Is this destiny?

Michael exhaled forcibly while telling himself to focus on the mission. They are already here, and Oni is by his side. She is doing this because of him, and he should make the most of it. As soon as they collect the data, they can leave this place and go back to their lovey-dovey mood.

Michael's gaze moved back toward the other side of the street and his hands trembled at the sight of a familiar figure.

He wanted to blink or to rub his eyes to make sure he is not seeing things, but he didn't dare to even blink.

His sight was glued to the female who walked down the street in a light long coat, with her back facing him. He can't see her face, but her frame and her posture and every step she took were hitting into his memory like a sledgehammer. And then she took a turn and his heart stopped when he saw her profile before she entered the building.

Michael's body was frozen while his mind ran a million thoughts a second. How is it possible? But there is no mistake… Unless she has an identical twin sister, that is Jesse! The same Jesse who died in Egypt, in the hotel room. Michael sifted through his memories, and he remembered that day…

Michael left Jesse in their hotel room. He was on his way to meet with the team and she was just a contact, so she should stay behind. It's safer.

On the way to the meeting spot, Michael had a feeling that someone is following him, but he was always a bit paranoid when Jesse was nearby because he feared that she will be exposed. She is not a field agent, and she would not be able to take the torture. Due to his sixth sense (or paranoia) telling him to be extra cautious, Michael took few additional detours before reaching his destination.

He was running late, and he heard his teammates' voices from the inside when he reached for the door handle, and then the explosion happened. When he came around, the building was in a sorry state, and there was no chance for survivors because the roof from the second floor collapsed completely.

Michael had a splitting headache and his ears were ringing, but he got on his feet and ran back to the hotel, as fast as he could, to make sure Jesse is fine. He found out that there was an explosion in their hotel room as well.

The rescuers were on site and he saw a body being carried out; a thin arm dangled from under the white sheet, obviously female and he recognized Jesse's bracelet, so he assumed that it's her. Who else could it be? He controlled himself from going after the ambulance which drove her body away because he would only expose himself, and she is already dead. The next day, newspapers had glaring headlines about two explosions that shook the city, leaving no survivors behind. And the story added up: someone saw through them, took care of the agents and the contacts as well. He blamed himself for Jesse's death because if he took few extra turns, the bad guys would not be able to track down his hotel room with Jesse in it… or so he thought.

When he contacted the headquarters, they confirmed what he found out from local news: everyone is dead. And they presumed that Michael died as well. They asked him how it is possible that he survived, and the next thing Michael remembers is that assassins were after him.

Back to the present…

Michael stared blankly while telling himself that nothing makes sense. Jesse is dead that must be her twin sister or an extreme lookalike. There is no way that is the real Jesse, and if by some crazy chance that is her, did he spend years blaming himself for her death while she is alive?

Oni noticed that something is off with Michael.

"Michael?", she called, and he didn't respond.

She nudged him and called again. He turned toward her, but she saw that he is not present. She waved in front of his face and then pinched his arm with a lot of force.

Michael snapped out of his daze partially.

"What happened?", Oni asked while carefully observing his face.

Michael opened his mouth. He wanted to explain, but he couldn't. Oni is looking at him with eyes full of love and concern and he can't make himself say that he thinks he saw his previous lover. The one who is dead. The one whose name he was using as an alias. Not before confirming if that is really her. Because if that is a twin sister, then he can say that she looked familiar without the need to explain further.

If it turns out how that is Jesse, he has so many questions for her.

Michael knows that he will not be able to sleep until he verifies with his own eyes, one way or the other.

"I need to check something. Wait for me here.", he said softly to Oni before kissing her lightly on the lips.

Oni grabbed his arm. "You are not going there, are you?"

"It will be OK. Wait here. Promise that you will wait here." He looked at her sternly. "Promise."

Oni can see that he is determined and that he has no intention of telling her what prompted this behavior, but Michael was always calm and collected and if he decided to make a move it must be important. And she was confident that he is not telling her the reason only because he is in a hurry.

"You need to return in fifteen minutes, or I'm going after you no matter what you are doing.", Oni said sternly. "And don't block me from seeing what you see."

Michael nodded in agreement to share his vision and gave her another light kiss before standing up and walking across the street.

He does not want Oni to find out about Jesse, not by sharing his vision. But he knows that Oni will be worried not knowing what is going on, so he decided that if by a crazy chance that IS Jesse, he will turn off the audio. He can explain everything to Oni later.

Oni looked at Michael as he walked toward that building and with his every step which put a distance between them, an uneasy feeling overtook Oni's heart. She used all her willpower not to leap from her seat and follow after him.

Suddenly, Oni understood why Michael is telling her to stay back and why he is so overprotective. He must have the same need to keep her out of the harm's way, and his urge to keep her safe is probably stronger than hers because he lost everything once. However, her understanding of that didn't soothe her uneasiness.

She saw Michael walk into the building and when the door closed behind him, Oni was confident that her heart stopped.

Her gaze fell on her phone and she started a stopwatch. She told him that she will go after him in fifteen minutes. The idea of that timer showing that fifteen minutes passed and Michael still not returning was heartbreaking.

Oni thought about how everything in life is fragile. Only one minute ago they were sitting next to each other, and she was happily thinking that soon they will go for dinner and she will enjoy his warmth and his protective embrace and now she is facing the reality where that might not happen. She forced herself not to go deeper into negativity. That is her Michael and he will check something and come back in a minute or two. He has to.

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