San Roque, Batangas – 9:04 PM
The sound of the gunshot hadn't even faded before Ravi grabbed Asha’s wrist and pulled her into the shadows.
“Run!” he snapped.
Asha barely had time to react. Her heart thundered in her chest as they sprinted across the portside alley, dodging crates and splashing through puddles. Behind them, flashlights sliced through the dark like searchlights from hell.
“’Wag silang palayasin! Diyan lang sila!” someone shouted.
Another shot fired. This one hit a wooden post, splinters spraying near Asha’s shoulder.
“Sh*t!” she gasped, ducking behind Ravi.
“Keep moving!” he barked, pulling her forward. “I know the streets better. Stay with me!”
For someone pretending to be a homeless tambay, Ravi moved like a trained shadow. Every turn, every duck into cover — calculated, precise. Asha couldn’t even process what was happening. Her slippers were soaked, her breath ragged, and yet—
She felt alive.
Scared. Furious. But alive.
They dashed through a side alley, leapt over a chain gate, and cut across the back of a closed sari-sari store. Ravi checked over his shoulder.
No visual. No tail. Not yet.
They turned another corner and ducked behind a parked multicab covered with a dirty tarp.
Only then did they stop. Gasping. Soaked. Silent.
Asha clutched her chest. “Okay… what the hell are you?!”
“Not homeless,” Ravi said between breaths.
“No sh*t!”
He peeked over the tarp. The sound of motors revving echoed faintly in the distance — the men were still looking.
“Are you—what? Military? Agent? NBI?”
“Something like that.”
“Are you serious right now?!”
“I didn’t want you involved—”
“Too late!”
A beat of silence.
She was shaking. Not just from adrenaline, but from how real everything suddenly became. Ravi noticed. And despite everything — the running, the bullets — he hated the way her fear looked on her face.
“I need you to listen,” he said, softer now. “You’re not just in danger. You’re a witness now.”
Asha stared. “They used my café.”
“Yes.”
“They’re moving a child.”
“Tonight.”
“Then we have to go back. We can’t just—”
“We will,” Ravi interrupted. “But not without backup. Not without a plan. We go back now and we both die.”
Asha blinked hard. “She was terrified.”
“I know.”
They were quiet for a moment, both catching their breath, adrenaline refusing to leave.
Then Ravi added, “You’re not safe anymore. They saw you with me. That makes you a target.”
“So what now?” Asha asked. “I hide?”
“No. You stay with me.”
Asha crossed her arms. “You want me to trust you now?”
Ravi met her eyes. “You already do. That’s why you followed me.”
She wanted to argue. She really did.
But he was right. And it scared the hell out of her.
Across town, a phone rang inside a dark warehouse.
“Sir,” a voice reported, “there was a witness. Two of them. One might be an agent.”
The man on the other end — cold, calm — tapped his cigarette against the table.
“Find out who the girl is,” he said.
“Then burn everything she’s ever touched.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***
Download
Like this story? Download the app to keep your reading history.
Comments