The Fifteen Minute Novel is a novel written fifteen minutes at a time with each week day’s section starting with the sentence from the previous day. At least it is attempting to be a novel. For now I am just aiming at one continuous story, worked on for fifteen minutes each day. Started Friday January 1st, 2021 (in case you want to search for the beginning. I can’t wait to see where it ends up. It could be good, or it could be a mess. We’ll have to see. For now, here is today’s fifteen minutes.
Day 242: The more he spoke with Tucker the more the pool of disquiet seemed to grow in his belly.
The more he spoke with Tucker the more the pool of disquiet seemed to grow in his belly. Something seemed off with the agent. Something …unnerving. Was it usual to ask so many questions of a person in his position? James didn’t know. He had to admit that his situation was a little strange. He entered the program to stay safe so that he could testify. He was being kept in the program so that he could be used to pressure the person he was testifying against into testifying against a much larger criminal fish. In addition, he may have had information about something else gone wrong.
When Tucker finally left, James sat down on the couch to think. He turned something mindless on the television and let it play out as background noise while he delved into his own thoughts. He was asked to look at the accounts since he would be familiar with the company and they way the systems worked. He found the issues, and even though his first agent Carson was killed, James passed the information on to Morris.
Morris was shot and recovering from his wound. ‘So Tucker was assigned to me to replace Carson.’
James wasn’t sure if this was the normal way of things, but he also wasn’t certain how many of the agents protecting witnesses got shot. He was sure there was some sort of protocol, he just didn’t know it.
‘And that could all be normal.’ It wasn’t the switching agents after a shooting that James found problematic. It was the questions Tucker was now asking him. He leaned back on the couch and tried to think it through. ‘I know Cassie so it would make sense to ask me about her once she went missing. And I suppose to inform me of the death of my family.’ James wasn’t sure what that protocol was, but he was certain there was something for it as well.
‘Its just the repeatedly asking that I don’t like. As though Tucker thinks I know something.’ James thought about what he knew and had to admit that he did know something. He was also certain that if Tucker found out about it he would act on the information rather than have James tell him.
‘And other people know her better. ‘A thought struck James and he sat up on the sofa. ‘Tucker may not be able to ask the others.’
He frowned. James wasn’t quite certain why Tucker wouldn’t be able to ask them.
Faith is out of the country, but the others should be around.’ James leaned forward. ‘So either he asked them and they don’t know anything so he’s come to me because he hit a wall, or there is some reason he can’t ask them.’
The only reasons that James could think of for Tucker not asking fell into the category of nefarious. It wasn’t a thought that sat pleasantly in his mind, especially as he was somewhat dependent on the agent. He wondered if there was a way to contact Morris.
‘Morris would at least know if it is odd or if I am reading too much into it.’ He didn’t know much about the agent, but he trusted him more than he did Tucker. ‘Maybe it is because Tucker doesn’t seem to like me, at least not really even though he does a good job pretending.’
James shrugged. Morris might not like him any more than Tucker, but if he didn’t then he at least did a better job of hiding it. ‘And he did get shot for me.’
Ten til Midnight 