Informant U: Trick #4

fake jobs

sometimes snitches pretend to be law abiding workers and hold a certain job to help them steal information. in this case, my job is pretending to be a high school student when ive already graduated from high school. but i have to attend all the classes and do the homework, so im not pretending am i? and what about my job at charlotte russe? im workin’ my ass off at the place and have to pass out Stupid Citations. definitely not pretending there.

miss slackity-slacker

ive been busy with school. and work. both jobs, actually. oh, and when i logged in today, i found out that im being "followed". by this person. this is whats referred to as a "calling out". im calling you out so that "everyone" (read: The Company and Chief) knows im being "followed". just so you know.

they are watching.

and im watching YOU, missy.

like i said, im still getting the hang of the taser gun thingy, but i am SO aces with the lipstick mace. aces, i tell you.

so, what does it mean to be "followed"? am i adored? do you adore my words? my wit? my utter saracasity-ness? or is it like being virtually stalked? are you going to be reading everything i post the minute it gets posted?

that...could get scary. this is my circle, thats your circle. step outside your circle, my friend, and it could.get.ugly.

welcome to my world, becks. hope you stick around. should be some fun times.

so, celise talked about me today. go look. go feast your eyes on me, all pretty in my fabtastic movie star shades. hogging the spotlight in front of a castle.

oh.

its not a castle?

celise tells me its supposed to be a school. a school? that intimidating building is supposed to be a school?

note to self: do not piss off Oh Wise Creator or she will send me to an upscale sanitarium.

for truth. that place looks scary. im so glad CSA really doesn't look like that. and im glad its being redone. the cover, that is. not CSA. looking forward to seeing more of me, er, the new cover.

heh.

the zen of art

I came across this blog called sunday scribblings over the weekend. apparently, they provide weekly writing prompts.

coolio.

so i thought i might dip my pen in the inkpool and try out last week's word: art

i attend craycroft school of the arts. its a charter school that mostly focuses on creative achievement rather than athletic. for the record, there are no sports at this school.

all the kids that go here are artistic in some way. whether its drawing or dancing, they express themselves in different ways.

seeing as how i was homeschooled, i never had the chance to attend a school like this. im not complaining, mind you. homeschooling was awesome and great. i should know. i graduated when i was 13.

the point is, im glad i have the chance now. i wish i had the opportunity to explore my artistic side in the form of acting, but that's a no-go for now.

fortunately, i was able to find something else that appealed to me. and i can even use it for The Job.

photography

i find that im quite good at self portraits. ha.

i cant post the stuff i click for The Job. Chief, not to mention The Company, would kick my apple-shaped butt. cant afford to piss them off.

so.....this was fun. ill have to see what next week brings.

Informant U: Trick #2

secret meeting times and places

when spies want to set up meetings, or want to pass information to their connections, like updates or packages, they sometimes use secret methods. this may include hidden meanings in everyday things like newspapers, dates, clothing, or conversation. sometimes meeting times can be hidden in reading materials.

ok, truth? i have yet to do this. any of this. it sounds so espionage-ish, b-rate spy movie and thats not how i work. my connection is Chief. straight up. no hidden fees. the meeting place is his house. every sunday. rain or shine (well, when it does rain, that is).

however, im sure the baddie in my current story is very familiar with these tactics.

Informant U: Word #1

agent-in-place

a person who stays in his or her regular job but is actually in that job to get secret information and spy.

i can honestly say that i am an agent-in-place. At CSA.

trying to get my groove back

doing this school thing is hard. i mean, the public school thing. i was homeschooled, as you may know. or not. i graduated from high school was i was 13.

being at CSA is my cover.

i have to be here. so basically, im learning some of this stuff over again.

im taking geometry, humanities, biology and creative writing. i can't wait to take photo. that should really help with The Job.

jan is almost over, ive been assigned a new case and im still trying to get back into the groove of things.

and i wish i was going to kauai with celise and mr. maul.

so jealous.

Informant U: Tip #1

be sure to have a trusted contact person

and no, im not talking about your best friend, the bum on the street or the barista behind the counter at the starbucks you go to every morning. im talking about the person who goes and reports back to someone official. someone whos not going to screw you over by turning you in. ya know, like on those cops shows? all the cops have a trusted source on the street and they always go to that source because they know the word. and that trusted source will always trust that cop because theyve never given up a name. see what i mean?

Chief is my trusted person. i know what he does for a living. its because of what he does that made me seek him out in the first place. and because of the person i am, Chief would cut off his own arm before screwing me over. but he was different. he was the deal breaker. no Chief, no agreement with The Company.
trusted sources dont have to be in an official capacity, though, like cops. newspaper reporters are pretty cool. or so ive heard. and those reporters on your local tv new stations arent exactly alien lifeforms.

just sayin’.

Informant U: Trick #1

dead drop

no, its not what you’re thinking. no ones dropping off dead bodies or killing anybody. its a place thats used to hide packages, messages or payments. like a garbage can in the park next to the tree by the merry-go-round. or y’know. something like that.

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.

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