Richard and Fawn went to their usual route toward the W.A.S.P. office building when they noticed a part of the road got blocked off with yellow tape. Amidst the cracked streets and the surrounding debris, Richard squinted his eyes as an officer looked over a broken billboard he destroyed nights ago. Police advised people passing by to take a different route.

Richard sighed. He had no other option but to go the long way today. Hopefully, this wouldn’t get him late for work.

Considering the stuff that happened yesterday, Richard might get fired in due time if he kept it up. He couldn’t imagine how low his score is on Mindy’s scoreboard already, and arriving late twice in the same week would worsen things between him and the other workers.

“You know, if you get fired, it’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Fawn spoke up. “So you don’t need to feel bad.”

“Huh? What are you saying?” Richard asked.

“If you’re worried about losing your job, there are some positives we can look over. For example, there’d be no stopping us from checking out the tower.”

“Are you kidding me?” Richard stopped in his tracks. Fawn did the same and turned to face him. He clenched his fists and stared at the floor. “I’m getting used to the environment and warming up to my workers...” He looked up at Fawn with fire in his eyes. “Now you’re saying I should quit?”

“No, it was just a suggestion!” Fawn insisted. “Sorry if I sounded rather selfish.”

“Oh…” Richard calmed down and sighed. “It’s ok, sorry for that knee-jerk reaction.”

“It’s fine, let’s just keep going.”

Richard and Fawn finally made it to the office building. They stop to find a poster on the front door, saying it’s closed.

“Huh? Why is it closed?” Richard questioned. “Does this mean I can have a day off?”

“You sure about that?” Fawn raised an eyebrow. “We still have work to do, you know.”

“Well, we can at least go back and look at the tower now.”

“Actually, I know what we can do instead.” Fawn grinned as she stared at the doors. “Let’s sneak inside.”

“Um, are you sure about that?”

“Of course, hang on just a minute.” Fawn phased through the doors and possessed the control pads to have them activate the doors and open in front of Richard. “Come on, let’s go.” She whispered and flew further inside.

Richard gulped and stepped inside, following her.

.-.-.-.

As Richard tried to find Fawn, it occurred to him how different the place looked with the lights off and nobody around. The ambiance and atmosphere felt intense. Everything around him was near pitch black, the only source of light being from the moonlight outside the building.

Richard tried to find his footing as he stumbled around in the dark. A sharp pain hit him on the head; he rubbed his head and groaned. Once Richard got his bearings straight and his eyes adjusted to the dark, he trudged upstairs to the cubicles. Shuffling sounds echoed on the floor once he entered the place.

Normally, Richard would be terrified, but he had a hunch on who made the noise. He walked along the walls and went to find the light switch. A flashlight hovered in his direction as he reached over to grab it. Richard turned the device on and pointed to the source; right by the office, was where Fawn messed with some file cabinets.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” Richard hissed.

“Searching for clues,” Fawn replied. “I’m certain we can find something rather juicy or interesting and not have to worry about anyone catching us.”

“But what about—?”

“The tower can wait. We can do that after this. We've got plenty of time before you turn into a blob.”

“Gee, thanks for the reassurance...”

Richard scrolled through the drawers and file cabinets, but had no such luck. Fawn went through different doors to check the rooms since they were locked, but couldn’t see much either.

After some time passed, Richard took a break and rested on the nearest chair. As he slumped and pushed back, he bumped into the keyboard. The computer turned back on in a flash, Richard jumped out of his seat and fell backward. He got up as Fawn went towards him.

“Are you ok?” She asked.

“Yeah, but...”

“Who’s there?” A voice echoed out through the halls.

Richard’s eyes widened. There was another person here, after all. He crawled under one of the desks while Fawn kept on watch. A light pierced through the darkness. It swayed from left to right, examining the different objects in their view.

“I heard a sound,” They spoke up. “I know you’re here somewhere, so show yourself or else!”

This is bad, I’m going to get in trouble! Richard thought, biting his lip.

“Don’t worry, I got an idea.” Fawn proclaimed. She leaned over to whisper the plan in his ear.

“But what if it doesn’t work?” Richard whisper-asked.

“Don’t worry, as long as you don’t make noises, it’ll go without a hitch. Now hurry!”