Sorry to leave a cliff-hanger without the little ...'s! Have fun with Chap. 2.
...head towards the elevator. He pushed the button for the upper floor. When he'd run a digital scan of the place months earlier, he'd noticed something peculiar. The top floor showed up as an empty space. No matter what he did, no matter how much he hacked, nothing would get through. Artemis suspected something, but he was still almost 100 sure this place wasn't the actual headquarters. Unfortunately, it didn't pay to be almost 100 sure. Artemis was way too talented to let something as little as not checking every nook and cranny be the downfall of his mission. He watched as the two silver doors slid apart, revealing an empty elevator. 'Good.' Artemis thought to himself, 'I'll be able to think.' Too bad for him, just as the elevator doors started to inch back together, someone else joined him. For the first time in the duration of his visit, he was a little surprised. Here was a girl his own age. Artemis gave her a quick glance, noting her pinstriped skirt suit and hazel eyes. 'Oh don't distract yourself. You've got business to attend to.' Artemis then thought, chiding himself. 'Probably just some person's daughter.' his brain concluded, before wrapping itself back around the situation at hand. Artemis tried to concentrate, but found himself constantly interrupted by fits of giggles, obnoxious page turning, and annoying beeps. Turning to face the girl, he started to glare, but instead found himself gaping in awe. The girl was reading a set of files from a half-closed briefcase she'd apparently laid of the floor...while text-messaging on her cell phone? 'What kind of strange person is this...?' Artemis wondered, but once again stopped himself. 'It's none of your concern.' he thought, scolding. Huffing at the inconvenience of having such a loud elevator-mate, Artemis decided it would be a waste of his efforts to try and do anything productive in such an environment. Instead, he set to clearing his head. Gently shutting his eyes and blocking out the world, he allowed his brain to wander. For a few seconds anyways. He was interrupted yet again by his rude elevator mate. Knocking into him accidentally and spilling her papers everywhere, she'd obliterated the mood Artemis was trying desperately to set for himself. Impatient, he brushed off his suit and checked the elevator's progress. They'd started on floor 5 of 43, currently standing at floor 9. It would be a long wait.
"I'm so sorry!" he then heard from behind. "I didn't mean to bump you."
Mentally rolling his eyes, Artemis sugared his voice and said, "Don't worry about it."
Feeling kind, he knelt down to help pick up some of her papers. On the top of a paper, he saw the name Helen printed. He robotically picked up the papers, not caring to look at the extensive law gibberish, until one caught his eye. It was a color picture of the building's layout, cleverly tucked in between 2 papers, both with hidden pockets. Artemis wouldn't have even saw it if he hadn't accidentally bent the first sheet. Smoothly, the girl took the sheets away, not giving him the chance to really study the detailed layout.
"I'm Helen." she said, trying to cover the snatch she'd just made.
"Nice to meet you Helen. I'm Alphonse." Artemis replied, interested now. What could this girl possibly be doing with a layout of Crane and Sparrow...? And in such detail...