Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
This is the Six Sentence Story bloghop.
Denise is the host.
Six Sentence limit (minimum/maximum) for stories written using the week’s prompt word.
This is an Ian Devereaux week, so what follows is the latest installment in ‘the Case of the Missing Fig Leaf‘
The prompt word:
RODEO
“I want to know, no, I need to know who was responsible for my husband’s death,” Leanne’s voice was as digitally-perfect and balanced as we’ve come to expect from the internet, however, technology stood as much chance as a child’s paper boat in a Cat 5 hurricane preventing her emotional power from pulling me closer to the screen.
“You’re the client, what would you have me do,” I sat six hours in Leanne’s future and looked for a sign in her face that would justify what I knew she would ask next; to my credit I felt a brief twinge of guilt at presuming I could know what was best for her; the problem was that I’d forwarded her the email from my liaison with the German authorities:
‘Vehicle that tried to run us off the road was registered to Eibignen Enterprises but reported stolen the day before the incident,’ I could picture Anton’s mustache puff outwards at the unspoken disbelief; ‘I’ve been reassigned, all enquires are now cycled through the Auswärtiges Amt (German for Diplomacy and black ops); good luck and be careful.‘ A. Rilke
“You said there was a woman who would be able to help, to do things that no one else could, I want you to call her…now,” Leanne spoke with the fear-hardened determination of a cancer patient giving consent to treatment, the measure of cost versus benefit left to a future that was leaching all humanity from her voice.
Without a word, I clicked on a link that I’d kept available; to my own credit I didn’t flinch when, with not nearly enough delay, half of my laptop display opened on a blond woman sitting in an office, Lake Michegan glinting coldly in the background.
“Finally, Ian brings me a woman who is has some sense;” Anya Claireaux smiled at me, slightly off center on her own screen; without a pause, she continued, “Don’t get me wrong, Leanne, I’m an Equal Opportunity exploiter,” smiling like a rodeo clown, in front of a raging bull with a soon-to-be-in-intensive-care-rider flopping like a sock on a car antenna, knowing the barricade was one step behind her, she waited.
About clarkscottroger
Interesting setup. I wouldn’t want to be exploited by her.
She (Anya Claireaux) has been in other stories and has proven to be a favorite bad girl/guy character. Totally evil… in an insidiously charming way
I like the clear use of emotional content – very nice
Sir! Excellent again.
Thanks, Paul!
Excellent descriptions.
:}
Oh, boy. Ian’s got it bad for Leanne if he’s calling on Anya, lol Gonna be some fireworks for sure.
Love the song. From one of my most favorite of their albums.
Except for gender, it was spot on.. one of those songs that helps the words, focuses the characters
Definitely sounds intense, emotional. Well done.
Thank you, A.
I feel as is I were “a child’s paper boat”…
such a universal image
Nice description: “a brief twinge of guilt at presuming I could know what was best for her”. And “a raging bull with a soon-to-be-in-intensive-care-rider flopping like a sock on a car antenna”. I also liked the equal opportunity exploiter.
hey, the fun of these little writing exercises, no?
thanks
Plenty o tension here, and like how it all takes place between screens and links – gives it an abstract quality.
Having watched a good few clips on the You of Tube for my research of bull riding for my own six, your description of: “smiling like a rodeo clown, in front of a raging bull with a soon-to-be-in-intensive-care-rider flopping like a sock on a car antenna” is just perfect. The skils and bravery I watched from riders and even more so the bullfighters is just staggering.
them guys(assuming there are also clownae) is crazy… though there is something of an appeal… at least to those of us from Y Chromia
thanks, V
Super Six, Clark! ‘…Equal Opportunity exploiter,..’ fabulous, as is the rest of that last sentence: so vivid and what a clever use of the prompt word! Great tune, too. It’s filling my writing room :)
Thanks, Chris
I suspect, like many of us, you’ll ‘like’ Anya
I mean, ammoral, genius intellect, powerful without-the-need-for-external-validation, no need for money, refined tastes and attractive (at least physically, one might argue whether that extends to other qualities*), what’s not to like in a fictional character?
*It seems there is a facination, at least in the current popular culture, with the charming sociopath
I love how you manage to offer so much from six sentences.
its fun