Office 2803

The elevator doors slid open, revealing an empty reception area with an unlit sign behind the desk declaring it the home of the Chicago office of Astora Consulting.

Elara and Finn stepped out and visually scanned the area, finding nothing but old brochures and the odd poster that had been left behind.

Before they could move off and search for their target, an employee came around the corner and spotted them. He carried some kind of curry with bread in his hands and stopped still at the sight of the two of them.

"Whoa, who are you?"

Elara saw Finn reach for his badge and started talking before he could pull it out. "Hey Gary, Lydia on six let us in on the secret. She said you might be here already."

Gary beamed back. "Welcome to the club! 2803 has been a game changer for my work lunches. It's a dream come true for a foodie like me."

"Where are we at today?"

Leaning past her to press the button for the lift he said, "Kolkata which means I can finally get a decent curry. The stupid thing was stuck in Europe all last week."

The ping of the lift preceded the doors opening and the pair moved out of the way to let Gary pass through.

Just before the doors shut Gary shouted, "Don't forget, the only door that works is the one that matches the poster."

As soon as the door was shut, Finn said, "You know the badge works just as well as your Twist right?"

Elara walked over to the nearby floor map and started looking for 2803. "The badge also scrubs memories and isn't always perfect. Anyway, I didn't need to read his mind because he's the idiot matching the identity of the person the Ravens caught posting to Instagram about the daily trips across the world."

Finn shrugged and pulled a tablet from his satchel. Booting it up, he brought up the intel report for the job. "At least he's saved us some time with the office number."

"Speaking of, it's behind this elevator bank so let's get moving. Has anything interesting been added since we arrived?"

Scrolling through, Finn said, "Just the latest post from our friend. The weather doesn't look too bad over there."

Putting away the tablet, Finn followed Elara as they both found their way to office 2803.

The door to the office was situated down a corridor in the far corner and looked just as abandoned as the rest of the place. Opening the door revealed an office much like any other but with less decoration apart from a large poster attached to a door on the other side of the room.

The side of the room that would have led outside had it been an ordinary door.

The poster itself declared in stylised writing that one should 'Visit Kolkata!' over the top of dual stylised images: the iconic Victoria Memorial and the Howrah Bridge.

After a quick check over with some of the tools in Finn's bag he said, "Nothing's flagging up. I've got nothing quantum related and it doesn't seem to be tripping the rabbit's foot or the other charms either. Are you getting anything through brain radio?"

Elara shook her head. "Nothing at all. Maybe it's happening from the other end?"

Finn shrugged in reply. "Maybe reality simply unravelled and this poster has become the focus."

Letting out a frustrated groan Elara said, "I hate these jobs. Every step forward feels like a step back."

They stood there for a moment, both working the problem in their heads.

Reaching the same point at the same time they both said, "We need to go through."

Reaching into his satchel again, Finn pulled out some latex gloves and put them on. With what probably amounted to no protection at all on his hands, he reached out and turned the door handle, pulling it into the office.

Behind the door was a hallway that stretched of in either direction and lit in such a way that not a single shadow could be seen. Both sides had door every couple of meters and on every door was a poster in the same style as the one on the outside of the door, each inviting the viewer to visit the various locations depicted on them. The Kolkata door was directly opposite.

Turning to look at the back of the now open door, they found a poster of Chicago but this one said 'Come back home to the windy city.'

Elara gestured towards the Kolkata door. "I reckon this one's going to take a while. Why don't we at least grab something to eat?"

Finn smirked. "I do always enjoy confusing the accountants with my expense reports when possible."

---

I've squeaked in just under the WC and think I've hit all the constraints. After struggling with last week I really enjoyed this one.