As she predicted, Saoirse had a hard time hauling herself out of bed. With groaning muscles and protesting bones, she wearily stood up. The caffeine rush of a downed cup of coffee combined with a shower resulted in a soothed body yet panicked mind. With worried feet, she began the tedious task of picking an outfit to wear for her interview. Half an hour later she sat in a sea of disregarded clothes, close to the edge of a nervous breakdown. Lisbeth fought her way through the mess to roughly hoist her up by the elbow.
'Lisbeth, I can't do this. It's Lucius Fox… how the hell will I survive an interview with Lucius Fox?' She said weakly, her knees threatening to buckle beneath her. Lisbeth spent the next ten minutes calming her down before helping Saoirse organise herself. An hour later Saoirse had calmed down, was dressed appropriately and was prepping herself with various questions.
Finding the time to be 11:30, she decided to leave her apartment. She tucked the invitation into her coat pocket before thanking Lisbeth for her help that morning. Sooner than she'd like she was driving towards Wayne Tower, her stomach sick with nerves. As she parked the car outside of the impressive building, the knot in her stomach tightened. The morning was muggy; the clouds almost unbearably close creating an uncomfortably sticky atmosphere which did not help her mood. Saoirse walked in through the large glass doors into an impressive lobby. She headed straight for the elevator, not wanting to ponder the price of the contemporary decoration. She stepped in, ignored the childish urge to press all the available buttons and pushed number 85. Her stomach jolted as the lift ascended quickly. Her hands grasped the support bar so tightly, her knuckle straining against her skin. The elevator doors opened and she was presented with floor 85. Saoirse would be blunt; her expectations of a beautifully crafted office floor were dashed, boring carpet lined the hallway and offices littered the corridor at regular intervals. She noticed a handful of people sitting in front of a door and her heart sank as she realized it must be room eleven. She sat down in one of the luxurious leather armchairs and was faced by her competition. Four people sat in similar armchairs, heads studying notes or avoiding eye contact with other candidates. Three were men, the other female. Saoirse recognised the guy closest to her as the one whose puzzle had been activated in the lecture hall… Daniel Woods. The others looked familiar yet she knew none of their names. Saoirse did her best to ignore how incredibly beautiful the other female candidate was, blonde, blue eyes and long legs. She had seen her a few times in the lecture hall but had no idea she was smart enough to get this far.
The door opened and Daniel Woods name was called. He rose out of his seat stiffly and entered the door marked number eleven. Saoirse resisted the urge to chew her nails while waiting for her turn to be interviewed. Daniel's interview was over surprisingly quickly and he left the room with clenched fists. Another one of the men was called in and he was in the room for at least twice the length of his predecessor. Soon it was the beautiful blonde's turn to be called in but hers was the shortest interview of all, lasting a meagre 15 minutes. She was blushing furiously upon exiting the interview room. The last man was called in and Saoirse was suddenly left alone in the empty corridor. She felt stiff so she walked towards the end of the hallway towards a full length window. She gasped when staring out, observing the skyline of Gotham city sprawling out as far as the eye could see. She could see various familiar landmarks including the tall spire marking the position of her college. The panoramic views settled any leftover nerves form this morning and a peaceful calm stole over her. She leant against the window, pressing her hand against the cool glass. Gotham had never looked so devastatingly beautiful.
'Striking view is it not?' Said a voice close to her ear. Saoirse supressed every urge to turn and hit whoever had invaded her personal space. She immediately identified the person speaking; it matched the silky voice which had hypnotised her Applied Science lecture over a week ago. Judging by how close his voice sounded, Saoirse would have to estimate him standing less than two feet away. Instead of turning around and risking such close proximity with the notorious playboy, she continued to admire the impressive skyline before responding.
'Who knew Gotham could be so radiant, Mr Wayne?' She murmured against the window, the glass steaming beneath her breath. She casually walked a few paces to the other side of the window before turning. Bruce Wayne was calmly observing her, lounging against the dully patterned wall. He was unnervingly handsome, the high cheekbones coupled with the deep eyes and straight nose proved to be overall aesthetically pleasing. But Saoirse was not uncomfortable in the billionaire's presence; he was just a man, a man who relied heavily on his looks and money as a foundation for all of his relationships. She would never have a problem holding her own against powerful men such as Bruce Wayne.
'Funny, I thought my interview would commence at 12:30 instead of 2:30.' She said while glancing at her watch.
'My fault I'm afraid, I wanted to gather all the candidates together beforehand to create an extra bit of tension before they were called into the interview room.'
'How sadistic of you.' Saoirse said bluntly. A ghost of a smile pulled at the corner of his lip but was gone before it could fully form.
'And your name is…?'
'Saoirse. I'll be very impressed if you can spell it.' She said with a challenging tone.
'Let's see… the sound of the word would lead one to believe it is spelt S-E-R-S-H-A but Irish is a tricky language so I'd have to go with S-A-O-I-R-S-E.' Before allowing her disbelief to show on her face, Saoirse put the outstanding accuracy down to viewing her application before approaching her.
'I must say, I was impressed with your dedication to this process.' Bruce Wayne said as he turned and began to make his way back down the hallway. Saoirse realised she had no choice but to follow.
'And what dedication would that be?' She reluctantly asked.
'Submitting your C.V. at 3 in the morning of course. Everyone else handed there's in during the day.'
'It's when I solved the puzzle; I had no choice but to hand it in at that ridiculous hour.'
The two continued in silence while Saoirse took a moment to inspect the famous Prince of Gotham. Though only a few years her senior, they led completely different lives. His calendar was dominated by movie premiers, photo-shoots, sophisticated parties bedecked with various celebrities and deciding which of his supercars he should drive. He had no worries about the future. Saoirse on the other hand had worked herself to the bone in order to put herself through college until achieving a scholarship to cover her PHD. It had been a rough introduction into her twenties.
'Can I ask you a question?' Saoirse ventured.
'Yes I have a butler, no I don't own my own country though I'd certainly like to, yes I have an ice rink at my mansion, yes I own over a hundred supercars and bikes, no I didn't elope to Vegas to get married and most importantly; yes I am single.' Bruce responded smoothly. It took a moment for Saoirse to remember exactly what her question was.
'Actually, my question was to do with the other candidates, I was wondering who broke the window of the Wayne Enterprise building?' Bruce stopped walking and looked at her strangely before chuckling. 'What?' Saoirse asked suspiciously.
'I was pretty certain that wasn't going to be your question… And you should know all about candidate confidentiality. I'm not supposed to answer that question.'
'Ah –'
'But in answer to it, the blonde decided to smash my window.' He said with a sly smile, obviously no stranger to breaking rules. As Bruce Wayne raised his hand to open the door to room eleven, Saoirse caught a glimpse of a Rolex worth more than her car.
'Please, after you. And good luck.' He said with a dangerous smile. Saoirse didn't argue, she entered the office and took a seat opposite Lucius Fox. He was patiently finishing the previous candidate's paperwork before regarding her over the tips of his spectacles. He took them off, allowing them to dangle like some bizarre necklace. Saoirse felt perfectly calm, the warm up with Bruce Wayne had obliterated any nerves of this encounter. She was here in front of her personal idol and she wanted to make sure she didn't leave the room without impressing him. He smiled encouragingly at her as he brought out a familiar shaped object.
'Good afternoon Saoirse Nolan. So you were one of the five to solve this little gem. What did you think of it when you realized what it actually was?'
'I thought it was like a trick question.' Saoirse replied.
'A trick question? How so?'
'The impression given to us was that this puzzle was a highly technological piece of equipment and would need an experts hand in order to solve. In reality it really was what everyone said it was: a puzzle. Or more accurately, a jigsaw puzzle.' Lucius nodded curtly before rolling the sphere over to Saoirse. Reflex made her catch the sphere in the sleeve of her coat, making sure none of her skin was exposed to the metal object.
'You're the first to do that I'll tell you. But you don't need to be afraid of a little shock, this device hasn't been activated.' Saoirse picked up the familiar sphere in her hand. 'Now, would you mind demonstrating how you solved it?' He asked. Saoirse quickly glanced around the office and found a sink a few paces to the left. Lucius regarded her curiously as she filled a basin with cold water and brought it back over to the desk. She held the ball over the water and let it fall beneath the surface. Lucius watched her closely, but questioned nothing, especially when the bubbles started issuing from the sphere. As she had done over a week ago, she identified the crevice where the bubbles had issued from, closed her eyes and felt around with her fingertips for the familiar nook. It took her longer to find this time but certainty that it existed gave her patience and confidence. She prised the piece upwards until it lay in her hand, a curved jigsaw piece.
'And that's how I solved it.' She said.
'Now, did you deliberately put it in the water? Wasn't that a bit of a risky strategy?' Lucius asked.
'It was a product made by Lucius Fox; I didn't believe something as common as water damage would prove much of an obstacle to this particular gadget.' Saoirse said smoothly.
'Alright then, it's certainly a unique take on solving this puzzle. I have a few questions for you regarding the presentation of your C.V.' Saoirse had learnt her C.V off by heart, any question he had would be in her control to answer.
'Now, where did you gain experience for picking door locks?' Lucius asked innocently. Saoirse's stomach dropped, this was not a question she'd been expecting. There was no point in trying to deny the skill so she decided to go with the answer she had given Lisbeth; the truth. After explaining to Lucius that she had acquired the skill from a combination of boredom and internet tutorials, he remained quite perplexed.
'Well, thank you for your honesty. Now… shall we take a quick peek at your C.V?' He opened his left hand drawer and brought out the pages which she had gone to such strenuous lengths to submit. He replaced his spectacles on the bridge of his nose before flipping through the pages. 'Irish-American, 25 years old, coming to the end of your PHD, received top marks in your exams… though I received a rather interesting note from your lecturer, Professor James Andrew. He wrote to tell me you barely attend lectures or tutorials. Is this true?' Mr Fox asked, folding his arms and looking at her expectantly. Saoirse wondered how she should answer, should she be truthful? That she preferred teaching herself the material instead of falling asleep in a lecture theatre? No, she would try a different tact…
'Do you think I cheated on my exams?' She asked bluntly.
'I wouldn't care if you had as I regard cheating as an unappreciated art. What this behaviour demonstrates is your reluctance to stick to a structured system.' Mr Fox said smoothly. 'If you're reluctant to obey the relaxed system which is implemented in college, what would possess you to believe you would be suitable to work under a strict system at Wayne Enterprise?' Saoirse allowed herself a few seconds to gather her thoughts. This was it, the float or sink question, get this wrong the opportunity would disappear. She restrained the urge to rant about what a great opportunity it was and how unbelievable it would be to work in the job her personal idol had just vacated. Once more, she opted for bluntness.
'I can withstand any amount of structure and rules if the job entails the satisfactory level of creative freedom.' She said truthfully.
'Creative freedom? That's the reason you've stuck with this process for so long? What about the facilities you'll be working with or the people you'll be working for? What about the legacy you could leave behind by being the youngest and most successful engineer of your generation?' Lucius Fox asked incredulously.
'If you've done a background check on your candidates then you'll know I started studying Applied Sciences because of you, Mr Fox. Yet regardless of that, I'm not applying for this job because of who my boss will be. I stick to this bizarre process because I know that if I am successful, this occupation would suit me better than any other job. I'd also be bloody excellent at it.' Saoirse added, not quite believing the words had left her mouth. She must appear to be a demented, arrogant candidate now. She'd lost. Oh fiddlesticks, she'd thrown the opportunity out of the window with that ridiculous speech. And she'd sworn at her interviewer too… well not at him but her language had certainly been coarse. She waited with clenched teeth and stiff spine to be thrown out of the room as Mr Fox observed her, looking mildly amused.
'Ms Nolan, would you like to see something?' Lucius Fox asked while standing. He walked past his plush leather couch towards a large painting at the back of the room. It was only now that Saoirse recognised the Picasso painting dominating the back wall. It was an original too, not a cheap print. Saoirse didn't leave her seat, unsure of what was going to happen next. Lucius approached the painting and pressed the lower right hand corner of the frame. It clicked and to Saoirse's amazement, the entire painting swung outwards, revealing a private elevator. Saoirse stared in awe at the beautifully hidden lift wondering what mechanism Lucius had triggered upon pressing the corner of the frame.
'I think a visit to the lower levels may be of interest to you.' Mr Fox said as he entered the elevator.
Saoirse stood up uncertainly before following Mr Fox over to the elevator. She hesitated at the lift before balling her hands into fists and stepping into the small space.
'We're headed for my real office now.' Mr Fox said as the elevator closed and began to descend smoothly.
'That wasn't your real office?'
'You honestly thought that's where I spend most of my time? No dear, I need a place where my thoughts have room to breathe.' Mr Fox said as the elevator slowed to a halt. The doors withdrew with nothing but darkness rushing to greet them. 'Lights on.' He said clearly. Saoirse wasn't able to contain a surprised gasp as Mr Fox's "office" was revealed. The ceiling soared upwards and the room sprawled outwards as hidden lights lit up a room the size of a concert hall. She had stepped into a large circular space which was met some fifty feet away by aisles and aisles of storage radiating outwards as far as the eye could see. The circular space was dominated by many different types of equipment ranging from scanning electron microscopes to the latest in military armour resting on smooth working benches. 'See? Thoughts have the freedom to roam around as they please in such a space. Here, this way.' He said walking towards one of the nearest work benches. 'This is a project I've been working on for some time now but due to my recent promotion I have been unable to finish it.' He placed what appeared to be an ordinary gun in front of Saoirse.
'Is it supposed to do anything else apart from the obvious?' Saoirse asked while picking it up.
'Oh yes, you see it doesn't shoot bullets.'
'What does it shoot then?'
'Radiation.'
Saoirse did her best not to drop the weapon. 'A hand gun shooting radiation.' She said in disbelief.
'Why yes. Now you can imagine what a devastating weapon it would be once properly designed. You see the problem lies with protecting the shooter once the radiation has been released. It's managing to contain the radiation in a bullet like form after it has left the barrel of the gun.' He said. 'Obviously such a weapon would be highly useful to the army and they have been demanding the completion of this task for the past decade and are becoming rather impatient with me.'
'Is it really that complicated to contain the radiation in a contained form after it leaves the barrel of the gun? I mean the radiation can exist inside the gun in what seems to be a stable state, what makes it so unstable after being released?'
'I said the tricky part was containing the radiation after the trigger had been pulled, I said nothing of it being beyond my knowledge.'
'So you know how to finish this weapon?'
'Oh yes. But you see, in this job there occasionally occurs a conflict of interest. And this conflict stems from the fact that I don't want this piece of machinery to ever reach the army. The damage and lives it would affect could allow its classification to be among weapons of mass destruction.'
Saoirse gently placed the gun down on the table before stepping away from it.
'You must understand dear, what is created in here may be scientifically brilliant, but the consequences of it in the real world could be catastrophic. It is at times such as these that we employ the "indefinitely postponed" technique. Or more colloquially, we place this weapon in the "Never to be finished" pile. Now, I need some time to think about who might be ready to join us here at Wayne Enterprise. I'll show you the way out and if you manage to come back here, it will be for a much more detailed tour. ' Mr Fox said abruptly. He led the way towards a pair of thickly set doors, the type one would usually see guarding a safe in a bank. He entered a code, had his finger prints and retina scanned before the door hissed open. A set of stairs rose up ahead and after several flights, the contemporary lobby came into view. Suddenly realising her strange interview was over; Saoirse turned to Mr Fox and shook his hand. He bid her a safe journey home and strode back down the stairs into his "office". Feeling strangely buoyant, Saoirse left the Wayne Tower, hoping she'd be back again soon.
