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With the arrival of October, it’s time for me to start getting ready for NaNoWriMo 2010. This will be my fifth year of participating in NaNoWriMo, and I hope to have as much fun with it as I have in the previous four years. My first WriMo story, back in 2006, was the third book in the Pod series, “The Daedalus Child.” I set my goal to not just finish in November, but to finish by my birthday on the 22nd. Meeting that goal set a tone and a confidence for the following three NaNoWriMo’s. It wasn’t just a wild idea to write a complete novel in less than a month; it was a realistic objective, and one that I could also be happy with the results thereof. For October, my plan is to highlight my NaNoWriMo novels, and hopefully to encourage others to take the daring plunge into literary abandon. This week, the Prologue from “The Daedalus Child.”
Prologue
Daryl Malach answered the phone with a pleasant greeting. His wife and research associate Geneva sat in the kitchen, feeding strained yams to their infant son. Smiling at her as she wiped orange residue from the child’s chin, he turned his attention to the caller, one of their lab assistants. “It’s over, Daryl,” the assistant said.
“What are you talking about? What’s over?”
“Project Tyldak; the company; everything. I got a call from a friend this morning who works as an administrative assistant for the FBI, and they’re going for a warrant today. The plan is to seize all the records and materials as evidence, and any of us that do not cooperate voluntarily will be placed under arrest.”
“What else did your friend tell you?”
“Not much; she could get in big trouble for telling me even as little as she did, but I imagine they’re going to prosecute you and Gen especially. I’ve already called a lawyer to negotiate a deal for me, Daryl. They’re going to learn everything anyway, so I might as well try and keep my tuchas out of prison. I didn’t put all those years in school just to end up as somebody’s playmate in the shower.” He paused as though waiting for a reply. “I’m sorry, man; I figured I’d warn you, but if push comes to shove I’m going to have to testify against you. You two should probably get a lawyer and start negotiating, too.”
He mouthed an expletive and rubbed his forehead. “It’s okay, Steve; you need to take care of yourself, and I appreciate the warning.”
“What are you guys going to do?”
“I don’t know, and it’s probably better if you don’t know either. That way, you won’t have to wrestle with whether to tell the investigators or not. Look; I’ve got to go. Whatever happens, thanks for everything; you’re a great assistant, and I think you’ll go far someday.”
“Daryl?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t do anything stupid or crazy, okay? This isn’t the end of the world, you know.”
“I know; don’t worry. We’ll be fine.” He terminated the call and turned to his wife. “The government knows; they’re moving on the lab today.”
“No,” she said. “Oh, no, no, no. I’d hoped we’d have more time than this, or at least more warning.” She wiped the baby’s face and took the remains of the jar to the trash. “Get our emergency bags and the money; we’ll drop Bobby with your mother and head south.”
“Leave Bobby? Gen, he’s our son.”
“I don’t like the idea of leaving him behind, either, but Helen will take care of him and make sure he’s protected. You know as well as I do, though, that there’s no way we’re going to get out of the country with him along.”
“I know; it’s just-”
“We don’t have time to waste, Daryl. Either way, we’re going to be separated from Bobby. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be together with you in South America, than apart in prison here. One way or the other, Bobby won’t be with us.”
“You’re right; I’d just hoped we’d be there for him as he grew up, so we could help him with everything he’s going to face.”
She turned to look at the infant, and the concern was clear on her face. “That’s what I wanted, too, but Helen did a fine job with you. She’ll make sure that no one hurts him because of what we’ve done.” The veneer of her resolve faded for a moment. “I just hope to God that he’ll forgive us someday.”
“That who forgives us? God, or Bobby?”
“Now that you mention it; both.”
6 comments:
This will be my 3rd NaNo... what a stressful, exciting, exhilerating, productive time!
Wow, I totally want to read the rest
Great beginning! I love the fact that you used the word tuchas. :) I can't wait till NaNo!
Talk about a cliff hanger. I want to know about this family and why the government is after them. Great writing!
Great writing-as usual! I loved how you made the characters so real! I can't believe it's my fifth nano this time around too. Have you been over to the boards? They were wiped this afternoon. It's awesome! ^_^
This is great start to a story! I am definitely intrigued. :)
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