After managing to get Chapter 21 done, I wound up getting blocked early in this one. Instead of plot, it was a small detail - what Ben was making for a snack. I don't cook; Ben does. During NaNo, I'd just use "$snack" as a placeholder and come back later. Problem is, it was later when I wrote the chapter. I needed something right then. Internet to the rescue! I did a search for quick snack foods and found Scotch eggs, which seemed both fancy enough and simple enough for something Ben would make. Thus, the day is saved, thanks to my Google-fu.
My Google-fu also helped me work out the sort of details I'd need for the end. The radios need to cover more than the twelve miles, or about nineteen kilometres, countries claim as territorial waters. Getting the details worked out now means not having to backtrack once the ending is being written. Best to interrupt the flow here, when things are slower, than when I'm focusing on plot and the climax. Or, what should have been done before I started writing, when I didn't know the story would go to Monte Carlo. Planners have an edge here over pantsers, knowing what they'll need to know in advance.
The chapter is trying to tie up loose ends. Gemma's been prepped, now to bring her in properly. Ione has an idea of what she needs. Ben and Mara get a last meaningful scene together. Ione gets to say goodbye to the rest of the cast. She's going alone. Neither Jack nor Mara can go; he's a devil and she's a demon and either one could set off the rogue angel and blow the entire operation. Ben won't be able to convince his superior, as established earlier. If anyone other than Jack shows up, the mobsters will get suspicious. Ione is going in alone.
Time turned a plot point around. Back in Chapter 17, Ione needed to cash in some Bitcoins to scrape up a few hundred Euro. Lately, though, Ione wouldn't be working to scrap up the money Jack needed. He wanted five hundred Euros. Ione could easily get ten thousand Euros by dumping one of her BitCoins. Bitcoin is in a bubble, ready to pop, but people are going to do what they can to get one. To be honest, I expected BitCoin to fade away. As a currency, it fails the basic test - try buying anything in a store with one. Even online, very few businesses are taking them. The main use is in the black and grey markets, which is why I used that aspect when I started writing TDYK. Go fig.
The conversation between Ione and Gemma evolves a bit. Ione has set the bait for the British agent, hinting at something Gemma wants. There's no reason to keep up an adversarial relationship now and Ione doesn't work that way nornally. So, with "second favourite Canadian". Ione is trying to mend the relationship, get Gemma on her side instead of targeting her. I chose Ryan Reynolds because of his role in Deadpool, with two scenes in particular - the proposal scene in the first movie and the phone booth trailer for the second. Ione can appreciate a fine ass.
Friday, the showdown, in The Devil You Know Chapter 23.
Also Friday, over at Psycho Drive-In, a look forward to 2018.
Saturday, over at The Seventh Sanctum, the breakdown of movies in 2017.
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