PRIMAL Inception (15 page)

ORGANIZATION AND CHARACTERS

General

PRIMAL’s operatives and support staff are an eclectic and tight-knit team. With an international cast from varied backgrounds, they all have one thing in common; single-minded dedication to battling injustice and fighting for the underdog.

There are less than twenty named characters that star in the novels. These men and women live anything but normal lives. Recruited from elite, high-achieving organizations, they deliver outcomes far beyond their modest numbers. They are mission focused and have no immediate family. For most, PRIMAL is their family and this reduces the risk of compromise protecting them from possible retaliation.

Job satisfaction is high and the hardcore work ethic is balanced with generous remuneration and occasional downtime. Even though operatives are given opportunities to let off steam a number of operatives suffer from mild post-traumatic stress. The intensity of high-stakes covert operations, where close-quarter assassinations, and collateral damage are part of the job, inevitably takes a toll on the team. Indeed, in the years immediately following PRIMAL Unleashed the organization runs at an unsustainable tempo and needs to recruit new operatives and attempt to manage a better work-life balance. This is a challenge when you take a group of high-achieving warriors and let them off the leash on their dream job.

Leadership

PRIMAL’s three leaders form the backbone of all decision making. They drive recruitment, mission selection, and operational decisions. All three have the power of veto over any mission. The three leaders are:

Tariq Ahmed.
An extremely wealthy Arab businessman, Tariq was educated in the United States and holds moderate religious views. He served in Afghanistan with UAE Special Forces where he first met Vance. His decision to oppose his father, who supported terrorism, led to his father’s demise. Tariq took over his family’s business empire and used his newly inherited wealth to create PRIMAL. Tariq is the sole financier for PRIMAL, channeling funds through his air-freight company Lascar Logistics. He contributes to major decisions but leaves the day-to-day PRIMAL business to Vance and Chua.

Vance Durant.
PRIMAL’s Director of Operations is a former
CIA
paramilitary officer hell-bent on doing the right thing regardless of political considerations. A barrel-chested African American, Vance rarely takes part in field operations. Instead he pulls the strings from the Bunker on PRIMAL Island. Loves pumping iron in the gym but can also be found lying on a couch in his office, reading glasses on, Kindle in hand. He’s a crack pistol shot and regularly challenges other members of the PRIMAL team to competition shoots.

Chen Chua.
Formerly a Major in the US Army Military Intelligence Corps, Chua was one of the early PRIMAL recruits. Known as the ‘Chief of Intelligence’, the Asian American heads up PRIMAL’s intelligence analysis and collection capabilities. His focus is on understanding PRIMAL’s targets, both for mission selection and for identifying vulnerabilities. Like Vance, Chua works far too hard and often spends weeks in the bunker without seeing the light of day. He has been trained in advanced HUMINT operations and occasionally will do field-work when an Asian operative is required. Chua has an unhealthy addiction to energy drinks and likes to Mountain Bike on the rare occasion he gives himself some time off.

Note.
Originally PRIMAL was conceived as having three overarching directors all with the power of veto. Tariq was still featured as the wealthy Arab however he was supplemented by Amanda Telwar, a UK-born Pakistani international lawyer, and Zvi Dvaden, a former head of the Israeli intelligence service Mossad. These two additional directors were cut as PRIMAL had too many characters for effective storytelling.

Fig. 3 - Mirza, Saneh, and Bishop (L to R)

Tier 1 Operatives

PRIMAL’s ‘Tier 1’ operatives are trusted to lead teams or run independent operations. They may conduct reconnaissance and intelligence work but their primary role is to neutralize the enemy. They are the ‘door-kickers’, who if necessary will kill, capture, or influence a target.

Figure 3, above, shows three typical PRIMAL operatives dressed and equipped for an urban operation. They chose their civilian clothing to minimize the chance of detection: sunglasses, caps, face-wraps, hoodies, etc. All weapons are short-barreled and compact; bullpup (when the magazine is behind the pistol grip) or folding/collapsible stock. As with most PRIMAL gear the key is concealment and low signature. Weapons are equipped with suppressors to minimize noise and muzzle flash. Underneath their clothing they will usually wear low profile body armor and carry concealed pistols.

Ice.
James ‘Ice’ Castle was one of the original CIA officers that founded PRIMAL. Nicknamed Ice for his calculating and calm demeanor, he’s a soldier’s soldier, the kind of man anyone would follow into battle. Formerly serving in the Marine Corps, he then spent five years in the CIA working as a Paramilitary Operations Officer before forming PRIMAL with Vance. In PRIMAL Unleashed he is presumed to be killed in action.

Bishop.
Aden Bishop is an altruistic Australian Army Intelligence Officer with an undistinguished military service. In 2003 he was sent home from Sierra Leone after disobeying orders during a UN Peacekeeping mission, but not before impressing a CIA officer, Vance. In direct violation of the UN mandate, Bishop and Mirza broke a ceasefire to prevent the massacre of a camp of refugees. Sent home, he was charged, stripped of seniority, and became disgruntled with the political nature of government service. Passing on an opportunity to deploy to Iraq, disagreeing with the false ‘WMD’ pretext for war, he resigned his commission. It was only when Vance recruited him into PRIMAL in 2004 that he found his true calling. After the mission in PRIMAL Fury he has mild post-traumatic stress syndrome due to being involved in numerous instances of collateral damage. He is madly in love with Saneh and they have an on-again off-again relationship. He doesn’t eat sushi, dislikes horses, appreciates architecture, and studies history.

Mirza.
Mirza Mansoor is an Indian soldier that Bishop first meets in Sierra Leone, and subsequently recruits during PRIMAL Unleashed. Originally a sniper in the
Special Frontier Force,
he is highly experienced in both light infantry and covert counter-terrorism operations. More deliberate than Bishop, the pair are frequently deployed together, with Mirza’s clinical approach complementing Bishop’s more daring attitude. Since joining PRIMAL he has developed his skills and is one of the team’s most competent medics and a capable pilot. Mirza was raised dirt-poor and is slow to come to terms with PRIMAL’s generous remuneration and extensive budget.

Saneh.
Afsaneh Ebadi, or Saneh, is a former Iranian
MOIS
operative. A female assassin and HUMINT operative, she works with Bishop in PRIMAL Unleashed and is eventually recruited. Stunningly attractive, when Saneh is on a mission she needs to choose her outfits carefully if she wants to avoid attention. Her attractive looks, however, can be an advantage, giving her an edge when people underestimate her. She maintains a volatile relationship with Bishop.

Tier 2 Operatives

When PRIMAL was developing its capability it would occasionally utilize mercenaries as an expendable proxy force. As seen in PRIMAL Unleashed, this group was called the ‘FIST’ or Forward Integrated Support Team. One of the first FISTs performed exceptionally and was fully recruited. These operatives became the core of PRIMAL’s Tier 2 operatives. They also form the basis for PRIMAL’s heavy-hitting direct-action team, the CAT, or Critical Assault Team. Armed to the teeth, the CAT is a heavy hitting quick-reaction-force that is on call to pull other operatives out of trouble. Although most of the Tier 2 operatives have their own specialist skills, they are cross-trained in the full spectrum of skill-sets including: breaching, precision fires (sniping), counter-intel, break and enter, technical exploitation, and interrogation.

Kurtz.
Born into a family of influence, Kurtz turned his back on the family profession of medicine to join the German police force. He earned a place in the elite
GSG 9
counter-terrorism unit and was highly trained in covert entry as well as assaulting strongholds. Forced to leave the service after he beat a rapist to death, his passion is taking down sex trafficking networks and rescuing vulnerable women. At the end of PRIMAL Fury, when an innocent girl is killed, he is traumatized and deserts to run independent operations. Like Bishop, Kurtz develops symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome and is struggling to come to terms with innocent lives lost in the line of duty.

Aleks.
Kurtz’s ‘oppo’, Aleks usually deploys with the German operative. He is former
FSB
Spetsnaz and one of three Russians on the team. While not the subtlest of personalities, Aleks’ brute strength and determination make him a serious asset in a gunfight. He is the team leader of the CAT and has penchant for blowing things up. Aleks is well loved within the team and treats Saneh like a little sister. He also has a strong bond with Bishop that developed during the events outlined in PRIMAL Unleashed.

Pavel.
Another Russian, Pavel was originally recruited as a technical surveillance expert. Although his specialty is in the intelligence realm, with an affinity for remote cameras, listening devices, and trackers, he is a competent assaulter and is more often deployed with the CAT. In most PRIMAL stories the technical support role is fulfilled by Mitch.

Miklos.
A sniper/recon specialist from the Czech Republic, Miklos is known as a quiet, yet charming and easygoing member of the team. He cut his teeth in the 601st Special Forces Group before becoming a private contractor and eventually being recruited into PRIMAL.

Kruger.
Recruited immediately prior to PRIMAL Fury, Kruger is a South African Special Forces veteran of the ‘Recces’. A hulking figure, he specializes in heavy weapons and demolitions. Kruger is also a qualified dog handler and has been advocating for PRIMAL to raise a special operations working dog capability since he joined the team. An experienced team leader, Kruger heads up the CAT in the absence of Aleks.

Intelligence

Flash
. ‘Flash’ Gordon is PRIMAL’s ‘electronic intelligence’ expert. Formerly of the NSA, he’s a specialist in cyber-warfare and signals intelligence. He maintains discreet contact with certain NSA officers to ensure he has access to the latest software tools and databases.

Ivan and the Blades
. Known only as Ivan, this old-school former-KGB spy usually appears as a well-spoken Englishman, not a Russian. He speaks a multitude of languages and is able to adopt a number of different personas. As PRIMAL’s lead deep-cover operative, or Blade, he runs a network of agents for intelligence collection and influence. The number of Blades is known only to Chen Chua and his Fusion Team. Each of them reports directly to the Chief of Intelligence and runs their own agent networks. The identities of the Blades are a tightly held secret. Due to the fact they frequently operate undercover in high-risk environments, they are not privy to PRIMAL’s ‘Essential Elements of Friendly Information’. In case of capture, most of the Blades do not know the identities of PRIMAL’s leaders, nor do they know the locations of PRIMAL’s bases.

Fusion Team.
As outlined in Target Development the intelligence function plays a vital role in PRIMAL’s success. The Fusion Team are highly trained and experienced analysts that are the brainpower of the organization. While their numbers are never discussed in detail, Chen Chua’s team consists of half a dozen analysts covering the full spectrum of intelligence sources.

Integral Support

Mitch.
Mitch is PRIMAL’s self-taught tech-guru. He starts out in the British Army Royal Corps of Signals and during PRIMAL Inception is working in a tech support role with a
SAS
detachment. After a stint in the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Mitch eventually becomes a private contractor before being recruited into PRIMAL. An all-round technical genius, he’s in charge of R&D and customization of PRIMAL’s cutting-edge weapons and gear. He also gets out in the field when tactical tech support is required and can hold his own in a gunfight. Loves Olympic weightlifting, piloting aircraft, gadgets, and helping out with interrogations.