Should I still court you?" walang kwenta'ng tanong ni Davon. Ligaw? Nako, wag na.
"Bakit?" tanong ko. "Dapat pa ba yon? Kilala naman na kita e." sabi ko. Totoo kaya. May mga nalalaman ako don sa loob ng building.
Pero hindi ako stalker, a! Iba yon.
"Hmm? Sige nga. Ano'ng alam mo sakin?" tanong nya. Nanghahamon to e. Sige.
You're on, Davon!
"Basta. Aabutin ng syam syam kung sasabihin ko pa lahat ng nalalaman ko tungkol sa'yo." sabi ko. Totoo naman. Ang dami ko kayang alam. From his life to his life. Oo! Alam na alam ko. Ang dami ko kayang nakalap na impormasyon tungkol sakanya.
Davon groaned at my answer. I chuckled. "Bakit? Ang dami ko kayang alam tungkol sa'yo. Galing sa mga nagtatrabaho dito." I remember Caily, former secretary ni Davon, sya yung nagsabi sakin ng iba pang hindi ko alam tungkol kay Davon. And to my surprise, he is a former Mafia member!
Yep. Konti lang dito sa building na dating member ng isang Mafia si Damarcus Leivon Lopez. Matanong nga sya.
"Pst. Davon!" tawag ko. He's sulking in his desk. He looked at me, slightly pouting. "Tumigil ka nga. Halika rito. May itatanong ako na medyo personal." sabi ko. Dapat yun alam ko e.
Lumapit sakin si Davon. At nang maupo sya sa upuan sa harap ng desk ko ay tumikhim ako. "If this is too personal, then I promise to tell you the truth." nakangiting sabi nya. Ooh. Nice, Sir!
"Fine." bumuntong hininga ako. Kahit sinabi nya yon, hindi parin ako sigurado kung itatanong ko, no! "Are you really a- ahm, hehe. Are you really a f-former Mafia member?" pumikit pa ako matapos ko'ng matanong iyon. 'Wag naman sana sya magalit. Natakot ako sa isip na baka nagalit sya kaya nagsalita ako ulit habang nakapikit parin. "Please wag ka magagalit! I didn't mean to ask that. Kung ayaw mo sagutin edi-"
"I was a Mafia member." putol nya sakin. He said it without hesitation. He really wants to fulfill his promise, huh? "But I was never just a Mafia member." iminulat ko ang mga mata ko saka tumingin sakanya, he's looking intently at me, making me feel uncomfortable. "I was the underboss. Hindi pa ako tumatagal sa Mafia noon nang i-announce na ako na ang underboss. Many got mad, for they had been working so hard for that position, but me? I just obey what the highest wants. I continued that way for almost 8 months, then I became the underboss." sabi ko. Ooh. Ang galing naman non.
Inimagine ko si Davon na naka-all black habang may hawak na baril, my amazement rised. Sa halip na matakot, parang humahanga ako sakanya. Wala e, hindi ko lang alam kung bakit. Basta!
"Ano ba yung underboss?" naguguluhang tanong ko. Kanina pa sya underboss nang underboss e hindi ko naman yun alam.
Bumuntong hininga sya saka ngumiti sakin. "The Underboss is the second-in-command in the empire and the organizational hierarchy of the crime family. His level of authority varies, but he is ready to stand in for the boss at any given moment. He is the second most powerful man in the crime family, he has power and control over the captains, soldiers and associates, and he runs the bosses and the organizations day-to-day operations and businesses, and keeps all of the capos, soldiers, hit squads, and associates in line, and makes sure that everyone within the crime family does their jobs and follows the bosses commands, and is in makes sure the empire runs smoothly for the boss, and is in charge of keeping track of the organizations finances, operations and businesses, including keeping the money flowing to the boss, and protecting him at all costs. The Boss is the only one that has complete power and authority over the Underboss. If the Boss dies, normally the Underboss would take the reigns as Boss of the crime family, but there have been exceptions. There are normally only one Underboss per crime family, however, in some cases, there are two or even three underbosses, but very rarely are there more than one Underboss in a crime family." paliwanang nya. Hindi ko maiwasang hindi humanga sakanya. Titig na titig ako sakanya.
Ang gwapo nya. At ang paraan ng pagsalita nya, wala na. Kung sa pagdarasal magsa-sign of the cross, bakit kaya ako nahulog sa aking boss?
"Do you want to know more about the Mafia?" tanong nya. Agad naman akong nabuhayan at tumango tango. Ngumiti sya sakin saka tumingin sa wrist watch. "We have nothing to do today, right, Ms. Secretary?" tanong nya. Since kinabisado ko na sa bahay palang ang schedule ngayong araw, alam ko na. Clear! Umiling iling ako nang mariin kaya napatawa naman sya. "Sige, eto na. Sa rankings muna sa Mafia ang sasabihin ko sayo. Una, ang associates. They are not made members of the Mafia, pero nagtatrabaho sila para sa Mafia. Associates cannot turn down an order from the Mafia if Mafia gives them an order they have to follow it, and they can never refuse or they will be killed slowly. Sunod sa mga associates ay ang soldiers. The Soldiers, Wiseguy's, Men of Honor, Untouchables, or Made men are lowest-ranking members of the Mafia, the grunts of the organization, generally sticking out their neck in the hope of making a name for themselves by demonstrating their loyalty to the organization and boss and protecting the organization at all costs. Soldiers are used to commit murder, beatings, torture, assassinations, bombing, arson, kidnapping, extortion, death threats, blackmailing, bribery, witness intimidation, jury intimidation, and extortion. Sunod ay ang mga capo, o caporegimes. Sila ay tinuturing din na captain. Captain ng malaking hukbo ng soldiers, mga hitman, at associates. The captain heads a large crew of anywhere from 15 to 3,000 soldiers, hitmen and associates and can order them to do absolutely anything. Sunod sakanila ay ang Consigliere. Sya ang chief advisor o counselor. At sya rin ang right-hand man and confidant ng boss. Next to them is the underboss. That was me." itinuro pa nya ang sarili kaya napangiwi ako. "Kapag ang boss nga ay namatay, pwedeng pumalit ang underboss. Kaso tinanggal ako e." nagpout pa sya nang bahagya kaya natawa ako.
"What's with the face?" tumatawa paring tanong ko. Nakapout parin kasi sya.
"I love that position." he said sadly. "I was the boss' favorite. Walang mission na pumalpak ako, sadly, ako ang nakabarang tinik sa lalamunan ng kapayapaan." his voice screams bitterness. "Anyway, pinakalast ay ang boss, syempre. Ang boss, the Don, the King, the Dictator, is the head of the organization, the boss is a dictator or king and has the power to order anything and everything from anyone in the entire organization. The Boss rules the organization with an iron fist, he makes all the important decisions, much like a CEO or Chairman of a company would. Although each mafia boss may run his crime family in a different way, they have one thing in common: they are billionaires, multi-billionaires, or mega-billionaires, and they are incredibly powerful, ruthless, extremely dangerous, intelligent, clever, astute, resourceful, greatly respected and widely feared by their subordinates and others. His Underboss, Consigliere, and all of his captains, soldiers, and associates in his organization pay him a tribute, obey any of his orders, and kill for him." sabi nya pa saka bumuntong hininga. "Yun na. Yan na yung mga positions or rankings sa Mafia. Any questions?" tanong nya.
Kasabay ng pag-iling ko ay ang pag-usbong ng grabeng paghanga sa boss ko. Isa sya'ng former Mafia member? At underboss pa? Huh, Davon ko yan.