The SSPD
Originally published on March 30, 2006
Sharon sat down in the office chair across from the older woman. The nameplate on her desk read “S. Janine Smith.” She had dyed-red hair and brown eyes with still a trace of youth in her flawless face and freckles. Janine opened up a file on the computer that Sharon couldn’t see. Sharon wrung her hands nervously under the lip of the desk and looked out the window behind Janine’s chair. Seconds ticked by like years before Janine turned and smiled at Sharon.
“So,” Janine said getting up to close the door. “What made you look for work here at the Secret Service Police Department?”
“I’ve been searching for something different, something risky and new that I’ve never done before.”
Janine sat down at her desk and looked Sharon in the eyes. “I’m going to start out with the usual speech: you know that this is not a typical job and is not to be taken lightly as child’s play. We work with life and death here and one mistake can mean the difference between your life and someone else’s. Perfection is a priority and we see it in the highest regard. If you are chosen for this job you may not even go out on the field for another couple months, if you’re lucky. Any questions?”
Sharon shook her head and took a deep breath as Janine continued:
“Based on your past employee record as a—stunt double?” she paused and looked up from the computer screen.
“Yes,” Sharon said looking her employer in the eyes. “Fifteen years.”
Janine shook her head and faced the computer screen again. “You seem more than qualified to take the job as a forward. According to your records you also went to Harvard’s law school and have quite a record in public speaking, which would qualify you for a defense.” She minimized the window on the screen and turned back to face Sharon. “I suppose the best thing is to give you a couple tests and see how well you do.”
Sharon breathed a small sigh of relief and started to get up.
“Not, yet. We need you to answer a couple of questions first. Though your eagerness to start is encouraging.” Janine pulled out a green form from the file cabinet in her desk and pulled out a pen from the upper drawer. “So, number one. How did you hear about us?”
Sharon raised one eyebrow. “Everyone knows about the SSPD. But I know someone who works the tech; he just told me he hacks computers for a living and recommended that I should come here after I stopped getting movie contracts.”
“Any criminal records?”
“No.”
“Health issues?”
“Well, not to be rude or anything, but couldn’t you check my records?” Sharon said impatiently. Her knees were starting to shake and she had a feeling of needing to go pee she was trying to repress. She wanted nothing more to get the interview over with and leave the office.
“That information is not allowed to us until you are an employee,” Janice said without even looking up from the form.
“I’m deathly allergic to fish,” Sharon said quietly, glancing over the other woman’s head somewhat embarrassed.
Janine glanced up from the paper to give Sharon a somewhat surprised look before glancing back down quickly.
“Education?”
“Masters in Law and Anatomy. I took some first aid courses around different community centers and worked alongside a friend of mine in an ambulance for three years.”
Janine put the pen away and smiled at Sharon. “Well, you’ve had quite an interesting life.”
Sharon smiled. “I’m glad you think so.”
“Well, welcome aboard, Sharon. Fortunately, you seem to be overqualified for the job, so I’ll see you tomorrow for your first bit of training. Training will be more of a tour on how the company works, as you already know the basics on how to defend yourself, but I’m sure that will be good enough for you to get a feel on what we’re looking for from our employees. We’ll do a couple of tests to see what you can do and give you some more training from there.”
Sharon shook Janine’s hand and left the office as quickly as she could without seeming hasty. Once outside the doors she stopped and took a large breath of air. Then she casually walked over to the nearest coffee shop.
“I’ll take a espresso with an extra shot,” she said to the cashier and handed them a five, saying hurriedly, “keep the change.”
She sat down at a table and looked out the window. You did it, Shar. Congrats! You got the job! She thought, but her mind didn’t entirely comprehend what had just happened.
“Ma’am?” a short seventeen-year-old boy handed her a paper cup full of steamy coffee before disappearing behind the counter again. She took the plastic top off the cup and inhaled deeply as she closed her eyes. Excitement would come later, as soon as the realization hit that she had gotten a job she was going to keep for the rest of her working life.
This entry was posted on Sunday, December 3rd, 2006 at 8:14 pm and is filed under Realistic Fiction, Science Fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.