Oasis

Alyx held up a finger, indicating to Cole that she was talking with someone. Cole tapped his thigh impatiently, he had rushed back to her office to deliver the discovery, only to find that she was busy.

To make the wait easier, Cole pulled up the door logs Mirai had sent him, early in the investigation. Following a hunch, he pulled up Mr. Jenkins' logs. /Office 02: Jake Jenkins. Door Log: 5:30 am, 6:34 am, 6:41 am./

The part that interested Cole was how the logs only showed a single entry time. What if there was only a single time because two people entered at the same time. Could Sinje and Mr. Jenkins have gone into his office at the same time? There was still the question of how she had managed to exit the office, without tipping off the door log, but Cole felt like the idea had some legs.

How did the logs work, if the door was never closed? Could they have gone in, and had an argument before the door ever closed. Cole scrunched his face, that didn't seem like something that Mr. Jenkins would do, and besides that theory only worked if the door logs only picked up when a door was opened.

"Cole, are you just going to stand there, or do you have something to say?" Cole snapped out of his thoughts at Alyx's words, noticing that she was done with her conversation. 

"I found proof that Sinje and Mr. Jenkins were having an affair." Cole stated promptly, feeling accomplished from his successful investigation.

"I thought as much, what do you have?" Alyx gently chewed on her lip, looking blankly over Cole's shoulder. "Their door logs match more times than would ever be normal."

"Ok that should be enough to confront Sinje. But could that mean that she is clear, you thought that someone tampered with the door logs?" 

"I have a theory that the logs might not have been changed. Even if they were, it is possible she only had time to change the logs of a single day. Maybe she learned how to change the logs from Mr. Jenkins to go back and remove their meetings, before anyone figured it out." Cole answered Alyx, who seemed like she had asked him the question not to get an answer, but to make him thoroughly examine the theory.

"We will have to continue pulling on the thread, but I have another lead to follow today." Alyx stood up. 

"What about questioning Sinje?" Cole was excited about following the only tangible lead he had found, but Alyx brushed him off. "She is not going anywhere. Come on."

Cole followed after Alyx, and the two were in the elevator, moments later. "Are you going to tell me where we are going?" Cole said.

"Out." Alyx replied. Cole sighed, he knew he wouldn't get more than that. At least he knew that they were leaving the company building. Alyx had been spending a lot of time out of the office, and he was glad that he got to accompany her on the latest lead. Even though work hours Alyx was not the best companion, he still liked spending time with her.

Cole groaned to himself, when he realized that he would have to endure Alyx's driving again. Rather than take the tunnels, the vehicle sped aboveground, making Cole thankful that there were less things for Alyx to hit. There were more buildings, but if she stayed on the streets, there were significantly less vehicles. 

There was not a major dust storm in the city, allowing the full force of the sun to rage against its restraints. While there were no reported storms, a soft coating of dust hung in the air. It was not enough dust to cause worry, yet it still managed to wrap around the city, obscuring vision. Careless of the low visibility, Alyx navigated through the city fearlessly.

"We are here." Alyx said, pulling on the break, causing the vehicle to dive towards the ground. Cole looked around, they were in an unfamiliar part of the city, but he thought it was clear where they were going.

One building stood out from its neighbors. While many buildings did not activate their neon trappings during the day, there was one exception. Challenging the sun with an amalgamation of color, one building screamed for attention. Its signs were not advertisements, but they were just as intrusive, drawing eyes to colorful imagery of people, plants, animals, and all manner of symbols.

During the investigation, Cole had begun to comprehend the scale of the city. He had thought he had done a good job exploring it, but Alyx continually brought him to new areas. "What's this place?" Cole gambled that he would get a response. His bet did not pay out.

Alyx turned off the vehicle, and reached into a compartment next to the door. Wordlessly, she handed Cole a filtration mask. Cole was about to protest that it wasn't necessary, on a relatively clear day. Until he stopped looking at the building, realizing that the dust had picked up considerably in the area.

Why would such an inviting building be in a part of the city with such heavy dust? Just a few minutes earlier, there had not been as much pollution in the air, so it seemed like a conscious choice to have the building in its position.

Cole was considering if the money was the reason for the building's spot in the city, but he thought that the existence of the numerous neon lights that covered every inch of the structure, was enough to show that its owner was not struggling with money. If that was the case the lights would likely be out during the day, the sun made it hard to pick them up, if a person was not close to the building.

It only took a few minutes to reach the building, and when Cole followed Alyx through its doors, he felt a wave of comfort wash over him as he removed the mask. The inside of the building was so inviting, it felt like an oasis in a desert. 

The pair was in a large lobby that had clean checkered floors, and spotless white walls. The ceiling, arching high above their heads, was full of soft lights that perfectly illuminated the room, without being overbearing. In the middle of the room, a large circular desk stood welcomingly, manned by three smiling employees. A few rows of comfortable looking chairs were placed along one of the back walls, a place to rest in a lobby full of life. People jovially greeted each other as they passed by, and the receptionists' smiles did not falter even as long lines of people queued before them.

"I don't think I have seen you two here before, how can I help you today?" Cole jumped in shock, a smiling young woman had seemingly materialized before him. The woman spoke like a practiced professional, even though her outfit looked incredibly casual. Compared to the company uniform that both Cole and Alyx were wearing, the woman was practically in pajamas.

She wore a soft white down sweater that appeared to be at least one size too large, sagging off her body comfortably. Her sleeves covered her hands, the bottom of sweater went to her mid thigh, and neckline carelessly exposed her shoulders and collarbone. At first Cole thought that she was not wearing any pants, but as she shifted, he saw a hint of pink shorts, below the sweater. On her feet, she wore slippers that exposed her toes, betraying the fact that she was not wearing any socks.

Her look was completed by a nest of messy hair that cascaded down the side of her face, which was free of any enhancements. Cole was shocked that she seemed to be an employee as she gripped a clipboard in her hands. However, her smile held warmth and cheer that made her seem like the perfect pick to greet new people.

"Hello, we are here to check out your organization. I think it might be the perfect place for us." A chipper voice perked up next to Cole, and he had to stop himself from checking if Alyx was an alien, when he realized who had spoken.

"Oh that is wonderful. How did you hear about us?" The young woman asked, delightedly.

"I talked with one of your members in a game, and after only a few conversations, I knew I had to bring my boyfriend, so he could understand how awesome you guys are." Cole glanced at Alyx, seeing a smile that instantly assured him that Alyx was acting.

At first he had thought that Alyx had taken him somewhere to forget about work and have a good time. However, he could tell that her smile was forced and insincere, signaling that she was putting on a front to accomplish her goal. What that goal was, Cole had no idea. He was so surprised that he did not pick up what Alyx had called him.

"Wow. I sure hope that we can live up to your expectations." The woman turned to Cole and gave him a once over. "I assume that means you don't know anything about us?" Cole nodded.

"Not to worry, I am Minny, and I will be your guide. I am sure that you will see the wonders of our organization." Minny held out her hand, and as Cole accepted it, he noticed a tattoo peaking out of her sleeve. It depicted a childish sun and a grasping hand.