The day of their mission arrived. They're welcomed by the deafening tone of the morning alarm. This time the alarm was the sound of a hen crowing while beaten to death at the same time. It went on to repeat for 30 minutes and molested everyone's defenseless ears.
Lorian woke up, his face turned grumpy. He couldn't get a hang of this tone. He stood up and went inside the bathroom with his disheveled hair. Brushing his teeth and taking his bath, Lorian needed to move quickly because today was their first job and he didn't want to arrive late.
Dressed up in civilian clothing, Lorian wore a shirt, shorts, and shoes. He didn't look like going to work in his attire. Paolo said they don't want to attract attention from themselves. 'we aren't heroes, we are salarymen,' was what he said. He left his room and headed to the reception center, where Ann was waiting for them.
'She wakes up in the morning before the alarm rang its hellish tone. So she must be there waiting for us,' he thought.
As Lorian sunk in his thoughts, Sao, who wore an aloha shirt, swimming trunks, and sandals, appeared, "Yooo, good morning, partner." Sao greeted.
"Ye-yey," Lorian replied, awkwardly.
Sao didn't bother with his partner's low energy and grinned at him, patting Lorian's shoulder. They both walked to the reception center to meet with Ann, Sao was walking in front while Lorian followed.
Ann sat down at her desk, like yesterday. She was enjoying a cup of coffee again. Whenever she sipped her coffee, the mood becomes luxurious and forbidden to look at. If she were to advertise a cheap coffee and they charge an expensive price, people would buy it and wouldn't complain.
Noticing the two buffoons frozen in place, she stood up and said, "Follow me to the containment room. I will give you the things that will help you with your mission today."
Lorian and Sao followed Ann's lead as she headed toward the containment room. Ann sat down near the pile of antic books and things, searching for something the two needed for this mission.
When Lorian heard the word 'mission' out of Ann's mouth, his breathing became heavy, making his pulse rate rose and his nerves shook. He took a peek at the calm Sao minding his business, while secretly taking a peek at Ann's bum.
"Hey, aren't you nervous?" Lorian asked Sao.
Sao looked at Lorian in wonder, "Why would I?" He answered the question with another question.
"I - uhm. Nevermind. Hehehe," Lorian smirked.
'He must be the real deal,' he thought.
After searching around those antic piles, and their necessities packed in, Ann handed two bags to them both. She gave Lorian a small red booklet after that.
"Inside that booklet is the detailed information of the target, while those bags contain items that can harm them. Please check it out before you start traveling." Ann said.
"Where is our gun?" Sao asked in confusion.
"Unfortunately, we're not allowed to be armed with any type of firearms, as stated in our memorandum of agreement. If nothing else, then follow me to the garage." Ann mechanically answered.
Sao shrugged it off while shaking his head. "We're doomed," he whispered to himself.
Lorian eavesdropped on Sao and heard his whispered words. Involuntarily swallowed his saliva, as the words "we're doomed" rang inside his head, making him nauseous. He rubbed his hand to his stomach as his gastric acid rose to his throat.
"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," he said as he dashed away.
"Wai-" Ann wanted to stop Lorian, but she was too late. As Lorian vanished inside the living quarters, leaving her and Sao in the reception center. She decided to wait at her desk with Sao as she sat down and drank her unfinished cup of coffee.
Sao awkwardly sat down, supporting his chin with his hands while his elbow rested on the desk, taking slight glances at Ann. Ann, annoyed by his constant peeking, turned her chair around.
A silent minute passed and Lorian came out of the living quarters. "Thank you guys, for waiting," he thanked them in his raspy voice.
Sao and Ann rose from their chairs, looking at Lorian's current sorry state. "Are you okay?" they asked at the same time.
"I'm fine. Just acid reflux." Lorian awkwardly replied.
Ann nodded to Lorian. She went in front and opened the thick iron door, leaving the SDD. They headed to the garage, located in the parking lot behind the rundown hospital.
The parking lot was vacant. The paints on the ground faded, dust and dirt clumped on the corners, and weeds grew in batches, proof that this was long abandoned. After walking past the desolate parking lot, they arrived at a brown, enclosed concrete.
Ann stopped in her tracks, pressed a button, opened the garage door, and she pulled a key from her pocket. "Here Sao, you know how to drive a manual, right?" she asked and handed the key to Sao.
"Wow, hellooooo beautiful," Sao, whose attention was stuck on the jeep, exclaimed, ignoring Ann's question. He snatched the keys and embraced the jeep while caressing the shiny sheen of its body.
Ann didn't bother with Sao's attitude. She turned towards Lorian, who was not feeling well. "My job here is done. Good luck to you both." She bowed and left the two alone.
Sao, who is still enchanted by the jeep, coughed and adjusted himself. "Sorry for my behavior. You see, I love jeeps. I just can't control myself when I see one." he excused, but Ann didn't reply nor turned her head.
"I don't mind. We better get going." Lorian interrupted Sao, whose face was about to become dejected.
"Right, right, let's go partner," Sao replied with a forced grin.
The two went inside, sat on the comfortable car seat, and fastened their seat belts. Sao started the engine, its mild hum woke every testosterone inside his body. The dejected Sao became energetic once again, driving the jeep and skillfully handling it before heading to the San Vicente village.