Chapter Forty-Nine - I Spy with my Meaty Eye


    Chapter Forty-Nine - I Spy with my Meaty Eye


    "Space is a commodity that few people recognize until they''re stuffed into a room the size of a closet and told that this is their home."


    --Jim Moom, Warden of CNW Indebted Credit Repayment Facility, #147, 2036


    ***


    I got back into the elevator, rode past Gomorrah''s floor, then stopped at the level above. That was where See-Three and I were supposed to be meeting.


    Of course, she wasn''t there yet. I''d know if she was, because I was in the nearest parking garage all of a minute ago, and I didn''t see her showing up.


    So, I was going to be unfashionably early, but that was alright. I kind of wanted an idea of the lay of the floor first. "Lemme know when See-Three arrives," I said.


    Can do.


    With that set up, I started to look around the floor. It was actually pretty large, once I looked past all the shit in the way. Unlike the floor below, where Franny and Delilah had ripped down all of the walls and made space for things, this one was still largely occupied by stuff.


    Notably, there were old offices here.


    The floor being as big as it was meant that there was room for several firms in here. There was a law firm, an accounting place, some online retailer''s physical location, then a few rent-a-day offices. The sorts of places with okay-enough internet (with free spyware, probably), little cubicles, free coffee of the undrinkable kind, and some second hand furniture.


    They were places that someone could rent by the day, or have the company that hired them for remote work rent for a day. Probably for way too much too.


    The place had a small lobby space at the front, with seats and a desk with bullet-proof glass for a secretary, and then the offices were behind that, in a series of cubicles, some of which were still standing.


    That... might not be the worst spot for that clinic, actually. It had a space for people to wait in at the front, and as I explored the back, turning on lights as I went, I discovered a couple of generic meeting rooms, probably also rentable, and a corner office at the very back with a view.


    A shitty one, delivered through two narrow windows, but still, a view. And that back room had plugs and lights and an office chair that was missing one of those rollers at the bottom.


    It was better than nothing, I figured.


    See-Three has arrived along with two companions.


    "Good timing," I said. "Is she on this floor yet?"


    The coffee shop was a fresh idea, but not one I''d dismiss so easily. Maybe I could use it as a way to get the kittens upstairs to work. They''d finally earn their keep, and it could serve as a way for them to earn some change.


    I didn''t have illusions about housing them forever. One day they''d want to move on, and having both work experience and credits on hand would help a lot with that.


    Lucy would... probably just find more orphans to fill the void.


    "This is it," I said with a gesture at the place. It was better to move on before my thoughts spiralled and I eventually decided that we all needed therapy or something.


    See-Three eyed the office front. The corridor lights were down, but I suspected that all of us here had enough cyberware to see in the low-light. At least the lights within were on, and they painted the lobby as... well, a sterile, very inoffensive lobby, minus a few chairs and potted plants.


    "It''s larger than the space we had before," she said.


    "There''s a lobby to get people to sit down and shut up in, then offices at the back," I said as I opened the door and let everyone in. Then I moved ahead, feeling a bit like a realtor as I showed the space off. "There''s a heavy door between the lobby and the back. Not sure how tough it actually is, but it''s something."


    "I see," See-three said.


    "And then we have the cubicle farm," I said as I gestured grandly. "It''s... not much to look at, but it''s better than nothing. We can toss all of this shit out, or shove it into the printing machine to break it down. Then we''ll have plenty of room."


    "Can we renovate this?" See-Three asked.


    "It''s basically my building, so... consider yourself permitted. I''d lend you the construction or repair drone to help, but it''s a bit busy. Still, I think we can get something temporary set up quickly enough."


    See-Three nodded quickly. "It''s a lot of space. We''ll use it well."


    "There''s the back here too," I said as I led them in deeper. "There are two meeting rooms. Honestly, it might be worthwhile to turn at least one into something else? Like a place for patients or something?"


    "A convalescence room," See-Three suggested. "Post-op, a lot of people need a few hours, sometimes a day or two, on their back. Especially for more complex operations. Most places will shove you in a taxi and you have to hope you can make it to your bed."


    "Mhm. There''s a small break room, a changing room, and some bathrooms. Honestly, I think you might want to look into hiring a full-time nurse or something while you''re at it."


    See-Three took a deep breath. "Yes. I think we might have to do just that. This is... growing to be bigger than I expected."


    "Ah, it''s not so bad, is it? Look! Free corner office. With a view!"


    ***