Page 3 of The Echo of Forever

Once she was out of sight, I tugged the abstract painting to the left of me from the wall. Behind it was a built-in safe.

After keying in the code and scanning my finger and left retina, I grabbed my personal gun from inside and the onyx-plated blade I never left home without.

My drive into the neutral zone took longer than expected. This side of Everwood being alive tonight worked in my favor.

I parked and walked the two blocks to my destination. The entrance doors were propped wide open, with a guard sitting on a stool outside.

“You here for the mixer?” the gruff man asked, barely looking up from his phone.

The fuck kind of security protocol was this? Were the Cannons always so careless with their space?

“Yup.”

He waved me in, and my frown deepened. Incompetence in my world would’ve cost him his life. Maybe even on the spot, had this been my domain.

“Good evening! If you’re here for the mixer, it’s down the hall, first set of double doors on your right.”

I approached the desk, not in the least bit interested in what was happening up the hall.

“Are there any empty office spaces available to rent?” I asked, forcing myself not to squint.

Fucking headache was quickly turning into a migraine.

“Oh! Yes!” she slapped a visitor’s pass on the desk and pointed. “Take the elevator up to the fourteenth floor and have a look around. Scan that and it’ll give you access.”

Just for a moment, I stared at the bubbly receptionist.

“How do you know I’m not here to rob the place?”

She pointed at the camera I’d already spotted.

“There’s one of these over every inch of this building and the one across the street. Besides, the boss is lenient. He’d probably let you keep it and pretend it never happened.”

I leaned into the counter.

“Why’s that?”

This time, she hesitated, but responded nonetheless.

“You must be new around here. The Cannon family takes care of us. If you’re stealing in the neutral zone, it’s probably because you have no choice…” She looked me over and smiled. “You aren’t struggling, though; it must be about security, right? Trust me, we’re safe. Today’s mixer is for new rejectors. Boss man is careful about how he approaches security around that time.”

Ah.

A new batch of adults deciding their fate had emerged.How could I forget?

“Understood…” I backed away. “I’ll go up and check it out.”

I eyed the placard between the elevators while waiting, finding something way more interesting than browsing the fourteenth floor.

The executive team at Cannon Investments occupied the very top floor. I went up and bypassed an empty reception desk. Afterscanning the names etched in office doors and trying the handles for the hell of it, I reached a split in the hall.

Both were void of more than double doors, and I decided to go left, somehow choosing exactly where I needed to be.

Demetrius Cannon - CEO

The letters were bold over the frosted glass, much different than the script on every other door I’d passed.

“Are you open like the rest?” I mumbled, twisting the handle to confirm my suspicion. “Interesting.”