Nemesis

I never realised just how important it is to have a nemesis. It’s been a couple of years since I last had contact with mine and to be honest I miss the duels. Nemeses are so annoying and can sometimes make you so irate that your face goes red and your eyes bulge out and all you want to do is lash out at them with expletives. But of course this is what they desire, to demonstrate to the public that they can manipulate you into a state of frenzy while they sit their calmly delivering their point in a quiet yet succinct manner.

I used to clash with my particular nemesis over many varying issues, ranging from the mundane, like what’s the better food store, to more heavy weight issues such as the state of politics in Britain. Usually they would be cordial exchanges at first, one would let the other speak before the other gave their counter argument. After a few pints though the amenities would be forgotten in a drunken haze and we’d be talking all over each other to get our points across. The thing is, I lost most of them. My nemesis has the far superior intellect, and defeating her in an argument was a very tall order. She often used four syllable words to try and baffle me yet they were all relevant to her argument. She also has an extremely logical mind in her armoury that was able to map out the route to victory in a debate and would nudge the argument towards that direction. It was up to me to throw in a few grenades of obstruction and inform her that she might be incorrect. She’d never once admit defeat but I’d known when I’d got her buy the consternation of her face and the pause before taking a drink. And if she didn’t have a reply she’d change the subject. That’s when I knew I’d won. The victories were scant but they annoyed her immensely more than I felt joyful about them. So why did I argue and debate with her?

Well it’s because I had to give her my opinion on things. Hearing something that I didn’t think was right or perhaps been misinterpreted meant I had to get my point across. And from there we’d argue quite a bit about a lot of things. There were plenty of times I tried so hard to make her see my point of view but she’d always have a counter point, I swear she had a repository of counter points written on a piece of paper that she kept in her pocket.

After a while it all ceased. She went to London and I did not. It might be considered good to get rid of the person who you disagree with most. And you’re right. It felt good indulging in my own opinions and classifying them as correct in my own little world where I’m omnipotent. I would still get into a debate with other people but I’d defeat them easily which initially left me feeling all tingly because I won. After a while though the tingling stopped and I realised just how much I need a nemesis. Without one I’ve got no arena to improve my arguing skills, after all it was losing umpteen times to my original nemesis that taught me how to debate in a well thought out structured way. I also, can’t help but feel a lot of the way I learn things is because of the influence my nemesis had over me. I always make sure the fact is correct and try to find out as much as I can about a subject, well as much before my concentration elapses.

I wouldn’t mind encountering my nemesis again, a lot has changed in both our lives and our experiences are a lot different. Maybe now I’m more equipped in vocabulary and strategy. I’ve always been the better orator but something tells me I’d still lose. At least it would be good to get the tongue flapping again over a heavy weight issue.

I wonder if she supports the war in Iraq.


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“I heard from a pal of mine that I befriended at a club. Turns out he likes drinking a lot and we got talking. He told me about this garage off Chester Street, at first I thought nothing of it but he said there’s a young man that works there most evenings. He sorts him and his friends out with alcohol. He thinks the world of him but I couldn’t care less. He tells me that he usually works with one older lady and occasionally another one. Then it hits me! Why don’t I rob the place? If there’s only two people looking after it, a spotty boy and an old lady, surely we’re capable of ransacking the joint.”

There was silence after Gregor spoke. He looked at them both seeing who would speak up first. The plan sounded so easy.

“There’s only a boy and a woman who look after the place?” Asked Davy.

“Isn’t that what I just said you twerp. Essentially that is all involved but I want everyone to commit before I go further with my plan. So who is with me?”

Davy raised his hand and turned to Charles who looked deep in his thoughts. Charles thought that the idea in principle was good, a vulnerable target that would reap a huge amount of money for one nights work.

“Alright I’m in.” He says.

“’bout time you answered, you looked like you were lost in another world. Right, although I said that in general this job is going to be easy we need to be prepared because if it goes wrong we’ll be in prison for at least ten years.” Gregor sat down and took a deep breath. He was a meticulous planner and always covered every area. He was about to digress his already carefully pre-thought out plan.

“Davy I want you to investigate security. How many CCTV cameras there are outside, inside and which company supplies them. I want you to work out if there are any police patrols around that area and if so what time they go buy and what days. Find out the constable who is on the patrol. I want you also to find out as much as you can about the building, how many rooms it has, where the light switches are kept, you know what I mean.”

“Charles, what I want you to do is find out what you can about the two people that work there. See if it is just two and no more. If it is more find out about them also. Learn what their shift patterns are, how they get to work, the route they take. See if you can find out a bit about them, you know, their potential weaknesses. I also want you to find out a good escape route, one by car and one by foot. You got that?”

Charles nodded in acknowledgment of his assignment. Gregor got up sharply and paced around the room circling Davy and Charles.

“I want you to report back in two weeks what you have found and then from this information we’ll formulate a plan of action. If we do our research right we’ll be laughing. If we don’t it’ll be some constable who’ll be laughing. Now I’m going to carry on speaking to my new acquaintance to see if he can tell me where the safe is stored and if possible get some photos of it. I’ll do some research my self to find out how much this place has in the safe and I’ll let you boys know.”

Gregor gave a satisfying smile, his minions were about to do his bidding for a job he had discovered and would see through. Charles, hates this self-satisfying look. The smug arrogant look of triumph. And when he finds out just how much is in the safe is he going to tell us the real amount of money stashed away? No, he knows what Gregor is like, he’s damn sure that he’ll get Davy to watch the front and Charles to watch the door while he alone retrieves the money from the safe. Fucker! And yet the plan is good. He’s assembled a team that won’t just meander into a garage pull out a gun and expect everything to run smoothly. No, he knows that a lot of planning is needed and it’s better that the team spilt of to do a segment of research. Fucker!