The Zodiac of P.R.A.

Chapter 28

Guest Star:
Julian Cheung - Douglas Chung aka Virgo
Andy Lau – Joe (The Head of Security and P.R.A.)
Daniel Wu – Michael Wu
Ada Choi – Jessie Leung aka Cancer
Sonjia Kwok – Christina Chan

*****************The Wu Mansion***************

The limo stopped in the front of the house, Erin couldn’t imagine what the mansion could look like until she walked out and noticed it was designed like a castle. He truly did want to be king, she thought sarcastically to herself. Michael noticed her awed face as he walked over to her and brought out a linked arm “Shall we, my lady?”

Erin hesitantly took his arm as he led her into the house, the floor was made from marble tiles and the living room was huge. The stairs were rounded like the old British homes “I can get lost in this place.” She joked as he led her up the stairs.

Michael laughed “That’s why I’m giving you a tour.” He pointed to the hallway when they were on the second floor “These are all guest rooms, my room is on the third floor and yours will be here.” He led her down the hall to the corner right room, he opened it and appeared a light sky blue painted walls along with matching sky blue bed and the canopy the hung around the bed was a beautiful lace material.

She let go of his arm as she walked into the center of the room with obvious fascination “This is gorgeous.” She gushed.

He smiled with pride “Of course it is. I save the best for the most beautiful.” He walked closer to her as he reached out to touch her cheek. She didn’t jump back nor did she stopped him. When he leaned down to kiss her she quickly pulled at his arm and spun him around while pulling his arm around his back making him fall to his knees in pain. She leaned close to his ear as she whispered “I told you…I’m not that kind of girl.”

“Boss!!” Reina cried from the door as she raced in and charged at Erin. Erin had to let go of Michael to dodge Reina’s attack. The girls fought for a good five minutes. Without the gun, Reina was no match for Erin as she quickly defeated the girl with a flip. Reina fell on her back with a thump while Erin paused her heels at Reina’s neck.

“Looks like someone’s lacking on their training.” Erin snickered.

Michael stood up as he clapped his hands with a laugh “Wow, that was amazing Erin.”

She turned to him with a smile as she backed her heel away and returned to his side. Reina sat up in shock as she pushed herself up “Boss…she…” her finger was pointed to Erin.

Michael wrapped an arm around Erin’s shoulder “She is our guest.”

Reina shook her head “But she works for them.”

“Actually, I USE to.” Erin corrected “I quit last night.” Reina was still in shock as Erin quickly added “But if I’m not welcomed here, I’ll just leave.” She prepared to leave but Michael’s arm blocked her way.

“No, this is my home and I invited you as a guest. I always keep my promise.” He turned to Reina with hardened eyes. Erin thought he was only going to scold her instead he pulled his arm back and slapped her with the back of his hand “Don’t EVER lay a hand on Erin again.”

Despite the stinging sensation on her face, Reina managed to stay calm as she nodded “Yes Sir, sorry Erin.” She bowed her face but Erin could see her fists being balled up to the side. She could only imagine the pain the girl had to go through with Michael as her boss.

“That’s not necessary.” Erin said to Michael.

Reina snapped her head up and glared at Erin “That’s none of your business if my boss hits me.”

Erin smiled “I know. I don’t care if he beats the crap out of you, I just don’t like to watch.”

Reina narrowed her eyes viciously at Erin “If you don’t need me, I’ll go now.” Michael nodded and she backed out of the room with cautious.

Michael looked over at Erin with a smile “You two girls will get along just fine.” His comment made Erin laugh with sarcasm “You must be hungry, I’ll have the cooks make you some lunch. Why don’t you get acquainted with your room. Any questions?”

She nodded “Anywhere that I shouldn’t go?”

“Yes, the third floor. Unless I request that you join me in bed.” He smiled seductively while Erin turned to hide her disgusted face. She saw another door as she walked closer to it “That’s your personal bathroom.”

Erin turned to face him “I need my clothes.”

He nodded with a smile “Don’t worry, its being taken care of as we speak.” He glanced at his watch and looked up at Erin “I have some business to do, I’ll be back a little later to check on you.”

She nodded as he closed the door behind her. The minute she was alone, Erin began to look around the room for any cameras or hidden microphones. She found one in a flower basket on the dresser table. Erin smiled to herself as she told herself ‘too easy’. She walked into the bathroom and at the corner of the shower was a mini camera hidden behind a broken tile on the wall. Erin yanked it out and threw it in the bathroom “Pervert.” She muttered to herself.

*************

Later that night, the maid brought up a dishful of all types of pasta for her choice. After the food and drink were left behind, another knock on the door was heard. Erin opened it not knowing what to expect, it was a person wheeling a rack full of hangers and on the hangers were her dress, pant and shirt sizes. There was also a small rack of shoes next to the clothes rack “Mr. Wu advised me that you were a size 1. He said you were very conservative so I chose the best clothes that I thought you would like. There are 10 pairs of dress shoes for your convenience. If you need anymore, just let me know. My name is Jack.” He bowed politely and walked away leaving the rack in her room.

Erin shook her head in amazement “He wasn’t kidding.” She told herself. The dishes looked very appetizing but she wasn’t about to trust the guy just yet. He could have easily put some kind of poison in there. Instead of eating eventhough she was starving, she sat on the bed and watched the ready television.

It was approximately 8pm when there was another knock on her door. Erin called out from her bed “Come in.”

Michael peeked into the room “Comfy?” he asked with a smile.

Erin smiled “It’s not home, but it’ll do.”

His head turned to the table and noticed the untouched dishes of pasta “It’s not good?” Erin shrugged her shoulders “You don’t like pasta and they made you pasta?” his anger was building up “I think someone needs a good beating!” he began to leave when Erin stopped him.

“No, it’s not that. I love pasta.” She got off the bed to explain further “Maybe I’ve been working at the P.R.A. too long, but I have my suspicions about the food that YOUR people make for me. Also, if you don’t mind, I took out that little camera in the bathroom. Seems like some in your security team is having too much fun.” She crossed her arms while nodding to the flower pot “That hearing device can stay though since I have no one to talk to.”

Michael’s smile grew again as he shook his head “There’s nothing I can hide from you huh?” he turned to the food “I assure you, Erin, the food is not poisoned. But since you haven’t eaten, how about I take you out to a restaurant, surely they won’t poison you there.”

Erin nodded “Sounds perfect.” She smiled “But I’d like to try on a new dress if you don’t mind.”

He shook his head “Not at all.” He leaned back on the door and crossed his arms not moving out of the room. Erin raised her brow as she tilted her head with a stern look on her face making him laugh “Okay…I get the point.” He walked out the door and closed it before him.

Erin’s smile dropped, she wasn’t sure how long she could be able to handle the guy. She ended up choosing a blue flared skirt and a white top along with a pair of white dress shoes. When she walked out of the room, Michael was facing his back to her. She sensed that he wasn’t too happy “Anything wrong?”

He let out a sigh as he turned to face her, he was clearly unhappy but the minute he saw her, his smile appeared “You look…breathtaking.”

She looked down at herself and up at him “It’s really not me…but I think it’s very comfortable.”

He smiled as his eyes traveled up her body making her want to punch him in the face. She could sense he was undressing her with his eyes “I think you look great in this style.” He walked over to her and took her hand without asking “Let’s go, I’m starving.” He led her down the stairs and the minute they were about to walk out the door, it swung open and appeared Christina.

Her eyes widened with envy as she glared down at Erin “Who the hell is this?!” she pointed at her.

Erin slapped her finger away “Didn’t your mother ever teach you it was rude to point?”

Christina laughed with her eyes rolled “My mother only taught me that I could do whatever I wanted.” She snapped her head back at Michael “You didn’t answer me.” She tapped her feet against the marble floors and crossed her arms.

“This is Erin, she’ll be staying here for a while. There, are you happy now? What do you want anyways?” he asked without interest.

“My father is expecting us for dinner tonight.” Christina said haughtily.

Michael laughed sarcastically “Good for him. I’ve got plans.” He turned to Erin “Come on.”

Erin walked by Christina and the girl’s expression suddenly changed “Oh…I know why you’re keeping her around…she looks like your dead girlfriend.” Christina laughed amusingly but her laughter only lasted a few seconds until Michael slapped her straight across the face.

Erin suddenly came to realize why the guy had a special liking to her “Shut up, whore!!” Michael cried with anger as he towered over the whimpering girl “Get out of my house!”

She was still grabbing onto her red face as she ran out of the house. Erin didn’t know whether she could comfort the temperamental guy “You okay?” she placed a hand on his shoulder and felt him relax.

“Yeah…come on, let’s not have her ruin our dinner.” He walked out before Erin as she followed behind trailing by a few steps. Michael took her to an Americanized restaurant that specialized in steak. The two were seated by the window facing the harbor, Erin was busy looking out the window as she recalled her near death situation with the secret maze “Thinking about him?” Michael asked coolly while taking a sip of his red wine.

Erin shook her head “No.” she lied “I was thinking about how much I looked like your girlfriend.” She knew she was hitting a sensitive spot and maybe it was all just a lie but she had to still play the game.

“You do, a lot…except she was more affectionate. She’s never twisted my arm or threatened me.” He smiled when Erin shook her head with a grin “She was very sweet… but she was also poor. Which was against the rules to the Wu family.”

“I guess everyone has a sad story to tell.” Erin sighed “I’m sorry to hear that. How did she die?”

Michael leaned back in his chair while his hand was holding onto the glass of wine “The story was that she died in a car accident but I later found out that the other car that hit her was hired by my father.”

Erin let out a gasp “Oh my God…I can’t believe that.” It was a horrible thing to do to anyone, even to Michael.

He laughed sadly “Well believe it.” He finished his half cup of wine in one gulp.

She quickly sat up with a look of concern “Hey, you’re going to get drunk, we haven’t even eaten yet. It’s not good for your health.”

Michael’s face was flushed as he leaned in with a smile “Julie use to care about me the same way. She said if you were sad and you drank, it would only make it worse.”

“Where ever she is, she wouldn’t want you to be that sad.” Erin nodded firmly when he looked up at her with raised brows. They chatted for a few more minutes until the food came and they ate dinner together in peace.

Chapter 29

Guest Star:
Julian Cheung - Douglas Chung aka Virgo
Andy Lau – Joe (The Head of Security and P.R.A.)
Daniel Wu – Michael Wu
Ada Choi – Jessie Leung aka Cancer
Sonjia Kwok – Christina Chan

It was towards the end of their dinner when Erin noticed Brad, Mia and Darren sitting at one of the tables far from her and Michael. Yet she could not tear her eyes away from Brad’s hurtful glare. Michael was looking over the desert menu when he looked up “Erin, I think the Crème…” he followed her gaze over to the other table “Is he staring at you?”

She turned back to Michael and shook her head “No, I’m okay.” She let out a short sigh “What were you saying?”

But the two were quickly interrupted by Brad who walked over in front of their table “Erin, can I talk to you?”

She shook her head “We already did.”

“Look, the Miss doesn’t want to see you face, so why don’t you take a clue and just leave us alone.” Michael was growing more impatient.

“Shut up!” Brad snapped at Michael who instantly moved his chair back and stood up.

Mia and Darren quickly ran over to Brad as they pulled on his arm “Brad, come on. Let’s not waste your strength on this bozo. If she likes jerks, just let her be!” Mia’s eyes turned to Erin with daggers. It almost broke her heart to see that coming from her good friend.

Their quarrel quickly turned to chaos when a shot was suddenly fired breaking through the window. The group instantly ducked and Erin quickly covered Michael while Brad watched with jealousy. Her job after all was to keep him alive, they had to find the proof of his dirty work.

There were no more shots after that, chaos was soon contained the minute the cops arrived. They questioned everyone inside the restaurant. Mia looked over at Michael with special hatred “Nice work. You just killed the richest man in Hong Kong. Looks like your plan is working.”

He frowned “What are you talking about? How could I kill him if I’m standing here?” he was genuinely surprised at her accusation.

Mia laughed sarcastically “Oh please, that’s why you hired Reina and Andrew to do your dirty work right? I know it.” She nodded firmly.

Erin turned to Mia “You don’t know that for sure.”

“How would you know, traitor!” she spat harshly.

Darren patted Mia on the shoulder to silence her “Hey, keep it down. You don’t want our covers blown.”

Brad did not speak the whole time, instead he was staring intently at Erin, she was acting too strange. Like she didn’t really want to be there yet he sensed that she was really defending the guy. It was all too strange to him. He didn’t want to ask Joe again since he already confirmed that Erin was no longer with the P.R.A. Still Brad had his suspicions about the sudden change of heart.

“Stop that!” Erin hissed at Brad as she moved behind Michael to hide.

Michael turned to Erin and then back at Brad “You have a problem. She already said she doesn’t like you, why don’t you just leave her alone?”

That was the tip of the iceberg as Brad leaned back his arm and threw a punch at Michael, the guy fell to the ground grasping his face. Erin was instantly by his side as she helped him up “You okay?”

Brad was disgusted as he turned to leave only to be stopped by the cops, Michael turned to them “It was just a misunderstanding, I’m not pressing charges.” he said firmly to the policemen.

Mia, Darren and Erin turned to Michael in shock while Brad continued on without looking back. Mia looked over at the two with a look of hatred “You can live happy for a while…but we’ll haul your ass down to the station soon.” Her eyes narrowed as she turned to Darren “Come on, I think I’m gonna lose my dinner.”

Erin looked down to the floor while Michael tapped on the shoulder “I guess you know who your real friends are now.”

She turned her head up with a small smile but he could see the tears ready to come out, she nodded “Come on.” She supported his arm as they were ready to leave.

That night she had a hard time sleeping in the unfamiliar bed. But what she was more concerned with was that night. The gun shot was aimed towards Michael’s table but maybe because they were arguing with Brad that the shot hit the guy behind their table which happened to be the richest man. Suddenly she heard a squeaking sound coming from the ceiling above her.

Curiosity took over as she crawled out of bed and walked out towards the hallway to the stairs. Her eyes moved around cautiously as she climbed the stairs, her footsteps soft and quiet. She saw a door at the end of the hall slightly ajar, the light was shining through the cracks.

Erin took one look behind her shoulder and then began to walk towards the room. She pressed her back against the wall by the door as she heard clear voices “Sir, she’s not to be trusted!” Reina insisted.

Michael let out a sigh of frustration “Don’t you think I already know that? Why do you think I made that bullshit story about my dead girlfriend?”

Erin’s heart dropped, she truly believed him “Jerk.” She muttered under her breath.

Reina was not willing to back off “Then why don’t we just kill her right now? In her sleep?”

Michael chuckled “Because I like her.”

“Boss!” Reina cried.

He turned to her angrily “You want to tell me how to live my life too?” she quickly lowered her head “I just want to find out exactly why she’s here. Then maybe…kill her after. It’s never too late as long as she’s still living here.”

Her heart was pounding as she tiptoed back to her room and closed it behind her. She pulled out her cell phone and called Joe. Then suddenly, she remembered the hearing device in the basket. Instead she walked into the bathroom to talk to Joe. He picked up with a sleepy voice “Hello?”

“Joe! It’s me Erin…” she said in a hushed whispered while her hands covered the receiver.

“Erin? What’s wrong?” Joe said it more awake.

She got up to peek outside the bathroom “I’m in his mansion, I just overheard him talking to Reina. He’s keeping me here because he wants to expose the P.R.A. He’s going to find out that I’m undercover. What am I going to do? I don’t think I can earn his trust.”

“You can’t give up Erin!” Joe ordered “We’ve worked too hard. Don’t worry, just work harder, he’ll falter…he is a man after all.”

She nodded to herself “Okay. But if he tries anything on me, I’ll kill him with my bare hands.”

“Fair enough. Now go to sleep before he checks on you.” Joe said wisely.

After they hung up, she returned to bed. She couldn’t sleep all night since she was sure the minute she did Michael would try something on her. Instead she sat up and came up with ideas on how to earn his trust. It wasn’t until around 5 in the morning that she eventually fell asleep.

When she woke up, the clock read 12pm. She quickly rolled out of bed and freshened up. She closed the room door and prepared to leave when she found Michael downstairs in the living room. He turned up to her with a friendly smile “How did you sleep?”

“Okay.” Erin replied shortly.

“Just okay? And it’s now noon?” he looked at his watch.

She shrugged “So, the bed is a little foreign…I was still able to sleep.”

He smiled as he stood up, he was dressed in casual jogging clothes “Wanna take a walk with me?”

Erin knew there was a chance she would be in danger but it was a good chance to get him to open up. Yet she was afraid it would only be a bunch of lies, Erin eventually chose to nod her head “Okay.”

There was something awkward in the air as they walked towards the backyard which was a big piece of land filled with green grass. The air was fresher and there were acres of it to walk around in. After a moment, Michael looked back at his house which looked smaller by each step. He turned back to Erin with a smile “So how do you like it here?”

She shrugged “It’s nice.”

Suddenly he stopped “Is there something wrong, Erin?” he asked.

She turned to him with a sigh “You know that I don’t like you. And you know with my background, I have the ability to kill you yet you want to keep me next to you. Why is that? I find it hard to believe that it’s all because I look a little like Julie.” Her eyes narrowed as she said the fake girl’s name.

Michael sighed as he walked past her with his arms behind him “You don’t just look like her, you sound like her…you act like her and you even smell like her. Either that or maybe I just miss her too much?” he took a seat on the grass while she stared at his back with hardened eyes.

He turned to her and patted the piece of grass next to him. She walked over and was about to sit when he stopped her to place his windbreaker on the grass for her to sit. Erin sat down with a smile “Thanks.”

“Anytime.” He replied without looking at her “Julie was a strong-willed girl. She never let anyone put her down, but when it came to my father, she was always so ready to make him happy. Because if he liked her, she would be accepted. But little did she know that he would never like her because she was not one of us.”

“Why didn’t you two just elope?” she decided to humor him in his fake story.

Michael wrapped his arms around his knees “We tried, we were caught three times. Each time, my father separated us for months. I wasn’t allowed to see her nor call her. It was tough on the both of us.”

She didn’t notice he was crying until she turned over and saw him bowing his head as he sniffed back the tears. Her wall of suspicion was quickly falling as she realized he was being earnest. But why would he tell Reina it was a bullshit story? Either that or he was a good actor. No matter what the answer was, Erin could not forget to put up her suspicion “I’m sorry.” She didn’t know how else to comfort him.

Michael turned to her with a smile, a few tears had escaped but he wasn’t afraid to show it “I should be sorry. I normally don’t cry in front of people. Somehow they always think I’m some psycho killer that would do whatever to get ahead.” He laughed at it sarcastically and she sensed a sadder tone in the laugh “It never hurts to be cautious.”

“You can say that again.” Erin chuckled more to herself.

He looked over at her with a smile as he leaned onto his arm “I sense a little hostility from you. Call me crazy but I think you’re ready to choke me to death. So tell me, why are you working undercover?”

Her eyes snapped up in shock, how in the world did he know? Maybe their plan was a little too obvious. She grew more uncomfortable by the second “If you think this is all a plan, let me remind you that I despise your guts!” Erin stood up as she stood over him “If I wanted to take this job as an undercover, I’d rather be shot 100 times. I don’t want to be at a place where I’m watched like a dog…I’ll just leave now.”

He began laughing unexpectedly while she paused in her steps and turned to him “What a great speech!” he clapped his hands humorously.

Erin shook her head “You’re strange.”

Michael bowed with his arms crossed “Thank you.”

“So you know but you still want me here?” She was more confused than ever.

He shrugged “I told you…I like you. Plus, it’s fun watching you and Reina fight.” His smile was smug and she suddenly felt disgusted again “If you want to find any trash on me, you better search harder.” He began walking back to the house leaving Erin flabbergasted.

*****************

Joe called in an emergency meeting that morning and everyone was curious to know what it was “I guess you all want to know what this is about.” He began.

Mia let out a yawn “Who do we have to save and what do we have to do? I’d like to get to sleep after we’re done.”

Brad and Darren exchanged smiles as they shook their heads “I think Mia is asking what our next mission is.” Darren asked for his girlfriend.

“That’s what I said!” Mia insisted.

Joe smiled at the anxious girl “Patience, my little grasshopper. I think we might have a lead to where Michael leaves his paperwork.”

The entire group sat upright in their chairs “Really?” Brad was fully awake.

“It’s hidden in his own room. That means we’ve got some security to break, things to find. We must work fast in order to keep another life from being lost. He’s got 4 more to go and they are going too fast. This morning I saw on the news about the second richest man being strangled to death in his own bed. Looks like this guy is more vicious than we all thought.” Joe sighed.

“How about we go tonight? Hit him hard and surprise him.” Brad suggested.

Joe nodded in agreement “I think that’s a great idea. Meet back here at 10pm sharp.” He looked around the table “Anyone got any other ideas?”

Mia raised her hand and Joe smiled at her “Are we allowed to beat the crap out of anyone?” Joe and the rest laughed at her question while Mia looked around strangely “I’m serious.”

The group quieted down while Joe cleared his throat “No, you may not. We need them to stay alive.”

“Who said anything about killing them?” Mia asked slyly.

Darren smiled at Mia with much adoration “I love it when you talk violence.”

Chapter 30

Guest Star:
Julian Cheung - Douglas Chung aka Virgo
Andy Lau – Joe (The Head of Security and P.R.A.)
Daniel Wu – Michael Wu
Ada Choi – Jessie Leung aka Cancer
Sonjia Kwok – Christina Chan

Later that night, Erin was lying in her room when she felt odd about something. There were some unfamiliar noise coming from the rooftop. Eventhough she was on the second floor, she could easily detect something. How come Joe didn’t tell me the P.R.A. was coming? She wondered to herself as she got out of bed.

When she was out at the hallway, she looked over the stairwell and saw a few shadows shifting by the window, the silhouette showed through the moonlit windows. Her first reaction was Michael, they were probably after him. She rushed up the stairs and barged into his room, startling him awake.

He let out a gasp but when he realized it was Erin, he let out a sigh “What is it?”

Erin covered his mouth the minute she heard the rooftop shuffling “Shhh…they’re here for you.” She reached down for his hand “Come on.”

“Where are we going? They can’t get into the security.” He let her lead him outside. But when they stood at the stairwell, they saw two people in dark uniforms already inside “Oh shit! How did they get in??!” he cried while Erin pulled him back into his room.

“Is there any way to escape?” she asked while pacing the floor. The lock in the room door will not hold the others for long.

Michael turned to her suspiciously “Why are you helping me? Aren’t you with them?”

She let out a sigh “As hard as it may seem, I think you’re innocent.”

A smile suddenly crossed his face “You do? I knew you liked me!!”

She shook her head “This is not the time to be flirting!” she scolded “I can’t explain now, but we have to get out of here. Is there another exit?”

Michael turned to the window “It’s three floors down.” He said unsure of what she was capable of doing.

Her eyes widened at the window when she saw the shadow growing bigger “Get down!!” she pulled him to the floor and covered him with her body. The glass flew all over the place while the figure unbuckled his wire that supported him. She turned her head up and slowly stood up “Brad?”

He threw the wire belt aside roughly “What are you doing in his room?” he demanded.

Michael stood up next to Erin as he looked at Brad “I don’t think it’s none of your business.”

Brad suddenly charged at Michael with his arms around his neck while Erin tried to stop them “Brad, nothing happened!! I was just warning him about you guys…” but he wasn’t listening to her as he continued to choke the guy. Suddenly she used all her might to push him off. Brad came stumbling back while he watched Erin help the enemy up.

“You’d do all that for him?” he said in disgust.

Erin shook her head “I know you don’t believe me, but I’m really-”

She didn’t get to finish when Michael put his hand over her mouth, his eyes gave her a shake that said she shouldn’t say it “Your friends will be trapped, even if they get inside the house, they will be attacked by my guards.”

Michael was right since Mia and Reina were in a vicious fight while Darren and Andrew were fighting. Doug and Jessie were attacking five smaller body guards. The team was slowly losing with more guards attacking them.

Mia cried in pain when Reina spun her legs from under Mia and tripped her hard against the carpet “Mia!” Darren called trying to get to her but Andrew wasn’t about to let it go so soon.

Reina pulled out her gun a she pointed it to Mia “Stop or I’ll shoot her pretty little head to bits.” She threatened.

In a second all the fighting stopped, Michael could hear from the silence downstairs that it was over “Who do you think won?” his smile widened.

Brad charged at the smug faced guy while Erin pushed Michael out of the way and the two merged into a fight. It was the first time they were against each other, even in training they were never battled together since Brad never wanted to hurt her. Erin put up a good fight as she took advantage of his soft heart to secure him using her arms to hold down his arms over his back “Brad, listen to me.” She was panting as their fight was too fast pace for her.

“No, as long as you are standing by him, I will not listen to you!” he grunted as he used his full force to grab her arms and flip her over his head. She would have landed on her head but he quickly supported it.

Their eyes met and she tried to tell him with her eyes that she was not doing what he thought she was doing. But he was too angry, never letting his patience take over. She rolled away from him and stood up next to Michael “You don’t understand anything!” she blurted out.

“I understand everything.” He shook his head sadly “I can’t believe you would care about money so much as to forget about your conscience. You’re not the girl I fell in love with.”

Her eyes covered in tears as she heard him say the words she’s waited so long to hear. Yet she could not say them back or tell him the truth. The three were interrupted with Reina and Andrew dragging in the other four. Her gun was brought out pointing to Brad “I found a few rats looking for food.” Reina snarled.

Michael let out a laugh “Good job! So, you guys thought you could come in my home and take my stuff? It’s not that easy.” He turned to Reina and shook it towards Mia “Looks like you girls have some history together.”

“You traitor!! Kill me, I don’t care…even if I turned to a ghost, I’ll haunt your every nightmares until you go to hell where you belong!” Mia cried viciously.

Reina smiled satisfactory “Sure…don’t flinch…” she warned before pulling back her trigger.

“Wait!” Erin cried. She turned to Michael “Can I have a word with her?”

He debated it but eventually nodded “Make it short…” he warned. Michael nodded to Reina who moved her gun over to Brad who wasn’t tied up.

Erin walked over to Mia but the girl refused to meet her eye “Look at me….” She said earnestly.

Mia snapped her head to face her “Why? So I can see the greed in your eyes? The traitor in your blood? I can’t believe you Erin.”

“Sometimes, there are things that you don’t know.” She said sadly. Suddenly her eyes lit up “Do you remember when you joined the P.R.A. and I said you were too weak to be an agent? I gave you the worse welcome ever?”

Mia looked down to the ground as she answered “Then I told you that I would prove you wrong.”

“Do you remember why I pushed you and teased you?” Erin asked with earnest eyes.

Her eyes moved up slowly “Because you wanted me to be stronger than you…” her eyes tilted sideways as if she got her hint, they quickly softened as a smile grew on her face.

Erin shook her head slightly, indicating for Mia not to say anything. She reached over her ear and moved the hair aside from her ears but at the same time used her index finger and thumb to pull out the earpiece. Erin hid it carefully behind her palm as she walked back next to Michael “What are you going to do with them?”

“Kill them of course. That way the head will be scrambling around for new agents.” Reina smiled wickedly.

Michael nodded “That’s a good idea.” He turned to Erin “We have no choice.”

She shook her head slowly as she backed away towards the group, standing between the gun and the other five “You can’t hurt them.” She insisted.

“Fine, we’ll just kill you too.” Reina aimed the gun at Erin.

Michael quickly grabbed her wrist “No, you can’t kill her!” he commanded.

In the second, Brad wrapped his arms around Erin’s neck “Don’t move or I’ll kill her.” He pulled out the knife on his belt and laid it closer to her neck.

“NO!” Michael pulled Reina back as Brad inched closer to the door “Don’t hurt her…” he said softly.

“Sorry Erin, gotta use you as a hostage.” Brad said against her ear. They inched towards the door with the other five behind him “Go first.” He ordered the group. The hesitated, but eventually did as he ordered.

Michael shook his head sadly “And you say you love her…then use her as a shield, you’re sick!” he spat harshly.

“Shut up! This is all your fault!” Brad cried to Michael. He backed away towards the window with Erin still in his arms “If you have any heart left, you will leave this guy.” Brad whispered as he pushed her into Michael’s arm then turned and jumped out the window.

Erin quickly spun around “Brad!” it was three floors down, how would he be able to make it. She looked out the window and saw him rolling a few times before getting up. There was a slight limp to his walk but she was able to breath again.

“Let’s get him!” Reina said to Andrew and Michael.

He shook his head “No. We’ll let them go this time. But when they come back, we won’t let them get away.” Michael said darkly. He turned to the two “Your work is done, go back to bed.”

“Yes Sir.” Reina and Andrew said simultaneously.

Erin looked up at him “Thank you.” She said whole heartedly.

Michael shook his head “Come on.” He began walking out of the room and Erin followed him to the living room.

She looked around at the darkened room “Why are we standing here?”

“I’m tired of this life Erin. I don’t care if they catch me anymore. All you guys wanted is the proof that I was smuggling drugs into the country using the kids at the orphanage right?” he was reading her mind “That’s the only reason why you agreed to work undercover, if I'm not wrong." she didn’t reply as he continued “Don’t you want to know where the proofs are?”

He turned to look at her while she shook her head “Why are you doing this? We both know you’re innocent.”

“How do you know?” he asked with a sly grin “Don’t tell me my charm worked too well that I could cover your clever eyes?”

“I don’t have hard evidence, but I believe my gut feeling.” Erin concluded.

Michael laughed with his head shaking “Well, I’m about to prove you wrong.” He walked over to a large Monet painting that he bought years before and took it down. Behind it was a safe that he opened with a combination of five numbers. He pulled out a large manila envelope and handed it to her.

She stared it at “But…I don’t understand…”

He let out a sigh “I am just very tired of these games…the cat and mouse one never appealed to me much. I just don’t want to be the mouse anymore.”

“But you didn’t do it.” She insisted.

Michael smiled at her warmly “Whatever the truth is, don’t research, you will only get hurt in the end. I don’t want to see you hurt.” He sighed as he reached out to stroke her face with the back of his fingers “God, you look so much like Julie!” his heart ached to hold his girlfriend again “Can you do me a favor?”

Erin looked up with saddened eyes “Anything.”

“Can I hold you?” he smiled when her brows raised “I won’t do anything else, I promise. I just miss hugging Julie.”

She nodded and moved into his opened arms “You are such a romantic.” She sighed as she felt his arms tightened around her waist, her head leaned on his chest while she closed her eyes. She felt a tear drop on the top of her head as it dripped slowly down her scalp. She vowed that very minute that the truth will be exposed.

SIUBINGLIBRARY