Back at the present, Angelo found himself genuinely intrigued despite his initial skepticism. Neiva's tackled the challenge from an unexpected direction.
"An interesting approach, I must admit," Blue's analytical voice resonated through their shared consciousness.
"I would never have thought of that," Red acknowledged.
"That's because you have no concept of how the real world operates," Angelo thought back.
"Hate to break it to you, but neither do you, Angie," Red's mental snicker carried his usual sass.
"Hello? Are you still there?" Neiva's voice pulled Angelo's attention back to their phone call.
"Yes, sorry," he replied, surprised to find himself actually curious about her progress. His original assumption that this was an impossible task seemed less certain now. "So you made an appointment. What did they tell you?"
"About that..." Her voice carried a weight that suggested complications ahead.
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[This Morning]
The Construction Projects Agency headquarters rose like a gleaming monolith against the midday sky, its polished glass facade reflecting clouds and sunlight in equal measure. Neiva's reflection stared back at her as she approached the revolving doors, her borrowed business attire making her look older than her seventeen years. The lobby's marble floors echoed with her careful steps as she approached the reception counter, her heart hammering against her ribs.
The waiting area exuded corporate luxury - leather chairs, artwork that probably cost more than her apartment, and the soft murmur of filtered air conditioning. Neiva crossed and uncrossed her legs, silently mouthing her rehearsed story while trying not to fidget with her borrowed briefcase.
"Diana?" The receptionist's crisp voice cut through her nervous reverie. "The agent will see you now."
"Thank you," Neiva managed, proud that her voice didn't shake as she rose and followed the indicated path to a corner office.
Johnny proved to be a man who seemed designed for his role - perfect smile, immaculate suit, and an enthusiasm that bordered on aggressive. His office smelled of leather and expensive cologne, diplomas and certifications covering one wall while architectural models decorated glass shelves along another.
"Welcome! I'm Johnny, and I'm here to make your construction dreams reality!" His handshake was firm but not overwhelming, practiced to perfection like everything else about him.
"H-Hello Johnny, I'm Diana," Neiva replied, channeling every business meeting she'd ever seen in movies. Her borrowed heels clicked against the hardwood floor as she took her seat.
"How can we help you today?" His smile remained bright and unwavering.
Neiva launched into her prepared speech, each word carefully chosen. "I represent a pharmaceutical company seeking to commission a new laboratory facility. My superior sent me to explore our options." She was grateful for the hours spent practicing in front of her mirror.
Johnny's enthusiasm somehow increased. "Excellent choice coming to us! We maintain partnerships with dozens of contractors specialized in state-of-the-art laboratory construction. Whatever field you're working in, we can—"
"Actually," Neiva interrupted, trying to keep her voice steady, "there's something specific I need to ask about." She watched his expression carefully as she continued. "My boss mentioned visiting a colleague's basement laboratory in Ashford, about eighteen years ago. Though it's gone now, he was quite impressed. Would you happen to know who constructed it?"
The question caused a barely perceptible crack in Johnny's professional facade. His smile flickered for just a moment before recovering. "That's... quite specific, and not something I was prepared to address today. This laboratory must have been truly remarkable to prompt such a specific inquiry."
"It was, from what I understand," Neiva leaned forward slightly, playing up her innocent curiosity. "Would your records possibly go back that far?"
Johnny's fingers drummed once on his desk before he caught himself. "We do maintain extensive records, not just of our direct projects but also projects from other companies, for market research purposes..." He trailed off, clearly weighing his options. "I would need to consult with management about accessing such dated information. Perhaps we could focus on current contractors that I know could meet your needs?"
Neiva felt sweat forming under her blazer but pressed on. "My superior was very specific about researching this particular facility first. What if we scheduled a follow-up after you've had time to check those records? If nothing turns up, we can explore other options then?"
"A week from today?" Johnny suggested, his tone carrying a hint of resignation mixed with professional courtesy.
"Perfect," Neiva stood, offering what she hoped was a confident smile. "I look forward to hearing what you find." She added a small wink as she turned to leave, immediately cringing internally at her attempt at corporate flirtation.
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"So you're meeting him again next week?" Angelo asked, his voice carrying both curiosity and skepticism.
"N-Not exactly..." Neiva's nervous laugh crackled through the phone, suggesting there was much more to the story.
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Neiva's footsteps echoed softly against the corporate bathroom's tile as she paced the small stall, her borrowed heels long since discarded. "A week? They might reject me anyway. I need those records now!" The fluorescent lights hummed overhead as she settled in for a long wait, checking her phone's dimming screen periodically as the building slowly emptied.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Hours crawled by, marked only by the occasional flush from other floors and the steady drip of a leaky faucet. Finally, when the silence outside grew thick enough to suggest abandonment, she emerged from her hiding place. Her legs protested as she stretched, pins and needles shooting through her feet as circulation returned. The bathroom mirror reflected her determination as she smoothed her rumpled clothes and peered into the darkened hallway.
Like a shadow, she crept through the building's maze of corridors. Security lights cast eerie patterns across the walls, and the soft whir of climate control seemed deafening in the emptiness. Every corner held the potential for discovery, every distant sound froze her in place until her heart resumed beating.
Then she saw it - a room lined with filing cabinets and shelves groaning under the weight of countless folders. "Bingo," she breathed, her whisper seeming too loud in the silence. The door clicked shut behind her with what felt like thunderous finality.
A computer sat on a nearby desk like a beacon of hope in the darkness. "These physical records would take forever to search," she muttered, approaching the workstation. "There has to be a digital database..."
The login screen's pale glow illuminated her face as hope turned to frustration. "Damn it!" Her fingers hovered uselessly over the keyboard. "There has to be a password somewhere. People always write these things down..."
She began searching the desk with increasingly desperate energy, rifling through drawers and checking under mousepads. The sound of papers shuffling and drawers sliding seemed to grow louder with each passing moment. Her breath caught in her throat as the door handle suddenly rattled.
Neiva dove behind a filing cabinet, her heart threatening to burst from her chest. Every breath felt like it might give her away as footsteps entered the room.
"Hello? Anyone in here?" A security guard's flashlight beam cut through the darkness, sweeping across the room. "Must be those pigeons again, always pecking at the windows..." The beam retreated, followed by the sound that would haunt Neiva's nightmares - the definitive click of a door being locked from the outside.
The blood drained from her face as the implications sank in. She was trapped, and calling for help would only land her in more trouble than she could imagine.
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"And that's how I ended up here..." Her voice carried the hollow tone of someone who had thoroughly processed their own idiocy.
Angelo had been holding his face in his palm so long it left marks. "Let me get this straight - you broke in, and now you're locked in their records room?"
"That's... yeah, pretty much," she admitted, shame coloring every word. "Please, I really need help..."
"I like her!" Red's enthusiastic declaration echoed through their shared consciousness.
"Naturally you'd be drawn to someone with such a talent for creating chaos," Blue observed with desert-dry sarcasm.
Angelo's sigh seemed to come from his very soul. "Fine... Send me your location. I'll get you out of there."
"My hero!" Her relief was palpable even through the phone. "Sending it now. Please hurry!" The call ended with a soft click, followed immediately by a location pin dropping into his messages.
Twilight had fully descended over Novaria as Angelo's orange aura illuminated the base of the towering office building. His phone's screen cast a ghostly glow on his face as he typed:
> Angelo 7:23PM: I'm here. Use your flashlight to signal your window.
The response came almost immediately:
> Neiva 7:24PM: Okay! 😘
Angelo's eyes rolled so hard they practically auditioned for the circus. "Red, locate the signal and extract her. I'll handle any complications down here."
Red's crimson essence separated from Angelo like smoke from a dying flame, spiraling upward around the building's glass. The dark windows reflected his ascent until he spotted it - a faint flickering light near the top floors. His smoky form slipped through microscopic gaps in the window frame, the darkness of the room absorbing his red essence completely.
Neiva stood alone in the records room, periodically flashing her phone's light. Red materialized behind her, his crimson aura suddenly painting the room in bloody light. She caught his reflection in the window and spun around, heart leaping into her throat.
"A-Angelo?" she gasped, confusion evident in her voice. "I thought your aura was orange..."
Red's predatory grin gleamed in the darkness as his energy tendrils worked the window's latch. "Hey sugar-tits, ready for a midnight ride?"
Down below, Angelo's palm met his face with audible force. "Why did I send him..." he muttered into his hand.
"E-Excuse me?" Neiva's indignant sputter was cut short as Red lunged forward, scooping her up before she could protest. Her scream echoed off the surrounding buildings as they plummeted from the window.
The building's entrance doors swung open, spilling light onto the sidewalk as an elderly gentleman emerged. His carefully maintained mustache twitched as he spotted Angelo staring upward. Following Angelo's gaze, the man's eyes widened in alarm.
"Good lord! Thieves!" he exclaimed, his mustache practically vibrating with outrage.
Angelo turned smoothly, maintaining his professional demeanor despite his internal panic. "Is there a problem, citizen?"
"You're an officer!" The man's voice carried the particular volume of someone used to being listened to. "That red Auron - he just fled from my building!"
"I'll investigate immediately," Angelo replied with practiced authority, his orange aura blazing to life as he launched himself upward.
"Blue, stay here. Make sure he doesn't call this in," Angelo's thought carried clear command. Blue's essence remained behind, hovering near the agitated gentleman for a few minutes before materializing from behind a corner.
"Sir," Blue addressed the man, perfectly mimicking Angelo's voice. "I've investigated the disturbance. Simply another Auron using the building as a traversal point. Nothing suspicious to report."
"Oh... well then," the man's mustache settled as his concern deflated. "Thank you, officer."
"Have a pleasant evening," Blue offered before disappearing around the corner, his form dissolving back into smoke to rejoin the others.
Several blocks away, Red landed on a rooftop with his unwilling passenger. "There you go, you're welcom—" The crack of Neiva's palm against his face echoed across the rooftop.
"How dare you!" she practically vibrated with fury. "I wasn't ready! And that crude comment—"
"Relax, that wasn't me," Angelo's voice cut through her tirade as he landed beside them.
Neiva's eyes darted between the two identical figures, her brain struggling to process the impossibility before her.
"Hahaha, that look never gets old!" Red's cackle only deepened her confusion.
Without warning, Angelo manifested a blade of forged energy, cleaving through Red's neck in one fluid motion. Neiva's horrified shriek mixed with Red's laughter as his form dissolved into smoke and streamed back into Angelo's body, his amusement still echoing through their shared consciousness. "What's wrong, struck a nerve?" Red's mental voice dripped with satisfaction.
Blue's azure smoke reached Angelo and reintegrated with him, then he emerged and solidified beside them, his calm aura casting a steadier light across the rooftop than Angelo's flickering orange.
"My sincere apologies for the confusion, Neiva," Blue's measured tones seemed to deflate some of the tension. "I imagine you have questions."
"What... how are there more of you?" Her voice trembled slightly as she tried to make sense of what she'd witnessed.
"How did you put it earlier? It's a long story..."
The city lights sparkled below them like earthbound stars as they prepared to explain their unique existence to yet another bewildered observer. Somewhere in the distance, a clock tower began to toll, marking the end of another extraordinary day in Novaria.