The white light was all I could see. Nothing else but the white light. "You must be still," they kept telling me. "Do not scream. Be still." It hurt. It hurt more than anything else they put me through. And there was nothing but the pain. There were no thoughts in my head. There was nothing to focus on besides the pain and the blinding white light. I could only see the light. Like I died and went to heaven. It was like death because I did die. I did not exist anymore.

"What is your name?" they asked. They haven't turned off the light yet. I couldn't find the strength to speak but they started shaking me. "State your name!"

I snap awake, sharply inhaling. I sit up slowly, looking around the room while taking a slow breath. I am in the hotel. I am in a hotel in Salzburg, Austria. The clock says it's 06:43 in the morning. Sunday morning. It's sunny outside. I glance to the right of me and notice Brendon staring at me while brushing his teeth. Brendon is here. He's my partner and my closest friend. I trust him with my life. I am safe. Everything is fine.

"You always wake up abruptly," Brendon says with toothpaste in his mouth.

I flip the covers off and swing my legs over the side of the bed, pausing for a moment to let myself wake up. "Yeah, even in my subconscious, I have to be dramatic," I say, clearing my throat.

Brendon gives a laugh but looks at me suspiciously. "The last...month or so we've been staying together, you always snap awake unless there's an alarm. But when you naturally wake up, you're always startled."

I give him a shrug. "I guess it comes with the job," I say.

"You have nightmares?" he asks, switching hands with his toothbrush.

I casually shake my head. "Nah, I think my reflexes are now attuned to my training so instead of easing out of sleep, I'm up with adrenaline in fight or flight mode." He nods along, getting up from the bed and heading to the bathroom. "When did you wake up?" I ask.

I hear the water running from the facet as he spits. He shuts it off and grabs his towel, wiping his face. "Um, maybe an hour ago. Sarah messaged me on accident and I woke up."

"Right before she went to bed?"

He nods, setting the towel down on the counter and switching off the bathroom light. "Yeah, for her, it was around 2330 hundred," he says. "But it was nice getting to talk to her before she went to bed."

I nod along. "How is everything about being gone?"

He pauses, trying to think of what to say. "It's okay. I miss her and all. She doesn't really get why I have to be away so long," He trails off, contemplating if he should continue.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Eh, nothing. I just don't know what to do." He glances up at me and there's a shift to a lighter note. "Calling Elsa today?"

I sigh at him, starting to chuckle. "I'm going to but probably around the afternoon. A more acceptable time to call someone outside of work reasons," I say. I finally stand up, hovering near the bed for a moment.

"She is work reasons," he jokes.

"Well, obviously but she can't know that," I retort. "You think I'd be with her for any other reason?"

"You did manage to pick her up really smoothly," he says. I roll my eyes at him and start walking to the bathroom. "Akari said you two were a match. There's chemistry."

"Shut up," I mutter.

"She's technically your first girlfriend," he calls out teasing before I shut the door to the bathroom.

Akari stops by the hotel, briefing us on updates about Kelcer. His location currently unknown, suspected to be in Eastern Russia but Agent Toro says he's likely to return so we'll stay in the country.

By late morning, I decide it's fair to call Elsa now. I leave the hotel room and stay in the hall. Her phone rings a few times before she answers. "Beurn," a sharp voice answers.

"Hallo, engel," I say softly.

"Gerard?" she asks, her voice immediately lightening up.

I switch back to English, leaving the German accent. "And how are you doing?"

I can hear her smile on the other end. "Good, good. You?"

"I'm good as well. But I could be better," I say, leaving off.

"Oh? How so?" she inquires.

I lean against the wall, holding the phone up to my ear. "I could be with you."

She chuckles on the other end. "Well, I'm finishing up on a few work errands right now," she starts.

"Work? On a Sunday?"

She laughs on the other end. "Yes, well, when business calls," she says. Yeah, weapons dealers don't exactly have solid schedules I bet. "But I'm almost finished. Care to have a lunch with me?"

"I'd enjoy that, angel," I say.

After we establish a meetup, I head back to the hotel room. Brendon and Akari are playing some card game on the bed as I walk back into the room. "How'd everything go?" Brendon asks, staring down Akari. They stare back at Brendon, squinting their eyes.

"Went well, she's still interested. Or just wants company for lunch," I say. I grab a water bottle out of the fridge and open it. "Poker?" I ask. The two of them don't respond to me.

"Elsa does enjoy a good meal. She likes the finer things including her food," Akari says. "But she does also like you."

"Yeah, I'm hoping so this mission doesn't blow up in our faces," I say, taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"You got any 2s?"

Brendon's eyes narrow. "Go fish," he says.

I choke on my water as Akari reluctantly grabs a card from the deck. "You got to be kidding me," I mutter, wiping the dripping water from my chin.

Time goes by quicker once I turn on the television. Akari and Brendon are struggling to beat each other in their little card game. Half an hour before I need to leave, Akari grabs a hanger from the closet with my clothes.

"Here, you will be wearing this," they say.

"I have to wear specific attires as Gerard Warh?" I ask, taking it from them.

"Yes, you are not really yourself. You are the Elsa version of you."

"Well, I'm not complaining," I say, examining the clothes. White button up shirt and a black vest and black slacks. It's nice clothing but I don't know how I wear this casually. I change into the clothes, roll up my sleeves and slick my hair back.

"You look good, Gerard," they tell me as I grab my fake wallet and cellphone.

"Don't really feel like myself," I say.

They shrug at me. "Makes it easier to not be yourself."

One of the agents drives me to Vienna and I walk over to the meetup. It's a quiet Sunday, few people walking about in the afternoon. It's warmer right now than it was last night when walking her home. I stop, leaning against the wall and taking out my phone to look occupied. Akari downloaded solitaire on here so I can play that for now.

"Gerard!" someone calls out. I tense up and look around. That surely wasn't Elsa. I pocket my phone when I see.

"Frank?" He starts walking across the street. Well, he can't be here right now. "What are you doing?" I ask casually.

He hops up on the sidewalk smiling at me. He's with one of his friends. "Oh, just got lunch after studying," he says. He glances back. "Um, this is Cody Carson. Cody, this is Gerard Way." He has my last name. And he knows I'm American. He knows me as my civilian alias. Wrong one for right now.

"Hi," I say, extending my hand.

Cody takes it and shakes. "Hey, nice to meet you," he says with this dazed expression. I have no idea what Frank told him but I'll have to find out later. "I, uh, so I heard you're a business guy?"

"Um, yeah, you could say that. Financial advisory."

Cody smiles at me. "That's cool. I'm actually a business major myself."

"Oh, really? Marketing?" He nods. "Mine was accounting."

"Are you working right now?" Frank asks, glancing at me with a smile. "Or are you heading somewhere? You're dressed...really nice."

"Oh, thanks," I mutter. "And yeah, you caught me at a bad time actually. I need to meet with someone," I say. I glance down the street and see a platinum blonde walking on the other side of the road. Lovely. We're on Day 2 and I'm going to blow this. No, it's fine. I can play this off well if I leave now. I start walking backward, heading in the same direction as Elsa. "I have to escort them to our business office," I say, pointing aimlessly down the other way. "But I'll call you sometime tonight, sound good?" I ask, giving a thumbs up.

"Uh, yeah, sounds good," Frank says, starting to head the same direction I pointed.

I turn around and walk across the street. Elsa sees me and smiles. "It was nice meeting you!" Cody calls out. I can fix this.

I wave behind me as I walk up to Elsa. "Hello, angel," I say in a German accent.

She smiles at me, glancing back. "Who were you talking to?" she asks curiously.

"Ah, those two are Americans. Asking for directions to the Vienna Zoo," I say with a smile. "Nice people."

Elsa smiles up at me, linking her arm with mine. "Ah, that's nice. And you teach American Literature?"

"That I do," I say. The two of us start strolling down the sidewalk. I guide us in the opposite way Frank and Cody went.

"What books do you teach?" she asks. I pause, scavenging my head for a book that's American and that I can talk about. "The Great Gatsby?"

Thank god for high school. "Yes, that's an iconic story exposing the famous American Dream to be nothing but an implausible goal. The story represents the country as a gilded lie."

"Gilded?" she asks.

I smile gently. "To the rest of the world, America holds itself up high. It's shining and plated with gold. But on the inside, corruption as the country is rotten to the core of their own political system."

"You sound sure of yourself," Elsa says.

"This is what we can learn from books, such as Ferhient 451, 1984, The Jungle," I say. "Even fiction tells great truths."

"I believe I have those books at home," she says. "I have a library full of books. Maybe next time I invite you inside, you'll actually come and you can see."

"Maybe," I say with a smile. "What other books do you have?"

"So many, most of them I inherited," she says. "It's my father's old house. But I hardly read even a fraction of what I own."

"Well, maybe sometime we can go to the library and read together."

She leans against me as we continue walking. "I'd like it if you read to me. Your voice is alluring."

I chuckle lightly. "Some of my students may disagree as it puts many of them to sleep," I say.

"If I was one of your students, I'd be very attentive," she says. "Do you read Shakespeare?" Shakespeare I know. I know a lot of him.

"My British Literature colleges teach him but I am also very familiar with him." I glance at her and the sun sparkles in her eyes. "But soft. What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and...Elsa is the sun," I say. Elsa narrows her eyes at me with a smile. "That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she."

"That is beautiful but I believe Juliet is the sun," Elsa corrects with a smirk.

"You shine brighter than Juliet ever could. If you are the sun, Juliet is a candle. And if you believe Juliet be the sun, then you are a supernova."

She stops walking abruptly and I stop as well. I spin around to face her as Elsa stares up at me. She chuckles, unsure of what to say. I take a step closer to her and reach up, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Aren't you the romantic," Elsa finally sighs, leaning into my hand as I leave it resting on her cheek.

"Angel, I'm an English professor. I study poetry. Of course, I'm a romantic." She takes hold of the collar of my shirt and pulls me close to her. I close my eyes as our lips meet and she kisses me. I place my other hand on her hip, holding her gently. She pulls away and I open my eyes, meeting hers. There's a moment where we don't move, just taking each other in. "Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged. Give me my sin again," I whisper, running my thumb over her cheek.

"You really a bookworm," she smiles, kissing me again while smiling. She pulls away with a giggle. "Come," she slides her hand down my arm interlocks her fingers with mine, "where were we heading again?"

I glance around. "Huh," I mutter. Elsa looks up at me. "I don't know, I was just walking forward. Did you want to go somewhere for lunch?"

She spins around, looking at the building we're standing in front of. "Here's a cafe. I've never been here before."

I glance inside. Looks alright, slightly crowded but not overwhelming. "Neither have I. We can try it together." I step over and grab the door, holding it open for her. She walks in and I follow her.