Chapter Three
Leon found himself in a small hallway, and he crept down it softly. There was a worn rug beneath his feet, and the walls were covered with plain wood paneling. He found two doors in the hallway. He tried the first one, and found himself in a supply closet. He looked around, and didn't find much. There were some stacks of paper, some pamphlets from some sort of community event, some cleaning solution, and a small door key. Leon took the key. It was ordinary, just like any other sort of key that might be used to open any door. He slipped it into his pocket and stepped out of the closet. He went to the other door, and found that it was locked. He tried the key, but found that it did not fit the lock.
Leon returned to the original entrance hallway and tried the key in the first door, but to no avail. He tried the second to the same effect. He went to the door labeled "Station Management," but he wasn't able to open that one, either. This left one more locked door, and he found that the key fit. He pushed the door, and it swung open easily. He found himself in another short hallway, and he walked into it. It had the same type of overused rug running along it, but it was mainly illuminated by a single red light next to another sign that said "ON AIR."
There was one door in the hallway, and it was all the way at the end. Leon walked toward it and as he did, he found himself passing by a window that looked in upon a radio soundboard. It had controls lit up along it, and was quite obviously running during the ongoing program. On the other side of these controls was a small room with a wooden desk. The wooden desk supported only a microphone and a coffee mug. Behind the desk was a blond man, probably a bit shorter than Leon, wearing a sweater vest and a loose tie. He saw Leon looking at him, and they made eye contact through the glass. The man inside continued to speak, though Leon could not hear it through the soundproofed room.
He contemplated whether or not he should enter the room. He wanted to be able to access the radio tower as quickly as possible to get in contact with Hunnigan and see what exactly was going on, but he wasn't sure if he should interrupt the broadcast. He decided that he needed to worry about the mission before anything else, and he went in through the door, which gave up no resistance when he turned the knob.
"…and now he seems to have entered the room. I'm not sure what this stranger plans to do here, or what he wants with me, but I'll be sure to find out." Leon walked to the desk and pressed the button at the base of the mic that muted it.
"My name is Leon S. Kennedy. I'm a special agent with the U.S. Government, and I need access to your communications equipment." He looked the man in the eye, who looked startled, but not threatened. "And I don't want anyone else knowing that I'm here. There's a hostile police force that intends to stop me from completing my mission."
"And what might your mission be?" asked the radio man. He leaned forward toward Leon inquisitively.
"I'm looking for a man named Carlos who was sent to this town a little over a year ago to study the strange goings-on here. We haven't heard from him since he's gotten here. Do you know him?"
"Know him?" asked the man behind the desk. "I'm his boyfriend."
Leon didn't know how to reply to that. He dropped his finger from the mute button and the small light at the base of the mic lit up red again. "Listeners," said the man behind the desk, "it seems that I'm needed elsewhere, and it is that time of day that beckons ever closer the end of our time together. So, with all of the most caring emotions allowed by recent town mandates, I wish you the most profitable of futures. And, as always, good night, Night Vale. Good night."
The man pressed a button on the side of the microphone and stood up. "My name is Cecil Palmer, Mr. Kennedy. I host the community radio show here in Night Vale. I was just going to meet Carlos after my show anyway. I guess I'll just bring you along."
"Why didn't you report me to the Secret Police?" asked Leon, wary of the man's helpfulness.
"Any coworker of Carlos's is a coworker of mine," said Cecil. "And besides, you haven't done anything that seems to warrant a report to the Sheriff's Secret Police yet, I think… at least according to the most recent bylaws…"
"Thank you," said Leon. He figured that with Cecil's cooperation, he could use the radio station's equipment to make contact with Hunnigan after he was able to make contact with Carlos. Then, he could get down to the bottom of what was making this whole town so strange. He followed Cecil quietly out the door.