"Are you Mr. Beale?" the receptionist asked as Eric was buzzed into a rather nondescript office in a nondescript downtown Los Angeles office tower.
"I am," Eric said. "I have an appointment with a Ms. Lange." Eric took the messenger bag off his shoulder, trying to present a more professional look.
"Follow me, please," the receptionist used a biometric iris scanner to open a door Eric barely noticed. The receptionist took Eric to a small conference room with a really small table and a remarkable view of the office tower next door. He sat on the chair facing the door.
After about two minutes, the door opened. A small woman walked in, "Mr. Beale?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am," Eric stood up and put out his hand.
The woman shook his hand and motioned for Eric to sit down. "I am Hetty Lange, operations manager for NCIS's Office of Special Projects. Thank you for coming today."
As Eric sat, he opened his messenger bag and took out his resume.
"No need, Mr. Beale, I have your resume as well as your Identity History Summary," Hetty sat across for Eric. "I see you graduated Caltech summa cum laude. Why did you chose Caltech over MIT?"
"I visited MIT in the summer between junior and senior year of high school. It was great. Nice campus, smart students…"
"My mother suggested visiting over Martin Luther King weekend in January. We took cab from Logan to our hotel room and never left the hotel room. I'm not a fan of snow and cold."
"MIT provides that and then some."
"Also it got really dark early in the day and the sun rose late in the morning. Add in the cold and snow and the vibes weren't for me."
"Were the vibes the reason you turned down offers to join the CIA and the DoD?"
"It is a little warmer and a little lighter outside in the winter in the DMV but I like to surf, I like the sun."
"Not the image of the typical computer specialist."
"Oh, I enjoy a long coding session lit by the screen of my computer as much as my fellow tech enthusiast but I like going to trivia night with my friends, I like travel and as I mentioned, I like to surf."
Hetty nodded. "You entered a white hat hacking contest for the Pentagon while at Caltech."
"I got my Dad's Acura in my parents' divorce. The transmission died and I learned I really wasn't a bike or public transportation person. The contest paid $50,000…"
"To the winner, second place was $1,000."
"Honestly Ms. Lange, I wasn't hacking for second place."
"I like the confidence. And it's Miss, not Ms. And I prefer Hetty."
"If you don't mind me asking, what did you do with the $50,000?"
"Well, the transmission and a few other problems with the Acura made it easier to trade it in and buy a gently used Jeep Wrangler for ten-grand. I still drive it. It has a cloth roof, so that wasn’t going to work in Washington either."
"Upgraded my laptop. Traveled a little. Bought some clothes for interviews."
Hetty nodded. "The position in our agency required extended work hours. It also requires absolute discretion in all matters. Your trivia night friends need to think you work for the LA offices of a Silicon Valley company. With the type of work the Office of Special Projects performs, security, discretion and intelligence in the moment are paramount concerns."
"That's understood and honestly, my friends wouldn't be thrilled I was working for 'the man' – not to be gender offensive."
"No offense taken," Hetty said with a smile. "If you were offered the position, when could you begin."
"I'm currently coding for a buddy working at a video games company."
"David Thompson at GameMix."
Eric was a little surprised. "Yes, he's doing a 'Lord of the Rings'-style video game. I make a quality elf."
"Good to know. About starting…"
"I would need a day or two but I'm available immediately."
"Again, good to know," Hetty said as she stood. "Thank you for coming in, Mr. Beale. We will be making a decision presently."
"Great, and really it's Eric." Eric offered his hand again and Hetty shook it.
The receptionist showed up at the door out of nowhere. Eric wasn't sure how she knew the interview was over but there she was. The receptionist offered him a bottle of water as they got to the office door. Eric took it, figuring if nothing else, he got something out of the interview. He'd give NCIS a week and then see if any other LA based government agency need him.
Plus, he if traffic was reasonable, he could be at the beach by lunchtime.
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