Well, this isn't quite what I expected. Which way do I go?The fourteenth and last level of the building was dead simple. In front of me was a hallway. The hallway extended across the entire floor, splitting it in half.
On the left side of the hall, there was one set of double doors, halfway across the level. On the right, there were two.
Well, if I had to guess, the left side is the president's office. Single door tends to indicate that. What would that make the right side?I sighed, wiping sweat from my brow. This has gone on too long. I'd like to get home.Might as well go ahead and take a look.
The door opened smoothly, with only the slightest creak of surprisingly old-style hinges. Inside... well, it was dark. A bit of light was coming in... just enough to see the shape of a large, oval table inside, surrounded by some fairly large chairs. A conference room? Looks like the windows are partially polarized. Why is that? Fully polarized, maybe, for a presentation... or mostly unpolarized, the rest of the time... but not quite totally? Strange.
I slipped into the room, gently pushing the door almost, but not quite, closed behind me. That should be enough to let me eyes acclimate. Good. Now, what's- GAH! What was that?! I thought I wasn't standing in the light from the door!
...
...must've just stood in the wrong spot for a second. Okay, I can see where I'm going now... and there's the window control. Polarization... down to normal... and there we go. Normal light's better for details... I turned around, looking back at the table... and they must've been in a meeting. [Malleus?]
[ALL STABLE AND UNCONSCIOUS. INJURIES RESEMBLE THOSE SEEN BEFORE.]...I've got a bad feeling about this. Gulping nervously, I slunk over to the conference room door, back into the highway, and over to the other set of doors. Looking to and fro nervously, I slowly, carefully, began to push the door open...
...only to nearly fall on my face when I saw who awaited me inside. Tre and Cinque? When did they get here?! They clearly noticed me, because Cinque got up out of the impressively luxurious chair she was waiting in, while Tre simply nodded.
I walked into the room, now significantly more relaxed than before... and full of questions. Before I could ask any of them, though, Tre came out from behind the old, well-cared-for wooden desk, walked right past me, and opened the door I'd closed behind me. "Was he successful?," she imperiously asked the empty hallway.
One soft, rippling noise later, Sein jumped out out of the floor, and nodded. "Sure was!"When did she-
As I thought that thought, a sobering realization came to me. Don't tell me she was-
Tre's expression softened a bit, and she turned to me. "I believe you know what I'm looking for."
Wordlessly, I dug out the Relic case, and handed it over. ...not that I actually had any plans for the thing. I would've probably just tried to bribe the doc with it, anyway. As soon as the case was in her hands, Tre lifted it up, cradled it in one arm, and popped the seal on it in one smooth motion.
A second or two later, she resealed the case, and gave me a small smile. "Good work." She raised her voice, pitching it to carry through the room. "Everyone, form up for transport. Sein, I trust you were able to record Imma's progress through the building?"
Sein nodded, grinning. "Every bit of it... though some of the angles weren't the best. He kinda caught me by surprise once or twice."
...she did. She recorded the whole thing. This is bad. This is very bad for my bank account.
Once Tre's eyes were off her, she sidled up to me. One arm went over my shoulder, and I felt her whisper, very, very quietly, in my ear. "I didn't see what you did on the twelfth level. You owe me a favor, 'kay?"...okay, so maybe it isn't so bad. I smiled, placed my hand on hers, and squeezed lightly.
"Good. We'll talk later." She pulled her hand back, and stepped back a few paces. Shortly after that, the office dissolved in the usual transporter effect.
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.
On the left side of the hall, there was one set of double doors, halfway across the level. On the right, there were two.
Well, if I had to guess, the left side is the president's office. Single door tends to indicate that. What would that make the right side?I sighed, wiping sweat from my brow. This has gone on too long. I'd like to get home.Might as well go ahead and take a look.
The door opened smoothly, with only the slightest creak of surprisingly old-style hinges. Inside... well, it was dark. A bit of light was coming in... just enough to see the shape of a large, oval table inside, surrounded by some fairly large chairs. A conference room? Looks like the windows are partially polarized. Why is that? Fully polarized, maybe, for a presentation... or mostly unpolarized, the rest of the time... but not quite totally? Strange.
I slipped into the room, gently pushing the door almost, but not quite, closed behind me. That should be enough to let me eyes acclimate. Good. Now, what's- GAH! What was that?! I thought I wasn't standing in the light from the door!
...
...must've just stood in the wrong spot for a second. Okay, I can see where I'm going now... and there's the window control. Polarization... down to normal... and there we go. Normal light's better for details... I turned around, looking back at the table... and they must've been in a meeting. [Malleus?]
[ALL STABLE AND UNCONSCIOUS. INJURIES RESEMBLE THOSE SEEN BEFORE.]...I've got a bad feeling about this. Gulping nervously, I slunk over to the conference room door, back into the highway, and over to the other set of doors. Looking to and fro nervously, I slowly, carefully, began to push the door open...
...only to nearly fall on my face when I saw who awaited me inside. Tre and Cinque? When did they get here?! They clearly noticed me, because Cinque got up out of the impressively luxurious chair she was waiting in, while Tre simply nodded.
I walked into the room, now significantly more relaxed than before... and full of questions. Before I could ask any of them, though, Tre came out from behind the old, well-cared-for wooden desk, walked right past me, and opened the door I'd closed behind me. "Was he successful?," she imperiously asked the empty hallway.
One soft, rippling noise later, Sein jumped out out of the floor, and nodded. "Sure was!"When did she-
As I thought that thought, a sobering realization came to me. Don't tell me she was-
Tre's expression softened a bit, and she turned to me. "I believe you know what I'm looking for."
Wordlessly, I dug out the Relic case, and handed it over. ...not that I actually had any plans for the thing. I would've probably just tried to bribe the doc with it, anyway. As soon as the case was in her hands, Tre lifted it up, cradled it in one arm, and popped the seal on it in one smooth motion.
A second or two later, she resealed the case, and gave me a small smile. "Good work." She raised her voice, pitching it to carry through the room. "Everyone, form up for transport. Sein, I trust you were able to record Imma's progress through the building?"
Sein nodded, grinning. "Every bit of it... though some of the angles weren't the best. He kinda caught me by surprise once or twice."
...she did. She recorded the whole thing. This is bad. This is very bad for my bank account.
Once Tre's eyes were off her, she sidled up to me. One arm went over my shoulder, and I felt her whisper, very, very quietly, in my ear. "I didn't see what you did on the twelfth level. You owe me a favor, 'kay?"...okay, so maybe it isn't so bad. I smiled, placed my hand on hers, and squeezed lightly.
"Good. We'll talk later." She pulled her hand back, and stepped back a few paces. Shortly after that, the office dissolved in the usual transporter effect.
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.