Wanted - Part 3

    Nikki stood in front of the towering Town Hall building, which was one of the oldest buildings in the town. It had never seemed intimidating before, but now that so much of her hope and what very well may be her future dangled in the hands of someone inside the place, it seemed daunting. She wasn’t one for dressing up, but she tried to make herself look as nice as possible, wearing washed out grey jeans and a purple tank-top with her striped sweater semi-zipped up over it. It wasn’t incredibly professional, but it was the best she could come up with.
    Tucking a stray lock of violet hair behind her ear and letting out a long breath to calm herself, Nikki opened one of the large wooden doors and slipped inside. Immediately her ears were flooded with a dull murmur that was vibrating through the room. The place wasn’t packed, but there were still quite a few people there to apply. She wondered how many were actually interested and how many simply wanted to see the mysterious Warden of Superjail. She glanced around, uncertain of what exactly she should do, then decided to listen in on a few people and see if they knew what was going on. She idly wandered over to a small clump of people discussing something, pausing near them to hear what exactly they were saying.
    “Yeah, being a part of the fuzz is alright, but I bet workin’ at a ‘private facility’ pays a helluva lot more.” Said one of the men, whom she recognized as being a cop that she’d seen a few times, pulling people over for drunk driving and the like.
    “No kiddin’. I use ta be a jail guard and that paid okay. But imagine how much ya’d get bein’ the assistant Warden!” said a different guy, this one much more burly than the first.
    Nikki grimaced inwardly at her competition. Sure, experience wasn’t necessary, but it sure as hell couldn’t hurt. How could she, a bookseller, compare to a policeman and ex-jail guard? They were in it for the money rather than pure interest, as in her case, but it’s not like the flyer said that it was looking for someone who really cared about what they were doing. As long at the person did their job right, why should the employers care if the new worker was only doing their job for the paycheck? That’s why she worked under Jones, wasn’t it?
    She sighed and wondered if she should even bother sticking around to just see one of these qualified guys get chosen. But there was still the prospect of getting to see the Warden, which would definitely be worth staying, even if she didn’t get the job. This decided, she drifted a little deeper into the crowd while her mind roamed and tried to come up with what the Warden might look like.

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    The Warden had a small frown of boredom playing on his lips as his eyes wandered around the room. So far the search for his perfect assistant was not going so well. He hadn’t spoken to any of the people who had come to apply so far, but just looking at them he could tell that they were not right for Superjail. They were all dressed in drab, nearly identical clothing that showed no expression at all. They were, quite frankly, uninteresting and were definitely not assistant-Warden material.
    Jared was at his side with a clipboard that had the schedule for the day along with a place to right down each applicant’s name and things that might make them right for the job. He was sweating profusely because of his nerves nearly being fried from working so hard to get everything together and organized in time. After wiping a handkerchief across his forehead, he looked down at the timetable to see what they were supposed to be doing.
    “I’ve created an agenda so that we don’t get off track sir. You’ll meet with every candidate for five minutes to ask them questions and get any information needed before moving on to the next person.” Jared said, eyes flitting over the paper on the clipboard anxiously.
    The accountant continued to babble on with the Warden not listening whatsoever. In fact, most times when Jared went off on his rambles about things the Warden could care less about, he usually just tuned him out. He had more important things to focus on than having to hear Jared blather on and on about something as little as interviewing these tedious beings surrounding him. Gaze still roaming about the room; he blinked when something purple caught his eye. He focused on it instantly and found that it was the hair of a woman. The light was shinning right down on her head and catching every single violet hair, making the color seem to radiate about her head.
    “That’s it, I’ve found my assistant!” the Warden exclaimed, face brightening and a grin chasing away the frown.
    Jared stopped mid-sentence and gaped up at his boss in confusion “E-excuse me sir?”
    The Warden ignored Jared and strode toward the plum-haired girl calling “You there, with the purple hair!”
    The entire room fell silent at his words, except for Jared running behind the Warden and stuttering “B-but sir! You haven’t even evaluated her to see if she’s qualified or-or fit for the job!”
    The Warden waved Jared off as all eyes in the room went to the girl who was staring at him, caught off guard by his words.

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    “W-what?” Nikki stammered in bewilderment, starring up at the widely smiling man that had come to a stop in front of her.
    Was this the infamous Warden of Superjail? Well, she supposed so since he’d declared her his new assistant. But she hadn’t even talked to him, why was he choosing her already? He’d pointed out her purple hair when trying to get her attention… was that why? Because of her hair? She wished her mom could see this. So much for it lowering her chance of getting a job, she was getting hired because of it. At least, that’s what seemed to be happening.
     The guy that she assumed to be the Warden was dressed in a dapper purple suit with a yellow shirt and salmon-colored tie. He had a matching top hat along with golden-tinted glasses, black gloves, and a cane. She had to admit, it was a very odd outfit but he pulled it off quite nicely and she liked it.
    “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m the Warden of Superjail.” He took off his hat and bowed with a flourish then straightened and beamed while putting his hat back atop its proud perch on his head “And you are my new assistant Warden.”
    “B-but sir, I really don’t think this is a good idea.” Piped up a short man behind him, who looked like he might have a nervous breakdown at any moment.
    “Quiet Jared!” the Warden snapped then offered Nikki an apologetic smile “That’s our accountant, Jared. Don’t mind him though, he’s always like that.”
    Nikki grinned slightly in amusement at this while Jared looked down embarrassedly “I’m Nikki.”
    “Well then Nikki, are you ready to become my new assistant?” the Warden inquired cheerfully with a gap-toothed grin.
    “Really? Without asking me any questions or anything?” Nikki asked in disbelief, starring up at him with slightly wide eyes.
    The Warden emitted a soft, slightly irritated sigh “Why does everyone find it so hard to understand this? Yes, I want you to be my new assistant.”
    “Sir, I really must protest this, you must have some way of evaluating whether she is assistant warden material! It’s quite simply against regulations!” Jared spoke up again, waving his clipboard slightly in exasperation.
    “Alright fine Jared, if this is really going to be a problem with you and your ‘regulations’, I’ll see if she’s qualified. She’ll come back to Superjail with us for the day we’ll see if she’s good for the job. Will you just quit with the hissy fit?” the Warden crossed his arms in annoyance at his accountant’s insistent hassling.
    Jared looked relived and wiped the back of his hand across his forehead to clear away some of the sweat that was accumulating there “Thank you sir.”
    The Warden spoke loudly, addressing the other people in the room “Well, as you can see, you’re really aren’t needed anymore so you can all go home now. Good bye!”
    Grumbling angrily about wasting their time and the Warden being completely out of his mind, the other applicants made their way out the front door.
    “Now that that’s out of the way…” the Warden started off in the opposite direction of the flow of people, heading for a backdoor on the other side of the room “Time to get down to business.”
    Nikki looked at Jared, unsure of whether to follow the Warden or not, and he glanced nervously after the Warden before saying “Um, follow me.”
    Jared quickly scurried off after the Warden and Nikki did as Jared had told her, keeping in pace with him easily. It was rare a guy to be shorter than her and, admittedly, she liked the feeling of being taller than him. It was a nice sort of power, something she wouldn’t use against him, but it was still an unusual sensation for her. She kept in step next to him as they trailed after the Warden’s swift strides.
    “I-I’m sorry if I came off a little rude.” Jared said uncomfortably, tugging slightly at his tie “It’s just my job to try and keep the Warden on track.”
    “It’s alright.” Nikki chuckled “I imagine trying to keep him focused is nearly impossible.”
    Jared laughed, slightly shakily “Yes, it is.”
    As they headed through the backdoor out into a little side street alleyway, Nikki couldn’t help but wonder where exactly they were going. There were quite a few other things on her mind as well. Where exactly was Superjail in the first place? And what exactly did the Warden mean by seeing if she was ‘good for the job’? She didn’t even really know what the job was. She supposed all of these questions would be answered soon enough. But there was one that dominated the rest and was swirling around her mind was she watched the purple coattails in front of her flap wildly at the Warden’s movement.
    Who really was the eccentric, and most definitely intriguing, man that was the Warden of the Superjail, deep down?