Alba stared at the female sitting next to her in the car, while the tall man had already taken his place next to the driver.

PROTEA needs me? Sure, that explains everything.

She nodded, hoping that agents didn't talk much.

The woman handed her an envelope and stared with her black eyes.

"Here is everything you need to know. Chief will explain more at the base. Most of the agents are already there."

Alba nodded again and took the envelope.

She opened it carefully, afraid that all her movements were monitored and hoping she looked normal.

Dozens of pages were in there. A few were written in a code that she understood. There were some photos with labels and a lot of numbers and coordinates.

"Erik Neva was spotted two days ago outside that hotel. Vasily Azarov arrived 17 minutes later. They were inside room 323 for 36 minutes until Azarov left. Neva stayed for another hour without anyone else entering the room. We lost both of them after a while. The tech team tried using the satellite, but they couldn't surpass the government's new code. Agent 16-E said that you are our only chance of finding their whereabouts. You must understand the importance of the mission. You know what happened one year ago in Bratislava."

Alba realized that she was talking to her, expecting a sign of confirmation.

What the hell happened in Bratislava? Who are these people, and why would Agent 16-E recommend me?

"How could I forget?" She gave a tight smile that seemed to do the trick.

"Read the rest of the pages. Agent 16-E said that you would know what to do with them.

"Of course." Another smile.

I need to stop smiling so much. Did I smile back then? What am I going to say? They want me to hack a government's satellite? Who do they think I am?

She focused on the papers in front of her and didn't realize that they had left the city and they were heading north, toward the forest, in an underground place from which she would have no way to escape.

The tall man spoke after a while, but to no one in the car. He had an earpiece, and the person at the other end of the line was telling something that made the tall man move uncomfortably on his seat.

"Is there a problem?" the woman with the black eyes asked.

Did they find out about me? They must keep records. Did they read I have amnesia and I'm trying to fool them? I knew this wouldn't end well.

"Plans changed. Chief wants her in his office now," he said, pointing at Alba.

Alba's throat suddenly seemed dry, and she tried too hard not to tear the envelope in her hands.

"What about the meeting?"

"You make the wrong questions, Agent. You should ask yourself what made him demand your presence when everyone is working on the mission."

The man wasn't looking at her, but she believed that if he had, his eyes would be able to burn her.

"He'll probably want to talk about the mission. You haven't done anything wrong, have you?"

Alba met the woman's friendly eyes. She wanted to scream "no." What if she had done something wrong before the accident happened?

"Of course not."

Stop smiling.

The car was heading somewhere in the forest, the main road long gone behind them. Agent 23 was wondering where the base would be because she could see nothing but trees and bushes. Both the woman and the tall man were talking about the base and the agents as if it was a huge place with hundreds of people.

How can it stay hidden? she wondered, but soon her question was answered.

At first, the car stopped. Then, it looked as if the earth in front of them started shaking, and after that, Alba faced the first of the many surprises. The ground started rising, opening like a laptop, revealing an underground tunnel.

The driver pressed the gas pedal, and the sun was gone.

The tunnel wasn't as dark as she expected. Many small lights were at the walls, guiding them through the tunnel that started to ramify after a few meters. One minute later, they stopped again.

The tall man and the woman got out, and Alba suspected she had to do the same. She followed them to a smaller road where the car couldn't fit. They faced two guards and a huge iron door.

"We brought Agent 23. Chief called her."

The two guards remained motionless, but their eyes scanned Alba. A second later, one of them, a red-haired guy, opened the door and let them in.

Does everyone know me here? Do I know everyone here?

The door led to another tunnel; this one fit only one person at a time. The tall man in front of her stopped walking when they faced a fork.

"Good luck, Agent 23. I hope you'll figure it out." And with no further sign or words, he left.

Alba looked behind, but the woman only nodded to her to keep walking.

The tunnel started broadening until they faced another door. That one was different. It looked like a door from a science fiction movie, with a touch screen on the left.

"Step forward for identification," a robotic voice said from a speaker on the right corner of the place.

The woman made the first step, and Alba followed her, standing beside her. A pair of green rays appeared and scanned them, making Alba feel that they could see till her bones.

"Agent 23 and Assistant Agent X," the robotic voice said.

At least, I have a name now. Not that Agent X clears things out.

Assistant Agent X walked to the touch screen and placed her palm.

The screen turned green.

Alba did the same, dreading the possibility that something would go wrong.

What if they are wrong? What if I have a doppelganger, and it's all a misunderstanding?

She had started sweating, and the scars on her abdomen and her arm were itching.

However, her fears didn't come true as the screen turned green, the door opened automatically, and the Great Room appeared in front of her.

A woman with glasses, dressed in a suit, was waiting and didn't let Alba utter a word before grabbing her arm and walking with her away from Assistant Agent X. Alba had barely time to look back and see the woman shrug.

"You have so much work to do and so little time. Don't worry about us. You'll talk with the rest of the team after the meeting. But now, the Chief is waiting. You can't let him wait."

Alba tried to speak, but she was shushed.

"Later. Now, go."

Go? Why? It looks nice here.

The Great Room was big like the name indicated, full of screens and people sitting at desks or walking from door to door as the room connected many offices and corridors.

"Don't just stand there. Move."

At last, Alba faced the corridor that the woman was pointing to and started walking alone. The problem was that she had no idea in which door and office she was supposed to go to.

She tried to look normal, even if she didn't know what kind of normality was expected in that place. The corridor led to another and then to a fork with many doors.

He's the Chief, so he must be at the top of the corridor, right? What if I open the wrong door?

She had stopped walking after she faced a dead end and was wondering whether she should knock on the last door or turn back and confess the truth when someone grabbed her from behind.

She didn't have the chance to react when two strong male arms pulled her into a room and closed the door behind them.

He had light, brown hair and hazel eyes. Something about these eyes looked familiar, almost too familiar. The man pinned her on the wall and rested his hands on it, a few inches away from her head.

She swallowed, realizing she had no way to escape since he was blocking the way to the door.

He leaned closer, and a vanilla scent hit her nostrils.

She was breathing slowly, waiting for his next move. Suddenly, she was feeling like prey, waiting for the hunter to attack. However, he stopped moving, his body too close to hers.

He smiled, but he wasn't friendly. He moved his head a little closer, his forehead barely not touching hers, and said, "Who the hell are you?"