July 27th, 1920
It took around a week of searching to find 2 people that fit Lucia’s criteria. One was a Former U.S marine that served in the First World War and the second was a former federal agent of the predecessor agency to the FBI called the Bureau of Investigations (BOI). Both of them have the necessary skills for the first couple requirements and from their service record which describes both of them as courageous people who don’t crack under pressure they also appear to pass the 3rd requirement for the most part. Although it is still not known how they will react to inhuman opponents which will be the most important as well as the hardest to determine. The only way to accurately determine that is when they eventually go up against something of the undead.
Though from their past experiences Lucia expects that they will react better than Thomas as they have both witnessed disturbing scenes due to the nature of their jobs.
So in order to get a better view of who they are, she asked both of them to get an interview to learn more about them, and see if they are still a good fit for the job.
The interviews were both scheduled on the 10th with the former marine coming in the morning and the former B.O.I agent coming in around an hour after the marine.
It was around 11 A.M and Lucia and Thomas were waiting inside a room on the first floor, for the first interviewee to arrive. In the meantime talking about the files that they have on him.
From the file that they have they can determine that he is Jerry Springs, a former U.S marine Sergeant. He served in World War 1, being one of the first to be shipped to france. He served in several battles, the most notable being the 100 day offensive in 1918 in which he won a silver star for bravery. He also won several other awards for merit and other acts of bravery. As Lucia looked at the files she couldn’t help but internally process the information that she had seen.
Ok, he seems to be quite competent when it comes to fighting. Which of course isn’t everything that a private detective needs but having a soldier who has received recognition for his bravery is something that can easily negate him lacking some of the more social and investigative skills that might be necessary. On top of that it seems that he is a somewhat quick learner which means that he can be taught. Though him not having some skills needed is in itself, not that big of a deal since what I need is people who are good at their speciality and not people who are average at everything. So the things that he lacks which are investigative and analysis skills can be made up with the second interviewee who seems to have the skills that this marine lacks. So it seems like we have a good duo whose skills will complement each other.
As Lucia was thinking about the new agent, the receptionist knocked on the door.
“Mr. Spring is here boss.” Lucia then sets down the paper and fixes her coat top before replying to her receptionist. “Send him here please.” She said in a professional voice that is quite clear.
The door is soon opened by the receptionist and a man who is a bit taller than the average man ( for the 1920s) and around a head taller than Thomas. He has an obvious physical build of someone who used to be a soldier or someone who did physical labor everyday as a job. Though what made it obvious that he used to be in the military was his haircut which was shaved with only a small amount of hair left and a completely clean shaven face that didn’t have a speck of facial hair on it. His suit was also meticulously worn making it obvious that he has taken great care to prepare his image for the interview.
After he walks in Lucia takes the initiative to welcome him. “You must be Jerry Springer, pleasure to meet you.” Lucia says with a pleasant yet professional voice.
“Yes and you must be Lucia Belladras.” He said with a slight hetiatance as he tried to cover up his nervousness.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“ There is no need to be nervous, this is just an interview to get to know you more and let you know more about the job, as it can hardly be called a normal private investigator's job. Either way we have already chosen you, so you are as good as hired. So relax, there's nothing to be nervous about.” Lucia said, trying to reassure Jerry but it somewhat backfired when she mentioned that it wasn’t a normal pi job. Which confused him slightly.
“What do you mean when you say that it wasn’t a normal job?” Jerry said, inquisitive.
“Well you see, we won’t just handle your average cases, though some of them might be. What we handle are cases that involve things that involve cults, and cases that involve them. We also plan to hunt creatures that the police would rather not let the public know about. As they might be inhuman creatures that may frighten the public if it is revealed to them.” Lucia said, trying to explain the situation, but ending up confusing Jerry even more.
“Uh, I am still not sure what you mean but I still plan on joining despite the talk about cases involved in cults and hunting monsters. So do you mind properly filling me in and not skimming around the subject?”
“Sure,” Lucia said slowly, as if thinking it through while she was talking.
She then filled him in on everything that was expected of him and what he might face.
After hearing that he was slightly pale as he tried to process what he heard but nodded.
Lucia, seeing that, wanted to confirm what he meant with words.
“So do you agree, and will still work here despite what I have just told you.” Lucia said sternly because she wanted to be clear about what she meant.
“Yes, I still plan on working here despite what I have just heard.” Jerry replied, with not a hint of hesitation or doubt in it.
Lucia’s stern look then dissipated, turning into a warm welcoming smile as she welcomed the first new agent into the (New) Agency.
“Then welcome, we still have to sort out the payment and other details, so take a look at the document and read it over and bring it back tomorrow signed. If you have any questions you can ask tomorrow because there is another person that is coming in around an hour which doesn’t leave enough time to properly go over the contract.” Lucia said, even though she could have just asked him to wait until after the second interview, she decided that it would be better to let them think it over for a bit before having to sign it.
The contract for both agents were about the same and went something like, the yearly pay would be around 7,000 dollars (1920s money, equivalent to around 90,000 dollars in 2020.), several weeks of vacation as well as a 10 thousand dollar life insurance and free healthcare. Both if not all are unheard of at the time, but Lucia has a sneaking suspicion that they will be needed for this type of a job. Since it is also a very unusual job. That has a high chance of death and maiming.
Then around an hour later William Moody showed up, he was a former agent at the Bureau of investigations and an alumni of the University of Chicago in criminology. He worked at the Agency for 6 years before quitting due to the bureaucratic nature of the job and his want for a job that was more exciting and adventurous. To which he thought that Lucia’s Pi business would be such a job.
The interview went about the same except for the attitudes the two had. Jerry had a more polite and nervous tone possibly because he knew Lucia was though she doubted it due to his working class background or because he really wasn’t confident in his skills to do an interview well. Whatever it was, William was the opposite and was filled with confidence when he entered. He definitely knew who Lucia was because his family came from an upper middle class family. He still wasn’t at all nervous at all, though if you think about it closely one would find no reason to be. Even so he was confident about it and even after explaining the job, it didn’t waver and he went out in the same mood as he came in, which was one of wanderlust. Of one in search of adventure and excitement, which made it obvious that William was bored of the slow but easy life that the well off can afford to have to some extent.
The next day both came back with questions on the pay, not because it was too low of course but because they thought that it was a typo. Which Lucia explained it was not. She then had to explain what the other benefits of the job were, which made them even more eager to start the job even though they applied for personal reasons. Neither would say no to a well paying job.
So with the 2 agents hired, Lucia was finally ready to accept another case. One which would be something that didn’t think she would be asked to do.