Xavier continued walking until he came to a plain brick wall. With his toe, he lightly tapped the corner of the dead-end alley. It was some sort of rhythm, long, short, short, then four long. The wall slowly, silently, slid to the left, revealing a staircase spiraling into darkness lit only by bare light bulbs every few feet on the walls. The place held a feeling of mystery and foreboding. Xavier started descending the stairs, gliding smoothly as if he were floating. He held his hands close to his torso, keeping the child secure in his over sized jacket. As Xavier stepped off the final step a clang of metal rang out. There was a rust-covered handle sitting the floor to his left, and he slowly bent down to grip with both hands. The screeching of metal on metal filled the air.
Xavier climbed down and walked the long corridor that opened in front of him. It was the complete opposite of the staircase; stark white with fluorescent lights on the ceiling. The baby was now silent, probably lulled to sleep by Xavier's long even strides. Xavier calmly strolled into a small, closet-like room. The walls were plastered with screens of all kinds. Directly in front of him was a high-backed, plush leather chair. It spun around to reveal an old man who was more like a bag of bones than human. Two strikingly pale, cloudy blue eyes sunken into his skull focused on a spot above Xavier's left ear.
"So?" a raspy voice came from the man. It was low and quiet but contained a life full of wisdom and strength.
"I have her." Xavier said in a dull monotone. "It was too easy. Someone must have seen me." he reported.
The man grumbled to himself. He jabbed a bony finger onto a button, which was one of the many on the control panel that sat in front of the chair. The old bag of bones turned to face Xavier again, who was now trying to gently take out the baby. The door to the room opened and a frightened-looking maid stood in the doorway.
"You called, sir?" she asked, glancing at Xavier with curious eyes.
"Take the child." the man answered gruffly. The maid nodded and took the baby softly into her arms. She hurried out with one last glance back.
"Xavier, thank you. You are dismissed." the man ordered hoarsely.
Xavier gave a curt nod, "Yes, Mortimer sir," he replied and walked out proudly. A sense of accomplishment now settled over the guilt, quenching it completely. Xavier stalked proudly back down the hall, his chin held high with confidence.
Back in the control room, Mortimer, the old, man, was speaking into the phone.
"Maine. There's family in Augusta, living on the outskirts. One other kid." Mortimer said. There was a pause. "No! Keep track of her. Insert a bug if you have to!" he half-yelled into the phone. After a brief comment from the other line, Mortimer visibly relaxed. A smirk spread across his translucent face and he hung up without a goodbye.
Mortimer stood up with his back stooped. He grabbed a cane from the corner of the room harshly and hobbled out of the room.
Just as he left, one of the many screens in the room flickered. This one happened to be high up, just to the right of the door. "Mortimer-sempai! Mortimer-sempai, please answer!" cried a male voice through the black screen, high pitched with fear. Buzzing came through, then silence. But of course, no one was there to hear.