SWNOVELS Chapter 24: A Job Opportunity
Ian began to feel a huge sense of deja vu as they got ready to leave. He couldn’t help but think about Pinnacle Gulch when they had all said goodbye before, and oddly enough, he felt sad about it. What were they supposed to do now?
Even weirder, was the fact that Jordyn seemed hesitant to say goodbye to all of them. She seemed lost in thought as they all got ready to go.
“Hey uh-why were all of you guys so readily able to come up here anyway?” she asked suddenly as Roderick was putting a couple of snacks in their car. “I mean-don’t any of you guys have jobs?”
“The others were silent on the matter.
“Um… I kind of do free lance?” Brian said with a feeble raise of his hand. Jordyn rolled her eyes.
“And where are guys all going right now?”
“Uh… home? So I can sleep for fifteen hours?” Ian shot back. Jordyn raised a brow.
“Hmmm. Well, it’s settled then. All of you guys are coming with me to Missouri.”
They all gawked at her.
“Missouri?” Joey asked with interest. “What’s in Missouri?”
Jordyn smiled devilishly.
“Oh you’ll find out.”
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Ian grumbled and griped the whole way to Specterville, Missouri, which was apparently where Jordyn was taking them.
“Thirty hours… don’t even know why… no explanation…” he would grumble every time they stopped at a gas station. But Roderick had insisted that they go with the others, and as much as he hated to say it, Ian’s curiosity was getting the better of him.
Where was Jordyn taking them?
After three days of driving, they finally reached Specterville, which was a good sized town with lots of green, which Ian hadn’t really seen in awhile.
They ended up following Jordyn down a winding road surrounded by trees, and then came to a stop in front of a large cement wall with a gate.
“Where in the world are we?” Ian wondered out loud to his brother in the passenger seat.
“Bro. I think this might be where Jordyn works.” Roderick said in awe.
“Why would she bring us here?”
“I don’t know.”
After Jordyn talked to some people at the gate, the rest of them were waved through, and Ian and Roderick gawked at this foreboding stone building in front of them.
“Jordyn-is this-your-precinct thing?” Roderick asked as they all got out of their cars.
“Yes. Now follow me. Don’t wander off.” she commanded, turning on her heel and swiping her card at the entrance. The others exchanged glances and then followed her inside. After going through the front desk, where there were screening done on them, all of them except of Jordyn were pat down, led through metal detectors, and screened by some equipment that they had never seen before.
“I think those weird devices are to check for spiritual activity.” Joey whispered. “But I doubt they work very well.”
Then they were led down some stairs and into a large room with lots of people bustling around. A large screen of the united states shown down on them, covered in little red dots. They quickly followed behind Jordyn as she walked up to an asian man only five feet tall who was probably in his fifties or sixties.
“Chief Lenard. Officer Hastings, reporting from Serenity Hill. Has Officer Warrick returned yet?”
“Yes. He has.” Chief Lenard said slowly, eyeing the party that she had brought with her. “Has everything been settled there?”
“Yes sir.”
The man looked over her comrades again curiously.
“And uh, I see you brought some people back with you?”
“Chief, I would like to introduce you to Josephine Washburn, Brian Miller, and Roderick and Ian Vendeleer. They are the ones from Pinnacle Gulch you told me to keep an eye on sir. They also helped me on the Serenity Hill case. Guys, this is Chief Wilson Lenard.”
The Chief raised a brow and stepped forward to observe the newcomers.
“Continue with your report Officer Hastings…” he said, sounding amused. Jordyn cleared her throat.
“Josephine Washburn, or “Joey”, has been studying these paranormal activities for the past several years, and knows more than anyone about the subject in our entire department. Brian Miller has a degree in computer programming, but he takes his talents far beyond that. On multiple occasions, he has been able to alter his engineering talents to adhere to spiritual properties. And as for Ian and Roderick Vendeleer, they have been solving cases for years. In my research, they have solved every single case they have taken on, some of which have baffled local law enforcement and detectives that had been working on the case for years. None of them are currently employed. They are all extremely brilliant and resourceful, and I would actually be willing to work with them as my team.”
Jordyn’s comrades stared at her, unaware that she knew this information about them and that she had been looking into their records. At the moment, Ian wasn’t sure if he should feel pleased or angry.
“So you would actually work with them? I thought you hated working with other people Jordyn.” Chief Lenard said with a teasing smile. Jordyn rolled her eyes.
“Well you said you wanted me to have a team, so I’m proposing this one.” she told him seriously. “Honestly though, this is probably your last chance at getting me to work with anyone. I’m not working with anyone else.”
Chief Lenard nodded, and then turned to the newcomers.
“It’s nice to finally meet you all. Like Officer Hastings has said, I am Chief Wilson Lenard. This is our Paranormal Precinct, for as you all very well know, the paranormal is very real. We are paid for by the government, but we work outside of it, which allows us to do things that others might not be able to. According to the world, we are a small group of crackpots that do paranormal research, which is obviously not the case as you see here. Since the events in Pinnacle Gulch, we’ve been looking into the four of you, and we now have an offer we would like to extend.”
Ian couldn’t believe his ears. Was all of this even real?
“Would the four of you like to work for us as part of Officer Jordyn Hasting’s team?”
“Yes. That sounds nice.” Joey said dreamily.
“Freak yeah!!” Brian kind of yelled.
Roderick turned to his older brother.
“What do you think bro? You always told me to get a real job.”
“I don’t know Roderick…”
“Come on man-we would legit be getting paid to solve mysteries!!”
Ian looked over at his brother, wondering if he was thinking impulsively again and if he would be able to handle it with everything that had happened. However, Roderick seemed genuinely excited, and he couldn’t help but think about all of the other times they had been in danger and how much of a rush it had been. He also thought about how much Roderick loved mysteries, and how no matter how hard he tried, Ian ended up loving them too. With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, he finally responded.
“Fine. I guess we’re in too.”
At this, Chief Wilson Lenard gave them a smile.
“Then let’s get you all set up. Follow me please.”
As they followed him, Jordyn stepped into stride next to them.
“Hey. I’m really glad you guys are going to be joining us.” she whispered as they walked down a hallway. “It’s better working with friends anyway.”
Joey smiled.
“Yes. Friends….”