Tim was proud of himself for being granted permission to act like a tourist. He rented a lounge chair, sipped on some blue cocktail, and swam in the sparkling blue water. For almost an hour, he felt so carefree that he nearly forgot everything else. The drone didn't come as close to him as it had the previous day. He envied the other tourists who spent their days in blissful idleness. He longed for such a life. But he wasn't used to sunbathing and could feel his skin burning and turning bright red while still on the beach.

At night, he couldn't sleep on the balcony, had to listen to Judith's snoring, and barely dared to move because his skin hurt when it touched his clothes. Following Judith's advice, they applied something to his skin, which only temporarily eased the pain.

He woke up tired and in a bad mood, standing in front of the small car, wondering how he would squeeze into the tiny seat. He felt like he had lost his zest for life. Fortunately, they didn't have to endure the discomfort of the little vehicle for long. As they followed the coast, they turned onto a small road leading up to the cliffs.

"We have to walk a bit here," Judith said, setting a brutal pace that had Tim, despite his long legs, almost jogging to keep up. They maneuvered over rocks, and it became clear why the authority wasn't monitoring this area. Although the view from above was breathtaking, it was dangerous too. The sea was beautiful, and a tiny island with a sandy beach and palm trees wasn't far away. The little houses with red roofs were visible from this distance. Where they planned to swim from could have been more friendly; they had to jump from a high cliff into the water.

Judith searched for a suitable spot to jump from for a long time. Tim sat down, suddenly realizing he had a bit of a fear of heights but didn't want to bother Judith with it. Tim already felt strange with his bright red face and shoulders, plus the cuts on his face from the day before. He didn't want to annoy further his boss, who was already angry at him. They had severe work, and he looked like a teenage boy preparing for his first date.

When Judith finally shouted that she had found a good spot, he clung to the protruding rocks, dizzy and barely daring to look down. His boss removed her shoes, tied the laces together, and hung them around her neck before throwing them over her back. He followed her example, using it as an excuse not to look down.

"I'll go first. Wait a bit before you jump. Then catch up with me so we can swim together. Is everything alright? You look so pale!" Judith worried as she stood at the very edge of the rock.

"Yeah," Tim groaned, fighting the nausea. Judith jumped, and Tim counted to ten, thinking he should go to the end of the rock. At ten, Tim took off and, without looking down, hurled himself into the void. The water was cold and salty, and he wasn't even aware of when he surfaced, but his mouth and eyes burned from the salt water.

It wasn't so bad once he got used to the icy water and found a breathing rhythm to avoid getting exhausted. With Judith swimming beside him, he felt safe. The waves were small, making the water pleasant, and they made steady progress. However, distances were deceiving; he started to tire, and the shore didn't seem to get any closer.

To the right was a tiny island, just big enough for three palm trees and nothing else. He saw Judith head in that direction. He was relieved she was tired, too, because his side was hurting from the exertion.

Resting felt good, but only for the first few minutes. The sun soon became relentless, and the palm trees offered little shade. They drank and prepared to get back in the water when Judith pointed out their direction. "Let's try to swim to the right, see that little cove? There, so we don't end up on the open beach."

When they finally reached the shore, Tim's feet sank into the soft sand, and he was using his last reserves of strength. He was utterly exhausted. "Will we have some time to rest?" he asked as he followed his boss through the bushes.

Judith stopped in a clearing. "We have a place to stay where we can change, and there should be clean clothes and food. But we need to hurry; we have work to do tonight!"

Tim wasn't pleased. As Judith put it, he would have preferred to act the next day, but he didn't want to whine like a baby.

On Iop Island, there were also vacationers, but it was much more luxurious and secluded. Tiny houses had large pools and extensive grounds. They sneaked through the gardens, and Tim felt Judith knew where to go. At one point, they came onto a paved road, but Judith decisively crossed it and returned to the bushes. Not following the road completely embarrassed Tim because he expected them to get to the house by now, but instead, he still had to go.

After a long detour, they reached the small hut, well-equipped with everything except food. Tim opened the fridges and cabinets, and there wasn't even a canwas of food left behind. However, there were clothes, toiletries, and plenty of alcohol.

After freshening up and choosing a modest gray T-shirt and jeans combination, Judith distributed the weapons. Each got a pistol, which they hid in their pants' waistbands, covered by their shirts.

Their stomachs growled louder and louder, so they decided to find a restaurant and eat before their mission. Fortunately, Judith didn't want to walk anymore. After a long search, she found a car key. They were happy there was a car, but they had to search for it first because there were three cars in the garage, none of which matched the key.

Judith didn't give up, constantly pressing the key, hoping the sensor wasn't working correctly. When they had almost lost hope, stepping out of the garage, a car beyond the fence—a jeep—chirped.

It was more spacious than Judith's previous car; Tim no longer had to worry about his head hitting the ceiling whenever the vehicle drove over a bump. They went through beautiful places, winding along serpentine roads that offered views down to the sea.

They then arrived in a small seaside town where vacationers were leisurely strolling around, exuding a sense of calm that made it hard for Tim to believe this island was also home to resistance teams, including the FYI. He was excited because he imagined Mara might be somewhere nearby.

He saw no cameras, not even in the little restaurant they entered. The place looked like a breakfast spot, with people sitting at the long counter drinking coffee and eating pastries or omelets.

Tim and Judith sat at a table by the window, and a waitress was immediately at their side, smiling as she poured coffee from a pot she carried. "Are you new around here?" she asked kindly, handing them two menus. She did all this so quickly and professionally that any suspicion Tim had about why she was asking such questions vanished. It helped that Maria—this was the name embroidered on her red apron—was so attentive and friendly.

"Maria, right?" Judith asked. The waitress nodded, so Judith continued. "What's the most filling meal you have? We're pretty hungry."

"Peter!" Maria called out, and a fuzzy figure popped his head out from the kitchen. "What?" shouted the cook.

"Do we still have any hamburger patties left?" Maria shouted back.

"Only one left!" the cook yelled, disappearing again.

"So, as you heard, we only have one hamburger left, but Peter can make you a ton of eggs with bacon and cheese. And we still have pie, but only rhubarb." The waitress looked at them expectantly, glancing from Judith to Tim, pencil at the ready to jot down their order.

Tim was engrossed in the menu, which listed many other items—steak, spaghetti, pizza—but it seemed they were out of these.

"So that's all you have? Eggs and one hamburger?" Judith asked, flipping through the menu.

"Yes, unfortunately, our supply didn't arrive this week. We usually get a large shipment on Wednesdays, but there's yet to be any sign of it. No one knows what happened to it. Haven't you heard about it?"

"I'll take that hamburger, and Tim will go for the eggs—how about six? And we'll also have two rhubarb pies," Judith said, closing the menu angrily.

Tim wasn't happy about having to eat eggs. Maria collected the menus from the table and sashayed away to place their order.

"She could have just shouted what we ordered," Judith said, watching Maria. "She's pretty, isn't she?" she asked Tim.

Tim was more interested in the other, somewhat peculiar patrons—at least, they seemed strange. An older lady was knitting, while the elderly gentleman she was with sat at the same table reading a book.

Looking around more closely, he noticed a bookshelf by the entrance. "Nice touch," he thought. But why weren't these people sunbathing on the beach or enjoying the cooling water of the pool at their vacation homes?

The people at the counter were also interesting, especially since they occasionally cast suspicious glances and whispered among themselves. "I don't like this place," Tim whispered to his boss.

"Oh, come on, don't be so stiff. If you act like that, you'll draw suspicion," Judith replied, raising her cup to indicate she wanted more coffee.

Maria appeared instantly, and as she refilled their cups, she tried again, "And what brings you to our lovely little town?"

Judith tried to be pleasant. "Just passing through, nothing special. But it is a charming town, and the people here are exceptionally nice."

Tim felt his stomach churn, unsure if it was due to hunger or his boss's sugary words. Knowing why they were there made him feel genuinely nauseous. He went to the restroom but only dry-heaved; he hadn't eaten anything all day, so there was nothing to vomit.

When he returned, Judith was about to take a huge bite of her hamburger. The thick sauce oozed out between the buns, mixing with the meat juices in an unappetizing mess. Tim couldn't take his eyes off Judith and her hamburger-eating technique. Although to an onlooker, it might have seemed impossible to compress the two buns and double patties into a bite-sized portion, Judith managed it, even though juice ran down her chin.

Tim glanced down at his plate. The scrambled eggs seemed like a joke compared to Judith's meal. He picked at them unenthusiastically and ate reluctantly.

They got engrossed in their meal—at least Judith did. They didn't notice four men entering and sitting behind them, all wearing jackets, which was quite suspicious in this heat. Judith only became aware of them because they sat behind Tim when one grabbed the other's neck, and a gun appeared.

Maria's commanding voice caused everyone's heart to skip a beat. "You know the rule! No weapons in the restaurant!" Her words were surprisingly effective as the man raised his hand and put his gun away. Though their conflict wasn't resolved, they glared at each other angrily.

Judith buried herself even deeper into her hamburger, seemingly intent on making a mess of herself. "You're right, Tim. This place is peculiar. We might have come to the wrong place."

Tim didn't understand Judith's words but suspected she was referring to the men behind him. He didn't want to turn around to look at them; he could tell from Judith's expression what kind of people they were.

After paying, they hurried through their pie and discussed the situation in the car.

"Who do you think they were?" Tim asked, guessing Judith didn't leave in such a hurry by chance.

"I think we met some of the FYI's heavy hitters. I hope they didn't figure out who we are," she replied, starting the car anxiously.