Staring at the ceiling

…

David has time on his hands, and time to be alone with his thoughts can have a strange effect on the mind, and in David’s case, it gave him time to think about the new Susan.

Yes, it was Susan on the outside, and mostly on the inside, but with a few modifications, some brought on by the elevation to Lady Featherington, in charge of a conglomeration of businesses, others from the treatment her father meted out in the process of creating a clone to steal everything her family owned.

That in itself could be life-changing.

But…

There was something about the new Susan that was odd, because as far as David was concerned, people didn’t change that much, despite circumstances.

Like, she was much less inhibited, the old Susan was, if anything, a person who, even in pyjamas, would have no more than soft indirect lighting.  Not anymore.

The old Susan didn’t like the idea of having a personal assistant, did everything for herself, and had a disdain for all men.  Now, it seemed she had two personal assistants, and a gaggle of men in two wherever she went, even flirted with them.

She had a home office that hadn’t been specifically declared out of bounds, but when he breached it, she moved everything to a new office.  It surprised him that she thought he would not find it.

She professed in the beginning that he would be enough for her security, but that changed, for some reason, after the stay in Greve, and he deduced something had happened relating to him that changed her mind, something put in her head by Prendergast, the godfather who was seemingly more in her life the David was.

There was no doubt in David’s mind that Prendergast had recommended the new security team.  Why, when he knew David’s capabilities were far superior to the new guy?

David’s mind ran through the details and came to the deduction that Prendergast didn’t want Davis spending 24/7 time with his wife.  Prendergast obviously knew some of the detail of the arrangement David had with Susan, that he would walk away if she wanted him to, but she hadn’t.

The opposite was true.  And flirting with danger, David decided to call her and make dates, telling her back to before they were married, meeting in strange places, staying in sleazy hotel rooms, and sneaking out under the noses of the security team.

She did this willingly, so it was not Susan who wanted him to stay away, it was Prendergast.

And by default, Prendergast didn’t want David too close to the new security team, which meant that was not squeaky clean.  A job for Alisha’s research team, just who was he, and every member of that team.  Dossiers were requested.

Prendergast was up to something like he always was, and David was going to find out what it was.

…

Words written today, 3,740, for a total of 49,480

People change don’t they

…

The thing is, how much can they change in what sort of timeframe?

I guess at this point of the book it’s a little odd to be worrying about the main characters’ background stories, but I figure it’s better now than later and having to contemplate a major rewrite.

I guess it’s also a by-product of flying by the seat of your pants.

Well, not so much this time, I did have a rather extensive outline for the paths the two characters would take, along with a general idea of Susan’s newly acquired eccentricities, but you know what it’s like when you’re writing, sometimes the story takes hold of you and it’s trying to tell itself, and not exactly as you were envisioning it.

OK, I know I shouldn’t let it get out of control, but it was an amusing interlude, and gave me a new idea, not totally out of reach from where we were going.

Of course, there are the minor players, and one decided to come along and try to steal the show.

Well, for a few paragraphs there, they did.

It’s a delicious role and a character actor would make it stand out as memorable

But…

More on those changes and what they might mean tomorrow.

…

Words written today, 4.058, for a total of 53,538

Secrets do not remain secrets

…

The basic job of any secret agent or spy or whatever anyone wants to call them is to find out information that the target doesn’t want anyone else to know about.

It was what David had been very good at, and, in fact, still was.  Just because he had to retire for health reasons didn’t diminish that ability, but he had hoped he wouldn’t have to use those skills again.

A forlorn hope to be sure.

One of his real advantages was that he didn’t look like a spy or secret agent, and was quite often simply overlooked or ignored, the man you would not give a first look let alone a second.

It didn’t make him any less lethal than the obvious guy, and in a bad situation, he was always underestimated.

Susan knew his tenacity, and just how dangerous he could be having seen it first-hand.

Her new head of security and his men did not, other than the exhibition he gave them in the front foyer on that first visit.

That might have been more luck than ability because it didn’t faze them.

This much was obvious from the overheard conversations picked by the microphones David had strategically placed in various locations, bugs designed to be found, which they were, and bugs that were not.

And when the enemy was overconfident, well, that’s when things get interesting.

…

Words written today, 2,476, for a total of 45,740

Staring at the ceiling

…

David has time on his hands, and time to be alone with his thoughts can have a strange effect on the mind, and in David’s case, it gave him time to think about the new Susan.

Yes, it was Susan on the outside, and mostly on the inside, but with a few modifications, some brought on by the elevation to Lady Featherington, in charge of a conglomeration of businesses, others from the treatment her father meted out in the process of creating a clone to steal everything her family owned.

That in itself could be life-changing.

But…

There was something about the new Susan that was odd, because as far as David was concerned, people didn’t change that much, despite circumstances.

Like, she was much less inhibited, the old Susan was, if anything, a person who, even in pyjamas, would have no more than soft indirect lighting.  Not anymore.

The old Susan didn’t like the idea of having a personal assistant, did everything for herself, and had a disdain for all men.  Now, it seemed she had two personal assistants, and a gaggle of men in two wherever she went, even flirted with them.

She had a home office that hadn’t been specifically declared out of bounds, but when he breached it, she moved everything to a new office.  It surprised him that she thought he would not find it.

She professed in the beginning that he would be enough for her security, but that changed, for some reason, after the stay in Greve, and he deduced something had happened relating to him that changed her mind, something put in her head by Prendergast, the godfather who was seemingly more in her life the David was.

There was no doubt in David’s mind that Prendergast had recommended the new security team.  Why, when he knew David’s capabilities were far superior to the new guy?

David’s mind ran through the details and came to the deduction that Prendergast didn’t want Davis spending 24/7 time with his wife.  Prendergast obviously knew some of the detail of the arrangement David had with Susan, that he would walk away if she wanted him to, but she hadn’t.

The opposite was true.  And flirting with danger, David decided to call her and make dates, telling her back to before they were married, meeting in strange places, staying in sleazy hotel rooms, and sneaking out under the noses of the security team.

She did this willingly, so it was not Susan who wanted him to stay away, it was Prendergast.

And by default, Prendergast didn’t want David too close to the new security team, which meant that was not squeaky clean.  A job for Alisha’s research team, just who was he, and every member of that team.  Dossiers were requested.

Prendergast was up to something like he always was, and David was going to find out what it was.

…

Words written today, 3,740, for a total of 49,480

A hard slog

…

Surveillance wasn’t easy.  Some thought it was a doddle, just sitting around waiting for something to happen, and, in the meantime, filling up on takeaway and endless coffee.

Some thought it boring because in all likelihood little happened over a long time.

Quite often the funding ran out long before a result was available.

David had nothing else to do, so it was his only option, other than finding a way to annoy the new security.

He found premises near the Featherington London residence, then when the place was least populated, planted listening devices in various places, some to be found, others not.

He tracked the limousine, now driven by the head of security to see where it was going promptly every morning, with the mistress of the house.

Located other premises to be watched, a result no doubt of being able to go through documents at the main residence.

Got an accurate guide to how many men were in the security team, where they went and what times they performed basic duties.

And watched Susan as she slept in her room, making him feel almost like a stalker.

But it didn’t take long for several revelations to surface, the first, Susan had a new relative that he had known of before, but only by sight, and second, someone he thought he could trust was not what he appeared to be.

Time to throw the cat among the pigeons.

…

Words written today, 2,041, for a total of 43,264

A hard slog

…

Surveillance wasn’t easy.  Some thought it was a doddle, just sitting around waiting for something to happen, and, in the meantime, filling up on takeaway and endless coffee.

Some thought it boring because in all likelihood little happened over a long time.

Quite often the funding ran out long before a result was available.

David had nothing else to do, so it was his only option, other than finding a way to annoy the new security.

He found premises near the Featherington London residence, then when the place was least populated, planted listening devices in various places, some to be found, others not.

He tracked the limousine, now driven by the head of security to see where it was going promptly every morning, with the mistress of the house.

Located other premises to be watched, a result no doubt of being able to go through documents at the main residence.

Got an accurate guide to how many men were in the security team, where they went and what times they performed basic duties.

And watched Susan as she slept in her room, making him feel almost like a stalker.

But it didn’t take long for several revelations to surface, the first, Susan had a new relative that he had known of before, but only by sight, and second, someone he thought he could trust was not what he appeared to be.

Time to throw the cat among the pigeons.

…

Words written today, 2,041, for a total of 43,264

Secrets do not remain secrets

…

The basic job of any secret agent or spy or whatever anyone wants to call them is to find out information that the target doesn’t want anyone else to know about.

It was what David had been very good at, and, in fact, still was.  Just because he had to retire for health reasons didn’t diminish that ability, but he had hoped he wouldn’t have to use those skills again.

A forlorn hope to be sure.

One of his real advantages was that he didn’t look like a spy or secret agent, and was quite often simply overlooked or ignored, the man you would not give a first look let alone a second.

It didn’t make him any less lethal than the obvious guy, and in a bad situation, he was always underestimated.

Susan knew his tenacity, and just how dangerous he could be having seen it first-hand.

Her new head of security and his men did not, other than the exhibition he gave them in the front foyer on that first visit.

That might have been more luck than ability because it didn’t faze them.

This much was obvious from the overheard conversations picked by the microphones David had strategically placed in various locations, bugs designed to be found, which they were, and bugs that were not.

And when the enemy was overconfident, well, that’s when things get interesting.

…

Words written today, 2,476, for a total of 45,740