home and danger

"A boy named Dave called me last night and leaked out your location. Care to tell me what's going on, princess?"

"Stop calling me that!" I hissed at Vida.

"Then tell me what's this all about. Stop sulking in a corner acting as if you just broke up with your boyfriend. Oh wait!" She paused and inspected my face.

"Shut up!"

I wiped her hand from my face and looked out of the car. After landing the helicopter on a hangar, we boarded the waiting club car that would take me to my apartment.

"Gosh! Did you just fall in love with Maverick? Wow! I can't believe it! You have a horrible taste in men, Femella."

I glanced at Vida.

"Okay, I'm gonna shut up. I have to consider your feelings, I know. It's not easy to nurse a broken heart."

"Shut up."

I gripped Maverick's jacket on my body. I silently cursed myself for being vulnerable in front of him. He shouldn't have witnessed that.

"So? Who's Dave?" she asked, still not letting me sit in silence.

"A hired detective. He's the one I put in-charge of the investigation."

She crossed her legs and leaned on the leather seat of the car.

"I really thought you went crazy after you told me about your reason for entering the club. But seeing you now after rejecting that one hot man, I say you're crazier than I expected. I mean, who in her right mind would reject someone like Maverick Fuentebella? He's someone any woman would wish to have like a prince knight in shining armor straight out from a fairytale. Wait 'till Chino hears this. Opportunity wasted."

"I thought I have a horrible taste in men? Why would you want me to be with him now?"

"Because I'd rather want you to move on in your life than to see you completely ruin it to waste."

I sighed.

"I've already decided, Vida. No going back this time."

"Why can't you forget about it and move on? They're gone. The living should continue living. Why are you letting the dead lead your life?"

"If only it's that easy to do. But you were never in my shoes. You were never the one being blamed the whole time. It's not you who needs to face the nightmare every fucking day. I only want peace in my mind but I can only have that if I will fulfill my promise."

I looked at Vida who was staring at me.

"So please, let me be."

"Okay, okay. I will let you. But if I see you one more time in this situation then, that's the time I will have to interfere. It's my duty. Just like you, I also have a promise to fulfill. That's my promise to my father."

Her voice became sad at the mention of her father.

"You have done more than enough, Vida. I owe you that."

The car stopped in front of my apartment.

"Thank you for fetching me."

I opened the door and got out of the car.

"Wait, Fem. Did I already tell you that I forwarded the payment to your account."

"Thank you. Can I ask how much?"

"Fifty million."

My eyes widened at what Vida said that almost lost my balance.

"Fifty million!?? Fifty million for just a week of fucking? Oh, he's really fond of flexing himself. He really loves to throw his money away."

She just shrugged her shoulders.

"Perks of being a billionaire." She waved her hand to me and pointed to her heart. "If this speaks out then it's game over."

"Shut up."

I slammed the door shut and turned around.

"You two are a good match. An arrogant billionaire and a humble princess," she teased me.

I raised my middle finger in the air and moved it along with my back. I heard Vida's laughter before the car finally pulled away. I then climbed the stairs to the second floor of the small apartment building.

There are six rooms in total. Three rooms on the first floor and three on the second one.

The apartment stood in a simple village and is owned by a weird woman living upstairs next to my bedroom. Sometime in the wee hours in the morning, I will hear her chanting Latin phrases. She also always wore a black dress and I never once did I see her smile. She is so creepy and different which is a good thing. For one, she is not nosy. Two, she is not nosy.

I took from the pocket of the jacket the room key that Vida had given me earlier. I left my key to her every time there was a bidding at the club. I put the key in the keyhole but was surprised to realize that the door was ajar. My chest throbbed with fear and anger. I looked around for someone to ask for help in case something goes wrong.

I mustered up the courage and slowly pushed open the door just to catch my breath when it suddenly opened out of nowhere.

A pair of green eyes greet me. A lanky boy is smiling from ear to ear while eating a pizza in his hand.

"Welcome back, Femella. I've been waiting for you for days now. Come in."

Without saying a word, I immediately entered the apartment and looked around. I almost screamed in frustration after seeing the mess before me. Empty junk foods and soda cans littered the floor. The whole sofa, which was full of papers, was also untidy. There is an open pizza box on the center table. I looked around the small kitchen. The sink is full of unwashed dishes and the leftovers on the table.

"Tell me the truth Dave, how many days are you camping here in my house?" I said trying to keep my cool together.

I turned to the grinning young man who was scratching his head.

"I knew you would say that but before you sermon me and give me all your pent-up anger, can you please hug me. Didn't you miss me, Fem?"

I glared at him.

"And now you learned how to respect me. A hug? The fuck! You want me to kick you?"

"Five days. I stayed here for five days."

He knelt on the floor and began cleaning the area.

"You are staying here for five days," I corrected him.

I glanced at my bedroom door.

"Where did you sleep?"

"I didn't use your room. Promise." He raised his hands in the air.

"Good."

I looked at the sofa and found my most prized fleece blanket splattered all over it.

My mouth opened in shock while staring at the poor blanket already stained with pizza sauce.

"O-oh oh my poor baby..."

I put my hand over my mouth and angrily looked at the culprit who was guiltily looking like a five-year old boy with his peace sign.

"I didn't sleep in your room but I borrowed your blanket. It's very cold here especially at night and I didn't see any other blankets so you know..."

I closed my eyes to prevent myself from punching him in the face. That is a child, Femella. That's a minor. Minor, I repeated that reminder in mind.

"Why did I even agree with Rowald to get this kid," I whispered while massaging my temple.

"Because I have potential. I'm a genius," he proudly said.

I picked up the blanket and folded it neatly.

"Why did you even choose to wreck your havoc here? You have an apartment for fuck's sake!" I shouted.

He sat on the other sofa and raised his foot on the chair.

"I'm temporarily evicted from my apartment. I rented it out to my friend so that I could have something to spend while playing detective, madame. You told me to do something about your lack of professionalism on paying your trusted boy here so I decided to exhaust every means possible. Isn't that something you must be thanking me for? And thank God I'm not that busy."

You're not really busy because I'm your only client, asshole.

"How did you get in?" I asked instead.

"It's a sleuth's thingy, something you small-minded people won't understand."

I think my nerves exploded in my head at what I heard. Why am I still talking to this child? If only I didn't really need him, eh.

I slumped on the floor and leaned my head on the sofa. I closed my eyes and spent a few moments before opening them.

"Okay, Dave. Tell me what you found out."

His face immediately turned serious and he picked up the papers on the sofa.

"After a series of hacking into the database of dog breeders here and abroad, I finally narrowed them down to three persons who all have Tibetan Mastiff dogs and a travel history here in the Philippines eight years ago. The first individual I identify is Kristine Han but I dropped her off because she only stayed here in the country for a day. Next is Hans Reeves. This one's fishy but I let him slide. He's from the US and only came here to give his puppy to our last person of interest, Lagma Rey."

I straightened my back after hearing his name.

"Lagma Rey. Lagma Rey. His name sounds so familiar. Where did I hear that?"

"Well, Lagma Rey must be a new name for you but that's not really his real name. That's just what he uses every time he goes out."

"Goes out?"

"Goes out to transact with his business partner niya."

"What's his real name then?"

"Levin Monaco."

I sank back into the floor.

"His name doesn't ring a bell for me. I'm more familiar with Lagma Rey. I felt like I've heard it before. Never mind, now proceed."

"Now Levin Monaco is the man we're looking for."

"How sure are you? What if it's Hans Reeves. He's the original owner of the dog."

"No, I'm positive it's Levin."

He took a piece of paper and handed it to me. I picked it up and looked at it. I gasped at the sight.

"W-What does this mean?"

I dropped the paper on the floor.

"It means he is exactly the man we're looking for. That ouroboros tattoo on his neck proves that he is the man or has a connection with the man you saw on that night."

I looked back at the paper. It's a stolen picture of the man inside a room. The man was naked while talking on the phone. A grim expression is on his face. I got chills while looking at him.

"Yeah, it's the same tattoo." I looked at Dave. "Tell me more about him."

"Okay." He gathered the paper in his hand before beginning to explain. "He's Levin Monaco or Lagma Rey to his business associates. 31 years old. Not much is known about his background. All I know for now is that he is an emerging name in the real estate industry. His record is very clean. No matter how I dig deeper about his life, he's so clean which is so suspicious. He's too clean for a man of his caliber."

"Maybe because you're digging on the wrong side of the house. Don't pry on Lagma Rey. Concentrate on unearthing the secrets of Levin."

"I've thought about that. But even Levin Monaco is consistently clean."

I sighed. "Where is he now?"

He stood up and threw the trash in the trash bin then returned to the sofa.

"I don't know. No one knows. Apparently, Levin Monaco is a type of man who just vanishes in thin air. He is such a mystery."

"Is there any trace of the subject? When will he fly to the US?"

"That is still my theory that I think will not be a theory anymore given the information I gathered. Wait, let me show you something." He took out his cellphone in his pockets. "As for your first question, I'm positive that he is with the subject."

He gave me another batch of papers.

"What's this?"

These were just copies of the deed of sale.

"Lagma Rey is selling all his businesses and properties here in the Philippines. It's, let me say, a suspicious move considering the companies are doing good in the business. No reported bankruptcy issues. I asked for a favor from my friend in the US and according to a reliable source there, Rey is starting to build his start-up. He is also starting to transfer his money from the bank. This only means one thing. He's planning to move to America for good."

I angrily kicked the center table. The pizza box would have fallen if Dave hadn't caught it right away. I clenched my teeth and gave him a sharp look.

"If he is really the man I'm looking for then it's better for him to leave this country for good. That would be one less criminal here. But I will make sure that he will leave whatever he needs to leave in the country. Dave, give me the action plan."

"Of course."

He handed me a small white envelope. I reached for it and opened it. There were two invitation letters inside. I read what was written.

"A gala night?" I looked up at Dave. "What is this?"

"It's a celebration hosted by the Asturia clan, a giant in high society. If you're into politics and old money then you'll know them. They owned hectares of land in different parts of the country. They were out in the limelight these past few years but they decided to finally expand their empire into the real estate industry. That's our last chance, Fem."

I met his gaze.

"Because Lagma Rey will be there."

"Right. This is our perfect chance to corner him and perhaps extract something from his plans."

I nodded as we still stared at each other.

"I got it. Thank you, Dave. You're really good."

His face flushed and averted his gaze from me.

"That's nothing. I'm only doing this for one million."

"About that. I'll give you half of it now and then the other half after I successfully have all the information I needed. You okay with that?"

His whole face glowed.

"Really Fem? Now? As in now? Don't tell me it's a prank?"

He pouted. I stood up and ruffled his hair. I smiled at him.

"That's more like it. Smile more often. Act like a 15-year old. Enjoy your youth. Now send me your account."

He punched the air before hurriedly looking for his cellphone. I went to the bedroom and lay down on the bed. I closed my eyes and tried to push Maverick's face away.

I could have surrendered right then to his charms, to his words and to his promise but if I do that, it will only complicate things.

"I don't want to embroil you in this mess just like what happened in the past. This will only be between me and my mission."

I moved to the side and hugged the pillow.

I'm already missing you now. What more in the coming days?