A young girl with green eyes was sitting on the ground, in the middle of a garden full of flowers. All the colors of the rainbow were looking at her, as she carefully caressed every petal gently, afraid to hurt them.

"Are you going to do this to every flower in your grandmother's garden?" a man asked her.

"Yes." She smiled and returned to her work.

"Don't you think it's pointless? I haven't heard of anyone hugging flowers."

She pouted. "I don't hug them; I kiss them with my fingers. Who said that only humans need kisses?"

The man shook his head, struck by his daughter's innocence.

"Do you mind if I help you?"

"Sure, just be careful not to hurt them."

He sat beside his daughter, following her orders and petting the flowers with the thousand colors.

"Dad? Do you think I can do this when I grow up?"

"Kiss the flowers?"

"No, silly. Of course I can do that." She giggled, and her father's eyes brightened more than the sun. "I wonder if I'll have time to enjoy moments like these."

He raised an eyebrow. "Did you read your mother's book, again?"

She clasped her hands and tried to give her most innocent smile. "Maybe?"

"Oh, Alba." He hugged his daughter and kissed her head. A smell of roses hit his nostrils, like the one his wife's hair used to smell. "I hope you'll never lose your innocence. If only the world had more Alba's."

"Nah, I'm unique. Grandmother says that I'm a precious star, and like stars, there is no one like me." She grinned and hid in his hug.

"Of course not," he whispered.

"Alba!" She heard a man's voice calling her, but her father was still hugging her, without speaking. No one else was in the garden, and she believed that she had imagined the voice.

"Alba!" the voice screamed louder this time.

She felt herself shaking uncontrollably, and her father disappeared.

"Dad?" She tried to stand but something was holding her close to the ground. One by one the flowers disappeared, and the sun hid behind grey clouds.

"Alba, wake up!"

What is happening? Where is everyone? she wondered, but no one answered. Everything became grey and dusty, and the young girl could do nothing to stop it.

She took a deep breath as she opened her eyes. At first, she couldn't see through the dust, but slowly, a pair of hazel eyes appeared not far from her face.

"Oh my God! You are okay!"

He cupped her face, and a smile of relief appeared on his face.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. Everything happened too fast. Part of the corridor collapsed, and I barely had time to drag you back to the office."

She tried to stand up, but everything around her was moving in a weird way.

"Be careful."

"Where is-?"

"The Chief is okay. His office wasn't damaged except for a few paintings and objects. He's trying to reach the Great Room."

"It felt like-"

"Like a bomb, I know." He finished the sentence for her as she couldn't find the correct word.

Alba tried to sit up with Axel's help. "Let's not lean on the walls right now. I don't know how damaged and unstable they are," he said when she tried to rest against the wall.

"My head hurts a little." She narrowed her eyes.

"When I dragged you, I wasn't careful. With my sudden grip, I couldn't control your body, and we fell. I remember hearing a thump. It could be your head. We need a doctor to examine you."

"Don't worry. I've survived worse."

The Chief walked to them and bent his knees to be at the same eye level as the other two.

"I spoke with Assistant Agent X."

"Oh, please. I know her name's Nat. It's also less ridiculous than her title."

The two men looked at each other and raised their eyebrows.

"Maybe you don't need a doctor after all." Axel chuckled and earned a hit in his abdomen.

"There was an explosion. Nat said that their part of the base doesn't have any damages, but the west wing took the worst hit."

"West wing. Isn't that-" Alba was looking for confirmation, but she remembered every detail from the blueprints.

"Neva and his men escaped. I think it was an inside job. Agent 16-E did a fast scan, but unfortunately, the cameras from the west wing don't work. It'll take time to get the footage and find out what happened. All we know is that Neva is no longer in his cell, and the two guards at the west exit are dead."

Alba put her weight on her hands and attempted to stand.

"What are you doing?" both men asked.

"My team needs help. An extra pair of hands will get the footage faster."

"Maybe, but not before someone examines you. You could have a concussion."

"Rob, I'm fine."

He looked at her with a sad smile.

What did he expect? A father-daughter bonding moment?

"Let's get out of here."

"We can't risk the corridors until they assess the damage."

"Who said we'll use these corridors?" A mischievous grin appeared on the old man's face. "Come on. You might like this one."

He went to the opposite wall, where a tall bookcase was standing. He removed a couple of books and pressed the wooden place behind them.

The bookcase roared and started moving to the left, revealing a tunnel.

"What the hell!" Alba's eyes brightened in excitement.

"Who said that these things exist only in movies?" Rob winked, Axel moved forward.

"Follow me and try not to make any sound," he said and took Alba's hands.

She nodded and followed him. The Chief grabbed something from the bookcase and entered the tunnel. He pulled a lever down, and the bookcase moved to its old place, concealing them.

"We are lucky that the power is still on," Axel commented.

"I brought a flashlight in case something happens," Rob said and secured it on his belt.

Alba was following her friend's steps, careful not to stumble due to the dim lighting.

"Who else knows about this?" she asked.

"Me, Rob, Nat and now you." Axel put his index on his lips.

As if he didn't tell you to be quiet.

Alba didn't know how much time had passed when Axel turned to the right and halted. He moved a lever she hadn't noticed, and an opening identical to the first one appeared.

Assistant Agent X's office was in front of her. They walked inside the room and closed the opening, pushing a bookcase in front of it.

The Chief opened the door and peeked, checking if anyone was in the hallway.

The young woman sat on a chair, her hands rubbing her left hip.

"Are you okay?" A thick line appeared on Axel's forehead.

"Yeah, I just...My hip hurts a little. But it's nothing, really," she added when Axel opened his mouth. "I haven't rested enough lately." She tried to smile.

"All clear," the Chief informed them. "I'll call a medic for both of you. Alba, can you gain access to the cameras?"

"I don't know how much damage there is, but I'll do my best."

"Good." He looked at Axel. "I want you to investigate and interrogate everyone that came in contact with Neva. You won't talk to anyone else about it. Is that clear?"

Axel stood to attention. "Yes, sir."

The Chief took a gun from Nat's secret drawer and secured it on his belt. "Let's find out who the traitor is."

The moment Alba entered the Great Room, she realized how terrible the situation was. Everyone looked older, more tired, and the mechanical interactions between the agents were almost scaring her.

A doctor had advised her to relax and check out for any headaches. Axel was discharged immediately and hadn't seen him after that.

My f- she stopped her thoughts. Rob must be with Nat. I should head to my team.

She walked to the electronics room which was intact and full of people. Agent 19 and Agent 465 were using the satellite she had hacked, and Agent 16-E was giving orders to another team.

Alba cleared her throat as she neared the woman with the glasses.

The base is destroyed, and her suit is still on. If that isn't dedication, what is?

"What do you want, Agent 23?"

"The Chief ordered me to check the broken cameras."

"They cannot be repaired. Our best have tried, but it was pointless."

"I want to check them. I don't need to fix them. I just need their records."

"The team-"

"The team doesn't think the same way I do. Will you allow me to help you or do you prefer to call the Chief here and have a pointless and tiring conversation with him?"

Alba clasped her hands behind her back and barely suppressed a smirk.

The woman removed her glasses and sighed. "Fine. I have more pressing matters now. We are trying to track Neva," she said, and Alba raised her eyebrow. "Our system crashed, and we lost valuable time. He must be dozens of kilometers away, and our drones are compromised."

Alba nodded and let the woman go back to her work.

Alright, sweet cameras. Show me what you saw right before the big boom.

Her fingers pressed the keyboard, and the familiar sound put a barrier from everything that was happening in the room. Her left wrist protested again, but she didn't have a choice but to continue typing. Line after line, code after code, she managed to find the records from the last hour before the explosion.

She started watching the screen, scanning the guards, the Chief, Axel and then no one.

Dammit! No one went near that cell.

She scanned the footage from the last two hours and then the last three hours.

What the hell? Let's go back to when he entered the cell.

Neva was dragged by Axel and another agent. He was calm, his steps were steady.

He's almost happy.

Looking around her, she saw that no one was paying attention to her. She tried to cover the screen as much as she could with her small body and checked the cameras from inside the cell.

It took a lot of time because the damage was more severe, but she finally gained access.

There he is... Smiling. Why is he smiling so much?

The Chief and Axel entered the cell and started interrogating him. Neva didn't speak, only watched them amused.

"We'll see how quiet you'll be when you'll have nothing to eat," Axel warned him.

Neva leaned his head, and Alba noticed a small twitch in his right leg.

"There is still time. You can still join our side."

Axel raised an eyebrow. "I'm not a monster."

"Aren't you? Because I still remember that fire."

Axel stormed to him, but the Chief stood between the agent and the prisoner before Axel did something he would regret.

"Get out, Agent 40-S." His tone was cold, and his eyes said more than his mouth.

Axel nodded and turned around, walking to the door.

"You can't escape your past. No matter how many fires you start, you cannot change your blood. You should remember that when our reign starts."

The young man closed the door behind him, and the Chief punched Neva.

"I'll make sure you'll never see the light of the sun again. Where are your labs?"

Neva shrugged as much as his tied hands allowed him.

"That's your last chance."

"Or what? Will you torture me? Kill me?" He laughed. "Go ahead. I have loyal followers and workers. I'm only a part of the chain."

Alba watched Rob walking outside. No one entered the cell. Neva turned his head and looked straight to the camera. She felt as if his eyes were looking straight to hers.

Those eyes...

A strong headache started, and she put her hands on the sides of her head.

She tried to hold a cry of pain as she felt her head spinning. Everything turned grey, and countless pictures appeared in front of her, but she couldn't see anything. Voices filled her ears, and she hoped it would end soon. The grey turned into black, and then, a pair of icy, blue eyes appeared in front of her.

The girl gripped her head, trying to make it stop, but it was pointless, and she knew it.

Focus!

She had seen those blue eyes, but in a time and place that belonged to a past she couldn't remember. Until that moment... Until the moment that the most dangerous memory appeared.

It can't be true!

Her head was still spinning, but a scene had formed clearly in her mind. The voices were specific, and for the first time after her accident, Alba was utterly certain that the truck had hit her on purpose.

I know the truth, she muttered. And now, I remember it.

She focused again on the screen and searched for something specific. The video playing in front of her confirmed her memory.

I got you!

Alba turned off the computer and stood up, ready to put an end to everything when a siren wailed.

"What's happening?" someone asked, and everyone looked at Agent 16-E.

"We are under lockdown. Neva didn't escape."