I stood dumbly before the empty desk for several minutes before deciding on a careful search. Perhaps there was a manual, or a memo indicating who was the Controller’s second in command. Something.

The layer of dust created an even grey film over everything, including the old computer monitor, and I was just about to give up when I spied the stationery box – it was the only thing not covered in dust. I lifted the embossed leather lid, curious. Inside was not the letterhead I had expected, but a small turn-key set into a metal box. I looked around the office again, puzzled, and finally shrugged, giving the silver key a twist.

With a soft rattle of hinges and gears, the curio cabinet on the near wall slid to one side, exposing a curtained doorway. Well, that was unexpected. Cautiously, I crept forward and nudged the taupe curtain aside. “Hello?”

Beyond was a hallway that led to another curtained chamber, but that wasn’t what surprised me most. Lining the narrow hall were boxes upon boxes of coffee.