As you looked up at the tall, windowless granite building, you thought to yourself, It doesn't look like the cheeriest place to work. I wonder why they want me?
Entering, you found not the usual lobby setup, but an elderly security guard sitting in a folding chair. "Um, excuse me," you said, "I have an appointment with a woman named Finola?"
"You're late," said a woman over your shoulder, in a faint Irish accent.
You turned, and found a redheaded woman in a black business suit. "Are you Finola?"
"I told you to be here at 3:00," she said. "It is now 3:02. Punctuality is essential in this position."
"Traffic was a bear. Not quite as bad as it's been; but bad enough, I guess."
"See to it it doesn't happen again. Follow me."
She led you through a door to a large office facility. "Welcome to the Department of Paranormal Research and Investigation."
You stopped in your tracks. "You... you mean this is Department 13?"
"I see you've been listening to that podcast. Our activities here and in the field are a closely guarded secret."
"Is that why there are no windows in this building? To keep out prying eyes?"
"That's the secondary reason; the first is, by keeping out the sun, this facility is safe for vampires."
You laughed. "You believe in vampires?"
"Why shouldn't I?" She turned, revealing a pair of fangs. "I've been one for more than a hundred years."
"You... you mean... you mean it's all true? Everything that girl says on Beyond the Veil?"
"She doesn't have all the information on her stories; however, what she says is essentially the truth. Our job here is to maintain the Masquerade that the creatures of folklore are merely the stuff of legend; to keep tabs on paranormal activities; and to protect the country and the world from threats it can have no idea are even out there."
You smiled. "Wait until I tell my friends and family about this."
"You will tell them nothing. In fact, you won't ever see them again." She put a box, with two hand-shaped depressions on top, onto her desk. "Place your hands here."
You did so, and felt a strong electric shock. "What was that?"
"We've just removed your fingerprints. Now, you have no identifying marks or scars. From now on, you will wear only what we tell you; your clothes will make you indistinct in the memory of others. To your family and friends, you have disappeared. To the rest of the world, you are nobody. You are now an agent for the Department of Paranormal Research and Investigation. When things go bump in the night, it is we who bump back."
She took out numerous files, and placed them on the desk in front of you. "Have a look at some of our case files. I think you'll find them instructive."
Looking at the files, you found several interesting stories:
File NY-219919-VAM: Janelle Lee never believed in vampires; now, she is one.
File NY-450569-WEW: To Tasha Lyall, "the curse" and "that time of the month" aren't just jokes; not since she became a werewolf.
File MA-603823-WIT: On her 16th birthday, Nicole Montgomery discovered that she was a witch.
File PA-237876-FFI: Nobody has seen JJ Rains lately. But she's not missing; she's invisible.
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