Chapter 7
Following his chief’s sermons and threats of demotion if he continue to carry on as he did (which Leto has stopped believing since they both knew he was a greet agent), they quickly worked on pacifying the other guests aboard the cruise ship who were frightened by the disturbance on the VIP floor.
The police made sure to inform everyone that the ship was safe and sound, and that they were only after only those few drug-related personalities. Many passengers weren’t convinced and insisted on getting off in the nearest port from fear, but it would still take a day before they reach the nearest one, so they couldn’t do anything about it.
On the other hand, the Illegal Drugs Unit, worried that Lao might find ways to escape if they stayed here, had called for a chopper to get the man to the nearest holding facility. He would immediately be transferred the day after his and his men’s arrest. Leto, who was with them now, saw clearly on the man’s face pure fear and anger at what had transpired.
Leto suddenly thought of Samuel. He was sure Lao thought Samuel had betrayed him, and he might already be planning on how to get back at him. Lao is an affluent and influential man. It wasn’t impossible for him to do so.
At Leto’s request, his boss let two other agents guard Samuel along with Samuel’s own bodyguards. Leto had informed him of how Samuel had helped find a way for them to catch Lao in the act, and explained how Lao might go after Samuel, so the chief had not hesitated to approve his request. According to the two agent, no one has tried to get near Samuel yet. The man had also not left his quarters since the last time he and Leto spoke.
Leto had opted to remain on the cruise, even though he had already done his duty. He had reasoned that he wanted to enjoy his remaining days on the ship and get a bit of down time.
“Aren’t I a good boy, Chief? Mission accomplished, right? I’ll take this as a bonus,” he goaded his boss.
The chopper left at eleven in the morning. Finally, Leto was officially off-duty.
First, he slept. The VIP room was wicked, and he felt like a prince staying in one of them. The food was good. The bath was amazing. There was even a Jacuzzi tub that was larger than the entire apartment he was staying at! His room had a great view. You could clearly see the ocean from his windows. It was worth all the headache that came with chasing Lao.
It was eleven in the evening when he decided to leave the room to get some fresh air and look at the view of the waters at night.
There weren’t many people outside the VIP lounge. The wind was cold and strong. It was already dark out and the moon was shining visibly. Leto was walking along by the railings, enjoying the quiet of the night, when he saw the familiar figure of Samuel not far from him. He was leaning on the rails, holding a bottle of beer, just a few steps away from him were the four men guarding him.
Leto walked closer and they noticed him. Two of them gave him a salute.
“Sir,” one man greeted.
Leto returned their salute. “Report.”
“Mr. Tolentino has been staying inside his room sing July 3, 10:45 PM until 8:40 today. There’s no one suspicious around here. All areas clear,”
“Good you are dismissed. I’ll take over, so you can rest.”
“But, Sir—“
“I’ll take care of Chief. I can take it from here. You can come back 6 in the morning, or unless summoned.”
The two said nothing else after, giving Leto another salute before leaving.
“Guys,” Samuel signaled at his men. They went farther, but kept their guards on.
“Two people tailing me is annoying enough, and now you added two more,” Samuel complained then drank from his bottle.
“Just making sure,” Leto reasoned.
“So, how’s Lao?”
“He’s already on the way to Krame*. You should have seen the look on his face before he left. He had steam coming out of his ears.”
“I heard you were the one to shoot his hostage-taker. Did you get hit?”
“Nah. I’m a decent agent, you know. Though I don’t look it.”
“I know. You still have a lot of expeditions to get through, based on the lifelines on your hand.”
“Ha! If only my boss could hear you say that. He says I’ll be kicking the bucket early with all my antics.”
“It’s not unlikely to happen, especially with your bullheadedness.”
“Eh? Ah, right, you only have ninety-nine percent accuracy, don’t you?”
“One shouldn’t completely rely on fortune telling to begin with. This might sound weird coming from me, but you hold your own fate in the palm of your hand.”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
“You…” Samuel looked meaningfully at him. “Have you never had interest in having your fortune read by me?”
“I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought of it.”
“So why not take advantage of this chance you have with me?”
“Well, would you be happy if learned that you’re scheduled to die in a mission three months from now?” Leto asked with a single eyebrow raised. “If I knew that being a police officer would cost me my life, should I stop even though I like what I’m doing? It’s not that I don’t believe in you. But I don’t want to be controlled by whatever is written in the starts. It’s utterly stupid to base what I’ll do in life on whatever it is you’ll see, and let it consume me. In my opinion, I’d be happier letting things happen as they should.”
Leto’s explanation was followed by a long silence. Samuel look away, his gaze, following the depths of the sea. It was as if he had something he wanted to say. Leto waited patiently until Samuel mustered enough courage and find the right words.
“Sometimes I wonder if this ability given to me is a blessing or a curse.” It was Leto’s turn to observe Samuel. “I can’t help but think that Mr. Lao ended up that way because of me. I often wonder… by playing with his fate, did I end up ruining others’? I realized this after the one time I read his fortune wrong and he almost got caught. He got furious with me. Since then, it seems like he’s lost faith in me. That’s when I noticed how he couldn’t decide for himself anymore, and he became careless with his actions. Same goes for my other clients. They get hooked with making sure of their future and start tempting their fates doing the wrong things thinking they could go through it unscathed.”
“I couldn’t care less in the beginning,” Samuel continued. “Why should I care about other people’s lives getting ruined by my abilities? I don’t know them personally anyway. I’m just doing my job—a well-paying job. Then I saw the results of my action, what our society has become now. Families without their fathers, kids getting caught in the crossfire, the increasing number of crimes in the street, victims being thrown wherever… I tried not to think about it, but I couldn’t anymore. At night, I’m losing sleep. I don’t even know if I should continue doing this. Then it finally hit me. It’s not right to try lead your fate and force it to change just so you could win every time. What do you think, Leto?” Samuel turned his eyes to the bottle he was holding. “Should I retire from being a Seer?”
Leto stayed silent. Perhaps, Samuel has been keeping this all to himself for a while now. He couldn’t turn to anyone, because everybody else got used to turning to him for advice. Wanting to make a choice, but afraid of its possible outcomes. Leto didn’t know anything about the art of fortune telling, still, there was one thing he knows for sure.
Samuel was good with reading other’s fortunes, but he couldn’t read his own.
“Just do what you think is right,” he found himself answering after a few moments. “Don’t rely on what others would say or what the lines on your hands bode for you. Get a feel for yourself. What do you want to do? There’s no doubt that it feels better to make choices based on what you really want than what others are saying. It’s fine even if you end up regretting it. That’s just a part of life. Stop if you want to, but you can still use that ability to help other people. Generally, it’s your own call whether you’d take it as a blessing or a curse.”
“You know, I didn’t get to if I’d be a big part of your life. But I have a feeling we were fated to meet.” Samuel said with a soft chuckle. The weary look on his eye has lessened a bit. “Thanks. I feel much better.”
“Tsk. You’re using your pick-up lines on me again.” Leto returned his smile.
“Hey, you still owe me. Have you forgotten already?”
“You’re still sulking about that? I even took over guard duty so I could return the favor, even though today is my day-off. “
“Oh?” The smile on Samuel’s face brightened. “You’re giving me wrong signals, officer.”
A short silence lingered between them. There were playful looks on the both of their eyes. Anticipating and waiting. Heated and challenging. Leto’s eyes wandered to the other man’s lips and his heart thumped against his chest.
Looks like it’s time to stop playing hard to get.
Leto grabbed the bottle of beer from Samuel and took a drink, keeping his eyes on the man as he did. He almost finished the whole thing before putting it down. He bit his still damp lips after.
“My work hours are done,” he teasingly whispered. “Where did we left off the last time?”
.
.
.
.
.
.
**Notes on the Translation**
* Krame – refers to Camp Crame, national headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Translator’s Note on this chapter: Please keep in mind how the whole mission is related to illegal drugs which is a persistent problem in the country that affects the poor mostly. When you think of drug busts, you might think of high-end parties, rich people or celebrities getting caught in scandals, but that’s not the case here. What Samuel was saying might not make the right sense unless you put it in this context.
Translator’s Message: Please support the creators by buying this book! 😀
Special Leche Flan Translations 