There had to be something on the device connected to the image, there just had to be. I wouldn’t give up until I found something, anything, that explained that last picture. Why else would someone keep proof that they’d gone to somewhere without System approval?
I looked through every application on the device one by one, even those that typically wouldn’t be used to store content. I read every line, every data point, every detail in search of a clue.
“Dax,” Al said from beside me, “yoweorewijrfewjuok at another device. Just to take a break.”
“No,” I replied, examining the save slots of a game.
“A small break’s not going to hurt.”
“I said no.”
Al sighed. I moved on to the next application on the device. The game didn’t seem to have anything related to the picture. A picture I returned to once in a while, just to see if I missed any details in the image. Double doors at the end of an unlit hallway chained shut. “No Unauthorized Access” in red letters painted above. I could never see any more than that. No hints of where it was or when it had been taken.
If there was anything else that could be learned from the picture, I probably couldn’t find it without Tazina’s help. But I had to be absolutely certain first that there wasn’t something else on the device. So I continued searching through every detail I could find in each application.
My stomach growled. I sighed, finally putting down the device. “Hey, do you wanna grab some din-” I glanced around the empty room. Tazina’s computer turned off, the elevator door closed, Al’s chair vacant. When had they left?
“Dinner sounds great,” came Leslie’s voice.
I jumped. At the foot of the stairs, Leslie leaned against the wall.
“You look surprised,” they said.
I glanced around the room one more time. “I didn’t notice them leave.”
Leslie chuckled. “You didn’t notice me cweotijewmkher. You were really into that thing.”
My stomach growled again.
“Come on,” Leslie said, waving me over, “let’s get you fed.”
“Or…” I replied, looking between them and the device on the counter, “you could bring me food here and I can keep working.”
“Dax.”
“I’m so close,” I said, clasping my hands together. “I know there’s something here.”
Leslie crossed their arms. “Dax, that thing’s not going anywhere.”
“But – ”
“Don’t let your partner go home by themself.” Leslie pouted, then traced a finger down their cheek. “They’ll be lonely.”
I laughed. “Fine!” I said, walking over to their side. “You’re so ridiculous.”
“It worked, didn’t it?” Leslie kissed me on the cheek. And we went home.
To be continued…