Chapter 32: Chief's House

The Chief lives in the richest area in Gracia City. Before I could enter the subdivision, my identity had to be checked. It was such a hassle, but I finally arrived in front of the house. It's actually my first time coming here.

I was about to cross the street towards the gate when I heard it open. I don't know why but I hid on the lamp post near me and peeked at the gate.

I couldn't see the face, but I was sure a lady came out of the gate. Then a car came out afterward. I tried hard to get a glimpse of the lady's face but it was no use. She entered the car and then left immediately.

Who was that?

When the car was completely gone, I crossed the road towards the gate. A not-so-friendly guard approached me.

"What's your engagement here, Miss?"

"I'm here to see the Chief." When he heard me mention 'Chief', enlightenment immediately flashed on his face.

"Name?" He inquired.

"Tell him Paul is here."

He nodded and left me for a moment. It looked like he called the main house to announce my arrival.

The gate is gargantuan. It's a huge antique gate with columns. The two columns are made of bricks. The vertical lines on the gates are arrows with their heads pointing upward, and below them, are curvy recurring patterns. The gate kind of gives that neoclassical feeling, also a war-like feeling. Like I'm entering the gate of a fortress.

Moments later, the guard came back to me and led me inside.

"If you enter the main house, someone will lead you to the People's Rep Office."

I gaped at the glorious spectacle before my eyes.

A gigantic figure 8 outdoor pool is in front of the house. There are palm trees on its side which make it give off a tropical feeling like you're in a resort.

The pool was fantastically gorgeous. But the neoclassical house was more gorgeous. I don't know how to describe it as I have no in-depth knowledge about houses, but it's majestic!

The symmetrical purity and balance of the whole structure reiterate simplicity and order but also sophistication. Everything is balanced and symmetrical even to the tiniest detail. The tall columns, Ionic in style, support a full-height front porch. The windows are evenly spaced across the front facade of the house. The roofs are flat with a central dome.

I carefully padded past the pool. When I'm near the main door of the house, I felt a bit intimidated. The house gives you that feeling of intimidation, by how elegant it looks, and by how enormous it is.

A maid courteously approached me and led me somewhere inside the house. My mouth was gaping the whole time when I got inside. Everything here, shined. Even the interior of the house is inspired by neoclassical designs.

The wall details are careful and intricate. Even the huge chandelier hanging above is intricate in detail. On one wall, a painting of The Fall of the Rebel Angels by Bruegel was hung. And next to it, a painting of a huge lion, with its mighty mane, balancing a weighing scale on its mouth. That's Soma's symbol.

"This way."

My attention immediately shifted back to the maid who was leading me. We're walking in a corridor, and we passed by lots and lots of closed rooms. I wonder what those rooms are for.

Finally, at the end of the corridor is a room with a towering door.

The maid motioned me to get inside that room. Then she left me.

I don't know why I'm tiptoeing while walking closer to the door. I tried to listen to the door if I could hear anything, but I couldn't. So I knocked on the door two times.

The low and deep voice of the Chief came back as a response.

"Get inside."

As instructed, I went inside. And I came to what looked like a library to me. Because there are literally shelves of books everywhere. The shelves are attached to the wall in a semi-circle formation so that it is facing you, and because of its formation, you'd have this peculiar feeling that it's trying to envelop you or swallow you.

The Chief is sitting on his chair. His table is located at the very center of the room, directly facing the door where I just came in. He took off his glasses when I arrived. He still has that reddish rounded nose.

Beside his table is a wooden ladder, probably to be used to climb at the high section of books. There are three windows. One on the center, one on the right part, and one on the left part of the room. There are three upper shelves above the windows. And those interval parts with no window are filled with shelves of books. Below the shelves is a small provision of space where you can put the books you want to read.

I placed my fist on my chest to salute and he returned my salute. He telephoned someone then looked at me after.

"Sit down, Paul."

As he commanded, I sat down on the visitor's chair in front of his table.

"My secretary will tell you what to do."

I just nodded.

"Once the royal meal begins, I will gather the officials in the royal court for an emergency meeting," he informed me. "I have already prepared everything. After our conversation, I will have someone start a rumor about the Prince's coronation."

"What? I thought His Majesty wanted it to be a secret?"

He nodded his head. "I will have someone send an official complaint about it. That's the only way His Majesty will leave the royal meal. And that's when you take your chance, go to his study, and plant the bug."

He clasped his hands on the table and inhaled so deeply. Then he exhaled loudly and looked at me with indescribable happiness written on his face.

"We're so near," he said almost in ecstasy. "After you plant the bug, I'm going to deal with the Battalion. And after that, nothing can stop Soma anymore."

I roamed my eyes around the room. Then I came to stare at an old photo that is framed and placed below the window on the right. It's a photo of the Chief from twenty? Or thirty years ago. He's carrying this cute little girl in his arms. He looks happy. He looks like a happy father. And beside him, is a woman I have never seen before.

His wife?

But she looks strangely familiar.

They look like a normal happy family.

The Chief caught me staring at the picture.

"I'm sorry if I appear to be prying," I apologized. "Your daughter?" I couldn't help but ask.

He also stared at the picture of the little girl.

"Pretty, isn't she?" There is this adoration twinkling in his eyes, just like how fathers adore their daughters.

"She is," I affirmed. "Where is she now?"

"She's doing well," he thriftily answered.

Maybe that girl earlier was his daughter?

"And your wife?" I questioned.

He wore his glasses again without answering me. Then he said, "Let's not talk about traitors."

Traitors? Judging by how the Chief's mood changed, I figured, I shouldn't ask anymore.

I'm hesitating if I should tell him about the tap on my phone.

I opened my mouth to say something but changed my mind again. The Chief took a hint on this so he asked, "Do you wanna say something?"

I pressed my lips together.

If I tell him, what if he suddenly concludes the Prince is dangerous for Soma? What if he forbids me to see him after my mission?

Should I tell him or not?

"Rathna?" he urged me.

"Nothing, Chief."

He didn't appear like he believed me, but he didn't press on the topic anymore.

A neat-looking lady came inside. Her strides are precise, straight back, chin up. She's wearing a black suit, her ebony black hair is unnecessarily so fixed on a neat bun, with no single baby hair showing. She has this contoured cheek that makes her look very intimidating. And her eyes are also cold and posits that 'business-only' look. Overall, she doesn't have the most friendly aura.

"She's Courtney, my secretary." The Chief introduced her to me.

"Follow me, Ms. Pablo," she formally told me.

I glanced at the Chief once again before following the lady outside.

So I learned, there is nothing to learn at all. The bug is good as it is. I just have to place it somewhere in Mirando's study, somewhere near enough to eavesdrop on his conversations, but also somewhere where no one could find it.

The Chief then invited me to have a walk with him outside his house. And who am I to decline?

I silently followed in his footsteps as we took a stroll in the garden.

I stared down on the pebbled pathway of the garden. They somehow look familiar.

"I guess you don't remember anymore," the Chief mentioned. "You came here once when you were still a kid, to play with Kris."

Kris? His daughter? So I've been here before.

"You were best friends."

"I-- I don't remember."

I feel like I remember, but I also don't.

"I could understand. You were kids, and it happened a very long time ago. It's only natural that you don't remember."

It's sad that I couldn't even remember much of my childhood. My memories were only filled with my parents' deaths and the anguish that followed that. I couldn't even remember I was friends with the Chief's daughter.

"She liked you more than she liked me. And she likes your house more than ours, because you're there," he narrated while chuckling.

"I'm sorry I couldn't remember her," I guiltily apologized. "If I see her picture, I might remember something."

He smiled but ignored my suggestion.

After talking about some random things, he placed his hand on my shoulder. Then he looked me in the eye. "Do you really have nothing to tell me?"

It feels like he could actually read my thoughts that his stare made me feel uncomfortable so I had to look away.

"Then, let me ask you this one thing."

I brought my gaze back on him.

"How much do you trust your teammates?"

The question he posed threw me off guard. It's a basic question. It's a normal question but it makes me question everything. Everything I believed to be true. It makes me question the friendship I believe I have had for a long time, the trust I believe I gave on them effortlessly simply because they are my team.

His phone rang so he excused himself for a moment. I continued to process my thoughts. I don't know why I was affected by that question.

The dread that one of my teammates could be a traitor, it's killing me.

Why would the Chief ask me that? Why would he make doubt fall upon me?

I don't know why but the Chief left hurriedly to go to the Palace. I couldn't ask so I left the Chief's house immediately too.

I walked until I exited from the subdivision. And then I walked some more to let my mind think. Then I noticed there's a pre-school building far ahead. And beside it, there is a playground.

I went closer. Close enough to observe the playground intently.

Then using my phone, I took a picture of the swing. I don't know if I'm right, but it really resembles the photo of a swing I saw in Neuron's kitchen.

"Ah!" I exclaimed. I have this sudden flash of memory. "I think I remember!"

I looked around. I remember this place I think…

I do remember I had playmates when I was young. There is this girl with really short hair and two of her front teeth are missing. We used to play every day. I couldn't remember her name, but was she Kris? The Chief's daughter?

I couldn't remember if she's the Chief's daughter, but she's the only girl playmate I had when I was young. What if she's Kris?

I couldn't help but smile at the small amount of memory I had with her. She was annoying actually. She whines every single time. Even the smallest pain makes her cry. I remember she always has a runny nose because she cries all the time. And that used to irritate me a lot.

I sometimes think about her while growing up. She's kind of one of the reminders that I did have a short happy childhood. But I have no idea she's the Chief's daughter. She never told me.

I looked around the whole place, trying to remember this place that used to be my neighborhood. If the playground is here, then,

It's got to be around here…

I tried to look around to look for the place where our house was once located. But it was impossible to do that. The place changed so much. And there are a lot of houses now. It's even hard to look for confirmation that our house once existed in this area.

I couldn't find any trace.

I gave up on finding the location of our house and took a cab and went home.

I keep on thinking about what the Chief told me about his daughter.

I wonder where she is now. Does she think of me at times too?

I was pulled out from my reverie when my phone rang.

"Hey," I tiredly answered Neuron's call.

"You're such an interesting person to me."

"What? What is this ambiguous remark, sir?"

"You're the only sole proprietor I know who is fond of sneaking out from work."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm in your shop. And your staff told me you didn't come for work."

I immediately sat up straight.

"What are you doing there?"

"Fetching you. Why else would I be here?"

"Why? Where are we going this time?"

"Did you forget we have a royal banquet to attend tomorrow?"

So tomorrow is the day.

"I wouldn't dare forget about it. Wait for me. I'm coming."

I'm finally going to go inside the palace tomorrow.