Day 4

Thursday, June 9, 2045

Kaden stepped out of the elevator and onto the 5th Floor. It was his first time on this floor, and after his experience on the 10th Floor, he was wary of any wards. Thankfully, nothing assaulted his senses as he made his way to the admin desk in the entry lobby.

He set a handful of boxes on the desk and looked around for a moment. From what Kaden had seen of the Tower so far, the overall interior design and furnishings were always well coordinated, but there were unique differences on each floor. This floor had a cool gray color scheme, with accents of yellow and green. Shelves with binders and storage cabinets lined the walls in the waiting area of this floor, giving it a more casual, worked-in feel than some of the other Tower floors.

Apparently, the entire fifth floor was the Facilities Maintenance department. Kaden wasn’t sure what the full scope of this department actually did, but it was certainly good to learn more about each floor and who worked where inside the Tower.

Before he turned to go, a small group of people walked by the front desk on their way to the other side of the office floor. One of them, a young woman, looked up at Kaden and smiled as she walked by.

Kaden felt his knees lock and his chest freeze. His face tried to smile back, but the result was closer to a tortured rictus than a casual smile.

I wonder who that is, Kaden thought. Long, glossy black hair shimmered down her back. Captivated, he couldn’t look away as she sashayed out of the lobby.

He shook his head. He didn’t have time for this.

Even though it was only the fourth day of the internship, Kaden felt mounting pressure to find out what happened to his father’s company as quickly as possible. New challenges appeared each day of the internship, and the risk of a premature departure from the program was all too real.

He felt fortunate his job in the Mailroom gave him access to many areas within the Tower, but he also felt he needed to take advantage of that access sooner rather than later. He just didn’t know how, or where to look. He pondered this problem as he made his way back to the Mailroom.

There were a number of possible paths to take that could accelerate his access to information about the Tower, its systems, and its history. He could try sneaking into a vacant office or try to find a records room, but that seemed like finding a needle in a haystack and overly risky of being discovered. He could ask more questions of the new contacts he was meeting, but he didn’t know whom he could trust. The last thing he wanted to do was call attention to himself and the past that he and his family had with the Company – a past that remained hidden at the moment. The best path seemed to be leveraging his growing relationship with Sandy and possibly Peter. He needed information, and they both seemed willing to trade for it, if each in their own way.

What he really needed, Kaden thought, boiled down to two things. Firstly, any intelligence that would keep him in the program as long as possible. That meant more info about his competition. Sandy would be his source for that information. Secondly, he needed leads on where to find out what happened to his dad and their company. He decided to broach the subject obliquely with Peter or Julia and see where it led.

Back at the Mailroom, Peter was absent, but Julia was in her office and her door was open. Kaden walked over and knocked on the door jamb.

“Good morning,” Kaden said. “Mind if I ask you a quick question?”

Julia looked up and smiled briefly. “Sure! How can I help?”

“I was curious about the Company logo, actually. It’s two nested triangles in the shape of an hourglass. But I was wondering if it was somehow related to a three dimensional shape: two pyramids upside down and nested together.”

Julia frowned. “How do you know that?”

“I’m sorry?”

“How do you know about the twin tetrahedral shape? Who told you about that?” Julia clarified.

Kaden’s voice stuck in his throat for a moment. His thoughts raced. This was not the reaction he expected. He couldn’t tell her about his father’s research; he had to think of some other reason.

“The demonstration on the first day,” Kaden replied. “When Alexander Wolfe killed the monster with a green whip. His weapon was in that shape. I guess it just reminded me of the Company logo for some reason.”

Julia held up her hand. “Have you talked to anyone else about this?”

“No, I was just wondering – “

“It would be best if you do not discuss this with anyone else. Alexander was foolish to use that weapon in the demonstration. His arrogance causes problems for us all.”

Julia sighed and explained.

“Technically, the specific geometric configuration of the mana crystals that power our wards and weapons is a Company secret. A carefully guarded and closely held secret that interns are not authorized to know. In fact, very few outside of the Manufacturing and R&D departments know any details about how Company products are made. You’ve never seen the interlocking tetrahedra before because of the tamper protections built into every Company product.”

“So … why did Alexander’s weapon not have those tamper protections?”

Julia sighed again and smiled wanly. “This is another secret, but since you already know, I suppose it won’t hurt to tell you that his ‘weapon’ wasn’t manufactured. It was found. In a dungeon. Before he made it into that green whip he’s so proud of, it was probably the heart or some other important organ of a powerful magical beast.

“Now hopefully that satiates your curiosity. I would strongly advise you to keep these secrets to yourself and stop asking more questions. It will only bring you trouble. None of this discussion leaves this room. Understood?”

Kaden nodded. “OK, understood. And thanks for the explanation,” he said as he left the office.

But in his heart, he knew he couldn’t let the matter rest. So many secrets! He was glad to confirm that his Dad’s research was connected with the Company’s mana crystals, but what he had learned only sparked more questions. How had his Dad known this Company secret? Or had he discovered it independently? Is that why the Company had bought his father’s business?

Peeling the onion, Kaden thought. Just like Dad used to say all the time. One layer at a time…

Julia was not going to give him any more information, that was clear. And from now on, he knew he needed to be much more careful about the types of questions he asked. If he signaled he knew too much, he would attract unwanted attention.

Checking the time, he saw it was almost noon. All the deliveries were done for the morning, so Kaden decided it was time for lunch and a check-in with Sandy. He grabbed some peanut-butter treats as he headed out the door.

The Sandy tracker app let him know that the pudgy Corgi was currently on the 3rd Floor in the Cafeteria, so Kaden headed straight there. Probably making his rounds, Kaden thought.

He found Sandy sprawled on the floor, stretched out and begging for another belly rub from a group of giggling young women.

“Aww!”

“So cute!”

“Absolutely adorbs – why can’t my dog be so cute.”

Kaden rolled his eyes and waited for the group to move along. As they left, he approached Sandy, treat in hand.

“Hi Sandy,” he said, offering him the treat. “How’s your day going?”

The reply popped up on Kaden’s glasses.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

Eh, can’t complain. Gotta give the ladies some love, ya know?

Sandy chomped down on the treat and then looked back expectantly for more.

Stick with me, kid, you’ll have your own groupies some day.

Kaden just shook his head and gave him another treat.

“So what can you tell me about the other interns?” he asked.

By the way, kid – I appreciate you helping Cliff get his stash. Mark can be a handful sometimes. Not my favorite supplier. Although both of you seem to have the same taste in treats.

“The other interns?”

Yeah yeah, don’t rush me. Geez, I got the memo. It’s in progress. But I can already tell you that you’re not the most popular guy. Might work on making friends.

Kaden shrugged. “What do I need them for when I have you, Sandy?” He reached down and scratched the dog behind the ears.

Ha! No need to blow sunshine up my ass. I’ve had enough of that today already. But you do have a good point. You certainly want to keep on my good side.

The Corgi licked his lips and stretched, tail wagging.

Before I go – any interns in particular you want dirt on?

Kaden thought for a moment. “My teammates, Bill and Jill. I want to know if there’s anything I should be worried about. Also Patricia Stamford, she could be a problem for me. But in general, I want to know what I need to know to survive against the competition in this game as long as possible.

“And Mariko Asano,” he added.

Alright, I’m on it.

The dog started to waddle away. That dog definitely didn’t need any more treats, Kaden thought.

And just so we’re clear – I’ll have some more deliveries for you to make for me. I’ll be in touch. Ciao!

Kaden stood up and shook his head, watching the wagging tail turn a corner and disappear. He had to admit the incorrigible cuteness had its charms.

It was almost noon, so Kaden messaged Bill and Jill to see if they wanted to meet up for lunch. Both agreed and they decided to get together in a few minutes.

While he waited, Kaden went to one of the shiny, stainless steel espresso machines at the coffee bar and made himself an Americano. He wondered what Sandy meant by more deliveries. There was definitely something going on behind the scenes, and he really needed to find out.

He took a sip of his coffee appreciatively. The job certainly had its perks.

Kaden met up with Bill and Jill on his way to the chopped salad station. They all ordered their salads, and with food in hand, the group found a quiet table to have a team meeting.

“So,” Kaden said, swallowing a bite of chicken caesar, “The code for all the wards we downloaded yesterday. What do you guys think? Anything particularly useful?”

“Absolutely,” Bill said. “There’s a bunch of stuff – but the best in my opinion is the ‘null’ ward.”

“What does that do?”

“It’s a universal dampener,” Bill replied. “Whatever effect is in place, the null ward can help guard against it. It’s also effective against a lot of mana-based attacks.”

“Sounds pretty powerful. Any limitations?”

Bill nodded. “It’s not as powerful as a ward made for a specific purpose. More easily overloaded. But very useful as a first line of defense when you don’t know what you’re up against.”

“While Bill was working on the null ward, I focused on an air shield ward. It makes a dome or donut of compressed air blocks or slows down any attacks. We have also have a bunch of code for other wards that guard against heat, cold, light, electricity, etc.” Jill said in between bites.

“And I got the anti-gravity one, plus some sort of invisibility ward,” Kaden said. “Seems like we have a pretty good list. But which should we program into our blank wards? I’m thinking it might be better to wait and see, since we don’t yet know what we need.”

“Makes sense,” Bill said. Jill nodded.

Kaden was curious about the other two interns’ experience in different departments. He imagined they were being exposed to different parts of the Tower worked. He needed to learn as much as he could about the various Tower departments so he would know where to look for answers.

“How are your departments? Anything interesting happen in your first few days?” Kaden asked.

Jill snorted. “Besides you picking a fight with Iqbal and Roger? Hardly. All I do is process purchase orders for the maintenance department.”

Bill was curious about the confrontation between Kaden and the other two interns in the purchasing department, so Kaden explained what had happened.

“People like that don’t last long in any organization,” he said. “If those two were in my Company during my time in the Army, they would have been cleaning toilets before the end of the first day. Probably before lunch, if they survived even that long.”

Bill shrugged. “It is quite different here, though. Today’s enemy might be tomorrow’s ally.”

“Yeah you’re probably right,” Kaden said.

“I’ve been on an interesting project,” Bill said, changing the subject. “Marketing campaign for a brand new product, right out of R&D.”

Kaden’s ears perked up. Anything connected to Research and Development could be worthwhile.

“I’m just an intern, but when they learned about my background, the researchers got really excited. I’ve been working on testing some of the products, and the marketing consultants want to use develop some content with me for a social media campaign.”

“What’s your background?” Jill asked.

“Band called ‘Fire on High,’” Bill replied. “Ever heard of us?”

Jill shook her head. Kaden knew they were some kind of metal or hard rock band, but didn’t really know their music. He had the sense they were popular with a somewhat older, niche audience.

“What types of products are you testing?” Kaden asked.

“Musical instruments! Mainly string instruments, but also some drums. Like bongos, a djembe, even a cowbell.”

Kaden frowned. “What’s the angle? How is it a new product for the Company?”

“OK so let me set the stage for you,” Bill said, leaning in. “Imagine you’re up on stage in front of fifty thousand fans, screaming and chanting your name, singing along as you tear through your latest hit single…”

Bill closed his eyes, staying still for a long moment. And then a little longer.

Kaden cleared his throat. “Still here, Bill?”

Bill opened his eyes and continued.

“You’re tearing through your guitar solo, and you really want to get out in front of the crowd, but the cord. The cord, bro! It’s holding you back.

“So… you unplug. Run across the stage and jump into the crowd. But the sound continues.”

Bill paused, leaning back for effect, and raising his arms into air guitar position.

“Say goodbye to the electric guitar. Allow me to introduce you to the mana guitar. Powerful enough to rock a stadium all by itself.”

“So instruments powered by mana instead of electricity. No need for amps or speakers,” Jill said.

“Yeah, that’s basically right,” Bill said.

“Do you think I could try it out myself?” Kaden asked.

Bill looked surprised. “You play, bro?”

Kaden shrugged. “I learned to play the bass a little bit back in the day. I’m not very good, but I enjoy it. Would love to see what it’s like.” What Kaden really wanted was access to the R&D department.

Bill nodded enthusiastically. “Alright, yeah! I’ll see what I can do.

“What about you Jill?

Jill frowned. “I think I’ll pass.”

Bill shrugged. “If you change your mind, let me know. Happy to pull together a jam session for Team Tiger Blue.”

“That reminds me,” Jill said. “We should think about our team name. We can change it.”

“Fine with me,” Kaden said, “But let’s head upstairs for our training session. We can talk about it on the way.”

The group got up to go.

“How about ‘Tower of Rock’?” Bill said.

“No, I don’t think so.” Jill replied

“Or ‘In Power We Trust’.”

“NO!”

Kaden sighed.