Well, that was a surprise.
An annual ritual is about to begin. After choosing my November writing project, the voices in my head threw me a curveball.
This year, I was fully expecting to have a go at Crime of the Century, one of the short stories that I mentioned in a previous post. If you missed it, you can see it here.
But then, as I was looking through a set of short stories I’m sporadically writing, called Kalyn’s Crew, one of them leapt out and shouted: “Write more about me.”
How could I refuse? I even rushed off and designed a cover.
My choice this year is Cuckoo in the Nest.
A tale of deception.
The Cavan sisters, Claudia and Traci, are big players on the planet Prespiro. The authorities have heard that they’re up to something criminal and want to know more.
They’ve tried to infiltrate the family several times, without success.
Every agent they send ends up dead.
Enter Debs DuBreq, a Navy officer who bears a remarkable resemblance to Traci Cavan.
All she has to do is lie in a hospital bed and pretend to be Traci, recovering from a car crash, while the real Traci is abducted and interrogated.
It sounds like a simple job. In and out. When things start to go wrong, Debs is faced with the ultimate challenge.
She has to convince Claudia Cavan that her sister has recovered and is ready to get back to work.
Helping to plot the government’s downfall.
This story started out as a throwaway line in one of the episodes of The Adventures of Kalyn Deere, a set of short stories I published in 2024. Click the picture for more information.
In the stories, Debs DuBreq was an old shipmate of Kalyn, one who had suddenly disappeared.
When she turns up, looking for a job, Kalyn takes her on without question. When she asks her friend where she went, Debs says that she was offered the chance to do an undercover job for the Federal Government.
This is the story of that job.
Here are the first few paragraphs, just to give you a flavour of the concept.
“DeBreq, come in and sit down. These people want to talk to you?”
I’d been summoned to the captain’s cabin. I wondered what I’d done wrong, there was nothing that I could immediately recall. Seeing the two grey suits on the couch, their blank faces giving nothing away, wasn’t a relief. I couldn’t think of a reason why anyone from civilian life would want me unless there was some sort of family problem. And if there was, surely the captain could have dealt with that himself?
“Good morning,” I said, taking a chair. “What can I do for you? Is there a problem at home?”
“Nothing like that. We have a little job for you,” one of them announced. “You’re in or out. If you’re out, you walk away now and forget all about us.”
That got me intrigued. “And if I’m in?”
“You come with us, and we’ll tell you all about it.”
I looked at the captain, hoping for guidance. He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s your call, lieutenant,” he said, “but I won’t think any the less of you if you say no.”
“Who are you two?” I asked. As it wasn’t personal news, they were probably Federal agents. Would they admit it? That was another matter entirely.
They looked at me; the same one spoke again. “Not until you say yes.”
I thought for a second. The truth was, the refit was boring. Life on the ship, endlessly patrolling, was boring. If it hadn’t been for my shipmates, I would have probably been out of the Navy. This sounded like it might be interesting.
“Well,” Suit One said. “In or out.”
“Why not?” I said. “I’m in.”
“Good, give me your phone.” I handed it over.
He put it in his pocket and turned to my now ex-commanding officer. “Thank you, Captain. We’ll be off now. Remember, you never saw us.”
Less than ten minutes later, I was in their vehicle, passing through the gates of the Navy shipyard on Wishart. Ahead of me, the city of Brethren’s Host rose out of the plain. We drove around the outer ring for a while, turned off at an unmarked junction and headed towards another military compound.
There was silence from the two of them, both seated in the front. I was in the back. I had nothing except what I was wearing. I hadn’t even had the chance to collect my gear or say goodbye to anyone.
My best buddy and cabin mate, Kalyn Deere, would be wondering where I’d got to.
“Can you tell me what’s going on now?” I asked.
“When we get where we’re going,” was the reply. Was the second one mute? She never spoke.
We finally passed through a security fence, the vehicle stopped inside a huge building, Doors rolled closed behind me, shutting out the daylight.
The place was like a film studio. There were false-fronted buildings, rooms and scaffolding everywhere. It was like being in some sort of crazy dream. What I could see of the signage suggested that the setting was a city called Atheralan, wherever the hell that was. I wanted to ask what it was all about, but I had to run to keep up with them. The way things had been going, I somehow doubted that they’d tell me anyway.
I was taken across a concrete floor to a large, windowless box; that’s the only way I could describe it. Parked in a corner of this huge warehouse. I was led through the door into a self-contained, modular living unit. Inside, it was top-quality stuff. There was a bedroom, a lounge, a kitchen and a washroom. And fake windows, showing scenes of the countryside. We ended up in the kitchen.
“You’re living here until your mission starts,” said the same one. “There’s everything you need inside this unit.”
At last, we were getting somewhere. “So, what is this mission?”
“We want you to be someone for us.”
I’m bursting with plotlines and have a spectacular ending planned. This is going to be fun.
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