1. Captain Elias "Grimm" Mercer
Role: Protagonist – Disavowed Special Ops LeaderAge: 38Background:Born in Manchester, England, Elias Mercer was recruited into the British Army at 18. He rose through the ranks of the SAS, earning a reputation for precision, strategy, and zero tolerance for failure. After a covert NATO mission went south, he was offered a way out: join the CIA's Special Activities Division. He accepted.For years, he operated in shadows—deniable missions, silent wars. But when his last op was sabotaged, and his team wiped out, Mercer was made the scapegoat.Now hunted, he fights to uncover who sold him out—and why.
Personality:Stoic, calculating, loyal to a fault. Haunted by survivor's guilt.Specialties: Urban warfare, counterterrorism, leadership under fireCodename: Reaper
2. Tanya Volkova
Role: Sniper / Ex-GRU OperativeAge: 34Background:Born in Volgograd, Russia, Tanya was raised in a military family. She joined the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service, and became one of their top recon snipers. After refusing to carry out a civilian-target assassination in Syria, she was labeled a traitor and fled the country.She now works as a freelance mercenary, taking jobs against warlords, cartels—and governments.
Personality:Sharp-tongued, fiercely independent, hides deep emotional scars under a cold exterior.Specialties: Long-range elimination, infiltration, cold weather opsCodename: Valkyrie
3. Reyes "Ghostman" Cruz
Role: Drone & Surveillance ExpertAge: 29Background:A former NSA contractor from Los Angeles, Reyes was a tech genius recruited for cyber-ops and drone warfare. He grew disillusioned after discovering his drone strikes had been redirected to civilian zones by corrupt handlers. After leaking partial data, he was branded a whistleblower and narrowly escaped assassination.He hides behind screens and scramblers—but he's the team's eyes in the sky.
Personality:Sarcastic, anxious under pressure, secretly afraid of combat.Specialties: Drone piloting, hacking, cyberwarfareCodename: Ghostman
4. Corporal Darnell Briggs
Role: Heavy Weapons / BreacherAge: 35Background:A US Marine turned PMC, Briggs was part of Mercer's original black-ops team. He survived the ambush but was badly wounded. Discharged without honor, he turned to underground fighting circuits to make ends meet. When Mercer finds him again, Briggs is a shadow of his former self—angry, broken, but still loyal.
Personality:Tough, loyal, quick-tempered, loyal to Mercer but distrusts outsiders.Specialties: Demolitions, breaching, heavy weapons, hand-to-handCodename: Bull
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Name: Director Adrian Kessler
Role: Antagonist – Rogue Intelligence ArchitectAge: 52Affiliation: Ex-CIA Deputy Director of Operations / Architect of Protocol PhantomCover Title: Senior Advisor – Helix Dynamics Private Military Corp
Background:
Adrian Kessler was once the CIA's golden strategist—an intelligence savant who rebuilt post-9/11 operations with ruthless efficiency. Born into a family of diplomats, he studied political psychology at Georgetown and was recruited by Langley before his 25th birthday. By 40, he was overseeing black-budget programs across three continents.
But Kessler believed conventional intelligence was outdated—reactionary and too tied to bureaucracy. He advocated for preemptive intervention using predictive AI models. His brainchild: Protocol Phantom—a covert algorithm designed to predict and eliminate future global threats before they happen. Targets ranged from terrorist leaders to political dissidents. Morality was irrelevant. Outcomes were all that mattered.
When Congress shut down Phantom during oversight hearings, Kessler didn't stop. He took the program private—partnering with Helix Dynamics, a PMC with no ethics board, no public accountability, and enough firepower to reshape global balance under the radar.
To protect Phantom, Kessler orchestrated false-flag attacks, eliminated whistleblowers, and ghosted his own operatives—including Mercer.
Motivations:
"If we wait for threats to rise, we've already lost. The world needs guardians who strike before the fire starts."
Kessler genuinely believes the world is on the edge of collapse, and only surgical, AI-driven force can preserve civilization. In his mind, Mercer is a malfunction—an outdated soldier trying to sabotage the future.
Personality:
Calm, calculating, rarely raises his voice
Master manipulator and orator—can make murder sound like mercy
Sees people as assets, data points, or liabilities
Values order over freedom
Specialties:
Strategic warfare, psy-ops, predictive analysis
Psychological manipulation
Access to global surveillance and drone strike networks
Uses proxies and elite Helix enforcers—rarely gets his own hands dirty
Codename (used internally by Helix): Overseer