Name: Spencer Cole

Age: 55

Physical Description: Exquisitely dressed in grey pin striped 3 piece suit, a perfectly tailored Egyptian cotton shirt and a Jaxon English bowler perched on his head, he is the epitome of style. Turning to fat in older age is a dominant gene in Spencer's family and combat this, he keeps a strict regime of running to giving him a taut sleek form which he moves with smooth purpose. Boots made of soft, velvet like leather clad his feet, a long chain leading to an elegant pocket watch mark and the mole skin briefcase mark him as a man of distinction.

Its often said that people dress to hide their flaws or accentuate their more desirable attributes and Spencer was no exception to this rule. He was by no means a hansom man, dour in expression, weak chin and a nose that was almost, but not entirely the wrong size for his face. Still, he was not without some positive physical attributes, he had been involved with several high profile women in his life, one of whom was a well know actress, none of them had ever lasted more then a year or more. They could never offer him what he really wanted.

Personality: Petty, ruthless and uncompromising, are some of the nicer adjectives used to describe Spencer. Most who have worked with him describe him as narcissistic, manipulative and abhorrent. Spencer's better personality traits were never encouraged to come out. A ruthless attitude were cultivated as a child and a cool intellect was nurtured. This upbringing has left Spencer some what distant and disinterested in others, that is unless he considers you of value. Accustomed to being deferred to he makes a difficult travelling companion and a formidably enemy.

Given his affluent family circumstances Spencer has never been require to do manual labour and Tabour, his equerry has always dealt with the more physical side of Spencer's business, not that there is a vast amount of that kind of work with the lifestyle he leads.

Ethics/Beliefs: Morality was never much of an issue for Spencer, in as much as he had never really had it instilled in him. Ruthlessness was an attribute that was nurtured, developed and grown , this ruthlessness which, today, Spencer wields like a weapon. At a very early age all of the Spencer children were encouraged to cheat, to be manipulative, to win at all costs. Winning, of course to most people, is a subjective matter, to Spencer it was his life force. Anything could be 'Won', people, property, favours, money, import rights, conversations. Wining is what drives him and the only unfair game that you ever play in life, is the game you lose....

Occupation/Talents: 30 years with the British Diplomatic Service has left Spencer jaded, frustrated and angry. He had been, what many would call lucky in his postings. Lucky in the first instance that his father purchased his commission with the Diplomatic Service and in the second instance that all his postings had given him unrestricted access to business leaders, politicians and affluent people who could ensure the ships from British Tobacco Ltd were not subjected to any formal inspections. Of course the fact that the Spencer family were the majority share holders in British Tobacco Ltd and subsidiaries were purely coincidental. Spencer always wanted to be more hands on with his family’s businesses but destroyed all chance of that after the accident.

His real talents lay with people, he could manipulate them and bend them to his will, subtly of course, none of this crass violence that people seem to revile in these days. Far from disliking people who resisted him, he respected them for it, he even liked some of them. Not that it would stop him trying to use them to his advantage in one way or another.

Heart's Desire: A child. A male heir to carry on his work and his genes to the next generation. There really isn't much more to it, he does not need anything material, he has no need of a wife or friends, nothing more than a son.

History: Spencer is the eldest of 3 brothers, and there fore, as is right, the next in line to take up a position on the board of directors for the family’s business, except that to be a board member you first must have provided a male heir to the family, which for Spencer was an impossibility.

Growing up on the family estate as the eldest brother should have been relatively easy for Spencer, he had a full 16 months on his twin brothers and he exploited this age gap for many years. The twins grew fast and being twins, did everything together. It was a cause for concern with the family heads when Spencer's mother produced twins, the family had experienced problems in the past with twins, they had found it difficult to sever that unseen bond twins have. The Family heads decided on a different course of action with Twain and Evans, their tutors encouraged this bond and strengthened it over the years.

On the Twins 12th birthday the day was to be celebrated with a shoot. The preparations had taken weeks and the twins had each been presented with a brace of identical smooth bore shot guns. Shooting was a part of life at the family’s estate and by this age each of the children were proficient in handling guns.

Nobody knew how Twain managed to get separated from the group, and neither Spencer or Twain could remember exact details of the incident. Even today, when he thinks back on the weeks that followed a dull pain builds between his legs. When the doctor had made it clear that nothing could be done to rebuild the parts that were destroyed, Spencer was moved from the family estate into the town house. He was kept separate from the rest of the children and purchased a Commission in the Diplomatic Service.

Name: Det Miles Hardy
Age: 35
Physical Description:
Miles has all the features of an attractive man, if that attractive man looked like a starving alleycat one dragged out of a storm drain. Thin and lanky, with the rangey build of somebody who's missed one too many meals a stiff wind looks like it could blow him over. He'd fight that wind to the last gust however, as what little meat he's got on his bones is lean, tough, wiry muscle.

His face could be considered attractive under a certain light- a dim one, with plenty of shadows to hide the ill set of his nose, left crooked after one to many brawls. Or the deep circles of exhaustion under his eyes, dark brown and full of cynicism- although one could maybe catch a hint of green shining there in the flick of his cigarette lighter.

He wears what should be a nice fitting, classy suit in dapper low toned greys- however that suit has seen more life than any suit reasonably should. It hangs on his frame, rumpled and frayed- cinched tight at the waist with a near worn out belt. His hair is black, and is as scraggly and unkempt as the rest of him, with a perpetual 5o'clock shadow on his jawline- too lazy to shave regularly, but still unwilling to go bearded.

All of this is carelessly hidden under his khaki trenchcoat and beat up fedora- they are easily the best looking part of his entire getup, and being under ten years old- the newest.

Personality:
Miles is as stubborn and bullheaded as they come, with little to no sense of self preservation. He becomes fixated on things and is prone to destructive habits. He's terribly inquisitive and impulsive and has a tendency to run off half-cocked with disastrous consequences. However, he's also fairly kind, on a good day- generous when he has anything of substance with which to share. He is a friend to all those down on their luck, because that's usually where he spends his most of his time.

Ethics/Beliefs:
Life has kicked him to the curb a time or two, but Miles aims to kick life right back, preferably in one of the softer-more vulnerable spots. He's not afraid to fight dirty. The way he sees things, you have to give as well as you get- and then some if you want to make anything of yourself in the world. Miles' has got a stubborn streak a 'mile' wide, and doesn't know when to let well enough alone or when to quit. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going- or the not so tough get their ass kicked, slink home to lick their wounds, and get them next time.

Recently however, life's been dishing out the hurt a lot more than he can take, and it's starting to take its toll. He's starting to think deep thoughts about life, those 'what does it all even mean, what's it even matter' thoughts. Ever the cynical hypocrite, he's hoping Lady Luck will smile on him once more, and give him something that makes it all worthwhile again.

Or at least bail him out just one more time.

Occupation/Talents:
Being a detective is one of the best and worst things to happen to Miles. It allows him to indulge his natural curiosity and his obsessive hounding for answers to the best of his ability. He'd be good at his job too if it weren't for the fact that it gets him into more trouble than out of it. That and he has a real problem with authority. It doesn't matter if the Powers that Be said to leave well enough alone, he's gonna chase his leads to the bitter end come Hell or highwater. He is in real danger of losing his job.

Gambling, could be considered another one of his 'talents' if you use the term loosely. Along with smoking it is his favorite vice, other than the fact that he only seems very good at loosing. From instinct alone he can always seem to find where money is flowing and the stakes are high- whether thats a high class casino or a back alley dive he'll find it without fail.

Heart's Desire:
In danger of losing his job, having gambled himself into bankruptcy for the third consecutive time, having been kicked to the curb by life, love, and even from the sanctity of his tiny flea ridden apartment home- Miles is getting tired of it all and right now, he'd really like to catch a break. Have lady luck return his calls for once. Or really, just for some Hope in a bleak world turned cruel... something to make it all worth while.

History:
Miles' history is full of gambling and bad decisions. Frankly the best decision he ever made was becoming a Detective, which keeps him on the right side of the law- usually. It's been pretty much all downhill from there. His employers are finding him to be more trouble than he's worth, and the threats towards sacking him are gaining teeth. After gambling away what little money he made for the third time in a row, his old flame Darla dumped him like yesterday's news. Quite literally, chucking his meager things onto the side of the curb and out of their tiny apartment. All attempts at reconciliation have been snubbed- and he's been living out of his office until now.