Chapter 6: Sleeping Beauty
1567 Words
Rain immediately went to Raven's private lift that will bring them to the fire exit on the second floor. Hindi paman siya nakarating sa elevator, nagring na ang kanyang cellphone. Mabilis naman niya itong sinagot nang makitang si Calder iyon.
"The fire exit is blocked, Sire. Do you want us to finish them already?"
Napahilot siya ng sentido. "No. No you can't do that. We cannot start a chaos in the hospital. Hangga't maaari walang magpapaputok unless they will strike first," mahigpit niyang bilin.
He knows how important this hospital is to Raven. He doesn't wanna cause trouble or else the hospital will be out into bad publicity which isn't a good thing.
"Sí, Sire." Tipid na tugon ni Calder. (Yes, spanish word)
"Just watch them carefully. Look into why they are after this woman and find Mattias whereabouts too. I want that bastard's head alive, Calder," he ordered with full authority.
"Copy that. Be careful, Sire."
Mabilis niyang pinatay ang tawag at binalikan si Raven na papasok na sa opisina nito kasama si Julie.
"What's wrong dude?" Nag-aalala nitong tanong.
"The exits are blocked. I will use your chopper, Raven. You need to come with me.``
Tumango naman ito. Marahas na nag-angat ng tingin si Julie sa kanilang dalawa. "What about me?"
"Calder will come up to make you safe, Julie," aniya bago tinalikuran ang mga ito at pinuntahan ang babaeng iniwan niya sa hallway ng ospital.
Iwinaksi niya ang kumot na nakatabing sa katawan nito at walang kaabog-abog na binuhat ang dalaga bago sumunod kay Raven patungo sa rooftop ng ospital. Habang naglalakad siya palapit sa chopper, inilipad ng hangin ang kanyang buhok.
Unintentionally, he look at the woman who was sleeping in his arms. He can't help to scoffed. She's lucky that he needs to know what's on Mattias mind dahil kung wala pa itong pakinabang sa kanya ay ibinagsak na niya ang babae.
What a nuisance!
Raven piloted the helicopter without Mattias men noticing them. Napailing na lang siya. What an idiot strategy to catch them.
Hindi nagtagal, lumapag na ang chopper sa helipad ng kanyang mansion. Both of them went downstairs as he was still carrying the unconscious woman in his arms. Napangiwi siya ng maalalang hindi pa pala niya alam kung ano ang pangalan nito. Damn, this only means one thing. He needs to contact Isaac.
He gently put her on bed in one of the rooms in his mansion. Raven put back her dextrose while he got out of the room to call Tuazon.
"Sup Velasquez," masayang bungad nito sa kabilang linya.
"I need your help here," nayayamot niyang wika.
"Woah, really? What is it?" Tila siyang siya nitong tanong.
"I have a woman here. I don't know her kaya puntahan mo ako dito," aniya at agad itong pinatayan ng tawag.
"I need to go back to the hospital, Rain. Just call me if something happens to her." Raven walked out of the room, fixing his coat.
Tumango siya. "Thanks, dude."
"No problem, dude," tinapik siya nito sa balikat bago bumalik sa rooftop.
Minutes later, Isaac came without knocking his door. Pagod nitong ibinagsak ang katawan sa isa sa mga sofa sa salas. "Where is the woman?"
"Upstairs. Dig everything you can find about her. I'm gonna go to my office, dude. Look after her," aniya at tumayo na.
"Mahal ang talent fee ko ha," nakangisi nitong wika.
"I know, young master." He scoffed sarcastically before turning his back on him.
Tinawagan na rin niya ang kanyang secretary na malalate siya sa pagpasok. To hell with those board members. They don't have any choice but to wait for him anyway. He went to his garage and drove his La Voiture Noire to his office.
All throughout the meeting, halos walang pumapasok sa isip niya. He was busy thinking about what to do with the woman in his house. Should he let her stay? Maybe he can kick her out after he gets a hold of Mattias.
He went home late afternoon. Pagdating niya'y naroon parin si Isaac at abala sa kanyang laptop. He lazily sat on the couch beside him and took a peek on what he was doing.
"Is she awake?" Walang gana niyang tanong.
"Still asleep safe and sound," Isaac blabbered.
He sighed. "What about the thing that I asked you? Any update?"
Isaac clicked something on his laptop and showed it to him. He saw a picture of a young gorgeous girl who resembled the woman above. The only difference is the woman in that picture looks so lively and blooming unlike the woman upstairs who looks like a mess.
"She's Nahara Olivia Ramirez. Her mother is Anna Ramirez who died eight years ago due to a chronic disease but something is odd, Rain," kwento pa ni Isaac.
"Why?" He asked with a bored expression on his face.
"The cause of death seemed like tampered..." Isaac trailed off.
"What do you mean? That her mother was killed?"
Isaac nodded. "Seems like that but that's only a conclusion. Those things needs further investigation. Do you want me to dig more?"
He shook his head. "Nope. I'm not interested in her life."
"Okay. But after her mother died, she went out of radar. Only her signatures were present in the money and furnitures transactions which seemed suspicious."
"She was chained and imprisoned for a long time," pagtatapos niya.
Isaac nodded in agreement. "This is the first time she got out after her mother's death and that was when her step-father Fabian Ramirez who married her mom when she was ten, sold her to the auction."
Agad na nakuha ang kanyang atensyon dahil sa pangalang binanggit ni Isaac. "Any connection and interaction of Fabian and Mattias?" He asked.
"None except from the auction. Do you want to see Fabian?"
Rain shook his head. "Let's just watch him for now . We're not gonna touch him unless it's necessary. I'll just put some men to look after him."
"Your call."
"What about his real father? Any information?" Tanong niya.
Isaac frustratedly combed his hair. "That's the annoying part. I can't find anything on that matter."
Kumunot ang kanyang noo. "Kumupas na ba ang galing mo sa paghahanap ng impormasyon Tuazon?"
"Do you want to die?" Isaac hissed.
But he just chuckled in return. "As if you can shoot me. You're just good with keyboards." Pang-aasar pa niya.
"Do you want us to have a shooting range and duel?" Panghahamon nito.
Maybe he stepped on his ego this time. Napakaiyakin naman. Tsk. "Sure dude. That'll be good practice. Kapag natalo kita you'll work for me with no payment for a year."
"At kapag natalo ka, give me your latest sports car," nakangisi nitong wika.
"Deal." He grinned in return.
"By the way, what are you going to do with Nahara?" Pag-iiba nito ng usapan.
He sighed and leaned his back on the couch. "She's going to stay with me for the time being."
Marahas itong napalingon sa kanya. "Are you sure? Do you think it's safe for her here?"
Sarkastiko siyang natawa. "I am harmless, Tuazon."
"You are but what about that alter of yours? What if he'll come out without being triggered?" Nag-aalala nitong tanong.
"Then that Nahara will be dead," he casually answered.
After talking to Isaac, he went upstairs to take a look at Nahara if she's awake but upon reaching her room, mahimbing paring natutulog ang babae. Habang pinagmamasdan ang mukha nito ay may imaheng naglalaro sa isipan niya. He shook his head and was about to walked out nang makita niyang umuungol ito.
The aircon was on high temperature yet Nahara is sweating a lot. Maya maya lang ay humihikbi na ito. A lone tear escaped from her eyes. Kumunot ang kanyang noo. He doesn't know what to do. Should he call Raven? But calling a doctor is a bit of an exaggeration, right?
Dahan dahan niyang idinampi ang kanyang kamay sa noo nito at marahang hinaplos ang itim nitong buhok pababa. Her small sobs slowly faded as her breath become relax and even. She's having a nightmare. That made him curious what did she dream about. Nang masiguro niyang payapa na itong natutulog, itinigil na niya ang paghaplos sa buhok nito.
He fixed her blanket and left the room.
......
Nagising ang diwa ni Nahara dahil nakaramdam siya ng pagkauhaw. Dahan dahan niyang iminulat ang kanyang mata at bumungad sa kanya ang kulay gintong kisame. Kumurap kurap siya. She remembered that she collapse in the middle of the rain.
Napangiwi siya. Is she dead? Nasa langit na ba siya? May chandelier din pala doon?
Pinakiramdaman niya ang sarili. Magaan na ang kanyang katawan. Maybe she's floating? Tapos na ba ang paghihirap niya.
"Oh, glad that the sleeping beauty is awake before I could give my poisonous kiss. What makes you sleep that long? f*****g wake up, Aurora." Isang sarkastikong boses ang tuluyang gumising sa nanaginip niyang diwa.
Agad siyang napabalikwas ng bangon mula sa kanyang kinahihigaan at literal na nanlaki ang bilugan niyang mga mata nang makita ang pamilyar na lalaking prenteng nakaupo habang nakadekwatro ang mga paa sa harap ng kama niya.
Hindi siya nagkakamali. Nasa bahay siya ni Velasquez at wala sa langit!
"Now that you're already awake, I want to inform you that you will be staying here with me inside this house," malamig nitong bigkas bago tumayo at lumabas na ng silid...
- Writer
