Jessie was quite bored, despite the beautiful studio apartment around her, despite the beautiful weather outside, despite it all. She lounged on a huge beige sofa-bed, and leafed through a magazine, and looked occasionally out the window across the room.

Her room was neat, but objects collected over her 23 years of existance scattered across the room made the room look homey. She wondered if the paintings leaning negligently along the wall should be hung up, but decided the casual style was better.

A knocking at the door surprised her. Who would be bothering her on a Saturday?

She walked softly to the door in her bare feet, and opened the door without looking at the peep-hole. As she saw who was there, her heart sank. She should have checked and pretended not to be there, she thought.

"Hi, Jeremy, what do you want?" She said.

Jeremy smiled and said, "Hello, Jessie. Are you busy? I need to talk to you."

She sighed. From experience, she knows it would be impossible to get rid of him until he's had his say. Why on earth does she still know him after all these years was beyond her?

Opening the door wider, she was about to let him in, but he said, "Actually, I have some friends here, we need to come in." At that, he pushed pass Jessie and entered the room. A big muscular man in black suit came in after Jeremy, supporting a younger man who was almost limp.

"Oh my God, what the heck happened to him?" Jessie couldn't help ask.

"Shhh, Jessie, keep it quiet. Please. I don't want anyone to hear us." Jeremy indicated that the young man should be laid on the sofa, and the older man sat down in the arm chair across from the young man.

Jessie was full of questions, and Jeremy tugged her towards the section of the room sort of walled off as the kitchen. He said, "Look, Jessie, I have been working for Alien Control. I know you didn't know, but I have. That's my partner."

Jeremy pointed to the big guy who hadn't moved a muscle since sitting down. Jessie wanted to laugh because he looked so much like the Men In Black.

Jeremy pointed to the wounded young man and continued, "We have been observing him for the last few days, and I am certain he isn't human. I don't have any proof so I can't bring him into my headquarter. I need to interrogate him."

Jessie jumped at that, "What, and why don't u go to your place to interrogate him? You have no..."

Before she could finish, Jeremy said, "Look, this is for the good of humanity. Cooperate."

Jessie was very unhappy with the situation, but she decided to she might as well see what will happen now. The young man had regained some consciousness and looked around the room scared and confused.

She rushed over to check on his wounds. She said, "Don't be frightened. I just want to make sure you leave here alive. Okay?" She tried to smile, but the ugliness of his wounds were horrifying.

As she tugged his shirt sleeve up, she saw the arm was heavily bruised, and as she tried to wipe some of the blood away from the elbow, the skin peeled off to reveal a mechanical arm.

"Oh my!" She dropped his arm that she was supporting and fell back. Could he honestly be an alien?

Jeremy stepped forward smiling, "I knew it. I just knew you weren't human." He pulled on the young man's mechanical arm, and pushed it upwards trying to get the young man to stand up. At that, the young man yelped in pain, and cried out something in Chinese.

Jessie had heard that phrase before, when she was little and still lived in China. But she couldn't imagine where. As she studied the young man more closely, it suddenly dawned on her that her childhood best friend used to say that phrase all the time.

That was it, he reminded her of her best friend, Ping. She exclaimed, "Get away from him, Jeremy!" And she rushed forward and gave Ping a big bear hug.

Ping, of course, wimpered in agony. Jessie realized that she was hurting him, and let go. "I am so sorry." She said.

Realizing it would take some more time to explain her discovery, she told Jeremy to leave. For once, she was very firm.

"I don't care, get out. You can come back for him later. He's in no position to leave. Go get coffee or something." Jessie commandingly pushed Jeremy and his partner towards the door.

Jeremy was so surprised at her sudden authority that he meekly left. Jessie shut the door and double locked it.

"Ping, I am so sorry to hurt you." Jessie said as she sat down beside him.

Ping's head shot up hearing a name that he hasn't used for years. "How.. w... how did you kno..w...w. my ... ch.i.. na..me.?"

"It's me, it's Yang. Remember, I used to sit next to you in elementary school." Ping certainly looked doubtful of what Jessie was saying. After all what were the chances of meeting someone he hasn't seen for so many years. Jessie kept on telling him stories of their childhood, and finally some trust showed in his eyes.

"How can I help you?" Jessie asked.

"I.. I am okay. I think not..thing vital was wounded. Damn ..ahhh...that big guy knows how to beat people up. Ouch." Ping said as Jessie continued to help him clean up.

"We have to get you out of here."

He stopped her hand that kept avoiding the metal arm, and said,"Aren't you going to ask about my arm?"

She looked up at him, and relunctantly said, "I am curious, but it's up to you whether you say anything or not."

"Jessie, right? That's what you go by now." Jessie nodded. "Well, Jessie, I am an alien."

"You see, my parents, my alien parents were intergalactic travellers. When we arrived on earth in our conscious form, not physical, we decided that the human race would be an interesting place for me to grow up. On the other hand, they had to leave, so they found a mentally challenged child and place my consciousness into that child.

"I grew up with my alien conscious submerged beneath that of my human consciousness. That's why I was such a strange child, I am sure you remember why we became friends in the first place.

"Like you know, I immigrated to United States and I changed my name too. I go by Peter now. I was fine until an accident in high school. I lost my arm in an explosion. What terrible luck! Aye?

"Anyway, my parents put in a mechanic arm for me, and with my alien knowledge I modified it a little. I guess that's why those Alien Control guys caught me, they must have detected the radiation coming from this arm."

Jessie listened in silence. She was stunned, yet nothing in her mind changed. This was her friend, her best friend for many years, even if they haven't seen each other for years. Whether she was being naive or something else, she decided she must help him.

If Jeremy and his bureau found out about Peter, they would kill Peter through the torturous experiments they'd put him through.

"Peter, we have to get out of here. I can help you."

"Jessie, it's not that easy. If they can detect this radiation, then they'll find us. You would be under suspicion, too."

Jessie grabbed a few things from the room and put it in a back pack. "Are you strong enough to walk to my car?" She asked.

"I guess." Peter answered. His coloring was returning a little after the long chat and the nutrious cup of soup she'd heated up for him. He was regaining some of his strength.

"I have a tool kit in my car. You can turn off your mechanic arm in the car. It will be kinda difficult for you to move, and not at all with that arm, but then they can't find us for a bit."

Jessie helped Peter up and they were reaching towards the door. Through the window, Jessie saw Jeremy's car pull in the driveway.

"Damn." she said. She led Peter towards her huge window and as soon as Jeremy and his partner disappeared in the entrance of her apartment building, she opened the big windows and help Jeremy out. It was difficult for him to jump down to the roof/veranda outside the window.

She climbed out after him and they ran to the fire exit. She never thought she could run so fast, but they managed to get to her car in the minimum amount of time. They escaped the clutches of the evil Jeremy and his hunchman partner.

As Jessie stepped on the gas of her car, she looked over to Peter and wondered when she should tell him that she was an alien, too.