“Tessa, do you have a moment?” I hear Sam and one of the specialists calling my name. Boxes are everywhere, organized chaos as we organize our upcoming move. I trample over the boxes in the hallway. I see Sam hunched over one of our specialists, staring into one of the computers. It makes me nervous; we don’t normally have issues with our technology.
I round the cubicle, joining Sam and the specialist. “What’s going on?”
Sam looks at me with a strained grimace. “I don’t know. Bethany said the phone call she just logged isn’t showing up. We tried closing out of the tab and then restarting it. Half the calls she took today are gone.
I pull out my phone to call one of our providers. “Hey, this is Tessa Bjorn from the Foundation. I think we’re having issues with the homeless system. The call system’s working fine, but I have a specialist whose call records for today have disappeared.”
I give the provider some information and the line goes silent for a few moments, only to be revived with, “Huh, that’s interesting. I’m not seeing any specialist with that number.” You have got to be kidding me.
I look between Sam and Reva, who’s joined us in the chaos now.
“Boss, what’s going on?” Reva chimes in.
“I have no fucking idea, but something isn’t right. Do me a favor and get Joaquin on the phone.” I bypass Alexander, knowing that if I call Joaquin, Alexander might show up too. I’m still waiting for him, anyway. Just as I’m hanging up the phone, more chaos erupts.
“What the hell!” I hear a voice from the other side of the cubicles.
“What happened?” I ask. I’m starting to get annoyed
Another specialist looks up at me. “Sorry, Tessa, I’m just frustrated. That was my fifth bounced call.”
“Today? It’s probably just the phone. I’ll get you another one,” I say before I’m stopped by her response.
“Not of the day. In the last five minutes.”
Sam and I stare at each other. Something’s going on. Before we can troubleshoot, Reva comes back from her cubicle.
“Okay Joaquin is twenty minutes out.” Time to prepare myself for an angry phone call.
“Umm.. Boss lady!” Another specialist pipes in. “My screen just went blank.”
“What do you mean it just went blank?” Sam asks, reading my mind.
“I was typing in notes from this call and it went blank.”
I examine everything. All charging ports and cables are good. Nothing is bent or fried. I crawl under the desk to examine the cords and outlets. Nothing is out of the ordinary or misplaced.
I can’t figure it out. Call records being erased, specialists not being in the system, bounced calls within minutes of each other, screens going blank. Then it hits me.
“No, no, no, no.” I’m practically screaming now, sprinting back to my office. “Everyone turn off your computers. Now!”
I struggle to get mine shut down before the building goes dark. Complete power shut off.
I walk back, all my specialists confused, looking at me for guidance. I rush downstairs to check out the other offices and our lobby. People are just as confused as me. There’s no storm, no clouds in the sky. I see Joaquin and Alexander standing at the lobby door, and with no power to our building, my receptionist can’t buzz them in. I go to open the door and Joaquin zooms past me without a word.
“What’s going on, Teresa?” Alexander glides his way to me.
“I wish I knew. Maybe just a power surge or something.” I walk away from him, heading to the stairs. He grabs my arm before I can get far.
“Still upset with me?” he pouts.
I yank my arm free. “Not the time nor place for this conversation.” We make our way back upstairs, the power still out. Joaquin is circling like a bloodhound looking for a scent.
Reva and Sam stand beside him, looking around for answers. Suddenly, a woosh of sound sends the lights flashing back on. Our screens flash, resetting from the sudden power down, but there’s a haze of sounds and pictures with it. It’s like someone is scratching their nails down a chalkboard. I wince, scrambling to find the power button to our big call monitor. Before I can get to it, a hooded figure walks across the screen. What. The. Fuck.
I don’t take a minute to gather my thoughts. “Joaquin, get this bastard off my screen, now!” I flag him down around the corner. This fucker will not do this here,again. Joaquin scrambles to get out a laptop and plug into the interface, I’m assuming. I try to push the power button. Nothing. I try to grab the power cord from the outlet, but it’s stuck. My heart plummets.
“How many more warnings do I have to give?” The hooded voice booms through the room, ringing painfully in my ears.