The Truth Berries

VIII

       His heart was pounding heavily and the beads of cold sweat ran from his nape down to his butt. He knew it was not just risky, it was dangerous. Yet there was something in the package that he could not resist so he accepted it. Or was it just mere curiosity? All the elements of a possible bomb attack were present. An unknown sender, the mysterious package and the unexplainable reaction of the delivery man. Plus, they just had a brand new case on their hands. If it was what it looked like, it would not be the first bombing through an anonymous package that would ever happen. They had numerous cases of that through the years. But if so, it would be the first where the victim was well aware of what was to come but he was stupid enough to receive it. The best part of that would be the victim was a police officer who has been in the service for fifteen years. Wouldn’t that be a hell of a spoof for the late-night show, he thought. So he did what he deemed was a reasonable thing to do. He called Alex.

       “Hey Alex, where are you now?”

       “At home, partner. Nelia and the kids are loving their bulalo breakfast at the moment. I guess I should bring home some whenever it’s possible. Why, what is it?”

       “Do you still have your very own bomb defusal kit with you?”

       “Yeah, why?”

       “Can you bring that and come over, like, right now? I think I got one here. It seems somebody wants me scattered all over my place.”

       “Are you kidding me, Miggy? I’m telling you this is a bad joke.”

       “No I’m not! I really think I have a bomb right here, right now. So please hurry.”

       Alex Gonzalo was part of an elite bomb squad for a year before he was moved into the homicide division. He was there when an airport police in NAIA Terminal 2 noticed a suspicious red bag and reported it to the police a decade ago. The terminal was immediately rid of its employees and passengers and the whole place was isolated until they came. Immediately, he suited up and walked towards the sinister-looking red bag by the passenger waiting area, all the needed tools in his black duffel bag. When he got there, he examined the bag itself; man-made leather, a Chanel imitation with discoloration in some parts of it. Then, he opened it carefully and saw that it was just the simplest of its kinds. It had two wires connected to the charge, a blasting cap and a timer. He easily cut off one of the wires and the timer stopped. It was an easy one unlike what his former partner had encountered on December 30, 2000. The bomb went off and he was right in front of it, trying to defuse it.

He found Miguel sitting on the sofa looking at the package on the coffee table when he entered the house. He sat beside him and started unpacking his things.

       “Who sent it?”, Alex asked him.

       “A man I never saw in my life. The receipt says his name is Yoel, from Cairo, Egypt.”

       “Yoel what?”

       “Just Yoel.”

       “Fishy fishy, buddy. It’s like it has the word ‘BOMB’ written all over it.”

       “I know. But you know as well we cannot just throw that away through my window and disregard it.”

       “Well, you might want to leave me here alone, you know, so that we can start knowing each other here.”

       “No way, partner. It’s my package so we might as well see it together.”

       “That I cannot allow. Part of the training says ‘least casualties if possible’. That, my friend, means you better get the f**k out right  now.”

       “Shouldn’t you be in a protective suit, just in case?”

       “Out!”

       Reluctantly, he went out of the house and waited uneasily. He did not want Alex to be dealing with it alone. It was his package in the first place so it was supposed to be his problem alone. If it was indeed a bomb and it blew, his death would be his burden to carry. He couldn’t imagine explaining himself in front of his wife and children. He regretted calling Alex and involving him in this mess. He should have called the official police bomb squad to handle his package and not his personal expert. But he knew Alex wouldn’t just walk away from it the moment he knew. He wouldn’t let him accompany him too. It was one of Alex’s principles in life. It’s just too late to undo things now so he sat by the flower pots outside and prayed the worst not to come. He lit a red Marlboro just to try to calm himself.

       He was a man known for his patience and perseverance. It was just only a full minute since he left Alex to deal with the package on his own but he was already feeling the itch to go back to him. Yet he knew that defusing a bomb was not a job to be rushed. After all, you never get lucky twice doing such things. He knew the dangers Alex was facing. He had to calculate every move and study which was which to prevent any complications. Like a surgeon in operation, he had to dissect everything in its right order and he must do it with utmost care and concentration. There was never any room for mistakes for instant death was guaranteed to the surgeons of these kinds of operations.

       Eight long minutes elapsed before he heard Alex cursed loudly. He braced himself for the explosion. Instinctively, he let himself down on the ground to ward off the incoming debris and expected the ground to shake. He stayed like that for a minute, with his both hands covering his head. But nothing like it happened. There was no debris to be seen, no great shockwave to be felt. Even the ground did not shake. There was no explosion at all. He felt dizzy. He was wondering what just happened. Or rather, what just didn’t  happen? He stood up and cleaned himself. Then he went inside. Alex was beaming when he looked at him.

       “You’ve struck gold, Romey!”

        He was indeed thunderstruck. If it was a bomb of some sort, he’d never seen like it before.

       “What the f**k is that?”

       “You tell me, buddy. It seems like you have a very rich uncle with his own goldmine in Egypt. You sneaky son of a b***h!”

       “Shut up, Lex.”

       “Why? All I‘m saying is your getting rich. Hey, don’t forget about me when you become a freaking billionaire! Can I tell the people I’m your best friend when you become rich?”

       “You can tell them right now. But we should focus at the dilemma right now, don’t you think?”

        “What dilemma?”

        “Why don’t you pull your head away from that thing and look at me. We still don’t know who sent that or why he did so.”

        “Don’t we? It was a gift from your Uncle Yoel in Egypt.”, he grinned maliciously.

        “I don’t have an uncle in Egypt.”

        “Who the hell cares? It’s here so we might as well take it.”

        Miguel looked at him hardly.

       “I mean you might as well take it”.

       “It’s not as simple as that. What if this thing was stolen and was smuggled here? It’s my name in there, remember?”

        This made Alex put a serious face on. He hated theories ever since while Miguel was so full of them. He was the ‘brain’ of their team, after all. That was why they were a perfect pair. Miguel always thinks the best ways to do a thing, Alex executes the plan smoothly. Miguel laid his back on the sofa and closed his eyes. He was right. That day would be very long for them. Theirs started at 2 in the morning with the dispatch call, the humid air during the heavy traffic going home giving them the tropical version of hell and the mysterious package. A light throb on his temple and back of the head was starting its own rhythm and made him pinched the bridge of his nose. Out of a sudden, Alex stood up and started packing up his tools.

       “Hey! Where are you going?”, Miguel asked.

       “That thing is not any kind of bomb, I can assure you of that. You, partner, is not in any kind of danger. So . . .”, he straightened up, “I’m going home to my wife and three kids. It’s family day for us and I want to make sure I’m enjoying every moment of this day because I know how terrible tomorrow would be for us. Who knows, maybe I could score on Nelia later.”, he winked.

       “Really? You’re leaving me all alone with this? Sira-ulo!“

       “I’m not crazy, i***t. Look, Miggy. I didn’t bitched when you left me with that a little while ago and that was still when we both thought it was a bomb. But now we both know it isn’t so what’s the fuss? You’re safe with that, I promise. Now, I really should get going.”

        Miguel Romero couldn’t believe his ears.

       “Hear this little advice from me. Take a shower and pick your best clothes. Dress to kill, my friend. In simpler words, look your best. Then, buy an attractive giftwrap and make that thing your own peace offering and gift for her. What better way to adore a goddess than gold itself? Trust me, she’ll come home in no time. Best of luck to you, buddy. Now, I’m going.”, with that, he was gone.

He only realized it when Alex was already gone. The guy had a point. It was the perfect analogy. 

       A goddess and her golden chest.