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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/44115
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/44115
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Hide their goals.

You are writing about professionals. They would be less than amateurs in their line of business if they were to reveal their goal so easily. In fact, revealing one's goal gives the other leverage to achieve theirs.

Instead, structure their goals like an onion. Layer after layer of misleading goals. A pile of seemingly righteous objectives, which they will strive to achieve, but that mean nothing to your characters.

These fake objectives can be negotiated (creating conflict), and surrendered (resolving conflict, advancing the plot) if needed, but not without giving the impression that was really their true goal. Let them reveal that their "real goal" is in fact , while, in fact, it is just another ploy.

Of course, these alternative goals have to somehow be related to the global intended goal, else they may completely derail their overall mission. E.g. if they need to uncover a mole in the organization, the fake goal should not really be "resigning to grow tomatoes in the garden", but rather "hiring a new trustworthy member" or "getting in touch with foreign agency".

In this way, the agendas of your characters are fairly balanced. They will try to:

1. achieve their global goal
2. pretend to be achieving their fake goal
3. put obstacles against the fake goal of the other character in order to gain leverage
4. try to second guess the true goal of the other character, and putting obstacles against that as well

Of course, your readers will have no clue until the end, and just revere these two masterminds outsmart one another.

Original score: 1