Jess walked over to the kitchen table and looked at the mess that Octavius had left and let out a breath through her nostrils as she put her hands on her hips.
"Well, that was certainly interesting." She thought as she threw away wrappers and spoiled items, thankful that nothing smelled horribly. When she finished wiping down the table, Jessica picked up her purse, opened it and dumped the contents onto the table. Spreading the items around she found her pager and wallet, leafing through the small bills and smiling as it was all still there. Jess pushed all the things off the table and back into her purse, pulling the zipper closed. She left it on the table, moved over to the windowsill and locked it in place. Feeling marginally unexposed, she went to the bathroom and put a towel over the slotted blinds before changing into her red shirt that was embroidered with "OSCORP Technician." Walking out, she grabbed her purse and at the door took her coat and keys off the hook before stepping out and locking her door. She took the stairs down to the street and held her coat around her. Usually a subway person, Jess put her hand in the air and hailed a cab. The yellow car pulled up and she leaned into the window, pointing to the OSCORP logo on her shirt. The man seemed to understand and she hopped into the back, relaxing as the car weaved dangerously through traffic, starting and stopping violently. When the cab finally arrived at Oscorp, Jess leaned forward to read the fare meter and shelled out the money, adding a small tip and handing it to the cabby who smiled and nodded. She returned the gesture and slid out of the seat, looking up at the glowing sign above her. She moved through the revolving door smoothly and signed in at the security desk. She followed an obscure hallway and waited for the elevator that would take her to the third floor of the building. It came and the door opened half way as Jess scooted in, hit the button and leaned against the back wall as the elevator lurched and moved up. The door opened slightly and she pushed it the rest of the way, walking down a lighter hall until she reached a door that seemed to glow from behind. She opened it and was assaulted by blazing, white lights and the strong presence of burned circuitry and dusty computers.
"Hey." She signed as she dropped her purse on her desk and sat down. She opened her e-mail and read the multitude of complaints and pleas, and also checked her notepad that was filled with post-its and memos from people whose computers had ceased to work or send e-mail. She let out a heavy breath and moved over to the workstation where the other technicians labored. Their lips moved as they talked to themselves, or to one another.
Throughout the day, Jess repaired computers and responded to panicked Oscorp employees who by now knew she was deaf, and were prepared with a written descriptions of what they were having problems with. The only frustration she experienced was someone who had decided to convert their CD tray into a cup holder for a rather flimsy Styrofoam cup. They had accidentally closed it, and now they had coffee inside of the CD drive and all over the outside and keyboard.
Around the time she'd figured it was nearing dark she looked at her pager and read 7:49 PM. She quickly signed "Late again" and grabbed her purse while waving to the people left in the room. Jessica rode the elevator back down and signed out, walking to the curb. She pulled a list out of her pocked and read it as she walked towards a small market that she frequented. It was nearly dusk out, but the city lights annoyingly hid the fact as she stepped inside, holding the door open for an older man in a long, tattered coat. With her nose on the page, she grabbed a hand basket and started to drop items into the blue plastic frame. She turned towards the front of the store and started to head to the cash register when she nearly dropped the basket, a heavy weight having fallen into it. Jessica looked down and saw what looked like a rather expensive bottle of wine, sitting on top of her now flat bread.
"Hey!" She voiced as she turned around and looked straight into a very familiar pair of eyes. The tattered coat and fedora were almost unnecessary as she stared into his face, partially concealed by the upturned collar. The man narrowed his eyes at her and held his finger to his lips, motioning for her to not voice. He steered her roughly to the cashier and stood to the side as she set the items on the counter, her hands shaking. The cashier scanned the wine last, and it rang up to $80. Jessica's eyes widened and she spun on her heel to face the man behind her.
"Are you crazy?" She signed to him. "I don't have that much on me!" He kept his eyes on her as she turned to the clerk and pretended to write on her hand. The man whipped out a pad and pen, handing them to her. She wrote furiously on it and held it to the face behind her.
"I can't afford the wine." He read it and then set the pad on the counter. The clerk read it and took the bottle out and set it to the side. Jess took her money out of her wallet and was ready to hand it to him when she decided to look over her shoulder, and straight into two red, glowing mechanical lenses. Octavius shook his head in a negative manner and she put her money on the surface behind her. She turned back and saw the clerk had hidden under the register. She leaned over and handed him her money, nearly falling over the counter. Jessica picked up her groceries and walked past Octavius, leaving the wine on the counter. She was almost to the door when a police car pulled in, lights cutting through the night air. She froze and looked to Octavius, who was glaring at the car, and then moved his focused stare to her. He seemed to scan her from the corner of his eyes, staring at her feet as he went up to the top of her head, and then met her eyes again. Jessica pulled her bags to her body, taking half a step away from him. He glanced back to the car and Jessica looked too as the officers jumped out and pointed their guns at Octavius and her. Jess looked back over to him and saw a tentacle moving towards her when he turned to face her.
"No." She mouthed, and felt her feet leave the ground as she was pulled in front of the doctor by a cold metal claw.