Chapter 53: Damage Control
Three hours had passed since they left the chaos of Marawi behind. The SUV rumbled down the highway, the lush greenery of the countryside blurring into a palette of muted greens and browns. The sun hung high, relentless and scorching, casting sharp shadows across the landscape.
Richard stared out the tinted window, his eyes heavy with fatigue but still alert. Beside him, Jack was slouched back, thumb scrolling mindlessly across his phone screen. The silence was dense, almost suffocating.
Richard shifted, glancing at Jack. "Jack, where the hell are we?"
Jack barely lifted his eyes from the screen, but his lips twitched with a hint of a grin. "Lugait. Part of Iligan City," he said. "Grandpa's got a lot of land here — plantations, warehouses, trucking yards. There's more in Cagayan and Malaybalay, but this is the main hub."
Richard's brow furrowed. "I thought the farm was just... a farm."
Jack shook his head, finally pocketing his phone. "Used to be. But now? It's a small city. Truck drivers, distributors, executives — they all hang out here. Grandpa calls it the 'Farm Estate,' but it's more like a mini kingdom."
The SUV slowed, approaching a towering concrete wall with industrial-grade gates. Security cameras panned across the vehicle, and a low buzz sounded before the gates slid open.
Inside, Richard's eyes widened.
The compound was sprawling, larger than Richard had ever imagined. Rows of heavy-duty trucks were lined up in neat formation, their silver and black exteriors gleaming under the sun. Warehouses loomed behind them, painted in a uniform gray, each marked with a code and a painted Purnas logo.
Beyond the trucks, the compound came to life. Modular houses stacked like shipping containers, two-story apartments with clotheslines strung across the balconies, children running through the alleys with plastic guns and makeshift toys.
A basketball court was in full swing, men in sweat-stained shirts shouting and laughing as they played a rough game of half-court. Not far away, a group of older men sat around a plastic table, beers in hand, cigarette smoke curling lazily into the air.