Chapter 115


    Fighting for justice I spent that short night lying in Aren’s arms. There was something bittersweet about it.


    We were hugging each other without our desires exploding within us or driving us to the edge of sanity. I


    took pleasure in feeling Aren’s warmth covering my body, his strong arms keeping me from falling off the


    sofa. His heart beat at a soothing rate, allowing me to sleep soundly


    until the merciless rm woke us up.


    He already had his suitcases prepared and was ready to go straight to the airport. I went there with him,


    watching him get on board his private jet and fly off. My chest suddenly squeezed as if I was saying my


    final goodbye to him, at the same time knowing that the day I would walk away from him could feel much


    worse than that.


    I wanted to shake off that depressing sensation as soon as I could, and there was only one way I was


    able to do that: by nning Operation Blue Dreand. I called Jack and told him what we had and what


    we could get if we went to Blue Dreand. I was d when he agreed that getting into thatpany


    fast was our only chance to find the undeniable evidence of their crime.


    “But there’s a problem, Cora,” he said reluctantly, “I can’t help you with that. I’m already working full


    speed on Lan Liling’s reopened case, and today I am taking a group of agents to hunt down former Chief


    George Richardson. That bastard got tipped that we were trying to get him, so apparently, he escaped


    from the state.” “I see.” I sighed, and of course, naturally, thought that my next move would be to call


    Chris. “Chris won’t help you either, I’m afraid.” Jack seemed to be reading my mind. “As far as I know, he


    would be joining Aren in Paris.”


    “Great,” I groaned as my temple vein started to throb. “So what now? Should I just sit and do nothing


    while those bastards get rid of all the evidence?”.


    Jack let out a long exhale before asking, “How close do you have to get to their equipment to get the


    proof we need?”


    “A few feet would be nice, but if we modify our devices it would be enough to be further away but on the


    same floor,” I exined.


    Jack muttered, “Aren is going to kill me for this…” Then I heard him taking a deep breath. “I heard that


    Bleu Dreand organizes open tours to attract potential employees. You can use it to get in and out


    without raising suspicion. But remember, in case Aren asks, it wasn’t my suggestion.”


    I chuckled. “Of course, I would never snitch on you.”


    Jack’s suggestion sounded reasonable and fairly safe. All we needed to do was to blend in, follow the


    crowd, and check the readings on our devices from time to time. It felt like a piece of cake, but I still


    needed a partner in crime, and there was only one name that came to my mind: Norton


    ***


    The Blue Dreand’s open tour for future employees happened two dayster. The tour was about to


    begin in two hours. In the meantime, we have made the necessary preparations. I wore a brown wig I


    borrowed from Monique and my grandma’s old pair of sses, saving only


    the rims so as not to go blind in the process. Toplete my geeky look, I put on my old grey suit, the


    one I bought when I was looking for my first job in New York. Surprisingly, it took a lot of effort to look


    good enough to bebeled as “nothing special.” For most of my life, I wasbeled as either a babe or a


    freak.


    Norton had it easier. All he needed to do was to be. His grey-sh-green suit, matching his eyes, and his


    usual neatlybed brown hair, had already given him the perfect disguise. Who would have ever


    suspected a guy looking like that of being a serious threat? Of course, that was what made him extra


    dangerous.


    “Do I really have to go there with you?” he mumbled fearfully, watching me put our devices into the


    purse. “n is much more suitable for secret missions.”


    “Do you seriously expect someone like n to blend in?” I looked at Norton, raising one eyebrow. “He is


    theplete opposite of the blending-in type. You are the one I need, and believe me, all you have to do


    is be there and look as if you were interested in whatever they’ll


    C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.


    say.”


    Norton nodded, but I couldn’t miss the fear widening his eyes. I prodded his elbow and chuckled. I knew


    that he would loosen up once we got inside, but currently, if he was shaking a bit more, he would have


    fallen apart.


    He felt more rxed after we entered the building where Blue Dreand had its offices. He could


    contain his stress, shifting his focus to the building’s architecture and technical solutions.


    “You are doing fine, Norton. You’re like a pro at this,” I whispered to his ear as we walked to the elevator.


    “I’m like a pro,” he repeated, his lips stretching into a confident grin.


    As soon as we entered the right floor, thepany representative greeted us with a stered smile,


    urging us to join the group that had already gathered in the center of the Blue Dreand’s corridor. I


    smirked inwardly as we quickly collided with the mass of greyish people, not only blending in but looking


    more like clones. I found the sight of our group a little sad. I bet that they hadn’t dressed like that


    because they all liked that color, but more because they had given up on their uniqueness just to fit the


    so-called “normal.”


    After some smugly-looking manager had given us a boring introduction, we entered the long corridors of


    open space offices on both sides, where the programmers and graphics sat in front of theirputers in


    their little cubicles. I slid my hand into my purse and activated our little wave-pattern-detecting device.


    After several minutes of the manager’s babbling, I still had no readings on our detector.


    “Let’s move on this way.” Our tour guide pointed at the corridor on the right, but as we passed the turn,


    the device showed a weak readinging from the left side.


    “Excuse me!” I called out, dumbly blinking my eyes. “What’s over there?” I pointed at the offices on the


    left side.


    The guide gave me a cocky smirk “The executives have their offices there, sweetheart.”


    “Don’t call me sweetheart,” I grunted under my breath before asking again. “Is that all there is? It looks


    quite spacious…”


    Our guide stopped and huffed, annoyed with my questions. “You are not allowed to enter this


    part of thepany. Now, let’s carry on.”


    I prodded Norton’s elbow, whispering, “I need some distraction.” “D-distraction?” He nced at me,


    terrified. “Yes. Ask about something, anything.”


    Norton cleared his throat and raised his hand. “Um… is it true that Blue Dreand giarized the game


    “Sky Fight” and tried to release their version called “Space Fighting”?’ I mped my mouth with my hand,


    trying to resist a chuckle. The guide went pale while all eyes went on Norton, who stood confident,


    crossing his arms over his chest. “W-where did you hear something like this?!” The managerughed


    hysterically, quickly shifting everyone’s attention onto himself. “Oh, you know,izens talk,” Norton


    tossed in the slyest way I had seen him yet.


    “Is it true?” someone from the crowd asked.


    A few others joined him, confessing that they had heard about other rumors about games giarized by


    Blue Dreand. I grinned wickedly before slowly stepping back and turning to the left side of the


    corridor. As themotion in the group arose, nobody noticed me walking away from them. I hid my


    visitor’s pass and confidently strode toward the spacious offices that were supposed to belong to the


    executives, but as I glimpsed through the ss doors I passed, the rooms inside resembled high-tech


    computerboratories. I reached for the device in my purse and saw it shining brighter than a Christmas


    tree. I smirked and turned the rest of my equipment to catch and register the wave pattern. It didn’t


    matter if those bastards got rid of theirputers, routers, or even changed the entire inte


    connection because I was about to register something those idiots couldn’t possibly disprove in court.


    “Excuse me, who are you?” I heard a harsh, cold tone behind my back. When I turned around, I saw a


    frowning security guard, scanning me from head to toe. “I… I was with the group, but I really need to


    pee…” I smiled awkwardly, theatrically clenching my thighs as a sign of nature’s calling.


    “There are no toilets here!” the guard roared. “I saw you take something from your purse. How do I know


    that it wasn’t a camera and that you didn’t want to steal our projects?”


    I bet the guard didn’t realize how ironic his words sounded. Nheless, because he looked like he was


    serious about his job, I decided to keep acting like an absolute idiot. “I was looking for a tissue,” I


    frowned. “Now, could you show me where those damn toilets are, or should I pee on your shoes? It’s a


    huge emergency, you know…” I widened my pleading eyes, trying to look as innocent as possible.


    The guard kept his dangerous frown for a few more seconds until he finally surrendered. “Go straight and


    turn right, and then right again. You will find toilets there,” he sighed, pointing the way.


    “You’re my lifesaver!” I darted through the corridor as if it was on fire.


    I couldn’t believe that I got away with that. I guessed I was getting better and better at fooling people,


    although I couldn’t tell whether I should be proud of that ability. Once I ran far enough, I checked the


    devices in my purse — I had everything I needed. I sealed my lips tightly to resist a scream of joy. I came


    back to the spot where our grey group was, but it looked like


    this tour ended particrly quickly, not that I didn’t know the reason why… Chuckling under my breath, I


    ran to the elevator and texted Norton, “Where are you?”


    “Already downstairs. Did you get it?”


    “Yup! Thanks to you,” I texted back. “Should I wait for you?” he asked.


    “No need. It would be better if we left separately, just in case.”


    “Got it.”


    I couldn’t wait until I walked out of that building. The overwhelming feeling of victory was like fireworks


    exploding within me. I didn’t know if Blue Dreand had anything to do with Max, Haskett, or Mr. C., but


    it didn’t matter because whoever it was, they were going to get what they deserved.


    I jumped out of the elevator, releasing my blond hair from the dull wig and hiding my disguise in the


    purse. I started heading to the exit when I suddenly became anxious. My joyous grin vanished from my


    lips as my eyes narrowed in search of anything that could trigger my restlessness. I looked across the


    hall and froze. There was an Asian woman walking out of the building. Her ck hair was neatly tied up


    in a ponytail, and her face was glowing. I had seen her only on the surveince footage and in the picture


    with Aren, but I recognized her in an instant. Before I realized it, I was walking toward her, exiting the


    same door and then following her across the sidewalk. The crowd on Broadway Street quickly swallowed


    her, making me chase her blindly with only glimpses of her ck hair pointing out that I was still walking


    in the right direction.


    “Fuck, I lost her,” I cursed under my breath, turning around as I stopped by the crossing lights.


    Suddenly, I saw her standing on the other side of the street. She was looking directly at me, and I could


    swear a smug smirk crossed her lips when our eyes met. As soon as the lights changed to green, I


    dashed through the crossing keeping eye contact, afraid to lose her in the crowd again. She was waiting


    still until I reached her, surprising me with a calm smile as I stopped next to her. She reached out her


    hand and said. “Cora Bell, right? I’m Sun Lanfen. I think we need to talk.”