Page 97 of The Last Morgan

Inside, the building felt different. The familiar sterile white marble lobby and the grand staircase leading up to the executive floors — usually so bustling with life — were dead silent. Their footsteps echoed unnaturally loud.

David met them at the side entrance, his face pale. "I've never seen level ten clearance used before. This should be fun"

Lucy exhaled slowly, feeling the weight of what was going to happen, settle into her bones.

They piled into the service elevator in a tense, quiet huddle. The air was thick with expectation. No one spoke as the elevator hummed down into the depths of the building. “You need to get them to change this music Lucy, it’s depressing me” Corey added to an already tense situation

Lucy could feel Byron standing close behind her, his presence a silent shield. She wasn't sure if it was him or the idea of what they were about to find that made her skin buzz with static electricity.

The doors slid open to reveal... nothing.

Just a blank, concrete hallway with one unmarked door at the very end.

“This feels like a trap,” Corey muttered under his breath.

Lucy squared her shoulders. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” she said as she pushed past him taking the lead.

They made their way slowly down the hallway. Every step echoed too loudly against the concrete walls. At the door, Barnaby stepped forward, his laptop balanced on one arm, his other hand shaking slightly with excitement.

“Here goes nothing,” he said.

The door had no lock, no handle — just a smooth surface. Barnaby frowned, tapped on the surface of the door, and suddenly a small square panel slid open, revealing a hollow the size of a coin.

Lucy blinked.

“Barnaby?”

Barnaby grinned. “Insert Coin Number One.”

Byron pulled the first coin from his pocket and handed it over. Lucy took it, fingers trembling slightly, and pressed it into the slot.

The wall shuddered.

A panel slid away, revealing a second recess, identical to the first.

Barnaby gave a low whistle. “Clever bastards.”

The second coin went in.

Another shudder, another panel sliding away.

Behind it was the third slot — and a small blinking light, waiting.

Lucy inserted the final coin.

The light blinked green.

A final hiss of hydraulics, and the door in front of them split open, sliding into the walls with a soft mechanical sigh.

Inside was a narrow staircase, leading downward into darkness.

“Great,” Corey muttered. “Because creepy stairs always end well.”

Lucy giggled, “Let’s go.”

They descended carefully, their footsteps muffled by the heavy air. The deeper they went, the colder it got. The scent of damp earth and old metal grew stronger.

At the bottom was another door; Barnaby's laptop pinged.