located at the edge of this annoyingly illuminated room.

I swiftly took everything and used my jacket as a bag to carry all of the folders I’ve acquired before heading to the stairs. Using the radio as my guide to their actions, I did everything that I can to move their focus away from the basement floors as I kept on walking upstairs.

After a few seconds of running, I reached the fire exit door and a lot of police and guards are passing through me. Apparently most of them seem to be focused on the scene that I’ve made in the main lobby--- it’s only a matter of disguise in order for me to reach the disposal room safely.

The security cameras are also back in its track, with that I presume they must have found the bug we’ve placed on the server rooms. It won’t be long before they trace the source of it so fleeing from this is the best thing to do to prevent being bargained by the authorities.

Using the mop and a service cart on the side of the fire exit, I placed the jacket inside of the empty mop bucket. I started having a few conversations with the people around asking me if there are any weird incidents from the area and so on to dodge suspicion.

I started walking straight to the disposal area checking my earpiece if the connections back to normal.

“Hello? Still there?” I asked on the line waiting for Carlos to reply.

After a few seconds of this annoying beeping sound, he finally replied.

“What the hell happened down there? The signal was disrupted when you were down the basement.”

“I know but everything is fine now. I got what I needed.”

He started typing again on the other side.

“You better hurry dude. We got police everywhere and my legs are starting to stiffen up.”

“Alright, I’m on my way,” I replied to him grabbing the jacket and passing through the door leading me back to the alley.

I crossed the street and went to the van where Carlos is in and tossed him the jacket.

“We got some gold brother!”

“Pfft! If only this was real gold.” He replied to me shoving the jacket to his side.

“Come on we better leave this place and read what’s inside this shit.”

We went inside the van and left the place, going straight back to Carlos’ house somewhere in Marikina.

It’s a good thing that traveling in different cities isn’t as hard as it seems today than during the past 13 years in this country. I can still remember groups of military soldiers checking each and every vehicle on checkpoints, asking you if you did this and that, apparently, during that time I already had my mind infused with the reality that everything and anything in this world corrodes in time even life itself. Every place has an underlying sin in the eyes of the people they govern.

Going through the bridge we went through a street near this certain sports complex leading us into a private subdivision filled with trees on the entrance. In approximation, it took us at least thirty minutes to get into this place without any traffic. I’m glad to say that I can have a decent sleep on or under a couch with some chips and bread ready on the table with the sight of these files placed beautifully in front of me.

“Here we are. I hope you are not as…“ He looked at me on the passenger’s seat checking if I dozed off. Unfortunately, my eyes are open like an owl in the midst of the hunting season.

“Ok, never mind me if I asked that.” He said to himself driving through the streets as we reached his so-called humble home.

As we went inside, he turned the lights on and I saw a mess in all corners of this place. The tables are filled with papers and spoiled food, the stairs are somehow covered in dust and the living room is full of trash. Although in all of the places that I’ve looked on, the sink is clean of dishes and other sorts of stuff. No wonder he had a hard time getting over a dead rabbit in days. Even if the reasons are laughable enough, I can’t think of ways to clean this mess that he solemnly has. It’s 1 a.m. in the morning and I can’t sleep with these irritating objects in surroundings, might as well read these files while I’m still at it.

“Welcome to my home.” He said to me, as if he is proud of what he has.

“Yup, this place is a mess alright.” I incidentally stepped on a bitten off pizza.

“I’ll be cleaning that up as soon as we’re done with this case of yours.”

Sweeping the things on the living room table aside… “Actually it would be best if you clean this up as soon as I’m gone.”

“I guess you’re right.” He replied, pulling a few drinks in his fridge.

I opened my jacket and used it as a cover for the table, placing the folders on it in order. Some of the files I’ve recovered contained pictures and pieces of old newspaper clippings that I’m not sure if it’s relevant to what’s going on. As I continued arranging them Carlos on the other hand sat down on the floor with a few cans of beer on both of his hands and offered me a drink.

“I’m busy.” I said to him as I began scanning the files.

“So what’ve we got here?” He said to me drinking his beer at the same time.

Browsing each page, I noticed the transactions they’ve made in other companies abroad and there’s only one specific European company with the most records written here. It’s a pharmaceutical enterprise that sponsors aspirins and different pain relievers across Asia and other foreign groups. With this list, you can see the amount of cash flow within every month from 1995 to 1996. However, they stopped the exchange in December 14th of 1995, the time when the government started to ease the tension between the military forces and the activists. A lot of people were injured and most of them were found dead in their homes and such. It was a cruel atmosphere and almost every channel in every country has it all over the news.

Based on these transaction notices, they continued their business for up to 1996 by means of an agreement of selling information in exchange for nuclear research materials and plans for a power plant. Unfortunately, this idea was leaked into the public that’s why people from all over the country protested from this sudden act of the foreign group of companies. Nevertheless, their actions were prevented publicly, though the private sectors didn’t give themselves into the ordinances, they continued the project within a certain country in the south-east to try their latest nuclear technology. Tracing it won’t be necessary since what I’m after is the type of information these guys are hiding from in the first place.

“By the way…” I looked at him in his seemingly soggy state.

“Did you open all of the doors in the basement area?” I asked him

“Nope. My codes were blocked as soon as the signal was jammed downstairs. Couldn’t even think of any reasons how they were able to detect the device in just a few minutes, given the fact that the device was placed on the least perceived source drive.”

“Someone must’ve been ahead of us.”

“Ahead of us? That seems legit.” He started scratching his head in curiosity.

“Earlier, among all of the doors I’ve checked, most of them were already open including the so-called archive room. I was annoyingly pissed off when I saw a vault-like structure, the opposite of what we thought of. What was surprising is that the vault was already open when I went inside and so the place trashed around like a child’s playground.”

“hmmm. That is strange.”

Leaving him on his own train of thought, I continued reading the files until I hit the folders that I found on the table inside the archive room.

Then as I began scrolling my eyes on the first page, an old feeling resurfaced in my veins.

“This is…” I said to myself in shock.

Carlos looked at me with surprise and went closer to see what’s inside the folder.

“It’s that drug that your company used to manufacture isn’t it?” He said to me with a bit of hesitation in his tone.