CHAPTER 54: Gods and Monsters
President Lee's Point of View
"President, we lost track of them," one of President Lee's guards informed him.
Hinampas niya sa mesa ang mga hawak niyang papeles. Lumipad iyon sa ere at nagkalat sa sahig ng kanyang silid. Puno ng galit na tiningnan niya ito sa mga mata nito.
"What the fuck did you mean 'you lost them'? They are just fucking teenagers for fuck's sake, Alejandro!" ibinagsak niya sa mesa ang nakakuyom niyang mga kamay. Lumikha iyon ng malakas na ingay. Parang puputok ang litid sa leeg niya dahil sa sinabi nito. "Think about it, you bunch of degenerates. Bata lang ang hinahabol ninyo, nahihirapan pa kayo?"
Nagbaba lang ito ng tingin, hindi magawang sumagot. Pagak siyang tumawa. "What about the kid? 'Yong espiya?" he managed to ask, in spite of shaking in frustration. "Have you contacted him yet?"
Tumango ang lalaking nasa harap niya. "Yes, we were able to get in contact with him. The thing is," nag-aalangang sabi nito. "Garalgal po ang linya."
Muling naikuyom ni President Lee ang kanyang mga kamay. "Why can't you all do your fucking job?" nanggagalaiting bulalas niya rito. Bahagya itong napatalon sa puwesto. "Ang sabi ninyo binigyan n'yo siya ng phone? And a tracking device?"
Muli itong tumango. "We did, President. But we couldn't locate them. Their location wasn't appearing on our data. Baka nasira o naputol ang tracking device. At ang huli niyang sinabi ay nasa kuweba sila. And that was it. The line was cut off suddenly."
Sa halip na tingnan niya ito, ibinaling niya ang tingin sa labas ng glass wall ng office niya. It had almost been two months, and they still couldn't find those damn teenagers. Kulang na lang ay barilin niya ang mga sundalo niya nang balitaan siya ng mga ito sa nangyaring aksidente. They were able to capture some of them, and even planted clamor mines around the place of the accident, hoping they'd come back. And they did. Pero ang mga walang-kuwenta niyang sundalo ay namatay lang din.
President Lee thought of just murdering his army and go find these teenagers himself. Nauubos na ang ibinigay na oras ng mga Paragons. Hindi na sila puwedeng magsayang pa ng oras.
Ibinalik niya ang tingin dito. The guard was wearing a red cloak and a mark that resembled the face of a cat. The cloak silhouette in the dawn light created a strong form. Ganitong-ganito ang mga sundalong nilikha niya sa kanyang isip. And there they were, created for one purpose—the New World Order.
"Tell your comrades to ready as much helicopter as we can. We are going out there. Make sure to trace each and every cave located in the forest," President Lee commanded.
Agad naman itong tumalima at lumabas ng silid niya. He could feel it—makukuha na niya ang mga ito. And soon, the games will begin…