A little story that was in my head... Let me know what you think... and if you have any better idea for the title ...

NB: Sorry for any mistakes you may find, this text has not been beta read and English is not my first language...

Prologue

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18 May 2016 - Madrid - 11.15 am

On a sunny Wednesday in May, a young woman settled quietly on the terrace of a café in Madrid's Plaza Mayor.

Trough the shadow of a wide capeline, one could see her face, framed by a wavy mass of chestnut hair. She had soft lines, although a bit angular, her eyes, as for them, remained invisible behind a pair of round sunglasses with a fine and retro frame.

Thin and slender, she was probably about 5'7". Her body, which still possessed that lanky side typical of adolescence, seemed small in her clothes; a simple white shirt and brown trousers with straps type 30. Her thin hands and pale complexion completed this picture and making her seems fragile, a bit like an ethereal porcelain doll.

After ordering from the waiter a glass of Horchata de Chufa - a Valencian drink she loved - she leaned towards her purse and, with a broad smile, took out several envelopes and a telephone, an old Nokia 3310 that seemed to have had better days. Without taking her eyes off the envelopes she had taken out, she pressed the cell phone's quick call button before carrying the phone to her ear. After a first unsuccessful attempt, she waited a few minutes before trying a second call, quietly waiting for her correspondent to answer.

"Hello?" Ends up answering a male voice on the phone.

"Holà mi Profesor! "The girl replied with a singing voice, nodding and smiling slightly at the waiter as he dropped off his drink.

" *sigh* I already told you not to call me that..."

"But it's true you look like a prof ! And I refuse to believe that you make cider... "

"Why were you calling me?" Cut off the calm voice, remaining pleasant, but one felt that the man was in a bit of a hurry, undoubtedly busy...

" Hmm " The brunette bit her lips " am I disturbing you? I can call back later if you prefer..." she added with a sad voice, she seemed nervous and her smile was just a memory. With a lump in her throat, she took a sip of the pearly drink she ordered to give herself a little courage.

" *new sigh* no, no, of course not...I'm just about to start a project and I wouldn't be very available in the coming months...I told you so didn't I? "Always that voice, professorial, kind, patient and pedagogue, but still seeming to take her for a slow kid. In a way, she loved as much as she hated that intonation... It was always the one he used when he wanted her to do something she didn't want to do... As for example not to seek to contact him during the coming 6 months...

"Yes... I know... *sigh* I just wanted to let you know that I got the results of my exams, you know the entries exams " she then sketched a very light smile " I got accepted in everything single high school I applied to! " The pride she felt was clearly audible. "I just wanted to tell you... Before you turn into some kind of hermit... "She ended in a sadder voice, she didn't like it when he disappeared.

"Oh..." There was a little moment of hesitation "I'm very proud of you" he continued clumsily, he had never been very good at expressing his emotions, she knew it, but she was happy to hear him say that, that he was "proud" of her, and her smile grew bigger. "I knew you could do it" the voice was more confident and warm now "do you know where you want to go?"

"No... Not yet... I just wanted to share the good news with you! But I know you're busy... I don't want to keep you on the phone any longer... We'll talk about it when you'll be available... pinky swear?"

"...Pinky swear" the voice had become strangely evasive and uncertain

"No lies, huh? You give me your word? " She insisted, worried.

"Yes, I give you my word, we will talk about it as soon as I am available" The voice sounded weary but sincere.

"I love you and I miss you..." she concluded, with the bad feeling that she was speaking to him for the last time.

"Me too...Ciao Bella" he ends up in a whisper before hanging up.

She stared at her phone with an empty gaze before she sighed deeply, and began to study the different high school proposals spread out in front of her, taking a sip of Horchata and humming an Italian tune.

She couldn't have known how wrong she was.

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18 May 2016 - House of Toledo - 11:15 am

The Professor looked with pleasure at his future collaborators sitting quietly before him, a bit like schoolchildren ready to listen to his every word. Even if he would never admit it, he had felt a guilty pleasure when this elegant man, that will later be known as "Berlin" had to sit like that. The latter, not fooled, gave him an ironic and provocative look, the eye contest could have lasted a long time between the two men if the Professor's telephone had not rung at that moment.

He frowned and decided to ignore the call, and instead began his speech.

"So first of all, welcome" as he wrote a huge "welcome" on the board, "and thank you for accepting this uh... Let's say this job offer."

One of the young people in the 2nd row, the son of the tunnel specialist if the Professor remembered correctly, had a laugh at that moment and a smile appeared on the faces of the other crooks present.

"We'll live here, far from the worldly noise, for five months, the five months we'll spend studying how to do the job." continued the Professor before being brutally interrupted by the tunnel specialist, "Moscow"...

"What do you mean, five months? Are you crazy? "

The professor took a deep breath and embarked on his seduction operation, he needed his associates to trust him and follow him without much discussion.

"Look, people spend years studying to earn a salary, a salary which, in the best of cases, is just a salary, a shitty salary."His gaze swept the room, to be sure to get the attention of every single member of the audience.

" What are five months? I've been thinking about this for..." He stopped, his mind began to drown in his memories, memories a little too painful, he rubbed his eyes and forced himself to refocus on his audience. "...for much longer. Not to have to work ever again..." He paused, looking at them all one by one, "Neither will you, Nor your children." Leaving the sentence in suspense, he scrutinized their expressions, that's it, he held them, they would follow him to the end of the world... So he could resume the classical course of his speech.

"Well, We don't know each other yet and I want it to stay like that. I don't want any names or personal questions... ", or, of course, personal relationships.

At that moment he was interrupted again, but not by a member of his team, but by the ringing of his telephone. Exceeded, he sighed and answered.

"Hello?"

That's when he heard a voice on the phone, a voice he knew all too well... And it was bad timing. "Holà mi Profesor!" The voice was cheerful, a rather unusual fact, but he really didn't have time for that.

He sighed, rubbing his eyes, "I already told you not to call me that..."

"But it's true you look like a prof! And I refuse to believe that you make cider... "

No, really no time. "Why were you calling me? " Trying to keep his voice calm and turning his back to his class, whom he could already hear whispering behind him.

"Hmm...Am I bothering you? " Yes, clearly. "I can call back later if you prefer..."

The Professor closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, he hated to hear that depressed voice... He sighed and forced himself to remain patient.

"No, no of course not...I'm just about to start a project and I wouldn't be very available in the coming months...I told you so didn't I? "He remembered asking her not to contact him...

"Yes... I know... *sigh* I just wanted to let you know that I got the results of my exams, you know the entries exams. I got accepted in everything single high school I applied to! " The pride she felt was clearly audible and the man almost wanted to slap himself, yes of course... He had completely forgotten, totally drown in the implementation of his plan... "I just wanted to tell you... Before you turn into some kind of hermit... "

" oh..." God he hated to hear him so sad "I...I'm very proud of you" he continued, trying to make up for it "I knew you'd make it" taking over his role as a teacher "Do you know where you want to go? »

"No... Not yet... I just wanted to share the good news with you... But I know you're busy... I don't want to keep you any longer... We'll talk about it when you're available... pinky swear?"

"...pinky swear" he said evasively... How could he tell her that they would probably not see each other again for a long time? He wasn't even totally sure he'd make it out in one piece.

"No lies eh? You give me your word? " The voice was worried, she was far from silly and she probably knew him a little too well...

"Yes, I give you my word, we'll talk about it as soon as I'm available" He didn't really have a choice, and that's as close as he could get to the truth, he just didn't define when he would be available again...

"I love you and I miss you..." She concluded.

The man gave a faint smile "Me too... Ciao Bella" he ended up in a murmur, covering the phone with his hand to mask his last words, before hanging up.

He sighed and turned back towards the room, where his "students" stopped whispering and were now looking at him questioningly, his glance slipped towards the future Berlin which frowned... It would seem that at least one person heard this "Ciao Bella". The timing of that phone call had really been awful...

"So... where were we... Oh yes, no names, no personal questions... and of course, no personal relationships. I want each of you to choose a nickname, something simple. It can be numbers, planets, cities..." He continued as to change the subject and not lose the attention of his team.

"What? Like Mister 17, miss 23 ?" laughed the same young man as the last time, the one that will soon take the name of "Denver.

"I can't remember my telephone number." his father replied.

"That's why I'm here, right?"

"And planets? I would be Mars and he would be Uranus," exclaimed the youngest of the gang, "Rio," sitting in the third row pointing to his front neighbor.

The exchange between the two young men then intensified... Damn... Real kids, he REALLY had the impression to be in front of high school students...

"Fuck you, I won't be Uranus, so forget it."

"What, you got a problem with Uranus?"

"I don't like the rhyme."

Well, it was time to take the control of this conversation back... At least no one was thinking about this phone call anymore.

"Okay, okay... it'll be city names! "Interrupted the Professor.

"So city it is! "Concluded Denver all smile.

"Perfect! " Added the Professor, relieved to see that he was able to manage this team without too many difficulties.

But this phone call was far from harmless... and the teacher should perhaps have paid more attention to it...