What follows is one of my writing warm-up exercises, to write about a rainy day. To describe it, I put myself into a character and decided to find out just who he is. I think he's interesting enough to show up in another somewhere. I'm just not quite sure how the story will work out...

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Rainy Day Fund

Closed-in front porches were made for rainy spring days. Also for hot summer days, since it keeps the bugs out, but I've always loved these cool, soft gray days in the spring. The streets look cleaner in the neighborhood, and the lawns start their slow cycle back to green from the verdigris of winter. No kids playing on the lawns, few pedestrians, so there is an illusion of being completely alone in an area that should have some appearance of having people in it.

Then again, I've always been a little strange. In warmer weather, a rain like this would have me stripped to my Speedos and working in the back yard, or perhaps performing my kata. Cats aren't supposed to like rain and water; big cats, however, especially tigers such as myself, love it. I don't think my neighbors have ever quite figured me out, and that suits me just fine. A little mystery is good for keeping tongues wagging, which means that no one can agree on one single story, which means that they really don't know me at all. Just as well, I figure.

I've kept the porch clean and cozy for days such as this. The furniture is large and sturdy enough for a feline my size to lounge and relax in (praise be to Plow and Hearth). I've made a few little modifications to make things better, including some electrical outlets on the house-side wall. This gives me the chance to have a mug warmer plugged in, to keep my tea warm -- important, considering that the mug holds about 30 ounces when full to the brim. It also provides back-up power in case my datapad runs low. My wireless connection is well-encrypted; no piggybackers, and no data leakage. That can be important in my business.

I was just as glad that business was slow right now. My investment strategy was good enough to ward off much of the horrifying drop in the money markets. Granted, I had to invest in things that I usually spend time destroying whenever possible, but that's part of the game; investing is all about timing, and it pays to be ahead of the curve. When the HyperCons started taking over, I shifted funds into a watershed -- a "rainy day fund," if you will -- so that I would be ready to take short when the fortunes began shifting. I dislike investing in death, unless it's very limited and carefully controlled. Bombs and weapons of mass destruction are clumsy, artless, and wasteful; I avoid investing in Lockheed Martin and Halliburton. I prefer to invest in death only when I can deliver it personally, and to a specific target.

My datapad chimed softly in counterpoint to the raindrops. My news agent spiders had brought back information. A certain CEO seemed to have met with a tragic accident, on the eve of the implementation of a new business policy. The company's board would be in a panic soon, sad to say, and there would be much speculation regarding the future of the company. The NASDAQ was already beginning to feel the change. I should wake tomorrow to a healthy influx of cash, from short sales and from the second half of the arranged payment to appear in my offshore accounts.

I take a sip of tea, then lean back and let my muscles relax. Listen to the rain.