The place where they took Celeste was nothing like what she imagined it would be. It was not dingy, nor smelly, nor messy. Not like anything she'd seen in the movies. It was all very organized, clean, and even deceivingly welcoming.
The man, who later introduced himself as Sam, was one of the watch guards left there to see who and why anyone would come into their neighborhood.
He didn't seem to mind her short answers as he took her to a corner at the end of the docks.
A warehouse-like building with cold metal walls bolted together and a garage-like entry. The inside was decorated into a makeshift office, blocked by stacks of wooden pallets—twenty stacks high.
A small round table under an intensely bright hanging bulb was surrounded by five men, each sitting in conversation. Two were playing cards, the rest smoking. The smoke was so thick that it gave the space a light white hue.