Argus Lichfield
État physique: Dazed
État mental: Alerte
S'il y avait une chose qu'Argus voulait, c'était le contrôle. C'était une chose de contrôler les psyché; les actions; parfois, peut-être, le destin. Mais pour contrôler l'extérieur, l'Autre... c'était quelque chose d'autre.
Argus a prospéré en contrôlant son environnement - et tous ceux qu'il contient. Il s'est comparé à un marionnettiste, tirant délicatement des cordes pour créer le mouvement ; une extension de leur volonté, se manifestant physiquement au-delà du royaume de l'imagination pure.
Le monde et ses habitants étaient beaucoup les mêmes. Tout ce qu'il fallait, c'était le savoir-faire et le moindre effet de levier. Tirez les bonnes cordes, et vous pourriez changer radicalement le résultat des événements en votre faveur.
Bien sûr, quand on ne pouvait pas contrôler, on devait s'adapter. Argus adorait s'adapter à des circonstances en constante évolution. S'il y avait quelque chose, il le voyait comme un signe de faiblesse : l'adaptation était révélatrice du chaos, et le chaos indiquait que l'on manquait de préparation, que quelqu'un ou quelque chose était meilleur que vous - et il refusait de croire que n'importe qui ou quelque chose était supérieur à son métier.
Bien que maintenant, dans ce couloir obscurci, Argus devenait de plus en plus conscient de combien il était hors de sa profondeur.
Imbécile! Comment aurais-tu pu être si négligent! L'envie la plus brève de tirer sur sa sortie éclairait son esprit, mais il l'a rapidement rejeté - une telle démonstration de violence lui coûterait l'affaire et attirerait l'irritation de Lexington; et autant qu'il aimait jouer avec l'inspecteur, il ne pouvait pas se permettre de lui donner plus de raison de se mêler dans ses affaires.
Non, la seule option disponible serait de jouer au ballon pour l'instant, jusqu'à ce qu'il puisse élaborer un plan d'action.
Il s'est redressé lui-même et son manteau de tranchée, se concentrant sur les mouvements délibérés et élaborés de ses mains - en partie pour retirer son esprit de l'envie de cligner la douleur qui rayonne encore à travers sa tête; mais surtout pour distraire ceux qui sont présents de la chaussure polie qui a subtilement déplacé pour cacher le pic à verrou couché sur le sol.
Pardonnez-moi, messieurs. J'ai supposé que la plupart des professeurs étaient rentrés à la maison pour la soirée.
Il regarda en avant et en arrière entre le mélange éclectique d'hommes qui remplissaient le couloir. Certains vieux, certains jeunes, chacun portant des expressions qui allaient de la peur et de la surprise à l'irritation et la méfiance. Ces étrangers devraient être mis à l'aise avant qu'il ne puisse les modeler à son image désirée.
"J'espérais avoir un moment de paix pour étudier le site du récent "Incident", mais je suppose que la compagnie inattendue n'est jamais une mauvaise chose. Le nom est Lichfield, par le passé. Je suis ici au nom du Bureau des enquêtes. Bien que l'introduction ait été beaucoup plus amicale et décontractée que son MO habituel, il ne pouvait pas se permettre de faire des ennemis - ou du moins, pas bien ce moment. Il s'est tenu tranquillement, attendant que les messieurs réunis fassent leur prochain mouvement.
Name: Argus Lichfield
Nickname/title: The G-Man
Gender: Male
Age: 43
Build/physicality: 6' 3", slender build
Background
Psychological status:
Mostly sane, but severely lacking in empathy or compassion for others. His sanity hinges heavily on how well things are going on any particular day.
Quirks, ticks, conditions, sensitivities to the paranormal:
Argus finds it very difficult to display or even feel emotion, and views many things in life as merely a means to an end - putting him firmly in the category of 'sociopath'. Achieving those ends in a timely manner pleases him. Unexpected circumstances make him exceedingly anxious. Argus does not believe in the paranormal; rather, he only believes what he can logically make sense of.
Magical potential (Y/N):
No
Personality:
Argus is often described as 'cold', 'ruthless' and 'difficult to work with' by fellow Pinkertons. Fortunately for him, his almost disturbing lack of empathy or concern for ethics and his machine-like efficiency have made him well suited for the kinds of roles that require a more unorthodox and unscrupulous approach; missions that would make less fortuitous agents quake with fear. But not Argus. Argus is a master of fear and its application - in fact, the only thing he truly fears is being unable to coerce others or achieve a result.
Hometown:
Madison, Wisconsin
Education:
Finished High School, joined the Army as an Officer shortly after graduating and received extensive training, but was dishonourably discharged after several years
Occupation:
Pinkerton Agent, covertly contracted by the Division of Investigation to investigate strange reports from Arkham, Massachusetts
Achievements:

Sexuality:
Asexual, assumed Heterosexual
Religion/philosophy:
Protestant, not practising. Operates by the simple mantra of 'everything is just a means to an end'.
Marital status:
Unwed
Family status:
The only son of Graham Lichfield and Marissa Lichfield (formerly Holloway), both deceased - Marissa contracted tuberculosis when Argus was 18 and passed shortly afterwards, while Graham perished in a tragic zinc mine collapse when Argus was 26. No other known relatives.
Biography:
Argus was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin. His father, Graham, was a mining engineer by trade and spent most of his time away from home in the mines at Mineral Point, leaving his mother, Marissa, to raise him as best she could.
This was not always the easiest task as even from an early age Argus displayed many antisocial tendencies such as catching and torturing small animals, or harassing other children in the neighbourhood - even when they were much bigger, older and stronger than he was.
At first, Marissa thought it was just a phase he would grow out of in due time but the behaviour continued to worsen and worsen as Argus got older. With no stern father figure consistently present to keep him in line, Marissa resorted to therapy, medication, and experimental electro-shock therapy to correct her son's abhorrent behavioural issues.
Much to her relief, these treatments had some degree of success - Argus was able to keep the more psychotic desires and impulses present in his psyche locked tightly away behind a web of mental barriers. But still, he found it exceedingly hard to connect with others at school and instead devoted himself to his studies.
Argus graduated from senior high on the honours roll. His graduation was sadly not attended by his father due to his work schedule, or his mother who was bedridden fighting a losing battle against consumption. She passed two days later.
The loss of his mother affected Argus greatly, and once again he began to struggle with his psychopathic desires. In a desperate attempt to control himself, he enlisted in the Officer Corp of the US Military.
The rigid and disciplined life of a commissioned officer bestowed upon him both the structure he needed and a legitimate out for his sadistic desires. He quickly found a niche training new recruits and over a number of years rose to the rank of Captain.
Despite being something of a respected & feared local legend on base, Argus was dishonourably discharged after his (deliberate) misconduct during a live fire training exercise resulted in the serious injury of seven freshly enlisted soldiers.
With the Army no longer wanting his services, Argus moved into private contracting. Within 12 moths of his discharge he had found work with Pinkerton, who were all too happy to overlook his 'prior transgressions in the Armed Forces' in order to have someone of his expertise within their ranks.
Once again, Argus was quick to display himself as an outstanding field agent who would stop at nothing to achieve a result. While he seemed to work best alone, many of his successes came in the form of union strikebreaking, where his considerable aptitude for manipulation and coercion as well as his lack of compunction for violence made him an ideal candidate for both covert and active roles.
Ironically, despite the part he played in crushing numerous manufacturing and mining strikes with Pinkerton, Argus spent this period of his life attempting to reconnect to his often absent father, albeit with difficulty due to his long-standing mental ailments and his father's busy schedule.
Sadly, less than three years after Argus' employment with Pinkerton began, water erosion within a large mine at Mineral Point triggered a collapse of several major arterial tunnels, killing thirty seven workers including one Graham Lichfield.
It has been said by long-standing colleagues of Argus that something changed in him the day of his father's funeral. He became intensely absorbed in his work, quicker to anger and violence, and more efficient in his roles - roles which he has now filled for almost 20 years, with no sign of slowing down.
Miscellaneous information
Combative belongings: S&W M1917 Revolver with 24 rounds, Winchester Model 1895 with 20 rounds, bayonet knife
Noncombative belongings: Field journal and pencil; Pinkerton Identification; large briefcase with clothing, briefing dossier, rifle, toiletries, etc; $800 cash
Other information (optional): N/A
Theme song (optional): N/A