Chapter 424 - The Glass Elevator (1/2)
Screens lined the walls, monitoring different things around the world, including the latest news, and most up-to-date information from Interpol. Right near the entrance, there was a command center that looked into the children's play area; clearly, this was designed specifically for Halia. And, spread across the headquarters were desks with the fastest and most efficient computers.
Halia looked at Jackson in amazement. ”You actually built a headquarters in the bas.e.m.e.nt of the casino?!”
She then noticed some rooms on the left side. This was another similarity with the casino in the Philippines, except, these rooms were not used for illegal transactions. Instead, they were labs and surgery rooms. ”Dr. Li, Dr. Ren, and their team will be moving here as well. It's much safer than the lab in the police department. Plus, they will be able to work closely with the BTAs,” Jackson explained.
However, Halia started to feel a little confused. Didn't Jackson say that she wasn't working too far from home? From their apartment in Hong Kong to this casino, it took roughly an hour! This was even further than the Interpol headquarters...
”But...this isn't close to home,” Halia said questioningly.
Without saying anything, Jackson smiled at his wife, grabbed her hand, and pulled her into the command center. She couldn't see if from the outside, but as soon as Halia walked into the command center, she noticed a circular mirrored column at the back of the room that was beautifully designed but looked a little out-of-place and unnecessary. At first, she thought it was a support column that was needed for foundation, but then she noticed a touchpad beside it. ”What's that?” Halia asked with curiosity.
Jackson turned to Trisha and said, ”We'll be right back,” and Trisha nodded in understanding.
After that, he pulled Halia over to the column and placed his hand on the touchpad beside it. A moment later, the column opened up, revealing a space that fit 1-2 people. That was when Halia realized it wasn't just a column, but an elevator. ”This is a private elevator that's built exclusively for you and me. It can only be operated by our handprints and it only goes between two places...”
Halia looked at her husband in awe as they stepped inside and the doors closed. Like the headquarters, the walls of this elevator were made with two-way glass. They could see out, but people couldn't see in!
As the elevator started to move up, Halia looked out of the elevator and realized this glass column ran straight through the building. On the ground floor, they passed through the casino, then it passed through the ballroom where their guests were still mingling, and finally, it passed through the lobby of the hotel before a warm light lit up and they entered a dark tunnel surrounded by walls.
”Where is this going?” Halia asked curiously as the elevator continued to move upwards.
Without answering, Jackson replied with a mysterious smile, ”You'll see very soon.”
A moment later, the lights in the elevator turned off and natural light from the outside streamed in. Halia looked around her and covered her mouth in amazement.
”Welcome home...” Jackson said as the doors slid open.