Cameras

In a swift motion, Brandon deftly swiped the note from sight, crumpled it into a small ball, and discreetly tucked it into his pocket. Sienna, utterly absorbed in the fact that Brandon was devouring her breakfast, remained oblivious to his actions.

Assuming Sienna's astonishment was due to his eagerness to enjoy the sandwich she had brought in, Brandon decided to play along. Taking a bite, he flashed a subtle yet genuine smile and remarked, "This sandwich is delicious." After a brief pause, he added, "Thank you."

Sienna, taken aback by Brandon's consumption of the food she had intended for herself, fell into stunned silence. Meanwhile, Brandon, interpreting her gaze as satisfaction at seeing him enjoy her gift, savored each bite without hastening to finish.

As Brandon savored the sandwich, an eye-rolling sensation crept into Sienna's heart. She couldn't shake the feeling that he was shamelessly attempting to steal her breakfast. Yet, as she observed him eat with what she could only describe as "grace," she found herself unable to recall any other man who intrigued her as much as Brandon did.

"Snap out of it, Sienna!" She mentally scolded herself as Brandon finally finished his meal.

"Done already?" Sienna's tone dripped with irony.

"Yes," Brandon replied, sensing her displeasure.

Sienna couldn't believe it. This man had the audacity to enjoy her breakfast while she starved.

"Fine, shall we get to work then?" Sienna's tone sharpened, cutting into Brandon like a blade.

Despite his electronically-built body, Brandon could still read emotions. He sensed Sienna's unhappiness but attributed it to his failure to share the sandwich with her. More importantly, as Brandon suspected, it was likely that she had envisioned enjoying a shared breakfast together...

With a sense of resignation, Brandon nudged the coffee toward Sienna, his tone releasing understanding. "You can have the coffee."

For the umpteenth time in the span of ten minutes, Sienna still couldn't believe what she was witnessing. This man had the audacity to offer her the coffee she had purchased, after he had already finished her sandwich. Suddenly, her appetite waned, and she lost all interest in the meal.

"No, thank you. You can keep it," Sienna replied coolly, settling back to observe the robot.

Brandon frowned slightly, grabbing a beaker and pouring half of the coffee into it before pushing the rest in cup toward Sienna.

Sienna's irritation propelled her to shove the coffee back too forcefully, sending the cup teetering dangerously on the edge. Just as it was about to tip over and spill its contents onto the cables below, Brandon's hand shot out with lightning speed, preventing disaster. However, despite his swift action, some of the liquid still splashed onto Brandon's wristband, where the invisible digital wristband was embedded. In an instant, a fleeting sparkle of light flickered.

Sienna stared in disbelief, wondering if it was a momentary illusion or a trick of her mind. Before she could ponder further, the sparkle vanished.

Brandon, quicker to react than Sienna, had already concealed the incident with his other hand, beneath which a dry piece of paper lay hidden.

As Sienna continued to fix her gaze on the spot where the sparkle had briefly appeared, Brandon, wary of her probing further into the peculiar occurrence, interjected with a hint of complaint, "We're in a lab filled with electronic devices. You should be cautious about what you bring in here."

Sienna raised her head slightly, retorting, "True, and we should finish eating before entering the lab."

Sienna's remark was a thinly veiled jab at Brandon for not taking care of his own meal before arriving, yet expecting to indulge in hers. However, Brandon interpreted it differently, seeing it as confirmation of Sienna's interest in him—assuming she must have been thinking about him while eating before coming to the lab, thus buying him an extra set of meal.

Contemplating this, Brandon found himself slightly amused by what he perceived as Sienna's covert way of expressing her feelings. However, his train of thought was abruptly halted by Sienna's sudden exclamation of concern, "This cable is connected incorrectly. Did you do this?"

Brandon swiftly redirected his attention to the robot, his tone growing darker as he responded, "No, I didn't."

The cable connection was executed with such professionalism and subtlety that it would have gone unnoticed by anyone but the most observant, such as Sienna and Brandon.

Both of them fell silent at this point, exchanging skeptical looks as they contemplated the situation.

Their immediate conclusion was that someone else had been here during their absence. However, the question remained: who could have gained access to this tightly secured location?

More perplexing was the fact that their collaboration on the robot contest was known only to Mr. Brown and Joe. Neither of them seemed likely candidates for this intrusion.

"If we hurry, we can reach the surveillance office before the first wave of students arrives at the building," Brandon suggested.

Sienna silently agreed, already considering the same plan. She nodded, carefully stowing the robot model in the safe and securely closing the door.

In an agile motion, Brandon advanced and swiftly changed the password, his movements too rapid for Sienna to follow entirely. Just as she was about to protest that she should be informed of the new access code, Brandon turned to her.

"34091,"he stated.

"Got it," Sienna replied shortly, falling into step beside Brandon as they made their way to the surveillance office to review what the cameras had captured.

The guard responsible for monitoring the surveillance devices was nodding off, oblivious to their repeated knocks on the door. Realizing they couldn't wait any longer, Sienna and Brandon quietly pushed the door open, and silently entered the room. Without exchanging a word, they shared an unspoken agreement not to disturb the sleeping guard for assistance.

Together, they carefully moved the guard and his chair to a corner of the room, tiptoed over to the table with the screens, and began clicking the mouse and typing on the keyboard in an attempt to retrieve footage from the time they were absent.

But there was no trace of anyone having been there.

"Someone has completely erased the images," Brandon concluded. "Whoever did this..." 

"...is a thorough professional," she finished the sentence for him.

For a brief moment, Brandon entertained the thought of Edward Milton, but he dismissed it with a sneer. If Milton possessed such cunning, he wouldn't have brazenly broken into the print office like what he had done the night before.

Lost in thought, they were startled when the guard suddenly woke up from his uncomfortable position and noticed their presence.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice tinged with confusion.

Reacting instantly, Brandon turned abruptly and moved towards the guard, giving what looked like a "gentle caress" on his neck. The guard immediately fell back into slumber. It was a reflexive action, a self-defense mechanism Brandon had developed after his transformation. It was meant to protect himself when he was alarmed. 

However, he hadn't anticipated performing it in front of Sienna.

Sienna, once again taken aback, now bore a hint of uncertainty, perhaps even suspicion, as she addressed Brandon. "What did you do to him?" she inquired, her voice laced with unease.

"Um... He's just sleeping," Brandon replied, his tone tinged with doubt. How much had she seen?

"Right..."Sienna cast a sidelong glance at the guard. Apparently, he was even more deeply asleep than he should've been.

Sienna was about to step forward to check the guard when Brandon burst out, "We should recommend upgrading the cameras inside the lab." 

That brought Sienna to a halt in her investigation of the guard. She seemed to be struck by inspiration, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she exclaimed, "Aha, I've got a wonderful idea."

"What is it?" Brandon quickly asked, hoping to divert her attention.

"We can add one more feature to the robot - a hidden camera, disguised as its eyes," Sienna suggested.

"So the robot could make movements based on what it captures," Brandon added calmly.

For the first time that day, Sienna looked at Brandon with approval and praise, satisfaction evident in her expression.

Brandon let out a sigh of relief, secretly. He then walked to the screen, placed his hand on the mouse, attempting to close the files they had just opened to return the screen to its original state before the guard closed his eyes. 

However, just as he did so, Sienna's eyes caught sight of one of the surveillance screens, where Allan Batman seemed to be stealthily making his way toward a classroom.

"Aha," Sienna smirked inwardly, "This boy must be searching for the person he writes notes to! Tracking his trail would certainly unveil the mystery of the note." 

With a sudden burst of energy, Sienna jumped to her feet and, without much hesitation, placed her hand on the same mouse Brandon was using at that moment.

Their hands touched.

It all unfolded in a blur of motion - Brandon's invisible wristband began to emit a piercing alarm, signaling the drain of power from his body, electronic currents flowing towards Sienna. But Sienna appeared completely engrossed in tracking Allan Batman on the surveillance camera, oblivious to the fact that her hand was tightly covering Brandon's.

Before Brandon could retract his hand, Sienna was already engulfed by the stream. "Ah!"she screamed, propelled backwards. Brandon rushed to her side, attempting to catch her with his arms, but the moment they made physical contact, the beeping intensified.

Afraid of causing Sienna further electronic shock, Brandon had no choice but release her halfway. With quick thinking, he used his force and speed to maneuver a rocking chair behind her, ready to catch her fall.

With a loud thud, Sienna slumped into the rocking chair.