1. The Employment of Super Villains
The street lights turned on and dusk was setting in. Just an hour ago it seemed like it was late morning, with the two girls just starting on the vast pile of business magazines and catalogues. The pursuit of employment opportunities sure could be exhausting.
Another magazine went down with no luck.
"I guess we really should have accepted the Craft brothers when they contacted us," she said from the middle of a huge pile of magazines.
"Come on, Rene! You know that we wanted to do internships first. Explore the agent's job a bit before rushing headfirst into some super-villain organisation, begging for jobs," Veronica replied, looking up from her computer screen. It was currently displaying the Home Page of the official Super Villain Agency website. "Good thing too. The Swedish organisation, The Vipers, sacked two people just last week for not knowing how to differentiate between an AK-47 and an M-16!"
"Yeah fine, maybe acing those internships at VictorEnd wasn't all that bad. But don't you think we're a bit behind in terms of employment?" Rene complained, reaching out for another blue and red magazine.
"You know, you really have a gift for making things sound worse than they really are." Veronica sighed, scrolling down the web page. "First of all, we're not...looking for employment!"
Rene rolled her eyes. "Of course. We're investing in our project of opening a hair salon?"
"We're just looking for a good organisation in which our skills will be put to use. A company where we can offer our services. And they're not the same thing!" Veronica added, seeing her friend ready to protest. "With our skill sets and multiple certifications, we could have gotten any job of our choice, months ago...if that was what we wanted!"
"Yeah, I know," Rene shrugged. "Not many people chose to go down the internships lane, and everyone we knew wanted to start a business of their own," she recalled, flipping through the magazine. "Anyway, found an interesting group yet where we can offer our services?"
"Well...Technos Incorp. seemed Interesting, except that they only accept agents with three years of experience on the field."
"How about Devil Leap? It's run by, uhh....," Rene trailed off, seeing who the managers of the company were.
"No offence to the respectable Amayas, but aren't we looking for an organisation that's, well, younger?" she asked with emphasis.
"Alright." Rene shook her head in amusement. "Back to hunting, I guess."
Suddenly, Veronica gasped and snapped her finger for her friend's attention.
"It just came up on the screen!" she whispered, gesturing to the laptop screen.
VESPIAN EMERALDS
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE SUPER VILLAIN ORGANISATION
CEO: Jacqueline Chase (21 years), Camilla Chase (19 years)
SPECIALIZATION: [ACTIVE] Stealth, mercenary accomplishments, Parkour
[PASSIVE] Cryptography, Raw data analysis.
TRAINED ACTIVE AND PASSIVE AGENTS WITH QUALIFICATION REQUIRED
Contact: 888 725
E-mail: Ve_chasesisters@zipmail
"I don't know what I clicked...it just appeared!" Veronica's eyes were wide open. Faltering for words, Rene threw her hands in the air.
"It's perfect," she said, a smile creeping up her face. "Was this there yesterday?"
"No! That's the odd bit,"Veronica mused. "I could have sworn this article wasn't on the website yesterday."
"Well, if they've put it up recently, they're probably still looking for agents," Rene stated. "In which case you'd better contact them right away, Ron."
"I suppose you're right. You know what, I'll send them a mail right now. With all our qualifications and everything. I'm sure they'll check it by tomorrow."
"Good luck with that," Rene remarked. "I'm getting us some tea. That employment scouting sure drained me out." Her voice faded away as she trudged into the kitchen. Rene and her tea, thought Veronica, shaking her head with a grin. None of Rene's African-American genes had done anything to stop her tea obsession.
Veronica focused on her screen. She framed the words carefully in her mind and finally hit the keys.
TO: Ve_chasesisters
SUBJECT: Application Form
I, Veronica Jackson, along with my friend, Rene Carlson, would like to submit our application forms to join the company of the Vespian Emeralds. Seeing your notice on the League of Super-Villains Organizations website, we decided to apply immediately. Attached below are our agent's certificates and official Agent Records.
Attached to the mail were several qualification certificates that the two girls had secured during their education at the Academy of Agent Arts (AAA). Among their accomplishments were listed the Silver Scythe and the Thunderbolt, two of the highest qualifications in the advanced education years at the Academy.
"Vespian Emeralds...," Veronica sighed, brushing back her dark brown hair. "Let's see what they have to offer."
