Counterplay
Karl has been stealing money from Tesanee. When he realises that she has uncovered his deceit, he flees.
Tesanee’s son Ashley, furious about the betrayal, approaches a close friend of his late father, Alain, and asks him to find Karl and retrieve Tes’s money.
Alain has nothing much to do and is happy to honour his dead friend’s memory by helping his wife.
Alain and his brother set off together to track down Karl and confront him. Each time they close in, Karl manages to outsmart them, and disappears.
A game of cat and mouse is set in play. Alain has no idea what he’s let himself in for.
Favourite Things About my Protagonists
by Dennis Norman
The main protagonists in this story are Alain and Toby Dansen.
My favourite things about Alain are he is quiet and unassuming with a soft heart but he is also brave, with a tough exterior and a sense of humour. If he could he would help everyone but knows he can’t. I like his never say die attitude, striving to complete any task through the toughest opponents or the biggest obstacles. He also has a quick mind, unlike mine. He’s a problem solver with an opinion on everything from right to wrong. He is noble and thinks he ‘Does the Right Thing’. If he can solve something by himself, he will, if he can’t solve it, he will persuade someone to help him. He is good with people.
The thing is he’s not cut out to be Superman. He is a thinker, not a body builder or a fighter. He is a scene setter, working in the movie industry where nothing is real. He is an ordinary guy, husband, father. However, when his friends need him, he will go out of his way to help.
He loves gadgets and uses them extensively, not big flashy gadgets like the Bond movies but the small subtle ones that hide in plain sight. He has no interested in expensive cars or clothes or guns.
He’s not Mr perfect though by any means. He needs to support his family, so he has a price. If he thinks the task is a worthy one, he will work out a way to benefit from his solution.
He likes to spend time by himself, but his biggest fear is loneliness, he wants everyone to like him in some way. This is all in his mind as his character won’t allow him to be. He is a very likeable person, somebody somewhere will always like or even love him.
I like to think there is a bit of every hero in Alain. I suppose I wish I was him.
Then there is Toby. He is the opposite of Alain, he’s tall, strong and likes a fight. He literally would do anything for Alain. He’s supposed to be Alain’s bodyguard/minder but he’s not making a very good job of it. He likes a joke and keeps cracking them right through the story. He is honourable and cares for his brother dearly. So much so he gets upset when he feels he’s let him down. He also loves his wife and gets embarrassed when Alain askes him to dinner with another woman to make a foursome.
