Mismatched

[7]

"Heaven!"

I was walking down the corridor, hoping to catch up with my lessons today because I woke up late. When Raph suddenly called out to me. I stopped and turned around to catch him running.

He was slightly panting when he reached me. "I just wanted to say, good job, for your great work yesterday. Kung hindi dahil sayo, siguro ay nakaalis na yong isang drug dealer na yon. And we'd chase him all over again. But now, everything is finally done because of your help."

Ngumisi ako sa kanya. I'm so flattered right now, pero syempre dapat ay magpaka-humble naman ako, diba? "Hindi, wala yon. It's the least I can do," nakangiti kong sabi. He patted my head.

"Good work, kiddo," sabi niya ulit. "I hope you'll lend us a hand if we ever need you again."

"Sure thing, boss!" I joked. He nodded and then he went on his way. Ako naman ay pumunta sa direksyon ng training room ko.

Habang naglalakad, biglang tumunog yung phone ko. Inilabas ko ito at chineck yung messages. Oh god, it's him again.

_._._._.

From: Unknown Sender

'grats heaven! I know u can do it! Wow, di ka pa nga official na agent, pero ang laki na ng itinulong mo *winky face*

Anyway! I got some info for you, again. Have you ever heard of the 'killer r****t'?

_._._._.

Agad kumunot ang noo ko. Killer r****t? Yes, actually, they've been trying to track him. I saw it on the news. He just started with his victims last week. Mga babae, from ages 18 above, ang mga binibiktima niya. Lalo na yung mga umuuwi mag-isa at walang kasama. He'll r***d them, then afterwards kill them. He's good at hiding and erasing evidence. Mukhang matalino nga itong binansagang 'killer r****t'.

_._._._.

To: Unknown Sender

Yeah, what about him?

_._._._.

_._._._.

From: Unknown Sender

What, no "it's all because of you, unknown sender now?

Ugh, bakit kasi gising pa tong si Riel? Damn it. Now, my plan's all ruined.

"Uhm, I can't sleep. I just wanted to get some air," palusot ko. Even though I wasn't wearing pajamas and I was all dressed up for a mission. I even got my sniper rifle with me.

"It's midnight," galit niyang sabi. Ngayon ko lang napansin ang suot niya. He's wearing a white sando. And boxers. Damn it. Yun lang ang suot niya ngayon! Oh my god, is he trying to seduce me or something?

"Yeah, so? Mabilis lang naman ako," sabi ko and tried to smile.

"No. I'm going with you," sabi niya as he turned back to go to his room. He'll probably get his car keys.

"W-what?! Hindi na! Kaya ko na mag-isa! Pramis, mabilis lang ako!" sabi ko and I got all flustered when he didn't change his clothes. Damn it, Riel. Why are you doing this to me?

"It's either you don't go outside or you're coming with me," giit niya.

I exhaled. "Fine. Tara na," sabi ko as we headed out of the apartment. We entered his car and he started driving.

"Where to?" malumanay na tanong niya. Huh. His voice changed.

"Kahit saan. Just, drive around," sabi ko. It was night. The stars were out. And we're here driving around the city. Wow, how romantic.

"Hey, I'm sorry. Am I being too..." he started. Napatingin ako sa kanya but he was staring right at the road. I smiled a little.

"Clingy? Overprotective? Yes," sabi ko. I watched as his reaction shifted. He looked a bit hurt. Oh. "But it's ok. I wanted you to be that way," I added. It's true.

"Y-you sure? I can try to give you some sp—"

"Don't you even dare, Andriel Knight," masungit kong sabi. Space? Tapos ano, hindi niya na ako papansinin? Hindi na ako ang first priority niya? No. Way. Dude.

Napangisi siya. "Wow, aren't you being greedy?" he joked.

"Psh." Iyon lang ang nasabi ko. "Akin ka lang kasi," I whispered.

"May sinasabi ka?" tanong niya.

"W-wala!" Oh my god, Heaven. Anong sinabi mo? Wala, wala kang sinabi. Erase.

Napatawa na lamang siya. "We should head home. Di ba may exam ka bukas?" sabi niya. Tumango ako at nagsimula na siyang mag-drive pabalik ng apartment.

Napatingin ako sa labas ng bintana. May... dalawang babae. Naglalakad sila, nagkwe-kwentuhan. Agad akong nag-alala. Bakit gabing-gabi na at nandito pa rin sila? Paano kung sila ang susunod na biktimahin?

Pero naalala ko, isa-isa lang mambiktima ang killer r****t. Hindi naging dalawa. Laging isa lang. At siguro naman dahil magkasama ang dalawang babaeng yon, hindi sila gagalawin, diba?

Pero hindi ko pa rin maiwasan ang mag-alala. Hanggang sa nakabalik na kami sa apartment ay nag-aalala ako. But, they'll be fine, right? Yeah. They'll be fine.

"Heaven!" Kakalabas ko lang ng classroom nang may tumawag sa akin. Naramdaman kong may umakbay sa akin. "There's my favorite girl. I missed you," nakangising sabi ni Ramon.

"Go away," I grunted as I rolled my eyes. Damn, hindi na ako tatantanan ng lalaking to, ano?

"Hindi mo ba ako namiss?" pacute niyang tanong.

"Dude! Isang araw lang tayong hindi nagkita!" giit ko. Tapos ay tinanggal ko ang kamay niyang nakaakbay sa akin.

"Wow, feisty huh? May problema ka ba, babe?" tanong niya at sinabayan niya ako sa paglalakad. Ugh. I hate this Ramon. Bring me my sweet Ramon back. Mas kaya ko pang tiisin yon, kaysa sa ugok na ito.

"No," sabi ko.

"Congrats on your operation nga pala. I wasn't wrong to trust you. You did it!" He nudged me with his elbow. I nudged him back. Harder. Napa-aray siya. Buti nga sayo.

"Yeah, yeah. I know, I'm so great," sabi ko at ngumisi.

"Hey, let's go out. My treat." Kinuha niya ang kamay ko.

Hinila ko ang kamay ko pabalik. "Sure, saan tayo?" I can't say no to free food, can I?

Dinala niya ako sa Pizzahut. Rich kid na siya eh. Now that he's handling his father's company, may karapatan na siya sa pera. And yeah, he's been trying to show off since that happened.

I grabbed a slice of pizza and began to gobble it up. "Thanks for the meal," I said with my mouth full. He cringed.

"No prob, babe. Basta para sayo. Also it's my way of thanking you for your service," he said and shrugged. He wasn't eating though, ako lang ang kumakain. He ordered two boxes of pizza tapos ako lang ang kumakain nito lahat. It's my fifth pizza this time.

"Oh please, I did that for myself. Not for you. Still, you're welcome," sabi ko na lamang at nagpatuloy na kumain.

Biglang tumunog ang cellphone ni Ramon. Tinignan niya ito. Pinanood ko lamang siya habang kumakain. Unti-unting nagbago ang reaksyon niya.

"What's wrong?" nag-aalala kong tanong.

"The killer r****t is in our town," mahinang sabi niya. Kinilabutan ako sa sinabi niya at napatigil ako sa pagkain. W-what...?

"Bakit? May nangyari ba?" tanong ko.

"Yeah. May biktima kagabi. Like all the other victims, she was r***d first then killed. Sa park natagpuan ang bangkay niya," seryosong sabi ni Ramon.

Park? Dinaanan namin ni Riel yon kahapon. And... and... doon ko nakita yung dalawang babaeng naglalakad palayo ng park. Don't tell me isa sa kanila...?

"Iisa lang yung biktima?"

"Of course, what do you expect? Isa-isa lang naman mambiktima ang killer r****t right?" sabi ni Ramon. Pinatay niya ang phone niya at napabuntong-hininga. That must mean hindi isa sa dalawang babae yon, diba? Imposibleng sila ang biniktima. Kung ganon, nasa'n yung isa?

"This is bad. Gabi pa naman umuuwi ang pinsan kong babae. I'm scared she might be next."

"Don't worry. I'll tell Raphael. Siguro ay aakto siya agad para mahuli itong killer r****t. He'd regret coming in our place, our territory," seryoso kong sabi.

"Wow, nakakatakot ka. It turns me on," natatawang sabi ni Ramon at kinindatan niya ako.

"Oh f**k off," sabi ko at napairap na lamang. "Hey, drop me off at the park."

The park, it was still too crowded even though a corpse was found here mere hours ago. Siguro dahil kampante silang sa gabi lang nambibiktima ang killer r****t? Bilang pa rin ang mga pamilyang nagpipicnic ngayon. May mga nagdidate rin.

Hay. There's nothing I can find here. Wala na ang bangkay, nasa kamay na ng police. So bakit nga pala ako nagpunta dito?

Umupo ako sa isang bench. Oh well. Umalis na si Ramon. Malapit na raw kasi ang next class niya. While ako naman ay tapos na sa lahat.

Napatingin ako sa babaeng katabi ko. She looked the same age as me. Mahaba ang kanyang buhok. Nagbabasa siya ng isang libro. May suot siyang malaking salamin. But still, may mukha pa rin siya.

"Hi."

Napatigil siya sa pagbabasa at napatingin siya sa akin. She looked shy as hell. How adorable. "H-hi."

"I'm Heaven nga pala! Mahilig ka bang magbasa dito?" tanong ko.

Tumango naman siya. She's not much of a talker. Nagpatuloy na lang siya sa pagbabasa, mainly because she's getting awkward.

"Anyway, wag kang papagabi dito. Baka ikaw naman ang susunod," sabi ko as a warning at tumayo na ako para umalis. Time to go to the HQ.

"Raph! Raph!" Hinanap ko agad si Raphael nang nakarating ako sa HQ. Kasama ko si Riel. Pero nang nakita niya si Sheryl ay agad siyang nagpaalam sa'kin para puntahan ang babae. Hindi ko tuloy maiwasan ang tignan ng masama si Ma'am Sheryl.

"I'm here, kid. Anong kailangan mo?" Nagulat na lang ako nang biglang sumulpot si Raph sa likuran ko.

"Oh my god, you scared me," sabi ko.

"Sorry. What do you need?" nagtataka niyang tanong.

"About the killer r****t—" Hindi ko pa natatapos ay nagsalita na siya agad.

"Bakit alam mo na naman ang tungkol dyan? Oh, you heard it in the news? Ok. Anyway, the agents are already prepping up. Baka mamayang gabi ay mambibiktima na naman ang killer r****t. We need to have a sharp eye. Wait, I know that look. Gusto mo bang sumama?"

"Yes! I mean, oo naman," nakangiti kong sabi. I'm so hyped. I'm gonna kill that bastard and freaking cut off his pe— okay. Too brutal. But I'm sure he freaking deserves it.

Two operations in one week! Damn, the FBI agents are so busy. Excited na akong maging official na agent.

"Sa tingin mo ba ay papayagan ka ni Andriel?" tanong niya.

"No, pero ako na ang bahala."