As soon as the elevator reached the 23rd floor where Mila was supposed to move out, the door swipe open and Mila walked out of the elevator cabin
"See you later, Austin," she said, while Looking at Austin with enthusiasm.
"Yeah, see you later too," Austin replied. He then pushed the close door button in the elivatore keypad and entered the number for the 28th floor, where his office was located. A soon as he pressed it, the elevator began moving upwards.
Austin stood in the elevator, lost in thought as he gazed at the elivatore control panel.
His thoughts drifted to what happened recently with him and the boy called Derick.
"I have made a terrible mistake. I should have called the police when I got the chance to, when the boy was with me. This wouldn't have happened, and he wouldn't have escaped. Where could he be now?" Austin poundered in thoughts and concern.
Austin's eyes darkened as he contemplated. He then looked at the top ceiling of the elevator as it moved upward, facing the electric light shining on his face. He sighed and brought down his head.
"I did my best though, it wasn't my fault. I was trying to help the kid out. I'll try to call the police later to confirm if the boy has been found. Maybe I should have told them his name; it could have been helpful.
What's his name again, yeah… yes Derick, according to what he said.
When I get to my desk in the office, I will write down the name so that I won't forget."
Austin murmured to himself alone in the elevator, with thoughts flooding in his mind.
He somehow has this weired connection with the boy, that he couldn't figure out why. He have a feeling around his body that he somehow can't stop thinking about the boy he saw, he tries to let it go but he couldn't.
If the police are not doing their job, I will go for a search myself, maybe I could find the boy. But the issue now is that I did not get enough information about the boy from him, he esitated to tell me the most interesting part that could help. It would have been a clue to me.
Suddenly, the elevator stopped, and the door opened. Austin gently walked out of the elevator and proceed straight to his office; he opened the door and sat down on his chair, feeling tired. He sank into the armchair, his eyes closing and his hands clutching the handles of the chair While his tired body relaxing on the chair, he then took out a deep breath, and exclaimed.
Suddenly, Austin's telephone began ringing; he then turned his sight to where the telephone was, raised his hands and gradually picked up the phone and answered the call.
Hello, who is this, austing asked.
Hey dude, it's me, John, wassup nigga, I came to your office earlier but you wear not there, John said as he communicate with Austin at the other end of the phone.
Yeah bro, I went out to get something to eat, so what up, John, What up, any problem?
No, I just miss you, John said.
Miss me, but we saw each other just some hours ago, Austin replied. Are you kidding me or something?
Hahaha, John laughed. I just want to see you always. Am impressed that you are growing into a man now.
It's not funny bro, so short your mouth, Austin said while laughed jokingly. I am 27 now, you know, so I am a full-grown man.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I Gerrit. John replied. So, are you back? He asked.
Yeah, I am back. It has not been long though," Austin replied.
"Okay, I wanted to show you something, bro. It's a video game that just came out. That game is massive and mind-blowing. It's a two-player game. Will you mind to play the game with me someday probably when you are free and less busy. I know this job is really a pain, and stressful, but am urging you to try this game with me. You will love it. John said.
"John, you know that I will be occupied with a lot of work in the office, so I don't think I will have the time and chance for that, so if you don't mind, look for someone else." Austin replied.
"Come on bro, it's just a one-time play. I want to see who will be the best at it. I don't like the fact that you always beat me in all the video games we play. Maybe with this new one that I am introducing you to, I will come out as the champion. I can't wait for that to happen." John said from the other end of the phone communication.
Austin rubbed his temples, while rolled his eyes in exhaustion, and responded, "Yeah, John. I will make time for your gaming stuff, but just for this time. I want to focus on my work, bro."
"Okay, thanks. So what about Sunday?" John surgested.
"Don't you have work to do in your office? By the way, it's still cool to be a gamer. I think Sundays will be much better. Let's make it Sunday then. I will be free by then," Austin said.
"Okay, Sunday it is then," John said.
Still on the call with Austin, John shifted the conversation and started talking to someone else, "Are we going to that party? I can't wait to catch the best fun of my life."
"Oh gosh, he forgot that he was still on the phone with me," Austin murmured, then hung up the call and dropped the telephone on his desk.
He ran his hands over his face and said, "Oh gosh, I am so tired, and I have things to do now."
While on his chair sitting down, feeling exhausted, he suddenly noticed that his laptop in front of him turned on by itself. The laptop displayed a logo that looked like an elephant-shaped head designed in a robotic form.
"What on earth is going on? Why is my computer misbehaving this way?" Austin wondered with a furrowed brow, a tinge of frustration creeping into his voice. This is not at all how his sleek, reliable laptop usually behaves. "Could it have been contaminated by malware or worse, hacked?" he muttered, feeling a sense of unease as he tried to figure out the issue plaguing his laptop.
Suddenly, the logo that was displayed on the laptop screen slid down, and a text popped up on the screen writing as, "Neurocore, the feature technology" displayed under the logo, showing a loading sign.
Austin's face darkened, and his eyes blazed with anger as he slammed the laptop screen close. "What the hell," he muttered under his breath, his frustration evident in his furrowed brow and clenched jaw.
After a moment, he took a deep breath and reopened the screen, rolling it upward with a determined expression. Using his right finger, he pressed the laptop's power button. As the screen flickered to life, a white glow briefly illuminated his face before giving way to the familiar dark background of the screen and then the HP logo displayed and came up, after 5 seconds later.
Seated back in his office chair, he pondered the strange occurrence. His mind raced with questions. Had his laptop been compromised? What was that symbol that briefly appeared on the screen? Lost in thought, he mumbled to himself, searching for answers as he fixated on the screen.
Just then, the telephone on his desk rang once more, jolting him out of his contemplation. "who could that be?" he wondered aloud, before reaching for the phone and answering the call.
"Austin, I would like to see you in my office immediately," the voice on the telephone said.
It was his boss, the manager of Shin Communication Limited, Mr. Richard.
"Okay, sir, I will be there right away," Austin replied. Then he stood up from his chair, looked at the laptop screen as he stood, and then he placed his hands at the top of the laptop edge and jammed the screen together with the keyboard.
He then walked out of his office and went straight to the stairs instead of using the elevator to his boss's office, which is the manager's, and which was on the last floor at the top of the building, so instead, he took the stairs. On reaching there, he knocked on the door, but there was no answer; then he knocked again, and he heard a response from inside.
"Come in," Mr. Richard said, his voice stern but not unkind. "Okay, sir," Austin replied, feeling a surge of nervous energy as he stretched his hands and grasped the door handle. With a smooth turn of his hand, the door opened, and he walked inside, trying to appear confident.
"Oh, Austin, it's you," Mr. Barnabas said with a hint of surprise. "I was using the restroom. That's why I couldn't hear your knock earlier. Sorry about that."
"It's nothing, sir," Austin said, forcing his lips into a smile, though he was starting to feel a bit uneasy.
"Um, I wanted you to record some data for me; I want to use it as a presentation in my next meeting with the joint shared business with the Hinktonwood company," Mr. Richard said, his tone urgent.
Mr. Richard then opened the drawer beside him and brought out some files in an envelope. He then handed it to Austin, his expression expectant.
"Austin, you are to do this today; make sure you round it up. I am using this in the morning tomorrow, so please don't fail me, okay?" Mr. Richard's eyes bore into Austin's, making him feel the weight of the responsibility.
"Yes, sure, I won't fail you, sir," Austin said, his voice steady, but his mind racing. As he walked out of the office with the envelope in his hands, a knot of anxiety tightened in his stomach.
"Wow, another work for me means I have to stay overtime here," Austin muttered to himself as he walked downstairs to his office, each step heavy with the burden of the task ahead. When he got to his office, he dropped the envelope on his desk and sank into his chair, feeling the weight of the impending deadline.