"I'm a friend.", you said in the hallways while you and Bell walked up the stairs to get to the target location. "You are Perseus right hand man. Do you remember?"

He nodded, but didn't respond.

"You need to be silent about me."

He nodded again.

"We need to bring you back to Perseus. Until then, play the victim. The Americans aren't smart enough to find out the truth about us."

And for the third time he nodded without saying a word. He was probably trying to process what was happening.

Right now, his brain worked the way it did before the brainwash, freely and with thoughts of his own. But as soon as the trigger phrase would be said, he'd return to an empty shell.

He squatted in front of a door and started working on it.

"Where do we go?", Bell finally asked in Russian as he cracked the lock to Kraus' apartment.

Before entering you glanced over your shoulder to look back down the hallway.

Outside this building, Adler was sitting, probably waiting that you'd return with an answer he wanted to hear.

But you couldn't.

Even if you would have wanted to.

"We're feeding the Americans.", you responded in your mother tongue. "Get what they want and hand it over to them."

Back in the day, your parents had taught you Russian first, to strengthen the feeling of belonging. But they had also managed to teach you perfect English, with a slight southern accent. That way, the Americans had never doubted you were one of them, born and raised.

Bell frowned.

"We should betray them.", he said, serious. "Right now they don't suspect a thing."

You shook your head.

"Right now we need them. We need Adler. He knows things that Perseus would be very happy to hear."

"Like their nukes."

Surprised, your eyebrows rose.

"How do you know?", you asked, eyebrows knitted together.

A few years back Perseus had told you himself that this was the kind of operation only very fee knew about. It was strange to know that Bell was aware.

For a moment, he just stared at you. It seemed like he was thinking, his eyes moved and twisted as if he tried to remember something.

"Perseus, no, me and some of his trusted men stole an American nuke a few months back.", he finally said. "It's supposed to throw the Americans into a crisis."

Your heart skipped a beat.

"Perseus wants to nuke the States?!"

"No. He wants to nuke every European capital with American guns."

"That would make the States global enemy number one."

"Yes."

A soft breath escaped you.

This made you feel mixed feelings.

On one hand it filled you with pride to know that Perseus and your people were so smart, not even the proud Americans were able to follow their steps. On the other hand it made you feel miserable.

Many people would die, many more countries and homes would be ruined. Entire landscapes would be lost to nuclear energy and millions, if not billions of people would die.

"I don't know what to think about that...", you mumbled and slowly pushed the door open to finally enter the apartment. "Let's go, Bell. We have a job to do."

His eyes flickered and the brainwashed hostage returned.

His head tilted to the side as he followed you into the dark corridor of the apartment.

"Comrade.", he suddenly whispered in Russian.

A cold shiver crawled down your spine.

"We've got a job to do.", you said again, fearing that you had broken the brainwash.

"He's waiting in Solovetsky.", Bell said. "He wanted to meet you again. To tell you to come home."

Holding your breath, you stared at him.

All of a sudden, his head sunk down and he had to lean against a wall to avoid collapsing.

"Shit...", he cursed in English and grabbed his forehead. "My head is aching..."

Relived, you let out a deep breath.

"It will be over soon.", you said and walked on. "Stay down and be silent. Kraus and his wife are home. We need to find a briefcase."

Slowly, you dared to walk through the dark entrance area of the place.

To the left, a huge room opened. The living room.

A shadow crawled over the floor.

Kraus' wife.

She was walking around, holding stuff, picking up a book and reading it while smoking. She was like a guard dog.

With her in the area, you nor Bell would be able to get upstairs without being seen.

With a gentle gesture you told Bell to stay put.

A phone suddenly rang.

She picked it up.

"Hello?", she said in a nice, gentle voice. "I'm sorry, there is no Freya here."

You seized the moment and slid up the stairs, but stopped mid way as another shadow suddenly appeared.

Kraus.

"Edda, can you find my umbrella?", he asked from upstairs. "I'll be leaving in a few minutes."

"Yes, Franz. It's right here in the living room. I'll put it by the front door."

The shadow disappeared.

You gestured for Bell to follow you.

But as soon as you were upstairs, another problem occurred.

"Mama?", a little voice asked out of a room. "Papa? I can't find my blanket."

"They have a child..!", you cursed. "Shit!"

Quickly, you and Bell jumped into the bedroom.

"This is getting worse by the minute...", Bell mumbled and disappeared into a shadow.

You squatted next to the door. In case the kid or wife would come in, you'd be able to knock them out.

Steps approached.

"Bell...", you gestured towards one of the cabinets. "Take a look."

Nodding, he walked over and pulled them open to search them. A few seconds passed and he pulled out a notebook. He threw it to you.

For a second, you looked through the infos.

"Nothing too special.", you said. "The Americans can have it."

The steps faded. Someone walked down the stairs.

You glanced around the corner.

The path was clear.

"Now or never.", you said.