Chapter 5: Heist

It was only after I decided to leave that I realized the street was still wet from the heavy rain that morning.

I’m about to call a taxi when I came to stare down at my feet. I’m wearing his slippers.

I turned around and walked back to where he was but he’s not there anymore. I looked around just in case he’s still in the place. And I was right, I saw him walking near the cafe beside the building. He’s barefoot. People are staring at him with awe.

But that’s not the only thing that is striking me.

What struck me is the fact that he is walking with someone.

As I watched him escort that same old lady to the cafe, maybe to feed her, I started thinking whether that man deserves to be used as a means towards my end goal.

Or am I just being too cruel to someone who doesn’t even have a single involvement in the root of my grudge?

My feet wanted to go to that cafe, but my mind is telling me not to. My reason is battling between using an innocent man and prioritizing my mission.

But...

I turned around. At the end of the day, he is still Mirando’s son. At the end of the day, he is the only way to realize my mission.

--

“So you’re here, Rathna, because?” Geraldine asked me cross-legged with that naughty grin on her face. We are inside our room in Soma’s camp.

“I already told you, I need to earn the prince’s trust. Tell me how to do it.

“At least give my pretty ass a reason to help you. No free lunch baby.

I hate her. She has this annoying guts that could really get on your nerves. I keep on asking myself almost every day why the heck is she my best friend? Just how on earth did it happen? I have no idea!

“We’re a team, you freak!

“A pretty freak at least,” she retaliated. “I thought you said when it comes to men you’re better than me?

I rolled my eyes. D-mn this brat!

“Can you just f--king say if you want to help or not?

She laughed. I heard a very silent thump from outside.

“Baby why so--”

I covered her mouth with my hand. It’s barely audible, but I know I heard something. Is someone eavesdropping on us?

Geraldine looked at me like she’s asking me what I am doing. Without giving her an answer I quickly went out of our room.

“You! Stop there!” I ordered the man who’s about to escape wearing a Somaro’s training uniform. He immediately stopped but did not face me.

“Turn around,” I ordered again. Geraldine is now by my side. She pinched my waist a little.

“Let him go. He’s just another Somaro who wants a peek at our beauty. Aren’t you used to it now?

I elbowed her. I don’t freaking know how she became part of Team One if she is this dense!

The man turned around to face us. He is unfamiliar. Just like any other Somaro. I am usually unfamiliar with the other soldiers because it has been years since I stopped training with the others.

But something very obvious is off with this man.

“Do you know what time it is?” I asked.

After hearing what I asked Geraldine finally got the hang of what’s happening. She’s f--cking so impossible!

“It’s past noon,” he answered.

Without a second thought, I started chasing him along with Geraldine. “Ring the alarm you brat!” I screamed at her.

She slowed down and left me chasing that man. Seconds later the camp alarm went off insanely.

I can’t let this stranger escape.

I chased him as he ran across the corridors of the camp rooms. It’s a shame the soldiers aren’t resting. If they were, it should’ve been easy to catch the intruder.

At the cross-section, he turned left which led to the back part of the camp. He must’ve entered the camp rooms from there.

“How did you know he’s not one of us?

I turned my head to Geraldine who caught up with me. A fast d-mn brat. She’s the best runner among us.

I am out of breath and we’re still chasing the intruder but I still answered her. “He’s wearing the training uniform,” I replied while catching my breath.

“As a soldier should.

“Moron! There is no training today.

She let out a laugh and ran faster. Maybe because she has long legs that’s why she can run faster than any of us. But anyway, despite her guts which we all hate, and her irritating dense senses, she’s useful especially at times like this.

She caught the intruder. Geraldine and I were both catching our breaths as she held the intruder in her hand. The intruder is on the ground and Geraldine is keeping him in check.

“If you didn’t ask the code, I wouldn’t know.

“Like something is new with that,” I sarcastically said.

Our secret code to identify members is to ask what time it is. And if they can’t answer the right answer to that it means they don’t belong with us.

I looked at the intruder.

“Who are you,” I demanded.

He just smirked. I forcefully grabbed his hair down to make him stare at me directly.

“I’m not in the mood to have mercy so answer me properly.” I grip his hair harder and that made him groan. “Who sent you here?

Without warning his hand moved quickly and is now holding a knife ready to attack. Geraldine immediately kicked him. The intruder rolled away from us still holding the knife. We thought he was aiming for me. But we were wrong.

He was aiming for his throat.

“No!

Before I could even go near him to stop what he’s about to do, he already slit his own throat.

“Sh-t!” I cursed out of frustration. Blood gushed out of his throat as he lay on the ground lifeless.

Whoever ordered him made sure he wouldn’t leave any trace if caught.

The other soldiers came running at us. But nothing can be done now. 

When our commander heard what happened he arrived at the scene with his personal soldiers.

His face is grim and it’s obvious he didn’t like what happened.

“Get the soldiers from the border. Now!” The Commander is furious.

“Yes, Commander!” The captain of Team Three replied and ordered his team to summon the soldiers assigned to guard the borders.

“What happened?” Gulu and Loor came to Geraldine and me, whispering.

“An intruder,” Geraldine answered.

“No way!“ Loor shouted in silence, eyes wide, looking at the dead body on the ground. He couldn’t believe the news.

As soon as the soldiers from the border arrived at the scene, they were made to kneel in front of the Commander.

Being a soldier in the camp is in many ways, brutal. We have to do our jobs properly. We have to successfully complete our missions. Otherwise, we will be gravely disciplined.

The soldiers assigned to guard the borders were severely punished for not doing their job properly. He gave us a hefty amount of scolding before dismissing the others. He made the five teams gather at the headquarters.

The Commander looked anxious as he paced back and forth in front of us. He has reasons to be. This is the first time we ever had a sign that Soma’s existence could be known to the world. If someone outside the camp sent a spy, that means, someone from the outside already knows about our existence.

If rumors about our mutiny start circulating, there is a big probability that the king will be suspecting about our existence or maybe he already knows.

“Let’s not tell the Chief about this, not yet,” the Commander stated in finality.

“Sir, this is a serious problem. He has to know,” Captain Mauro debated.

 He received a slap from the Commander. And although I stopped myself from flinching, I did flinch.

“Shut your mouth, Rosales.

Geraldine and I only exchanged looks.

“Team Four, I want you to guard our borders,” he commanded.

“Yes sir!” Team Four answered in unison.

“If this happens again,” the Commander declared in a threatening voice, “I will kill all of you myself.

Well, they better guard the borders well.

“Investigate this incident, Team Two. I want to know if he was just an unlucky man who happened to find the camp, or if someone sent him.

“Yes, sir!

But judging by how that intruder slit his throat to prevent himself from talking, it’s clear that he was sent by someone.

After the commander dismissed us, our team gathered.

“Are you okay captain?” I asked out of concern. That slap must’ve hurt.

He did not answer.

“Sleep early. Your body needs rest. We have a bank to rob tonight,” he said and left us without another word. Geraldine immediately followed him which piqued my curiosity.

I didn’t know they were that close?

Isagani briefed us again about each of our roles tonight, excluding the captain and Geraldine.

“For whom do we rob tonight?” Loor asked.

“A quarter of the funds we get will be donated to PWDs Charity Foundation,” Isagani answered.

A quarter only? It’s usually half-half. 50% of the goods we steal go to our camp, then we distribute the 50% to those who need it. Sometimes we silently deliver it to their houses, but sometimes we donate to charity foundations under the name of the person we stole from. Ironic eh? We do that so that those rich people we rob, won’t report anything, as they took the credit for the good deeds. That’s how we maintained the secrecy of our organization.

“Why only a quarter?” Gulu enquired curiously.

“The camp needs funds,” Isagani simply replied.

We have a heist tonight. And it’s gonna be fun!

--

We are going to rob Riganda Bank. And why this bank? It’s because it’s rotten.

It makes loans to poor desperate people in exchange for ridiculously high-interest rates. This is a loan shark business but they launder their incomes to make it look like they are operating legally.

Riganda Bank is one of the biggest banks in the city infamous for money laundering. Even so, the police cannot touch them because money laundering is hard to prove due to a lack of concrete evidence.

And if the palace is not doing anything, we are.

It’s peacefully resting with its lights turned off. And only one security guard is guarding the place. Unfortunately, we are about to disturb its peaceful rest.

My role tonight is surveillance. I’m outside the bank, hiding inside the car to guard the place while Geraldine, the captain, Gulu, and Loor are already inside.

Isagani is guarding the bank entrance from inside and he is the one who took care of the guard who is now unconscious after the captain hit him inside the guardhouse.

Gracia City is still alive even at midnight. And therefore we cannot do something that might alarm anyone about this heist.

I don’t know if it was fate who was trying to toy with me. I don’t know what’s happening inside but surely, I could hear faint sounds of shattering glasses.

I tried to contact my team, but they aren’t responding.

Then finally, something happened again inside and this time it made a thunderous shattering sound.

A car that passed by suddenly drove backward. It seems like the driver heard the sound of shattering glasses.

“What’s happening there?” I immediately asked.

No one received my call again which made me nervous. “Gan! Do you copy?” I called in my in-ear device.

“They are not responding, Paul,” Isagani answered.

A man stepped out of the car.

“Gan, position. Someone’s in front of the bank.” I immediately alerted Isagani.

I took my gun and went out of the car. I slowly approached the man who was curiously looking at the bank. I think he heard that loud shattering sound.

Man, just leave. For your own f--king safety, please don’t do anything and just leave!

I really hoped the man wouldn’t do anything so that I don’t have to hurt him. But he took his phone, scribbled something on it, and then put it on his ear.

Oh, no...

“I see him, Paul. I think he’s calling the police. I will shoot him,” Isagani declared.

Each centimeter I am getting closer, I am slowly getting the whole figure of the man.

As soon as I recognized who the man was, I threw my gun away and ran as fast as I could. I pounced at him. I heard a gunshot before we both landed on the ground.

I inspected his whole body to look for a wound. And thank goodness there wasn’t any!

“Run,” I breathlessly said and held his hand.

We both ran away as fast as we could. I heard a few more gunshots but we managed to dodge them.

“Was that you, Paul? You saved the man?” I heard Isagani speak from my in-ear. I subtly took off my in-ear and threw it somewhere so that Neuron can’t see them.

We stopped running in an alley. We were both catching our breaths. The loudness of my beating heart is deafening. When I realized I was still holding his hand I immediately let it go.

“Rathna,” he called my name. “What were you-- the bank--” It seems like he is out of words. He can’t understand what just happened. He hadn’t yet realized that he almost died from that gunshot.

And I don’t know how to explain to him why I happened to be in that place, during that time. And how I happened to save him.

He stared at my face and asked me a normal question but it made me so nervous that my knees trembled. “Who are you?

What should I say? How will I answer him?

Rather than answering him, I circled my hands on his nape and kissed him on his mouth.

I didn’t expect him to, I expected him to push me away, but he circled his arms around my waist, and pulled me closer to deepen the kiss.

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