“That is I. You see, I normally operate through a group of intermediaries. Only a handful of my employees have ever met me in person. I do not take a hands-on approach very often. The duty of a good executive is to pick good managers, as they are my public face. Because of this, my existence has taken on something of an air of mystery, a situation which I do not find uncomfortable. I believe that a little fear improves employee productivity. Thus, you may call me Management for your convenience. That name will do as well as any.”

The elevator was still cranking along. I had no idea how deep below the surface I had to be by now. Then the elevator stopped so suddenly that my knees clicked and I had to grab onto the handrails. The door slid smoothly open to reveal a…mine shaft? The walls were bare stone, roughly chipped into a rectangular passage, and reinforced every ten feet by a crisscrossing steel beams. Naked lightbulbs were affixed to the ceiling, following a single electrical cable. The tunnel descended into the unknown.

I pushed the roof button repeatedly. The doors didn’t close.

“Please, Mr. Pitt. Time is money. We both have pressing matters to deal with. My office is at the end of the tunnel.” I put my hand back on Abomination’s grip. “Please do not do that. Violence upsets me.”

“Really? Because getting kidnapped upsets me.”

There was no answer. The intercom was quiet. I punched the button one last frustrated time. Since my only other option was to try to climb up the elevator cable for probably twenty stories, that left the tunnel.

The tunnel was clean of dust. The rocks were cool. It was a straight shot with no side branches. It sloped downward for a hundred yards before I noticed a much brighter source of light up ahead. The tunnel gradually widened until it opened up into a huge space.

The cave appeared to have been formed naturally, and was at least as large as DeSoya Caverns, only this place was far brighter. You could play a football game in this cave and leave room for bleachers. The light was coming from intricate golden chandeliers hanging from the roof. Crystal formations were naturally growing out of the walls or sprouting from the floor, and they reflected the light in shades of purple, green, and blue. There were more lamps set all along the interior, some crafted metal, some made of exotic fabric, each of them different, but all of them gaudy.