{"id":2290,"date":"2021-08-28T13:38:50","date_gmt":"2021-08-28T20:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2290"},"modified":"2021-08-28T13:38:50","modified_gmt":"2021-08-28T20:38:50","slug":"nowhere-to-go-but-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2021\/08\/28\/nowhere-to-go-but-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Nowhere to Go but Up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt:\u00a0Write about a character who has landed their dream job, only to discover it isn\u2019t quite what they imagined it to be.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s starting at the bottom<\/em>, and then there\u2019s whatever this was. Korin hadn\u2019t expected to jump right into solving big cases, but this hadn\u2019t even been more than a footnote and two-hour lecture at Quantico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019d been pleasantly surprised on her first day on the job to not<\/em> be expected to make or fetch coffee, make copies, pull files, or any other bit of drudge work. When she\u2019d been given an assignment to a major task force right out of the gate, she figured it would be something she\u2019d need to prove herself with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Korin took a break, walking to the coffee maker to refill her new mug with the FBI logo. The mug came with the first posting, the task force SAC told her; a welcome aboard gift from Uncle Sam. She filled the mug two-thirds of the way, sipped the strong, bitter coffee and frowned, before adding a big splash of cream to thin it out some, the light brown coffee a shade lighter than her skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry, Jackson, you\u2019ll get used to it,\u201d Anne said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Korin turned to face the short special agent in charge; so pale that her suntanned features still read pink, with medium brown hair and fine crows-feet wrinkles around her eyes. \u201cWhich?\u201d she asked, rubbing her hair, currently in the in-between stage of being close cropped and a \u2019fro. \u201cThe battery acid coffee, or the bank records?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBoth.\u201d Anne laughed. Her blue eyes narrowed as she looked up into the dark eyes of the young agent. \u201cI remember my first assignment on a task force,\u201d she said. \u201cBelieve me, you have a much better first assignment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not in a hurry to return to the mind-numbing task of scouring through every deposit, withdrawal, payment, transfer, check, and charge against several dozen bank accounts, she raised an eyebrow. \u201cIf you don\u2019t mind me asking, ma\u2019am, what was your first assignment like?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anne laughed. \u201cWe were doing the same thing,\u201d she said, \u201cbut none of the records were computerized. They were all on paper\u2026and shredded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou mean you were\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTaping together shredded documents, yes.\u201d Anne had the air of someone about to impart wisdom when she was interrupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCarter! We got something for you!\u201d The man yelling from the other end of the open office was waving wildly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s my cue,\u201d she said, giving the young agent a pat on the back. \u201cAnd yours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, ma\u2019am.\u201d Korin returned to her desk and went back to building spreadsheets that showed each account\u2019s total balance, by day, over the course of ten years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The spreadsheets were on a shared server, where everyone on the task force could read and edit them. She started to notice notes being attached to some of her entries, many of them links to other documents. She stifled her curiosity, figuring that the faster she finished the mind-numbing part, the sooner she could do something intelligent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the day ended, Korin had no idea how much progress, if any, had been made on the case. In fact, she wasn\u2019t even sure what case<\/em> she was working on, beyond a case number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anne pulled a chair from the next desk and sat next to her. \u201cNot the most exciting introduction to the field, but exciting isn\u2019t exactly a good thing in this job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI guess not.\u201d Korin saved her work before closing her laptop. \u201cI thought we had forensic accountants to handle all this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t get involved until you start talking about money laundering through a host of shell companies, or large-scale embezzlement.\u201d Anne pursed her lips. \u201cThis is\u2026small potatoes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith a task force of thirty? Seems like reasonably large potatoes,\u201d Korin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNormally, you\u2019d be right. But when politicians are involved, we tend to err on the side of too much manpower rather than too little.\u201d Anne gestured at the office. \u201cHow long do you think we\u2019ve been working on this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Korin took in the office. Rows of desks with laptops, folders on some, two locked file cabinets, and a large dry-erase board with photos held by magnets, scrawled notes, and lines going everywhere. \u201cHard to say. Weeks? Month or two?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anne leaned back in the chair. \u201cThis is day four. We\u2019ll be wrapped up by the end of next week, then we\u2019ll be back downstairs at our regular desks. Once the reports and arrests are made, I\u2019ll be on call for the trial, while we move on to the next thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Korin frowned. \u201cI guess it isn\u2019t what I thought it would be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re an over-achiever, I get that.\u201d Anne sat back up. \u201cYou completed a graduate degree in law enforcement while completing dual undergrad degrees in chemistry and forensics, with a minor in music. Graduated number six in your class at Quantico. Reminds me of who I tried to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt first, I thought I wanted to be a lawyer. Finished criminal law and contract law before I figured out that wasn\u2019t<\/em> what I wanted to do. Went to Quantico and tried my best to be top of the class.\u201d Anne chuckled. \u201cDidn\u2019t make it, ended up in the top twenty percent, but not as high as you. Didn\u2019t stop me from trying to over-achieve, at least for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter a year or so, how you did in Quantico, your degrees, your GPA\u2026none of that matters. What matters is how you do your job every day.\u201d She placed a hand on the young agent\u2019s shoulder. \u201cAnd most days, the job is pretty boring, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, I knew it wasn\u2019t going to be car chases and gunfights,\u201d Korin said. \u201cI\u2019m happy that it isn\u2019t like television, but this is\u2026,\u201d she gestured at the laptop with a shrug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d Anne said. \u201cYou stick with it, you\u2019ll get the chance to use your chemistry and forensics knowledge; maybe even your music training, who knows? You\u2019ll learn a lot more, too. I\u2019ve learned some physics, biology, and finally managed to wrap my head around statistics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, learning is always a good thing,\u201d Korin said. \u201cI\u2019d probably go insane if I had to stop learning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re in luck,\u201d Anne said with a crooked smile, \u201cthe input part is almost done. Do you know how to build a pivot table from a collection of spreadsheets?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, I never learned that. I\u2026,\u201d realization crossed her face. \u201cI stepped into that one, didn\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd you just learned something else. You should always watch out for crafty, old agents twisting your words into volunteering for something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Korin looked at Anne out of the corner of her eye. \u201cCrafty, old<\/em>, agents? Fishing for complements?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNah, they\u2019d get you nowhere anyway. We both know I\u2019m old enough to be your mother.\u201d She stood. \u201cCome on, let\u2019s get out of here, Jackson. I\u2019ll see you in the morning. You need to be in by 7:30 tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re next on the rotation for making the coffee. I\u2019d suggest you make it every bit as strong as today\u2019s was, or you\u2019ll never hear the end of it from the other agents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Korin followed the older agent out of the office and sighed. \u201cWell, we all have to start at the bottom, I guess. Nowhere to go from here but up.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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