Adjustments done, for now

I've reworked the 280 pages I have of the story, so far, and I'm back to a point where I need to connect the ending I developed to the opening part. Jake's got a plan, and part of that plan is to let things happen, for a while. It means him being cruel. He's now a wolf on the scent of that night's dinner, and even if it's a cute little chipmunk, what matters most is filling his belly and the bellies of his pack.

Jake's analogy, not mine. But apt. He told Antony what he was in RIHC6v2, and now he's about to prove it.

I have no leash on Jake. It's better if he roams. The hunter after his prey, but in no real hurry to take it down. It may lead him to even better fields to forage.

One of the problems I have with most crime stories is, the villains do stupid things and wind up getting caught. Even when the bad guy's supposed to be brilliant. Hell, isn't he almost always "brilliant?" I think that's one of the reasons I didn't go for "Silence of the Lambs" as a great horror movie. Hannibal Lechter is just too unbelievable for me.

I also think that's why I like the French version of "The Vanishing" so much. The man who winds up the bad guy is normal, has a wife and children, saves a child from drowning, and holds a nice job. He's like your neighbor. Only he very methodically plots to kidnap and kill a young woman, any young woman, just to see if he can commit an evil act.

To me, making the villains unbelievable and preposterous lessens the story, so I'm trying to be very careful about that with OT. Of course, I went off the deep end with RIHC6 and Jake's father. But even then, it was all about the mechanics. Not this story. This is based in deep emotion. I think.

I hope.