A Desperate, Angry Woman

Owning a string of fitness companies and practicing what she preaches - these have likely given Penny an extra year to fight the cancer. While this ordeal took a mental and physical toll, she sold the entire chain of kick-boxing studios this year to look after her disabled son, and leave money for his care after her death. 

But the understaffed, overbooked VA put him off for a year to assess why he could no longer walk. When they failed to find a physiological reason, they sent him home with strong anti-depressants and a list of stretching exercises.

 

It isn't enough.

As a result, Penny is about to lose her second hard-fought battle this year. But it doesn't matter now. After her son's suicide two months earlier, she no longer has the urge to run out the clock on her life.

But while piecing together what set him off during those final weeks, one thing stands out: An email her son sent to a young comedian. 

In it, he professed his admiration for the man's body of work, and gratitude for what joy his hilarious essays, YouTube interviews and onstage performances bring to his bleak life.

Her son's email has gone unanswered. No reply was requested, or course. But it would have been the decent thing to do.

Who the hell is this guy, anyway?

Using skills and resources from her own military days, Penny researches and finds the young comic. The more she learns, the clearer the next steps become. She's got a personal fortune, no responsibilities to anyone, a few months to live, and no one to miss her.

In a spectacularly shocking way, she'll spotlight how the US government casts aside soldiers in their most vulnerable times. And that up-and-comer comedian who made such an impression on her son? He's about to become part of that plan, whether he likes it or not. With his target audience of college-aged adolescents whose votes decide tomorrow's government actions, Jackal is the perfect vehicle to carry this message.

Penny will "accidentally" meet Jackal on his own turf - at one of his comedy-troupe's promotional events. This will provide a built-in audience, was well as dozens of fan-shot videos for the news services after it happens. Best case scenario: He'll never see it coming. As for her, there will be no surviving this incident. 

An attempt on Torin Jackal's life unfolds in front of her. As she drove there, she couldn't have imagined leaping into action to protect him...but her maternal instinct would leave her no choice. 

Her meticulous plan now ruined, she's left horrified, stunned, and without a Plan B.

Penny is forced to keep going for as long as her body holds out now. And she no longer has a problem with the idea of taking others down with her.