1994.Nikola

Linda N  dated  Nikola
because he spoke very little English
although Nikola was Serbian Linda N insisted he was Bosnian as Serbian just sounded a little too foreign
not very "WINNING"
linda didn't like men who talked.
and had previously dated a beautiful deaf mute for this very reason

the very thought of her  having  to hear(or react) to the usual " what's your favorite color "".or "Do You  Like  Pina Coladas"was too much for Linda N,,
who had to put on a mask of false  interest every time she walked into her office at Parasol Studios.

Aside from  the benefit of Nikola  not knowing English enough to entangle Linda in "his baggage"
Nikola suffered just enough Post Traumatic Stress
and just enough pent up rage from his trials "back home"
to be both rough  in bed
and docile "around the house"

he was younger than her by 15 years and the turmoil he had been
through had left him with a disengaged look that Linda though could be parlayed
into a rather limited but lucrative modeling career.
he didn't have that "Damn Yankees".smile
that so many other "types" had in this town

but Nikola had  other interests besides taking his shirt off.
 During rare lapse of judgement , and a  rarer still curiosity  as to "why Not"
Linda made the mistake of asking him"what do YOU want to do"
She went as far as touching his hand  to display her  concern and present herself as "here for him"for she had seen an actress do just that the previous day during a shoot at the Parasol lot.

a sickening excitement came over Nikola's face
a horrible enthusiasm that made him in Linda's eyes instantly lose all "maleness"
Nikola spoke about how
his experiences with factions and ethnic cleansing  that made him
want to make  documentaries specifically about
human exploitation  and Human Trafficking "
"Oh Jeeeesus,"Linda thought,removing her hand from his "one of THOSE "


she wished she could go for the more militant type
like her friends in  in The New Way
but they tended to be bossy and talky
one might assume that people involved in a secretive venture such as "tagging"
the unsuspecting
with "applications" would be less LOUD

nor did she like the Watchers
the silent partners who all but financed The operation but too afraid or ill at ease
to participate with the day to day gambit of making "non persons" imbued

Watchers,Linda N thought, were  just couch potatoes
with headsets

Passively observing the agony  of the victim ,
instead of being one of The Mandlers who "pushed ther buttons""

she excused herself from Nikola
and made a call to Evan to see if he could "app up" her house guest
who would be leaving tomorrow