Chapter 9
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The next morning, our little convoy of black SUVs pulled in to the parking lot of our corporate headquarters, a low and sleek structure of futurist design so far out into the desert that most employees commuted in from Reno in the company’s own bus. There were no other buildings for miles around, although the dusty ruins of a long-abandoned ranch could be seen nearby. There was no sign or logo on the building, and anyone driving by would have no way of knowing that this was the headquarters of the famed Quod Corporation.
I got out of the vehicle, scanned the environment for potential threats, then escorted my employer into the building. From the moment we stepped inside, we might as well have been in a space station or perhaps a generation ship, a place of bright whit
