BLEED/HAVEN

[V] LEO

Charnita told Leo to approach the man at the front desk and take care of the initial processing before he would be able to meet the team. She then disappeared behind one of the doors, leaving Leo alone in the large foyer. The room itself was simple, like a basic office space— the only difference was that there was only one desk in the center of a large marble-decorated room. Leo approached the front desk occupied by a man typing away at his computer terminal. Before Leo could speak, the man stood and stretched out his hand with a smile. Leo returned the handshake and greeted the man,

"Good morning sir, I'm here for my first day. I'm Lieutenant Commander Avisa."

"I'm not a sir, call me Bryant. Good morning to you too."

The man, Bryant, replied before sitting back down and typing on the computer on his desk. He repeated what Leo had said under his breath as his fingers flew across the keyboard masterfully. Leo's eyes wandered to the decorations of the room once again. There were no people entering or exiting the facility at the time, it was the type of silence one heard right before something riveting occurred. Despite that odd edge, nothing happened. The large glass doors in the front of the building that complemented the dark, chocolatey textures of the floors stayed shut and everything outside ignored its existence. The architecture and grandeur of the room was relatable to an art museum, even in the way its simplicity was enunciated through the single desk in the middle of the enormous, empty room. The ceiling was high and riddled with the painted scenery of historical art, it was awe-inspiring in the simplest way. Then Leo was pulled out of his admiration by Bryant's voice.

"Alright, I have you right here. Let me just print out all of your documents and your access card."

The humming of an unseen machine started and Bryant began stacking packets upon packets of paper in front of Leo along with a few manilla folders. He sat back in his seat and fiddled with his computer a bit more before he relaxed and started talking to Leo,

"So, where are you moving from?"

"Eastside. Over in the business sector."

"Oh nice, I actually had a cousin that lived over there for a while before he moved down to the Southside. 971st street?"

"Just a few blocks down actually, 973rd."

"Very cool. How long have you been in service?"

"My V.I actually has an issue-"

"No, no man. I mean with Roakon."

There was something about this man, he was kind, genuine, and talked to Leo with respect. It wasn't the kind of respect you receive due to status, it was the respect of an equal. It allowed Leo to feel more comfortable,

"I'd say a good fifteen years."

Before Bryant could reply, the machine that they were waiting on sounded off with a simple ping. The man slid over in his swivel chair to grab a blank, silver card and hand it to Leo,

"Alright, so this badge is going to give you full access to the building once you get your clearance. What you need to do now is head up to resources on the third floor and get a PIN and verification for the access. I could do it all from this desk but Roakon likes to make its employees work for their money I guess."

Leo chuckled at the man's expression as he was handed all of the materials and directed behind the desk towards the several silver elevator doors on the back wall. He thanked Bryant and turned to leave, heading to the second to last of the eight elevators from the left. The elevator call button was a black slab of glass embedded into the wall. Leo placed his card against it for a moment before a faint, blue glow outlined it and the doors to the elevator slid open to a man standing in the center of the elevator. The opposite side of the elevator was a large mirror, while the floor was marble like the foyer ground and the walls were a golden brown. Leo stepped into the elevator and the man spoke,