When Life Hands the Novelist Material

Honor. Trustworthiness. Moral rectitude.

Who has it, who doesn't, and to what degree is explored in many a story. From the first hints of a character's description, the reader often leaps to conclusions about whether he or she can be sorted into the hero/heroine or villain/villainess group.

So what's a person to do when their usual reference points break down? Express their outrage to the press, of course.

PIRATES who seized a loaded cargo ship to hold for ransom terminated employment of the middlemen negotiating an agreement with the ship's owners when it became clear the brokers reported only half of the ransom being offered.

"We can't trust them. They're trying to take the money, and we are the criminals! We can't accept that."

stated Pirate leader (shouldn't that be 'Captain'?) Shamun Indhabur to 'Newsweek' magazine.

What's a taken-advantage-of pirate to do? Why, cut out the middleman, of course. The pirates continued negotations with the owners directly.

No word on whether the negotiators have found new jobs.