It wasn't the best place to make a living, but it was as honest living and it was better than doing real work like digging ditches or securing a beach head. Jessica didn't like working at the call center, but taking angry calls from people who couldn't get a particular service to work wasn't all bad. She didn't have to run around or do physical labor, and the pay was good but it was barely enough to make up for the mental stress that came with the job. Still, she was there an average of eight to twelve hours a day, working her ass off to make the rent and pay the bills. There were some days she just hated coming in and could feel the life sucking out of her every time she walked through the doors. Yet there she was taking calls and working away to just make it to the end of the day.
Some days were easier when the people calling in were calm and understood that no system is perfect and accidents are going to happen. They gladly take their credit and wait patiently for all systems to come back up. Then you have the assholes who call in and expect everything to be perfect all the time. These are the morons who run their business on these services despite the fact that they all signed a user agreement agreeing not to do that. She never liked talking to these people, the kind the would ask for a month of credit cause they were down for two days. Just shut the hell up and take your $5 credit like everyone else. It was people like that who made the day tougher to take and almost impossible to bear. This particular day was pretty much more or less the same, until someone walked up to her cramped cubicle to speak with her. At first she was afraid she was going to get in trouble for who knows what. Usually if they wanted to tear you a new one, the system is set up to always provide them with an excuse to do so. Jessica looked up as the supervisor arrived to her desk,
"Is there something I can do?" she asked, trying her best to be polite.
The supervisor leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Usually we don't allow this, but your father is in the lobby. He needs to see you immediately. He says that it's urgent."
After talking to ignorant pricks all day, she really didn't feel like talking to one in person. Jessica was very hesitant to speak to him today of all days.
"He said it was important?" she repeated.
"He was quite pushy about it," the supervisor confirmed, "He said it had something to do with your mother."
Jessica was floored by that comment. Her Dad was there to tell her something about her mother? Had he come around since the last time she talked to him? She logged out of her phone and followed the supervisor off the floor and towards the reception area where her visitor was waiting. Jessica hurried out but was a tad surprised by her reception, because the man waiting out there for her wasn't her father. Instead it was Edgar Willis along with a young man she had never met before. She was a little surprised and at the same time a little disappointed her real Dad hadn't come around or wanted to help her.
"What seems to be the problem, Dad?" she asked Edgar.
Edgar walked up and seemed to play the role well, "I'm sorry to bother you at work pumpkin, but I needed to speak to you about your mother. I did a lot of thinking about what you said the last time we talked. I'm sorry for the way I treated you and came here today to let you know that I've had a chance of heart since we last spoke. We'd like to help you out."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I thought you said it was an expensive case? That I have money to fund this kind of manhunt."
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
It was a real dig, as Jessica deliberately used the exact same works to stick it back to Edgar. He realized what she was saying and tried to do a little damage control.
"That is still as true today as the first time I said it," Edgar confessed, "But that's not going to be necessary."
"It's not?" Jessica said, rather confused by the statement.
"It's not," Edgar repeated, "Our firm came into some good times, so I have the ability to take on cases I normally wouldn't. I came here to tell you that I want to do take this case because I want to, not for the money."
"What changed it for you?" She asked, hesitant to believe him.
"I'll tell you what happened." Jerome said as he finally stepped in, realizing that Edgar needed a little saving. "He finally woke up and started to smell the man's bullshit. He's not buying the official story anymore and wants to find what everyone wants."
"And what would that be?" Jessica asked, somewhat curious.
"How about the truth," Jerome answered, smiling. "There are many people out there who believe what I do. That Flight 77 isn't as cut and dry as the government wants us to believe. The official story is full of holes, and on the surface looks to be a complete hoax. Your story actually proves that and this big lug wants to look into it further, because he wants to know what really happened. That's why I'm here too. I want the truth too. I want it badly."
Jessica seemed a little taken back by his passion for the subject, "Okay."
"Excuse my friend here," Edgar said, coming back in. "He's very passionate about the subject you brought up the last time we spoke."
"I can tell," Jessica replied, a little surprised, "What are you doing here then? Just to announce that you're taking the case? Because if that's all you're here to say, then I really need to get back to work."
"Not exactly," Edgar answered, "If you want to find your mother, we're going to need your help doing that. That means you can't make any unexpected trips to the police and no more talking to people about what you saw. From here on I'm the one asking the questions and knocking on doors. Understood?"
Jessica gave him a quiet nod and he kept going, "Alright, what else?"
"We also need you to report any suspicious activity as well," Edgar continued, "If someone is following you to work or home, or if you think someone has broken into your home, you need to contact us immediately. If we start asking questions that people don't want asked, some of this is bound to happen. So with that being said, are you absolutely sure this is something you want to do?"
Jessica was beginning to realize what kind of courage was needed to look into this mystery and did appreciate that Edgar was making sure she was fully aware and informed of what she was herself into before they started, "I'm sure. I want to find out what really happened to my mother."
Edgar appreciated the fact she was on board and patted her shoulder, "Alright, when you finish up here doing whatever you do here, I need you to come down to the office so we can go over some ideas on how we can track down your mother."
"What kind of ideas?" she asked.
"We'll need some information," Edgar continued, "Mostly private information because that is how we track people down. We do it by their personality since their names and location probably changes often. Are you alright with this?"
"I am." Jessica confirmed, "I'll see you guys at the office when I'm finished here. Thanks for stopping by, Dad."
She gave him a half assed hug for the people watching and then turned away and went back through the door to the call center floor. She liked talking to the guys, but didn't want to stay out there too long because her supervisors might lecture her about having visitors over and what not. She went back to her cubicle and started to take more calls and take care of each account. The rest of her day actually managed to not only go by a little quicker but was easier to handle. She had a better attitude going back to the floor and more important than that, she has something else to hang on that made everything better: hope.