Chapter 8: The Beginning of the End

On the first day of my first spring in Echo City, I got an espresso. It was warm but only because of the sunlight. I supposed it would only get hotter from here on out. I styled my hair as best I could, though it was not the kind to take to wax. I naturally looked professional, but today, I had to look important. There was a difference. Though public transport was more common in this blessed city, I took my car. It was a new purchase, but I made enough to afford two of them. Within minutes, I arrived at my location.

It was here, at this warehouse near the edge of the city grid, that I was to rob. This is what Amahle asked of me. I would have expected Anders to not advertise the warehouse as his, considering how expensive and worth stealing the items within were. He was, however, not a man to hide. Everyone who passed by saw the ostentatious signs. Anders was confident. I wondered how he would react to being robbed. All I knew is that I did not want to be the one to inform him.

I was sharp that day. I scanned my I.D. in the machine out front. The guards knew me, but it was still protocol. I had never met them, but I was high up enough within the hierarchy that they had learned my face and name.

“Takes a while,” I commented as I waited for the scan to approve.

“New model also checks the users’ health status. You know, heart rate, blood pressure. No one else can use your card, obviously, but this protects against someone holding you at gunpoint,” one guard explained.

“Smart.” The guard now looked at the machine, interested in the results. Then, it dinged.

“You’re all good to go, Mr. Hensley.”

“Thank you.”

I continued in through the gates and up to the door. It opened automatically, whether because of my card or some higher factor, I do not know. I entered.

My role was clear: I was to enter the warehouse on orders from the development team. Amahle had organized it so I received a legitimate email from my unsuspecting coworkers regarding a pickup to be made for a phone and its corresponding potential ads. It was an important task, but it wasn’t so important that a special delivery had to be made. After all, it was just a phone. I was to show it to marketing and development, mainly for feedback and to brainstorm ideas for Perma Tech. This meant that I could do a favor to my coworkers without arousing suspicion. It gave me entry.

Once inside, it was a matter of navigation. Amahle had given me the layout, and despite a lack of images, I felt familiar with the first step through the door. The structure’s geometrical design reminded me of an Escher painting. There were three visible floors, although some dangerous items were held belowground. More crucial to the mission, Amahle had shown me the room where the prototype lay, which was adjacent to my official destination. What might be considered luck was in fact the expert organization of the COO.

Surprisingly, I was not asked to put my items through a metal detector. The people inside looked at me as if I was supposed to be there. Strictly speaking, this was true. It still felt strange.

“You’re here for the phone, yes?” Asked an approaching figure. She was not dressed as a guard, but rather as I might dress. Her suit was twill, and I worried for a moment that the beauty of the suit would go wasted in a warehouse such as this.

“I am,” I replied with a smile. Just as humans are one to do, her face relaxed.

“Well, it’s going to be in room 3a28. The system is strange, but I can show you the way if you want.”

Normally, I would accept such an offer immediately. She was correct in her assessment, but I couldn’t have her join me.

“I appreciate it, but I don’t want to keep you. The room is down this hallway, right?”

“Oh, you’ve been here before?”

“No, someone told me where to go so I wouldn’t get lost,” I laughed. She laughed too.

“That makes sense. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but one time the boss came here, and I think he got lost too. He never admitted it, of course.” She tilted her head down as if someone might overhear her.

“Of course.” Pause. “Well, it’s been a pleasure meeting you.”

“You too, Mr. Hensley,” she responded. I turned, knowing her eyes were still on me. Fortunately, it was not a suspicious gaze. All I had to do now was follow the plan. A ring sounded out through the empty hallways. My eyes widened. I quickly retrieved my phone.

“Hello?”

“Nathaniel, Nathan, Nate. What are you doing?”

I kept my composure. Most likely, I could be heard.

“I’m just picking up a delivery. Could you call back later?”

“So today, I decided to check up on you. I’m not like that creep. I just went to where you should have been, and they told me you were doing everyone a favor,” she lingered on that word, not so subtly telling me that such an act was suspicious by itself. “They told me that Mr. Nathaniel Hensley was going to drive across town, pick something up, all because he was such a kind and empathetic leader. That’s what they said. By the way, the people working there reveal way too much. They definitely didn’t know I was a detective, and I got more info than I do in an interrogation.”

“Well, I guess I just wanted to raise morale.” I kept walking, noticing that this hallway kept going and going. From the outside, I wouldn’t have guessed that the floor would be this long.

“After they told me all that and a bag of chips, I went across town. Given what they said, the only logical place was the warehouse. Why does it have a giant neon sign out front? It isn’t a damn diner.”

I almost asked if she was outside, but that would be unwise.

“I saw you, wearing your fancy clothes, talking your way into the place. Nathaniel, you might think you’re clever, that you have complete control of your appearance to everyone else, but you didn’t look normal.”

“Maybe you should get a new prescription,” I replied.

“Don’t get me wrong, I would have left if you were nervous or sad or anything like that. I’m not your therapist. Nathaniel, what worried me is that you were excited. You were bright. I haven’t seen that face on you for a long time. I was hoping I would never see it again.”

“I’m going to have to call you back later.”

“Nathaniel, I am going to wait out front until I see you leave with what you are supposed to have. Know that.”

“You too, bye.”

This was not accounted for. Not by Amahle, who probably had never spoken to Henrietta, nor by me. I had no idea what to do, but I still had the most pressing problem: getting the tech out of the building. I kept my face neutral. The cameras in the building were unique, according to Amahle. In some sensitive areas, namely those that contained dangerous or vital inventions, the footage was only viewable to certain employees. Perma Tech was one of those areas. Either way, I had a way around it.

I twisted the door handle to the room, laying eyes on a neat display of expensive items. I smiled. I could not take everything, but I imagined a universe where I could. Sitting in the middle of the room was a rectangular metal container, slightly shorter than me. It was lightweight and came with a built-in dolly handle to roll it out easily. Looking at it now, I understood why such a task would normally be relegated to a truck or by a team of people. I checked my watch, seeing the minute hand approaching ten in the morning. I opened the door as smoothly as I could and rolled the container out.

I looked both ways down the hallway, and upon seeing no figure approaching, bumped the container. Amahle had made sure that the container would be vulnerable to such a weak attack. Out fell a few sketches, a phone, and one finished design. This was my key to cutting off the cameras. A flaw in Antlers’ system was that of its smart recording. Upon seeing what it deems an accidental reveal of technology, it locks down the footage. Only those incredibly high up the ladder could view it. Right now, I was free.

I sprinted to the next door down with the empty container in tow, labeled 3a29. This was the room with the prototype. I opened the door, a surprise to anyone who didn’t know the inner workings of Antler. If there was a step Anders could skip and come off more impressive in the process, he would take it. No doors were locked once inside. It was assumed anyone who had made it this far wouldn’t do anything illegal.

Though it was just one door down and with roughly identical dimensions, this room was beyond comparison. Every container was made of expensive materials, alloys that must have had some special property. I wondered how the items within could be worth more, but I knew they must have been. Sitting in the same spot as the other room was a matching metal container I rolled behind me. This was where the switch was to happen.

***

Olive swiftly traversed the corridors. It wasn’t often anything curious happened in the Antler warehouse. Today, there were myriad. A new and important hire visited, she had just heard a clatter of noises, and to top it all off, she was going to see Anders Askeland in only a few hours.

There was no need for her to stay near the front door. All visits stayed close to schedule, and the next visitor would arrive in a half hour. She saw in the distance a figure crouched down, his hands deftly fixing something.

“Mr. Hensley, is everything okay?” Olive asked from a way out. The figure stood up, locking eyes with her. She froze. He smiled. She moved.

“Everything’s okay. The container was a bit too packed, so when I bumped against the door, well,” he laughed.

“Oh, I understand. Do you need any help?”

“No,” he interjected. “Don’t worry, I got it back in, all good to go. Thank you for the offer.”

Olive looked at him. His styled hair, now a bit messy, accentuated his kind features. She then looked past him.

“Mr. Hensley, the door is open.”

He swiveled his head before laughing.

“Ah, right. That door.” He quickly shut 3a28, before putting his hands back on the container. “I forgot to ask you your name, but you already know mine.”

“Olive.”

“Well, thank you for all your help Olive. Maybe if I have to pick something up again I’ll see you.” He smiled before starting to move down the hallway. Before he passed her, she spoke.

“Have a great day, Mr. Hensley.”

“Everything is going perfect so far,” he responded.

Outside, Detective Henrietta was growing anxious. This was the old Nathaniel she was witnessing, the one who had an unnerving effect on anyone who knew what he was doing. Still, she didn’t want to inform everyone of his past. It was the deal they had worked out long ago. She just had to make sure he wasn’t being nefarious or diabolical. A more fitting word for someone like him was impulsive. He thought on his feet. It was unfortunate.

There he was, stepping out into the sunlight with a curious container rolling behind him.

“Why on earth are they letting one guy transport something?” Henrietta mumbled to herself. She opened her car door and walked over. She watched him converse and laugh with the guards before they opened the gate for him. He met her eyes, keeping that smile. Henrietta absolutely hated it.

“Good to see you, Detective.”

“Show me.”

“You just told me the employees share too much, and now you want me to show you what’s inside this crucial container belonging to a powerful company worth billions?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s move to my car.”

They walked, Henrietta never taking her eyes off the container. It wouldn’t surprise her if Nathaniel had learned some sleight of hand. The two of them reached his car, and she placed herself in front of the door.

“Open it.”

“Okay,” he responded, unlocking the container with a sigh. “Here you go.” The detective scanned the contents. Inside was a phone, sketches, and a large framed drawing. She reached inside. “Hey-”

“Shut it,” she interrupted while studying the phone. It was the new model that Nathaniel was working on. Such information was practically public. Nothing looked off. The sketches and the finished ad were the same.

“Alright, can I go now?” he asked. Henrietta took a long look at him. His expression was neutral, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was happy. If there was one thing she knew, it was that he was never happy to see her.

“Fine, but really? A phone and some drawings? I’m not an idiot. Those aren’t even ‘crucial items’. They’re barely important. You came here for another reason.”

“Maybe there’s someone inside I wanted to see.” The two of them held eye contact for a few seconds. From a distance, it might have been mistaken as romantic. Henrietta scoffed, finally letting Nathaniel load the delivery into his car. She said nothing as he revved up the car, waved, and drove off. Whatever he was doing, she didn’t like it. He had changed.

***

I made my way back to work, and the rest of the day went smoothly. I met with the teams and we ironed out the details. On the surface, it was a normal day. I went back to my apartment a tad tired. When I walked into my living room, I saw it. The most expensive piece of technology known to humanity. The singular invention that could demolish the global economy. The existence that threatened existence. I saw the prototype, and she frowned at me.

“Did you get it or not?”

I smiled. I quite liked Amahle Imada.