Zodiac of PRA II: Forever Heroes

Chapter 10

It’s been a week since the two of them argued. One morning, Erin woke up and to use the rest room. She saw the door closed and was about to knock when it was opened by Brad. He nodded but didn’t say anything as he walked on. Suddenly Erin stopped him “Hey.” She waved him over “Could you leave the toilet seat down next time you use the bathroom?”

He crossed his arms “I need it up, you need it down. You don’t see me complaining when its always down.”

“There are two girls living in this apartment, it’s just a courtesy to leave it down. See, I’ll show you…” she pulled the seat down “Now that didn’t look hard did it?” her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

“That’s a little unfair don’t you think?” Brad’s voice was raising.

Erin snickered “Unfair? Honey, this world is unfair. So learn to live with it.”

Suddenly, Shelly’s room door open and she looked outside, while rubbing her eyes “What are you guys fighting about now?” Erin and Brad crossed their arms stubbornly while Shelly let out a yawn “It’s not over the toilet seat again is it?”

Brad shook his head “Nothing, go back to sleep.” He walked past Shelly and pushed her gently in the room and closed the door. He turned back to Erin “I don’t like this.”

“Well get use to it.” Erin snapped as she closed the bathroom door. Inside, she was leaning on the door. She had to admit that fighting with him was no fun either, but they seemed to have a problem that they can’t solve. She washed up and when she opened the door, Brad was still standing there “What? Should I leave the toilet seat up again? You probably have a bladder problem.”

She walked on but he quickly stopped her with his hand “Erin…we need to talk.”

“Maybe later.” She was in no mood to talk to him. After she returned to her room, her cell phone was ringing like crazy. It was Mia “Hello?” Erin answered roughly.

“Wooh, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. What’s wrong? Problems in loverland?” Mia joked.

Erin snickered “More than you know. What did you want?”

Mia laughed “Just wondering if you want to join me for breakfast.”

“Sure.” The girls hung up and she got ready to leave. She passed by Shelly’s room and noticed the girl was still sleeping like a pig so she continued on. They met up at an Americanized restaurant. She quickly spotted Mia’s waving arms as if she was hailing for a taxi while Darren nodded at her with a smile. She walked over but Mia was still waving “I’m here, Mia.” Erin said.

Mia glanced at Erin “I know. I was waving at him. You guys didn’t come together?”

Erin turned and found Brad walking towards them, she turned at Mia “Why did you invite him?”

“Why not?” she asked “You can’t stay mad at him forever.”

Erin raised her brows at Mia while Darren chuckled “Scary how she knows everything huh?”

“Scary is not the word.” Erin muttered while Brad took a seat next to her.

“Hi Brad!” Mia said brightly. He only greeted her with a smile “Okay…give her a kiss and say you’re sorry.” She instructed.

Brad frowned “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Mia waved her hand in the air “Yeah, of course you didn’t. Just apologize and make up.”

Erin shook her head “No, why should he? Didn’t you hear him, he didn’t do anything wrong.”

Despite the tension, Darren had to laugh at the situation. The three pairs of eyes turned to him unexpectedly and he stopped laughing to explain “I’m sure you two don’t even remember what the fight is about.”

“His ex.” Erin answered and Brad said “Ted.” At the same time.

Mia hit Darren on the arm “You and your big mouth. I thought we promised that I’d do all the talking?”

“Honey, then I would never get to talk.” Darren joked.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” Mia warned. She turned her attention to Brad and Erin who refused to look at each other “Come on guys, you have to patch things up. What about the team? If Matt calls us right now for a mission and you two are still mad at each other, how will we work? We can’t work with our Captain and top agent fighting over petty stuff.”

Darren let out a sigh as he knew Mia was correct “She’s right, Brad. Why don’t you be the bigger man and apologize?”

“He doesn’t even know what he should be apologizing for.” Erin grumbled. Brad looked over at her as if in shock and she turned to him “So you do know?”

“If it’s about Nora…I can tell you that it’s very platonic.” Brad assured her.

Erin shook her head “I don’t care that you go out with her. Heck, I don’t care if you have a date with her…she’s a friend to you, I respect that. But you remember when you saw her at the market a week ago? You didn’t introduce me until you realized I had left.”

Darren patted Mia on the arm “Come on, let’s give them some space.”

Mia whined as she shook her head “No…this is getting good.”

Erin looked over at Darren “It’s okay, I don’t mind. Unless someone is embarrassed.” She eyed Brad carefully.

He laughed “Why would I be? This is over that stupid introduction? How about you and Ted? You didn’t even leave a note to say where you were at, I was worried sick. Plus we all know he has the hots for you, why do you keep hanging around with him. What? Is he your second choice?” Brad snapped.

Mia winced at his last question “Ooh, right below the belt…Do all guys talk with their balls?” she asked sarcastically while Brad turned to her with a confused expression “Why do you assume the worse? Why can’t you just listen to her explain and maybe…just maybe it will make a lot more sense.”

Darren turned to his fiancé with a laugh “When did you become doctor love?”

Mia giggled “Its just a born talent.”

“I’m sorry.” Brad finally said it and Mia quickly clapped her hands as he continued looking at Erin “I should let you explain.”

Erin’s face softened at his apology “Its not entirely your fault. I think I would be upset if I was in your shoes. But honestly, Ted and I are just friends. I don’t care if he likes me or not, he knows very well that you and I are an item. Give him more credit than that. He’s a very decent guy, why do you think we’re still friends? Have more confidence in yourself and in me that I would not cheat on you.”

“Well said!” Mia nodded “You know what I think? I think-” her mouth was covered by Darren’s hand.

“Let them talk.” Darren whispered as he nodded at Brad with a smile.

Brad reached down and took Erin’s hand “I just don’t want to lose you.”

She smiled and nodded “I know. I’m sorry too. It was a petty reason to be mad.”

Mia looked at the two adoringly as she let out an “Aww…” sound but it was muffled through Darren’s hand.

Erin turned to the other two “You can let go of your hand now, Darren.”

Brad raised his hand “Wait…let me cherish this moment a little longer.” The three laughed while Mia yanked her face from Darren’s hand.

“You guys will be sorry one day if I turn up missing and you’ll realize how important I really am in your lives.” Mia warned.

Darren stopped laughing as he put on a serious face and turned to her as he reached out to take her face in the palm of his hands “Mia, if anything happened to you. I would not want to live.”

Erin wagged a finger at Darren while she turned to Brad “Now that’s romantic.”

“Don’t you mean psychotic?” Brad shivered.

Darren turned to the two as he let go of Mia’s face and smiled “Only when I drink.” The four joined together in a laugh but their happy moment came to an abrupt stop when their pagers began beeping.

“Matt’s calling.” Brad announced.

“Oh my gosh, he’s calling me too!” Mia said with exaggerated sarcasm “What a coincidence.”

“Another comment like that and I’ll have Matt put you on a special mission alone.” Brad threatened as the four got up to leave.

Mia rolled her eyes “Oooh…I’m sooo scared.” She pretended to shiver.

Brad laughed as he nodded “Okay, I’ll remember that one.”

They arrived along with Jessie and Doug to meet up with Matt. He was already there waiting for them “Hi guys!” he greeted. The team noticed they had a new guest in the room. Matt turned to his brother “Oh, this is Ryan, my baby brother.”

“Ah Gor…” Ryan began “I’m not a baby anymore.”

“Nope, you sure aren’t.” Mia said with a smile as she looked him up and down.

Erin turned to Darren “Control your woman, please.” The two laughed while Brad looked more serious.

“Matt, do we have a mission?” he asked.

Matt nodded “I got a call in from Darwin Wong, saying he was being followed. He needs our protection.”

“That name sounds familiar.” Mia asked with her brows knit together.

Erin nodded “I remember, he’s the one guy that we rescued from Michael’s backyard. He was buried alive by Dave and Reina.”

“Oh!” Mia snapped her fingers “I remember. So he’s all paranoid now?” she asked Matt.

“Something like that. I want you guys to come up with a protection plan so that he will feel safe anywhere he goes. Brad, you’re in charge.” Matt instructed. He smiled at the group “I do need one more thing, but it’s personal.” The team looked at him curiously “I need someone to show Ryan around Hong Kong. He just returned from California.”

“Yeah, I’ve been away at school.” Ryan spoke up “I haven’t been back for over 5 years.”

Doug’s face brightened “How about we have Shelly show him around?”

Erin turned to him with a smile “You want her off your back don’t you?” his smile faded as he looked apologetically at her and she quickly added “I’m just teasing Doug. I feel bad for you and Jessie.” She turned to Matt “I’ll talk to Shelly about it.”

“Thank you.” Matt was grateful.

Brad looked at Ryan “Why don’t you go to the apartment now? She’s probably waking up right about now as we speak. I’ll give her a call and tell her that you’re coming.” He quickly gave the guy the directions to his apartment.

Chapter 11

After Ryan left, Matt turned to Brad and Erin with a grateful smile “Thank you so much guys, I was beginning to feel that Ryan was getting lonely because he has no friends.”

“Don’t worry, Shelly will be very good company for him.” Brad insisted.

“Talking about company, we should sit down and talk about our plan to protect Darwin.” Mia suggested.

Erin crossed her arms with a smile “Since when are you so eager to start a mission.”

“Since she realized the prestigious honor of protecting one of the richest guys in Hong Kong means getting her name in the newspaper.” Doug was right on the nose as the team began laughing at the truthfulness of his comment.

Mia was the least bit amused by him looking at him with raised brows “Not really, what’s more prestigious than being engaged to one of the richest men in Hong Kong?”

“Sleeping with him.” Darren cooed while the group let out disgusting sighs.

Doug frowned “Dude…mental picture.” He pointed to his head and Jessie shook her head as she wrapped an arm around his waist with a laugh “Don’t be polluting my girlfriend’s innocent head.”

Mia rolled her eyes “Please! Like you two are so innocent. I think the only person that needs a lesson with the birds and bees is Brad.” As soon as she said it, her laugh exploded as if it was the funniest thing in the word. But when she caught Brad’s evil eye, her laugh abruptly stopped and she cleared her throat “Let’s get back to business, Captain Chung!” she saluted him.

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

Shelly woke up at noon to an empty apartment, she let out a sigh before going in the bathroom. Her lifestyle will get boring very soon, she could already tell. She silently wished that it would get more interesting. When she was freshened up, she decided to surprise her sister and Brad by cleaning the place up. She looked around for cleaning supplies and began to work while humming a tune to herself.

In the middle of her process, she heard the doorbell ring and thought maybe they were back already. Shelly opened the door and found a young male standing there with a rugged look. He was smiling at her “Hi, you must be Shelly.” He brought out a hand but instead of shaking it, Shelly began screaming.

“Who are you?!! Get out!” she tried to slam the door shut but Ryan was trying to push it open to explain.

“I’m a friend of your sister!” He yelled through the tug of war they were having with the door.

Shelly snorted “Yeah right…what’s her name?!”

Ryan opened his mouth and suddenly his browed furrowed, he didn’t get her name “I…I don’t remember.”

“EHH! Wrong answer! That’s not her name.” Shelly cried but soon realized her feet was slipping against the wooden floors. She will eventually lose. Suddenly her eyes caught onto the spray cleaner. She made a lunge for it as the door flew open and Ryan fell splat onto the floor.

He brushed himself up and closed the door behind him “Sheesh, they said you were nice.” Suddenly he remembered that Brad said he would call her except he forgot Brad’s name “Didn’t Brian call you to tell you I was coming? I’m Ryan Tong.”

Shelly aimed the window cleaner at his face while her legs were spread apart in a ready to attack mode “Who’s Brian?! Don’t come near me or I’ll spray this at you!” She warned.

“Brian…your sister’s boyfriend.” Ryan insisted.

“It’s Brad you idiot!” Shelly rolled her eyes “And no…he didn’t call me. So Nice try. Get out!!!” She pointed to the door.

Ryan began laughing as he hit his head with the palm of his hand “Right…Brad. I’m really bad at names.” He took a step closer when he saw her hand began to lower, but to his shock, she spritz the cleaner direction into his eye when she panicked and thought he was about to attack her. “OW!!!” he cried in pain while clutching onto his eyes.

“AHH!!!” Shelly cried while she dropped the cleaner to the floor. She reached out hesitantly while Ryan continued to cry in pain “I’m sorry!!”

“It stings!!!” he moaned painfully “I’m gonna go blind!” he wailed.

“I’m sorry!!” Shelly felt horrible as she began to pull him to the door “Come on, I’ll take you to the hospital.” He had no choice but to leave her the trust. She hailed a cab and together they rode to the hospital. They were dropped off at the emergency entrance. She supported him out of the car and brought him straight inside. She pulled at the first nurse she saw “Please, find him a doctor…he can't go blind!” she said dramatically.

The nurse raised her brow and casually looked at Ryan “Take a number and you’ll be called when there’s a doctor ready.” The nurse was about to walk away when Shelly quickly pulled her back.

“You don’t understand…he’s going to go blind…and it’s gonna be my fault! Oh God, my sister’s gonna kill me…” she began to hyperventilate and the nurse suddenly looked around for help.

“Okay…it’s okay, we’ll take him in. Just have a seat.” She instructed Shelly. The nurse took him to one of the rooms for the doctors to inspect him and Shelly watched with a small smile. It worked every time.

After about half an hour, Shelly was growing restless as she paced the floors. Suddenly, her eyes caught on the nurse that took Ryan in. She rushed over to her “Nurse, is he okay?!”

The nurse shook her head sadly “The doctors said he’s going to be blind. The chemicals were soaked into the iris. Nothing can help him.”

Shelly’s heart dropped, the guilt grew on her with each step she got closer to Ryan’s room. She saw him lying there peacefully with the white bandages around his eyes. She gulped back the choked up feeling and got closer “I’m sorry…” she whispered.

Ryan let out a sigh “It’s okay…so what if I never see the colors of the world again… or Disneyland. It was never the happiest place on earth…” his voice cracked while he lowered his head and covered his bandaged eyes with his hand.

“I’m sorry!!” Shelly wasn’t sure what else to say “I’m so sorry…I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

“So now you believe me?” Ryan asked.

“Of course.” Shelly nodded but she felt horrible when realizing that he couldn’t see her nod her head “When can you go home?”

Ryan sighed “Does it matter? I can’t see my home.”

Suddenly her lips quivered and she began to sob while throwing herself at his feet “I’m sorry…I promise, I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life! Its all my fault, I will be responsible for my own actions.”

He was taken aback by her reaction, he didn’t expect her to be so dramatic. He reached out with his hand until he felt her head “Hey…it’s okay…I was just kidding with you. The doctor put drops in my eyes, they should heal in 5 days.” he said gently.

Shelly’s cries abruptly stopped as her head slowly lifted. Her eyes showed shocked as she reached out her hand and hit him on the head “That’s not funny!!!”

He began laughing hysterically as he didn’t expect the smack on the head “Yes it was, I wish I could see your face right now.”

“So the nurse…” Shelly began.

Ryan nodded, it was hard to contain his laughter “I told her to tell you that lie.”

“It’s not funny!” she yelled again when he couldn’t stop laughing.

His laughing cooled down but the smile was still broad “That’s what you get for spraying me in the eye with that cleaner! We’re even now.”

Shelly thought about it and slowly she came to realize that it was her fault first. She smiled “Fine. Truce.” She reached out and shook his hand.

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

The team sat together for over two hours without any progression to their work. Everyone disagreed on who would be able to stand with Darwin. Brad sat back with a sigh “I just think, if Doug and myself were closest to Darwin, we will be able to scare of the attackers.”

“But if we scare them away, how will we catch them?” Erin argued “I think Mia and I should be by Darwin. We’re strong enough to fight off anyone but not intimidating enough for them not to try something.” Mia let out a loud yawn and Erin snapped her head over “Don’t you agree?”

Mia was slouching as she quickly sat upright and her eyes popped wide open “Yes, mam! Whatever you say, mam!”

Doug stifled a laugh “I think that’s a sign to stop the debate.” He let out a short sigh “You two have been arguing about the same thing for the past…” he glanced at his watch “TWO hours!” exclaiming in shock. He turned to Darren who was nodding off in his own seat, Doug pointed to his teammate “Look what your doing to Darren.”

At the sound of his name, his eyes snapped open “What? Are we done?”

Matt was leaning his elbow on the table while his head rested on the palm of his hand “You both have a good point…but I have to agree with Doug. We need to stop the fighting.” He rubbed his face “Man, do you two argue like this all the time?”

Mia shook her head “Not all the time, only when they see each other.” That earned a round of laughter from everyone except Brad and Erin, of course.

The two looked at each other, none wanted to comment. Matt shook his head at the two “The team is only as good as it’s teamwork. Why don’t you two go home tonight and talk it out. We are going to have a meeting with Darwin tomorrow, he wants to hear a good plan on how to execute this mission.”

“Yes, sir.” Brad and Erin said in unison.

“Meeting adjourned!” Mia announced.

Matt raised his hand when everyone began to get up “Mia, that’s my job. Sit.” He pointed to everyone as they lowered themselves on the chair. He glanced at his watch and waited for approximately 1 minute before announcing “You may go home now.”

The team got up and exchanged glances. Mia put a finger to her temple and made a circular motion while her eyes rolled in circles. Darren turned to the others “Classy aint she?” Everyone laughed while Mia smiled but the minute he turned away, she made the same sign causing everyone to laugh even louder.

When they got home, Erin realized the place looked a little distorted, she found the cleaners and cloth outside in the living room. And a window cleaner was on the floor “What do you think happened?” she asked loudly.

Brad shrugged his shoulders “Looks like a fight or something.” Suddenly the two of them gasped and stared at each other “I forgot to call Shelly!”

Erin shook her head in disappointment “You don’t suppose…the two of them. What could have happened?” she knew there would be a definite misunderstanding.

“No…” suddenly, they hear whimpering sounds from the bedroom. Erin nodded to the hallway as the two of them walked down the hallway, the sound was coming from Shelly’s room. When they stepped inside, neither were prepared to see Shelly lying on the bed looking lifeless while red stains were on her shirt. Ryan was sitting at the corner of the room looking petrified while a knife stood shakily in his hands.

“Ryan…” Erin began. Her eyes settled on Shelly as she stepped over to her sister “Shelly…” her hand reached out and touched her peaceful face but she was quickly startled when Shelly began laughing loudly.

“We fooled you!” she managed to blurt out between laughs. Ryan had joined her as the two high fived each other.

Erin crossed her arms “So you think that’s funny?” her stern voice cut their laughs short “Shelly, why don’t you grow up and act your age! You think it’s cool to pretend that you died? And you!” she snapped at Ryan “I’ll make sure your brother hears about it!” she stormed out of the room with Brad standing to the side.

He shook his head at the two “You guys chose a wrong day to mess with her.”

Shelly frowned “What did you do now?”

Brad crossed his arms and looked at her with authority “Why do you assume it’s me?”

“Because it’s always you.” Shelly answered innocently “Ga Jei told me that.”

He snickered a laugh “She did, did she? Well I guess she's right.” he shook his head and left the room. Leaving the two pranksters confused.

Chapter 12

The following morning, Brad woke up to find that Erin was already up and about. She was sitting in the living room, curled up in a blanket while she wrote down notes “Morning.” He smiled as he took a seat next to her.

“Hmm…” she mumbled but didn’t tear her eyes from her notes.

He leaned over and she covered the pad with her hand “I can’t even look?” he asked in shock.

“I’ll show it to you when I’m ready.” Erin insisted and then she plugged her nose “Do yourself a favor and brush your teeth.” He laughed while letting his breath suffocate her. She giggled as she pushed his face away “Stop it!!” she cried between laughs and trying to hold her breath in at the same time.

Shelly walked out sleepily “What are you guys doing?” she yawned.

Erin quickly got up and pointed to Brad with her pen “Look what you did, you woke up Shelly. We’ve got an hour before the meeting and they are expecting you to announce the plans.”

He sunk back on the couch tiredly “I don’t wanna go.” She could tell he was whining.

“Fine, then we’ll just go with my plan.” Erin crossed her arms with a smile. That did the trick as he popped up and rushed to the bathroom.

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

The seven met up at P.R.A. headquarters and drove together to Darwin’s office. The group stepped out of the van and were greeted by 5 guards dressed in uniforms “Mr. Wong is expecting you.” The man standing in the middle announced.

Mia raised her brows at Erin “Special treatment.” She commented.

They were led to the elevator with hundred pairs of eyes staring at them. They felt like prisoners being led to their death sentence. Matt found it very unrespectable towards the team, he made a mental note to tell Darwin just that. The elevator stopped at the 25th floor and the guards got out and paused to tell them “The first office to your left is the conference room. Mr. Wong will be with you in a minute.”

“Thank you.” Matt nodded as he turned to his group “Now don’t touch anything children, you have to pay for it if anything breaks.” He spoke like a school teacher.

“Yes, Tong Sir!” the team saluted and then laughed as they walked by the stern looking guards who continued to stare at them like dogs on a mailman.

They reached an open area where a huge closed room was an a little desk. The secretary looked up at the team with a friendly smile. But when her eyes caught on Brad, she instantly stood up and rushed over to him “Brad!” Nora exclaimed excitedly.

Mia blocked her way with her arms behind her back “Identify yourself.” Her voice was deep and serious.

Erin shook her head as she reached out and pulled her friend to the side “That’s Nora.” She whispered. Mia widened her eyes after hearing the girl’s name, she was Brad’s ex girlfriend.

Brad turned to the girls and then back at Nora, who looked frightened “Don’t worry, Mia’s harmless.”

“I beg your pardon!” Mia said in her defense as she raised her hands to her hips.

Nora shook her head with a small smile “It’s okay, I’m use to being yelled at.”

Mia rolled her eyes “Oh boo hoo!” she nudged Erin, who remained quiet “Is she for real?”

“More than you know.” Erin whispered.

Brad gave the girl a look of concern “What does that suppose to mean? Does Darwin Wong yell at you?”

Nora shook her head vehemently “No no…Mr. Wong is a gentleman…it’s just…” she hesitated to answer.

“I think she’s talking about Mrs. Wong.” Darren said wisely.

Nora smiled “I see why Mr. Wong speaks so highly of you.” She missed Mia’s dramatic roll of the eyes again “Where are my manners…please come in the conference room. I’ll announce your arrival.” She nodded and walked away.

The group entered the room and noticed the cushioned chairs were comfortable and the view of the city was magnificent “Someone sure knows how to live.” Doug muttered as he tested out the chairs. “Hey, it turns!” he spun the chair in circles.

Mia nodded as she pushed the chair back with her feet and spun herself in circles “Weee!!” she exclaimed like it was some sort of a roller coaster ride. Brad who was next to her suddenly stopped her chair and she looked at him with confusion. He nodded to the door and it was Darwin and Elisa Wong.

The team stood up and Matt quickly greeted the wealthy man “Mr. Wong. I’m Matt Tong, lieutenant of the P.R.A. I’m sure you are very familiar with the faces in this room.”

Darwin smiled as he nodded to everyone and landed his eyes on Mia and Erin “How could I forget the two beautiful ladies that saved my life? Please sit.” He pointed while he and his wife took a seat.

Mia was beaming while Erin nodded politely “I’m surprise you still remember.”

He laughed “Being buried alive is not something you forget.”

Suddenly Elisa shook her head as she reached over to the phone that sat closest to her, she pressed the intercom button “Nora, where are the drinks?!” she demanded.

Nora’s soft spoken voice came on “Uh…I’m sorry, Mrs. Wong…it’s coming right up.”

When Elisa turned back to the group, a smile was replaced by the frustrated expression earlier “Sorry, good help is so hard to find.” She turned to her husband with a nod and he continued.

“So, I’d like to hear these plans of yours. Matt has been praising about Brad and Erin’s teamwork since I called him about the job.” Darwin complimented.

Brad replied humbly “Matt is over exaggerating, we’re not that great. We just work well together.” Mia muttered something incoherent and then covered her mouth with a laugh. Brad threw her a look and she cleared her throat “I’ll let Erin explain to you the plan of attack.”

Erin leaned on the table as she began to talk “Before I tell you the plan, I have a question to ask.” Darwin nodded for her to continue “Why do you feel that you are being followed?”

He sat back gently “It wasn’t always like this. After your team saved my life, everything seemed to fall into place. My work was getting better and I was getting better sleep. But about a month ago, I began to have these strange feelings like I was being followed. I recall there was a time when I was eating dinner with my wife at a restaurant when I saw a woman sitting not too far from me, gazing at me with such hatred.”

“Did you recognize her?” Matt asked curiously.

Darwin shook his head “I’ve never met her in my life. But after that day, I began to have nightmares of people chasing after me. Then a week ago at night, I was almost kidnapped. Luckily there was a policeman on guard by my work.”

The door opened and Nora came in with a tray and 8 glasses of coffee. She looked to have a problem balancing the tray with her weak arm. Brad instantly got up to help her, she smiled at him gratefully “Thank you.”

“Anytime.” Brad smiled as he helped her pass out the drink.

When his hand touched a cup, Nora quickly stopped him from giving it to Erin “This one is yours. One cream and two sugars, just like how you like it.” She took it from his hand and placed it where he was sitting.

Mia threw a look at Erin, who remained calm and cool. Her face showed no emotions of jealousy or pettiness. Mia took a sip of her coffee and gave a disgusted face but when she turned to Nora, she smiled sweetly “Smooth.” She managed to croak out “You should be a coffee maker!” her perkiness seemed natural but to those that knew her could tell it was all sarcasm.

Nora smiled “Thank you. But I like my job.” She nodded to her bosses “I’ll be outside if you need me.”

“Thank you, Nora.” Darwin smiled kindly while Elisa ignored the girl. Erin quickly caught on that there was something between Elisa and Nora that was too fishy. He turned to everyone with a look of concern “I forgot to tell you about a charity auction that is taking place this weekend. It’s a great event that all the richest people go to. I’m sure Darren’s got an invitation.”

Darren nodded “Two days ago.”

Darwin turned to Erin who was extra quiet, he smiled at her warmly “Can I assume that you are thinking of a plan since you haven’t said much from the beginning.”

“I’ve got a plan, but I’m not sure if it’s good.” Erin.

“It doesn’t hurt to say it.” Darwin encouraged.

Erin nodded “I was thinking that Mia and I escort you to the functions. The guy will stand a few feet away so people will not feel too uncomfortable being around you.”

“I disagree.” Brad spoke up.

Mia cowered down in her chair and covered her face “Here we go again.” She whispered to Darren.

Matt raised a hand at Mia “Let’s hear what Brad has to say.”

Brad nodded at Matt thankfully “I’m not doubting the girl’s abilities to protect you.” He said to Darwin “But I feel that it would be much safer to have myself and Doug next to you. That way, they will feel discouraged to try something. Our goal is to protect you right?”

“But don’t you want to catch the person?” Erin asked wisely.

Darwin was torn apart as he turned to Elisa “What do you think?”

She looked thoughtfully at one person to another “This may sound a bit bias, but I’m going to have to agree with Erin.”

The minute she said it, Mia bounced up from her chair “Hurray!!” she leaned over the table with her palm out at Erin. Erin shook her head with a smile as she gave her friend a high five.

Darren turned to Darwin and Elisa with an apologetic look “I think it’s the coffee.”

Elisa smiled at the girl’s enthusiasm “Actually, I’m very pleased that they are excited. It just shows my judgment is correct.”

Matt nodded in agreement “You won’t be disappointed.” He reached out and shook Darwin’s hand to close the project “I’ll have someone escort you home later. I assume the guard dogs are enough to keep you safe for the meantime?”

Darwin was taken aback by his comment as he frowned “Guard dogs?”

Matt snapped his finger as if remembering something “Oh…I was talking about the five unformed men that escorted us up here. I must say, I’ve never had such a grand entrance before. And at the same time, never been so offended.” His eyes hardened “Mr. Wong, if you are to trust us, you cannot have another group that are hired to protect you too. We don’t work well with others. As a team is only as good as it’s teammates.”

“You go, Matt!!” Mia announced but quickly covered her mouth when all eyes turned to her.

Matt smiled at Mia and turned back to Darwin “Can I trust that we won’t see the guys there this weekend?”

Darwin was pleased by his straightforward attitude “Consider it done.”

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