The Secret Behind Glass Walls

Chapter 7

During the walk home, Julie realized that Andy still had her coat. She stopped Will “He still has my trench coat.”

A look of concern covered his face “What if he learns how to use it?”

Julie nodded with the same concern “I know. Let’s split up, we’ll go look for him.”

“Okay, I’ll meet you back home in an hour even if we don’t find it.” Will suggested.

The two split up and Julie's hunch told her to run back to the harbor. She quickly stopped when she saw him standing there a hand on his injured arm. “Where did you go?” she asked calmly as she paced slowly towards him like a leopard ready to pounce.

He smiled calmly “No where. I was standing right here the whole time.”

Her face fell, he found the secret to the coat “Give it back to me.”

Andy shrugged his shoulders “Sure, if you can catch me.”

Before he even finished his sentence, Julie was after him. But he was not slow even with his injury it did not affect his quick steps. They chased each other for blocks until he reached the end of an alley. Julie smiled victoriously as she took in deep breaths “Okay, you lost, give me back my coat.”

His crooked smile did not fade as he back against the wall, she did not see a door but he seemed to slip through it. She ran to the wall but could not find the door knob anywhere. Using her fists as she banged on the wall roughly. “Don’t hurt your pretty little hands now.” A voice said behind her. She spun and to her shock, Andy was standing before her.

“What kind of trick is that?” she asked wide eyed.

He laughed “I’m a magician at night.” He rubbed the collar of the coat “Want to see a disappearing act?”

She looked frantic as she reached out her hand “Wait!”

Andy paused for a second to ask her “What? You don’t like this game?”

She pointed to the ground “Your arm is still bleeding, let me help you first and we can continue our ‘game’.” Julie was certain that he would be too smart to fall for the oldest trick in the book.

To her surprise, he looked down at his bleeding hand and nodded “Sure.” He waved for her to come over. Using his free hand he pulled out another black cloth “Put this over your eyes.” She gave him a strange look and he had to smile “I won’t hurt you, I promise.”

She nodded as she did what he told. He led her through a maze like room, she knew because she felt the walls were narrow and there were random steps. When they finally reached an open area, he took off her blindfold. She blinked her eyes to clear her vision. It was a darkened room that was tiny, she saw a bed located on one side of the black bricked walls. A bed stand with a clock right next to it. She looked at him curiously “Who are you?”

He smiled “If I told you, I would have to kill you. And frankly, I don’t want to.” He was open with his crush on her.

The room was too dark to see her blushing face. She turned away shyly and at the corner of her eyes she saw a squared shape crack on the floor. She bent down to where it was and touched it, sure enough it was a secret passage way. “You are definitely not who I thought you were.” She turned to him. Respecting his place as she did not snoop around further.

Andy waved for her to come over next to him on the bed. He reached over one of the bricks and pressed it. A whole section opened up like a cupboard as he reached in for the first aide kit. He handed the tiny box to her and allowed her to tend his wound. She helped him take off the coat as she ripped the arm of sleeve off to see the wound more clearly. She was concentrating so hard that her forehead wrinkled. He only smiled as he watched her concern face. The bleeding had long stopped and after she was done, his arm was rolled in white cloth with antibiotics over the wound to keep it from being infected. “You really want to know who I am?” he asked her this time.

She looked up unclear of what he just asked “I thought you said you would have to kill me?”

He smiled “I could make an exception.”

This time she smiled in return but eventually shook her head “I don’t want to know now.”

Andy’s smile faded “Why?” it was his turn to be curious.

She reached for the coat as she placed it safely on her lap “I think there are some things that should be left a mystery.”

“Are you doing the reverse psychology on me?” his mind was sneakier than hers.

She shrugged carelessly “Maybe, maybe not.” She stood up and put the coat over herself “Thanks for saving my life.” Julie said sincerely.

He nodded “Thanks for stopping your partner from killing me.” He pointed out.

“Anytime!” She said brightly. She looked around the room trying to remember which side they came in from. “I should be going.”

Andy tilted his head as he sat back against the wall of his bed “If you can find your way out…”

She looked at him in the eye and smiled “I will.” She closed her eyes and faced a certain direction. She listened for the ticking sound of his clock and she instantly knew they came from the wall behind her. Julie turned to face the wall as she searched for a certain brick. She found a slightly ajar brick and she pressed on it. The wall opened up at her command.

Julie turned and found Andy smiling as he clapped his hands “They trained you well.” She paused as her thoughts began to wander “You think you know who I am, don’t you?”

She shook her head “I can guess, but I have a feeling it’s all wrong.” She smiled with a slight nod “I’ll see you again.”

“Maybe.” He said mysteriously. Andy watched as she left and the wall closed before her, his smile fading slowly. He could not trust anyone with his secret and it seems this girl was smarter than he imagined. Of course he knew who she was since he was at one time the same person. But it’s different now. His face darkened as his memory triggered what happened to him years before. It was the first time he thought about it since he found out.

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

Julie returned with her coat in her hand. Will was home minutes before she walked through the door. “Julie.” He got up to greet her. He saw the coat in her hand “You found him?”

She looked up and shook her head “No, he dropped it by the harbor.” She lied.

He nodded but didn’t sense her lie. “Who is he?” she let out a yawn indicating that she was tired but he wouldn’t give up “You don’t want me to report this to Sergeant Liu do you?”

Her eyes darted angrily back at him “Are you threatening me?” she was shocked, after so many years of working together, they never showed signs of turning against each other. It was possibly the worse thing he could say to her.

Will’s face softened as he realized what he just implied “No…of course not.” He assured her “I’m sorry, I just want to know who he is and I don’t understand why you have to hide his identity.”

She let out a sigh, knowing that he had a good point “Just trust me this time, okay?” her eyes told him that he should. He only nodded in answer as they returned to their room and slept on their own side.

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

The next morning at work, she was not surprised to see that Andy was not in at work. The building was under top security as everyone was scanned before they entered the building. Cass waited for her sister to go through before asking her “What went on last night?” she whispered.

Julie shrugged “I don’t know. Looks like a burglary.”

Cass shook her head “I don’t think so, nothing was stolen, I heard those girls say it.” She nodded to a group of girls that were huddling over Leann. Julie was a little more suspicious since they turned to look at Cass and burst into giggles. She turned to her sister who looked innocently at everyone. Her instincts told her it was not a good sign. She wanted to protect her sister but it was almost useless with her being on the 10th floor now.

She watched carefully as everyone piled into the elevator to the third floor. Julie nodded to Leann, who smiled in return. When they all got out of the elevator, instead of staying on Julie walked out with the girls. “What are you doing?” Leann asked a little surprised.

“I really have to use the bathroom.” Julie explained as she placed her hands over her stomach in pain.

Cass was instantly worried “Are you okay?” she asked “I’ll take you there.” She supported her sister towards the bathroom. Although she did not wonder why Leann followed the girls into the restroom.

Julie was going to warn her sister to be careful but she stopped when Leann entered the bathroom with four other girls. She cleared her throat and each girl entered the stalls. Her suspicion grew when Leann once again cleared her throat. Within seconds the girls rushed out of their stalls as a small smoke grew and it turned blue when Julie turned over. It looked like some toxic cloud. They rushed out of the restroom and along the way Leann pulled Julie out with her while the other girls pushed Cass harshly against the wall making her stumble to the ground.

When they were outside, two of the girls held onto the door while Cass banged on the door “Let me out!!” she began coughing loudly as the toxic cloud covered the room.

Julie tried to stay calm as she turned to Leann “Why did you do that for?”

Leann snickered “It’s about time someone taught her a lesson. Beauty isn’t everything.”

Julie shook her head in confusion “What? What are you talking about? And what is that blue cloud in there?”

She waved her hands “Don’t worry, it’s not deadly, but it will make her break out for a month. We’ll see how my brother likes her now.” She turned to the girls that were holding the door and waved to them to come over.

“Is there a cure?” Julie asked curiously as she turned long enough to see her sister stumbling outside as she gasped for air.

Leann laughed when she saw the struggling girl “Just purified water on the contaminated area will do.” She looked at Julie with concern “Did the smoke get you?”

Julie shook her head “No, but I still need to use the restroom.”

“Use the 10th floor.” Leann suggested. The other girls gathered around her as they laughed at he horrid joked played on Cass. “Come one girls.” She commanded.

Julie followed a few steps behind but quickly sidestepped into the kitchen which was located a few yards from the rest room. She opened the fridge and found bottles of drinking water and grabbed one. She walked outside and saw Cass’s face beginning to redden. She nodded to her and tossed the bottle towards her. She made a circular motion over her face and smiled. They could not interact too much, she was afraid Leann would be suspicious of their relationship.

Chapter 8

Months soon passed from the time they discovered the secrets the company was hiding. After that very day with her encounter with Andy, she did not see him anymore. He had ‘quit’ according to rumors that started around the company. The security was higher than ever as they did not want those intruders to come back. There were random background checks on employees and every so often some would mysteriously disappear. Leann had explained their disappearance as being fired. But Julie had her own suspicion.

She soon found out Leann was as innocent as a rabbit when it came to her father and brother’s work. During a session with Sergeant Liu, he pointed that fact out to her “Our agents have found out a great deal on Leo Fung but never anything on Leann Fung.”

Julie nodded “There is absolutely nothing suspicious about her. She’s just a workaholic at times and kinda cruel to certain people.” She said curiously.

“What do you mean?” the Sergeant asked.

Julie shrugged “For instance, she is especially mean to my sister, Cass. For whatever reason, I don’t think we’ll ever know. And then there’s the girl on the 5th floor that often comes up to see Leo.”

Will tapped on his chin rhythmically “I think she does not like the girls that her brother likes.”

Julie shook her head “That’s not true, she likes me. And you’ve seen the way he openly flirts with me.” She said.

“Maybe that’s something you two need to look into?” Sergeant Liu said after a moment “Whatever reason that might be, it could help us in finding out more on her brother. Maybe he likes certain types of girls. Has he been treating you different, Julie?”

She shook her head “Nothing different from the usual touch of my shoulder or face.”

“He’s a damn pervert if you ask me.” Will said with total disgust “Did you see the way he looked at your sister that morning after we found the secret?”

Julie shook her head “No. I didn’t even see him. I guess I was too busy looking at Leann. I had a feeling that she would do something bad to my sister, so I wasn’t paying attention to anyone else.”

“He was going up on the elevator and his eyes didn’t leave Cass at all.” He pointed out.

“Maybe that’s why Leann played that cruel joke on her?” she asked herself.

“Why don’t you too do some more researching before you jump to conclusions?” the Sergeant asked. The two turned back to their leader and saluted while he nodded “Give me a good report on it in a week.”

“Yes, Sir.” Julie and Will said simultaneously.

The two left the bedroom to find Cass sitting on the couch, Sparky on her lap. The mechanical dog was a favorite in the house when Julie asked Leann if she could keep him. Of course, Will was still terrified by it, but whenever Cass was around, he seemed to be calmer with the dog being in the same room. She was staring into space when Julie asked “Ga Jei, what’s wrong?”

Cass looked up and a smile immediately appeared “Oh nothing, I was trying to daze my mind. You know when the silent sound is actually louder than people’s voices? Its like silence is deafening.”

Will looked strangely at Julie who too was concerned about her sister. He took a seat next to her as he patted her on the shoulder “You sure you’re okay?”

She smiled with a nod of the head. “Yeah. I’m just thinking too much.” Suddenly she turned to Julie “Hey, did you know that Andy was fired?”

Julie shook her head “No, I thought he quit?”

Cass shrugged her shoulders “I’m not sure. But gosh, that guy was strange. I swear he was there by the girl’s bathroom right before he was escorted out of the building.”

Suddenly an idea came to her head, her sister insisted that Andy was always in the girl’s bathroom. Maybe there is something in there that they need to discover. Her faced brightened like a light bulb just turned on. She turned to Will and pulled on his arm “Come in the room with me!” she said excitedly.

He turned to her with wrinkled eyebrows “Not now honey, your sister is not feeling good.”

Julie widened here eyes at him “Come on! We haven’t done it for a while.”

Will’s face reddened “What are you talking about?” he was not use to their couple talk, even if it was just a cover up.

Julie leaned in closer to his face as she gritted her teeth “I want you, now!”

Cass turned to the two with a funny face, she leaned away from Will “Oh, that’s sick! Come one guys, why do you have to talk like that in front of me?” she turned to Julie “You’re still my baby sister!”

Will yanked his arm away from Julie “Yeah, that can wait until tonight.” He said firmly.

Cass groaned in disgust “Please, guys!”

Julie only laughed at her outburst “Fine, I won’t tell you my secret.” She stomped her way back to the room.

Will was half curious about what Julie was up to but he did not want to leave the obvious depressed Cass by herself. He grew a liking to her when she constantly saved him from the overly hyper Sparky. She was much kinder than her sister and much more soft spoken. “You can go, I’m fine.” Cass insisted.

Will shook his head firmly “Hey, you were always there for me, so I’m going to be here for you.”

Cass let out a comfortable laugh “When was I there for you?”

He pointed to the sleeping metal dog on her lap “You save me from this monster all the time!” She laughed with her head shaking. The two talked on about random stuff while Julie paced around in her room. She wanted to go to the girl’s bathroom to find out what Andy was up to. She waited impatiently for Will to come but after 15 minutes of pacing the room, she decided to go herself.

Opening the window as she jumped down the 2 story home. She wore her same uniform with the coat, she landed softly on her feet as she rolled with her back to reduce the impact of the ground. She turned up to see if anyone saw but no one was around so she headed off to the building by the harbor.

When Julie reached the bridge, she found Andy leaning on the post waiting with his arms crossed. She stopped a few feet from him “So you are still alive.” She said with sarcasm.

His eyebrow arched to the left “Who ever said I was dead?”

“I was hoping you were.” She joked.

Andy smiled as he dropped his arms “Who would save you again?” he nodded his head towards the building “Come on.”

She quickly followed him as he used a star shaped device to activate the doors. Her curiosity taking over the better of her “What’s that?” He turned to her but didn’t say anything. He only reached for her hand and kept it close to him. “Where are we going?” she whispered once inside the main floor.

Again they went to the 3rd stairwell and entered it. “To the girls’ bathroom of course, you wanted to know what I found in there, don’t you?” She was a bit scared from his knowledge of her most secretive thoughts “Don’t ask how I know.” He said shortly.

“How did you read my thoughts?” she asked even though he told her not to ask.

He chuckled lightly “You don’t listen well to directions don’t you?”

“You don’t answer questions well, do you?” she threw back a question making him smile with interest.

On the third floor, Julie could not use the blind spray since Andy did not have a coat. Instead she used her triangular beam gun to angle the cameras away from them. The two looked at each other with a nod as he led her to the girl’s bathroom. He quickly walked down to the last stall to his left. “This can be used during the day when there are too much people to use the ‘No Trespassing’ door. They are smart to think of this short cut.”

Julie looked at the toilet “How did you find out?”

He turned to her with a smile “I told you not to ask.” He reached behind the foot of the toilet and pressed on a hidden button. The device sunk down into the ground as a walkway of stairs appeared. This was fully lighted unlike the elevator that she was in with Will.

“Is it safe?”

Andy nodded “As safe as it gets. This is seldom used during the nights. I discovered this just a few months ago, so it’s actually a new design.” He took her hand once more and led her down the steps. They walked down at least a hundred flights of steps before Julie heard voices, she quickly stopped yanking Andy with her. He turned to her with a shake of the head “You’re hearing their voices from the vent.” He pointed to the right corner of the hall of stairs.

She sighed with relief “What is down here?”

“The middle room that you didn’t get to explore that first time you were down here.” He explained.

Julie continued to follow him until they reached a room that was closed out from all angles except one door. He turned the knob and it easily opened. Inside was another glass room. It was overlooking the room that Julie found all the giant human machines in. “What is this room?” she whispered. She noted the table across from her with hundred of buttons and controls. A tiny microphone was dangling from the glass ceiling.

“It controls those machines. Plus it’s a place where Leo Fung goes to show the buyers.” He walked her to the control table “Do those toys look familiar?” he pointed to a ferocious looking beast that stood towering over the human machines.

She narrowed her eyes as she recalled seeing it somewhere “It looks familiar.” Her face brightened up as she nodded “It’s that new toy that was designed by James Chung, I saw it when he brought it to Leo’s office.”

Andy smiled “You have a good memory for seeing it just once.”

“I normally don’t pay attention since all the toys that James bring in are fairly boring looking. But I particularly remember this beast like animal that he was holding and I remember thinking, what kid in the right mind would want to play with that?”

He nodded “My exact thought, that toy he was holding is actually a control for that beast.” He pointed to the humongous version of the beast. “James is actually the mastermind behind the machines, if you haven’t already guessed.”

Julie nodded “I was suspicious but at least now I know. I always thought-”

Andy covered her mouth when he heard voices. “Shh!” he reached over her shoulders and took off her coat, pressing his finger against the collar as he covered it over both of them “Conceal.” He commanded.

She felt a beam of light covering the both of them right before Leo walked in a with a group of men. “Now, here we have the control room where the tests for the machines are made. You can tell them exactly what to do.” He pointed to the table and pressed on a control. Julie was facing the back to them so she could not see what they were doing or how close. Andy was literally centimeters from her face, their eyes seemed to lock as he read her fears. They seemed to have a language of their own as she nodded slightly understanding that he was trying to reassure her.

After a couple of minutes Julie distinctly heard a voice that sounded almost identical to Andy’s “I would like to see them up close.” He sounded more in control and definitely important.

“Sure, of course, of course you can.” Leo’s voice was syrupy like he had to kiss up to this person.

When the men left the room through the correct exit, Julie saw a glimpse of the man’s face. She couldn’t believe that she saw, her eyes widened at Andy. That man was a complete duplicate of the guy standing before her. When the coast was clear, Andy held onto the collar “Conceal Off.” The beam disappeared.

“He looks just like you!” Julie whispered.

“Who?” Andy asked.

“I don’t know, I heard the voice and then when he walked out of the room, I saw his face.” She looked away in confusion “Do you have a twin?” she asked.

Andy smiled “Not that I know of. I’ll be sure to ask my mom when I die and go to heaven.”

Julie placed her hands on her hips “I’m serious.”

He nodded with his hands up in a surrender motion “Okay, I know you are. But I do not have a twin. People look like people.”

“Not that much!” she exclaimed. “I wonder who he is.”

“CEO of World of Toys, Inc.” Andy said clearly.

Julie turned to him with a look of awe “What? And you said you don’t know him?”

He turned to her and waved his hand “It says it right here.” He pointed to a contract that was left behind, he picked up the chip and held it up at the light. What appeared on the glass wall was a business card with the title and name that read ‘Anthony Lung, CEO’.

Julie stared at the name strangely “I’ve heard of that name somewhere.”

“You might have seen it on documents that Leo had on his desk?” he tried.

She nodded “Maybe. We better get out of here before we get …” before she finished her sentence, a loud annoying alarm sound wailed while beams of red light flashed in all directions.

“They must have found the open bathroom!” Andy cried over the noise. He took her hand as he took her back up the steps where they came from.

“Are you crazy they’ll find us if we come back that way!” Julie cried.

He turned to her “Trust me.” She didn’t have any other choice as she let him lead her up the steps. She heard other steps coming down as she squeezed his hand for support. She prepared herself for a fight but to her surprise, he stopped along the way and pushed his hand against the wall until it gave way and opened another secret passage. He quickly pulled her in and the wall closed automatically. “Can you swim?” he asked.

When she nodded, he took her both of her hands as he led her to an area of the darkened room and jumped into the ground. To her surprise, the ground they stood on was soft as can be. She held her breath as they collided into the ocean. Still holding onto one of her hands as they swam upwards together.

Julie felt her lungs were about to explode as they finally reached the ocean waters. “How…did…you…know….” She was panting.

He looked up and found the red lights still flashing inside the glass walls, he quickly swam under the building where a tiny gap that separated the wall from the building was. She quickly followed Andy as they were safe under there. He leaned against one of the poles as his legs kicked to keep himself up. “It’s not over yet.” He warned.

At the warning words came a loud whooshing sound of a helicopter flying over the waters causing ruffles of waves crashing up and down. Andy reached in the side of his belt and pulled out a round white metal object, he placed it over the stone poles and press it, a metal string came spinning around the pole making a ripple of bumps and eventually the strings were big enough for them to hold on for dear life while the helicopter continued to spin in circles causing more waves “You’ve done this before.” Julie commented.

Andy smiled as he wrapped an arm around her to secure her position “You can say that.” He had more endurance than her as his legs began to support her after a while when she was beginning to feel tired. After a good hour, the helicopter finally disappeared and the annoying alarm that could be heard from miles away stopped. Andy looked at her and nodded “Now we can go.” He began swimming to shore as he easily pulled himself up using a thin ladder that he found a long time ago. He reached his hand over and pulled her up with ease. The two sat there soaking wet trying to catch their breaths.

After a few minutes, they got up and walked down the streets to the same alley that she followed him to months ago. “Now can you tell me who you are?” she asked when they were alone.

He turned to her with a serious expression “I will if you promise me one thing.”

She nodded “Anything.”

Chapter 9

Julie stood there patiently waiting for him to continue. He seemed to be contemplating whether or not to ask her. After a long moment of silence her patience ran out “Well??!”

Andy held up his index finger to his lips “Shhh…” he turned up to the sky and found a bright light coming their way. It was a helicopter. “They found us.” He reached for her hand and yanked her into his secret passage way. They raced down the maze until they came upon his humble home. He pressed on a brick near the door as it flipped inward showing a squared shape control with numbers from 0-9. Julie saw him punching in random numbers but it was actually his secret code.

She turned to him almost fearfully for the first time “Who are you?” he seemed to smart to be a regualar spy.

He looked at her with a solemn look “Come over here.” He waved her to where his nightstand stood. Using his hands as he twisted the front right leg of the table, it sunk into the wall as another table with more controls appeared. On the table was a clear screen computer. “History.” He commanded.

Hundreds of pictures flashed before Julie’s eyes as she watched in awe, it was like a movie. His own life story that is. The little boy played on the swings innocently, while his mother pushed him. His dad was filming the scene. She easily recognized that it was Andy. “This is you?” she asked to make sure.

He nodded as he sped up the short movie “The only memories that I have left.” The minute he said it, the screen blurred and cleared up. “I am Agent Nicholas Chan of the FBI, special research team.”

Her face clouded over as she recalled the name “I’ve heard of you….” She remembered Sergeant Liu telling her vaguely of this agent that was missing in action when they first went undercover to find out the secrets of Toys Domination, Inc. According to the Sergeant, he was one of the many that didn't survive. "I thought you died?"

Andy nodded “I’m not surprised.” he let out a small sigh “When I was ordered to go undercover along with all 10 of my other teammates, we were given fake identities. As you may know, the FBI can tap into any system there is in this country.”

She nodded “That’s why Leo has not realized that Cass and I are half sisters.”

“One of the great things in our kind of work.” His smile faded slowly as he began his tale “But not all great things last forever.” Julie had a confused expression on her face and he explained further “For years I worked in that company, discovering all the knick knacks that made it work. All the secret hideouts and passage ways were discovered by yours truly. But alas, Nicholas Chan no longer exists. I was deleted from the data base after our team was discovered by Leo Fung and his father. During one fierce battle with man and machines, we lost. I was the only one left, of course returning with a broken arm and fractured ribs was not a good sign. I came back to the FBI only to find out that they would not compensate for my loyalty. In one quick night, they tossed me into the harbor to be eaten by sharks and fishes, they wanted no one to find out about the undercover work.”

She gasped after hearing the last sentence “How did you survive?” chills running up her spine as she can only imagine what he might have gone through.

“I swam until my legs and arms were numb. I guess those swimming classes really helped during high school.” He shook his head as he let out a long sigh “I used the identity of Andy Chu after I became inexistence. It’s the only person I know now. I found this hideout years before and continued working at Toys Domination to pay for my food and electronic devices.”

Julie shook her head in shock “But why would they do that to you? Couldn’t they use your knowledge of the passage ways and discoveries to tackle the secrets of Toys Domination? And didn't Leo Fung find out who you are?”

He chuckled sarcastically “Silly girl. If you report everything to the FBI, why do they even need you? Its like saving the squirl after you found all his acorns. I used the connections I got to concur up a new identity. Leo never found out.”

“Why are you telling me?” she asked in wonder.

Andy smiled sincerely “Instincts. Don’t you remember what the FBI first teach you? Trust your instincts. Mine told me to trust you.”

Julie smiled slowly as she looked to the ground “You never told me what your condition was in return for learning your identity.”

“I know you will agree.” He said with confidence, she raised her eyebrow as he continued “Do not tell your head about me.”

She tilted her head thoughtfully “But he can help you recover your identity.”

He shook his head sadly “No one can.”

Julie sighed “I can’t believe you’re one of the living souls from Project A.”

“If my guess is not wrong, you should be Project P.” she nodded as he snickered “So many lives have been lost and still they have not found any way to stop those machines.”

“Do you know how?” she asked curiously. He seemed so secretive and mysterious at times. Plus his knowledge has no boundaries.

“I know how to stop them from attacking, but the main controls can block that button on their chest.” He smiled at her “You have more questions?”

She widened her eyes “More than you can imagine. Who was that man earlier? Anthony…”

“Anthony Lung?” she nodded eagerly “Have you ever heard of the term ‘faternal twins’?”

“Yes, two people from the same mother born on the same day but do not look alike.” She shrugged her shoulders “What are you trying to say?”

Andy smiled “Everyone in this universe has a faternal twin that exist, although some never get to meet the other. This definition was proven by the Science of Humane Discoveries. Mine just happens to be the CEO of another successful toy manufacturer.” A sly smile crossed his face and she knew he had a plan.

She wrinkled her forehead “Now that I think about it, you two don’t look that much alike. He’s a few years older and his voice might be a bit deeper. I think I was caught up in the moment when I saw someone that looked so much like you.” She was thinking more clearly now.

He laughed “There’s no such thing as two perfect humans in this world.”

Julie shook her head “How could you laugh at a time like this? The brink of humanity wipeout and world domination from a monster making freak of an old man, who uses his toy company as cover up. You no long exist in the world and you’re a janitor that was just fired or quit…whatever it is. You tell me why you're smiling right now.”

Andy turned to face her, his lips inches from her own “My mom always taught me, there’s a bright side to every down side. Mine is standing in front of me.”

She looked downward with a shy smile, she wasn’t use to the sweet talk being that she spent most of her days bickering with Will. Will? She forgot all about him, they should be worried sick about her. Julie’s head snapped up “I have to go home.”

He nodded with understanding “I know.”

“How will I get in contact with you?” she asked.

Andy reached over and under her shoulder length hair as he placed a tiny cold metal onto her neck. “I can find you anywhere now.”

“That almost sounded creepy if not for the fact that I trust you.” She smiled. He took her hand as he walked her out through the maze. Julie turned to him with a sincere look “Take care of yourself.” She was getting attached to him.

Andy reached over and pulled the strand of hair that was covering her left eye “I will. Be careful, don’t trust anyone.” He warned.

“Not even…” she began.

“Not even them.” He said in a serious tone. She nodded understanding who he was trying to imply.

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

When she returned home, she was surprise not to see Cass sitting there waiting for her. Instead, she found Will pacing around in the room. His head turned up and a look of worry was taken over by an annoyance. “Where have you been?” he hissed loudly.

She shrugged carelessly “I did some more snooping.”

He widened his eyes “Are you crazy? At a time like this? Security is at maximum use in that company! You could have been killed!”

Julie smiled slowly “Awww, I didn’t know you cared.” She teased.

He shook his head “I don’t, but our cover could be blown.”

Her smile fell “Is that all you’re worried about?”

Will nodded “Of course, why else would I be worried about? You’re not my REAL wife, you know.” Suddenly a wicked smile crossed his tanned face “Is someone taking their role too seriously? Does someone have a crush on me?”

Julie looked like she was about to hurl “Please, I don’t want to lose my dinner.”

He laughed with his head bobbing up and down “No one can survive William Lai’s charm.”

She rolled her eyes as she climbed onto bed and threw a pillow roughly at him “Go to sleep, charmer!”

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

The next day, Julie set out to find out why Leann despised Cass so much. It was one of her personal missions that she promised herself to do by the end of the day. She came in earlier than normal and found Leann sitting in her office dictating a letter of some sort while her computer typed away. Julie cleared her throat to get her attention. Leann looked up with raised eyebrows “Yes?”

Julie closed the door to keep from being disturbed “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Leann nodded “Sure, anything.” She smiled friendly at the girl.

“Do you have something against Cass Lam?” she held her breath and braced for her boss to give her a dirty look or worse, a scolding.

Leann dropped her hands on her laps “I don’t like her.” She said simply.

“Why?” Julie pressed on.

“I don’t like the fact that some girls sleep their way up to the top. As long as I’m here, she won’t get that chance. You may think my brother has all the power, but I’m not just a little department manager.” She winked slightly indicating that she knew more.

Julie shook her head “She never slept with your brother.”

Leann waved her hand carelessly “That’s what she wants everyone to believe.”

“Well, did you see them?” Leann shook her head “Did Cass tell you herself?”

Leann shook her head once more “But my brother did tell me personally. He brags about which girls’ he’s slept with in a week. So there’s no reason why he would have to lie.”

Julie shrugged “Maybe he wants everyone to think that, especially you.”

This time Leann looked at her oddly “What do you mean by that?”

She leaned in closer to Leann’s desk “He knows how much you despise his unprofessional attitude towards women. He builds his ego to make himself feel better. Think about it, if you never caught them doing anything and all you hear is his side of the story, shouldn’t that flash a big red sign of something is wrong with that picture?”

Leann seemed to be taking it in “But that doesn’t explain why she was snooping around the ‘No Trespassing’ zone that one night.” She looked around eventhough there was no one else in the room with them “I heard of rumors for years that we had spies in the office. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s one.”

Julie laughed “Trust me, she’s the least person that’s likely to join the FBI.”

The petite girl crossed her arms “Who’s talking about the FBI. Why do they want to know about us? We just manufacture toys. I was talking about our other competition, the other corps that want to take us down. We’ve grown stronger through the years and it just makes the green eye monster come out of the other corps.” She suddenly tapped the table “Which reminds me…where’s that file for World of Toys Inc.?” she moved the clear chips that were sprawled out on her table.

Julie looked over as she reached for a familiar looking chip “This one?” she raised it up to Leann’s face.

She smiled brightly “There it is!” she turned to Julie “Thank you.”

“I thought they were our biggest competitor?” she asked trying to find out more things.

Leann nodded “They are, but it looks like my brother made a contract for the two corporations to co-exist in this toy manufacturing industry. I was surprised when he mentioned it to me earlier yesterday.” Her face wrinkled thoughtfully.

“I guess I should get back to work.” Julie sighed as she got up, before she left she turned to Leann “Cass is not that bad once you give her a chance. You’ll realize that she is the least person you should be suspicious of.”

Leann tilted her head to the side “I’ll take that into consideration.” She promised.

“Thanks.” Julie said gratefully before returning to work.

SIUBINGLIBRARY