Miles' POV
I stopped in my tracks, completely and utterly flabbergasted. "What do you mean you've never met her?!"
"I don't know who the hell she is. Didn't know she existed until today."
"Then how did you do what you just did?" I was so confused, and my face was probably showing it too because I had to wait for him to finish laughing.

"Let's walk and talk, my friend." We began walking to the bus stop while he explained everything to me. "I knew the receptionist's name was Michael because I saw him on Employee of the Month board, on the wall at the far end of the room."
"Michael? Employee of the Month? You sure?" I said, astoundingly.

He nodded and continued, "Turns out, he's quite a sappy boyfriend. He's got loads of short love notes plastered on his notice board."
"And you're the only person who noticed it," I retorted, grinning.
"Not funny," Cecil replied, unamused. "Anyway, I found one that said 'Most guys give the girls a gift, but you gave me my Rose' - that's Rose with a capital R -so I just assumed that was his girlfriend's name."
"Wow." Was all I could say.

"Then I looked at Michael again and saw that he was on his email account, on the Sent page. There were loads of emails to the same person and the last one said, 'Even though you're quite common, you're my special flower."
"Ouch," I muttered.
"Yeah, not his best one. I just said she was angry to get leverage. Then a little later, the sunlight seeped in through the window and reflected off his glasses, so he moved away and turned the screen too."

We turned left at the end of the road and saw the bus stop outside the local post office. Cecil continued, "At that point, I couldn't see the computer so I looked at the reflection on his glasses and saw what date he sent the email on. It was sent eight days ago, on the 19th of October. He didn't send a more recent one, so I assumed that she didn't reply to his email yet."
"So that's why you said she was ignoring him!" I exclaimed. 'I'm catching on!'

"Yep, I also pretended to know her so it would sound more realistic. But something weird happened to me back there. I don't know how to explain it but... it was like someone was inside my head, telling me where to look."
I gave him a quizzical frown. Cecil continued, "Like, I heard a voice tell me to where to find everything. I know, I sound completely crazy."

"No, not at all. I've been experiencing some... strange things too." I replied, shivering at the thought my sudden vision of Astra. I pulled out the slip of paper from my pocket and read the address again, then quickly scrolled through my phone to find out the bus times. "I'll tell you about it later. Looks like the bus is coming soon."

Cecil and I waited in silence until a double-decker bus arrived less than a minute later.  We climbed up the stairs and sat near the front of the left row. After four stops, we reached the address and made our way to an old toy factory. When we reached the rusted gates, I checked my watch. "6:11p.m. We've got plenty of time... I hope." It was already half an hour after sunset, and the sky was only going to get darker.

The front of the factory was away from any roads or housing estates so there was nobody around. I tried to push open the gates, but the lock was still firmly in place. I took out the hammer from my backpack and smashed the bolt into shattered pieces of corroded metal, shielding myself with my bag. The lock gave way and we pushed our way in as the doorway groaned and creaked to a halt.

Running over to the building entrance, Cecil hissed, "What if it's a trap?"
"I'm ninety-nine percent sure it's not a trap! Or even ninety-eight percent... maybe seventy-four percent," I whispered back. I tried to open the doors but they wouldn't budge, and my handy hammer couldn't help this time. "There aren't any windows. How do we get in?"

Without a word, Cecil shuddered abnormally and walked towards the building, his hands shoved into his trouser pockets. He craned his neck so much that I thought he was going to fall backwards.
"There's a rooftop window up there," he explained, pointing at a glass dome in the centre of the roof.
"Well, that's great but how do we get up there?"

"You brought some rope, right? We'll just climb up and tie it to one of the chimneys, then slide down after breaking open the hatch." he said, grinning proudly.
"Alright, Mr Smarty Pants...but that's easier said than done." I teased as we slipped on our gloves.
"I think I prefer 'Sir Smarts-a-lot'," he said. Shaking my head vigorously, I stuck my finger in my mouth and pretended to gag. After I composed myself again, I rubbed my hands together and exhaled quickly, "Let's go."

We walked around the building to the skip, where piles of rubbish bags flooded the bins. Scraps of paper littered the ground, and the place smelled worse than a skunk's bottom - not that I know what a skunk's rear smells like, by the way. The lids of the bins weren't closed properly, but they sat stably on the bin bags which were peeking out at the top. "Come, help me up," Miles beckoned to me as he stood beside one of the smaller bins.

I weaved my fingers together and locked my hands firmly, creating a sturdy foothold for him. He placed one of his feet onto my hands and I heaved him over the bin. Then, he gripped my wrists and pulled me up. 'Ugh, I'll stink for days,' I thought to myself. "Now all we have to do is climb up that pipe, shimmy across the ledge and jump onto the roof," he explained, tracing an imaginary map with his finger.

I grumbled, "Not to mention, find a way to unlock the dome and get down without making any noise."
"You seem to have forgotten that this was your plan," he retorted.
"Well I didn't think it involved dumpster diving."
"Technically we're just walking over the bins. Just make sure you switch your phone off. We don't want Mrs Webb calling to ask if you've eaten anything during the middle of the mission," he replied, stuffing his phone into his back pocket.

I reached into my pocket and wrapped my fingers around Sabrina's bracelet. It felt unusually warm but it made me feel safe, knowing that there was someone I could potentially turn to for help.