"Good morning, ma'am," the salesgirl greeted, "right this way"
Without even sparing her a glance or pausing in her stride, Mia walked past her to her intended location with Salesgirl following behind her.
"How is this possible? Why does she get first choice? Another customer shouted to a different salesgirl, I have been a loyal customer for 5 years and still you people treat me like a regular customer? Why don't I get some of the privileges as the other diamond customer?,"
She was shocked for a second but quickly composed herself when she realised that one of her intended targets was in the store, with that in mind she raised her voice for Mia to hear their conversation but Mia didn't pay her any mind.
"Please, calm down ma'am. You are part of our platinum customer, you need to upgrade to our diamond option", the salesgirl tried to explain to the lady in a silk dress.
"And how do I do that?", the lady snapped.
"Someone from the Diamond customer base has to recommend you at the annual membership meeting. And before you ask, I can't provide customer information to you", the salesperson told.
Stomping her feet, she walked out of the store muttering to herself, "This will be the last time you people will have my money", but she knew she had no choice in the matter.
She walked until she reached an alley, turning to make sure no one followed her, she entered. Knocking three times on a door, disguised to look like a brick wall
The person who made the door was a master craftsman who prided himself on his abilities.
"Passcode?" the voice from the other side asked. The lady in the silk dress knocked a rhythmic pattern on the door. A process designed to keep unwanted people out.
Opening the door, "welcome back, Sanchez", the man said, stepping aside to allow her to enter.
The reason he knew who it was, because every member had a distinct entry code.
"Were you able to infiltrate the store?"Steve asked, immediately after she entered.
"No, but I saw one of the four," Sanchez told him.
"And why was she there? Did you find anything else?," Steve asked her, while updating the massive black in front of them.
The big board was covered with pictures of the four girls in different locations, where they met, their day-to-day activities, and everything they could get their hands on was on the board.
"I wasn't able to get in", she stated, her frustration dripping from every word.
It was a shared frustration, despite the money, time, and energy they spent trying to gather information about the four friends, they never made any progress.
What they didn't know was that every piece of information they "found" was fed to them. Every move they made was being watched. Instead of being in control, they were being controlled.