Office hours: eight to five (1)

*Three days after the storm*

Without being told anything about the new mission, Vera was sent home to rest and prepare.

The talisman was put away in a safe place, according to the General, and she had to prove her worth in the following few weeks if she wanted her freedom to be ensured.

She didn't have a choice, so she reached the flat where she lived and closed the door to her room.

She shared an apartment with two other people but didn't spend enough time there to get to know them. They were like strangers.

One was a girl a couple of years younger than Vera. She studied chemistry at the nearby university. She would often stay in the kitchen until late at night, her nose on a book and her eyes narrowed to read the small words printed on the thick tomes she had to learn.

The second one was a young man working in a start-up. He was an IT technician and wouldn't get out of his room if not for quick meals.

Those three, somehow, went along by not meeting each other. Their relationship was idyllic: they didn't even have trouble deciding the turns to clean the kitchen and the bathroom - if not when one of them was away for longer.

Once closed the entrance door, Vera took the shoes off and walked back to her room. She had insisted on leaving the shoes next to the door, and she was thankful her flatmates wouldn't make a fuss about it but agreed. Mainly, it was about keeping the place clean.

She locked her door and lay on the bed, realising she had travelled for a few days. She had to wash up before sleeping, but she had no strength.

She had been stupid and lowered her guard next to Sara, and she was regretting with every cell in her body. She should have been so careful; if only she could go back in time...

Now, she couldn't go home for a while. There was first that damned mission. Then, they would have blocked her in Milan for the reports, and the sooner she could see her grandmother was in a month or so.

«Just a few weeks more,» she sighed. It wasn't such a huge difference. Compared to the four years she hadn't been home, it was almost nothing.

But, she thought, she had to obtain permission to visit home.

That was the worst clause in her contract: she could visit the whole world but the place she wanted the most. Her passport would be accepted in so many places, so she could just take a plane and visit a foreign country, but what for?

It was a waste on her: she only wanted one thing.

And, after a single moment with her guard down, her purpose was farther than ever. It was over, and she had to work for the agency for who knows how many years more.

«Dying would have been easier,» she murmured, rethinking the moments she had risked her life to solve a case.

Yet, never once did they say thank you. Her sacrifice was a given. Nothing worth turning to watch.

She turned to the side and collected her strength, but she couldn't get up. She would have washed the day after, in the end. She really, really couldn't get up.

Her muscles ached - in part because of that stranger and the rest because of the curse they put on her. She was bound to the agency, and she had no choice but to obey when they ordered. It was worse than before: if she had no choice, she would need to live with regrets. They would have forced her to do what she didn't want to.

Her will was no more.

She fell asleep, finally, and didn't move a single muscle until morning. She was awoken by the vibration of her phone. It didn't stop until she answered without checking the number.

«Where are you?» asked the annoyingly jovial female voice. Was that woman already up and kicking?

Oh, but she hadn't done anything much at the base other than a small enchantment and a little more work around the General to ensure her position. No surprise she had the energy to shout at that time in the morning.

«Let me sleep,» Vera replied and hung up. She turned to the other side and let the phone ring for a minute before picking up again.

In the end, making her lose her patience on the first day wasn't wise. Sara could become unbearable.

«It's already nine. You should have been here an hour ago! You're too used to taking your time, but things are changing. The office hours are from eight to five, and you should follow them from now on. You're not a kid anymore, Vera!»

«Oh, let me live. I'm not an officer but a field agent. I have no hours to observe but come there when you call me.»

«I'm calling you now.»

«I don't teleport,» she muttered. If she had that power, in no way she would be stuck with them a second more.

«I'll wait for a little. But don't test my patience, Vera. The General entrusted us with this important mission. You don't want to screw everything up from the start, do you?»

«Of course,» she muttered, rolling her eyes. However, she got up and finally had that promised shower. She didn't waste much time and left.

It was better not to test their patience. Not until she had more information about the kind of curse they put on her. Maybe there was some hope to break it if she studied it enough.