Old Clothes and Stale Coffee

Chapter 33

Chapter 33 - You see, I was giving him hints

“What do you mean professor? That you are the only one left in your team?”

The professor sighed and pulled at his hair in frustration.

“You see, I was giving him hints,” he told me. “Like I said, hindi ko nagustohan ang pag-trato nila kay Dome, kaya nag-isip ako ng paraan para mapalaya siya. Patago ko’ng sinabi sa kan’ya kung paano tumakas sa facility na `yun. Kung ilan ang mga bantay, kung saan sila tumatambay, kung kailan sila nagpapalit ng shift... pero hindi ko akalain na... na gagawin n’ya `yun...” he looked at me seriously. “Aahmes... pinatay n’ya ang lahat ng mga tao sa facility na `yun...”

“Then what happened?” I asked when he paused in his story.

“Hindi mo ba naiintindihan?!” he looked flustered, “Pinatay n’ya ang lahat nang directly connected sa project n’ya! Twenty-two people in total, as in, wala s’yang tinira!” he insisted, “Kinuha n’ya ang mga armas ng mga bantay n’yang alpha at pinatay ang lahat, pati ang mga babae at beta personel, tapos noon, sinunog n’ya ang lugar, kasama ang lahat ng research na pinaghirapan namin for 5 years! Buti na nga lang at nakapagtabi ako ang ilang samples and specimens na nakikita mo rito ngayon, but aside from that, lahat ng ibang research tungkol sa DOME, ay nawala.”

“Yes, I understand that part. What I want to know is what happened after that?” I asked him again. “Besides, you have photographic memory. None of the experiments were actually lost.”

The professor stared at me wide-eyed and smirked.

“Tama ka, at `yun ang inasahan n’ya, kaya ako lang ang itinira n’yang buhay. In fact, ginawa n’ya `yun nang araw na wala ako sa facility, nagulat na lang ako nang pumasok ako that evening, at nakita s’yang naghihintay sa `kin sa may entrance hall with his little `surprise’,” he continued, “pero, kahit tumakas s’ya, alam naman namin na hindi n’ya kakayaning tumakbo o magtago habambuhay, kaya gumawa na lang kami ng kasunduan para palayain s’ya ng UL, in a way...”

“In a way?”

“Pumayag s’yang magpailalim sa Universal Labs, bilang isang empleyado, at hindi na bilang isang specimen. Kinuha s’ya ng main branch sa US, kung saan s’ya nagtratrabaho ngayon sa US Millitary as a special cooperative na tumutulong sa mga kaso ng alpha abuses, at human trafficking ng mga omega.”

“And you?”

“Binuhay nila ako, dahil ako lang ang natira sa facility na bihasa sa dominant omegas, maliban sa mentor ko na nasa ibang bansa nang panahon na `yun. Pero pinaghiwalay nila kami, at pinagbawalan nang makipag-ugnayan pa sa isa’t-isa.”

“That’s why they decided to keep you here?”

He nodded.

“That’s why I’m still alive. Pati na rin ang mga pamangkin ko. Ni `di ako p’wedeng lumabas ng bansa.”

“But now, you have me,” I told him.

“Haay, nako Habibi, kaya nga `di `ko malaman kung matutuwa ako o matatakot nang nalaman ko kung ano ka. `Pag nabalitaan ng UL ang tungkol sa `yo...”

“They cannot touch me. You know that I am not from this country.”

“Pero... pa’no kung hulihin ka nila?”

“Have you forgotten?” I answered him, “They let your DOME go, because they knew they cannot control him. What makes you think that they can control me?”

He seemed to stop and think about that.

“Actually,” he continued, “hindi lang s’ya basta pinakawalan. They were supposed to kill him, pero nakiusap ang isang heneral at ang mentor ko para hindi s’ya patayin.

Malaki ang nagastos nila in that 5 year period, napakalaki rin ng potential n’ya. Instead, naglagay sila ng microchip sa kanyang ulo, at `yun ang dahilan kung bakit sumusunod pa rin s’ya sa kanila hanggang ngayon.”

“A microchip?”

“Yep,” he answered, pointing at his own right temple. “And the same microchip is in my head too.”

I stared at him wide eyed.

Does this mean that someone else owns Prof. Antonio?

That someone is dictating his every move? Stopping him from acting on his own?

I cannot seem to imagine that he is still holding back with the way he behaves in the company. Or is he like this because of his situation? Is it his way of rebelling against the people who are controlling him?

“Haaay... Habibi, halika na nga at itimpla mo na lang ako ng kape,” he said after a while.

He made his way out of the narrow room and looked back at me.

“Ano? Maninigas ka na lang ba d’yan? Isasara ko na `tong pinto!”

“But professor... that microchip...”

“Habibi, ayokong banggitin mo pa `uli `yan kahit kailan,” he told me. “Bawal pag-usapan sa labas ang mga pinag-usapan natin ngayon dito.”

He proceeded to remove his scrub suit and dumped them in the trash bin outside the secret room. He then looked around the hallway as soon as he opened the laboratory door.

“Is there something wrong, professor?” I asked him.

“Wala ba r’yan ang mga alaga mo?” he whispered.

“Professor, as I told you, they are not inside the property. They are not allowed to enter, neither are they allowed to eavesdrop on us.”

“Sigurado ka ro’n?” he frowned.

“Of course. My instructions were clear.”

“Haay... buti naman...” he said normally, “Akala ko `di na ko nakakapagbihis sa sarili ko’ng kuwarto!”

“Is this the reason why you have been quiet all day?”

“S’yempre! Biro mo, may mga alaga ka palang hashashins! Baka mamaya tigokin na lang ako ng mga `yun!”

“They would never do that,” I assured him, “in fact, I told them to look after your well being as well, especially after that incident you had with Dr. Heathlow.”

“Woah? Ganoon ba?!” he looked excited. “Ayos `yan, may sarili na ako’ng assassins!”

“They are not assassins, professor, just bodyguards,” I reminded him. “Now, about that cup of coffee...”

“Ah, tama, halika na sa baba, at kape’ng-kape na ako.”

The professor acted the same after that talk in the hidden room. He went back to his normal crabby self when we returned to work. There was no more mention of the past, nor of the microchip in his head, though I cannot help but think about it.

I caress the hair on his right temple as he sleeps soundly on his bed.

There is a small round scar there where I deduct the microchip was inserted.

If I am not mistaken, this is the same neurochip used by the company years ago, when they were still conducting top secret experimentations on dominant omegas in our country. It was developed by the US military and could be triggered by a unique microkey using satellite signals than can be sent anywhere around the globe. They were placed on the researchers to ensure their loyalty. But as far as I know, it has already been banned five years ago, even before I joined the company. The neurochips were all removed and discarded after an unanimous vote from a confidential meeting of UN Leaders declared it as an inhumane torture device.

For days now, I have been pondering who might have the professor’s key. It needs a finger print for authentication, so only one person could disarm it.

Or trigger the bomb in his head.

I have my suspects; the military personnel he mentioned, his old mentor, and Dr. Gonzaga, the head of Universal Laboratory here in the Philippines.

He never told me any names, and I know that I cannot ask him about them any more, but I will find out who holds that miro-key.

Soon.