"Where are we going to look for those three again?" Tricia complained.
"I don't know; that's why we're going around in circles now, right?" Isabel snapped back.
"Why do we even have to do what Giovane says?" Tricia asked again.
"Just be quiet, Tricia." Isabel turned to her, raising an eyebrow.
Tricia rolled her eyes but stood her ground.
"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have a clue," she muttered.
"You don't matter at all, because you don't even know who saved you, right? You only know the codename Delta—how can that be useful?" Isabel shot back.
"At least I've achieved something your brother might find useful," Tricia countered.
"Shh…" Isabel immediately hushed her.
They heard laughter and footsteps—women talking. Isabel quickly followed the sound.
"Oh," Tricia whispered.
They exchanged glances; Tricia smirked, and Isabel raised an eyebrow in return. Thalia was heading straight toward them.
Okay… how can I turn the three around? Isabel asked herself silently.
They acted casual, chatting as they moved toward another group.
"Oh, Thalia?" Isabel called out.
Thalia looked up in surprise. She frowned slightly.
"Isabel," she said, recognizing her instantly. Her eyes shifted to Tricia. "Tricia."
"Oh, you're here too! On vacation?" Tricia asked brightly.
Thalia nodded.
"Actually, Ruth and I planned to come back here," she said with a smile.
"And then we saw Ericka here on vacation with her childhood friend," Ruth added.
Isabel already knew Ruth's identity. If she was the daughter of Fuego—where her brother served—Isabel had long known her character.
"Oh, that's good! Since we still don't know the ins and outs of this place, can we join you?" Isabel asked.
"If it's okay with you," Thalia replied.
The three exchanged glances.
"Sure. We also have a place to stay here," Ericka explained.
"Oh, us too. But we prefer having more people around. As they say, the more the merrier, right?" Isabel said with a smile.
Thalia chuckled lightly. "Sure, Isabel."
"By the way, I'm sorry for the harsh words I threw at you back then. I was frustrated with myself and took my anger out on you, Thalia," Isabel said, her voice sincere.
It's all an act—but I need to win her favor.
"Oh no, it's fine. That doesn't matter to me," Thalia said with a smile.
"Really? Thank you!" Isabel said, quickly hugging her.
Inside, she smirked. Let's see if you can still smile like that later, Thalia.
"You're welcome," Thalia said when Isabel let go.
Isabel quickly won their favor with her smooth talk. Now she just needed to stay close until her plan with Tricia could be executed—especially with Chesca, who was also smiling warmly at her.
"Ah, we're just going to get our things," Isabel told the trio.
"We'll wait for you," Ericka offered.
"No, our place is too far from yours. Just give us directions to your place," Tricia said.
"Okay, but if you get lost or need to ask something, just call us," Chesca replied.
They handed her a paper with directions and a phone number for emergencies—or if they needed Thalia.
"We'll be ready to welcome you," Chesca added.
"Okay, be careful. We'll call if we have questions," Tricia said.
The two groups parted ways. Isabel and Tricia exchanged knowing looks.
"They're so easy to manipulate. Is the mission Giovane gave you too easy?" Tricia teased.
"Whatever," Isabel muttered.
Tricia laughed. "What a double face you have, Isabel."
"Let's just get this over with," Isabel said, looking at the number.
"They're careless. Do they even know how much information they're giving away?" Isabel shook her head.
"Thalia, Thalia… I thought you were smart. You're so naïve," she muttered.
"Come on, I still don't know if it was right to join them and sleep over," Tricia said.
"Tricia, we need to be humane when spying on someone, okay?" Isabel reminded her.
"Okay… I just hope we finish soon. I can't stand them, even if they're our classmates and schoolmates."
"Let's endure it. We need to help my brother," Isabel said firmly.
They headed back to their accommodation, where Isabel saw another operative from the organization.
"Here." Isabel handed him the paper with the number.
"Thank you," he said with a smile.
"Tricia, we need to get ready," Isabel called out.
"Yeah, yeah," Tricia replied.
Let's see how smart you really are, Thalia. Let's play a few mind games first. Isabel thought as she packed her things, already planning to monitor Thalia directly so she could anticipate her every move.