Probably know more than even Leutz herself.”
“How…?” Mike croaked, swaying dangerously in the light of the entryway. “How is that possible?”
With an exasperated sigh, Diane said, “This is pointless. Let’s just move on. We can explain when he has a clearer head.” She looked at Mike with eyes of measured distaste and said, “You still have those pills in your pocket, don’t you? Take one now, before we climb. Our plans will really fall apart if you miss a step and splat at the bottom of the shaft.”
“What are you…?” Mike reached into the pockets of the pants he had been wearing all day and felt his folded-up tab on the left and a small cylinder on the right. He closed his fingers around the object and brought it close to his face so his unfocused eyes could see: it was the bottle of Sobril pills Leutz had given him. Between Carl’s suspicious invitation and the argument with Meredith, Mike had completely forgotten about the experimental sober-up drug in his pocket. He looked up at Diane, mouth agape, and said, “You knew about these. How?”
Ignoring him, Diane shrugged off her robe, revealing beneath it a T-shirt and skintight shorts that just reached the tops of her knees. She backed onto a bench along the wall and quickly donned a pair of slip-on sneakers. “Follow,” she said, standing up. “And pop one of those things, will you?” Mike took one out of the bottle but didn’t take it yet.
As Diane walked off toward the living room, Mike turned to look at Carl—but the other man was holding his arm out to indicate Mike should go first. So reluctantly Mike followed Diane. As he stepped from the kitchen into the living room, he noticed that there actually was a slight difference between Diane’s apartment and his own: this one’s windows were in alcoves a few feet deep. This didn’t affect the dimensions of such a large room much, but somehow Mike noticed the slightly smaller size. And he soon found out the reason for this difference. Diane went over to a small hanging tapestry by the nearest window and pulled it back, revealing a metal door painted the same beige color as the walls. She opened the door by sliding it upward, revealing a dark cavity in the wall; somewhere inside, a faint light turned on and Mike saw a ladder on the far wall that disappeared above the doorway. The ladder started about a foot higher than the floor they were standing on and below was nothing but blackness.
“If you fall,” Diane said, “don’t scream. You may catch yourself on the way down, if you’re lucky. The shaft goes all the way to the fiftieth, we think.”
Nodding slowly, Mike popped the Sobril in his mouth and chewed, grimacing at the pill’s bitter taste. He watched as Diane pulled herself into the shaft and began her climb, and he waited for the Sobril to take full effect before he dared follow. He had the thought, as his head cleared, that this was insane, that there was no way he was going to go with two now-confirmed enemies of Silte Corp up this secret shaft to wherever it ended up. But Carl was nudging him from behind, and now that his cover was gone (or had never existed, if he understood their brief explanation correctly) he wasn’t exactly safe anymore regardless of whether he went with them or not. He eased himself to the edge, stooping beneath the low door frame, and reached across the void for the ladder.
After the first few rungs, Mike felt his inebriation giving way to a sensible state of mind. He suddenly felt very apprehensive of this whole thing and pondered going back down and running from the apartment. They wouldn’t do anything to him here ; Leutz had been pretty sure of that. But all thought of escape quickly died when Carl began climbing below. Mike looked up but all he could see was Diane’s slim buttocks flexing as she climbed. He looked away awkwardly and kept his eyes on the cold metal rungs his hands grasped, one after another. As they went further away from
“How…?” Mike croaked, swaying dangerously in the light of the entryway. “How is that possible?”
With an exasperated sigh, Diane said, “This is pointless. Let’s just move on. We can explain when he has a clearer head.” She looked at Mike with eyes of measured distaste and said, “You still have those pills in your pocket, don’t you? Take one now, before we climb. Our plans will really fall apart if you miss a step and splat at the bottom of the shaft.”
“What are you…?” Mike reached into the pockets of the pants he had been wearing all day and felt his folded-up tab on the left and a small cylinder on the right. He closed his fingers around the object and brought it close to his face so his unfocused eyes could see: it was the bottle of Sobril pills Leutz had given him. Between Carl’s suspicious invitation and the argument with Meredith, Mike had completely forgotten about the experimental sober-up drug in his pocket. He looked up at Diane, mouth agape, and said, “You knew about these. How?”
Ignoring him, Diane shrugged off her robe, revealing beneath it a T-shirt and skintight shorts that just reached the tops of her knees. She backed onto a bench along the wall and quickly donned a pair of slip-on sneakers. “Follow,” she said, standing up. “And pop one of those things, will you?” Mike took one out of the bottle but didn’t take it yet.
As Diane walked off toward the living room, Mike turned to look at Carl—but the other man was holding his arm out to indicate Mike should go first. So reluctantly Mike followed Diane. As he stepped from the kitchen into the living room, he noticed that there actually was a slight difference between Diane’s apartment and his own: this one’s windows were in alcoves a few feet deep. This didn’t affect the dimensions of such a large room much, but somehow Mike noticed the slightly smaller size. And he soon found out the reason for this difference. Diane went over to a small hanging tapestry by the nearest window and pulled it back, revealing a metal door painted the same beige color as the walls. She opened the door by sliding it upward, revealing a dark cavity in the wall; somewhere inside, a faint light turned on and Mike saw a ladder on the far wall that disappeared above the doorway. The ladder started about a foot higher than the floor they were standing on and below was nothing but blackness.
“If you fall,” Diane said, “don’t scream. You may catch yourself on the way down, if you’re lucky. The shaft goes all the way to the fiftieth, we think.”
Nodding slowly, Mike popped the Sobril in his mouth and chewed, grimacing at the pill’s bitter taste. He watched as Diane pulled herself into the shaft and began her climb, and he waited for the Sobril to take full effect before he dared follow. He had the thought, as his head cleared, that this was insane, that there was no way he was going to go with two now-confirmed enemies of Silte Corp up this secret shaft to wherever it ended up. But Carl was nudging him from behind, and now that his cover was gone (or had never existed, if he understood their brief explanation correctly) he wasn’t exactly safe anymore regardless of whether he went with them or not. He eased himself to the edge, stooping beneath the low door frame, and reached across the void for the ladder.
After the first few rungs, Mike felt his inebriation giving way to a sensible state of mind. He suddenly felt very apprehensive of this whole thing and pondered going back down and running from the apartment. They wouldn’t do anything to him here ; Leutz had been pretty sure of that. But all thought of escape quickly died when Carl began climbing below. Mike looked up but all he could see was Diane’s slim buttocks flexing as she climbed. He looked away awkwardly and kept his eyes on the cold metal rungs his hands grasped, one after another. As they went further away from
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