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"If you're going through hell, keep going." - Winston Churchill
"It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change." -Charles Darwin
Entering UEI:
Ria yawned and starred contentedly at the swirling mug of Starbucks in her hand. She was glad she'd left for work a few minutes early to grab a cup of the life giving nectar. It had been another long, sleepless night and by the time her head had hit the pillows, it was as if she was immediately up and pulling on some rumpled clothes. She could barely recall her fiancée crawling into bed with her for yet another passionless night. For the thousandth time, she silently swore she would get off work early and surprise Jeremy with one of her cute little pieces she had stashed away in her closet.
The elevator dinged, causing her to momentarily give a start before sauntering forward for her daily commute down the long shaft. It was truly remarkable just how deep they were creating the underground homes. Conspiracy theorists raved that it was to save the wealthy from an ever brooding nuclear strike, but Ria knew the actual reason. It was no secret the world was hurting for more living space with the very real problem of overpopulation. The depth at which they were building was for the sake of accommodating more people. Only certain areas could actually safely house people under the earth and when those perfect conditions were found, it just made sense to dig deeper than spread out.
Surprisingly, the ride down only took a matter of minutes. Ria always savored the ride as her few minutes of rare solitude. She often beat her coworkers to work and wished she was as skilled getting off on time as they were. At least all the overtime would greatly contribute to this year's Christmas shopping and trip to visit family.
All too soon, the doors parted and Ria found herself facing the first floor. It was already bustling with life. Underground Earth Industries, or UEI, was a twenty-four seven project and without the Sun as a gauge for how much time had passed, it actually wasn't too hard to pull a fifteen hour day.
Ria sipped her coffee while she navigated the throngs of people. She skillfully dodged sheets of drywall, ensnaring wires, and the hard hats littering the floors when they didn't actually make it to a person's head. One of these days, Osha was really going to crack down on them if they weren't careful.
She cleared the more common construction rooms, and made her way down a less populated hall. Her high heels made a prominent clicking sound as she plowed down the corridor at her usual jolting gate. She only made it a few steps before Alex Nazar, one of the top architects, walked in stride with her.
While Alex Nazar's name was decidedly Russian, he had been born in America and had no traces of an accent, but the determination of his emigrated parents was very apparent in him. At the youthful age of thirty-one, he was already one of the world's most in demand architects. It was no secret that it cost UEI a pretty penny to bring him on, but so far, it had all proved worth it.
"Good morning, Ria," Alex nodded his head in greeting.
"Good morning, Alex," Ria smiled. She couldn't remember a day in the past three years they had worked for UEI together that they hadn't said good morning to each other. It was the little habitual formalities like this that made working on an ever evolving project a little more sane.
"Did you ever actually leave the office, Alex?" Ria questioned while pitching her empty coffee cup into a nearby garbage as they marched down the narrow hall. She glanced at his disheveled, brown locks that looked as though they had been hastily finger combed. Surprisingly, his suit didn't bear the same resemblance. It was still stain free and without wrinkles. If he did sleep in it, she always believed he must have done it will sitting up all night.
"Ahhhh..." Alex's sheepish expression was answer enough.
"I think I'm going to buy you a sleeping cot for Christmas for your exciting nightlife at the office."
"Hmmmm, I'm not sure that meets the size requirements at the white elephant gift exchange this year. Speaking of having no night life, how's Jeremy handling the long hours?" Alex's brilliant, blue eyes flashed curiosity as he glanced down at the shorter woman. He knew Ria's geeky, yet successful fiance must have been suffering attention withdrawals. He partially pitied the younger man, but it was usually more out of empathy for the moments he himself experienced away from Ria than actual concern.
"You know," Ria sighed, guilt once again plaguing her, "he's used to it. I keep promising him Christmas vacation will be time for us to regroup again and focus on the wedding, but the waiting is hard. I think we'll both breath a little easier when this project is done."
Recalling her lover proposing to her made her heart flutter. While they had been dating for nearly five years, the proposal was still every bit as meaningful and passionate as when they first got together. He had gone all out with booking them a three day cruise, fulfilling Ria's dream of being on a ship. After a five star dinner, Jeremy had led Ria over to a balcony of the ship. With the Sun sinking below the ocean and the dazzling array of color it left behind, Jeremy dropped to one knee and in the next moment Ria vowed to become Mrs. Tussley. Ria revisited the memory often as a reminder why they were both working so many hours. It was to afford the wedding and to make their union finally a reality.
Alex nodded. "I'm sure he understands," he stated in his low, velvety voice.
The two had neared the second set of elevators when Ria's iphone went off.
"Speaking of," she flashed a smile when the caller ID read Jeremy. "Hey honey!"
Alex strolled ahead and pushed the button for the elevator door. He admired its futuristic design and glanced at the set of stairs to its right. He knew he really should walk those occasionally before he turned into an office potato. He missed his evening basketball sessions with the guys and the Fall hunting trips. Down here, the only signs of animal life was the few cats and dogs some of the lower level residents had. To help with the costs, UEI had already started renting out the completed levels to families and businesses alike. Instead of corporate offices soaring into the sky, they now delved into the Earth.
The doors opened, but Alex remained outside the elevator while keeping the doors opened.
A now phone free Ria trotted to catch up to him.
"After you," Alex gestured to the elevator.
"Always a gentleman. Thank you." That also never changed. No matter how long they were together, Alex always opened doors for her.
"Eight years in the Navy, you retain a few manners." He chimed while following her in.
The two stood in mutual silence for a few moments just appreciating the speed at which the elevator traveled without causing the passenger to feel any stress or nausea.
"Do I look fat," Ria suddenly burst out. She despised herself for spending so many hours in front of a computer and the short gym breaks she took at work didn't feel like they were making a difference.
Alex chuckled while still facing forward. "No Ria, you're little figure hasn't suffered. Besides, I could swear you've been wearing those same slacks for three years now. Obviously, you need new slacks," Alex joked.
Ria glanced over at Alex and a small smile played across her lips. "Tell me again why Jolynn didn't marry you? She really lucked out."
Alex's face remained serious. "We didn't share the same vision."
"Well, like I said, she lucked out," the elevator doors opened and she stepped out. "See you at lunch?" she shouted over her shoulder.
"I'll be there," he reassured as the elevator doors closed. Once alone, Alex let out a low,long sigh.
Alex reached his office and tapped his mahogany desk as his other hand swiped through the blueprints on his iPad. His eyes felt like they were swimming and the familiar throb of a caffeine headache started forming. He glanced up at the vial of B-12 drops Ria insisted he take intermittently instead of coffee to cure his addiction.
"Maybe today I'll try..." he halfway proposed before his office door opened and his secretary, Claire, stood in the doorway. A cup of steaming coffee was accompanied by her knowing smile.
"Sorry I was a few minutes late, Alex. Here's your coffee, black with just a hint of sugar."
"Claire," Alex breathed a sigh of relief, "you truly are a lifesaver."
"Well, maybe if you went home to sleep, you wouldn't..."
Alex lifted a hand in defense of the accusations, "Please, Claire, I've already received one lecture for the day, allow me to indulge in my sinful pleasure before I sit through yours," he moaned as he settled into his black, leather chair and coddled his coffee.
"All right, Alex," Claire smiled. "I'll get your list of messages."
Alex watched her as she left. He really did appreciate Claire. She wasn't some hot, model secretary they always featured in movies, but she was brilliant, concise, and knew Alex well. He would be hard pressed to find anyone better if she ever quit.
Alex glanced up and felt the familiar twinge of despair when he again realized there was no window to look out. No sunlight streaming in or a brewing storm's rhythmic song. Just the constant sound of machinery, voices, and, at rare times, silence.
Ria plopped down at her desk. Her office wasn't nearly as stately as Alex's, but for the twenty-five year old college graduate, it was perfect. She was just happy to have her own space.
While milling through her work emails, she clicked on the news and played it on her dueling monitor. She'd never been one for the news, but with having some stock in UEI, she liked to hear what outsiders were saying.
Her hazel eyes scanned through the emails and she occasionally picked up a word or two of the reporter.
"Political strain has increased between Russia, China, and the U.S. with the increasing danger of Weapons of Mass Destruction not being reported," the size two, female newscaster neutrally declared.
"Someone's always mad at somebody," Ria mumbled under her breath. Her attention to the news peaked when the word "nuclear war" was blurted out.
She glanced over at the screen, momentarily ignoring her messages.
"Nuclear, huh? Maybe I should think about renting a little apartment down her after all," she joked aloud, but a slight unease gave her a pin prick of anxiety. It was no surprise about the nuclear tensions rising. The world seemed on the brink of WWIII and, allegedly, the production of nuclear weapons was at an all time staggering high. It seemed the world had turned into a nuclear, ticking time bomb just waiting for the right incident to set it off.
7:06PM
Ria ventured out of her office. The night shift was coming on-board, which meant most of the floors had cleared out making it easier to navigate.
It only took her five minutes to reach Alex's office. She gave his door a light knock.
"Who is it?"
"Pizza delivery..." Ria grinned, "or at least I wish it was."
"Come on in."
Ria entered the dimly lit office and immediately noticed Alex was no longer dressed in his suit and tie. Those were neatly hung on his coat rack. Instead, he wore some broken in jeans and an ebony, button up shirt conformed to his athletic figure.
"That's how he does it," Ria mused inwardly.
Alex removed his black framed glasses and leaned back in his chair. "You taking off?"
"Yeah, I'm actually getting out of here early," she halfheartedly chuckled.
"You know, I was just getting ready to order some dinner. I could have dinner delivered for both of us if you wanted to eat then run."
"No, but thank you. I feel like being domestic tonight and cooking."
Alex nodded.
"Alex, have you been following the news? What do you think of all this nuclear talk? I'm not one to scare easy and I know the Media is hyping it up, but..." Her voice trailed off.
"It worries you," Alex noted out loud. He stood up from his seat and paced over to her until they were facing each other. "Don't be worried, Ria," he reassured. "Besides, they reinforced this place to withstand a nuclear strike."
"That's comforting. Do they know something we don't?" She scoffed. She reflected for a moment and then made eye contact with Alex. "Do you know something I don't?"
Alex studied her gaze for a moment and fought the impulse to push her bangs away from her face. "If I did, I would tell you. Unfortunately, my military connections are not what they used to be since my retirement. I'm not in the loop anymore than any other civilian."
Ria held his gaze a moment longer, testing the honesty in his eyes. Then, she dropped it and found herself surveying his figure. With his suit on, she'd never really noticed the apparent outline of his pecs or the little bulge of relaxed biceps. Unconsciously, she felt a longing stir in her.
The slow movement of Alex shifting closer to her broke her out of the trance and she took a step back. She was suddenly confused as to why she wasn't rushing home to Jeremy. She needed to be home with him.
Alex noticed her reaction and he gave her some space.
"I better get going," Ria declared a bit flustered.
"Do you want me to walk you to your car?"
"Not tonight, Alex, but thank you. Good night, Captain," she gave his arm a light squeeze and then started down the corridor at a brisk walk.
Alex grinned appreciating the nickname. He had never made Captain, but it brought back the invigorating memories of his days at sea.
"Ria!" Alex called after her.
"Yes," she paused and turned towards him.
"You don't have to be afraid."
Ria smiled. "I know."
