"The farther south they went, the deeper the bloodline ran."
---
The Aftermath
The chapel was silent at dawn. Juan sat on the rooftop, watching the mist roll in over the hills of Cebu. Below, Don Eduardo was resting, wrapped in gauze. Isko cleaned his bolo with salt and vinegar, the old war ritual to prevent infection — and spirits.
Maria stood by the window, fingering the documents retrieved from the convent. Her brows furrowed.
> "These documents talk about treasure routes… pearls from Tawi-Tawi, gold from Basilan, even Spanish artifacts lost in Zamboanga during the Japanese occupation."
> "So this wasn't just about drugs," Juan muttered. "They're running black-market history."
---
Flashback: The Rise of Isko "Tigre" Rodriguez
Ten years earlier, Isko was a young marine, part of a secret joint operation between Spain and the Philippines. His mission? To secure a set of stolen religious relics being traded by pirates in the Sulu Sea.
He succeeded… but lost his entire unit in the ambush.
> "I was the last one," he told Juan. "After that, I disappeared. Started freelancing. Don Eduardo found me and gave me purpose."
Juan handed him a fresh clip of bullets.
> "You want purpose again? Then let's end this cartel."
---
Operation Begins: Talisay, Cebu
They tracked the cartel's next drop-off to a fishing warehouse along the Talisay coastline. But something felt wrong. The guards weren't Tigres — they wore different patches.
> "Sea Knights," Isko whispered. "Privateers. Smugglers turned mercs."
Night fell. The trio moved fast — Isko from the side, Maria on overwatch with her scoped pistol, and Juan straight through the front, wearing a fake uniform.
Suddenly: BOOM.
The warehouse exploded into chaos. A hidden sniper. Tracer fire. Shouts in Visayan. But amidst the firefight, they retrieved a crucial clue:
A USB drive... marked with the seal of the old Spanish Navy.
---
The Truth Uncovered: The Treasure War
Back at the chapel, Don Eduardo revealed the full truth.
> "The Pearl Cartel is using the drug trade to mask an even older mission — recovering lost colonial treasures for private collectors. Old churches. Galleons. War vaults."
Maria turned to Juan.
> "If they get their hands on those, they can finance a private army. Not just Tigres… but something worse."
---
Isko's Moment of Reckoning
That night, as Juan slept, Isko stood by the sea with a cigarette, staring into the dark. Maria approached.
> "You knew they were using you back then, didn't you?"
> "Yeah," he said. "But I wanted to believe that if I fought for something — even lies — maybe someday I'd be redeemed."
> "You're not the only one chasing ghosts," she replied.
The two sat in silence, as distant rondalla music drifted across the bay. A melancholic bandurria plucked a tune lost to time.
---
Mission End: A Blood Trail to Mindanao
Juan received a final tip via encrypted email. It was a map — old, Spanish, showing galleon routes to Zamboanga and Tawi-Tawi. The sender? Unknown.
But attached was a single photo: a black tiger statue... with a golden pearl lodged in its mouth.
> Juan: "We're not done yet."
Isko: "Then we better sharpen our blades. The south remembers."
They packed their bags. Next stop: Zamboanga.