March 12th, 2014 (11:48 pm)
“So, you know ‘bout me,” Adam broke the two-three minutes long silence. The two were sitting on the sofa-set of Adam’s house. Their head were tilted downwards and their hair covered their eyes. The both gave each other a bold and frightening look.
Harry took out his phone, typed the password and opened a voice-recording app named ‘Sam Voice Recorder’. He replied to Adam, “Yep, you wanna say something on your defense?”
“Humph,” Adam arrogantly chuckled. “You really think I’d say something on my defense? Is this a court martial goin’ on?”
“Maybe it’s not, but I never thought that you’ll be one of the mole, Ads,” Harry spoke. “Oh wait, y’are not capable enough to be called by a nick-name now, Adam.” He was a kinda emotional but he tried unsuccessfully to hide them in his boldness and casualness.
“Pfft!” Adam broke into hard laughter. “Hahaha! Y-Y’are so crybaby, Harry! Haha!”
Harry took out his handkerchief and calmly dried up his eyes. “Yeah I’m!” He boldly confessed. “But at least I’m no traitor like ya!”
“Whaddya mean by ‘traitor’?” Adam angrily asked and frowned. He also raised his head upwards.
“Well, what else it’s said? You tell me what else it said. Is it called something like ‘best-friends-forever’ or ‘spy-goals’ or anything else?” Harry asked him emotionally, still in the same position. “C’mon, do you have any other alternative than this?”
“Harry,” Adam called him. “Do you remember how we won—”
“Enough, Adam, enough,” Harry stopped him. “I don’t wanna get nostalgic here. Just tell me why y’are doin’ so.” He then lifted his head upwards and looked directly into Adam’s eyes. “Why? Who’re your companions? Why you took this decision? When di—”
“HARRY!” Adam cut his sentence in between. “It’s meaningless!”
“No, Adam,” Harry calmly replied. He was again in the tilted-head position. “It do has meaning. We can get it right. Y’are a mole for us today, but you still has a chance to be helpful to us by become mole to them!” Harry tried to explain. “Be a mole, just change your sides. I bet you nothing will go wrong, and we can be happy like we used to—”
“Please,” Adam was also in the tilted-head position. He was feeling emotional, but he better handled it through his tone. “Nothing’s gonna go right now, either. I’m to die now, if it’s by SAI or by Xavier Group; my death is decided. I’ve written a bad fate for me myself, and its result is what scares me now.”
“Ads it’s not too late ‘til now!”
“It is, Harry, it is!” Adam explained. “I know I’ve betrayed others and I won’t be apologized for this! I’ve already betrayed one side, if I do the same to other, my life’s in threat far more than it is now, Harry!”
“So, just answer this question by thinking of me a friend, please,” Harry asked him. “What you did, was it your helplessness? Was there someone who put burden on you to—”
“Stop it, Harry! It’s enough!” Adam yelled. H was getting angry and mad. But then, he calmed down and took a deep breath. He exhaled it and continued, “I’m your enemy, Harry…” Suddenly, he stood up and aimed at him with a pistol. He angrily continued, “And before I go insanely mad and forget that y’are my friend, you can go out!”
Harry stood up, kept his phone inside his pocket and started to walk off towards the door. He opened the door, and stepped outside his left foot. Then, he suddenly stopped and said, “Imma prove that you’re the traitor we were searching for.”
“How, you got no proof,” Adam smiled.
Without looking back towards Adam, Harry took out his phone and started a recording. The recording was something like…
“But at least I’m no traitor like ya!”
“Whaddya mean by ‘traitor’?”
“Well, what else it’s said? You tell me what else it said. Is it called something like ‘best-friends-forever’ or ‘spy-goals’ or—”
The recording was off midway because of a gunshot. The gunshot was targeted on the smartphone and it shot the right one. Harry shivered and fell down on the ground due to the shock of the bullet. “What proof? I didn’t hear it correctly,” Adam taunted. Harry was down unarmed and he was scared of him. He was shivering and didn’t in his dreams realize that his friend would shoot, especially towards him.
“I-I-I-It w-w-was—” Harry murmured. He was not even able to speak clearly.
“Ya can’t speak now, Harry. It’s better if I speak now and you listen!” Adam crouched down and told him. He looked more angry and bold than ever before. Harry never thought Adam would convert into such a monster.
“See, y’are not gonna tell anyone that I’m the mole or Miley is, got it?” Adam angrily asked. Harry nodded frightfully and he was scared to hell. “Remember, if I ever find you tryna leak this information, ya will be put into loong sleep, got it?” Adam asked him again. Harry nodded again. Adam gave a warm smile as he patted his head and said, “Good pup!” Suddenly, his expressions changed again into angry ones as he continued, “Now go!”
“O-O-Okay,” Harry murmured, got up and ran away. He slipped on the turn, but he didn’t fall and continued running. “I’ve done enough to him, I suppose,” Adam said to himself.
After exiting the gate, he ran towards his car and hurriedly opened the car’s lock with his keys. He took out the keys, and twisted it inside the car lock. The gate opened as he hurriedly sat in and shut it up. He put the keys in the keyhole and started the car as fast as he can. He was breathing heavily because he was exhausted by the sprinting he’s done from his door to down the stairs and then towards his car. The car started and he dashed off. He was very frightened at the comedic boy being turned into a frightening man like this. He was breathing heavily as the car dashed, but the breathing became comparatively low because he was out of danger. He inhaled a deep breath and exhaled a sigh of relief. “T-That was close,” Harry whispered to himself. “I-It was scarier than I expected. Maybe I should be careful now.” A drop of tear ran down his cheek as he continued, “M-My own friend, Adam, a-aimed at me w-w-with a purpose t-to k-kill me. He-He is not the A-Adam I used t-to know, w-who b-befriended me a-and who t-treated me as a brother w-was some-someone else.” His eyes were filled with too much of the fluid now that he was unable to handle it anymore. He stopped the car and thumped his head on the steering wheel. He adjusted his eyes on the forearm of his right arm and began to sob. “M-Mom! Dad! I-I was scared to the core! T-This is the same fe-feeling that I had w-when I lost you! P-Please, don’t let Adam be the another one I lose, God! Please, I beg you!”
March 13th, 2014 (12:19 pm)
The whole group was together again during the lunch-break. Everyone was chatting at the cafeteria hall and the five were have a great chatting session together after a long time. “See, I said to use this strategy, and you didn’t!” Olivia scolded Zack. “I’ve been into analyzing people for quite some time, Zacky, and I betcha that ya could’ve won quite easily!”
“See, I didn’t know if this strategy of yours can work on the opposite team or not,” Zack replied.
“That’s why you lost!” Olivia told him. “It could have been a match to see! Or even a one-sided match if you had listened to me properly!”
“Okay, okay,” Zack tried to calm her down. “I apologize, okay?”
“An apology isn’t enough, Zacky! I’m doin’ it for your sake and I...” Olivia continued to scold her for losing a match against the weaker teams. But, the ones who were not taking any part in the chit-chat were Adam, Harry and Miley. When the two love-birds were discussing the weaknesses and strategies for the next match, the three ate their food with so seriousness with entirely no expressions like nothing was happening around them. Harry was still in the trauma of what happened the last night, which was seen in his eyes which constantly looked towards the two. Adam showed no expressions on his face and ate his food quietly. Miley, too was very submerged on the food. Harry looked at Miley, who sat in front of her, and then turned his eyes on Adam, who was beside him. Harry started thinking, “They’re so quiet nowadays. No way must Zack not have noticed their strange behaviors already. If he knows that the masterminds behind the kidnapping and strange assassinations were there two, he would feel very disappointed. I think I needa take care of the situation by myself. I know that somewhere, in between his heart, my friend Adam is alive who’s also scared like me and is doin’ all this because he was threatened. Imma take that Ads out again and expose Miley. But, what if Adam was really a mole and is not doing it just because he was threatened.”
“Hey Harry,” Zack broke his thoughts. “Why’re you looking so quiet?”
“Um… Uh…” Harry was not ready for such a question. He didn’t know what to say in reply. He hesitantly said what everyone would say in return, “Nothing! What can happen to me?” He shrugged and acted more casual than before. His forehead also had a drop of sweat.
Zack, in return, nodded and looked at his food, taking a spoonful into his mouth. But, he noticed that something was on, “Now, even Harry is acting strangely. I needa get to the roots of this ASAP or things can become worse. Maybe I can talk with Mr. Carlos about the matter.”
After some minutes, everyone was over with their lunches and the time was also going to be over. So, Adam took the last bite of his food, stood up and announced, “Okay so, guys, I needa talk to Miley in private. Can you excuse us?” Then, he narrowed his eyes towards Harry and added, “And with Harry too.”
“Um… Okay,” Olivia replied and stood up. Zack also stood up and left away with her. The three also kept their plates and talked with confidentiality. “What do you think they must be talking about?” Olivia asked while the two were at the entrance-exit door of the cafeteria, glaring at them talking as they leave.
Zack shook his head innocently and replied, “Dunno.”
“Hmm… Sometimes I think that they’re trying to hide something from us,” Olivia commented. “At least they should not talk like this.”
“Yeah,” Zack agreed. “What if they’re really tryna hide something?” She glared at her with a shocked face. She stared for some time as he asked, “What?”
“It was supposed to be a joke but I think you’ve taken it too seriously.”
“Haha! It was funny,” Zack sarcastically replied laughed.
She lightly punched her on her arm and said, “I didn’t mean…”
“So what did you mean?” Zack asked her after she didn’t complete her sentence for a few seconds.
“Well, I suppose that ‘joke' was not the correct word but, try to understand. I wasn’t so serious.”
“Okay, I already got it when you used the word but I wanted to confirm.”
“Ah… So why waste my time?”
“I wanted to confirm, didn’t I say it?” Zack replied.
“Oof! Whatever, you should use my strategy now if you wanna win the next match today.”
“Okay, but first show it to me.”
“So see, first you will…” As the two took their leave from the café and walked in the corridor, she continued telling him her strategy to win in the next match and used her hand gestures extensively to do so. She was waving her hands here and there in order for Zack to understand it better.
While listening to her, he started tilted his eyes towards her and thought, “Maybe even Olivia is getting an intuition that something is wrong with the three. I can’t let this happen. I want her to be safe, and she can be killed if she raises suspicion towards her by that thug group. I needa talk to Mr. Carlos and finish it all as soon as possible.”
After she was finished, she cheerfully asked, “So, any questions?”
“Um… Not for now. I think the plan is quite clear to me.”
“That’s great!” She gave a warm smile. “So, do you like it?”
“I’ll only like it if it can bring a win or two in the following matches!” Zack joked and Olivia also chuckled. “Okay so,” He continued, after the laughing was over. “I needa talk to Mr. Carlos today for a personal matter. I’ll pick you up after that in the stands, ‘kay?”
“Yeah, sure,” Olivia replied as Zack turned backwards and left for fixing the meeting. Olivia turned her head back and saw him running as she continued moving forward. She joined her hands at the back of her head, after coming back in the same position, and thought, “Everyone got their personal matters.”
In the meantime, Adam told Miley, “Miley, we have a problem.”
She innocently asked, “What type of problem?”
“Harry knows about us,” Adam replied. He tilted his head down in guilty.
She came back to her original self and looked at Harry angrily, “How, Harry, how’d ya got us?!”
“Uh… I accidentally caught you two after the swimming match yesterday so…”
“Adam, it’s your fault!” Miley pointed at him. “We would not be meeting up like this if you would have killed Zack by now!”
“How me? You were also there with me, right? Who told you to hold up the meetings so soon?”
“It’s necessary! I’m given orders to give your report every single day! And it’s always blank! And the one who gets scolded for the same is ME!”
“Um… Okay, it’s my fault, but it’s—”
“C’mon now! Zack is still alive, I’m into a lot of pressure and everything’s goin’ from bad to worse!”
“See, Miley, Imma do it as soon as I think I think I’m ready, okay?” Adam tried to console her.
“Even Adam is behaving like a scaredy-cat in front of Miley. Maybe she’s very strong and she’s the one to scare Adam to join her team. I think I can still make matters peaceful again. I just have to get involved,” Harry thought.
“See, Harry!” Miley angrily pointed him. She was very angry and was frowning to the greatest extent a human can. She said, “If, IF I EVER GET TO KNOW ANYTHING THAT YA LEAKED THE INFO OR BETRAY US, I BETCHA Y’ARE GOIN’ FOR LONG!”
She scared the hell out of him. He was, once again, shivering and sweating. “O-O-Okay, got it,” He murmured. “I can’t even talk to them correctly; they always scare me to the core. How am I supposed to get involved and help SAI like this?”
In the meantime, Zack was walking down the corridor towards the Director’s Office. He stopped in front of the door of the office, with his hands in the pockets, and tilted his head towards left, where Assistant Director’s Office lay. He turned in the same direction and opened the door by taking his right hand out of the pocket and twisting the handle. Then, he pushed the door and entered inside, while keeping his hand back in the pocket. He saw her, Ms. Kei Cho, working on her laptop with the old glasses on. She tilted her eyeballs towards the newly-entered and took of her spectacles. She turned his head towards him and asked, “What happened?”
“Can I get an appointment to meet Mr. Carlos Cornwallis?”
“Mr. Carlos…” She turned her head skywards, scratching her chin. She was trying to think something. After some time, she asked, “Wait, he’s your mentor, right?”
“Yup,” Zack replied.
“See,” Mr. Cho said, turning back towards him. “Mr. Carlos… His location is unknown.”
“WHAT?!” Zack shockingly asked. His eyes widened as he asked, “How? What happened to him?”
“Well,” The women started to answer. “He was on a certain mission to eradicate a terrorist group, but on one fine day he stopped contacting us. We tried to contact back, but he never replied. Now, he’s basically dead, for us.”
“NO!” Zack shockingly yelled. He was in great despair. His eyes showed shock and sadness at the same time. He held his hair tightly and knelt down. He also pushed his face downwards. “No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no!” He chanted in succession. “T-T-This can’t happen, pl-please tell m-me y’are jo-joking,” Zack was gone completely nuts now. “T-This is a joke, right? T-This is meant to be a joke.” Zack was smiling, even though his face expressions showed he was very sad and shocked. She tilted her face as Zack fainted directly on the spot.
“So, this is the first time you’ve felt such despair, isn’t it?” A small boy, wearing white shirt and no pants, asked Zack, who stood in front of him, wearing his usual uniform, the dark void-like room which was black from every side, like there was no end to the darkness. The room-like area had neither a start nor an end, and it was empty from all the sides. The boy’s head was tilted downwards as his hair covered his eyes. He looked very serious and cold. Zack, on the other hand, was very sad, but he was not behaving so madly now. He just stood there, trying to reply.
“Maybe, you’re right.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Um… ‘Cause I don’t remember even a single thing more frightening that happening in my life…?” He was not sure if it was the right logic or the correct answer, and his expressions very well showed it.
“Did you even forget that you don’t remember what happened before your college days?”
“What?” Zack disgustingly asked.
March 11th, 2014 (11:04 pm)
Zack woke up in his usual place, his bed. He didn’t remember what happened with him or how he went there. He sat up in his bed, turned his head towards his left, and saw a letter kept on a bed-side table. It read, “How did you faint so easily? —Olivia” at the first line. He disgustedly asked himself, “Easily?” It was the only line on the letter, and it was completely blank. It was not a letter; it was a piece of paper with something written on it to be more precise. He thought, “Maybe it’s writer had no time to lose.”
