Cut and destroy...

I dumped 4 pages of chapter six. There are questions that need answering, but Brendan doesn't want them answered yet, so I ain't gonna. His one real concern -- that he might have been responsible for Eamonn being jailed, along with two of his Chinas -- got tossed out while reading his sister's letters, so he just accepted the rest. 

His goal becomes reclaiming his life...starting over...and the best way to do that is by doing what he did in Derry -- fix things. Save money. Make plans later.

He's also found his best source of information about what Aunt Mari's family is up to is his young cousins, Brandi and Bernadette. They argue about the facts and exaggerate things...maybe. But thanks to them, he gets clues that his uncle is involved with NORAID in more ways than just sending them money, and also finds out Da might not have been an orphan but got cut off from his family for getting Brendan's mother pregnant before they were married. It being Ireland in 1950, that would be a big deal.

He finagles a part time job at a bar his uncle bought. Three nights a week, $15 a night, which is a bit over minimum wage, at the time, and he's paid under the table. It has a kitchen that isn't used, so he cleans it to where it's viable, his subconscious thought being as a place to hide if he ever needs to. He's making decisions half on instinct, now, with a lot of wariness thrown in.

Brendan keeps telling me, Let this part be messy. It works better for me, because my mind is in chaos. Gotta grant him that. I was being too neat and precise in how it was unfolding. Too explanatory. With a dollop of Hollywood still getting worked in.

Eventually, Brendan will realize Uncle Sean would never jeopardize his family or business by getting too involved in anything shady, but the man is capable of playing hardball and skirting the law. He has a good lawyer with contacts in both Austin and Washington DC, so it's best not to mess with him.

Meaning, of course, that Brendan does. Eventually. The little scamp.