John Smith tried to keep his nerve steady as he sat in front of a large desk in a dark, smoky office. He wasn't quite sure how the office had become so smoky, since he'd clearly seen the "No Smoking" sign on his way into the building. Maybe it was just the tension getting to him? After all this was the first job he'd applied to that had given him a follow-up interview. It seemed like his interviewer, however, was reluctant to start the proceedings. John gathered up all of his inner courage and decided to break the ice himself.

"So, Mr. Devineaux, I'm very enthusiastic about the having the chance to work here at ACME."

Chase Devineaux remained silent for a few seconds, as if thinking of an appropriate response to that bit of small talk. Finally, he began to address the issue.

"Well Mr..."Chase glanced down at the resume that lay on his desk, "Smith. I'm just going to come right out and be honest with you. I brought your resume to the Chief after our last interview. We were both impressed by your credentials and experience."

"Thank you sir," John said, smiling.

"There's just one issue we've noticed. I called you back for this second interview to see if we can find a solution."

John's smile faded. "An issue, sir? Well of course I'll be open to solving any...um...issues..."

"Good man," said Chase, "I'll just get right to it then. The problem is with your name."

"My...name?"

"Exactly." Chase continued. "Your name is just so boring. So plain. So common." Chase shuddered.

For a moment John was speechless. He was becoming uncomfortable with where this interview was going. "I don't really see the issue there, sir."

Chase sighed. "Look kid, if you want to work for ACME, you're going to have to be cooler than 'John Smith'. You have to be a 'Shadow Hawkins' or a 'Chase Devineuax.' You simply must have a cool name if you want to chase the world's greatest criminals around the globe."

John could almost feel himself going pale. Was he really about to lose this job over something as trivial as having a common name?

"Well, I'm afraid there's not much I can do about that, short of legally changing my name."

"Oh no!" Chase laughed. "That would not be necessary. Cool nicknames are also perfectly acceptable. That's why we called you back for this second interview. We just need to know if you have a cool nickname."

This was it. John had to think fast. Of course he had never been given a cool nickname. But could he make one up right now, on the spot?

"Well, my friends in high school used to call me...um...Blackjack. Yep, good 'ol Blackjack's comin' to party with us, is what they'd say. Heh. Heh."

"Blackjack, eh? Hmm." Chase began to stroke his chin, then looked back up at John. "Why did they call you that? Do you have a gambling problem or something?"

John waved his hands in front of him in a defensive manner. "No no! Nothing like that! You see, Jack is short for John, right? And, um, I always wear all black. All the time!"

Chase's eyelids lowered and he leaned back in his chair. "Is that so? Because the suit you're wearing right now is gray. Or maybe a kind of beige. It's hard to tell with the way I like to keep the lights in my office so dim."

John was now in full-on panic mode. "Oh, uh, yeah, you see, umm.."

"I think I've learned everything I need to know about you Mr. Smith." Chase spat his name out like it was poison. "We'll call you if you get the position, and keep your resume on file. Security will see you out."