Marie settled into her sleeping bag on Alice’s floor next to Sophie. The green and white lights from the S.E.A. cars were getting closer, and she could only hope they would pass them by. Her dad was spread out on the couch, getting ready to sleep, looking more like his old self now that he had shaved. Marie asked that he took the couch, and he didn’t put up too much of a fight. The lights were off in the main room, though she could see the crack of the light under Alice’s bedroom door. She sensed Tom was far worse than he pretended to be, which was already bad to start with. Charles was staying until they finished everything Tom needed. Though, the later it got, the more Marie figured he’d be spending the night too.

Even though it was well past midnight, Marie, Sophie, and her dad had no intention of falling asleep. Marie could see the lights of the S.E.A. cars fill the room. Her dad got up and crept near the windows. Marie propped herself up on her elbows to watch. She had no idea what time it was exactly, but she knew she was exhausted from everything, and sleep would do her some good. And sleep would only come once she knew the cars were on their way. Marie watched as her dad peeked through the window blinds as inconspicuously as possible. He turned back to the wall and took a shaky breath.

“They’ve stopped just outside,” he said.

Marie felt a jolt of panic. Her dad strode across the apartment and opened the door to the bedroom. “S.E.A. cars stopped outside your apartment,” her dad told Alice and Charles.

Alice didn’t waste a moment. “Gather sleeping bags into my room and make it seem like only I live here.” She tore off her latex gloves and threw them in the trash. “Charles, do what you can with Tom and the supplies.”

Charles nodded as he peeled his own gloves off. “Quick, get in your PJ’s.”

Alice nodded as she ran to her dresser, grabbed her pajamas, and ran to the bathroom. Marie quickly gathered up her sleeping bag and stuffed it in Alice’s closet. Her dad and Charles gently lowered the table and wheeled Tom under Alice’s bed as carefully as possible. Charles tried to make the IV stand look like a coat rack by draping one of Alice’s coats over it.

Marie ran to the kitchen to double check there were only enough dishes in the sink to make it look like only one person lived here. Thankfully there weren’t too many. She washed a few utensils, her fingers trembling, before drying them and stuffing them in the drawer.

Alice flew out of the bathroom wearing her pajamas and threw her bathrobe over her. There wasn’t too much that needed to be straightened, but they triple checked everything. Marie hoped this was a false alarm, but knew it was best to be prepared just in case it wasn’t. The panic inside her was starting to rise. She felt her breathing coming in shallow and uneven.

Alice ushered them into her room when they heard the door to the apartment complex open. The S.E.A. must have had a master key to get into all the apartments in the city, and the thought of that made Marie feel a spike of paranoia.

They entered Alice’s bedroom to see Charles there, looking exhausted but alert as he finished hiding most of the supplies in the closet. The smell hit her, and she felt another bout of fear. If the S.E.A. tried to search the apartment, they would smell their makeshift hospital and find them.

Her dad brought her close to him, and Marie hugged him tightly, feeling her body trembling. Alice walked in, shaking a bit as she stared at nothing.

Charles closed the door to Alice’s room and pressed his body against it, running a hand through his hair. All of them were deadly quiet as someone pounded on the door of Alice’s apartment.

Alice waited. She took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. Charles was watching her, anxious. Alice nodded, then Charles opened the door and let her out. She closed the door behind her. Charles folded his arms, his ear close to the door. Marie reached out and touched Sophie’s hand, slick with sweat.

They heard the front door open. “Can I help you?” Alice’s voice traveled through.

“Good evening. There’s been a situation in the city, and we’ve been asked to search all suspicious apartments,” a male voice said.

Marie closed her eyes, backing farther into her father’s protective grip.

“Oh?” Alice asked.

“Your apartment has been deemed suspicious,” another voice, female, replied.

There was a pause. “May I ask why?” Alice asked.

“It’s almost one in the morning, and your bedroom light is on,” the male voice said.

Charles glanced at the light, then rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Alice gave a giggle that Marie could have sworn was genuine. “And that makes me suspicious? I was reading. It’s a really good book.”

“We all like to devour good literature now and then, but alas, we have our orders,” the female said.

Charles quietly walked around the room to make the final touches. At first, everything seemed to be in order, but if anyone did a more thorough search, which these agents certainly would, they were going to find some evidence to ruin the underground in Musical Land for good.

“But that’s not suspicious.” There was a touch of terror in Alice’s voice that Marie wouldn’t have caught if she wasn’t looking for it. “You can’t just barge in here and search my apartment if I’m not doing anything suspicious.”

Charles opened the small closet door and ushered everyone inside. It was going to be a tight fit with the sleeping bags in there as well, but it would have to do.

“Yes, in fact we can. President Arnold himself has deemed this a part of keeping Musical Land safe. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear,” the female said.

“Wait!” Alice said, the panic now obvious in her voice. Marie felt her mouth go dry as she pressed her lips together. Charles joined them in the closet and softly closed the door. There were wooden shades in the door of the closet, so they could see thinly out the room. “Okay, look, I’m sorry. I wasn’t actually reading. I… I…”

“Come on, spit it out. It’s better if there’s no secrets from President Arnold,” the female said.

Alice gave a sigh. “Okay. To be honest… my boyfriend is over.”

There was a pause, then Charles let out a breath that sounded a lot like “Genius!”

Charles turned to Marie’s father and whispered something. He nodded. Charles opened the closet door and closed it softy behind him, already slipping off his shoes. Charles hopped on one foot while taking off his sock, and did the same with the other foot. He grabbed her hamper and scattered her shirt and pants on the floor. Marie and Sophie had their noses pressed against the wooden shades.

“Your… boyfriend?” the male asked.

“Yes. Sorry. I… my family doesn’t know about him, and I haven’t told them yet. I… I don’t think they would approve. Especially with how late he’s over.”

Charles pulled his shirt off and draped it over the chair. He turned, and Marie could see a well-defined six pack. Sophie made a sound, which brought Marie back to the whole situation, enough to give her friend a swift elbow to the side to shut her up.

“How long have you two been dating?” the male asked.

“Almost a year.”

“A year! And you haven’t told your family? Why wouldn’t they approve?” the female asked.

“Oh, he’s a medical professional at the S.E.A,” Alice said.

Charles mussed up his hair even more before giving the room a final look.

“Well… may we see this boyfriend?” the female asked.

Charles stumbled to the door.

“I…” Alice began to say.

Charles opened the door of her bedroom. “Hey babe! Did I hear someone wanted to see me?”

Marie heard silence on the other side of the door. She would have paid big money to have seen the look on all their faces at that moment.

“Hey babe!” Marie could only sense a fragment of fakeness behind Alice’s tone. “These are agents from the S.E.A.”

“Oh! Good evening. It is such an honor. I’m a medical professional at the S.E.A.,” Charles said. “Did you know that?”

“I told them that, babe. No worries,” Alice said.

“We need to check this woman’s apartment. The light was on, and we’ve been instructed to check all suspicious apartments,” the male said.

“Oh yes. The light was on. You are smart people,” Charles said. “No wonder you’re agents for the S.E.A.”

Marie frowned. Charles manner seemed to bug Marie, nothing at all like himself. Was he a bad actor? Alice joined Charles’ side and she grabbed his arm and draped it around her shoulders. At first Marie thought it was Alice trying to do more with the charade, but when Charles went to go kiss her he closed his eyes and completely missed and hit her cheek very close to her lips. Alice giggled as they tried to focus their attention on the agents, and that was when it hit Marie. Charles was acting like a stupid, hot robot that everyone expected of scientists. Robots who could spout out information but weren’t clever at all with social cues. Just someone there to look at. Marie frowned. She knew it was just an act, but it made her angry when she saw the female agent’s eyes linger on Charles before following her partner into the room. Part of Marie’s anger was out of hypocrisy. She had treated Charles like that on more than one occasion. Hot shame trickled through her, despite the quickly dangerous setting they found themselves in.

The male agent folded his arms, looking around the room. Marie backed away from the wooden shades. They couldn’t see her, but she wanted to, just in case.

“So, why was your light on?” the male asked.

“I have to have the light on, or else I can’t find my girlfriends lips to kiss them,” Charles said, as though simply stating facts. He was way too convincing as a stupid robot.

“Clearly have to keep your eyes open, too,” the female said before giggling. The male rolled his eyes. Charles waited a few seconds before giving his own forced laugh.

The male agent sniffed. “What’s that smell?”

“Oh, that’s me again. I’ve been cleaning,” Charles said. “I prefer my rooms to be extraordinarily clean. See, I come home from work helping sick people, and I’d hate to spread it. Germs can live up to twelve hours outside the human body, and sometimes as much as twenty four hours, and therefore it’s important to me to-”

“Yeah, okay,” the male said, having no qualms by interrupting Charles for being too boring.

The female shook her head, giving Alice a pitiful look. “Sounds exhausting.”

Alice only shrugged.

“Now, we need to inspect your apartment for any suspicious activity,” the male agent said, glancing in the direction of the bed before quickly averting his gaze.

“But of course! Let’s start in the kitchen!” Charles said.

“Oh, but, if we’re here wouldn’t we just start-” the female agent trailed off as Charles confidently left the bedroom and headed for the kitchen. Alice gave another shrug before following Charles. The female agent giggled again as she looked at the male agent. The male agent grumbled, but they both left the bedroom. Marie swallowed, then glanced at her dad and Sophie. She wasn’t sure what they were supposed to do now, but the concentrated look on her dad’s face said there was a plan. They heard talking in the kitchen. Marie could catch a few words, Charles talking a touch louder than socially necessary, droning on and on about one of the kitchen appliances. Marie was certain he was ignoring all the social cues that the agents were giving him as they searched the kitchen.

“Stay close,” Marie’s dad said as he grabbed Marie and Sophie’s hands. They were still silent as they listened to the voices enter the living room. Marie could still only catch some words, but not enough to understand what they were talking about. Charles voice was the most prominent, with Alice adding a few quips here and there. The agents seemed mostly silent as they searched.

“Bathroom next?” Charles asked.

“Oh, is the bathroom necessary?” Alice asked.

“Yes,” the male agent said, already sounding like he’d had enough of the search.

Marie’s father pressed a finger to his lips and led them quietly out of the closet and toward the door. Marie heard the click of a door shutting. Her father quietly opened the bedroom door.

“Hey, babe?” Alice asked.

“What is it, babe?” Charles asked. “Oh, was I supposed to keep the door open?”

“Ah, no, that’s fine. It’s just... the lights?” Alice said.

“Oh!” Charles said before letting out a large laugh, slightly louder and longer than seemed socially appropriate. Marie, her dad, and Sophie were creeping out into the hall when they saw the light at the bottom of the door. Her dad grabbed their hands as they moved silently into the kitchen. They sank behind the counter, trying not to breathe too loud. Sophie had her eyes closed as she gripped Marie’s arm.

The bathroom door opened and the small group chatted before entering the bedroom. Marie chewed the inside of her cheek as she tried not to imagine what it would be like to face President Arnold again. They kept the door open, and Marie could hear them talking a little better. Marie swallowed, grateful she didn’t have a chip inside her brain at this moment.

They thankfully didn’t stay long in the bedroom, as Charles was droning on and on about the germs that could be found around the bed, probably sharing a bit too much about the things that grow on beds. Marie had a feeling it was to deter the agents from looking too closely.

They came out and Charles kept chatting their ears off, talking all about the things he did at work. Marie closed her eyes, the quiet burn of shame in her gut was there. It was mostly masked by adrenaline, but she couldn’t help but feel it, too. She remembered her brief encounter with Charles at the S.E.A. building, how he seemed to ask more questions he already knew, and she began to wonder how much of his work personality she was seeing at this moment.

She missed the joke the male agent said, but she heard Alice and the female agent laughing. Charles waited a beat before joining them, laughing louder than necessary. She hated that he was being treated like this. And she hated that she herself treated him a little like how the agents had done.

The door closed and they heard the agents depart, but Marie, her dad, and Sophie still remained on the floor of the kitchen. Marie felt a trickle of relief that was threatening to burst. She didn’t dare relax until they were completely gone.

“There they are,” Alice said. “Why are you waving? They’re not even looking up here.”

“Keeping up appearances,” Charles muttered.

Charles and Alice entered the kitchen, and Marie allowed herself to relax. Sophie started to shake next to her.

“They’re gone,” Alice said.

The group headed back to Alice’s bedroom. Charles immediately went to the bed and knelt. “Tom? You okay.”

Tom gave him a weak thumbs up gesture. Alice tossed Charles his shirt and he threw it on.

“That was some fast thinking,” Marie said to Alice to stop herself from watching Charles put his shirt back on.

Alice gave a small, exhausted smile. “I’m just glad it worked.”

Charles sat on the chair by the desk, looking as though all the pent-up exhaustion hit him all at once. He tried to straighten his messed up hair to no avail. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I should have turned the light off.”

Alice placed her hands on her hips. “I may be good, but I’m not going to operate on Tom with just a flashlight. Come on. A few more stitches, then we’ll be done and we can turn off the light for good.”

Charles nodded and helped Marie’s dad and Alice wheel out the table from under the bed and set it back up again. Once all the equipment was back and Charles and Alice were working on Tom’s leg, Marie, Sophie, and her dad left the room with their sleeping things.

Marie once again settled into the sleeping bag, staring at the ceiling. She felt the adrenaline seeping out of her bones, leaving her more exhausted with the bad side effect of jumping at every little sound. Sophie covered her eyes with her arm. Marie glanced at her friend, trying to guess what was going through her mind. Sophie had promised to stay with the underground because they were the only ones who were trying to get her memories back. However, Marie had a feeling that if any more scares like that were to happen, Sophie wouldn’t last much longer.

“There’s no way this will be an everyday thing, Sophie,” Marie said.

Sophie lowered her arm. “How are they going to hide us all? Especially considering one is an old man who probably won’t be able to walk for months.”

Marie tried to stifle the growing panic. She admitted things were not looking good at all, but she couldn’t give in to the panic.

“We’ll just take it one day at a time,” Marie said. “It will work out. I promise.”