I began to climb the stairs. “Why? Aren’t the cameras working?”

“Randomly. There seems to be some sort of interference.”

“So do you want me to go back and intimately describe the foyer and the dead sandwich?” Jackson’s voice was bland.

“No, I do not. Stop being an ass, Miller.”

I grinned. “We’ve found the stairwell and are heading up to the first floor. The building has six floors; not sure if there’s a basement.”

“Is the building you’re in directly opposite the one I’m in?”

“Yes.” I reached the entrance to the first floor and carefully opened the door. The light from my sphere fanned out, illuminating several doors immediately opposite.

“I’ll bring up the floor plans. They might help.”

And they might not. But I refrained from saying that and stepped into the corridor. It stretched to either side of us and had a series of doors running off it. “I’ll go left; you go right.”

Jackson nodded, his expression somewhat distracted. A heartbeat later, a sphere of light appeared in front of him, though it was larger and more volatile-looking than mine.

He flashed me a rather pleased grin. “I think I’m getting the hang of this. Meet you around the other side.”

I headed left, providing a running commentary as I checked each room. Jackson was doing the same. Most of them were empty, without even cobwebs or dust. The lack of webs was decidedly odd if the rooms had been abandoned for some time. Daddy longlegs, at the very least, should have taken up residence by now. At the far end of the long hall, I found a room filled with filing cabinets. I quickly checked them, but all were empty.

I rounded the corner; there were no offices, just a short corridor that led to the other side of the building. I repeated the process there, and the result was the same—nothing.

Jackson cautiously opened the stairwell door and sent his sphere in. “The next level is blocked.”

I ducked under his arm and peered up. The flickering light of his fireball gleamed off a mix of concrete and metal.

“I can probably blast it, but I doubt it’s worth the effort. Sam, do both sets of stairs have exits onto the second floor?”

“Yes. The building initially belonged to a bio skincare manufacturer, but in more recent years was used by a couple of dope kings. The cops busted their operation about three years ago. According to the information I have, there are smaller labs on the second floor, but the main base of operations was on the third.”

“Meaning Luke simply made use of what was already here.” I glanced at Jackson. “It might also explain the blockage. It’s easier to control one exit than two.”

“But hardly necessary since he controlled the entire area.”