The streets below his building were quiet - there was nobody to look up and see Tony flick his cigarette butt into the air and watch it sail to earth a few feet from his front door.He disappeared from the window into the room; he would allow himself half an hour to relax before he prepared to leave. Flicking on the television he cursed as nothing happened. He tried the lights. Nothing. ‘Great' he thought ‘power's out'. This was happening way too often lately. In the top drawer of his dresser Tony found a notepad and pen; he wrote a short but very succinct letter to his landlord and put it by the door. Not that it would make much difference - the landlord was rarely around, and when he was available he was all smiles and promises. Tony had met his type before.

Tony's bookshelf was crammed: Science fiction jostled for space with historical sagas; swashbuckling adventures vied for attention with travel journals. A good read could pass the time better than any program on T.V. anyway. A choice selection and a comfy chair engaged him for the next 27 minutes, at which time he closed the book carefully and replaced it on the shelf. Time to get ready. Tony turned to face his neatly pressed uniform hanging on the wardrobe door. He liked his uniform, all blue and grey; it gave him a feeling of power, control. When Tony put on his uniform he grew as a person. Today, because of his earlier setback, he took particular care over his tie and polished his buttons till they shone. He did not bother to look in the mirror. He picked up his torch, events book, baton and large bunch of keys and made his way down to the street.It was a very short walk to work and he didn't encounter anyone on the way. It wasn't exactly a residential area though. Everyone on a day shift had long since gone home. As he walked up the driveway Tony hoped there was power on the site - he could really do with a cuppa. Unlocking the door to his office took three separate keys and an alarm deactivation. Not that there was anything in this particular port-a-cabin that was worth stealing, but it was inside the perimeter and therefore ultra-protected. Tony liked feeling protected. He always locked himself in, although for health and safety reasons he wasn't supposed to. Tonight was no different. The alarm was operated by a backup generator and so was one hundred percent reliable. Unlike his landlord, Tony thought with a sneer. The general power in the cabin was also out, so he bypassed a few security settings and connected himself to the generator. At last - a cup of tea.

Brew in hand Tony began his checks. No breeches of security in twenty-six days, and that little incident had been on his day off. Cameras active. He ran a full sweep of the complex and found nothing unusual. Some of the labs seemed a little messy though - those guys were normally fastidious about cleaning and storing their equipment after use. ‘Not his problem' he told himself firmly - the night cleaners start in an hour, they can take care of it.

His pace was brisk as he approached the main doors. Of course they were locked. Tony had keys but he didn't use them; he walked round to the service entrance and paused. It was awfully quiet here and he wondered if it was always like that. Had he just never noticed? His face, full of concentration reflected back at him via the glass panel in the door. He turned away quickly and let himself into the building. Once inside the feeling of disquiet grew, but he tried to shrug it off. He was acting out of character today; it was only to be expected that he would feel uncomfortable about it. It was kind of eyrie though, he allowed himself to admit, the way his footsteps echoed up and down the hall. They seemed to run away from him, then speed back towards him, mocking him, urging him to walk faster, louder, shout back, talk to me. ‘Hello' he called? ‘Is anyone there?' How silly - he knew there was no-one there. Tony tightened his grip on his baton and felt ashamed he was grateful for the reassurance it gave. It really did feel strange being inside the building, but while he was here he might as well do a proper survey.

Tony strode purposefully towards the ground floor labs. He knew the layout from hours of camera footage and didn't take one wrong turn. As soon as he reached the medi-lab he knew something was wrong. The door was ajar.To give himself time to think, Tony tried to recall the camera sweep he performed less than thirty minutes ago. Was the door open then? He couldn't be sure. He didn't even know if this door could be seen from the camera in question. Commanding his footsteps to silence he slid forward and peered through the sliver of a gap into the room. Far from the untidiness he had seen on camera the room was wrecked. What could have done this? Fear crept into Tony's heart as he wondered who was responsible and if they were still here. He looked again at the lab - no, the mess was at least a few days old. This was his fault; he should have kept a closer watch on the building. Backing away he considered his options: go back to the safety of his office and continue scanning or find out what had been done to the other labs. He chose to go on.