They were driving towards the specified address, now with full stomachs. Tim wondered if telling Judith the story about Mara would be a good idea. He always feared that if someone discovered that Mara was here, they would immediately know who let her through, or maybe they already knew, and this was all just a test. It would be much clearer if he told Judith and had an ally who might understand.

He tried to steer the conversation toward a point where he could reveal his secret. While thinking about a good topic, he needed to pay more attention to Judith, who was still talking about Maria.

"Don't you think Maria was pretty, Tim?" Judith asked, gripping the steering wheel as they descended another winding road.

"Who?" Tim asked in surprise.

"For heaven's sake! What's wrong with you? Do you even have a type? An ideal woman? Didn't you notice how that poor waitress looked at you?"

Tim needed help understanding. The idea that a woman would notice him felt strange. "Uh, no. I think you're mistaken!"

"You're tall, handsome; girls go for tall guys!" Judith continued, but Tim needed to understand where his boss was going with this. He wanted to steer the conversation towards Mara instead.

"And what about you and Max? If I understand correctly, you're members of opposing groups, but you were a couple? How did you manage that?"

Judith's expression darkened. "Don't think I will tell you a Romeo and Juliet story. However, the opposing group part is true. But when the initial infatuation fades in everyday life, you're not as patient and understanding. We couldn't convince each other of our truths. He deeply despises authority and how it tries to control everything. I believe in rules. These extremist groups, who knows whose interests they represent? They could be anyone, and you buy into their catchy slogans."

"Did it never cross your mind to agree with him and join the resistance because of him?"

Judith looked at Tim, then quickly returned to the narrow road, watching for oncoming cars. If there were any, they had to pull over to the edge of the road, right where the cliff began. "Interesting question. Are you expecting me to say I was so in love that I even considered that? Don't expect such madness from me. I've always been much more practical. Maybe Max was the more in love one between us? But see, he didn't leave the resistance for me either. If you're thinking that we weren't truly in love with each other, is that your conclusion?"

Tim didn't know how to respond, and Judith continued: "Things aren't always just black and white. Maybe both of us were waiting for the other to make a decision. Then the years just passed by..."

"If you could go back in time, wouldn't you decide differently and join his side for his sake?"

"You've seen Max, haven't you? He became a drunken idiot with a confused worldview. The fact that we were really into each other is another story. Maybe even now, we love each other in our way, and the chemistry works between us, but is that enough for a happy relationship? I don't think so..."

Tim felt several times that it was the right moment to confess what he had done for Mara, but then he changed his mind. Judith wouldn't understand the situation, and she might even discourage him, or who knows what she would do to Mara.

They arrived in another small fishing village and parked further from the house. "This must be it," Judith said, getting out of the car. Tim watched as she loaded more bullets into her pockets and even handed him a few.

"Do we have a plan?" Tim asked.

"I'll do the talking. You just keep an eye on them, and if anyone reaches for a weapon, shoot immediately," Judith instructed. "Can you handle that?"

"Sure!" Tim replied, following his boss, who decisively went around the house, aiming to enter from behind. There, they needed to climb over the fence.

They were lucky because there was a terrace at the back, and its door was open. What a recklessness, thought Tim.

They entered the kitchen, where a bluish light filtered in from the living room. A bag of chips lay open on the kitchen counter, and Judith reached in and took one, eating it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

As they stepped into the living room, they saw two people playing a video game on a giant TV while a third person occasionally glanced at them from the table and read something. Judith signaled Tim to keep an eye on the gamers while she approached the one at the table, pressing her gun to his head.

All three reacted instantly. The two gamers stared at Tim, who aimed alternately from one to other, while Judith calmly sat on the table, still holding the gun to the seated man's head. "What are you reading?" she asked, taking the book from his hand. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an excellent choice!" She tossed the book back onto the table. "I read it once, but I have to admit, I don't remember much. The premise is genius, and the answer to everything is brilliant, but the story gets a bit messy towards the end, doesn't it?"

The man at the table gasped for breath, looking between Tim and Judith.

"Am I right?" Judith asked.

"What?" the man replied as if he didn't know where he was.

"Focus on me a bit. You're Donald, right?" Judith asked as if she weren't holding a gun but chatting casually.

The man nodded, now entirely focused on Judith. "So, Donald. You have something that belongs to Zack. Do you know what it is?"

Donald lost control again, looking around frantically. Judith didn't like this. "I said, focus on me! We'll be out of here if you tell me where it is. If not, and we have to find it ourselves, I might get a bit crankier, and you might not be useful to us. After all, we can find it on our own."

Donald nodded and looked towards the kitchen cabinet.

"Will you check the kitchen cabinet? I'll keep an eye on these guys here."

Tim cautiously backed away and disappeared into the kitchen while Judith kept the gun on Donald and didn't take her eyes off the other two.

"Got it?" she asked when she no longer heard the cabinet doors banging.

"Uh-huh!" Tim shouted.

Then Tim appeared with a small black briefcase, which he opened to show Judith, who nodded in satisfaction. Tim closed the suitcase and held it in one hand while holding his gun with the other, returning to his previous position.

"Gentlemen! Thank you very much for your cooperation. I hope you don't mind if we take our leave now!" Judith said, lowering her legs from the table to the floor.

Donald seized this moment of distraction, grabbing Judith's hand and trying to wrest the gun from her by pushing it upwards.

Tim watched the scene nervously, aiming his gun at the other two to ensure they wouldn't dare move. However, they were also waiting for the right moment, and one of them suddenly pulled out a gun and aimed it at Tim.

Now, they were both aiming their guns at each other while Judith and Donald were still grappling to control Judith's weapon. No longer under surveillance, the third person jumped up and disappeared through a door.

"Leonard!" shouted the man who was staring down Tim.

Judith was starting to lose the struggle, and with an unfortunate maneuver, Donald knelt and aimed the captured gun at the prone Judith, pulling the trigger. Or rather, he tried to, but the weapon clicked and didn't fire, as if it had jammed.

At the same time, Tim assessed the situation and realized he had no choice but to use his gun. He first shot the man standing and then Donald, who was momentarily distracted by the malfunctioning weapon.

His aim was surprisingly accurate. Judith jumped up and picked up her gun from the floor to see if it didn't work. She fired a shot at Donald, and it worked for her.

Standing there, they remembered the person who had entered the opposite door. Tim headed towards it just as the door burst open, and the man appeared with a gun, aiming directly at Judith. The bullet grazed her ear, but he had no time for another shot because Tim, standing right beside him, shot him dead.

Judith stood with a bloody hand pressed to her ear. "Let's get the hell out of here!" she commanded. But first, Judith grabbed a bunch of paper towels from the kitchen roll and wrapped them around her hand, covering it completely, and pressed them to her heavily bleeding ear. Then she reached for the bag of chips on the kitchen counter, taking the whole bag with her.

Tim just stood there, holding the door, waiting for Judith. His face showed his astonishment. "Really? You're taking the chips?"

Judith didn't answer, just nodded grimly. She looked angry and struggled to climb over the fence, hindered by the bloody paper wad in one hand and the bag of chips in the other, clutching them as if they were treasures. Tim sensed something was wrong, so he let her do what she wanted without saying more. He tried to help her jump down from the top of the fence by supporting her by the arm, but Judith impatiently brushed away his offered arm.

As they approached the car, Judith nervously avoided the driver's seat, handing the keys to Tim. "You got the briefcase, you shot them, you passed the test, damn it! You deserve to drive!"

Tim was curious if he should be happy. He tossed the briefcase onto the back seat and started the car. Judith ate chips and kept touching her ear.

"I've been thinking; it can't be a coincidence that the bullets meant for me missed twice!" Judith finally blurted out what was bothering her after she finished the entire bag of chips. She rolled down the window and threw out the empty bag.

Tim didn't like this behavior and shook his head. "Seriously? You just threw it out?" he scolded her.

At first, Judith didn't understand, then she resignedly said, "Alright, you're right. Stop the car!"

"Seriously? You want me to stop now?"

"Yes, damn it, stop!" Judith shouted.

Tim pulled over and backed up a bit to look for the bag. It was dark, and they couldn't see much on the roadside. "Maybe it flew into the woods," Tim speculated.

They exited the car and searched for the bag along the road. Tim sensed it wasn't about the bag; something else was behind Judith's strange behavior.

"So you think it was fate or something?" Tim tried to make conversation as they moved further from the car, even checking the other side of the road.

"Think about it; first, the gun jammed, and he pulled the trigger twice. Do you know what it felt like lying there, waiting helplessly for your brain to splatter? The weirdest things crossed my mind... your life does flash before your eyes. Then the second time, I was standing there, facing another gun, the same feeling all over again..." Judith stopped.

"We might have passed it if it had flown into the woods; that bag is light enough. Let's head back; we shouldn't leave the car unattended," Tim said, and they started walking back.

Judith continued her train of thought. "Tim, how could you shoot so calmly? Your hand didn't even tremble!"

Tim hesitated. "I don't know, I just did what you told me to..."

"What if I had come alone, as I originally planned? This whole thing is strange; I'm thinking it's a sign. The universe is warning me about something; it's fate. It feels like I still have something to do here. I don't know what." Judith looked up at the sky as if expecting an answer.

"I think it was just a coincidence, and you were fortunate," Tim replied.

"So you don't believe in fate?" Judith asked.

"If we saw every little event in our lives as fate, we'd be in big trouble. We'd constantly be looking for signs where there are none."

"But Tim, seriously, twice in a row, things worked out so that the bullet meant for me didn't reach me?"

"First, the gun jammed; it can happen anytime, and then it was just a matter of inches; yes, you were lucky. It's hard to aim precisely at someone's head, even from such a close range..."

Judith walked past the car towards the woods.

"Where are you going? Seriously, why is that bag so important?" Tim shouted after her.

"I saw something shiny over there; I think it's the bag; wait, I'll be right back," she replied, but she stopped after a few steps because they heard a gunshot.