The trouble started, as it often does, with the internet. Or in this case the internet café on the top level. One morning the staff opened it up and found that one of the computers had been left on. This was a curiosity but nothing to be alarmed about.

A few days later it was on again. And then the next three days running. Nothing else had been taken and the door was still locked. The only thing out of place was a single monitor glowing by itself.

A search of the history showed some browsing through newspapers and a free email site. There were no clues as to who had used it. The staff started to whisper about a ghost. Maybe someone had been killed during construction and now he was doomed to stay with the tower for eternity. There was ghoulish speculation about who he could be emailing. Just imagine logging on in the morning and getting a message from the grave!

The manager was a tough lady and she didn’t think for one moment that anything supernatural was happening. She quietly rigged a security cam to watch her store overnight. She’d catch this ‘ghost’.

The next morning the monitor was on again. She quietly took the camera and watched the film. It showed a slight young man approach the door. He bent down and did something with the lock. Then he slipped inside and went to the computer and started surfing. Hours later he left and slipped out of view.

He certainly didn’t look like a ghost. He did present a mystery though. Why was someone up there at night when everything was locked down? The closing routine was specifically designed to make sure everyone left.

The security people started at the top level and moved people down, level by level. The elevators would be locked off after each level was cleared. Gates would drop to close the loops. The sweep would continue until they reached the park. Extra help would make certain that no one was hiding behind bushes or up in a tree.

Either someone was getting past all of these measures. Or…they were still up here somehow! The manager quickly called security and had a hurried discussion over the phone. They quietly put up signs and closed off access to the top level. They’d search until the found the man.

They looked through the arcade and found nothing. He wasn’t in the gift shop or the internet café. The ice cream stand was all clear. They couldn’t find him anywhere. He must have gone down at some point.

There was nothing to do but reopen the top level. It had been early enough that the public hadn’t really noticed that anything was different. Finally, they called Sam. He was as surprised as any of them. A meeting was called down at his office.

Sam was anxious to see the video of this intruder. He wanted to see if he recognized him. No dice. A copy of the video was made and sent out for reproduction. Sam spared no expense here, also having the image cleaned up. Pictures were made so that the security people would recognize him if the say him.

The chief of security wanted to put a guard on the top level that night to wait for him. He volunteered to do it himself. Sam would have none of it. The last thing they wanted to do was to let him know that they were on to him, he argued. They’d catch him in due time. Besides, he didn’t really seem dangerous. More lonely than anything.

They filmed again that night but nothing happened. The next night was more of the same and Sam was afraid that they had tripped up somewhere and let the cat out of the bag. A full week passed and he didn’t return. Sam had gone from outrage to admiration. Now he was at frustration and closing in on boredom.

And then the man returned. More cautiously this time, taking his time with the lock. At the end he cleared the memory of the computer and made certain to turn it off. They had definitely spooked him.

The security team quietly dusted for prints. The got several but there weren’t in any databank. They thought of setting up other cameras but there weren’t any good spots to hide them. Above all, they didn’t want their prey to know that he was being hunted. Sam wanted caution and that’s the way they would play it.