“What’re you doing?” A voice asks and Gwen glances over her shoulder, seeing Alison.

“Eating?” Gwen responds, confused by her question.

“Yeah, I can see that, but why aren’t you eating the lunch Harvey made for you?” Alison asks, gesturing at the brown paper bag next to Gwen’s elbow.

“And don’t you say that he can’t cook because I know he can. I remember when you invited me over and he cooked.” Gwen swallows and curls her hand around the can of soda in front of her.

“It’s not that he can’t cook,” Gwen begins, lifting the can to her lips, “It’s just…” She pauses, taking a sip of the soda, before setting the can back down on the table.

“His cooking makes me homesick.” She murmurs, taking another drink from the can. Alison snorts and Gwen tips her head forward, waiting for Alison to speak, to tease her.

“Gwen, that’s--”

“Stupid, I know. But it’s true. Whenever he makes me a lunch, which is almost every day, you know what he does?” Gwen asks and Alison moves to sit across from her, resting her elbows on the table. Gwen adjusts her glasses before reaching into the paper bag, pulling out the contents. Every item she pulls from the bag has a brightly colored sticky note attached. Alison reaches for the one stuck on the water bottle and tugs it off, eyes scanning the words.

“‘Be sure to stay hydrated! Do your best and work hard! Love you!’” Alison reads, her eyebrows lifting. She looks up at Gwen, who averts her gaze, holding the soda can against her lips. Gwen focuses on the wall behind Alison, eyes tracing the cracks in the concrete. There’s rustling as Alison pulls another sticky note.

“‘Made with lots of love. I miss you already. I love you.’” Alison reads and Gwen sips her soda, trying to ignore the pang in her chest.

“‘I love you no matter what happens. Remember I’m always with you, even when it feels like we’re thousands of miles away from each other.’” Gwen grits her teeth, bringing a hand up to wipe at her eyes.

“Are you crying?” Alison asks and Gwen shakes her head, fixing her glasses.

“Something in my eye,” Gwen says and finishes her soda, setting the can on the table. She sighs and pulls the last sticky note from a small bag of chips and reads it aloud.

“‘Your eyes are like tide pools. When you’re smiling and laughing, the tide is out and your eyes seem lighter. When you’re angry or sad, the tide is in and your eyes seem darker, deeper. I love your eyes, they tell me everything that you can’t put into words.’” Gwen rests her head on her hand, staring at Harvey’s neat handwriting.

“I hate him sometimes. When he does this.” Gwen says, gesturing to the sticky note.

“Wha--” Alison begins but Gwen cuts her off.

“Whenever I read these, I wanna go home and hug him for as long as I can, just so he knows how much I love him because I know that I don’t tell him enough,” Gwen says and takes the rest of the notes from Alison’s hands, putting them in a stack. She sets them aside and packs the paper bag back up, standing. Alison glances up and stands as well.

“We should get back to work. I’m sure Reginald doesn’t want us to sit and chat about silly things. We have better things to do.” Gwen says, taking care of her trash. Alison frowns and gives her a look.

“Talking about loved ones isn’t silly.” She says and Gwen looks at her, seeing her curled fists and narrowed eyes.

“You’re right. But there’s a time and a place for everything. This is neither the time or the place. We’ve got work to do.” Alison nods curtly and walks away, leaving Gwen standing there, holding the crumpled paper bag in her grip. She turns and picks up the stack of sticky notes, rereading the top one.

“‘I love you no matter what happens. Remember I’m always with you, even when it feels like we’re thousands of miles away from each other.’” Her breath catches in her throat and she coughs, trying to clear it. She shakes her head and stuffs the sticky notes into her pants pocket, moving from the room. She stops by her desk, picking up a new folder that hadn’t been there when she’d left for lunch. She flips it open, setting the bag down before taking a seat. She frowns, reading through the papers in the folder. She stands, her chair rolling away from her. Still reading, she makes her way from the room, reaching the lobby and the rows of elevators. She stops and scans her badge next to an elevator, hearing it beep twice and the light above blink from red to green, the doors sliding open. She steps inside and hits the button for the 8th floor, waiting for the doors to shut again to continue reading from the folder.

“What the hell…” She mutters to herself, flipping to the next page.

“Fuck.” She spits, pulling her phone from her pocket. She dials a number, glaring down at the paper. The call connects with a click and Gwen speaks before the person can say hello.

“Tell Reginald I need to talk to him. I’m already on my way up.” The person on the other end makes a bird-like squawk and there’s rustling and Gwen can hear a button being pressed.

“Sir? Gwendolyn needs to speak with you, she’s on her way up.” The voice is muffled like the phone has been pressed into someone’s shoulder.

“I’m… I’m in a meeting!” Comes the tinny response. Rustling follows and the voice that speaks into the phone is clear.

“He’s in a meeting.” Gwen scoffs, the elevator stopping on the 4th floor to collect more passengers.

“Bullshit he is. Tell him it’s important.” She glances at the other passengers and hisses into the phone.

“Regarding Project Phoenix.” One of the people near her gives her a look and she ignores them, waiting for the voice to respond.

“Sir, Gwendolyn says it’s important. Regarding… Project Phoenix.”

“Fucking shit. Alright. Gimme five minutes.” The tinny voice grunts.

“I’ll be there in three,” Gwen says and hangs up, sliding her phone back into her pocket. She flips the folder closed, seeing someone trying to read off a page. She glares and the person, a disheveled man, clears his throat and shifts away from her, moving to stand near the elevator doors. Everyone but the disheveled man gets off the elevator on the 7th floor, the doors sliding shut with a clank. Gwen taps her foot against the floor, glancing over at the man, who clutches a briefcase to his chest. The doors slide open on the 8th floor and Gwen moves, pushing past the man on her way out of the elevator. She reaches Reginald’s office in a matter of seconds, flashing her badge to the secretary sitting behind a desk. The secretary glances up and nods, waving her on. Gwen shoves open the office door and Reginald yelps, spinning his chair away from her. She pauses, collecting herself before approaching the solid oak desk that Reginald sits behind. She places the folder down on the desk and presses her palms against the wood.

“How the hell did the media find out?” She says, her voice steady. Reginald turns his chair, straightening his tie.

“What the hell are you talking about?” He snaps and Gwen slides the folder closer to him.

“This was on my desk after I came back from lunch. I don’t know who put it there but look at it.” She says, taking a seat in one of the leather chairs in front of the desk. Reginald glances at Gwen and flips open the folder, reading through the papers. It takes him a couple of minutes to read through all the papers and once he’s finished, he flips the folder shut and drags both hands down his face with a groan.

“What the fuck.” He says, standing. He moves to stare out the window. He turns and meets Gwen’s eyes, a frown on his face.

“What’re we going to do about this?” Gwen asks and Reginald sighs, walking back to the desk. He sits down and taps his fingers against the folder.

“Nothing. We can’t do anything. We don’t have the money to pay the news stations and the radios to keep quiet about this. Just… Continue working on Project Phoenix. Just get that done.” He says and Gwen stands with a curt nod, turning and leaving the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

---

The door to the lab beeps twice and admits Gwen into the room. Gwen clears her throat and the whole room goes silent, the tapping of computer keys ceasing and the rustling of papers flutter to a stop. All eyes turn and lock on Gwen, who stands in the doorway, arms crossed tightly over her chest.

“Who told?” She asks, her voice echoing in the silent room. No one speaks, everyone glancing at one another. Gwen sighs and moves farther into the room.

“Somehow, the media found out about Project Phoenix. I’ll ask again, who told?” Whispers sweep around the room like wildfire.

“Hey!” Gwen snaps and the whispering stops, fearful looks cast around the room.

“Whoever told is going to get a serious asswhupping.” Joseph pipes up and Gwen fixes him with a glare. He holds up his hands.

“I’m just saying… You said if the media found out, you’d kick--”

“I said I’d kick your asses. All of your asses. Plural.” Gwen cuts in and Joseph pales. Gwen cast her gaze around the room, seeing the scared looks in everyone’s eyes. Gwen sighs and fixes her glasses.

“When I find out who told the media about this…” Gwen begins, only to trail off when her phone buzzes. She grits her teeth and glares at everyone.

“Get back to work.” She snaps and leaves the room, heading for the break room. She answers the phone with a heavy sigh.

“Hello?”

“How’s work going?” Hearing Harvey’s voice startles her and Gwen frowns, taking a seat.

“Fine. Is everything ok? You usually don’t call me during work.” He lets out a laugh and Gwen catches the nervous note.

“Harvey, what’s wrong?” She asks and he clears his throat.

“Nothing really… Just… They’re talking about you… The lab, really.” Gwen sighs.

“I know. Someone told someone about it and now the media knows.”

“Yeah, but… Have… Have you looked outside the lab?” He asks and Gwen moves to the window, peering outside. People holding up signs pace up and down the street in front of the lab.

“Jesus christ.” Gwen mutters, dragging a hand down her face.

“Yeah. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I’m listening to the news in my truck, that’s how I know they’re there. Get home safe, alright?” He asks and Gwen nods.

“Hey, before you go…” Gwen says and Harvey hums in answer. Gwen shuts her eyes and lets out a quick breath.

“Um… I got your notes.” She says, her voice coming out as a whisper.

“And?” Harvey asks and Gwen can hear the smile in his voice. She chuckles, feeling a smile curl her lips.

“Just… Thank you. Whenever you write them, I… I just feel a whole lot better.” Harvey chuckles.

“That’s the point.” He says and Gwen hums.

“I love you. Really.” She says and there’s a pause on his end.

“I love you, Harvey.” She says again and he lets out a small laugh.

“I know, and I love you too. I’ll talk to you at home. See you then.” He says and the line goes dead before Gwen can say her goodbyes. She pulls the phone away from her ear and frowns at it. That was unlike him. Calling during work and then hanging up so abruptly. She shakes her head, deciding not to think about it too much, and slides her phone back into her pocket with a soft sigh. The break room door creaks open and Iris steps inside, closing the door behind her. She leans against it, looking at Gwen, her hands behind her back. Gwen raises an eyebrow at her and Iris swallows.

“I… I did it. I told.” Gwen clenches her jaw and sighs.

“If you’re going to lie to my face, at least look me in the eye.” Gwen snarls and Iris flinches, dropping her eyes to the floor.

“I know you didn’t tell. You’re covering for the person who did. Tell me who told.” Gwen says and Iris doesn’t speak.

“If you’re not going to tell me, stop wasting time and get back to work!” Gwen snaps and Iris wrenches open the door and scurries out, the door banging shut behind her. Gwen pulls her glasses from her face and rubs her eyes, yawning. She turns away from the door, putting her glasses back on. The break room is small, counters lining one wall with cupboards above them. There are two couches that can sit three people each and a small tv in the corner. Gwen walks over and flicks the tv on, the screen flickering to life.

“Recent reports of protestors at Voltech Lab have flooded the station. Apparently, they are protesting something called… ‘Project Phoenix’. To find out more, our field reporter, Christina Kelly, live at Voltech lab. Christina, how are things there?” The news anchor asks and the screen shifts from the newsroom to outside the lab. Christina, a woman of average height with curly auburn hair that bounces when she shakes her head and dark brown eyes, stands in front of the camera, a bright smile on her face, showing off her dimpled cheeks.

“Thanks, Todd. I’m here in front of Voltech labs, where at least twenty people are currently outside, protesting. Let’s see if we can’t get some answers from one of them.” She moves toward the crowd of people holding signs.

“Excuse me, sir? Would it be alright if I ask you some questions?”

“What do you want to know?”

“Why you’re protesting, really.”

“Hmm. That project they’re working on, Project…”

“Phoenix.”

“Yeah, Project Phoenix. It’s cloning. It’s unethical. Just because they have the technology to do it, doesn’t mean they should, you know?” Gwen shuts the tv off and sighs heavily.

“Goddamn it.” She mutters and rakes a hand through her hair. The break room door creaks open.

“Gwen? Melanie found something that you should see.” Alison says and Gwen nods.

“I’ll be right there.”