On your marks.... set...go

NaNoWriMo is off and running.

I've done a bit of plotting, using Holly Lisle's Plot Clinic. Well... kind of. I know where I'm starting, I know where I'm going next, I have my characters, and I've got a good idea how it's all going to end. At the moment, anyway.

Here's my opening scene, completely unedited.

The woman's body crashed onto the table, then slid to the ground.

What the hell? Time slowed down. Jirra watched the table topple and thump onto the pavement, bouncing once before it stilled. Toreni stood, then knelt beside the body, pressing her fingers to her neck. Chet went into copper mode, extracting her pistol from her shoulder holster, scanning the road and the restaurant. One look at the awning above the table they'd been sitting at gave a clue. The edges of the hole flapped a little.

Jirra shook herself. Toreni was talking to the woman, so she must be still alive. "Should I call an ambo?"

The woman moved, mumbled words which sounded like 'kill'.

Toreni looked up, her gaze calculating. "No."

Running footsteps announced the arrival of the restaurant's proprietor, wide-eyed and shocked. "What happened? I heard a crash." He noticed the fallen woman and sucked in a breath. "Is she all right? Should I call an ambo? The… police?"

The few patrons still inside craned their necks for a view. The only couple who'd been at one of the outside tables had left. Jirra didn't blame them. Nobody on Shar Burk wanted to know about an incident like this if the Sharpos were called.

Chet stepped in, holding up her fake security badge for long enough for him to notice it. "We'll take care of it. Looks like an accident in the hotel." She pointed at the hole in the awning. "No sense involving the police and we can get her to a hospital."

The tension in the manager's shoulders oozed off him. "Yes. Yes. No point in involving the Sh… police."

Toreni was helping the woman to her feet. Jirra noted the expensive cut of her orange gown, now torn and dirty. A ragged cut ran down her left cheek and her face was swollen and bruised.

"We'll settle the bill," Chet said, taking out a credit chip.

The manager waved her away. "No. Consider it done." He smiled. "Do come another time."

Huh. In other words, bugger off quickly before anyone else notices. That suited Jirra. She joined Toreni, helping to balance the woman between them. Jirra caught a hint of perfume mingled with blood and fear. This hadn't been an accident

Misfits 3 is on its way.