Dangerous Memory {ONC 2021}

Chapter 2

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.