A New Safe Haven

Zark felt a mix of anxiety and urgency as he rode the jeep from Manila to Taguig, gripping his backpack tightly. Jojo's words echoed in his mind:

"You need to get far away from here. Jason Cheng's men are looking for you."

The address scribbled on the piece of paper Jojo's handed him was now his only lead—a lifeline to safety.

As the jeepney approached his stop, Zark jumped out and began walking quickly down the street, his eyes scanning for the shop that matched the name on the paper:

Jerry's Computer Repairs.

When he finally spotted the sign, he took a deep breath and approached the door. The old wooden sign hung loosely, swinging slightly in the wind. He hesitated for a moment before knocking, feeling the weight of uncertainty hanging over him.

After a few moments, the door opened, revealing a man who looked strikingly similar to Jojo.

"You must be Zark," the man said, his voice friendly and welcoming.

"Come on in, my brother already told me to expect you."

Zark blinked, slightly taken aback.

"Your brother?"

The man grinned.

"Yeah, I'm Jerry. Jojo's my twin brother. I guess he didn't mention me, huh?"

Zark stepped inside, still trying to process the fact that Jojo had a twin.

"I didn't know he had a brother," he admitted, glancing around the shop.

The interior was cluttered with various electronic parts, wires, motherboards, and half-assembled devices.

"Yeah, we're identical twins," Jerry said with a chuckle.

"Though, I'd say I'm the better-looking one."

Zark managed a small smile.

"Well, thanks for letting me stay here," he said, feeling a bit awkward.

"No worries, kid," Jerry replied, waving his hand dismissively.

"My brother said you needed a place to lay low for a while. So, make yourself at home."

As Zark walked further into the shop, he noticed a man around the age of 29 hunched over a workstation, tinkering with a laptop. Jerry motioned toward him.

"That's Thadz," Jerry said, introducing the man.

"His real name's Rommel Quiroga, but we call him Thadz. He's been working with me for years now. If it's broken, Thadz can fix it."

Rommel looked up from the laptop he was working on, giving Zark a quick nod.

"Hey," he said simply before turning back to the device.

Zark watched as Rommel continued to tinker, his hands moving swiftly as he replaced a damaged motherboard. The sight reminded him of his early days when he would take apart computers just to see how they worked.

Just then, the door swung open, and a middle-aged man walked in, looking somewhat impatient.

"Hey, Jerry! Is my laptop ready yet?" the man asked, his tone slightly annoyed.

Jerry turned and gave the customer a reassuring smile.

"Relax, Mr. Montemayor, Thadz is just finishing up the repairs," he said.

"You'll have it back in perfect working order in just a few minutes."

Rommel glanced at the customer and then at Jerry before speaking.

"Just a few more tweaks to the BIOS settings, and it'll be good to go," he said.

Zark watched closely as Rommel continued to work, noticing how methodically he went about the repairs.

"What happened to the laptop?" Zark asked, curious.

Jerry turned to him.

"The guy dropped it, and the motherboard got fried. Thadz replaced it, but there was also some data corruption on the hard drive. He's fixing that too."

Zark nodded, impressed by the attention to detail.

"Seems like he knows his stuff," he remarked.

"Oh, he does," Jerry said proudly.

"Thadz is the best techie I've got. There's nothing he can't fix."

After a few more moments, Rommel finished the final adjustments and handed the laptop to Mr. Montemayor.

"Here you go, sir," he said.

"I replaced the motherboard, reinstalled the operating system, and recovered your data. It should be running smoothly now."

Mr. Montemayor took the laptop and tested it, his annoyed expression softening into one of relief.

"Everything's here," he said, sounding pleased.

"Thanks, kid. You're a lifesaver."

"No problem," Rommel replied with a slight grin.

"Just be careful with it this time."

Jerry laughed.

"Yeah, we're not miracle workers, you know. Try not to drop it again."

Mr. Montemayor chuckled and nodded.

"I'll do my best. Thanks again."

He handed over some cash to Jerry and left the shop.

As the door closed behind him, Jerry turned to Zark with a grin.

"See? This is how we make a living around here," he said.

"It's not glamorous, but it pays the bills."

"I noticed," Zark replied, looking around at the various tools and equipment scattered about.

"I could probably help out, you know. I used to work on computers when I was younger."

"Oh, we'll put you to work, alright," Jerry said with a chuckle.

"But you might also learn a few new tricks while you're here."

Rommel smirked as he began tidying up his workstation.

"If you think you're up for it," he said,

"I could show you some hardware hacking techniques. We do a lot more than just basic repairs around here."

Zark's eyes lit up with interest.

"Hardware hacking?" he echoed, intrigued by the possibility of expanding his skills.

"Yeah," Rommel replied, setting down his tools.

"You'd be surprised what you can do if you know your way around a circuit board and a soldering iron."

Jerry patted Zark on the back.

"Looks like you're about to get a crash course in hardware," he said.

"Welcome to Jerry's Computer Repairs, where we fix stuff... and maybe break a few things for fun."

The atmosphere in the shop felt relaxed but energetic. Zark felt a sense of relief knowing that he had a safe place to stay, and perhaps an opportunity to learn new skills. For the first time since his escape, he felt a small glimmer of hope.