Yep, Baud and Reinhardt got it right. The answer is 3420, the numbers of legs on the old man / dog / man / snake note found in Travis's office.
To be honest, this is a pretty stupid/malicious puzzle for a number of reasons. My first instinct was to type it on a phone keypad (5347). Then I thought that LEGS turned upside down gives 5937, so I tried various versions of that, with 7395, or 2 for 5 or 1 for 7 or 6 for 9. Nope. I even thought of drawing a leg with the numbers on the fucking keypad.
Needless to say, that this shit would be connected to some random-ass note in some random-ass guy's office (who as we'll see passes through this door every fucking day or something) was the last thing that could possibly cross my mind because all the other things I thought of made a hundred times more sense.
Anyway, green beeps the keypad, off we go.
It's him. It's... really him.
I'll take point on this if you want.
Like hell you are. This is family. Look, could you two step back for a bit? I'd... prefer to handle this alone.
Okay, just don't set anything on feuer.
No promises.
Exeunt Codexia et Logan.
Eli goes forth.
Excuse me, I said...
Yeah, I heard you. I was just... sorry, do I know you? Hey, are you all right?
No. Yes. I mean... I'm fine.
I might have a tissue somewhere if you need it.
I'm fine, it's just... Damn it, I'm sorry.
Look, it's okay. You obviously came up here to be alone. So did I.
Eli suffers critical morale failure and decides to leg it.
No, don't do that. Maybe we can talk instead? It could help. You never know.
Jesus. You... you are comforting me?
Am I? I dunno. I've... never been good at that kind of thing. I'm Travis Cook, Compliance and Investment research.
I know.
You... do?
I met your wife earlier.
You... spoke to Win? Does she know I'm here?
No, but she's in a bad way. She needs you.
She doesn't need me. She needs... something else.
She needs her husband.
Well maybe she should have thought of that before she...
Drama!
Before she what?
Before she LOST him. My son. My baby boy.
Your wife didn't LOSE your son. Not exactly.
So you believe that he "disappeared"?
It doesn't matter. She's hurting.
You don't think I'm hurting too?
Of course you are.
My son is lost. Maybe dead. And it's her fault.
That's not fair.
I know she didn't mean it. I know she's sorry. But... I can't... be with her. I can't look at her. Not yet. Not until she tells me the truth. It hurts too much.
Elijah's still alive. I know it. A lot of trouble was taken to kidnap him. There has to be a reason for it.
Like, say, hooman sacrifice? :D
That doesn't exactly make this any better, you know.
I know. Your son, his name is Elijah, right? We're looking for him.
weird things can happen to dialogue flow when you don't select options 1-2-3-4
You... you're here about Elijah?
Yes.
Why didn't you SAY that?
I... I should have. It's complicated, I'm sorry.
I don't care. If you have something to tell me, TELL ME.
So, I went to your office.
You did?
You're... living there?
Mr Grant said I could. Before he died. Nobody's told me otherwise yet. It's cheaper than a hotel. And... there's this roof.
Hey, I live in a basement. No judgements here.
Right. Home is where you make it. This... works. For now.
bla bla bla
Your son WAS taken. By Hugh Kravitz.
You're kidding. Hugh? The guy ranting outside the building? THAT Hugh?
Yeah. He was a friend of yours?
Kind of. We worked together. Why would HE take my son?
He... didn't want to. He was forced to. By Roy Fellows.
Okay, why?
We don't know. Not yet. But we plan on finding out. Could I ask you about Jason Grant?
What about him?
Well, he said you could sleep in your office. That implies you were on good terms?
That's the funny thing. Before Elijah disappeared, Mr Grant never said two words to me.
This didn't strike you as suspicious?
Why would it? He was a good man, by all accounts. He said I could take all the time I wanted. That I could sleep in my office. He... even gave me a key to his suite. Said I could take a drink from his liquor cabinet if nobody was around.
Really. That is... extremely generous.
Huh. Maybe it does? It seemed natural enough to me. Either way, I never used it. After he died, it just seemed kinda... ghoulish.
This key, to Jason's office. Do you still have it?
Yeah, I do. Why?
I was hoping to take a look around.
You think Mr Grant was... involved? With what happened to Elijah?
I am pretty sure this whole bank is involved.
*Sigh* Mr Grant can't exactly object, can he? Here, take it. If you find anything... let me know.
He can object, but you don't need to know about it
Thank you. Do you know Roy Fellows at all?
I... don't. Not really. I know Mr Grant brought him in as a senior board member. He got his own office and everything, although I couldn't tell you where it is. He's the new CEO, right? I... haven't really been paying attention.
You really should go home to your wife, Travis.
I told you, I'm not ready yet.
What a pansy.
Okay, Travis, I'm going to leave. You... take care of yourself.
Yeah?
Who are you? You're trying to help me, but I don't even know your name.
... my name? It's Eli Beckett.
... that's my...
I know. It's just a coincidence.
Eli mind trix.
Yeah, I guess it has to be. Funny though, huh?
Yeah. Funny.
Exit Eli.
Don't look at me like that. I'm FINE. Let's keep going.
With the key we can now go where no one has gone before.
The old boss's office.
yep, that was predictable
Despair, for I am the end of days.
Thank you, Melkhiresa, for arranging all this for me. It means more to me than you know.
O hey, didn't notice you there at first, mr Grant.
Insane, Mr Grant? Is it insane to want a child, a legacy?
I... have to stop you. I need to stop you.
So much for Mr Big Bad CEO. You're pathetic.
You manipulated an old man at his most vulnerable. Who's the pathetic one? And what are you doing here anyway? I still don't understand what you WANT?
Now now, Mr Grant, Melkhiresa's reasons are her own. But YOU. You still owe me a favor.
No. We kidnapped a CHILD for you. I don't owe you a damn thing, not anymore.
Remember what I did for your precious firm, Mr Grant. Manipulating global markets... adjusting the ebb and flow of transactions... sending them all to your coffers... all without tripping any alarms. Quite an achievement, if I do say so myself. So yes, Mr Grant, you still owe me a favor.
What do you want now?
I want the firm, Mr Grant. Full ownership. You can keep the office. Consider it a gift.
Brutal.
Fine. FINE. I don't deserve it anymore. It stopped being mine a long time ago.
It is done! Indeed. It is a fine empire. And one day, my son, it will all be yours...
Codexia gets up, let's take a look around.
An impressively capacious liquor cabinet. - it is, however, locked. So I guess Grant played a prank on Travis when he told him to get some of the booze when he wanted.
There's also an
old-fashioned blotter on the desk. And it's... interactive!
Mon dieu! A SIKRIT BUTTON!
IN A SIKRIT PLACE
DOING SIKRIT STUFF!
Actually it just slides a nearby picture up.
Revealing Grant's safe.
However, per Fellows's cheeky mail, we still miss data to open it, such as Grant's favourite wine.
Sup.
You said you don't know Travis Cook? But if that's true, then who gave us this?
How did you get that? I gave that to him in confidence! He wasn't supposed to SHARE it!
So you DO know him.
Of course I know him! We kidnapped his child!
uh
...
We... had no choice.
You said you had no choice?
None of us did. Not Hugh. Not me. Not... any of us. It was Roy Fellows! He... forced us. That poor man. His poor wife. That poor FAMILY. All because... The firm was in trouble. I was introduced to Roy Fellows. He gave us... favors. He got us out of a jam. Then he started making deals with members of the board. Soon he had control over EVERYTHING! His demands got greater and more dangerous. But we dared not refuse... Wait. That's odd.
What?
I am talking about it! I couldn't before. It would make my head scream if I did.
You were under a compulsion, right? Hugh had the same thing.
Yes! Fellows made it so I could never confess a word of it! Never. Not for as long as I lived. ... oh. I see. Well, that DOES make sense, doesn't it?
I'm sorry.
Don't be. This is the absolute least I deserve.
Would you do it again? Knowing what you know now?
No! No. A thousand times no. Better for thousands to lose their jobs. Better for the world markets to collapse along with us. Better anything than... this. *Sigh* Are you a drinking man?
No. Six years sober.
Damn it. There's a '34 Haut-Brion in my office cabinet. It's all yours if you change your mind.
bingo
34? That's... that's a good year.
Yeah, I know. So what now?
Just leave it to us.
Another one to add to the collection.
Yeah.
Good. I guess. Let's keep going.
We now have everything to access Grant's safe.
Some of the CEOs I knew? Their office practically WAS their home. But it doesn't look like Grant spent a lot of time in here. Everything's too clean. It matches what I heard of him. He was a more... hands-on kind of boss.
But... you met him when he was a youngster, FFS.
Oh well. Let's get cracking.
The cost of two coffees, 5.
And the second?
Grant's favourite year, 34.
Okay, so what's the third?
The number of flower pots on the roof, 4.
Open Sesame.
That's not the most impressive safe. But at least there's the keycard to wossname's office.
Let's see where this leads.
Suddenly the earth shakes.
What the hell was that?
Dunno. The elevator's moving, so I guess it's fine?
Yeah, you're probably right. Probably. ... I know, KayKay. I KNOW.
What is it?
Oh, she's just reminding me that there's only 30 floors in this building.
Yep. She's right.
Um, we DID pass the 30th floor already, right? Like, several minutes ago?
That's... also right.
Okay, just checking.
hello
WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
TO THE SKIES, MY FRIENDS
It's real. A pocket realm. Above the city. Jesus.
You ever been to one of these places before?
Er, no. I just read about them.
Well, looks like we're all doing something new.
Let's get moving.
Brace yourselves, lads. For next time we shall end this evil that marshals before us.