Ernest V. Vasquez stands in attention, eyes trained on his victim tied to a chair. The lights flicker angrily.

The younger man sits slumped into the chair. Eyes glazed and half-lidded, his brows furrow as he tries to focus. The blow to the back of the neck was effective, Vasquez smiled to himself. He steps forward to check that the cord tying his hands together was still tight. Not that he has to step very far. The room is small enough that everything is a few paces away. Three of the four walls are lined with monitors watching every inch of the building.

In the low light, it's more apparent that Tony Francisco is a lot younger than himself. Absent on him are the fading scars and aging lines present A far cry from the glamorous physique hastily snapped by his surveillance team. Or the manner in which every lady he knows connected to the underground speaks of the illustrious man in all his charm and lithe physique.

And yet here he is, looking worse for wear. Blood drips from his neck and creeps from behind his left ear as his head steadies itself. His black clothes rumple further as his head fights lulling to the side. His dark brown hair sways with the movement, some parts clumped together because of sweat and dried gel. Vague perfume wafts across the room as the lights steadily flicker on and off.

He's waking. Slowly like a beached wave, he takes a breath that sharpens towards the end. Realization crashes into him and Vasquez savors that moment of desperation as he thrashes against the bind. That is, before Tony' eyes become steely hazel once more as it fixes itself on Vasquez.

"Comfy?" He asks the younger man.

Tony cocks his eyebrow in response.

"I made special accommodations for you and your friend here."

He steps aside and watches Tony's eyes go wide. Across him, Mac Chan limply sits on a chair. His lip is split at the seam, blood dripping through. His head hangs, spiky hair as immoblie as the rest of him. A vague bootmark can be made over his bllack shirt and matching bruises on his teeth.

"Gising ka na ba, hijo?" He sounds even more cocky.

Tony grints his teeth. "Where am I?"

"Nag-Eenglish pala 'to o." The Vasquez taunts, elbowing the guards who stand beside him. "So, Mister Francisco," he says in a mocking English accent. "Have you really not figured it out?"

The guards hold in their chuckles as Tony looks at them evenly.

"What? No reply?" The accent becomes sharper and less forced as he stands up. "Don't think we don't know who you are, Antonio Francisco."

"No, I'm Ball A."

Vasquez stopped. "Excuse me?"

"And he's Ball B." Tony says with a coy smile, gesturing to Mac. "Between us seems to be a prick overcompensating for something-" Vasquez slaps him across the face with more force than necessary.

"Did I say you could talk?" He shouts right in front of him then paces in whatever space was available in front of Tony. Tony wonders just how many spy movies this guy watched as a kid. "Tony Francisco, leader of a hired guns group. Born to a pilot and the son of a whore." He looked at Tony's figure up and down for a moment. "Not like that apple fell so far from the tree."

Tony steeled himself with a sly grin. "I don't give free tastes."

Another swing to the face and then the man stands up. The lights still flicker on and off as he looms above him. Tony keeps his expression neutral, unreadable in every way possible.

"Do you know who I even am, boy? Y-"

"Let me guess." Tony chuckles and looks back at him. "'Your Worst Nightmare', Mister Vazquez? Or are you going to pull another cliché out of your ass nanaman po."

Slap. "F-Four out of five crooks have it," Tony smirks.

Another slap. "Don't be so cocky, puta ka." He growls. "Especially when we've taken out the rest of your team."

Tony's gaze lingers back to Mac as the gaps between the lights flickering get longer. He looks up worriedly.

"Looks like shit, no?" Vasquez prods. "Mangyayari sa 'yo rin yan, don't worry."

Tony stares straight at him. "What do you want?"

"I want the Habilin. I know you have the key to access it bypassing all security." He says plainly. And the penny drops. So that's why they were kept alive. "Give up your boss' safe space and I'll promise you that we'll let you leave in one piece."

Tony looks at Mac one more time before quirking an eyebrow. His lips split into a wry smile. "You want into my boss' pants? Sorry they're unavailable-"

Before he knows it a heavily ringed hand backhands his face. He stutters quietly and Vasquez smiles triumphantly.

"That'll teach you." He puts his boot on the small free space of the chair and leans in. "Now tell me where you're keeping the passcode."

Tony looks up at him, eyes sharp and lips curled into a smile despite the blood dripping at the corner. Vasquez flinches a little.

"Look, bud. Do you want me to talk or do you want me to shut up?" Tony rolls his eyes. "Because I'm getting mixed signals here and clearly we're not on the same page if you think picking an unfair fight is gonna do anything for ya."

Vasquez flinches again at the onslaught of English but of course it's easier to talk to him in movie clichés.

"And besides, the likelihood of me having the passcode to Habilin with me is just as much as you hoarding torture tapes of your disappearance victims-"

In a swift motion, the earpiece that shut itself off was ripped off his ear and thrown onto the control panel behind them. It bounces but remains in one piece. Everyone follows the movement except Tony and Vasquez, whose eyes never leave each other.

"Rude." Tony says aloud and gestures to Mac with his chin. "How come he gets to keep his?"

"Ibigay mo ang Habilin." He says through clenched teeth.

Tony cocked an eyebrow. "Again, what makes you think I have it?"

"You just said you did."

Tony's eyes sparkles, amused. "I did, did I?"

"Give it up, Francisco." He says with a growl as he grabs the metal chain inside Tony's shirt instead of his collar. Inserted in the thin chain are two rings, one wrapped metal that looks like a lightning bolt and the other is a thick sturdy ring.

"You're gonna wish you never did that." Tony's eyes get resolutely darker like the storm on the sea as Vasquez yanks it off his neck and the rings clatter to the floor.

The lights flare brightly and then shut. "Boys, paki ayos ang koryente dito. Mayamaya may puputok dito." Vasquez says, unfazed, as one of the guards make the sign of the cross.

"We've locked down your team. Your partner over there is out like a light and we've locked down your HQ. Nice little apartment. Reyes is a wonderful house picker." Lights flicker a little as Vasquez talks. The gaps between on and off get longer. "Your precious safe space can't help you out of this."

At that, Tony's expression darkens. It's unclear if it's rage that crashes and flows in his eyes. "I hope you sent the best of the best to disable."

"I don't need it. I have you." Vasquez seems amused at how suddenly angry Tony is and takes advantage of it. "See, I don't know why Reyes would trust a slut like you who gets off at hardplay."

Tony snorts. "This was your hardest?" His eyes gleam amused but there is a sinister intent hidden beneath the surface. "I've been slapped harder in the bedroom by actual men-"

"Tumahimik ka bakla ka." The montors flare angrily and then suddenly shut off. Tony says nothing after. "One more thing and I'll shoot your partner."

And in the next second, he takes aim and shoots at Mac's foot. In an instant all the lights flare out angrily and then shut off. The neighboring buildings shut down in the process, casting an even darker night throughout the affected areas.

Vasquez opens his mouth "What-"

An angry hiss emanates from the two bulbs in the room that echoes and bounce around. The low bulb almost bursting with the electricity running through it. It looks about a hair away from exploding. Heavy silence falls on everyone.

The silent panic runs through Vasquez and the guards. The air was different somehow; it was as if there was something different in the room, like someone had joined them. A spirit maybe? The guards beside Mac made the sign of the cross again and Vasquez himself almost did too had his eye not caught Tony Francisco, smiling.

"Ikaw," He dares to yell out loud. "Anong ginawa mo?"

There is a crackle that echoes as one monitor after another blinks back to life. Suddenly, all of them are on. Pop ups for the anti-virus being disabled and speakers being turned up started coming.

"Told you that you should have sent your strongest guy into our HQ." Tony says, eyes unreadable and seeming to shine against the gleam of the monitors. Suddenly, he looked so sinister, as if he intended for all of this to happen.

"H-Ha?"

"Salamat po ulit, ha." Tony says with a smile.

It's at that point Vasquez's face glowers angrily with recognition of what just happened. "...No."

"Malaking tulong kayo sa mission namin."

"No."

"Hindi nga namin alam kung saan ang mga tape na ito-"

"-NO-"

"-At kung saan ka mismo. Dapat magstastakeout nga tayo dito pero ang bilis mo."

A sudden thud takes Vasquez's attention away from Tony for a second, his eyes widen as Mac stands above two knocked out guards. His restraints have been sawed off and fall on the floor frayed, foot bleeding. The other guard seemed distracted, mesmerized by the fact the monitors seemed to be responding to Tony's presence.

"Huh." Tony says ash Mac frees him and looks at the video feed. "Funny, may statement ka binigay na ibang pamilyang nagpatay sa mga taong iyon. I wonder kung bakit ikaw yung nasa loob ng video na yan."

Tony picks up the rings and slots them back on his metal chain before putting it around his neck. Gently, he picks up the earpiece that ended up on the control panel and let it enter the USB post. Once the files downloaded in his USB, the lights would turn totally on as would all the gadgets in the room and then shut off completely. The intervals were mere seconds.

"Sino kayo?" Vasquez asks as he's backed into a corner and Tony approaches him with a gun.

"Diba yan yung line mo?" Tony smirks and leans in, lips pressed together and whispers. "Your worst nightmare."