| APAGear II Archives | Volume 2, Number 10 | November, 2000 |
[Author's Note: This character's current situation is left intentionally vague, so GMs should not have any trouble inserting him in their campaigns. Change the place names and he can easily serve as a Southern or even Caprician cop.]
Parker Benitez is a 35-cycle veteran of the Norlight National Police, having served his entire career in the Kenema Police Department. Beginning as a "beat cop" despite his college education, Benitez worked his way up to a lead detective position in the KPD special anti-gang unit, where he spent the bulk of his career investigating and busting Forzi- and Kolson-affiliated street thugs and low-level enforcers. A recent police corruption scandal in his department cast a serious shadow over his career, and while the Internal Affairs division found no evidence to connect Benitez to the money laundering and bribery, it became abundantly clear to him that any further promotion in the department was out of the question. Hoping to both distance himself from the corruption scandal and avoid confinement to a desk job, Benitez requested a transfer. His embarrassed department complied, and Benitez has just received word that his transfer has come through.
Although vastly undervalued, Parker Benitez is a consummate professional and an expert in his field. Under his leadership, Kenema saw a 14% decline in gang violence, and Benitez was a driving force behind many of the largest narcotics busts in the past 20 cycles. Benitez has received little or no recognition for his accomplishments, however. This is due mainly to his mistrust of the sensationalist local media. His publicity-hungry department Lieutenant was more than happy to take the credit for Benitez's hard work. At the beginning of his career, when he was a fresh-faced Patrolman, Benitez was awarded a Presidential Citation straight from Anders von Breslau for his instrumental participation in a cleverly-executed sting operation that led to the arrest of a notable Forzi drug lord. The decades that followed sadly lacked any further accolades.
As an aging cop with little to show for his career besides the decades-old Citation, the guarantee of a minimal pension, and a sullied reputation, Benitez spends a considerable amount of time evaluating the direction his life has taken. His friends from the Academy have gone on to lead successful careers in positions of leadership, while Benitez has spent the past twenty cycles treading water, working the same job. He used to gain a great deal of satisfaction from his work, but the recent scandal and the quickness with which his department hoped to evict him has drummed much of the enthusiasm out of him. The feeling of accomplishment he gained from closing a case has mainly been replaced by a grim sense of duty.
Although he has been injured a number of times in the line of duty, Benitez's idealism was perhaps the greatest casualty of his career. He is now a hardened cynic, with much of the joy of life lost on him. Benitez has developed a minor drinking habit, although he has never yet allowed alcohol to interfere with his work.
Ironically, the corruption scandal may prove to be the best thing to happen to Benitez in several cycles. Despite the major stain on his reputation, Benitez will at least be receiving a fresh start in a whole other line of work. Although he has not yet been given detailed information about his new position, the change of pace might do him good, and the separation from the departmental back-biting so prevalent in the Kenema departments will be welcome.
Parker Benitez is not an attractive man. His face may have once been found handsome, but too many scuffles and a moderately-successful career as the precinct's boxing champion has turned rugged good looks into a harsh weathered-looking mug. His nose is crooked and somewhat flattened; a result of having been broken in the boxing ring one time too many. The lines around his eyes are deep, and his mouth often tends to have a grim set to it. He keeps his head shaved, and has a habit of scratching his scalp whenever he's pondering the details of a case.
Benitez is a large man; he still retains the build of a heavyweight boxer, although he has neglected his training routine lately and has started to go soft in the middle. When on the job, Benitez habitually wears an ill-fitting suit that has begun to go threadbare in the elbows. He often wears a black waist-length springer leather jacket. Like everything else in Benitez's wardrobe, his jacket is beginning to show its age.
Benitez is no stranger to combat. He has faced many an opponent in the boxing ring, and has shot it out with countless small-time hoods and gang-bangers. While he does not relish violence, he accepts it as a part of his job and does not shy away from it. He also has been known to apply a little bit of muscle when interrogating suspects, but this was neither an uncommon nor a discouraged practice in Kenema's precincts, and he has never seriously injured anyone held in police custody.
Laurene Benitez (age 105, specialties: cooking), Parker's invalid mother. She is confined to a wheelchair and has not spoken in several cycles, since the death of her husband. Parker feels like he has been a huge disappointment to his mother, but he feels duty-bound to visit her regularly at the home for convalescents in which she resides.
Rian Mellanby (age 55, specialties: business & parenting), an ex-girlfriend. Benitez still holds a special place for her in his heart, although she has gone on to marry and have children with another man. Parker's devotion to duty kept him from investing as much in their relationship as he should have, and he regrets not paying more attention to his personal life. He knows that he should have proposed marriage to her, and he knows that she would have accepted if he had. He does not maintain any hope of rekindling their romantic relationship, but Rian remains his confidant and closest friend.
| Age: 65 Cycles | Height: 1.9 m | Mass: 115 kg | Hair Color: Brown (shaven) | Eye Color: Brown |
| Handedness: Right-handed | ||||
| AGI +1 | APP -1 | BLD +2 | CRE +0 | FIT +1 |
| INF +1 | KNO +0 | PER +1 | PSY -1 | WIL +1 |
| STR +1 | HEA +0 | STA 35 | UD 8 | AD 7 |
| Skills | Skills | Skills | Skills |
| Athletics 1/+1 | Dodge 2/+1 | Intimidate 1/+2 | Security 1/+0 |
| Bureaucracy 1/+0 | Drive 2/+1 | Investigation 2/+1 | Small Arms 2/+1 |
| Combat Sense 2/+1 | Hand-to-Hand 2/+1 | Law 1 0 | Streetwise 1/+1 |
| Computer 1/+0 | Human Perception 2/-1 | Melee 1/+1 | |
| Cooking 1/+0 | Interrogation 1/+0 | Notice 2/+1 |
Secured Police-Issue Dataglove, Light Flak Vest (Armor Value 15), Personal Communicator, Socorro Barnaby 11mm Revolver, NorPol Badge, 2 pairs of Handcuffs
| APAGear II Archives | Volume 2, Number 10 | November, 2000 |
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