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midoridragonuus · 7 years

Text

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- x -

from: [email protected] to: [email protected] cc: maeharamahouji subject: hey

hey gabe can you log into siims? thanks

- Secretary and Head of Divisions, Ellie Schwartz

- x -

from: [email protected] to: [email protected] cc: subject: RE: hey

hey elliepop! u ok??? this doesnt sound like one of ur usual mails dont think ive ever seen u write wo grammar n punctuation also y cc that guy

- gabe bar owner. business guy. stud.

- x -

from: [email protected] to: [email protected] cc: subject: FWD: RE: hey

ellie? gurl whats ^ reply soon i miss u

- gabe bar owner. business guy. stud.

- x -

from: [email protected] to: [email protected] cc: subject: FWD: FWD: RE: hey

ok ok ill be right on dont b mad at me ily

- gabe bar owner. business guy. stud.

- x -

gabe69 has signed into the Schwartz Ind. Internal Messaging System (SIIMS)

gabe69: hello??? anyone here?? woo hoo????

schwartzellie has signed into the Schwartz Ind. Internal Messaging System (SIIMS)

gabe69: ellie! hey honeybuns. ive missed u whats ^

gabe69: ellie?

maeharamahouji has signed into the Schwartz Ind. Internal Messaging System (SIIMS)

gabe69: whats going on here

maeharamahouji has uploaded a file: sserver470.exe

maeharamahouji: hey gabe. can you test this for me? thanks. send me a report when you're done.

gabe69: what

maeharamahouji has signed out of the Schwartz Ind. Internal Messaging System (SIIMS)

gabe69: whats going on

gabe69: ellie cmon what the hell

schwartzellie: Click the file, stupid.

schwartzellie has signed out of the Schwartz Ind. Internal Messaging System (SIIMS)

gabe69: fuck

gabe69 has signed out of the Schwartz Ind. Internal Messaging System (SIIMS)

- x -

> initializing sserver470.exe > protocol and logs will be erased upon exit > "hope it helps. - m."

gabe69 has signed into SSERVER470

gabe69: what is this place?

schwartzellie: Oh thank the Gods.

gabe69: elliepop? what the entire fuck is going on?????

schwartzellie: Look. I couldn't talk to you sooner. I wanted to. I really did. I couldn't... I was afraid to contact you.

gabe69: what? y? whats wrong with me? hon if u didnt want a follow up

schwartzellie: It's not you. It's who's listening. I'm pretty sure my office is bugged. My phone is too. I've had to be really careful with what I say in case it's distorted. I don't know how to explain it better than that.

gabe69: ellie i dont get what ur saying can u start at the top?

schwartzellie: Okay. Okay. Do you remember a few weeks ago when Carlos interrupted our dinner and told me it was an emergency?

gabe69: vaguely. i remember his smug ass ruining a nite w ur beautiful face ♥♥♥

schwartzellie: Right so, I went with him. He was silent through the whole walk to the archives.

gabe69: the archives?

schwartzellie: Yeah. Where we keep files on literally everyone and everything. You know. Contracts. Secret info? Well, we got stopped by security, so I know there's at least one witness out there that knows we entered the archives; that the whole thing really took place.

gabe69: what do u mean "took place" ???

schwartzellie: Shut up and let me type!

gabe69: k

schwartzellie: So we entered, and we walked into the middle of the room. I'm not sure if it was the exact middle or anything, but that's what it felt like neck deep in the rows of file cabinets and servers. Anyway, the archives are heavily guarded. I'm pretty shocked he had clearance but in hindsight, but also? Not really. I told you his files were a fucking mess and his permissions were probably redacted as well.

gabe69: uh huh

schwartzellie: There's cameras all over. Lasers. Devil's traps. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if any flat surface read DNA or heat signatures or something. Schwartz is really out-there about security. I mean, there's less than a handful of people who can get into the archives, and they're 99% accompanied by Schwartz herself.

gabe69: sounds high key

schwartzellie: It is. As far as I know, the only people with permissions to enter the archives are Schwartz, Irkalla, myself, and now... Carlos. It's under such heavy security that two people on shift have to watch it. One physically, and the other in a special cam room somewhere on site. Like... it's really guarded.

gabe69: and u 2 just waltzed in there huh?

schwartzellie: Yeah. And when we got to the middle, he just stood there and wouldn't look me in the eyes. He literally titled his head back and locked eyes with one of the, what I assume was, a camera. Stared into it the whole time we talked.

gabe69: what a fuckin weirdo. whatd he tell u babe?

schwartzellie: I don't.... I don't really remember. I was so weirded out by the whole experience... I remember getting goosebumps. My stomach hurt. I was feeling pretty nauseous and

gabe69: ok but it wasnt my food so

schwartzellie: Oh my Gods, I didn't say it was!

gabe69: just makin sure ;)

schwartzellie: Ugh. But...

gabe69: but?

schwartzellie: I remember staring at him really intense-like. Squinting and trying to figure out what his motive was. What he was saying. Like, his mouth was moving and words were coming out, but my brain couldn't figure out what they were! I even tried to remember later on, but none of the sounds or words I made felt right. I don't even remember leaving, or how I got back to my room... I slept with a diary that night in case I remembered anything in my sleep, but my dreams were blank. When I went to the security office, there was no record of us visiting the archives. And the guy on duty who stopped us outside the door? Gone. Vanished. I asked around and no one knew of anyone who matched that description ever working at SI. No one knew who I was talking about, and by then, his face was too blurry in my memory to ask again. After a few days of frustration, I asked Jade to help me. He reads lips, you know. So I tried to make the same movements I remembered Carlos making with his mouth, but Jade had no idea what I was trying to say. He said it was just gibberish.

gabe69: ellie this is fucking weird

schwartzellie: I know.

gabe69: so what ur telling me is that that dick took u 2 a place w heavy security did some mumbo jumbo magic shit that u cant remember and now ur phones being bugged and a guys missing???

schwartzellie: No, there's more to it than that. I think...

gabe69: ???

schwartzellie: So I tried to do some more digging about him, in hopes that it might.... I don't know... tell me something? Anything? But then more people disappeared.

gabe69: what do u mean? who disappeared?

schwartzellie: I... don't know.

gabe69: then how do u kno theyre gone??

schwartzellie: I have a list of employees on my desk for the monthly newsletter that have left the company. We publish goodbyes every month, but I don't remember any of them on this month's letter ever working here.

gabe69: well SI is a big company! surely a few slip by ur ever watchful eyes. u cant do everything doll

schwartzellie: No, but I sign every employment contract as Schwartz' witness. Even when they're mostly redacted. I've seen every person who enters this company, including business partners in different districts, contracted/affiliated help, and even have the names for people who work FOR our associates. But I don't know any of these names or faces.

gabe69: and ur sure they worked for SI

schwartzellie: The list is from Schwartz. I'm sure of that. But even she's been... off? There's something going on with her too. She won't reply to any non-related business mail.

gabe69: and ur surprised by that of all things?? ms unfeeling not talking about feelings?

schwartzellie: Well, no, but you don't know her, Gabe. It's like she's shutting down.

gabe69: uh huh

schwartzellie: With SI off the table, I told Wendy I had to look up something in Crowley's office, so I shadowed her to work. I wanted to check if maybe the city had those names on file, somewhere. They didn't.

gabe69: and?

schwartzellie: What they did have, though, was a blank space where those names SHOULD be. I don't think the person who was supposed to clean up got rid of the dividers.

gabe69: elliepop this is nuts like wacky pistachi kiddo! people fuck up on putting dividers in. it happens. i sometimes order double my stock on accident

schwartzellie: Okay, one? Wasteful. Two? I know I sound paranoid, okay? I know it. But something's going on. There's more, okay?

gabe69: more?

schwartzellie: Yeah.... After I left Crowley's office, Wendy stopped me on my way out. She asked if I found what I needed, and I told her I did. As she turned around to go back to work, I saw something around the corner. At first I thought it was a shadow. Maybe my eyes playing tricks on me. Shit happens, right? But I know someone was watching me.

gabe69: ellie

schwartzellie: No, listen! So I.... I didn't go straight home. I decided to take the bus, rather than get a cab, just in case. Better safe than sorry, right? And as I was waiting at the bus stop, I felt eyes on the back of my head.

gabe69: ellie....

schwartzellie: Gabe will you shut the fuck up? I know I sound crazy, but just let me finish. Please. You owe me this.

gabe69: ok elliecakes. im sorry :((

schwartzellie: I felt really antsy, rocking back and forth. I knew someone was watching me. I just knew it, okay? So I get on the next bus, not knowing where it was going. If someone was really following me, they probably wouldn't go somewhere random, right? Risk being seen by a lot of people? Turns out the next stop wasn't too far from Karen's, so I got off there. I went in, grabbed a latte, and sat down until my nerves returned to normal. I thought I was also being pretty ridiculous and letting weird events turn me into some sort of conspiracy theorist. Half way through my drink, I looked up and... there was nothing wrong. I didn't feel anyone looking. There were just some random people in there eating breakfast and drinking coffee. I was so relieved. Honestly, I felt so stupid.

gabe69: :( i love ur smarts

schwartzellie: So I paid my bill, and waited for the next bus. I rode back to SI, got off, and felt like a huge idiot for being so nervous. I was home! No reason to feel afraid when we have the best security in the District. I waved to Kat and sat in the lobby for a minute with weak knees. Like, I was just really relieved it was all in my head.

gabe69: that sounds good

schwartzellie: Until

gabe69: o

schwartzellie: I checked my phone for any alerts I might have missed while snooping, or trying to chill in Karen's. A few e-mails, a few texts, and then one weird notif from an iSpy app? But... I never installed anything like that. I checked my apps, but there wasn't one installed on the phone or the SD card. I started to get really freaked again. I mean, iSpy? Of all the alerts that could be the result of some virus or something... So I took the next elevator to the Tech Division. Mahouji was on shift, so I gave him my phone to look at.

gabe69: let me guess he found something

schwartzellie: He sure fucking did. He ran a scan while I was standing right there. The first one didn't pick up anything, but I insisted that there was something on it that I didn't put in there. After another unsuccessful scan, he ran his own with his.... I don't know. Whatever it is he works with. Personal code or program or something? I don't know. But he looked really disturbed. He fiddled with it, then downloaded an iSpy game from the app store.

gabe69: what

schwartzellie: Yeah, I was really confused too. He explained to me that it was probably just an advertisement for a new game that was mass spammed from a link I might have clicked and that, with the actual app in, he was able to turn off the notifications. But that's what he said, not what he showed me.

gabe69: what i dont get it

schwartzellie: While he was telling me all this and pointing my phone at me with his left hand, he pulled some paper and a pencil out of his own desk and wrote on it with his right hand. "Ellie, there's a nasty program on here. I don't know what it is, but I know it's not something anyone should tamper with. I don't even want to try to debug it. It has access to everything, including your cam and mic. Getting rid of the phone will only make whoever's watching suspicious. I recommend playing dumb while I investigate."

gabe69: holy shit

schwartzellie: I... I thanked him and left. I thought that it might just be a huge prank on me, but I don't think he's that kind of guy. I mean, we're not close friends or anything, but of all the people in this company? I think I can trust him.

gabe69: u sure u dont trust him just bc he validates w/e ur thinking is going on

schwartzellie: So you don't believe me?

gabe69: no elliecakes its not that. u kno im always on ur side. i just gotta play devils advocate yea???

schwartzellie: Yeah. Yeah. So.... Like.... I took the phone with me. I tried to keep it pointed away from me unless I had a message. I've been really jumpy and trying not to give too much info away in my emails or texts. I've tried changing my writing to kinda make it seem like it might not be me in case I disappear so people can figure out the dates things went wrong.

gabe69: ellie wtf nothings gonna happen 2 u. not when im around. i promise. u kno that.

schwartzellie: No, but-

gabe69: that y u emailed me the way u did earlier??

schwartzellie: Yeah, I wanted to leave a trail, okay? So anyone else who looked into it could tell something was up and I wasn't just making things up. And I thought that things were finally going back to normal, you know? I wanted things to be less weird, and they were, until earlier today.

gabe69: what happened??

schwartzellie: I was coming back to my office. I was thinking about finally getting back to my social life.

gabe69: so me

schwartzellie: Sure.

gabe69: :( cmon u love me

schwartzellie: Sure.

gabe69: ;*

schwartzellie: And on the way, I saw a guy standing in front of one of the windows in the hall. I didn't recognize him, so I asked him who he was. He didn't answer. I asked again, and still nothing. So I approached him from the side.

gabe69: ellie!

schwartzellie: I know it wasn't the smartest thing. Approaching some rando? But he was weird. Out of place weird. Because I know all of the employees. I know who has access to my floor. And this guy! Was just standing there! Looking out the window! I sent a text to security as a precaution, and then went to tap him on the shoulder. Then I blinked, and the window was broken. Alarms were going off. There was a woman screaming from below. The wind blew my hair out of place! I remember the tears coming down my face at the shock because what the fuck just happened?

gabe69: wtf i dont remember any alarm

schwartzellie: My legs gave out, and after a few seconds, I crawled to the window to look out. I was expecting to see the guy on the pavement below, you know? All bloody and broken and... yeah... But the window was fine.

gabe69: what

schwartzellie: The window! Was fine! It wasn't broken. There was no one below but regular day traffic! I was still on the floor, still with tears, but nothing happened? I checked my phone for the text I sent and it was in my drafts folder, saying "Message failed to send. Try again." I called the security office to ask for video of the hall, and got sent a video where I just walk by the window like nothing happened. Then I come back, sit down, and cry.

gabe69: ellie

schwartzellie: Gabe, please. Please just... I'm almost done.

gabe69: ok

schwartzellie: I called Mahouji and asked him to come pick me up from the hallway. He thought it was weird, because one? He was asleep. Two? We're not friends. Not really. And three? He's def. not security. So he was concerned.

gabe69: yea so am i y didnt u call me babe??

schwartzellie: Because when he got there, I showed him the video and told him that I must have not been paying attention because I was playing my iSpy app. He's smart enough to figure out the hidden meaning there. He asked if I needed to go to see a doctor in case I hurt anything falling down, but I told him that no, I'd be alright, but I did want to see you. Privately.

gabe69: oh hon hon hon baguette

schwartzellie: Can you be serious for one fucking second? Like, this is my life, Gabe!

gabe69: sorry go on

schwartzellie: Again, being the smart man he is,

gabe69: >:|

schwartzellie: he figured out what I meant. Told me that maybe it wouldn't be smart to go see someone if I was dizzy from the fall, and that I should message you instead using his computer.

gabe69: that y i had 2 click that weird file?

schwartzellie: Yeah. It's something he made to delete all records after we're done talking. It's safer that way. Because Gabe? I'm scared.

gabe69: ellie....

schwartzellie: I'm really scared. I don't know what to do now. Mahouji told me to try and back off. To forget the whole thing.

gabe69: suspicious

schwartzellie: No, I think he's really just concerned. He doesn't seem weird? Not like that hallway guy. Not like Carlos. I think he's worried. I think he knows there's something going on but I don't think he knows how weird it is. How twisted it is? There's something going on, Gabe, and it's so big. People are disappearing. Things are happening and not happening at the same time. Schwartz is off. I'm going crazy. There's something going on and someone who's not this deep in needs to know before I don't know anymore. Does that make sense?

gabe69: ellie where r u? u still in the tech div?

schwartzellie has signed out of SSERVER470

gabe69: fuck

gabe69 has signed out of SSERVER470

>initializing shut down of sserver470.exe >initializing self-deletion sequence >del470.exe in progress, authorization m confirm >ERROR >ERROR >ERROR >ERROR >ERROR >ERROR

- x -

from: [email protected] to: [email protected] cc: subject: HEY

um where are u elliepop? wanna get a coffee? nite cap? ;))

- gabe bar owner. business guy. stud.

- x -

from: [email protected] to: [email protected] cc: subject: RE: HEY

Downstairs at the cafeteria. Why? Wanna join? lol

- Secretary and Head of Divisions, Ellie Schwartz

- x -

from: [email protected] to: [email protected] cc: subject: RE: HEY

error

- Secretary and Head of Divisions, Ellie Schwartz

- x -

#drabble #c:ellie #c:gabe #c:mahouji #long post

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midoridragonuus · 6 years

Text

where in the world is ellie schwartz?

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- x -

The air drained slowly from his lungs, and he was suffocating. Every way he turned, there was no handle for an oxygen release - only sharp alarms and panicked sirens. His vision couldn't settle on red or black, and danced a dangerous tango between the two. Wild hands grasped at something stable, a railing, a table... anything to ground him once again. The closest savior was the concrete to his left, allowing a short reprieve in his rapid drowning.

Gabriel's frame melted against the cold of the stairwell. He'd convinced himself running would be faster, as if taking the stairs two at a time would outclass an industrial elevator. In truth, he needed time to think; time to process what had really happened. If he'd deluded himself into thinking he could go several floors just so his brain could play catch-up, the he wasn't going to second guess instinct. There was something wrong here, and he needed to sort it quick. If he had one job, it was to save her. Fuck Schwartz. Fuck their contract. He hadn't always done right by the people in his life, but if he could be a white knight to Ellie, then he could die a dignified man.

It began with a notification.

Ellie had sent him a request to log into SIIMS.

hey gabe can you log into siims? thanks

With a deep breath in, he nodded to himself. This was normal. Despite his obnoxious exterior, she'd become fond enough of Gabe to find him endearing and keep him around. And although that in and of itself seems abnormal, it was normal enough to be waved away.

After logging into the instant messenger, he was greeted by Mahouji and Ellie, together. Still odd, since the two worked different departments and rarely spoke outside work, but that too could be discounted. After all, Mahouji was the one who coded SIIMS and it's not far-fetched to think that Ellie would speak to the head of an important department. Internally, he shrugged this off as well.

It wasn't until the two were alone that things took a turn to freaky, full stop.

Ellie was scared.

Look. I couldn’t talk to you sooner. I wanted to. I really did. I couldn’t… I was afraid to contact you.

This was so unlike her that Gabe had almost done a double take. At times, he knew she suffered from feeling inferior. He knew she was nervous and anxious about her job, about Schwartz, and about the company, but never had she given off the scent of outright fear.

It was her description of the things she'd seen that pushed Gabriel from concern to unbridled worry. Random guys disappearing in hallways? Insisting people existed when there were no records of them? Crying about being followed? Either she was in the middle of a mental breakdown, or the world was conspiring against her with an ugly truth. As much as he didn't want to hope for the first, he crossed his fingers as a precaution.

Ellie had mentioned that there was a spy app on her phone, and that she'd purposefully changed the way she spoke.

It’s not you. It’s who’s listening. I’m pretty sure my office is bugged. My phone is too. I’ve had to be really careful with what I say in case it’s distorted. I don’t know how to explain it better than that.

Was it that simple? Did that explain her erratic behavior? Her conflicting messages? He didn't have an answer that would satisfy. The only answer that could even remotely quench his thirst would come straight from Ellie herself. He had to see her. He had to see her now.

With another deep breath, he heaved himself upright, ignoring the ache in his thighs. Stairs could be a cruel mistress, but not more so than an unsolved mystery. Step by step, he ran - arms wild and desperate to pull him closer to his goal. He was out of shape, but that hardly slowed him down as Ellie's fate hung in the balance.

- x -

The door leading to the rest of Schwartz Industries' Technology Division was locked with a pass code. It was rare for anyone to use the stairs in the modern age, and those that did certainly didn't belong to IT. Of its employees, only one or two were remotely in shape and even then, wouldn't dare besmirch the marvel of an elevator. Thus, anyone who wanted to enter needed a pass code. Security, after all, was SI's second most important product.

Typing in the numbers, he thanked whatever was out there that caused him to rise up the chain of SI so quickly. The Board of Directors held a lot of sensitive information, including security clearance via stairwell, and Gabriel was one such man. He didn't really understand why Schwartz had accepted his offer all those years ago, and although that was something to look into, it'd have to be put on the back burner.

The Technology Division spanned an entire floor; allowing each worker to have their own cubicle the size of an office. It was a luxury few could afford, but Schwartz had spared no expense in rebuilding. However, the array of half-walls and similar name plaques did little to assuage his panic as he stumbled from one to the next.

In true SI fashion, the monographed names echoed their importance. Each one had been engraved in chrome upon moving in, and never had they lost the sheen of a new placard. It was pristine in an eerie way, and didn't do much to distinguish one opening from the next. Gabe's eyes strained to pick out his target's name - Mahouji Maehara.

Of course, Mahouji was the only one to get what amounted to an office with four walls, rather than the dulled grey of a divider. He was the division lead, and his permit for an office had finally gone through at the last construction meeting. Though he'd no longer be able to bother Charlie in person, he was certainly more content with the luxury.

Gabe groaned, finally realizing that the other man was stationed the farthest from the stairwell. Breaking into a pathetic jog, he reached the door looking more dead than alive. Panting, sweating, and fraught with his own version of fear, he grasped at the lock on the frame only to realize he needed his ID to enter.

The only thing to keep him standing was the slight protrusion of the card reader. As if it were the last outcropping of a cliff, he strained to keep hold.

Ellie should be inside.

I called Mahouji and asked him to come pick me up from the hallway.

So I took the next elevator to the Tech Division.

I should message you instead using his computer.

She talked about Mahouji. His computer. His space. She'd said he came to pick her up, and so unless she'd left in the few minutes it took for him to scale the stairs and take a short breather, she should be one lock away.

He fumbled for his wallet, hands pale and shaking in a way that he'd never quite experienced before. Gabe was confident, even when it was just a front. Whether it was behind the bar, in battle, or in bed, the cocky grin he wore became his staple. Now, it was a reach to place this man in the same category as the one that he'd been not even a few minutes prior.

His ID slid neatly down the security strip, rewarding him with a green light and the light click of the door. It opened gently, enough not to disturb those inside. Parched lips began to form the first syllable of the girl he'd come to rescue when he fell silent. The only body inside was that of Mahouji as he sat with his back to the door, typing amicably.

"Where is she?" He roared, never leaving the door. The fervor in his speech was impassioned and raw, but he still hadn't taken a step inward. He was cautious to the last second.

"Gabe?" The younger man swiveled in his seat for a better view of the intruder. Rather than alarm, his face morphed into one of concern. Instead of the jovial face of Schwartz Industries' resident prankster, he was met with a man who showed only disaster. Gabriel's eyes were bulging from their sockets. His face was jaundiced, contrasted only by limp auburn hair. Gabriel looked nothing like his former self, and the second man was taken aback at his co-worker's appearance.

"Well, you look like shit," were the only words he could muster.

Gabriel said nothing, instead allowing his hesitation to be consumed by rage. How dare he act like nothing was going on! How dare this man, who fully understood the danger Ellie to be in and even spoke in code, pretend to look unharmed by the sheer magnitude of the situation! He pushed himself into the room like a force of nature hell bent on destruction.

Storming up to the sitting man before he could mount a retaliation, Gabriel threw himself at Mahouji. He gripped the sides of the chair with a viciousness he didn't intend for, but never made a move to lessen his position. He hovered over the other like a predator: his lips caught in a snarl and a face contorted with a carnivorous hunger.

"Where is she?" he growled. "Where is Ellie?"

"What? Ellie?" Unsure if he had heard the other correctly, Mahouji narrowed his eyes in question, but was met with the same grunted reply. He didn't dare provoke Gabriel more, and instead of a second quip, opted for an answer just to get the man out of his face. "I mean, she was here. Ellie, that is. But that was hours ago. ...Why? What's going on?"

Gabriel's face fell with an intensity that Mahouji wouldn't have believed possible if he hadn't seen it. The impatient wrath was replaced with a blank despair; a face only made when the lights are on, but no one was home. Gently pushing the poor man's hands from his chair, Mahouji returned to his original position.

"According to the entry and exit logs on the door, she came in and left about..." His fingers reached for keys, just out of grasp. They danced over the letters with practiced ease, all while playing a tune Gabriel didn't want to hear. "Three hours ago?"

He made one more effort to face the man who'd barged into his office. "Does that... help any? Need anything else? You probably could have called for something like this but... Gabe? Are you listening?"

Gabriel backed off slowly, feet unsure if they should continue walking or simply collapse beneath him in confusion. Three hours. He'd somehow missed three hours between several flights of stairs. He knew he'd stopped for a moment to think, and alright, he wasn't in the best of shape, but surely he hadn't blacked out. There was simply no way. Was he drugged? Gassed? Seizure? Did someone throw a spell from a few floors below? Above? He didn't know. He didn't want to know.

"...Gabriel? You okay? Do you need me to get someone?"

Amber eyes drifted to meet those of his co-workers. Gabriel couldn't tell what Mahouji was thinking. He couldn't even tell if that was Mahouji or not. He needed to get out of there and think - but really, what good would thinking do if the last time he stopped he'd lost three hours of his fucking time?

The man shook violently, retreating from the room with hurried feet. Before the other could get off another word, Gabriel slammed the door to the office and broke out in a run. There was something wrong, and whether it was him or the company, he needed to find Ellie and get out before it was too late.

Dashing through the cubicles towards the elevator, his mind refused to quiet. It too, was racing, albeit with a different finish line. Why not use the stairs again? Would he lose another three hours? Was that a fear he had? Losing more time and not remembering? Is this how Ellie felt? And where in the world was she? Where the fuck was Ellie Schwartz?

The elevator lit up with the press of his thumb. It wasn't broken, but the fear of being trapped inside slowly grew as the numbers ticked on. It was menacing in a way, and he worried that claustrophobia might make an appearance on his next psych eval.

Did Ellie feel trapped? She was certainly paranoid, albeit for good reason, but she never seemed worried about the building itself. If that was the case, did he really have a reason to fear the elevator? Unless someone was watching him - and they sure might be if anyone had witnessed the spectacle he'd just made. Hell, for all he knew, Mahouji might be watching him right now.

Gabriel shifted nervously, swaying side to side as it approached his floor.

If he was going to get in the elevator, he'd need a destination. That's logic. It's cold, indisputable, and something that couldn't really be argued with. It was one small detail in a puzzle of growing proportions, but he savored the simple fact he knew a solution to this one.

Ellie's last text, even if it wasn't genuine, mentioned the cafeteria. It even extended an invitation to join

Downstairs at the cafeteria. Why? Wanna join? lol

Whomever it was had extended a lure, and what better way to find answers than to be caught, hook, line, and sinker?

A soothing tone echoed the room, beckoning the man to enter. He did without hesitation.

- x -

from: [email protected] to: [email protected] cc: subject: RE: RE: HEY

hey elliecakes! u still @ the cafe? ill b there in a min. w8 4 me :*

- gabe bar owner. business guy. stud.

- x -

#c:gabe #c:ellie #c:mahouji #flight rising #drabble #long post

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