Ouch, busier week than expected—sorry about that. But here is February's installment of The Adjusters, “Intermezzo: Eve Shawbank", wherein we hang out with our favorite ADCorp agent, and finally meet with a shadowy figure.
As usual, comments welcome.
I'll also remind you that we have a Speculation Thread available for general discussion. (A thread which I read but do not comment on.)
The Adjusters #58 - Intermezzo: Eve Shawbank
Eve Shawbank sat at table in the back of the restaurant, away from the few other patrons, savoring what she considered the best gulyás in the city, thick and meaty, the csipetke perfectly cooked. Gulyás, of all things, was what reminded her of home the most, for better or for worse.
She pressed her thighs together. She was aroused. It had been building up for the past few hours, and she was looking forward to later in the evening, when she could give free reign to her lust. It had been a while.
The restaurant was quiet this evening, the way it often was in the middle of the way, and the way she liked it. The owner, an older Hungarian man called Bognár, barely spoke English and spent most of his days—when he was not cooking—sitting in a corner of the restaurant with equally ancient friends and watching European football games on a flat-screen television against the wall, the only concession to modernity in the small rustic Hungarian restaurant.
She loved the food, but she felt that tinge of anxiety that always bit at her conscious mind whenever she was here. The answer, should Shawbank have chosen to think about it for more than a second, would have been obvious to her. Between the gulyás and the atmosphere, this place was a bubble that held the essence of her youth, the essence of her home, and it was her home, even though she had not been there for a long time, that she bore no desire to return, that as far as she was concerned it was earth she had scorched when Davenham had found her so long ago and brought her back with him.
But it was home—her roots. And roots ran deep. And while the conscious mind may hate something with a burning passion, the subconscious may long for that same something with a searing ache.
Shawbank count not put words to her feelings, but part of her wished she could take Magenta, her trusty hunting knife, and hack that part of her to shreds.
She would laugh doing so.
Laugh and laugh, the way her father used to.
She stopped herself when she realized she was clenching her spoon hard enough to hurt her fingers.
Relax, she told herself. It’s all good.
“What THE FUCK is this SZAR?”
Continue reading...
Next month: “Intermezzo: The Medicine Man”.
Mmm. This could have happily used one more round of copy-editing. I'll do that after the weekend, after a very long nap.
ReplyDeletePoor Betty, she lives a busy secret life.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Eva is looking like a very interesting character. I'm interested to see in what direction you take her in future installments.
Being hungarian makes this chapter _very_ funny. :D
ReplyDeleteAH! Let me know if I badly mess things up :)
DeleteBetty just got something, in her eyes, in the way she moves, in the way she sometimes gives that little smile that's just a little bit too flirty, that seems to call out to people, I guess...
ReplyDeleteAnd we'll see more about Shawbank, for sure. She's important.
From danny123
ReplyDeleteSo now we have a better understanding what motives Shawbank. We do see a softer side of Shawbank, her loyalty and concern for Davenham, and her willingness to step in on behalf of Papa Bognar. It also appears to answer the question about if Shawbank has been adjusted. She has not, no need. It appears the story is building up to some sort of confrontation inside of ADCorp. Davenham is aware of, but does not know for sure who, has taken some of the serum. You have Peter Dee trying to “expand” the scope of what ADCorp does and Davenham who wants to keep what ADCorp does a closely guarded secret. Given that I have not commented on some of the earlier installments (time constraints), I will include some in this. Again the Connelly brothers appear and as you have stated they would. It appears to me that they are becoming the item tying several major pieces together. You have the connection with Peter Dee, O’Neill, and Mouse (connecting Jenn). I am still not certain what is motivating O’Neill. I am assuming that Dee is using the serum to condition women for the Connelly brothers. It looks like we will now see how Cindy is being drawn back into the story line with the next installment. I will be eagerly waiting to see if what I think is going to happen does indeed happen.