Daniel remembered the plans they'd looked at. To get to the office workers, they would have to walk up a flight of stairs or take the elevator. He listened to the footsteps, right behind them, maybe five feet.
"Let's take the stairs" he said out loud. The choice to speak out loud communicated everything that needed to be. Daniel was laying a trap. Ellis nodded, a little too performatively, but no one who didn't know her would know that. "I think they're on the fourth floor" she said.
<
Daniel half-smiled <
They continued down the cobblestone for a bit. The further they got from the Italian restaurant at the center of the arcade, the less overgrown the walkway was. By the time they'd reached the still-in-use offices the plants had entirely faded. Daniel could even hear voices talking somewhere above them.
"They're somewhere in here." Ellis said. "They seem scared, but not in any kind of danger."
Daniel frowned at her. The more clues they gave, the more alert the person following them would be. If they figured out, she was able to sense people's locations before they were lured onto the staircase, they'd learn nothing.
Daniel walked up to the electronic sliding door, and to his suprise it functioned perfectly. They still had power; despite being disconnected from the rest of the world. At the very least, this indicated that the arcade hadn't been moved. It was still connected to the Philadelphia city grid somehow. Probably.
The door stayed open for a few seconds longer than it should have. Not enough for anyone to notice, but Daniel was waiting for it. He could hear their follower breathing now. They must be very close. Their breaths were shallow and quick. Lower to the ground than he'd expected. He had no scientific basis, but a strong suspicion their stalker was a regular sized human. Maybe on the shorter side, but not by much.
Inside, the offices were "tech company grey" a particular industrial sparseness that reflected mid-2000's scifi movies. A screen on the wall cycled through incomprehensible jargon about "insuritech solutions". The lobby was polished to an unnatural sheen, and totally empty. A few impractical stools sat opposite a reception desk, the company's only concession to functionality. The three of them approached the building's central staircase, Ellis started climbing. Daniel looked up at it and saw that it terminated on a second-floor balcony.
"Let's take the fire stairs" he said, stopping Ellis on the third step. "I don't want to get lost."
"Are there fire stairs?" Ellis asked, looking around the lobby.
"Legally, yes." Daniel said.
He couldn't see them either.
He looked back towards the door and spotted them, hidden behind the wall screen. That meant he had to cross the space in the lobby where their guest probably was.
"They're over there, behind the screen" he said as naturally as he could.
"Oh, I see them. Why don't we walk over there then." Ellis said, entirely unnaturally.
<
Ellis fired back, carrying stress with her message. <
<
<
Daniel approached the fire exit and appraised it. He had enough to work with. A heavy metal door, slow on its hinge so their stalker could slip through behind them. But then they'd be on a narrow landing with him. Within arm's reach. Even better, as he approached, he could see exactly what he'd been hoping for. A red, wall-mounted, box.
<
He threw open the door, just enough that he could get through. It moved as slowly as he'd hoped Ellis threw it all the way open and stopped in the door to look around the lobby one last time. Daniel moved as quickly as he could, pretending to look down the stairs into the basement. He took two steps over to the far wall and opened the door to the fire extinguisher as quietly as he could. Thank God, it was foam based.
Ellis stepped in behind him and the door slowly closed. More than enough space for someone to slip in. She started walking up the stairs, Daniel kept the extinguisher hidden behind his body and pulled the safety pin.
<
Daniel spun around and squeezed the handle whipping the hose back and forth across the entrance way. The extinguisher hissed and spat white foam through the air. Most of it repainted the spaceship grey wall on the other side, but some of it— inexplicably, stuck in the air. It collected and dripped off of something midair. Someone who emerged as a white painted face, scrunched in shock.
The extinguisher sputtered and hissed its last drop, so Daniel threw it at the figure. They managed to dodge, but Daniel had rushed at them right behind it. He pinned both their arms to the floor and straddled the rest of their body in a vague hold.
They scrambled backwards, but Daniel's bodyweight kept them on the ground.
<
"It's okay!" she said. "He isn't going to hurt you."
Daniel didn't know if that was true, but it seemed to slow the panic. Whoever he had pinned stopped thrashing and resorted to breathing heavily. Their heart rate was still elevated. Daniel had the distinct sense he was being examined, though he couldn't really make out their face. The foam had gotten everywhere during the scramble. All he really had was their hands and a smudge that he was sitting on.
<
<
"Can you show yourself?" she continued. "We just want to ask some questions."
<
Daniel cleared his throat and found the most non-threatening voice he had. Friendly, like someone who takes your order at a McDonalds. "I'll let you go as soon as I know you don't have a gun."
The Tracer he had pinned flickered into existence. It was like an old TV screen turning off. Blocks and chunks of person emerged from a glitchy haze. Underneath the foam was a teenage boy, probably his age. He looked Indian and spoke with a mid-country British accent. "Unfortunately for everyone, I do have a gun." he said. "I just can't reach it right now."
He was probably handsome, Daniel decided, though it was difficult to tell underneath the foam and what looked like weeks of poor sleep. He had dark circles under his eyes, and a bruise that took up most of his arm.
<
Daniel transferred both wrists into a single hand, having to lean over the boy to do it. He met Daniel's eyes, projecting a fearlessness that wasn't reflected in his heart rate. With Daniel's other hand, he reached behind the boy's belt and pulled out a gun. A Glock 17. Agency issue. Ellis wouldn't notice, but Daniel did. The boy was watching him carefully, looking for recognition. This had been the shooter in San Francisco, Daniel was sure of it.
He put the gun on the floor and slid it behind him. Then stood up and took a step back. The boy started to pick himself up.
"What's your name?" Ellis asked.
"Liam" he said, then added as a joke. "My parents wanted me to fit in." He was clearly hurt, if not by Daniel's tackle, then by some combination of the tackle and the lingering bruises.
"I'm Ellis, that's Daniel. It's nice to meet you Liam."
Daniel flashed his trademark half smile. "What brings you here?" he asked.
Liam actually giggled. Something between actual hysteria and genuine laughter. "The usual stuff" he said, "I was in town looking for monsters from another world and got trapped in a shitty office building."
"It happens." Daniel said.
"From another world?" Ellis said. "What do you know about the— monsters?"
"I thought you guys worked for the CIA or something." Liam said. "You should know more than me."
<
"Answer the question." Daniel said.
Liam limped over to the first set of stairs and sat down. "If you answer mine."
"Deal."
"They come from somewhere else, that's the magic we can all feel. They use objects, or people as a kind of…" he was looking for the right word.
"Tether?" Daniel suggested.
"Exactly." He said. "You're testing me, aren't you?"
"Is that your question?" Ellis asked.
"No." Liam paused. "How did you know I was here?"
Ellis looked at Daniel for guidance. There was, he decided, no need to tell the whole truth. "I have good hearing" he said instead. "I heard your footsteps when we were on the street."