Codename: Mythos

Chapter 8

Sa loob ng C&A Industries main tower, tahimik ang executive floor. Ang mga ilaw sa hallway ay naka-dim, at ang mga blinds sa opisina ni Eliana ay nakababa. Pero hindi ito nangangahulugang walang nangyayari.

Eliana stood by the window, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the rain-slicked skyline of Makati. Sa kanyang likuran, may hawak na tablet si Sally Martinez, nagbabasa ng report na kakarating lang mula sa internal surveillance team.

“William Arizobal was seen entering EcoForm’s San Juan facility kaninang umaga,” sabi ni Sally. “No official appointment. No paper trail. Pero may confirmation na kinausap niya si Elise.”

Hindi kumibo si Eliana. Pero bahagyang kumunot ang kanyang noo.

“Hindi ba’t hindi sila close?” tanong niya.

“Wala tayong record na nagkita na sila before,” sagot ni Sally. “Pero may pattern. William’s been monitoring Paulo’s movements for years. And he’s been quietly tracing Elise’s name in internal logs.”

Eliana turned slowly. “So he’s been watching her.”

Sally nodded. “And now he’s made contact.”

Tahimik si Eliana. She walked to her desk and opened a drawer. Mula roon, kinuha niya ang isang lumang photo—isang family gathering noong bata pa sila. Kung tutuusin, hindi ‘yon family gathering ng mga Cazares lang. Lahat ng pamilya sa circle nila ay nandoon, kasama na ang namayapang ama at tiyuhin ni William. Nandoon si Paulo, nakangiti. Sa likod, halos hindi kita, si William. Laging nasa gilid. Laging tahimik.

“Paulo underestimated him,” Eliana murmured. “I won’t.”

“Want me to flag him?” tanong ni Sally.

“No,” Eliana said. “Let’s observe. For now.”

---

Sa San Juan warehouse, Elise was reviewing the latest Echo Layer data habang si Bianca ay abala sa pag-track ng mga bagong galaw ni Carmela.

“She’s getting bolder,” sabi ni Bianca. “Nag-attempt siyang mag-access ng Tier 1 archive kanina. Hindi niya alam na dummy file ‘yon.”

“Anong reaction?” tanong ni Elise.

“She flagged it as corrupted. Then tried again using a different clearance ID.”

Elise smirked. “She thinks she’s clever.”

“She thinks she’s invisible,” dagdag ni Bianca. “Pero hindi niya alam na siya ang pinaka-maingay sa lahat.”

Elise leaned back. “Let her keep digging. The deeper she goes, the more we’ll know about Eliana’s current playbook.”

Pumasok si William, may hawak na tablet. “I rerouted her access. She’s now inside a sandbox environment. Lahat ng data na nakikita niya, tayo ang may gawa.”

“Good,” Elise said. “Let’s see how long before she reports back.”

William placed the tablet on the table. “Also, I found something.”

Elise raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”

“May dormant protocol sa loob ng Vireon system. Hindi ko pa nabubuksan lahat, pero may signature na hindi sa’yo galing.”

Napatingin si Bianca. “You mean someone else planted it?”

William nodded. “It’s old. Buried deep. Pero may timestamp—eight years ago. Around the time Vireon was still in beta.”

Dumilim ang mukha ni Elise. “That was before the board approved full deployment.”

“Exactly,” sang-ayon ni William. “And whoever planted it had admin-level access.”

Tahimik si Elise. She stood and walked to the whiteboard, where a web of names and arrows sprawled across the surface. She picked up a red marker and drew a new circle.

“Possible insider,” she said. “O baka isang taong gumamit ng credentials ko.”

Bianca crossed her arms. “Sa tingin mo si Paulo ‘yon?”

“Or someone working for him,” sabi ni Elise. “Or Eliana.”

William stepped closer. “We can trace the code lineage. I’ll need a few hours.”

“You have it. Gamitin mo ang lahat ng kailangan mong gamitin.”

---

Sa kabilang dako ng lungsod, sa isang private lounge sa loob ng isang luxury hotel, nagkita sina Paulo at Eliana. Parehong tahimik.

Parehong may iniisip.

“She’s moving faster than we expected,” sabi ni Paulo. “And now William’s involved.”

Eliana sipped her wine. “Hindi ko inaasahan ‘yon. Pero hindi ako worried.”

“Hindi mo siya kilala,” sagot ni Paulo. “He’s not like me.”

“Exactly. Kaya malaki ang magiging pakinabang.”

Napakunot ang noo ni Paulo. “You’re planning to use him?”

“If he’s already inside, then we use that. Feed him what we want him to see. Hayaan nating isipin niya na tinutulungan niya si Elise.”

“She won’t fall for that.”

Eliana smiled. “Hindi naman kailangan. Ang kailangan lang ay maniwala si William that he’s in control.”

---

Back at the warehouse, kalat na kalat na ang dilim. Bianca had gone upstairs to rest, leaving Elise and William alone in the vault. Tahimik ang paligid maliban sa tunog ng mga keystroke at mahinang ugong ng servers.

“Do you ever sleep?” tanong ni William habang patuloy sa pag-type.

“Not when I’m winning,” sagot ni Elise.

William chuckled. “You sound like Paulo.”

Napalingon si Elise, malamig ang tingin. “Don’t compare me to him.”

“I wasn’t,” William said. “I was testing you.”

“Passed?” tanong ni Elise.

“Barely,” he teased.

Hindi alam ni Elise ang sasabihin kung kaya pinili niyang manahimik. Then Elise spoke again.

“Why now?” tanong niya. “Why show up today?”

William leaned back. “Because I saw the pattern. Paulo’s been too quiet. Eliana’s been too loud. And you—”

Tumigil sa pagsasalita si William. Hindi alam ni Elise kung nag-aalangan ba ang lalaki o kung ano pa man. Still, she felt he will continue anyway so Elise remained silent.

“You’ve been too precise. Too clean. That’s not how Cazares women operate.”

Elise smirked. “Maybe I’m not like the rest.”

“Or maybe you’re the most dangerous of them all.”

Elise didn’t deny it.

---

Nang sumunod na araw, bumalik si Carmela sa opisina ng finance department. She looked calm, confident, even smug. Sa isip niya, she had just uncovered a critical vulnerability in EcoForm’s prototype archive. Ibig sabihin ay nagtagumpay siya sa misyong ibinigay sa kanya ng mentor niyang si Eliana.

Nagpadala siya ng encrypted message sa isang burner device.

> “Tier 1 breach possible. Will confirm in 48 hours. Preparing extraction protocol.”

Hindi niya alam, ang mismong mensaheng iyon ay dumaan sa Echo Layer. At sa loob ng ilang segundo, nakarating na ito kaagad kay Elise.

“She’s ready to move,” sabi ni Bianca. “She thinks she’s ahead.”

“Perfect,” Elise said. “Let’s give her something to steal.”

Siya namang pagpasok ni William, dala ang isang bagong file. “Natunton ko na ang dormant protocol. It was injected through a legacy port—tatlo lang ang may access doon.”

“Let me guess,” Elise said. “Paulo, Eliana, and me.”

Tumango si William. “Pero ang code signature ay tugmang-tugma sa encryption style ni Eliana. She’s been inside Vireon longer than you think.”

Humigpit ang mga panga ni Elise. “She’s been preparing for this war since before I even knew it existed.”

Nag-angat ng tingin si Bianca. “Then maybe it’s time we stop playing defense.”

Napatitig sa mapa sa dingding si Elise. “Prepare Tier 2.”

---

That night, Elise stood on the rooftop of the warehouse. The city lights flickered in the distance, blurred by the mist. Sa kanyang kamay ay hawak niya ang isang lumang pendant—isang bagay na ibinigay sa kanya ni Claudia, ang inang tahimik lang na nanonood sa mga galaw

ng pamilya. Narinig niya ang mga yabag sa likod niya. Hindi na siya lumingon.

“You always come up here alone?” tanong ni William.

“Only when I need to remember,” sagot ni Elise.

“Remember what?”

“That I’m still human.”

Hindi kumibo si William. Then he stepped closer, but not too close.

“You don’t have to do this alone,” sabi ng lalaki.

Elise turned to him. “I’ve always done it alone.”

“Maybe that’s the problem.”

Nagtagpo ang mga mata nilang dalawa. Walang kumikilos, walang nagsasalita. Pero pareho nilang hindi maipagkakaila na may tensyon. May katahimikan na mas malalim pa sa mga salitang hindi nila binibitawan.

Si Elise ang unang umiwas at sumuko sa tagisan ng tingin. “We move tomorrow. Tier 2 goes live.”

William nodded. “Then let’s make it count.”