Sightex
After a peaceful drive with no background music, we arrived at the entrance of the majestic main building of Sightex.
The structure was not massive, but it was awe-inspiring, with two towering structures linked by a magnificent silver statue.
At the gate, we were halted by the security guards, as the car I was in didn't belong to the previous River.
The guard approached Cedric's window and leaned in to get a closer look inside the vehicle.
"ID?" he barked.
"Even I need an ID?" I shot back, giving him a confused look.
The guard squinted at me, clearly struggling to place my face.
"S-Sir?" he asked uncertainly.
"Finally, you remember!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms up in mock excitement.
The guard looked relieved. "Wow, sir, you've changed," he said.
"And here I was thinking it was you who changed since you couldn't recognize me," I teased.
"N-no, sir, it's nothing like that. Please go ahead," he stammered.
Cedric rolled up the windows and turned to me with a raised eyebrow.
"For a second there, I thought you two were really friends," he said.
"Well, the way he quickly recognized me and initiated the conversation afterwards indicated that River had helped him a great deal once," I explained with a smirk.
"Very impressive deduction," Cedric said seemingly impressed.
"It was a bluff", I said.
"Uh, still impressive I guess", he replied as we drove towards the parking lot.
It appeared that River had a designated parking spot located prominently in the centre of the basement, but instead of using it, we opted to park in a more inconspicuous area.
Exiting the vehicle, we proceeded towards the lift and pressed the buttons. After a brief pause, the lift doors parted with a melodious chime, inviting us inside.
Cedric approached the manual box and placed his phone in front of it.
"What are you doing?" I asked, curious.
"I'm not opening it, it's just that every board has a chip that connects to the main security system," he replied.
"Accessing the chip would give me access to the security systems of the building, therefore, providing me with the map of the building."
"You can't behave like you're new here, can you?" Cedric quipped.
"That's evident," I replied with a chuckle.
Cedric motioned towards my phone.
"Check your phone," he said, as he fiddled with his own phone after keeping it out of the box's reach.
I took out my phone and switched on its screen. To my surprise, I found the map of the building in a 3D model, with our location displayed.
"And lastly, this," he said, extending a Bluetooth earphone towards me. The device was so tiny that it could easily go unnoticed by others unless closely examined.
"With this, you can access the information of any person you meet. It's currently set to read River's file, so you'll only get information on people that River knew," he explained.
"Ohkay," I murmured as I inserted the earphone into my left ear.
"We're ready to go," Cedric said, as the lift doors opened with a soft chime.
As we entered the building, I couldn't help but notice how different it looked from the usual white-themed office buildings.
The tiles were matt black, the walls were painted in dark hues, and the furnishings were sleek and modern wooden pieces.
Without wasting any time, we made our way towards the office. As we passed by the reception area, I turned to the receptionist and said in a serious tone,
"I'll be in the office for a while, take care of the formalities and tell everyone I'm back from the break."
The poor receptionist looked utterly confused as I rushed past her. I could hear her shouting,
"Huh?" before she managed to stammer out, "Y-yes sir!"
Cedric couldn't hold back his chuckle and whispered,
"That was quite a performance, sir. Maybe you should consider a career change?",
"You think I have what it takes?", I grinned.
"Maybe not in Hollywood, but you definitely have everyone fooled here."
"You've become more comfortable with me aye?", I said.
"S-sorry sir", he apologised.
"Even this was hilarious", I said with a chuckle.
As we made our way through the office, the employees stared at us in surprise. I couldn't help but feel a rush of satisfaction at the reaction.
Once we were inside the office, I immediately whispered to Cedric,
"Check for any surveillance devices. Hidden cameras, mics, and everything which you know can be used to spy on a person.
Cedric nodded and began scouring the room, searching every nook and cranny for any hidden cameras or microphones.
Finally, he discovered a tiny ball cam hidden inside a plant stand.
But the surprises didn't stop there. We found microphones under sofas, desks, and chairs, and cameras concealed inside plant pots, clocks, and switchboards.
There was even one right in front of River's personal drawer.
"Can you trace who put them here?" I asked in a low tone as Cedric covered the cams and mics in his fist tight.
"No, they are not any local surveillance devices. They can only be destroyed," he said.
"Is that so?" I said, taking out a bottle of beer from the shelf behind River's desk.
I twisted the cork off and downed the entire bottle in one gulp.
"Haa… this shit is good," I commented, taking a deep breath.
"Uh… can we do something about these first?" Cedric asked, showing his closed fist.
"Hold on a minute," I said.
"Did he not smoke?" I asked Cedric.
"What do you mean?" Cedric asked, confused.
"No, it's just that people who drink often smoke too. I'm surprised I don't see any cigarettes or cigars here," I mused.
"Many people have limited themselves to just drinks," Cedric responded.
"Maybe," I muttered, opening the office gate.
"Can someone bring a lighter or a matchbox to my office?" I barked out, trying to sound authoritative.
Just as I was about to close the door, an employee rushed up to me and handed me his lighter.
I took the lighter from him and closed the door.
"Put the devices in the bottle," I said to Cedric, and he seemed to understand what I was going to do.
He nodded, and we threw the devices inside the bottle, which I ignited, completely destroying every small surveillance device.
I then threw the bottle in the trash can filled with discarded papers and burnt it completely one last time.
"Well, it seems we have a lot of work to do," I said, looking around the office, which was filled with documents and other clutter.