"Sophie? Sophie?!"

The impatient hand of Audrey waves frantically in front of my face until it accidentally slaps me in the face. When I yelp and jump back, I glare at the smirking Audrey and ask, "And what in your right mind was the reason for doing that?!"

Audrey's smirk only grows as she says, "You kind of blanked out for a few minutes after you finished talking with that Percipient."

"You mean Fitz," I automatically correct her without any second thoughts.

    Audrey dismisses that topic with a wave of her hand. "Anyways, Laurie and I have been discussing whether or not we should eavesdrop on their conversation. I obviously think so," she says, pointing at herself. Her face suddenly scrunches up in disgust as she points at Laurie- Laurel. "She doesn't think so."

    Laurel gasps. She argues, "That's only because they're doing their own research! We shouldn't get involved." She pouts at me.

    I press my lips together to hide my annoyance. I glance over at Audrey to see her hands curled up in white-knuckled fists. But before Audrey has the opportunity to pummel the female Altruistic, I hold my hand up. "I personally think that we shouldn't eavesdrop on their conversation. But that doesn't mean that you can't eavesdrop on them," I add, pointing at Audrey. I laugh when she rubs her hands together nefariously. I suddenly remember something and instruct, "If you see that officer, tell him to come to the conference room with a laptop. Also, ask for his name," I add.

Laurel's jaw drops slightly as Audrey stealthily rushes out of the room, her snickers sounding almost chipmunk-like. When the female Sovereign turns the corner, Laurel asks, "Why did you let her do that?" I turn to her, my smirk faltering slightly. "I don't think they'll like that," she adds.

    I flash her a gentle smile and walk back to the conference table, Laurel following me. "Because," I explain. "We'll need their observations to fuel our investigation. They're not the only ones who are involved in this case," I argue as we sit down besides each other.

    I stare at the Background portion of the file. "So first things first, we'll build a stronger and more realistic case on Michelle," I tell her, pressing my lips together. I tap my chin for a few minutes, in thoughtful silence, as I gather everything I've heard, seen, and read about Michelle Barrera. I nod once I've gathered my evidence. "Alright- so Michelle didn't live close to the Smithsonian Institution, which was where she was found dead," I clarify for a confused Laurel. "A 34 year old with brown eyes and dirty blond hair. She was proclaimed dead at the hospital on March 23rd- 3:31 AM."

    Laurel nods. "What about her family?" she asks, her eyes wide.

    I smile at her curiosity towards the family. "Her parents are deceased due to old age, and she was an only child." I then remember today's conversation and add, "And now, we're assuming the possibility that she and David knew each other on a romantic level."

    Laurel sighs, holding her hands together over her heart. "Romance is always beautiful. Expect when they're dead," she quickly adds, earning a smirk from me. After a moment, she asks, "What about David?"

    I sigh, trying to remember all I can about him. "Hmm... David is a 38 year old man with hazel eyes and has 'golden-brown' hair, according to Fitz." I try to ignore the smirk on Laurel's face when I say his name and continue, "He has a 43 year old brother named Jacob Graham. Jacob served in the army, but was dismissed after an injury made him lose an arm."

    Laurel shudders. "That's horrible! Imagine that- living the rest of your life with only one arm..!" She wraps her arms around herself.

    I nod. "It's a tragedy, but that doesn't stop people from living their lives normally. It's an obstacle that can be overcome with support and physical therapy."

    Laurel nods, smiling again. "What about his parents? Job?"

    I frown. "Honestly, I don't know about those topics. Fitz didn't clarify about that." I shake my head and lean back in my chair, closing my eyes. When I open them again, I see Laurel smiling in a suspicious way. "What are you smiling about?" I ask her, eyeing her suspiciously.

    She giggles at my question and shrugs. "I don't know what you're talking about," Laurel replies, giggles interrupting her response. She smiles innocently, causing me to frown.

    I'm about to say something else, but a loud commotion traipses behind the two of us. When we turn around, we see Audrey rushing in, sweat beading her forehead and a laptop tucked under her arm. "I- I'm back," Audrey calls out, taking a big gulp of air. She wipes her forehead with the backside of her arm as she sits down to my left, placing the laptop in front of me.

    "So I'm guessing you saw that officer?" I ask, smirking at Audrey's grin of triumph.

    "Yep!" Her grin grows. "I asked for his name, and he only said, 'Call me Mr. Wallace'." She shakes her head. "Weird man..."

    Laurel gestures to the laptop I'm opening. "And Mr. Wallace gave you the laptop?" she asks.

    Audrey shakes her head, making me wonder how she stole a laptop. "Nope. That's from Ms. Sophie's room." She pauses, laughing at my shocked expression. "Don't worry- Mr. Wallace was watching me as I took the laptop from your desk." Audrey shakes her head. "The only weird thing in your room was the numerous amounts of medical gauze on your desk."

    My eyes widen. "I should probably change my bandages," I murmur as I roll up my sleeves. Sure enough, two large streaks of red is prominent on the white gauze.

    "What happened?!" Laurel shrieks, covering her mouth with one hand. Even Audrey's shocked.

    I sigh and stand up. "Long story short, both of my wrists were cut with knives I used as self-defense." I tuck the laptop under one arm and grab Michelle's file in the other. Then I notion for the two girls to follow me as we make our way to my room.

    As we wait for the elevator to reach the eighth floor, Audrey asks, "Self-defense from who?"

    "From Mr. Wallace himself," I say in an exasperated tone. "I thought he was an intruder, so I tucked two knives in my sleeves." I shake my head at myself. "I was careless, and forgot about them. I only remembered when I had two bleeding cuts on my arms."

    When the elevator doors open, the three of us walk towards the two doors on the right side of the hallway. I hear three male voices in the right door, so I step towards the left door. "Audrey- did he give you a room key?"

    Audrey slaps her forehead as she pulls a grey key card out of her back pocket. "I forgot- Mr. Wallace wanted me to give it to you." She then unlocks my room without hesitation.

    Laurel sits on my bed while Audrey plops down on the ground. "Your room is so tidy..!" Laurel exclaims in awe. Audrey nods in agreement.

    I place my laptop and folder on my desk. "Thank you," I reply as I grab a few rolls of gauze and the Neosporin. I then enter the bathroom, leaving the door open. There, I don't waste any time in rolling up the sleeves to my white blouse, removing my bloody bandages, and throw them in the trash. I then wash my cuts, wincing slightly at the stinging sensation. I quickly dry my wrists before the cuts bleed again. After applying the Neosporin, I rewrap my wrists in the rolls of gauze. Once finished, I roll my sleeves down and exit the bathroom with the extra gause I brought in and with the Neosporin.

    As I neatly place my medical supplies in a drawer in the miniature kitchen of my suite, I hear Audrey say, "You're fast, Ms. Sophie."   

    After I finish, I sit down in my desk chair, facing them. Smoothing out my black pencil skirt, I raise an eyebrow. "Ms. Sophie?" I ask.

    "Your new nickname." She smirks. "Unless you want it to be Mrs.?" Seeing my shocked expression, she adds, "Maybe with Fitz being the Mr.?"

    I feel my cheeks redden as I glance between Laurel and Audrey. Laurel's suspicious grin doesn't help either. I suddenly remember Audrey going to eavesdrop and ask, "Audrey, do you remember what the boys were talking about?"

    Audrey nods. "Yeah. Fitzie was leading the research conversation, as expected."

    "Fitzie?" I ask, rolling my eyes. "Let me guess- Fitz's nickname."

    Audrey nods as Laurel says, "That's actually a pretty good nickname."

    I sigh. "We're getting off topic."

    Audrey sighs. "Fine. Anyways, they were talking about David Grahams in general. Just his backstory. He has an older brother who was in the army, but he had an arm be amputated because of an injury." She sees my bored gaze and says, "But you already know that." She suddenly claps her hands together. "Oh! But they also looked into the possibility of Michelle and David dating each other. And they were right- they were dating before they were killed."

    Laurel squeals, "So romantic!" When Audrey and I stare at her, she then adds, "But they're dead..."

    I smirk and glance over and Audrey. "What else?" I ask.

    Audrey snaps back to reality. "Oh yeah! Well, they were also talking about David's injuries-"

    Laurel gags, her face pale. "I- I'm alright..." she wearily says. "It's just that- his injuries reminded me of that unsightly photo..."

At that, we all shudder.

Audrey shakes her head. "Yeah, apparently, a large dagger was used to stab David. And then another person came and kicked that person just before he died, breaking his nose."

"What if they're the same person?"

"Most likely the 'perpetrator', as Fitzie said."

Once again, I force myself to ignore the goofy smile on Laurel's face. "Anything else?" I ask.

Audrey shakes her head. "No. After that, Donovan changed the subject to Benen and our dearest Laurie. Fitzie began asking questions about the two of them, and they got so off topic that they didn't bother going back."

We both glance at Laurel, who's blushing as bright as a tomato. She sees us staring and blushes more.

I laugh. "That's right!" I say, clapping my hands together. I stare at Laurel again. "Don't think I didn't notice you giggling when Benen smiled at you during introductions," I tease, a smile forming on my lips. "Sounds like you make friends easily."

Laurel blushed like crazy at this. "Sophie..!" she whines, hiding her red face underneath her auburn hair. "And besides- we're just friends..!"

"Sure..." I say, rolling my eyes. Audrey laughs as Laurel groans. After Audrey's laughing fit dies down, I ask, "Well? Do you like him or not?"

"What!?" Laurel shrieks loudly, her eyes wide. "Like him?! I- I do not!"

Audrey burst laughing while I say, "He seems like a nice person. A bit dim, I'll admit, but a nice man overall. Does he fit your standards?"

Laurel's blush tones down slightly as she says, "He's not 'dim'..! He just has a big heart. And standards-wise..." She pauses, taking the moment of silence to glare at Audrey. She then walks over to me and whispers, "...Maybe. It's too soon to tell," she adds in a louder voice, most likely as a fake answer to Audrey.

    I smile, earning a gentle smile in response. Suddenly, I notice how similar her present smile is to her suspicious grins. I hesitate before asking, "...What?"

    Laurel only smiles as a very familiar voice whispers in my ear, "I would have liked to stay hidden for a few more minutes, but your friend spotted me too quickly."

    My eyes widen considerably as I shriek involuntarily, jumping out of my chair. Audrey falls back in laughter as I twirl around to see Fitz standing behind my chair, smirking victoriously. "Nice to know that we wouldn't be the only ones who would be eavesdropped on," he says, chuckling lightly.

    "You knew that Audrey was eavesdropping on you guys?" I ask, glancing over at a laughing Audrey. Shaking my head, I can't help but smirk at her.

    "Yeah, Donovan whispered it to me so Audrey wouldn't hear-"

    "Pitts..!" Audrey screams, jumping to her feet. "I'm going to strangle him!" She makes her way to the door, but I hold my hand up, stopping her. She glares at me, but sits down in her original position.

    Fitz then gazes over at Laurel. "I would tell you what Benen said in response for our- mainly Donovan- teasing, but I swore not to tell."

He smiles as Laurel pales. "How much did you hear?" she asks regretfully.

"Not too much. Basically everything after you screamed out 'Like him?!'," Fitz explains, staring at me again. "But don't worry, I swear I won't tell." He smiles reassuringly. And with that, he leaves the room ever so casually.

Brushing myself off, I take a deep breath and sit down, this time putting my laptop in my lap. I open it and say, "Unlike the boys, we should really get back on topic." I open up Google and glance up to see a smiling Audrey.

"Boy, someone's eager to change the topic," Audrey teases, earning a glare from me.

I raise an eyebrow as I stare down at the computer screen again. "You know, Audrey- we haven't said anything about you and 'Pitts' yet..." I click on the search bar and type 'Jacob Grahams' in. Glancing up, I add, "But then again, there's always a beginning..."

Clicking the Enter button, I smile when I'm met with silence on her behalf. And I look up to laugh when I see her blushing. This could be interesting...