"Last thing I remember, I was running for the door. I had to find the passage back to the place I was before..."
Hotel California, by Eagles, played through Lucrecia Alonso's headphones as she reviewed the progress of the cases and controls Esteban had handed her two hours earlier. She couldn't believe it… the results were truly good. Conclusive, reproducible, demonstrable. They were going to make history.
"Relax," said the night man.
"We are programmed to receive. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."
She clenched her teeth. An uncomfortable sensation tightened in her chest and, for an instant, threatened to moisten her eyes as the memory of her parents slipped through her defenses. Her lips curved without permission… and then, yes, the tear was about to fall. But she didn't allow it—crying made no sense. Not in good moments or bad ones. It never solved anything. Lucrecia poured another sip of hot water into the mate and drank through the bombilla, clinging to that small gesture. There were customs an Argentinian woman never abandoned. This was one of them.
The guitar solo carried the melody in her head. It was ironic that the song spoke of leaving… but not of truly going away. That was exactly what she had done… She had distanced herself from her roots, but had never managed to leave them behind.
Lucrecia stood up and decided to return to her office. This was not the time to weaken. Life was what it was… Unfair, most of the time. And nothing was going to change just because she allowed herself to grow nostalgic. Much less when she still had so much to prove, and all the researchers from neighboring departments were waiting for her right now on the tenth floor for the data presentation ahead of the Advisory Committee meeting… Thinking that the countdown left her with only six days until November 19th made her shudder.
When she left the meeting room, she slipped her headphones into the pocket of her lab coat and, with the thermos and mate in her hands, took her first steps toward the hallway… until a completely out-of-place image stopped her dead in her tracks. In the distance, two men stood in front of her office door, and a chill ran through her body immediately. Instinctively, she stepped back and hid again inside the room; her heart began to pound, she tightened her grip on the mate, held her breath, and peeked out once more.
One of them looked familiar. Yes… she had seen him. The one who had been circling her space for days. The one who claimed to be from the CNI. The other had his ear almost pressed against her door, blond hair, dressed in black and—holy hell—he was armed. Her stomach clenched at once, but she forced herself to observe, to register every detail, to understand what the hell was going on.
- Hey, American… aren't you overreacting? - she heard the one from the CNI say in English. American?
Her pulse quickened, her breathing turned fast and shallow, and an icy cold ran down her spine. Why was there an armed American in front of her office?
Two sharp knocks broke the moment. The American had just slammed against the door, because that wasn't knocking—it was pounding. He was checking if someone was inside… if he could force his way in. But why? How?
And then, everything began to fall into place…
There was an armed American at her door, hitting it like it was his enemy. And inside that office was her work—years of research! The presentation that, in a matter of days, could change the course of sleep therapeutics… and send Alcántara Pharma's value skyrocketing, if not beyond.
Then she understood.
Someone had leaked the information to the American competition. She had never believed she would witness firsthand how espionage operated within the pharmaceutical industry… but there it was. The man from the CNI was not what he claimed to be. And the blond… the blond was the enforcer, a hired thief ready to take everything.
No! She wasn't going to allow it.
Lucrecia clenched her teeth and forced herself to calm down. This was not the time to lose her head, but to think. That was it—she had to think. She had gotten out of worse situations before… were a couple of idiots going to outplay her? No, no. That kind of confidence would lead her straight into mistakes; she couldn't underestimate them.
She gripped the mate again and watched them closely. The blond was armed. The other didn't seem to be… but most likely he was too. She saw the American place a hand on the CNI agent's shoulder and look at him seriously. Had he told him to stay put? Then he brought his index finger to his lips. Silence. Lucrecia clenched her jaw. The CNI agent opened his mouth to say something, but the armed man had already turned his attention back to her office door, so the other let out a sigh, loosened his tie, and adopted a guarded stance. Luckily, she thought, the door was locked and they wouldn't be able to get in without the proper card no matter how hard they hit it… unless they had a way to breach the system… which, being American, didn't seem far-fetched. Wasn't that what they did all the time?
Yes. Yes, it was. And that reduced her time. She had to act.
Lucrecia focused on emptying her mind of everything else and anchoring herself in the moment. She knew she couldn't face them head-on. She wasn't that stupid. Reckless, perhaps… but not stupid anymore. But she wasn't going to stand still either. She wasn't going to let those idiots lay their hands on her work. On years of effort. On her legacy…
Then she remembered.
Every office had a security button. If she managed to activate the one in the meeting room, the signal would reach the guards. It would take them a few minutes, yes… but it would be enough to gain an advantage, to slow them down.
If she confronted the CNI agent, they wouldn't just eliminate her in there. Not given who she was. Right? No. They couldn't risk that. The building's security was insane. If the alarms went off, getting out of there would be practically impossible. And they had to know that as well as she did.
Exactly. That was her advantage… that they wouldn't expose themselves.
So yes… she had to do it. But do it right. No margin for error.
Lucrecia took the small breath she allowed herself and stepped back into the room; with utmost care, she moved toward the security button and pressed it decisively, and only then straightened up.
‹‹Calm down and focus, damn it… you can do this››
She adjusted the documents in her hands, held the thermos and mate in the other, lowered her gaze to the pages, and began walking toward her office with firm steps, making sure her heels echoed through the hallway, completely absorbed in a reading she didn't actually care about. As she walked, she felt her stomach tighten and her legs threaten to give out, but she forced herself to maintain control; they weren't killers, she repeated to herself, they were corporate thieves, and in her they would see an opportunity—a useful hostage… without knowing that security was already on its way. And with that thought, she began to feel slightly nauseous, and had to admit that what she was doing was completely insane, but it was too late now, she had already given herself away, they had surely already seen her and she, and she…
Lucrecia looked up and found both of them watching her, somewhat puzzled. The American was no longer holding the weapon… Good, maybe the plan hadn't been so stupid after all. He wasn't going to kill her. He wasn't going to kill her. He wasn't going to kill her.
- Excuse me, do you need something? - she addressed the American directly, positioning herself in front of the other while cautiously watching the CNI agent's reflection through the frosted glass so as not to lose track of his movements.
- Doctor Alonso. - the other intervened. Lucrecia looked at him angrily.
- Doctor Alonso, a pleasure... - said the blond in accented Spanish. She looked at him as well. But just then she saw the American begin to bring his backpack forward, and something in her mind finally snapped: she wasn't going to let him kill her—he must have a silenced weapon in there and any second now…
She didn't think anymore. She spun sharply toward the CNI agent and smashed the mate with the hot yerba straight into his face; as she did, she let out a sharp scream (much to her dismay) and lunged at the American as well, dropping the papers to the floor, caring about nothing but the thermos… she had to open the thermos. But her hands were shaking. No—her whole body.
The American stepped aside and, as he dodged her, his body struck lightly against the frosted glass; the CNI agent, meanwhile, threw the remains of the yerba to the floor and began to recover while trying to shake off the residue that would, hopefully, leave an impossible green stain on his suit.
Lucrecia felt her stomach churn and her heart race like a runaway train. She tried to open the thermos again and couldn't; the trembling prevented it. Her plan was failing. The American took a step toward her, tried to speak—but terror crawled up her skin. Desperate, she tried once more to open it…
And this time, she succeeded.
Without wasting a second, she hurled the hot water straight at the American's torso. He grunted and stepped back, muttering something that sounded like a curse as he shook his soaked clothes and pulled them away from his skin. Perfect! That was exactly what she had planned! Mate water could cause serious burns, and right now, it was her only weapon.
She saw him wince again and curse—now, unmistakably, in English. That had to hurt. She lifted her gaze and now he was looking at her, furious.
And just then, the security guards arrived on the floor, weapons in hand… but they did nothing. They didn't attack. They didn't even aim.
- There they are! - she shouted, pointing at them as she shoved the CNI agent aside to break free and run toward the guards, seeking protection. - Those men were trying to steal my research!
The guards took in the scene—the mate on the floor, the spilled yerba, the CNI agent brushing off his suit, the water everywhere, the American restraining himself, swallowing whatever words he wanted to unleash, surely a curse directed at her—and they did nothing! Why on earth had she thought any of them would be useful for once in their lives? Then the guard who usually covered the morning shift stepped forward… and holstered his weapon. What—what!?
- Uh, Doctor Alonso… these men are not thieves. The American is here with authorization from the CNI and the CIA. He has documentation to prove it. - He paused briefly. - He's here to investigate the facilities. And you, specifically.