Page 52 of Mastermind

“Yeah,” says Theo, studying the building. He gets out and walks up to the gate. There’s a small guard shack to the side, but no guard inside. He looks back at me, shrugs, reaches into the shack, and presses the button that lifts the gate.

I drive in, and he hops into the passenger seat. We park next to an old Toyota and a pickup truck that are in front of the entrance, where a set of metal doors with a keypad and a camera face outward.

“Now what?” I ask.

“I guess we see if anyone’s home.”

We get out and approach the doors. Theo knocks, then presses the intercom button.

No response.

I pound louder. Still nothing.

Theo walks over to the keypad and stares at it for a moment, then picks up a handful of powdery soil and gently blows it at the buttons. He takes out his phone, aims the light at the pad, and then looks at it from a side angle.

Theo presses four of the buttons. Nothing.

He presses them in a different sequence. Bzzzt.

The door unlocks.

“Well done.” I consider whether and how we should enter, but Theo already has the door open and is walking into the lobby.

I follow, trying to come up with an excuse for why we’re trespassing.

Nobody is at the reception desk, which is literally a metal desk in a room with unfinished drywall and electrical cables hanging out of the ceiling.

Theo walks to the next set of doors. These have a traditional lock. He tries the knob, but they don’t open.

He produces a strip of metal I never saw him acquire from his pockets and feeds it into the gap between the lock and the doorframe.

Click.

“Maybe they’re throwing a birthday party in the back?” he whispers.

We’re both dreading finding the bodies of the data-center technicians. I nod.

“But let me go first,” I say, pulling my gun out and holding it to the side.

Theo doesn’t stop me. That’s when I notice he has a gun drawn, too. Where the hell did he get that?

No time now. I’ll have to ask later.

We’re in a long corridor with half the lights out. The nearest door to our right is another set of double doors.

Theo turns the knob and opens the one on the right. Inside is a large room. The only light comes from skylights high above. Underneath them stand row after row of server racks. Except these look only partially installed. Cabling still lies on the floor, and the cabinet doors are open, revealing empty racks.

“Are we too late or too soon?” I ask.

We walk along the wall, deeper into the huge room. I go down the center aisle, getting a closer look at the cabinets, trying to see if any of them are functional.

Something feels strange, but I can’t put my finger on it. I stop walking and turn around to look at Theo.

He has a finger to his lips.

I nod. He points to the ground. At first, I don’t understand.

Then I’m revolted.