Chapter 21 - THE VOICE BEHIND THE WALL
For several long seconds, no one moved.
The corridor, silent only moments earlier, was now brightly illuminated. Tiny camera lenses glimmered from every corner of the ceiling, each one angled toward Alex as though they had awakened the instant he stepped onto Level B2.
Daniel instinctively moved half a step in front of him.
"Who's there?" Daniel demanded.
Only the faint hum of ventilation answered.
Then the calm voice returned through the hidden speakers.
"Identity confirmed."
"Daniel Reed."
"Alex Carter."
"Detective Laura Bennett."
A brief pause followed.
"Unauthorized individual detected."
Everyone turned toward the maintenance employee.
The poor man had gone completely pale.
"I swear I don't know anything about this place."
Before anyone could respond, a soft chime echoed through the hallway.
One of the reinforced doors slid open.
Not D-17.
D-12.
Inside was a spotless observation room. Computers covered one wall, while dozens of inactive monitors faced a single chair positioned beneath a bright ceiling light.
It resembled an interview room more than a laboratory.
"What is this place?" Bennett whispered.
Daniel slowly shook his head.
"It wasn't part of headquarters when I worked here."
Alex stepped closer to the doorway.
Dust covered the hallway outside, but inside the room there wasn't a single speck.
Someone had maintained it.
Recently.
On the central desk rested only one object.
A leather notebook.
Its cover bore no title.
Alex carefully opened it.
Every page except the last had been removed.
The remaining page contained only handwritten dates.
April 12.
May 8.
June 21.
July 3.
Each date had a location beside it.
Public Library.
Warehouse District.
Riverside Bus Stop.
Airport Terminal.
Alex's heartbeat quickened.
Those weren't random places.
They were places he had visited.
Daniel looked over his shoulder.
"These are your movements."
Alex nodded slowly.
"They've been recording me for months."
Bennett turned another page.
Nothing.
Then she held the notebook under the ceiling light.
Indented writing appeared beneath the paper.
Someone had written on the missing pages.
The impressions remained.
She removed a pencil from her pocket and gently shaded across the paper.
Letters slowly emerged.
SUBJECT RESPONSE:
Displays empathy above predicted threshold.
Maintains routine despite financial hardship.
Intervention postponed.
Daniel read the sentence twice.
"Predicted threshold..."
Alex looked at him.
"They were evaluating me."
The calm voice interrupted again.
"Correction."
"You were never under evaluation."
Everyone froze.
"You were under observation."
Before anyone could ask another question, the heavy door marked D-17 unlocked with a loud metallic click.
The speaker remained silent.
May you like
As if inviting them to continue.
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