Jack and Amanda
Jack Edwards
Born in Scotland a little over forty years ago, Jack Edwards comes from a small business background. He graduated in Economics and History then stayed on at university spending the last twenty years or so as an unenthusiastic University lecturer, before an unexpected (quite large) bequest allowed him to quit and remove himself to the beautiful north-west coast of Scotland and a new life.
Never married, Jack once met someone that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, but she died and Jack now lives a solitary life and really needs to find a purpose. No longer as fit as he should be, Jack’s been trying to quit drinking and (sometimes) smoking for about a decade. Keener on sports (hitting golf balls and walking around the hills) than renovating his new house or writing academic books, Jack first met Amanda Barratt – who was a friend of his girlfriend – when she became his book publisher.
Tragic events (the Quartermaster), force him deeper and deeper into Amanda’s murky and dangerous world, and afterwards she has, from time-to-time, dragged him along on her investigations. Uninterested in politics, Jack shares Amanda’s distrust of bureaucracy, big business and Government’s telling people what to do and, despite wanting to stay alive, finds that he likes working with Amanda. Although wary of relationships, Jack finds that he likes spending time with her also and increasingly wonders where they’ll end up.
Amanda Barratt
A tough girl who’ll beat you in a fist or a gun fight, Amanda’s not yet forty, but getting close. From a family with a long tradition of working for the British Security Services. Her father was a senior operative in MI6, and her younger sister was killed in action. Amanda was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland and lived there until she left to attend University on the mainland. Although determined not to get into the “family business” inexplicably she joined the police and immediately found she had the talent and a passion for the work.
She learnt fast and enjoyed rapid promotion, and trusted with sensitive projects. After a mid-career break (for a marriage that didn’t stick) she returned to work as an academic book publisher (Jack Edwards was a client), work she enjoyed and dragged her into the world of espionage at first helping her father, and then joining MI5 on a full-time basis. Again, she rose fast and now has control of a small under-the-radar Directorate, which specialises in investigating high-level people and conspiracies.
Amanda’s not a “yes woman” and distrusts politicians of all parties. Tougher on the strong than the weak, Amanda’s inclined to exercise her own judgement, often at odds with powerful interests, and she’s lucky that she’s got a stellar record and an understanding boss.
After her short-lived marriage, she became cynical about “love” and gave up on, but no woman is an island and with Jack Edwards it just might be worth a go.
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