Bryan was unaware of where he was at the moment. The atmosphere around him was warm, cozy, and welcoming. The air smelled of a fusion of freshly ground coffee and blooming lavender. His vision started clearing up slowly, and he found himself inside the confines of a warm, cozy home. Where am I?

Suddenly, the giggles of a woman caught his attention. The voice was sweet and felt like pure honey flowing through a piece of rock. He moved slowly to the origin of the voice and found himself on the doorstep of an adjacent room down the corridor. The vision he saw was ethereal, almost lifelike.

There stood a woman, one of indescribable beauty, dressing up her newborn. She had an olive-tan skin tone; her eyes were brown like pure dark chocolate; but most of all, her smile was heavenly and appeared ethereal in all its forms. She held her newborn in her hands, fumbling with his clothes. "Naughty one, aren't you?", she giggled and patted her child.

Bryan felt happy for the first time. Something about the woman elated the long-lost sense of happiness and cheerfulness in him. But he wasn't sure where he was, and he approached with slow steps towards the lady. "Ma'am, may I know where I am? I feel a bit lost". His voice seemed to echo back towards him as the lady appeared to not have heard what he just said.

Before he could ask further, a doorbell rang, and on cue, the woman happily picked up her child and ran towards the door. The door opened up to show a familiar man, whom Bryan recognized immediately. "Dad!", he screamed, but his voice ricocheted back to him once more as his dad walked right through him as if he were nothing but air.

"Hon, could you please take this suitcase over to our room? I'm way too tired to walk there." Lily groaned but gave a playful smile and took the suitcase while handing over her newborn to him. "Then why don't Daddy play with you till Mummy puts up Daddy's new suitcase since he is too lazy?" She giggled and turned around, but stopped short.

"Adams, what's up with the suitcase? You look like you haven't had a sip of coffee in a week!" Adams groaned and played with his newborn as if the kid were like an elixir of life. "Hon, what did I tell you before marrying you, your highness?" He gave a childish smile, to which the lady rolled her eyes and walked towards the room. "Some secrets are better left undisturbed."

Suddenly, a loud thumping on the door shook the calmness of the house, which made the kid cry. Adams cooed in the child's ear softly, his eyes filled with fear. "Bryan....promise me that no matter what, you will always be true to your heart. Never be a failure like me..." He bent down and placed a small, soft kiss on the wailing child's cheek, knowing that it would be the last kiss he could give.

Adams placed the child softly on the sofa and went to open the door. Lily came running from the room and was clueless about what was happening. Bryan tried to stop his dad, but his dad walked right through him. Before he opened the door, Bryan shouted at the top of his lungs. "DAD, PLEASE, NO!"

The vision started blurring, and he felt something pulling him away from his home. Something was shaking him vigorously, but he tried to resist as he wanted to stop his dad. He heard a faint voice, bringing him back to reality. "Bryan...Bryan wake up! Bryan?"

Just like how a dead man is brought to life, he took up huge gasps of air and felt himself drenched in sweat. The plunge of fresh oxygen awakened his sleeping cells, and his vision cleared, but it was the pilots and Jessica before him, not his family. I was dreaming again!

"How long have I passed out?" Jessica pulled out a bunch of tissues and wiped the sweat from his face. "Approximately 15 minutes. You were dreaming, I believe."He took the tissues from her hand and gave her a thankful smile. "Nothing to worry about. Did we reach? How long till we reach Barcelona?"

One of the pilots gave a chuckle and pointed towards the porthole. "Bienvenido a bordo a Barcelona." Welcome to Barcelona!

They bid farewell to the pilots and walked to the runway. Jessica was walking her way towards the exit but stopped short as she noticed that Bryan was not beside her. She looked behind her and cocked a curious look. "Where's the chauffer?" Jessica couldn't help but give out a small laugh. "We are undercover, Mr., and that means if we hurry up, we might catch a cab."

Bryan groaned but smiled at himself. They found a cab waiting at the exit. The cab driver was around 20 and gave Jessica a deep head-to-toe look. Bryan took a step forward, but she stopped him short. "Mr., we are in Barcelona and not Manhattan. We are not cops, and thus, one wrong move is more than enough to blow our covers."

She gave out a small, faked-up laugh and bent down to the window. "Puedes dejarnos en Sarrià-Sant Gervasi?" The driver gave them a wink and motioned for them to enter the cab. "You both English people?" He looked in the rearview mirror and mocked a look at Jessica. Jessica flushed and was bewildered. "You Spanish speaking is formal. Tourist all like you, I see many so I know."

Bryan didn't like the cab driver one bit. He mocked the cab driver by speaking in broken English. "You drive front or car come and you die and be like romesco sauce." Jessica tried her best to control her laughter. The driver gave a small grunt and drove forward. Till they reached Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, the driver hadn't spoken a single word.

They got off on the beautiful street of Carrer Major de Sarrià. Jessica pulled out her wallet, but the driver lowered the glass on his door and showed an offensive finger sign. "Fok off, you English people." Before they knew what happened, he sped off through the street. Jessica and Bryan couldn't hold on to their laughter any more. "At least we got a free ride."

Carrer Major de Sarrià is the main street in the Sarrià-Sant Gervasi district of Barcelona. The air smelled of Cava, which is a famous Spanish wine, and fresh barbeque. The streets were packed with bars, restaurants, and merchants selling their products. Jessica was busy admiring a set of jewelry in a nearby merchant shop. Bryan gave her a curious look. He wanted to enjoy it too, but his mind was occupied with the matter at hand.

He pulled Jessica aside much to her dismay, as she was just about to ask the vendor to show more pieces of a pearl piece. "Jessica, whats HydraHepA? I just know it's lethal, but what is it?" Jessica seemed stunned, as if someone had just pointed a gun at her.

"Don't you know how to enjoy? Either way, I too am not sure what that is, as the details are highly confidential and are only known to the top tier of the department. However, Arnold texted me a bit earlier that one Mr.André will brief us about it."

"And where should we meet him? Where do we start looking first? I would say, Let's go to the par-" Before he could finish, Jessica put her palm on his mouth and pulled him to a nearby stall. "The first thing we do is to look like tourists, and then we enjoy till André comes up!" Giggling, she led him to the nearby stall where they were selling clothes made of all sorts of fabric.

He wanted to protest, but something about her churned his insides. He felt safe when she was with him, but he didn't know what exactly that emotion was. An elderly woman in her 80s walked towards them and gave out a big smile. "compre uno y llévese otro gratis." Buy one, get one free

Jessica smirked and cocked her head toward Bryan. "You girls love when you get something free don't you?" He chuckled and moved towards a pair of denim shorts and a spiral-printed black and white shirt. "Hey! How do I look?" He turned back and stopped short.

Jessica changed herself into a loose cotton cream white shirt paired with a short floral skirt, garnishing it off with a pair of floral sneakers. She had a floral hat on top of her wavy hair. Her skin was smooth without flaws, and the Barcelonian sun shone down on her legs as if they were naturally illuminated. "Ahem...eyes up, Mr."

Bryan felt his skin burn. What was I thinking? "Uhm, yeah, you look gorgeous, splendid, I mean." Jessica gave out a small laugh. "Why don't you go ahead and change, and trust me, I know how to comment better." Bryan shook his head and went inside a room that had a rickety sign board titled 'hombres'.

A young girl around the same age as Jessica popped out of a room and was helping the old lady fold up the clothes. She was deeply tanned and had a vibrant smile. Jessica couldn't help but immerse herself in the beauty of Barcelona. Wish I could stay here all my life!

"Ahem...now how do I look?" She turned around and tried her best to keep her face from turning crimson. He looked sporty and casual, and his chiseled muscular body could be clearly seen as he unbuttoned the first three buttons of his shirt. Everything from head to toe was perfect, as if it were a sculpture carved personally by Michelangelo himself.

"Eyes up, Miss." He laughed and gave her an incredulous look. "Oh, shut up! That was my dialogue!" She giggled and motioned for him to look at the old woman's daughter. The girl was gaping at him, exactly as Jessica did a few minutes ago. "Is it mandatory for you to attract attention wherever you go?" He gave out a low mocking laugh and whispered, "Yeah, just like romesco sauce."

Both of them laughed and made their way to the counter. The old woman was happy, as it was her first sale of the day. Jessica saw the price tag and handed over a 50-euro note. The woman chuckled to herself and gave them a bracelet. Jessica took the bracelet, and both of them walked out to the sunny street of Carrer Major de Sarrià.

Just then, Bryan looked intensely at her hand. "Hey! There's something odd with that bracelet." Jessica gave a curious look at the bracelet and shook her head. "I think it's the most beautiful pearl bracelet I've ever seen." Bryan grabbed her hand, took off the bracelet, and felt it around his fingers. He bent down and broke the largest pearl in the bracelet hard on the ground.

"What the fu..!" Jessica's anger seemed only momentary when she saw the sight before her. There was a roll of paper inside the pearl piece. He picked up the paper, unrolled it, and showed it to her. Jessica eyed him in wonder. Carrer Major Bar, 3rd seat, André

Both of them turned and looked for the old lady, but she wasn't seen. Jessica motioned him to a nearby cab stand, and both of them strode over at a fast pace. "I hope the place isn't too far." Bryan agreed with her, and both of them got in a cab.

Behind a wall at the far end of the street, a mysterious man watched the cab speed away. He smiled and hummed in a cold, low whisper, "In the moon's shadow, we dance, my feline friend, a relentless waltz through the labyrinth of secrets, where every pawprint leaves a trace and every whisper hides a clue. So chase me, dear mouse, through this intricate tapestry of deceit, for in the end, the hunter may become the hunted, and the thrill of our pursuit will be the symphony of our demise."