I blinked.
Anthony blinked back.
Silence filled the small, dusty shed as we stared at each other. The only sound was the faint creak of the door I had just opened.
Then, as if finally processing what had just happened, Anthony's face twitched.
"Boss?!" he hissed, scrambling to his feet. "What the hell are you doing here?!"
I crossed my arms. "I should be asking you that."
He ran a hand through his short blond hair, exhaling sharply. "No, no, no—this isn't right. You weren't supposed to be here!"
I quirked an eyebrow. "Says who?"
"Says me! If I knew you were coming, I would've messaged you on the burner phone!"
He tapped his pocket, then checked another one, then another one—then patted down his entire Hawaiian shirt like he had forgotten where he put it. As he was searching, I thought to myself why Evelyn would of sent me here, if not to meet up with Anthony? Was there something she knew that both me and Anthony didn't?
Focusing once again, he was still searching through his pockets. He had moved on to cargo pants by now.
I sighed. "Anthony."
"One sec, boss, I swear I had it on me—"
"Anthony."
He froze, slowly looking up.
I smirked. "I didn't come here for you."
A beat of silence.
Then his expression shifted from panic to offense.
"Wait....You didn't come here for me?" he repeated.
"Nope."
"So I'm just some side quest?"
"Pretty much."
Anthony put a hand on his chest, mocking hurt. "Damn, boss. You changed."
"I became your boss less than 2 days ago."
"Doesn't mean you gotta break my heart."
I rolled my eyes. "Alright, enough. Start talking. Why are you here?"
Anthony sighed, finally getting serious.
"Alright, listen up. This place—this construction site—used to be a company's old headquarters."
I frowned. "Which company?"
His eyes flicked toward me.
"Future Vision."
My breath hitched.
I knew that name.
Future Vision was one of the leading technological enterprises before they seemingly vanished. More importantly—
"They owned one of the spaceships that crashed on Mars," I muttered.
Anthony nodded. "Bingo. And from what I've found, there's something buried here. Something they left behind."
I exhaled, my mind racing. Future Vision's sudden collapse, the Mars disaster, this construction site—was it all connected?
"Alright," I said. "That explains why you're here. But why here-here?" I gestured around the cramped, dusty shed. "This place is barely standing."
Anthony crossed his arms, looking annoyed. "That's what I was trying to figure out before you barged in."
I smirked. "Did I ruin your secret spy moment?"
"A little, yeah."
"Tragic."
Anthony sighed. "Anyway, I think there's a secret base under this shed."
I blinked. "A secret base?"
"Yeah. Think about it—everything else got destroyed. Future Vision's records? Wiped. Their main HQ? Gone. The stuff they had in this area? Nothing left. But if it wasn't found, that means it's still somewhere. And that somewhere?" He tapped his foot against the floor. "Right under us."
I stared at him for a second.
Then, I looked down.
Then back at him.
"You're telling me there's a high-tech, secret base under a shack that smells like mildew and regret?"
Anthony shrugged. "Hey, best hiding spot. No one suspects the crappiest place."
He had a point.
I scanned the floor, my detective instincts kicking in. If there was a hidden entrance, there had to be signs.
"Help me look," I said.
We started searching.
I knocked against the wooden planks—some sounded hollow, others didn't. Anthony tapped the walls, checking for loose panels.
At one point, he picked up a rusted wrench, held it for a second, then made a face.
"Boss."
"What?"
He held up the wrench. "This is the third one I found."
"…And?"
He stared at it.
"Who the hell leaves three wrenches in a place like this?"
I sighed. "Anthony, focus."
"Right, right." He dropped the wrench.
We kept searching until—
Click.
I froze.
That wasn't a normal floorboard sound.
Anthony's head snapped toward me. "You hear that?"
"Yeah."
I crouched, running my fingers along the wooden planks. There. A small, barely visible seam.
A trapdoor.
"Got it," I muttered.
Anthony leaned in. "Nice. Open it up."
I grabbed the edge and lifted.
A rush of stale air hit my face.
Beneath the trapdoor was a metallic hallway. Wires lined the walls, stretching deep into the darkness. The faint hum of active servers vibrated through the air.
I exhaled.
"Well, shit."
Anthony whistled. "Told you."
I glanced at him. "You first."
He snorted. "Yeah, no. You first."
I gave him a look. "You're the spy."
"And you're the boss. Bosses go first."
"Since when?!"
"Since now."
I sighed. "Fine."
I grabbed the edge and swung my legs over, lowering myself into the hidden base.
As I landed, Anthony peered down at me.
"Any traps?"
I looked around. "None yet."
"Good. 'Cause if you die, I'm out."
I smirked. "So much for my trusty, loyal subordinate."
Anthony climbed down after me, landing lightly.
We turned toward the hallway.
Ahead of us, the darkness stretched on.
The air was thick with dust and history.
And something told me we were about to find more than just old tech.
I rolled my shoulders, stepping forward.
Anthony followed.
The secrets of Future Vision waited below.