"Why can't I be the bad cop?" I inquired, walking beside Miles to the desk.
"Because," he said.
"Because why?"
"Just because!"
"Ok, fine. But I'm telling you now that I would be an excellent bad cop."

Miles chuckled and crossed his arms on the counter as his expression darkened slightly. I stood at his side and beamed at the receptionist. The receptionist didn't smile back. He was definitely grumpy today.
"Welcome to Business Wings, where our services lift you off your feet..." he droned on in boredom, "...blah, blah, blah. What do you want?"

Miles and I exchanged quick looks. 'This guy is obviously not very social.'
"Um, hi. We were wondering whether we could ask you some questions-" I told him before he interrupted me.
"Apart from this one?"
"Well, yeah. We wanted to ask you some questions about a particular customer you may have had. It's quite urgent."

He smiled at us and replied sarcastically, "Of course, please have a seat and I'll get back to you...never!"
Just then, Miles slammed his hand against the desk and hissed, "Listen, pal, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Answer my friend's questions or else..." He scanned the desk and picked up a pencil from the pot near the computer. Then, one-handed, he snapped the pencil with just his fingers and dropped it in front of the man. The guy didn't look amused.

The receptionist fake yawned and flicked one of the pieces in Miles' direction, but he was able to swiftly catch it right before the wood hit his nose. That startled the man a bit but no other reaction came. 'Time for a different approach,' someone said. I didn't recognise the voice but it sounded like it was coming from me. 'Did I imagine that?' But yet, the voice continued to speak, somehow guiding me around the room. I briskly examined the stuffy lobby and spotted some key clues.

I turned back to the receptionist and said, "Oh, by the way, Michael, I spoke to your girlfriend the other day. Rose says she wants to break up with you."
"What?!" Michael exclaimed.
"Yeah, she didn't appreciate your romantic gesture. You really shouldn't tell a girl she's common, you know. Maybe that's why she's ignoring you..."
"What are you talking about? She hasn't contacted me because she's on holiday!"

"Is that what she told you? I literally saw her two days ago."
"No, no, no, she can't be breaking up with me. I'm too likeable!"
I pretended to waver and said, "If you want... I could persuade her not to dump you-"
"You can? Oh, please-"
"If you answer my questions."
He cried out, "Ask me anything! Who cares about customer privacy when your relationship's at stake?!"

I grinned at Miles who was looking at me in astonishment. Turning back to Michael, I asked, "Have you had anyone order a large amount of name tags under the name Alfred J. Brooks?" I saw him type in the name into a search log and waited impatiently for the screen to load up.
"Nope, sorry. We haven't had a customer under that name. And it's quite common for someone to buy many name tags, especially for conventions or school events."

I had one more idea. Taking a piece of paper and a pen from the desk, I scribbled the logo I saw on the crates and the van, and spun the page round so Michael could see.
"Have you seen this sign before?" I asked him. He stared intently at the drawing, lifting his black-rimmed glasses to see it more clearly.
"Hang on, I think I have, actually. If I could just..." He typed something on the keyboard and clicked the mouse a few times. He then twisted the screen so we could get a better look, and showed us a sped up version of the security footage.

Rewinding the video, he paused on an image of a man in a hoodie, with his back to the camera, facing Michael at the desk. "This customer came in at around 11pm last Sunday, when the store was closed. I was working late that night so the lights were still on inside but the neon signs outside were off," he explained. "I thought I locked the door three hours earlier but he came in with ease. I didn't want to start a commotion or anything, so I asked him if he needed anything and he told me that he wanted two hundred name tags by the next day."

"Is that an unusual order?" Miles chimed in.
"The order wasn't unusual but coming in hours after the closing time is definitely strange. Also, most of our customers order cards online now. It's just more efficient - especially for such a big order like his. But the weird thing was that when he came in, the lights began to flicker and dimmed down so I couldn't see his face. And this is the only camera that caught him in the room. All the other ones temporarily failed. Anyway, he gave me a piece of paper with the delivery address. No name, no phone number, no email address, no nothing."

"That is weird," I muttered to myself.
Michael continued, "He was wearing a holographic badge with the same symbol. I thought it was cool so I asked him where he got it and he just stared at me. He literally bored into my mind, as if he was hypnotising me. I suddenly locked eyes with him and couldn't loosen the gaze. I wasn't able to think or do anything. It was like I was paralysed or frozen. I felt a cold chill run down my spine and when I finally got a grip on myself, he was gone."
'That's what happened to me!' I thought, deciding not to speak up.

"Wow," was all Miles could say. Michael found the address and slid the paper across the desk. Taking the slip, Miles thanked the receptionist. "You don't understand how much you've helped us. So thank you, again."
"Yeah, yeah," he replied, waving us off jokingly. "Just keep your end of the deal, alright?"
"You got it," I said, "The next time you see Rose, she'll have completely forgotten what happened. And if I were you, I wouldn't bring any of this up either."

We left Michael at the reception and exited the building. Walking alongside me, Miles blurted out, "That was amazing! We were so lucky you knew Rose."
I smirked and said, "By the way, I've never met Rose in my life."