"Let us start with a few simple questions," Harumi suggested, slowly lowering herself into a sleek, black office chair. "First, tell me what inspired you to apply for a job here."
The interviewer leaned casually forward in her seat, clasping her hands together in front of her. Her sharp, jaded eyes peered closely at the two partners as a single strand of her hair slipped from her immaculate bun.
Jay was the first to speak. "I've always excelled in this particular area of work," he explained smoothly. To the untrained eye, the ex-Deputy looked like the picture of calm and collected.
Cole easily caught sight of the nervous twitch in his partner's right eyebrow, however. The scarred tissue above Jay's eye had a habit of shifting up whenever the ex-Deputy was nervous. Cole had instantly deduced it from the second that the crisp, jittery newbie had stepped foot into his office. It was a gift, of sorts. The detective could always, without fail, determine what made a person tick. And in Jay's case, he couldn't handle nerve-wracking situations without his infuriating little titch.
"After working as the head of the IT Department at Ninjago Sections for a time, I decided that I had enough experience to move up in the field," Jay continued. "There was an opening here, and I determined that I would make an excellent fit."
Harumi nodded once in approval. "Well said, Mr. Walker," she praised. "You certainly have a way with words."
Jay ducked his head. "Thank you, Ms. Jade."
"As I said before, you can call me 'Rumi," the interviewer insisted, turning her attention over to Cole.
The detective was sitting ramrod straight in his chair, his sharp, calculating gaze focused directly on Harumi Jade. The collar of his Belstaff shrouded his sallow cheekbones in shadow, causing Cole to emanate sheer aloofness.
"And you must be Cole Brookstone," Harumi stated confidently, offering the detective a plastic smile. Cole watched with barely-hidden disgust as the the interviewer's thick foundation creased along with her changing expressions.
"Yes, ma'am," the detective rumbled in his gravelly voice, stoically refusing to call the woman by her first name.
Harumi's professional grin slipped almost imperceptibly. "Tell me, Mr. Brookstone, what caused you to apply for a job here?"
At the interviewer's words, Cole's mind leapt into action. Memories of practiced lines flew to the forefront of his mind, and his constant deductions of Harumi were hastily stuffed to the back of his thoughts, to be sorted later.
All of this happened in less than a second.
"I worked at a university," the detective intoned flatly. "I soon over-exceeded expectations and performed well above the standard, causing me to seek out a job that was more fit for my talents."
Harumi looked taken aback by Cole's decisive words, but quickly shook off her momentary lapse in expression. "Excellent," she commented quickly, allowing her fake smile to widen by a fraction. "I like the enthusiasm. It seems that you believe that you are well-suited for this job."
"Undoubtedly," Cole responded, leaning ever-so-slightly forward in his chair. "I aim to please, Ms. Jade." The detective narrowed his sharp gaze onto the interviewer's face, almost as if daring her to contradict him.
"I'm sure that you do," Harumi shot back in a practiced monotone, meeting the detective's challenging stare head-on.
Jay nervously glanced back and forth between the two, observing their chilling display with no small amount of apprehension. The tension in the room crackled with energy, almost as if bolts of lightning were dancing invisibly through the air.
Just as Jay was gathering the courage to break the silence, Harumi sat back in her chair with a triumphant grin etched onto her face. Cole followed suit, but his own face bore a scowl.
"Now, then," Harumi continued, shuffling through a small stack of papers near her elbow, "Mr, Walker, I have a few questions for you."
"Ask away," Jay prompted cordially.
"First of all, you mentioned that you worked at Ninjago Sections for a time. How long, exactly?"
"Three years," the ex-Deputy recited, feeling pleased with himself.
"I see. And what did your job entail exactly?" Harumi inquired, snatching a thin pen from behind one of her ears. She sorted through the jumble of papers on the table before selecting a blank sheet, on which she furiously scribbled something down.
Jay felt a lump rise in the back of his throat as he observed the interviewer jot down notes. "Well," he began, willing his voice to remain steady, "I delegated tasks to my team members, for starters. I also handled viruses and spam messages."
"Good," Harumi tossed out, finishing up a piece of her notes with a decisive flick of her wrist. "Anything else?"
"Yes," the ex-Deputy exclaimed, racking his brain for something else to say. "I maintained the company's website, and installed a new set of computers for administration."
"It appears as though you have had your fair share of experience," Harumi noted begrudgingly, hastily taking down more notes.
Cole fought the urge to glance over at his partner. He made that up, the detective thought incredulously. I guess he can think pretty well on the fly.
"I like to think so," Jay added in, allowing some of the tension to seep from his shoulders.
"As for you, Mr. Brookstone," Harumi announced, swiveling slightly in her chair in order to directly face the detective, "what kind of experience do you have?"
Cole commanded himself to not question the stress she had put on the 'you'. His mind, however, blatantly ignored him and started screeching in protest at the interviewer's words.
She's deliberately attempting to incite me! Cole's inner voice roared, shaking an invisible fist in defilement.
That's ridiculous, Cole fired back, fighting the urge to shake his head. You're overthinking this. Just answer the damn question.
"I worked at Ninjago University for several years," the detective rumbled. "By the time I left that position, I had dealt with and terminated practically hundreds of viruses."
Harumi tossed up her head in a sort of satisfied nod. "Excellent," she exclaimed, taking down several lazy notes. "That's precisely the kind of experience I need for this position."
Cole chanced sending his partner a smug grin when the interviewer bowed her head over her papers.
Jay huffed and rolled his eyes at Cole's childish behavior before deftly flicking him off.
The detective's brows furrowed in mild annoyance, but he fought his expression back into a neutral smile as Harumi glaned up once more.
"Can you name one of the viruses that you destroyed?" Harumi bit out, ice creeping into her tone.
Cole blanched.
It took all of his willpower to keep his face free of the panic that was churning in his mind.
The detective's thoughts whirled, and frenzied scraps of information hurled themselves to the forefront of Cole's brain. He racked his memories for any glimpse of virus code, scanning old news articles and conversations that he'd had with past suspects.
Nothing.
Jay cleared his throat.
Cole snapped his gaze over towards his partner, who had a calm, reassuring smile plastered on his face. Only, this one was genuine. And it reached Jay's eyes, which glowed with faint remnants of some type of emotion. Cole couldn't place it.
Whatever it was, it caused the whirlwind of thoughts in Cole's mind to screech to a frantic halt. His deep brown eyes zeroed in on the kindhearted openness that he found in his partner's warm, blue gaze. Unbeknownst to the detective, his bunched shoulders unclenched, his taut muscles relaxing into the folds of his leather Belstaff. All of the detective's mind was focused on the glimmer of emotion that he could detect in Jay's peerless gems that one dared to call 'eyes'.
He had to decipher it. To determine what he saw, and to take that information and lock it up somewhere deep in the crevices of his mind, where no one except him could access it. And Cole would look at those small facts, and revel in what he'd discovered.
The detective shook himself forcefully out of his mesmerized state when his partner began to speak.
"Just last month, Cole was telling me all about the 'Anna Kournikova' virus," Jay intoned smoothly, sparing his partner a brief look of pride. "It took him no less than four hours to shut down."
"Impressive," Harumi echoed begrudgingly, trying and failing to hide the evident frown of disapproval that marred her heavily make-uped face.
As the interviewer ducked her head in order to scribble Jay's words down, Cole chanced sending another look at his partner.
This time, nothing but gratitude gleamed in his eyes.
Jay smirked, offering the detective a brief thumbs-up.
The two partners held each other's gaze for a few seconds more, turning their heads in sync as Harumi made one last sweep with her pen.
"Now then," the interviewer stated firmly, shuffling her stack of papers around once more. "On to a few more questions."
Cole subconsciously straightened in his seat, carefully arranging several possible responses in the forefront of his mind.
"Mr. Brookstone," Harumi continued without preamble, directing her sharp, crumbling professional stare at the inconspicuous detective. "What would you say is your greatest weakness?"
Easy.
"I struggle with trust, in particular," Cole responded swiftly, meeting the interviewer's gaze with his own daring stare.
And then the full force of his words hit him square in the chest.
What the hell?! the detective's mind screamed at him, furiously digging through Cole's thoughts in order to find the reason behind such a ludicrous answer.
It came to him in a vibrant burst of memory. Pictures swam before the detective's mind's eye with surprising clarity. Smooth cheekbones, a swath of auburn hair, and a crisp, blue suit.
Scuffed dress shoes, Cole managed to think to himself, dumbstruck as he watched the past events unfold before him.
Jay was there, in his mind, in his memories, and he was telling Cole something. Something important. Only, it had nothing to do with the case. Jay was trying to open up to him, or something utterly ridiculous such as that.
And for some unknown reason, those bloody words had dug themselves a small crevice in Cole's mind, waiting there, hidden from the rest of the detective's steady thoughts with the intent to strike when the detective was least expecting it.
Harumi looked completely taken aback by Cole's rash statement. "Well," she stuttered, pen hovering over her paper as though it too was dumbfounded by the detective's words.
Cole stubbornly denied his desire to glance over at his case partner. It would be the death of him.
Perhaps that would be preferable to staying here in this room, Cole agonized, resisting the urge to bury his head in his hands. He was certain that a flaming red blush was spreading over his darkened cheeks.
Well, there's no turning back. I have to run with that, now.
"I know that might sound rather unrelated to this particular job, but I assure you, it actually is quite applicable to working in an IT Department."
What the hell am I saying? Cole roared, inwardly kicking himself.
"When it comes to trust, one has to know exactly who they are granting their trust to, and for what reason."
Just shut up, please, the detective begged, helpless to stop himself from furiously delving deeper into the hole he was currently digging himself into.
"In IT, only the most trustworthy of team members and employees can be given the privilege of handling the more, shall we say, delicate tasks." Cole paused in his desperate rambling to draw in a breath, fiercely telling himself that he was not panicking. "And whoever is in charge of each aspect of the Department must know who to trust with what issue. Initially, I was suspicious and careful with many of my delegates, which caused a few minor issues in department efficiency. However, as I continued in my position, I became more attuned to the characteristics of the members of my department, and could more easily pick out the truthful, trustworthy employees from the shifty ones."
This is it, Cole thought morosely. I'm dead. Raymond will fire me, and put that blasted newbie in my stead.
The detective dared to look over at Harumi, expecting to see boredom, or, God forbid, amusement, woven into her stony expression.
What he saw instead startled Cole. Harumi looked completely floored by the detective's sudden outburst. Her jaw was slack, and her eyes held some sort of vacant surprise in their jade-like depths. The interviewer's strong grip on her beloved pen faltered, and her pen slipped from her fingers and clattered uselessly to the floor. Jay made an awkward lunge for the fallen writing utensil, slamming it back onto the table and leaning back in his chair.
"I must say, I was not expecting such a response, Mr. Brookstone," Harumi admitted, possessively snatching her pen back. She etched a simple word into her note sheet before offering the detective a genuine smile. It looked out of place on her primped and preened face, but it took a burden off of Cole's shoulders nonetheless.
"Perhaps you are exactly what this Department needs in Virus Software Maintenance," the interviewer reasoned, setting aside several pages of ruled paper with a careful flick of her wrist. A beaded bracelet clacked its shimmering gems together as Harumi shifted her notes, and the sound echoed softly in the small room.
"Thank you, Ms. Jade," Cole exclaimed, relieved.
"You are dismissed," Harumi continued, setting aside formalities for a brief second in order to casually gesture towards the door.
"Of course, Ms. Jade," the detective intoned politely, dipping his head slightly as he rose from his chair. The buttons on his coat tinkled merrily as Cole ambled towards the door. "Come on, Jay," he commanded lightly, turning his head back around in order to gesture the ex-Deputy forward with a slight jerk of his head.
"I'm afraid that I need to talk to Mr. Walker for a few more minutes," Harumi explained, slipping a hint of remorse into her tone.
Cole saw right through her facade, and bit back the growl that abruptly rose in his throat.
A brief flash of panic flitted across Jay's face at the interviewer's words, and he shot Cole a desperate look.
It's message was clear.
Please, don't leave me alone with her.
Cole minutely shook his head, turned, and padded silently from the room. He took care to shut the door behind him as he headed back towards the secretary's desk, where Violet was eagerly attempting to balance a mechanical pencil on the tip of her jagged nose.
She jolted upright in her swivel chair as she heard the detective approach, allowing a wide, maniacal grin to stretch over her facial features.
"Back so soon?" Violet chortled gleefully, resorting to spinning the pencil in choppy circles with her lanky fingertips.
"Yeah," Cole shot back grumpily.
The excitable secretary brushed off the detective's darkened mood with a visual wave of her pale hand. "Where's your friend?" Violet prodded congenially, propping her feet up on her messy desk.
"Still being interviewed," Cole explained shortly, running a hand through his dark hair. There was no need to keep it styled anymore.
Violet's grin instantly fell from her face. "Oh, that's not good," she murmured, apprehension coloring her sober tone.
"Not good?" the detective echoed, feeling his heart begin to beat faster in his ribcage.
"In pair interviews, the last one in the room gets murdered," Violet explained, fear dancing in her eyes. "Rumi gouges out their eyes and nails their pretty hides to the wall."
At the look of utter horror on Cole's face, Violet's resolve crumbled and she burst out laughing.
"I'm only joking!" the secretary chortled, rocking back in her chair as she guffawed.
Cole looked far from amused.
"If only you could have seen yourself," Violet cackled, dragging a hand across her face in order to wipe a tear from her eye. "That expression was priceless."
"I'm glad that you're able to get a cheap laugh at my expense," Cole fired back, crossing his arms indignantly over his chest.
Violet beamed up at the miffed detective. "All in jest, my friend," she insisted.
Cole shook his head once in disbelief and stomped over to a cushioned chair. He sat down heavily, training his eyes on the darkened office where Jay was still being interviewed.
The secretary curiously followed Cole's line of sight with her own crackling gaze, grin widening as she caught sight of the office door.
"Worried for him?" Violet asked slyly, twirling a lock of hair around her fingers.
"Only in the sense that he's incompetent," Cole bit out harshly. "Who knows how well he'll do without me in there to hold his hand."
Violet nodded once in understanding. "Couple, then?" she prodded, eyes shining with curiosity.
Cole choked in surprise, whipping his head around in order to stare at the secretary in befuddlement. "Of course not," he explained, driving his words with a little more force than necessary.
Violet's excited grin quickly morphed into a smirk. "You are!" she announced grandly, throwing up her hands in a celebratory gesture.
"Not," Cole put in, focusing intently on a small crease in the cushion of the chair that he was sitting in.
"You're no fun," Violet pouted, deliberately swiveling around in her seat so that she was facing away from the detective. For added effect, she straightened up her spine and threw her hands onto her hips.
Cole stared disinterestedly at Violet's exaggerated display, this time giving in to the need to place his head in his hands.
"Hurry up, Jay," the detective murmured to himself, shutting his eyes so that he wouldn't look at the door to J12.
I actually had a job interview recently, and, much like Cole, ended up mucking up one of my answers to a question. I covered my mistake well, though! I think... Well, I got the job, so I must have done SOMETHING right.
