Codename: UnSub, and Mandy

For those people who read Codename: Winterborn have probably noted that for, aside from a brief mention yesterday, I haven't said word one about everyone's favorite part of Winterborn .... Mandy.

Mandy is ... special. She was completely and utterly unplanned. She was supposed to be a cameo in Winterborn, a simple antagonist. While Kevin hunted Senators, she hunted Kevin.

But say it with me now: and then it spiraled.

The sad thing is that Codename: UnSub was written before Mandy took over the universe.

Even the back end of Winterborn was written before Mandy. Originally, she disappeared after Kevin hopped on a plane to the middle of nowhere, Left Coast. Kevin Anderson was going to disappear into the ether, and never come out. And Mandy was just going to have to live with it.

But no, Mandy was just not going to go away. Hell, Mandy wasn't even going to stay a background character in someone else's novel.

Then again, you might remember another Mandy the mercenary from 24, she had been in three days of 24, but she left an impression. However, for those of you who remember the show, it was due to the writing, not the acting of Mia Kirshner. Her delivery was wooden and the actress seems even more shallow than usual.

To be honest, I liked playing with my Mandy. She was as mercenary as they come. She's ruthless, relentless, efficient, And she'd rather not waste words. There was one point where I wrote her speaking in as many contractions as possible. It was a nice, distinctive way of speaking. It was a way to highlight her character and emphasize it by the way she speaks.

However, doing that caused beta readers to have conniption fits.

So, Mandy bullied her way into the very end of Codename: Winterborn.

Readers then suggested she at least make an appearance during Codename: UnSub.

Guess what? Mandy now has an entire subplot to UnSub.

Because Mandy does that.

Mandy's experience with Kevin has actually changed her. Don't worry, she has no problem making a profit, and she's still fairly ruthless. Anyone who gets in her way will just plain die. Unless she needs to talk with them, then they'll hurt, and then they'll die.

However, she's become a little more selective in her clientele. Can't imagine why, huh? She's accepting jobs that bring out both the good deeds and the good investments.

And let's just say that the Islamic Republic of France is still in the picture. And they're really not going to leave the picture until the final book.

Yes, a "final" book. I've got it outlined to book 8. And each book leads into the next. This one may not look like it builds up into anything interesting, but like with Anderson arriving in San Francisco in the first place, the butterfly effect is going to unleash a full force hurricane.

Because I can't do anything small.