Friday, January 2, 2009

Informant U: How to become an informant...sort of

for the record, here’s the official statement on The Company’s use of informants:

“The courts have recognized that the government’s use of informants is
lawful and often essential to the effectiveness of properly authorized law
enforcement investigations. However, use of informants to assist in the
investigation of criminal activity may involve an element of deception,
intrusion into the privacy of individuals, or cooperation with persons whose
reliability and motivation may be open to question.

Although it is legally permissible for the The Company to use
informants in its investigations, special care is taken to carefully evaluate
and closely supervise their use so the rights of individuals under investigation
are not infringed. The Company can only use informants consistent with
specific guidelines issued by the Attorney General that control the use of
informants.”


so, about that specific guidelines thing? couldnt tell you what those would be. i dont remember reading about them, or having Chief read them to me when I signed my life away started my new life here. ive heard they sometimes use teenagers to help them catch online predators. they teach their agents how to talk like teenagers in chat rooms and stuff. doubt they get paid for it. they probably get like a plaque or a certificate. something lame like that.

in my case, you have to upstage The Company. You have to make them look bad, and make their agents seem like bumbling idiots like that inspector dude from the pink panther movies. should The Company ever approach you and offer you a position as an informant, you will want to haggle: “if you want me to do this for you, you have to do something for me.” and make sure its something big. and realistic. i mean, they cant make it so you dont have to pay taxes for the rest of your life. you would have to do something mongo like save the world. but they could buy you a car, a really expensive vacation or college tuition for all 4 years. or, ya know, a whole new life somewhere else (but this might depend on how long theyve been after the criminal in question).

Reflection

its been a while since ive written in a diary. june 14th 5:31pm 2003, to be exact. my life of late has definitely been diary-worthy, but i no longer trust writing my thoughts down in a book. books get lost. or left behind when you have to leave in a hurry. not that i really left in a hurry, mind you. there was a little planning, but enuff for me to know the meaning of the word "sacrifice." i left a lot of things behind: a purple, fur-lined suede coat. central park. The FCFH and their dirty little secret. oh yes, and my name.

i left behind my name for the second--and very last--time.

the day i left the nightmare of india chevalier's life in new york city and took a seat in the offices of Chief's agency in arizona.

this new life is nothing like the witness protection program, because, well, its not. this new life includes a very important job with a certain company that will deny my existence til their blue in the face. no matter how bad those bamboo shoots under the nails hurt.

i havent told Party Gurl or GQ about my old life. or my old one. i havent really planned on it and probably never will. well, i shouldnt say never. ive only known them a year and circumstances could change. i mean, its not like its my birthday or anything. i just kinda have to be careful what i say around them because, well, theres this one little thing--okay two--two little things that they--maybe three--yeah, three little things...sigh. okay, lets just say i have some privacy issues that im not at liberty to discuss. and Chief would probably kill me.

so, one case down. many more to go.

this year i resolve to catch more bad guys.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

hello. my name is draven atreides (say it with me now, dray-ven uh-tray-deez. very good boys and girls). im 16-yrs-old. And im a spy. yeah, okay, not really. im an informant actually. i mean, i dont travel to exotic places, i dont wear disguises, i dont handle or carry weapons (unless you count my Canon AE1), and i dont work for a top secret agency. well, three out of four isnt bad. let me explain.

you see, i was abandoned by my biological parents as a baby and i’ve spent all my life in the foster care system. i graduated from high school at the age of 13 (Yay for homeschooling). At 15, i ended up with the Foster Couple From Hell (hereafter referred to as The FCFH). i discovered their dirty little secret–the bastards–so i ratted them out to the local authorities. so, lucky me, when i decided to play tattletale, an agency with three letters (hereafter referred to as The Company) had been investigating The FCFH for years. so, being the good citizen that i am, i decided to help them out. The Company, that is. i cashed in my Get Out of Hell Free card. three months later, i got a new name, a new life…and a paying gig as an informant for The Company.

i am the creation of YA author Celise Downs. im the Queen Bee of her series, Draven Atreides, Teenage FBI. Book One, A Royale Pain, will be out Oct 23rd. love it. buy it. will be talking it up even more when she gets the damn book cover designed. get on it, sista girl!

just so you dont get lost in the scuffle of my life, here’s a little sumpin’-sumpin’ to help you out:

Oh Wise Creator (aka “OWC”) - Celise Downs
Chief - protector
Irish - Chief’s wife
GQ - gay guy bf
Party Gurl (aka PG) - gurl bf
The Company - the agency I work for
The Job - the informant gig
The Other Job - cover job at a retail store
Informant University (aka Informer U) - snitch tips, tricks and words posted on fridays
CSA (aka Craycroft School of the Arts) - the school I go to

this will make sense once you read the book. i promise you.

sooooo, thats about it.

in the meantime, im gonna give you a peek into my life.

this should be a hoot