The Fixer works mostly at night. The Fixer addresses his attention to problems that no one else has the time, the power, or the will to solve.
The Fixer knows who should and shouldn’t park in handicapped spaces. He lets the air out of a tire. In a hard case, the Fixer lets the air out of two tires.
The Fixer calls the police to report the noisy party that’s keeping you from sleeping on the night before your big presentation. He tells the dispatcher that he’s pretty sure they’re serving booze to teenagers over there. He waits around to make sure that the patrolmen break up the festivities.
Or say some asshole cuts you off in traffic, and there’s not a thing you can do about it. The Fixer follows the guy for six or eight blocks, looking for an opportunity to get the guy back. Or sometimes the Fixer follows the bad driver home, trails him all the way into his driveway, then flashes a menacing glare, backs out, and drives away with a screech of rubber on pavement. The Fixer knows how to send a message.
The Fixer climbs over a fence to dispatch your neighbor’s yappy rat of a dog. He kills without pain or cruelty. He makes sure you don’t have to listen to that racket any more.
The Fixer goes to the office after the cleaning people have gone home for the night. He lets himself into your rival’s office using the key the receptionist keeps hidden in her desk drawer under the rubber bands. He sends a client an e-mail containing a piece of information that your rival is not supposed to know—a minor but troubling fact. He deletes the copy from the “sent” folder to complete the deception.
The Fixer resolves troubles of all kinds, very large or very small. He puts an end to an embarrassing situation before your friends suspect a thing. Then for good measure, he fixes a surprise for the no-good boyfriend who should have been by your side.
The Fixer says he believes in Divine Justice. He just doesn’t have the patience to wait around for it. The Fixer never hurts anybody who doesn’t have it coming.
Note: The charge was to write about someone who fixes “problems, situations, objects, conflicts….” This character sketch needs some work. I’m not sure where it’s headed yet.
© 2008 Edward F. Gumnick
This sounds like your version of a super hero – only more like a payback hero. Add a few secret or special powers or abilities, create a payment plan and you have the literary version of that tv show “The Equalizer”.
You could even have him serving the gay community – to pay back injustice received by gay people. Now THAT would get you published for sure.
Speaking of which – have you thought about submitting anything to that specific market? less competition I’ll bet, and you are a much better writer than a lot I’ve read.