Walking towards the end of Calle Cabildo, the man wearing a salakot carried on his shoulders a knocked out Francisco. It only took a quick swipe to the back of the head with a revolver to do so. He deemed it a much more efficient way of transporting a captive under the pressure of time.


    ''I was careless'', he thought to himself. His mission was supposed to be simple: go into the city, find and eliminate his target, don''t get found out, and get out. It was just that simple...and yet, here he is, stuck with an innocent young civilian who was just that unlucky to run into him...and his target is still nowhere to be found.


    As he marched on towards the harbor, which was supposed to be an easy getaway if not for the recklessness of Pedro and his men, his mind fell into deep introspection. He could have just simply shot and killed off this youth and moved on, just as he did with the other ''innocent'' witnesses that came across his path, intentionally or not. Finishing him off was the easiest and simplest solution, and yet...somehow...something inside him just wouldn''t allow him to.


    A seasoned killer...feeling mercy for someone that isn''t even related to him in any way. Ridiculous, the man thought to himself. And yet, there was just something in the lad that...awakened a fragment of himself within him...one which he thought was forever lost.


    Perfecto Peralta gasped, trying to bury the thought, and focused on the situation at hand. Yonder the street, he can hear the sound of successive gunfire and the shouts of men in combat - tones that are all too familiar to him. That must be Telesforo''s group, he thought to himself, for before this eventful night, he was with the tulisanes to coordinate a heist on one of the warehouses near the harbor - one where his employer Placido Penitente used to store his obsolete rifles. The plan was to use the tulisanes as a diversion and bait to draw out the Guardia Civil, for his target was a certain Spanish officer in the guard whom Placido wanted dead for blackmailing him. This certain officer has been in the payroll of Penitente for quite some time, and the man, possibly realizing how much Placido was worth, got greedy and asked for more.


    But Placido was not one to be trifled with, and Peralta himself knows and acknowledges this. When men become imprudent in the face of chaos, Penitente kept his cool. Reckless men would have ordered a hit immediately on the snitch to get the problem fixed as soon as possible, but not Penitente. He is a sophisticated man, the shadow behind the curtain - pulling the strings from behind the scenes.


    Peralta''s orders from Penitente were simple: convince the tulisanes to raid Intramuros by giving them an incentive, create a situation where the tulisanes will be forced to fight the Civil Guard, drawing out the officer in the process. And then, in the heat of battle, assassinate the official.


    It was a very brilliant plan, because it eliminates any leads to the possibility of a foul play. If anything, his death would be blamed on the tulisanes, and saves Penitente the trouble of eliminating any possible witnesses. Well...save for one, of course. And to make things worse...in the chaos of the fighting, he wasn''t able to find his target yet and his time is running out. But on a positive note, he was grateful he suggested to have Pedro secure the rifles, because he was impulsive and reckless. He would have charged in guns blazing even if you told him not to, because he understands that the man has the ego of a hundred Emperor Neros, and the intellect of a rooster in a cockfight. If there''s anybody to blame for this chaos, it would be none other than Pedro - and to Peralta, this is a very good thing.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    He stopped near one of the tall buildings he can find in Calle Cabildo, and stumbled upon a law office. He can hear the skirmish of a group of tulisanes against that of the Civil Guard, and so he set down his unconscious captive down in front of the doorstep of the building, unfastened the rope holding the sheath of his bolo, and used it to bind Francisco''s hands and feet together, in a fashion similar to how you tie a pig when cooking lechon.


    Having secured his captive''s bonds, he started climbing upwards, using the awnings, railings and ledges to reach the roof. Upon reaching the top of the building, which is about three stories high, he began scanning the surroundings, and saw a skirmish northeast of his position. Immediately, he began jumping from roof to roof, taking great care not to land too roughly, because beneath the pockets of his trousers were delicate canisters, and if he''s not careful, smoke will come out of his pants and can possibly give away his position. It didn''t take long for him to reach the roof of a pharmacy, which was just a road away from the Ateneo school grounds. With this, the sound of fighting grew louder, and sure enough, he had a very good vantage point of the battle between the tulisanes and the Civil Guard. Shame he didn''t bring his rifle, he thought to himself, for in the distance, he can see a soldier wearing a decorated uniform. And upon his more careful inspection, the features of that individual match that which his employer had given him. Bushy mustache, olive skin, and a scar on his left cheek that looks like a scratch. That''s him, all right. Readying his revolver and taking a deep breath, he aimed down at his sights. But as he was about to get a bead on his target, he noticed seven soldiers carrying a crate rushing towards their comrades. A machine gun, he thought. He then looked to his left, and saw behind one of the wall sections of the school a very familiar face. Telesforo''s men won''t stand a chance against that machine gun. They need to retreat...and fast!


    Peralta noticed how Telesforo''s men focuses on the men carrying the crate. A good move on the part of the bandit leader. However, they were failing spectacularly despite the ten men firing on the crew. The soldiers reached their comrades, unpacked the machine gun from cover, and, upon loading the ammunition, laid siege to the position of the tulisanes with a blanket of gunfire.


    The machine gun was now firing for a good forty seconds when a thought occurred to Peralta. He had to do something. He then removed one of the canisters inside his pocket, and considered his options carefully. If he throws the smoke canister towards Telesforo''s direction, he may be able to save them from certain peril...but he will compromise his position in the process, losing his chance to assassinate his target. He took a deep breath. And, taking out all the smoke canisters from his pockets, he threw them towards the tulisanes''s direction in succession. As expected, the bombs created a thick blanket of smoke, causing disarray among the Civil Guards.


    "Go now, Tales!" Peralta shouted. "The machine gun is short of bullets! Go now while it reloads!"


    At this, Telesforo''s men started to make their move. From the side of the guards, Peralta can see the soldiers operating the machine gun panicking to reload the weapon as quickly as possible, which, upon reloading, started to fire blindly upon the smoke, missing their targets. Hearing the source of the voice, some of the soldiers took notice of Peralta and started firing towards the pharmacy. He immediately ducked and crawled away from his position to relocate to another position.


    The firing continued for almost a full minute, and at this point in time, the soldiers are already firing at nothing. Peralta was already relocated at the roof of the bookshop next to the pharmacy. Slowly, he rose up to fire. The officer was still hiding behind the wall where he was minutes earlier. Seeing this golden opportunity, Peralta took a deep breath, and, having taken a bead on the officer, slid his fingers on the trigger.


    BANG!