Construction Update

Previous Chapter: Agatha's Thoughts

This year, I’ve been taking less work. The better to make progress on my construction efforts. I have most of the security system installed. I haven’t activated it yet. I’ll wait until I’m completely done because I don’t want to accidentally kill any of the contractors. The system is state-of-the-art and parts of the design are from some of the most paranoid people on the planet. I leave it running, just disconnected from the self-defense mechanisms. That way I can check the system to make sure it correctly identifies threats.

Lately, I’ve been putting the final touches on my indoor firing range. It was one of those elements that needed careful handling with the architects and engineers, not to mention the foundation contractors. I came up with a series of misdirections to placate them, though few asked any questions. If any guessed, they were careful to keep it to themselves.

What I’m putting in now is a top-end media system; I want the best experience I can have. I don’t particularly care to watch movies in a theater; my paranoia won’t relax and all the movement, chatter, etc. is too much of a distraction. However, I like the big screen and quality audio. Though the interior is still quite raw, from time to time I’ll test my setup by watching a movie at night. I have a projector which will get me a screen about twelve feet diagonal, which, given the intended location of my couches, is just perfect for viewing. The audio is a little echo-y, still lots of bare concrete around, but I can ignore that and enjoy the show.

I remember one that gave me some unexpected issues. Called “Courage Under Fire,” it’s about this rescue helicopter that gets shot down and the female pilot is lost. I try to avoid “chick flicks,” I get choked up sometimes watching them (which is why I tend to avoid them; why do women want to invest two hours to feel like shit?). Who would have imagined that a war movie would have chick flick moments? I found myself all tied up in knots trying not to cry. Of course, no one would’ve seen me, but it’s more of an internal thing than anything else: men don’t cry. 

In that “friendship” discussion with Agatha, she mentioned the idea of me compartmenting my blondes separate from my brunettes. I was amused by that thought and have considered it from time to time, but still stick with my conclusion: because I didn’t search out Tessa, I wasn’t comparing her to Isabel. However, the idea that I compartment isn’t that foreign to me; I consider it a critical aspect to disguises. Perhaps I compartment my emotions. I’ve never really given it any thought. Certainly I don’t feel any angst when I kill someone. Yet I felt angst (to put it mildly) when I watched that movie. Maybe Isabel is somehow in a compartment, but one that wants to leak out. When I’m on the job, I’m able to stop thinking about her (well, after I’ve got some temporal distance), yet otherwise she keeps popping in my head at random times.