Eastwood General Hospital
11:30 p.m.
---
Nico wasn't planning on spending the night at the hospital, but then again, it's not like he has a choice.
"Thank God, no internal organ was damaged," Min stated beside him. Kanina pa nakatuon ang kanilang atensyon kay Dr. Jane Almeida na nakahiga sa hospital bed. Mahimbing pa rin siyang natutulog, pero halata ang pamumutla sa kanyang mukha dahil sa sinapit nito.
"Mas maraming nasasaktan habang tumatagal," huminga nang malalim ang dalaga at napahilamos ng mukha. "What a cruel way to celebrate the season, right?"
He noticed the stress and fatigue in her posture, probably due to the fact that she's been overworked lately.
Kanina nang pabalik na sana siya sa apartment matapos niyang ihatid ang Eidos mask, noon lang niya naisipang i-check ang kanyang cellphone. Only then did the detective realize that the virologist had called him several times already.
He tried dialing her number, but when she didn't pick up, doon na niya napagdesisyunang pumunta sa ECDCP. Kaya ganoon na lang ang gulat ni Nico nang maabutan ang isang ambulansya roon. Naabutan lang nilang naka-duty pa rin si Minnesota Gervacio, leading them to their current situation.
And since comforting someone wasn't a skill he's been trained for, Nico could only say, "You should go home."
"Marami pa akong gagawin, detective."
"Mas maraming tao ang mangangailangan sa tulong mo kung hindi ka pa magpapahinga. In 2016, WHO determined that about 745,000 deaths were related to overwork that had led to stroke and heart diseases." Nico looked at her sternly, not leaving any room for arguments. "But since you're in the medical field, I think you know that by now."
Sandaling natahimik ang nurse, mentally weighing all the possibilities of her collapsing because of exhaustion. Maya-maya pa, sumuko na lang sa pagod si Min.
"You're right. Maybe I should go home."
Nico nodded, his mind already elsewhere.
Bago pa man tuluyang makalabas si Minnesota, narinig pa niya ang sinabi nito.
"Thanks for the concern, Detective Yukishito."
The sound of her footsteps and the door clicking shut lingered in the air, leaving him with the aftermath of her absence. Hindi alam ni Nico kung anong nangyari o kung sinong may gawa nito sa virologist, pero tama ang kanyang hinala, iniisa-isa ni UD ang mga may koneksyon sa kaso.
'The game is about to end, but we'll see who gets to corner who, Unknown Disease.'
Hindi na niya namalayang naalimpungatan na ang virologist. He walked towards her, noticing how the blood still stained the dressing on her wound.
"D-Detective Yukishito?"
Dr. Almeida blinked, either to adjust her vision or to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.
"You were attacked," Nico said. "Nakita mo ba kung sino ang may gawa nito sa'yo?"
After drinking the glass of water he handed from the small table, pinilit ni Dr. Almeida umupo nang maayos kahit na napapangiwi ito sa sakit. She tried recollecting the events, with much accuracy as possible. "Namatay ang mga ilaw sa hallway, kaya masyadong madilim... But the light from the office was enough to make out her familiar features," napayuko ito, nanginginig ang mga kamay. "At kahit siguro walang ilaw, m-makikilala ko pa rin siya."
Her.
His jaw clenched, knowing this might be the lead they've been waiting for.
"Sino?"
Hindi umimik ang virologist. Puno ng pag-aalinlangan at takot.
Nico took in a deep breath and tried to interrogate as calmly (and as rationally) as possible. Kung nandito lang si Nova, paniguradong kanina pa siya pinagsabihan nito. Tsk.
He sat on the side of her bed and began, "More than anyone else, you know how shitty this entire situation is. Sa totoo lang, nahirapan pa sila kaninang hanapan ka ng bakanteng silid dahil halos mapuno na raw ang ospital sa dami ng mga pasyente ngayon. Woman or not, UD needs to repent for these sins."
For a moment, Nico thought he saw the hesitation in her eyes again.
"Anong gagawin niyo kung mahuhuli niyo siya?"
Nico thought about that for a moment. Naaalala niya ulit ang naging usapan nila sa restaurant kanina, and as Nova would put it, even detectives can't stray from their morals, no matter how much hatred brews inside their chests. Self-control, self-righteousness, and selflessness.
Even though sometimes, he wants to rebel against these principles.
'Nakaramdam din kaya ng ganito si Sherlock?'
"We'll treat her no less than how we treat other criminals," simple na lang niyang sabi.
Dr. Almeida slowly nodded, curling her fingers on the thin fabric of her hospital gown.
"T-Tifania."
Nico thought he didn't heard it the first time, then she repeated...
"Pero mas kilala siya sa pangalang 'Tiffany'."
*
Noong mga oras na 'yon, sa kadiliman ng mga lansangan at unti-unting pagkawala ng mga sasakyan, tahimik na pakinggan ng taga-Interpol ang mga ingay sa paligid. Nakatayo siya sa balkonahe ng kanyang nirerentahang unit, the one Xavier used a few months back when he was incognito because of the Heartless Killer case.
Late night shifts and restless cases weren't new to him, but indeed, this is a peculiar case.
Almost as peculiar as the mask Omari wore.
Sinong mag-aakalang ganito ka-advance ang teknolohiya ng Eastwood?
'Lucky. Now let's just hope luck is on our side of the coin tonight,' he thought and waited.
Maya-maya pa, doon niya narinig ang ingay ng mga pakpak. With the help of the software connected to the mask, he focused on that sound. Nawala lahat ng background noise, at para bang naririnig na niya ang tunog sa loob ng kanyang isip.
Wings.
Later on, when he re-directed his focus, he heard the familiar screeches.
Tumingala siya at pilit hinanap ang mga ito, and he saw one just in time before it disappeared to who knows where again, searching for food. There's absolutely no reason for these creatures to be in Eastwood, unless someone illegally brought them here for inhumane purposes. Mukhang tama nga ang ibinigay na tip sa kanya ni Detective Yukishito.
Hindi ang African green monkeys ang carrier ng Marburg disease, kundi ang isa pang hayop na malimit nitong maging host.
Rousettus aegyptiacus
"Egyptian fruit bats."
---
YOU ARE READING
✔ 03 | Point Of Exposure
Mystery / Thriller"Kailangan natin siyang pigilan bago pa ubusin ng virus ang populasyon ng Eastwood!" This time around, Detective Nico Yukishito and Detective Briannova Carlos are forced to face two enemies... One unseen. One vengeful. Both deadly. What happens when...
