"I... Are you crazy?! Let go of me!" I struggled against Kail's grip, but his hands were like iron shackles.
"I won't let you go until you tell me the truth!" Kail growled, his face inches from mine.
"What do you want me to say? If you don't release me, I'll force you to!"
"Try it," he challenged, his eyes flashing.
I twisted, trying to use a pressure point on his wrist, but he anticipated the move and tightened his hold. "Tell me!"
"Fine! Fine! I'll tell you," I gasped. "But you have to let go first."
"Do you think I'm stupid? You'll just run."
"I promise I won't. And you have to promise me something too—that you'll actually believe what I'm about to say."
Kail hesitated, then slowly released his grip. "Alright. But don't even think about escaping."
"Don't worry," I muttered, rubbing my wrists. "I still have a reason to live." I took a deep breath, looking him straight in the eye. "I haven't told anyone this yet, so don't you dare call me crazy, okay?"
"Just say it."
"The person you see standing here... I'm Erina now, but I'm not really Erina."
Kail stared at me for a second, then reached for his pocket. "That's it. I'm calling the psychiatric ward."
"Wait! Why?!"
"I knew 'geniuses' could be unstable, but this is a whole new level of delusion. You've lost it, Erina."
"I'm not lying! I can prove it to you, but we need somewhere private."
Kail looked at my determined expression and sighed. "Fine. My office. Now."
The General's Office
"Talk," Kail said, leaning back in his chair and checking his watch. "I'm giving you exactly two minutes."
"I... I don't even know where to start."
"One minute and thirty seconds."
"My true name is Silvia Johnson," I blurted out. "Daughter of General Johnson. The operative who disappeared two months ago."
Kail froze. Then he laughed—a cold, mocking sound. "Silvia Johnson? Maybe you read about her in the news or met her once and obsessed over it. You're lying."
"Oh, really? Then tell me, General—how would a 'civilian' know about her top-secret mission in City C?"
Kail's smile vanished.
"I was sent there undercover to gather intel on Dragon K5," I continued, my voice gaining strength. "I was compromised while trying to upload the data. Someone shot me in the back. When I woke up... I was Erina Onil. The end."
"Silvia was killed?!" Kail leaned forward, his voice tight.
"Hey, don't sound so surprised. I'm standing right in front of you! By the way... did the intelligence ever reach the base?"
"Are you really Silvia?" Kail whispered, searching my face. "It's impossible. She's been missing for months. No one knows if she's even alive."
"Well, I don't know where my body is, but my soul is right here. Now, are we going to keep playing 'believe it or not,' or are you going to help me?"
Kail looked at me with newfound respect. "You won't disappoint me, will you?"
"Have you ever heard of Silvia Johnson failing a mission?"
"No," Kail admitted. He paused, then looked at me intently. "Do you know who I am? My nickname?"
"I've worked with many people, but we've never met."
"Then you're lucky. In the field, they call me the Silver Tiger."
Silver Tiger?! My heart nearly stopped. I had heard stories from my father about him. He was a ruthless tyrant, a legend who completed impossible missions in record time. And now, I was working with him.
"Alright, Silvia—or Erina," Kail said, regaining his professional cool. "I'll take you on the mission. We move the day after tomorrow. For now, you stay here at the base. I'll introduce you as my new assistant. Tomorrow, we plan."
"What about my mother?"
"I'll handle the cover story. Someone will show you to your quarters."
The Dream
That night, the dream returned. The same village, the same fog.
"Silvia, come here. I'm waiting for you," the girl whispered.
"Who are you? Where am I going?"
"I am you, and you are me. We cannot live like this anymore. You must wake up." The girl pointed to a wooden tablet on a nearby gate. Carved into the wood were the words: GreenStone.
"Wait! Where are you going?"
"I'm not going anywhere. I'll be waiting for you."
I woke up in a cold sweat. "Same dream... but this time, there was a name. GreenStone."
The next day, after the briefing with the officials, I pulled Kail aside. "Kail, do you know a place called GreenStone?"
"It's a small village not far from the city limits," he said, curious. "Why?"
"I keep dreaming about it. A girl is calling me there. I think I need to go."
Kail thought for a moment. "Our raid on the casino isn't until tomorrow night. We can go today. Maybe it'll give you some closure."
GreenStone Village
Kail drove me to the outskirts. The village was tiny, nestled by a quiet river. I began asking the few locals I saw if they recognized a girl with long, curly brown hair.
"Excuse me, Ma'am? Have you seen a girl around here? Long brown curls?"
"No," the woman said, shaking her head.
A young girl stepped out from behind a nearby house. "Why are you asking? Who are you?"
Kail stepped forward smoothly. "We're her relatives. We've been looking for her for a long time."
The girl looked at us suspiciously, then nodded. "Follow me."
She led us to a small, secluded house right by the river. "In here," she whispered, opening the door to a back room. "Are you looking for her?"
I stepped into the room and the breath left my lungs. My knees went weak, and I had to grab the doorframe for support.
"What?! Im... impossible!"
Lying on the bed, hooked up to a rudimentary life-support machine, was a woman. She was pale, her breathing shallow, but there was no mistaking her.
"Who is she?" Kail asked, his hand going to his holster.
"Silvia Johnson," I whispered, tears pricking my eyes. "That... that's me."
~to be continued