Stairway to Somewhere

The First Client

Lloyd took the packet and stepped aside.

"Thanks, Pete."

"You're welcome. Hi, how can I help you?"

Lloyd turned right and kept walking towards the wall until a seam appeared along the wall and a fake wall slid back, revealing a passageway. The floor and walls remained exactly the same along the hallway, with nameplates next to steel doors that had no doorknobs. The hallway branched off in three directions the far right was the break room, the middle led to a lower level that contained the chambers, and far left were operating rooms. Holding his ID up to his nameplate, Lloyd waited until he heard a small chirp and both items glowed blue. His door opened as a normal door would and he stepped into his office, which felt like an entirely different building compared to the rest of the place.

His office had lots of room, a nice hardwood floor with a comfortable red couch for the client. His desk was a lighter wood than the floor and it matched the bookshelf of shit he'd never read behind his seat, that touched the normal white ceiling. There was a window on the farthest wall, directly in line with the door, but it didn't show the smog filled sky outside. It showed a clear blue sky, with a great view of skyscrapers that didn't exist.

Lloyd had two large monitors on the leftmost part of his desk, with little knick knacks and a bowl of chocolate at the front. He threw down the packet and eased into the chair, closing his eyes. Jenna and Eric were probably getting on the plane by now. Going to meet her family one last time before she's sitting in front of some asshole just like Lloyd, ushering people into the new world. One of his screens started to beep as he opened his eyes and reached for a piece of chocolate.

"Hall's Office, accept call."

"Lloyd, whenever you're ready, Miss Baker is waiting outside." Peter said over the phone.

Crap, he hadn't even checked her file. "Alright, send her down."

"Also, we're closing immediately after you, Arthur and William get done with your first clients."

"What? Why?" said Lloyd.

"A protester tried to run in after Arthur. When a guard grabbed him he shot himself and the guard in the head. Must've been a very high caliber. We're having a meeting about the situation later. They might start arranging escorts for our safety."

"Damn. At least the crowd is gone."

"Oh they aren't." he replied laughing. "They're still out there, cheering his corpse like a martyr. They hate the new world a little too much, if you ask me. That ain't worth it."

"Yeah, I hate it too but I'll be damned if I-"

The monitor beeped again and a messaged popped up saying;

'Entrance Permitted: Kennedy Baker, 7:00am'.

And a ten second timer appeared on the door.

"Alright, I gotta go, my client is here." Lloyd swiped away the call and tried to look naturally as the door slowly swung open. Miss Baker paid him no attention, more concerned about the contrast between the hallway and the room.

"Holy crap, who is your decorator?" she asked him. "They must've been high."

Lloyd shrugged, "I didn't have a say in the layout. Have a seat miss-"

"Kennedy," she interrupted. "I don't like being called miss. It kinda makes me feel old"

Lloyd nodded, "Oh I see." and was glad some divine force stopped him from asking, 'so how old are you?'

"Would you like anything?"he asked not so subtly with a genuine half smile. "Tea? Coffee? Brownies?"

"I'll take a coffee," she replied. "Six creams and six sugars."