Detective Graham Harrell
"Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak."
xxxxxxALIASx﹗x
xxxAxxxxx█ Graham has no alias, but is often referred to by peers as "The Man of Steel", a play on the character Superman, though Graham earned it because of his strong stomach and careful emotions in almost all horrible situations.
xxxxxLAGEx﹗x
xxxxixxxx█ Thirty-Four
xxxxxiGENDERx﹗x
xxxxxxxxi█ Male
xxexxxHEIGHT/WEIGHTx﹗x
xxxnxxxxx█ 5'11'' // 165lb
xxxxxxORIENTATIONx﹗x
xxxxxxxxx█ Straight
xxxxxxOCCUPATIONx﹗x
xxxxxxxxx█ Private Detective
xxxxxxPERSONALITYx﹗x
xxxxxxxxx█ Graham Harrell is a charismatic man with a dark sense of humor and a charming smile. He has a stomach of steel, only having ever seen one case that was too disgusting for him to take. He is somewhat of a workaholic, and so although he's good with people and has a good handful of people he would consider friends, he hasn't made much time for relationships. He has had girlfriends in the past and isn't necessarily opposed to dating, but it has never been the first thing on his mind, and often his relationships fell through due to his dedication to his work, and the danger of his job.
Ordinarily Graham keeps fairly cool-headed, however he has been known to have a terrible anger lurking inside of him. It has rarely been directed at anyone other than his brother, as no one else has ever come close to setting him off as much as the events of his childhood.
xxxxxxA TYPICAL DAYx﹗x
xxxxxxxxx█ Graham Harrell starts his day around Nine or Ten in the morning. He tends to sleep in, because often his searches take him well into the night -- although there are times when he is called out to the scene of a crime in the middle of the night, or early hours of the morning. He brews his coffee while he gets ready for his day, and then looks over notes for whatever case he is working on at the time. Around noon he heads out to his office, where he spends the rest of his time checking up on any leads or doing research. He often consults with the Police Department, comparing notes on suspects or overlapping claims and leads, and occasionally joining one another on cases for a second opinion. He arrives back home fairly late, on the verge of exhaustion from tirelessly stressing and pouring over cases -- either one he's been called in on, or between those, his own personal case.
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
When arriving at the scene of a crime, he is quite methodical, asking all the currently known information before stepping into the room. He puts on gloves, and takes his own pictures -- separate from those of the Police photographers so that he can compare them -- and is careful not to disturb the scene. He searches for any important evidence; blood, weapons, any fingerprints that may appear, even hair or strands of thread. When on a scene, he treats even objects and areas that seem unimportant as if they hold evidence. Sometimes it can make the difference on a case that is seemingly impossible to solve. He examines bodies, angles, and even goes close up to examine wounds and anything else that might stand out. After all of this, he begins the research portion, speaking with anyone who has connections with the victims, and learning about the victim's character and actions. He tries to find motives or victim involvement with anyone known to be dangerous, and studies crime scene photos for any missed information. There are very few times he has been unable to solve a case, even if he's needed a bit of help now and again.
xxxxxxLIKESx﹗x
xxxxxxxxx█ His coffee with a splash of almond milk and no sugar, but a bit of whipped cream on top.
xxxxxxxxx█ Graham likes cats, but thinks dogs are too jumpy and slobbery.
xxxxxxxxx█ He enjoys spicy foods.
xxxxxxxxx█ While he isn't fond of cooking, he loves apple pie, and can make a fairly good one.
xxxxxxxxx█ Women who aren't afraid to stand up for themselves.
xxxxxxDISLIKESx﹗x
xxxxxxxxx█ His number one dislike is his brother, though he would use a stronger word.
xxxxxxxxx█ He isn't too fond of drugs, for obvious reasons.
xxxxxxxxx█ He knows how to use a gun, and carries one for work, however he doesn't particularly like them and they tend to bring up bad memories.
xxxxxxxxx█ Graham hates cooking, although he isn't terrible at it. It takes too much time and effort.
xxxxxxxxx█ It bothers him horribly to see anyone acting carelessly on a case. He will not hesitate to speak up if he notices this.
xxxxxxHISTORYx﹗x
xxxxxxxxx█ Graham Harrell had never lived in the best part of town. When he was young, he remembered hearing about all of the crime in his area. Fights. Drug busts. Cold-blooded murder. He had managed to stay out of all of it for most of his early years, keeping to himself and focusing on his own life, never getting too involved with the chaos of his area and the kids of his neighborhood. A house up the street had been a known "crack house", and the one across from him constantly got the cops called out for disturbing the peace and domestic dispute. However, his own house remained quiet, and relatively pleasant. He had both of his parents, and both an older brother and a younger sister. When he was thirteen, and his brother -- Lewis -- was sixteen, Louie began a pattern of staying out late and leaving the house early, avoiding their parents, who worried incessantly about their oldest son. A few times, he was even brought home by the cops, though Graham was never informed on the reasoning.
Unknown to him, Louie had gotten involved with drugs and dealers, a dangerous place to be in. Graham noticed that his mother was more often on edge when Louie wasn't home, and she began snapping about little things that ordinarily didn't bother her. He wanted to help his family, but he wasn't sure how, so he simply tried to keep his younger sister Cait out of his mother's hair. Graham and his sister were fairly close, and often found ways to keep busy without being a bother or getting into trouble.
One day, about a year later -- Cait was eleven and Graham fourteen -- Louie was out doing whatever it was he did now, and the family was sitting around the living room television. It had become normal for their brother to be gone. They almost never saw him anymore. It was summer, so the kids were up late, and around 10pm a shattering of glass rang through the house. They rose to their feet, their father racing to find the source. Shouting could be heard from the kitchen, and then a gunshot. Graham's mother screamed, and his sister ran to his side. Both girls were frightened, and the three huddled together in the living room. Graham didn't know how to react, but he knew he had to be strong for the other two. After what seemed like ages a man rounded the corner out of the kitchen, with two others on his heels. Their father did not. Graham's mother began to cry, and the men were shouting. All they could tell was that the men were looking for his brother, who of course was not around. His mother tried to say as much, and the men shouted at her to be quiet. She kept trying to tell them, but they wouldn't listen. The man presumably in charge grabbed Cait by the arm, pointing a gun to her head. His mother wailed again, and dropped to her knees, begging them not to hurt the child. Graham was lost in the screaming and yelling. He found himself feeling incredibly angry, angry with these men for thinking they had anything to do with his brother's affairs, and angry with Louie for putting them in this kind of danger with whatever he was involved with. As his mother crawled towards the men, still begging for her daughter's safety, they warned her to stay put. She didn't. Another gunshot, and Cait fell to the floor. Graham yelled out, lunging forward, and was also shot, though it was in the shoulder and did not turn out to be fatal. After that, everything went dark.
When he awoke in the hospital a few days later, his mother was beside him. She didn't seem to be all there, but explained to him that both his father and sister were dead, and his brother was still missing. It seemed that the cops had arrived shortly after he had blacked out, capturing two of the men and taking them into custody. It was at that moment that Graham decided he would make it his life goal to hunt down his brother and make him pay for all the pain he had caused their peaceful family. As soon as he got out of high school, Graham went into law enforcement, and eventually rose to become a Private Detective, mostly dealing with murder cases. All the while he continued to follow his own private leads as he went, searching for anything that might lead him to Louie.
xxxxxxAPPEARANCEx﹗x
xxxxxxxxx█ Graham has a scar on his left shoulder from the bullet wound he received as a teenager. Occasionally it feels tense, but he's careful to keep it stretched out. He is almost never clean shaven, and his hair is usually disheveled and unkempt. However, he does take care in how he dresses, trying to appear somewhat professional.
xxxxxxTHEME SONGSx﹗x
xxxxxxxxx█ So Young || Portugal. The Man
>> [quote by Thomas Carlyle]
