Leave me your coments.

BirdsandStars

What the fuck is he doing here?

I don't let my guard down.

It's been a long time since I've seen him. After that day, I never heard from him again. And I didn't want to either.

—What are you doing here? — I' m asking with an angry look.

—Henry Stevens sent me to get you. —he answers me very calmly.

—It's impossible for you to get here so soon, I just talked to him on the phone.

—I was in Singapore on a mission, and I've been reassigned here.

—What!

—You better sit down, Anastasia. I'm an undercover agent, too. —he says to me as I put my fists down and fall into the sand.

I can't believe it. With everything that's happened to me. This is the least I expected to happen. Why does my past have a habit of catching up with me?

José holds out his hand to me and helps me get up as we enter the house. I sit on a chair while he takes off his jacket and goes to get a glass of water. He offers it to me and then sits down in front of me.

—Since when do you work for the CIA? —I ask him after taking a sip of water.

Although I think for what he's going to tell me, I'll need something stronger than this.

—A few years before you.

—Did you know? — I'm shocked that he had knowledge of my training, when Christian didn't.

—I was actually there to keep an eye on you, Ana.

—What! —I scream in horror.

I didn't expect this.

—You really think this was all a coincidence? Everything was planned to happen that way.

—That we'd go out together? So you never had feelings for me? It was all planned? An act.

—At first, yes. —he says to me, staring at me as I open my eyes to his response. —That's why I had to do what I did.

— Cheating on me in front of everyone. —I tell him sarcastically.

— It was the only way I could be reassigned somewhere else.

—You hurt me so much, José. —his betrayal had hurt me so much.

—I'm sorry. But it was better that way.

—Better for whom?

—I wasn't supposed to fall in love with you, Ana. Because if I did, I would jeopardize the mission.

—Were you in love with me? —I'm asking him now with a scowl.

He had never confessed his feelings to me before. He doesn't answer me, he just stares at me. His silence gives me the answer. He was.

—That's why I did what I did before it was too late.

—That's idiotic.

—It's not. I know your training was different than ours. But the first lesson they teach us is not to have feelings for anyone related to our mission.

—I didn't know that. —I'm telling him in awe.

—As soon as the feelings appear, everything starts to get complicated. And we can endanger that person and the mission.

—Does that rule of no feelings apply to all agents?

—Yes, even with Christian.

—Christian?

—He never told you?

—What was he supposed to tell me?

—That he was forbidden to have any relationship with you.

—Because I was involved in his mission?

—Exactly. He was warned, as I was, to stay away from you.

—But he didn't listen.

— And that's why the CIA took some measures to try to get you away from him.

—Measures?

José stares at me. I can see in his eyes that he doesn't want to tell me what happened.

—What exactly they did Jose?

—They planned the assault in New York.

—I don't believe it!—that's why they wanted me to stay away from him.

—The story doesn't end there. —he tells me as I turn my attention back to him. —The six months he was behind Giselle was planned. Someone helped her escape and stay hidden so he'd be after her longer. And so away from you.

—Who could have planned all this?

—I have my suspicions.

—Will you tell me who it is?

—I'm about to think that Henry Stevens is behind all this. —he tells me while I watch him incredulously.

—I don't believe it.

—I didn't believe it either. But a lot of strange things have happened in the last few months.

—Strange things?

—Yes. Because you're not active in the agency, you don't have access to information. But I read the report on Giselle's capture, Ana. How could she have gotten away if he was the only one there?

—I beg your pardon? I understood that the FBI was on their way, that they would take over since we had no jurisdiction there.

—Who gave you that information?

—He called me on the phone. Besides, what would he gain from all this? What would he gain from taking Christian away from me? — I ask her to look away from him, pensive.

—He wouldn't lose his best agent. —he says to me as I look up and look at him again.

And then I think. There is something else. Something that only Christian knows. Is he involved with whoever copied the Hard Drive?

—What's going on, Ana?

—Nothing. It's just that you made me think of some things that have happened recently.

—Is there anything else I don't know?

—No one really knows, just Christian and me. —and for a moment I'm debating whether or not to tell him.

I look him in the eyes. And I decide that I need someone on my side right now.

—Someone copied the Hard Drive with the information from the PIANANO while we were in London.

—And you don't know who it was?

—No. But everything you're telling me is making me think. What if he's behind all this?

—I wouldn't doubt it. But then we should be worried.

—What do you mean?

—If he wants to take you away from Christian, then we have to assume that he's behind his kidnapping.

—We have to find him as soon as possible. —I tell him while I run out and look for my phone.

—What are you doing? —he asks me when he sees me smiling at the screen.

—First thing is to locate him, and I know exactly where he is. —I tell him as I show him the screen where a pointer blinks in the middle of a map.

At that very moment my phone starts ringing. It's an unknown number. I answer it quickly while putting it on speakerphone.

—I see you've located it, good work. If you want to see him alive. Bring me the PIANANO and the Hard Drive with all the information. You have 72 hours to deliver it. I'll be in touch again in 24 hours. —and hung up.

—Didn't you recognize the voice?

—No. It seems he was using a voice modulator so he wouldn't be recognized. But I don't think Henry's the one behind this. The PIANANO is in his custody, he's the only one who can get it out of there, the only one with the authorization. Why would he ask us to bring it to him?

—What if this is all just a trick to avoid suspicion and blaming someone else?

That's also a possibility. But I'm not entirely sure yet.

— I think we'll find out in time, now we'd better get going to Chicago. —I tell him as I walk out to the dock where the boat he came in is.

José follows me and we go to the airport where a private jet is waiting for us to take us to Chicago.

—I can't go with you to TecFall. —he tells me outside the Chicago airport.

I stop by the car he has rented.

—Where do we meet then? —I ask him while he looks at his watch.

—Right here in two hours. And Ana, don't talk to anyone.

—I know. I know what I must do. —I tell him as he hands me the keys.

I get in the car and watch him go in another direction while he calls a taxi.

I drive to TecFall at full speed.

Everyone stares at me when I get in the elevator. I am aware that the clothes I am wearing are not the most suitable, but I did not have time to go and change. And these clothes are better than the ones I had when we landed in Barcelona to refuel. I think that if I come in shorts, sandals and a short blouse, everyone will have a heart attack. Or the security guards won't let me through. So with a pair of jeans and a more suitable blouse and some converse, everything must work.

The doors open on the 25th floor, and I leave quickly with one goal in mind.

—Ana!

Shit! I forgot about Kate.

And she's staring at me scared.

—Weren't you on your honeymoon? What happened?

—Kate, I'm sorry, I'm in a hurry. —I tell her by ignoring her and walking quickly to the office.

I put the combination in the safe and open it by taking out the hard drive. The office door opens suddenly and Kate enters by closing it behind her. She walks in my direction and stops by the table.

—I know something important happened and you don't want to tell me, for some reason.

—Kate, please. —I tell her as I walk past her.

She stares at what I have in my hands.

—Didn't you have to give that to the CIA?—she asks with a frown.

I ignore her and walk to the door.

—You're not getting out of here until you explain to me what's going on. —she says to me, pulling my arm, making me turn towards her.

I stare at her. I can't keep it from her. She must know what happened.

—Christian's been kidnapped and I'm going to rescue him.

—What do you mean, he's been kidnapped?

—Kate, I can't give you any more explanations, please. I don't want you to get involved in this.

—How are you supposed to rescue him? Who do you think you are? You should call the police and have them take care of it.

I think it's time I told Kate the truth. I take her by the hand and make her sit in an armchair. I sit down in front of her still holding her hands.

—There's still something you don't know about me. —I say to her, pausing, as she looks at me with her eyes wide open. —I used to work for the CIA, too.

—What! —she screams as I put my hand in her mouth to shut her up.

—It's a long story and I can't tell you now how it all started, but the basics are that I'm going to go and rescue him, I'm trained for that.

—But you can't go by yourself, Ana.

—I'm not going alone, José is going with me.

—José! The idiot?

—Yes, the idiot turned out to be a CIA person too.—I tell her while she looks at me in awe. —I know it's a lot to take in, Kate, but you have to promise not to tell anyone.

—Does your mother know you're back?

—No one knows, just the people who have seen me, so the later she find out, the better. But under no circumstances must she find out what we talked about, the real reason I came back. —I tell her as I get up from the floor and head for the door.

—But Ana.

—Promise me, Kate. I don't want to put any more people in danger, please.

—All right, I won't tell.

—Not even to Elliot. —I'm warning her.

—All right.

I walk back to her and hug her tightly. I know why I do it. Kate is my best friend and I don't know if this is the last time I'll ever see her. I don't know what will happen in Russia. When I feel my eyes start to fill with tears I separate from her. I turn around and leave without looking back.