Right

As if guided by a common impulse, all three of us look down the right hallway. "Okay," Lilah says. "Let's check the rooms that way."

We carefully make our way down the dark corridor, one of us checking each door we encounter. A few are locked. Most open into offices or sets made up for various sexual fantasies--a dungeon here, an ornate bedroom there. Not entirely sure what I'm supposed to be looking for, I linger for a while in a large empty room with tiled walls and floor, a drain set in the center--an abattoir? I hope not. That would be sick!

I realize I've lost track of Lilah and that other woman--Anna--so I backtrack. I find the former in one of the offices, sitting in front of a keyboard and monitor right next to a bank of data servers. She doesn't see me at first, so I have a moment to scan the terminal line prompt over her shoulder.

Lilah types in the final command and hits "Enter" just as I've finished reading. A printer starts up nearby.

"Find what you were looking for?" I ask. She almost leaps out of her seat. Quickly, her fingers run across the keyboard, erasing the terminal output.

"Fuck! You startled me!" She calms down. "Yeah, I think this is it--the machine that does assessments. Looks like it's all AI-driven... People can be so stupid sometimes."

"Anything else? I saw you were playing around with it."

"...Yeah. I was exploring an idea, but I don't think it worked. Not sure we're going to be able to find anything else out."

"Maybe Anna knows something," I reply. "She wanted to find out about the assessment process, too. I'll look for her."

I go out in the corridor and glance through all the nearby rooms, but find no sign of the black-suited woman. Feeling weirded out by the whole thing, I return to Lilah. "She disappeared," I report.

"Huh," says Lilah. "Well, I don't think we'll learn anything else. Why don't we get the hell out of here, and I'll give you your satisfaction? If that's okay with you."

"Hell, yeah," I say. "Did you have something specific in mind? Handjob? BJ? Whatever you're comfortable with--for a first date."

Her eyes shine. "I have a few ideas. But first--let's leave without being caught."

We retrace our steps to the open window and climb through, closing it after us. Lilah takes my arm in hers and leads me back around the building to the side facing the street.

"Whew!" I say. "I think we got away with it. Hope Anna is okay."

"She seemed like the sort who could take care of herself," Lilah says.

"Honestly, though, the whole thing felt kind of pointless. I'm not sure what exactly we learned that was useful."

"I wouldn't say it was pointless." Lilah produces a laminated card from her purse and waves it beneath my nose. "Read it and weep, lover boy."

By the dim illumination created by the streetlights, I can just about make out the words along the top of the card--"Writ of Male Servitude".