She felt the bed shaking strongly and curled up even harder under the covers, realizing in her dream that this was a nightmare. It was always the same since she was a little girl. Every night, in every dream, somebody would try to catch her and kill her and she kept running and hiding. The bed kept on shaking until she was almost awake, hearing her name called.

"Ana, wake up.".

She then opened her eyes, seeing Collin on top of her, looking disheveled. He was the one who was pushing and calling her, trying to get her up. She tried to put the mechanism of her brain to work and rotated her eyes, seeing the sun had barely risen. Ian was there too.

"My God, people, it's not even morning yet. You will have to understand that I can't talk before I have my coffee. Oh, thank you, Ian.". She said surprised as he handled her a big mug of coffee. Also, he took her silk robe and opened it, waiting patiently for her to get off the bed and dress.

Ana threw the covers off her, amused on how this embarrasses Collin again, seeing her naked.

Ian, blind, mute, waited in silence. Therefore, she took a while to put her long legs on the floor while stretching like a cat, with breasts slightly twitching. She stood up as Ian dressed her calmly.

"Ana... Lisa is dead.".

After throwing these words Collin remained silent seeing how Ana's body stiffened and restrained his trembling hands.

"Do you want sugar?" She heard Ian asking.

"No, Ian, no sugar.". Ana answered, throwing him a silent thank you for helping her exit the shock. "What happened?"

"They've just announced it to me. Some fishers found her drowned at the seashore. I came to you immediately and now I'm going to see what happened there. Just wanted you to know.".

"I'm coming.". Ana said quickly as she took the T-shirt Ian was holding out to her. "You're coming too, Ian.".

They walked quickly towards the beach, none of them saying anything and everyone thinking the same thing.Let this be an accident. The strong breeze made Ana's hair fly in all directions, but she didn't feel the cold until she saw the group of people gathered in one place.

When they approached , she saw Lisa's green body bloated full of saltwater. She couldn't take her eyes off the girl's swollen features while Collin talked with the fishers. She felt Ian's hand on her shoulder, giving her a cheering up.

"Such a horrible death, Ian.". She said, kneeling near the body. "Can you imagine how it feels to have your lungs filled with water, inch by inch. How much struggle there is when you realize that's the moment when you'll die, thinking how your body will be eaten by fish, how crabs will come out of your eyes.".

"I don't think she thought about that, Ana.". Ian said, showing her two slight bruises on Lisa's neck.

"Bruises cover her entire body, Ian. She smashed on the rocks because of the currents.". Ana said, trying to restrain her shivers. As she felt the gaze of Ian over her, she looked closer and saw clear marks of fingers on Lisa's neck.

"Fuck...". She murmured.

The sound of the helicopter couldn't make her move while she tried to remove the guilt that contained her slowly. She heard a couple of screams and turned her head. Then she saw him, Christian, standing still and looking at the body. Pain tore his face and his lips were moving:

"It's my fault...".

Lisa's friends, the ones who were screaming, cried, not being able to look at the body. Paramedics descended from the helicopter and started revival with no result. Ana leaned on her knees, near the body, watching Lisa transformed into a piece of meat. Water jumped from her lungs at every push from the paramedic, just like the practice mannequin of the Red Cross training.

Collin walked near Christian, placing his palm on his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"It's my fault.". Christian continued to sigh. "I should have known... she was drunk and angry because I danced with Ana... and she said she was going for a swim to calm down. I should have stopped her, it's my fault.".

"No, Christian.". Collin said calmly. "She wouldn't want you to blame yourself. It was an accident.".

Ana watched the sun come up with a mocking morbid grimace as a red lipstick stain stretched across the bloated face of the sky. We're nothing in front of the Universe, just mannequins without blood. I can't get up to go live another day when it means nothing. I can't be anything. I can't.

"Ana.". She heard Collin behind her. "You should go into your apartment. I'm sorry you had to see this. There's nothing you can do here and it's cold. I'll take care of things.". As Ana didn't move, he came and sat next to her in the sand, while the paramedics placed Lisa's body on a stretcher. The girls kept crying as the paramedic took their friend's body on the helicopter. Ana didn't notice anything, just sat there and watched the sea, flanked by Ian and Collin. She heard Christian saying:

"I should go and make some calls, I... need to prepare the funerals, announce the parents. Is she Okay?". He asked Collin, pointing toward Ana.

"I think she's in a shock.".

In a couple of minutes, the spot was clear, the helicopter took off and all the people left.

The world was clean now, ready to start another day and the sea washed away all the night's sins. Collin watched Ana's petrified face, wondering if she suffers for Lisa's death or she has yet another mask.

"You're not really in shock, are you? You've probably seen many bodies until now and probably you killed more people than I can imagine. It was an accident, these things happen. I didn't expect for you to react like this. And Christian, I never saw him so devastated.".

"Yes...". Ana finally said, with a low and hoarse voice ... "Devastated. My dear Collin-". She continued in the calmest and most elegant way possible. "-I suggest you not to make a big fuss about this terrible accident, present it like this, show great remorse and forget about it quickly. Because, if you don't and ask for an autopsy, you will find out that Lisa's lungs aren't filled with salted water, but with sweet water. If you continue with the autopsy, you may find some bruises on her neck. Then you will find out that her trachea is crushed which will lead you to the possibility that Lisa was murdered in the bathtub and threw in the sea by her... devastated boyfriend.".

A chill spread through Collin's body, especially when Ian silently confirmed Ana's words.

"This thing we're doing is stopping right now!" He raised his voice.

"Oh for fuck sake, Collin, grab your balls and be the Director you're supposed to be!" Ana started to yell, furious that he let his feelings dictate the whole operation and that he had the power. "You brought me in this to solve the problem. And the problem is Christian: spy, killer, manager, 007 or fucking alien. I don't need protection, you should know that by now. And trust me, if you want to get into my pants, this is not the way to do it!".

Ana rose like a hurricane, leaving the two looking at each other. Ian scratched his head and lit a cigarette while Collin clenched his fists, angry with himself.

"This woman keeps pushing all my rage buttons, I don't recognize myself. How do you manage her?

"For starters, I don't keep telling her I want to protect her, I just do that. When you've asked me this, I thought it will be the case of a spoiled bimbo who thinks highly of herself. I came for you, Collin. But Ana-". Ian said, staring at her silhouette disappearing. "-She is different. She is rough but frail, scared, alone. Don't let her words and acts fool you, you don't know what material this girl is made of.".

"And you know, in less than 24 hours?". Collin asked sarcastically.

"I'm not in love with her.". Ian replied with a smile. "But she makes me feel I don't want to leave her sight.".

"You fool, we're all puppets in her mystical game. Only God knows what she will do next. But you are right, I need to take distance in this so I can manage all this properly. Ian, let me know immediately if anything happens to her. I have to stop thinking about Ana and start thinking about this Company.