Chapter 2 Call Me "X"

• — EILYN —
• °
• Bearded Guy stared with a slanted grin like he found my face amusing or something.
• What's his deal? I frowned and backed away. Amid my hesitation, Beck interrupted us and pulled the weirdo away from me.
• "Sorry, Maam. Rookie in training here." Beck glared at the dark-haired guy before murmuring something about protocols.
• "Nice to meet you," I mumbled despite my confusion.
• "This is X." Beck feigned a smile. Beside her, "Rookie in Training" studied my face like I was a Renaissance sculpture or something. "He's Romer's replacement," Beck added.
• "Why? Where's Kuya Romer?" My hand clasped my bag straps. Did something happen to my bodyguard?
• "Retired. Let's go?"
• "Retired?" I frowned. "He's not even 50."
• "Health reasons."
• "Oh. No one told me." I stood still and watched as she told the new guy to "keep his eyes peeled". The slight paranoia in Beck's muted voice bothered me, but perhaps it's just my overworked brain.
• "No other luggage?" Beck asked as I tried to ignore the new guy.
• "Yeah."
• "Tick-tock." He had his back to us now, his jaw-length hair as black as his leather jacket. "Driver's waiting," he muttered while surveying the surroundings.
• British accent? The foreigners I often encountered in this city were mostly Chinese, Korean, or American. Should I just call him "X"?
• His codename. And Beck said he's my new bodyguard. Must be official.
• "Ma'am, let's go?"
• "Yeah," I replied while the new guy held the umbrella.
• He stayed close to me as we rushed out of the arrival area. When we reached the Trailblazer (most likely bulletproof all over), X opened the door for me.
• "Thanks," I muttered before stepping into the backseat.
• "Sure." He grinned and stared at me.
• Did I look familiar? Funny thing was, I thought he looked familiar. In some angles, he looked like my ex. A rugged, less somber version of the guy, dare I say.
• Or maybe the lack of proper rest was already messing with my eyesight. My muscles ached worse, too. Ugh.
• Beck sat in the front seat beside the driver, Karlo—my brother's driver and also a longtime employee of ours. Then Beck spoke again. "Leaving now with H. En route to the hospital."
• "H?" I questioned.
• Was she talking to her supervisor?
• "Your new code," replied my seatmate. Mysterious Brit guy. X shut the door which automatically locked itself. "Short for 'heiress'."
• "Oh." I sat back.
• His foreign accent sounded more obvious when he said "code" and "short".
• Where did he come from? How did he end up here in Manila?
• °
• The drive was quiet as rainfall darkened the skies and the busy roads. The A/C unit stayed on low but the chills only worsened.
• My teeth chattered now. "Need to buy some meds, B." I coughed and hugged myself, pressing my palm onto my face mask. Ugh. Stuck in traffic again...
• The weather was partly to blame. Now my skull felt like a chainsaw was splitting it open. I couldn't even keep my eyes open for five seconds.
• "What meds?" Beck stared at her phone, probably looking for the nearest drugstore.
• "For flu. And cough syrup. Plus nasal decongestants."
• "How many, Ma'am?"
• "Ten each, B." I covered my throbbing head with my hoodie. "And stop calling me 'Ma'am'. I feel so old now," I murmured. Or maybe she was just showing the new guy that I was the most important person in the vehicle.
• "Copy." Beck pointed to a commercial building to our right. "There's one in the corner."
• "And buy me some water, please."
• "Want me to go get 'em?" asked the guy beside me.
• "What?" I coughed onto the thick fabric of my mask. My vision wasn't spinning yet, but now my attention span's no longer than a goldfish's.
• "I'll go get the meds," was his casual reply. "Need the loo anyway."
• Loo.  A real Brit.  Most likely he didn't speak a single Tagalog word.
• "You kidding? Fifth time today. Geez." Beck gave X the stink-eye. "Buy some Imodium while you're at it."
• "Were you actually counting?" He laughed. Nice teeth showed. His grin narrowed his long-lashed eyes and showed some dimples, somewhat curbing his "Mr. Mysterious" appeal.
• The driver just pulled over outside a pharmacy. Then X opened the door.
• "Take the umbrella." I handed him some money. It wasn't pouring anymore but the rain didn't stop yet.
• "Copy, H." With my money in his fist, X grinned before stepping out.
• I winced at the noise after he shut the door.  "Who hired him to replace Romer?" I asked. 
• Daddy Gene wouldn't just replace my most trusted personal security staff without telling me a thing.
• "Sir Daniel," Beck muttered before clearing her throat. "Just the other day."
• "What's his background?"
• "Axell? From the UK. 28. College dropout. No regular employment records. Into martial arts. Not quite a marksman but passable. Moved here years ago. Worked for a private business group." Beck paused.  "Can be cocky and annoying, but the guy can back it up. So far."
• "Daniel knows him well?" I watched "X" from afar as he ran straight into the store. I wasn't used to new bodyguards.  I didn't even know the new guy's last name. If only they could clone Kuya Romer...that'd be fantastic. 
• "I doubt it," Beck muttered. "But the guy needs the steady income, he says. Seems generally harmless. Didn't give him a gun yet."
• No deadly weapon on him yet. Whew. Stranger danger fear gradually decreasing...
• If the guy needed money and really wanted to keep this new job, he'd better think thrice before doing anything stupid. My billionaire dad would skin him alive if I didn't come home today unscathed and in one piece.
• "Axell's his real name?" As I watched X, he leaned over the counter while talking to the pharmacy assistant. Then he goofily waved at us when the assistant left the counter.
• I almost smiled.
• "Seems like," Beck sighed. "We're taking you to the hospital now. Already two hours behind schedule. This shitty weather's not helping."
• "Yeah. Step on it. Don't hand him a gun yet."
• "Copy."
• °
• [ Hours later ]
• It was the noise.
• A series of gunshots.
• Crap. Were they actual gunshots?
• At the thought, I grabbed my headphones to take them off and tried to sit up. The fatigue forced my warm eyes to stay shut. For seconds, I rubbed the haze of sleep out of my eyes, but they just wouldn't stay open.
• My back ached. My joints still hurt even after I had taken the meds. And we were on the road. Still.
• The first time I heard the muffled noises, they didn't really alarm me. I didn't even think they were gunshots. To my groggy senses, I just thought it was the downpour.
• But no. The sky looked clear now. Light blue. No more dark clouds. Wait.
• What time was it? I sat completely still in the backseat as my eyes strained to read the time on my watch. My breathing paused.
• No one's sitting beside me.
• Why?
• Where's the new guy?
• °
• "Where..." I rubbed my eyes. I actually fell asleep. I had been unconscious for hours. My eyes and entire neck ached.
• Heck, my head and back felt like they were on fire. Worse: my entire skull hurt like a raging bitch. Like I just got out of brain surgery or something. Not that I had experienced it before, but, my noggin felt like someone cracked it open.
• "You okay?" A familiar voice with a foreign accent spoke loudly in the front seat. "You good?"
• It was him.
• X. The new guy.
• Hold up.
• We're alone? How?
• "Wait. What..." My breath caught in my aching throat. I reclined in the backseat, held back by the tight seatbelt that restrained my torso.
• He's driving like a madman. Probably faster than a hundred. I couldn't even drive a car past 50 kilometers per hour. My intakes of breath sped up while my pale hands clutched the edge of the seat, holding onto the cushion for dear life.
• Why're we alone? Where the heck's Beck and our driver? More importantly, why's the new guy trying to drive us to our untimely deaths?
• "Where's Beck and Karlo?" I asked after seconds of nervous glances.
• "In the city," the guy behind the wheel said. X cleared his throat and scratched his thick brow. His voice sounded gruff, like he just woke up from a nap, too. For a moment, he kept driving like a racer on crack along the not-so-busy highway. The guy just kept swerving and overtaking every vehicle that blocked our way.
• "Where?"
• "In the ER, I hope."
• "What?" I tried to steady my breathing despite his dangerous driving. It only worsened my headache. But not to panic. Calm and composed. I should keep a nice grip on my emotions.
• Although I was stuck in an unfamiliar place, all alone with a total stranger driving way past the speed limit, I had to stay calm. Level-headed. Control the panic.
• Breathe in...breathe out. "You're alive. You're fine. He's too busy behind the wheel," I reminded myself internally in an effort to lull my scary thoughts. I barely knew him and didn't trust him one bit. Although he didn't have a gun pointed to my head, a fairly discernible air of danger around him lingered in my mind.
• Wait. Oh shit! Did he have a gun tucked inside his jacket? Did Beck give him a weapon while I was asleep? A loaded handgun?
• "Seriously, where's Beck?" I asked. I tried to keep my voice down. My heartbeat only kept accelerating, but so far I was still in one piece. Thankfully.
• "Two hours away. Give or take." X sighed.
• "Give or take?"
• "Yeah." For some reason, the guy kept glancing at the rear view mirror and the side mirrors, looking agitated and somewhat...paranoid.
• What's going on? Was he driving away from something? Someone? Where on Earth's Beck and our driver?
• "Where are you going?" My gaze darted around the vehicle's interior. Some hairline cracks had formed on the windows. Then I noticed the small round holes. Oh no. Bullet holes?
• Oh shit. Shit! Someone was shooting at us?
• My phone. Phone call. Emergency number. Now. I should call for help. Call Daniel or Daddy Gene.
• Except, my handbag was nowhere in sight. Where did they put my personal belongings? Oh. My suitcase was in the trunk.
• My panic kept mounting as I tried to keep still. The pleasant weather kind of calmed my nerves as the vehicle sped along the highway. The quiet two-lane road looked gray and dry. Like it hadn't seen rain all day.
• Oh crap. We're no longer in Metro Manila. Where on Earth was this guy taking me?
• "Are we still on the way to the hospital?"
• "No," was all X said.
• "Slow down, will you?" I said louder. My voice trembled. I was trying my best not to show my nerves but his behavior was really freaking me out.
• Phone. Phone. I needed my phone now!
• Ugh! I shouldn't have slept through the drive. This darned flu just kept making my day worse. Where the heck did he hide my bag?
• Stuck in the backseat and I couldn't even read what the road signs said. The flu and our speed just worsened my nearsightedness, and his dangerous driving didn't help calm me down at all.
• Oh shit. Was he actually trying to kidnap me? Or kill me?
• "Where's my bag? Where's Beck?"
• "In a hospital somewhere, I hope," murmured new guy.
• "What?" I almost shouted. Why did he keep saying he hoped Beck was in a hospital somewhere? My gut wrenched at his monotonous reply. I couldn't even breathe properly anymore. The anxiety tightened my chest while my back and limbs felt almost numb from exhaustion. The fever's fault. "Why?"
• Did he really mean "in a hospital"? Why would Beck need to be in the emergency room? Did he mean the hospital where my brother was confined? Where's Karlo our driver?
• What the heck's this weirdo talking about? And where on Earth was he taking me?
• As if he sensed my growing internal turmoil, the guy shifted gears and slowed down. Finally...
• We were nearing an intersection, and he kept glancing at the side mirrors every three seconds or so. Like he was anxious to see someone. Or terrified of something.
• Why? Were we being chased? A red light pinned us in the middle of the highway now, alongside other strangers' vehicles. Not that many. We're in the countryside now.
• X wore the same clothes. Same leather jacket. Dark pants. His frown creased his lips and brows. He sat still. He didn't even turn his head to look at me. He wouldn't even look at my reflection in the mirror.
• Why?
• Well, on the flip side, he wasn't clutching a deadly weapon or anything. Good enough sign that he wasn't going to murder me in broad daylight. For now at least.
• "Hey. Where are we going?" I gripped the seatbelt and held my breath as I waited for his answer. My bothersome gut feeling told me I would not like what he had to say, but I still had to know the truth. "X, where are you going?"
• "Somewhere safe."
• "What?" I made a face at his cryptic reply. "W-What d'you mean?"
• "Away from the city."
• "Why?"
• He sighed when I didn't say anything more. "Some gangbangers just tried to kill you."
• °