Quillen

Comes now the story of Quillen.

Quillen was raised in a less than ideal environment that was rife with violence and poverty. He developed a sense of survival through brutality and bullishness which he would use without compunction.

Quillen did not inflict his nature on others unless it was called for. But he did not hesitate to fight someone who threatened him physically nor did he wait to intimidate someone he felt was trying to swindle him.

His reputation spread and at some point the leader of a criminal organization approached Quillen and asked him to use his nature against those who owed money to said organization. Quillen accepted with the caveat that he would not hurt anyone who wasn’t in direct business with the organization.

Time passed, and Quinlan proved to be a capable enforcer. Many people who were in business with the organization feared him, but they also respected him. Quillen enjoyed the reputation but he did not abuse his status. For him, his job was simply a job. He went on to recruit other like-minded individuals who were capable of great violence as he was.

One day, the leader of the criminal organization approached him and asked him to murder a woman who had too much knowledge about the organization and they feared she would give details to law enforcement. Quillen considered the woman’s situation a grey area with the rules but decided she did not fit his criteria for his duties and refused to take her life.

The leader of the criminal organization was enraged by Quillen’s refusal and threatened him to do the job or his family would face the consequences of his inaction. Quillen relented because he loved his family and killed the woman.

Time passed, and eventually the line between who was subject to Quillen’s brutality became blurred. Quillen was not happy with the changes and told his boss that he would no longer work for the criminal organization. The boss fought against his decision and a bloody battle ensued with Quillen’s people against the organization. The war ended with a negotiated settlement that included Quillen paying a large sum to the organization so he could leave.

He tried to gain employment through legitimate means but it was often not successful. Quillen did not have skills beyond his brutal resume and it made it difficult to maintain a job. This put Quillen in a desperate situation as he wanted to support his family.

One day he was approached by one of his former associates with a job. There was a financial manager who needed someone to carry out murders on an infrequent basis. The man’s business included offering hedge funds to people and of the clients died before cashing out of their accounts, the man would receive their money.

Desperate for work, Quillen agreed to take the position. He was paid extremely well, and while he did carry out murders on people who were not connected to criminal activity, he did not have to do it often. He considered that the ratio of his salary to how many people had to die was acceptable. Quillen also liked the fact that the job came with the challenge of dispatching victims in a variety of ways to make them appear as suicides or accidents or natural causes.

This went on for many years, and Quillen earned a lot of money. His family was well cared for and he did not dole out too much murder. But he did not enjoy the work as the people dying were not aware of their connection to a scheme. At first Quillen tried to rationalize this to himself by saying that they shouldn’t be so stupid us to fall victim to this. But over time he accepted that none of them deserved their fate.

And while he was well compensated for what he was doing, Quillen realized that he was chasing somebody else’s dreams instead of his own. But in the absence of his own vision, he figured it was a dream worth pursuing so long as he was paid.