Chapter 42: Making Friends

Tara's shift was nearing its end and she could not wait to get back to the maids' quarters. All day, all she could think about was that girl in the room. She was not sure how the woman heard her mumbling, but she clearly did. Tara had been taking online classes and was struggling with an overly complex math problem. She could always cheat by using the internet, but she did not want to shortchange herself in the long run. She had taken to repeating the equation repeatedly in hopes that maybe a solution would randomly pop into her head. She had been mumbling this equation all day and no one had been able to hear her.

However, that woman in the room heard her. She heard her and she gave her an answer. At 8pm Tara headed straight to her sleeping quarters and turned on her computer. She input 47, and cross checked the solution. It was correct.

When Tara first looked at the woman in the room she did not seem dangerous at all, but if she could calculate the answers to questions like this in just a few seconds, she was no ordinary person at all. Tara knew she had to be careful with her, but she also wanted to know more about her.

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The next day, Tara prepared Mina's breakfast and headed to her room. She was not surprised to see the tray placed in front of the door. Mina was standing when she spoke.

"Miss please tell me your name." Tara froze with this request. She whispered something to Mina and Mina whispered her reply. The guards could see the girl's lips moving but could not hear them. One of the men cleared his throat and Tara dropped the tray she was holding, sending everything scattering across the room.

The action seemed intentional, but it was an accident. She had let Mina's innocent look persuade her into speaking but the sound of the guard instantly reminded her that she was treading on thin ice. As Tara picked up the things she dropped, Mina stayed completely still. She did not want to get this maid in trouble. Noticing that the doors were still open, Mina looked at the guards and said,

"Big brother A and big brother B. I will not bring you any trouble. I just wanted to talk to someone. Can you at least tell me your name?" The men did not respond, but their hearts were really moved by Mina. She had been trapped in this room for over a week and they had not seen her cry or beg once. She had not tried to escape, and she did not try to kill herself. They had seen many people enter this room and after three days of starving, a lot of them completely abandoned all morals and would try the dirtiest tricks to get out. They would eventually become so filthy that the room would stink, but not this girl. Even though she knew she would probably die, she took care of herself. As if she could sense their thoughts Mina answered them.

"I know I will not live much longer, but I don't want to go crazy before I die. Please just let her say a few words to me when she comes in. Please." Mina's tone was so soft and genuine that it made one of the guards think about his wife at home. The other man looked at the maid who had not left the room and his eyes softened. Since she had come to the Lee mansion, he had been watching her. He did not want to get her into trouble, but he could tell that she was curious about Mina. For the first time, Mina heard the voice of one of the guards as he said, "If president Lee finds out. We are all dead." Mina looked up and tears filled her eyes. She shook her head.

"Forget it then," she said. Mina dejectedly walked to the small table at the back of the room and sat down. She was truly going crazy, but her conscience would not allow her to implicate anyone else.

Tara and the guards looked at Mina quizzically. They knew the woman was desperate, but she did not want them to get in trouble, so she accepted her losses and gave up. This woman was either the best spy in the world or the worst one.

Mina did not realize that her small acknowledgement of defeat, made her three new friends.

----

The next day, Mina was still laying down when her door opened. She did not bother to move or get up. She did not even look to see who came in. But suddenly someone whispered.

"Good morning miss. You can call me Blue. The weather is cold today and the sky is grey. It might snow." Mina was in shock; she was not expecting the maid to say anything to her. She wanted to reply but she felt guilty. As Blue walked out of the room, one of the two guards outside the door winked at her.

"I'll be brother B," he said. Mina could only smile as tears blurred her vision.

What Mina did not know was that late last night, Brothers A and B talked to one another about Mina. They were aware that her time was short, and they took her simple request as a last request. The two decided that if the conversations stayed brief, they would be fine. It was not as though President Lee told them they could not speak to her. Normally, when their boss found someone to be a threat, he would specifically warn them, but he had not done this with Mina. If they got in trouble, they could always use that line of defense when faced with punishment from Mr. Ben who had trained them to be flexible.

Both men did not know why, but Mina did not seem like a spy to them. Judging based on what they knew of the situation, it was more likely that she was set up to take the fall for someone else. So, when the maid in charge of Mina's breakfast came, they told her she could update Mina on the weather conditions, but she could not reveal anything else. Of course, Tara agreed.

Over the next few days, Tara spoke to Mina in passing. She had even started to place Mina's food on the table in the room. Mina enjoyed this brief interaction, and now that she had something to look forward to, her dreams stopped completely. Even brothers A and B spoke to her. Although they did not say much at a time. She felt very content. Her food was still disgusting, but she did not care if she was not left with only her thoughts to keep her company.