The Red Stars (on hold)

Eli and Drew--Part III

I had successfully infiltrated the Wulves building, and was now looking for Eli. I'd gotten a couple false starts, occasionally thinking that I'd seen him, but when I chased him down, usually down a long hallway or through an office area, it wasn't him.

Wishing I still had my red jacket, and not for the first or last time, I found an unoccupied hallway, where I took a bit of time to myself, leaning against the wall.

Raking my fingers through my hair, I sighed heavily, closing my eyes for a bit longer than a standard blink, stress giving me a blinding headache. I pressed my fingers against my temples, making a frustrated noise. I knew that it would be difficult to find my brother in a place this big, but I didn't expect it to be this frustrating.

Letting out a low string of curses, I took a few deep breaths, trying to steady myself. When I felt stable again, I pushed myself off of the wall, deciding that it was time to get moving again.

As I was walking down the hallway, trying to act like I knew exactly what I was doing, a thought came to me. Maybe Eli was on the Wulf-B2. Quickening my pace, I ran towards an elevator, and while I was waiting for it to arrive, I heard a voice behind me.

"Hey!"

I turned, my blood running cold, certain that I had been caught. A young-ish man was walking towards me with great purpose, though he had a grin on his face.

"Cal! Hey! Haven't seen ya in a while!"

I forced a pleasant smile come to my face.

"H-hey," I said slowly, all of my nervousness returning. This wasn't supposed to be happening. No one was supposed to know who I was.

My mind flicked back to the ID sitting in my back pocket. I focused on remembering the name. Calvin Andrews. That must have been his name. The guy talking to me must have been his friend.

I focused away from him, hoping that he didn't notice the differences between me and the real Calvin.

"Haven't seen you around recently," the other male said, reiterating what he had exclaimed earlier.

I shrugged, saying, "Yeah, I guess," while simultaneously trying not to give away the fact that I didn't know who he was or what his name was.

"So, what have you been up to?" he asked me, folding his arms across his chest and acting as if he was going to get on the elevator with me. I groaned internally, not wanting to have to talk to him and pretend to know what he was talking about.

"Oh, you know...this and that," I answered, trying to conceal my obvious nervousness, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye, wondering if he noticed how vague I'd been.

"Yeah," he answered, grinning. After a second, as the elevator arrived and we had stepped inside, he looked to me and asked, "So...wanna go get a drink with me or something after work tonight? I'm buying..." He raised his eyebrows at me invitingly, smiling.

I shook my head. "Can't. Got this job on the B2. I'm gonna be out of the subsector for a while."

The other man nodded, looking down for a moment. I felt my ears pop, and for the first time I realized how high we must be going. I think about how tall the building is and then decide that the elevator might even go beyond the clouds.

My heart began pounding with anticipation. Sunlight was always so unattainable, something only the richest of the rich got to see. Having lived below the cloudline for so long, I was pale as a ghost. If I got any sunlight, I'd probably go up in flames. Still...it was too tempting not to turn to the large floor-to-ceiling window on the outside of the elevator, excitement coursing through me.