Dick Victory

Dick Victory
Played by: Brandon

Vitals
Birthdate: 11/01/1901

Birthplace: Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, England

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Background
Profession(s) and Education: Private Eye (a Patsy)

History
Richard Victory was born in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, England, November 1st 1901.

His father was a member of the newly relocated Royal Horse Guards of the British Army, his mother a house wife.

At the age of 9 Richard's parents took him and his younger brother (David, 4 years younger) to a civic theatre production. He remembers falling in love with the play. (To this day however he can not remember what the play was). Every year the theatre group would return to perform the play. On the 3rd year reproduction of the play his parents could not (or would not) attend due to the stress of impending war in the early years of 1910-1914. Determined to see the play anyway he drug his brother David with him in to Watford, a larger town SE of Kings Langley outside of London. As the two boys approached the water-front theatre on their bicycles tragedy struck. The building exploded, torn apart by explosives. Richard and David were thrown off their bicycles and in to the River Colne running near the theatre. Richard managed to surface and climb his way out of the river, but David was never seen again. It was never ascertained who the culprits were, or why they destroyed the theatre, but it left Richard with both a fear of the water and a taste for vengeance against those never brought to justice.

The outbreak of WWI convinced his father it was no longer safe in England. Subsequently Richard and his mother emmigrated from the United Kingdom to Brooklyn New York at the behest of his father. News eventually reached them in New York that their father had died in battle. The news of his death, combined with the early childhood death of David, sent his mother into a state of despair and depression for which she would never fully recover.

In the following years Richard found it hard to attend school with any sincere conviction, and with the practical absence of his mother and father as role models he found himself taking to the streets for both an outlet of his pain and for the pleasure he found in the gritty quick witted opportunism of the streets. His sense of duty to those in need was also developed during these years that he cared for his despondent  mother who could no longer function on her own. While dark years in New York, some of his happiest early teenage moments were those spent with his mother during her "better" days, and those playing baseball in the alley with the other neighborhood kids.

While in New York Richard learned how to fend for himself and had a knack for noticing details others did not. While some of the other street riff-raff seemed to steal out of pleasure, or a sense of wanton pride, Richard found himself feeling guilty about theft even though it usually decided if you went hungry for the night. Despite the questionable morality of his early teens years it certainly honed a set of skills he would later find most useful in life.

At the age of 17 nearing the end of WWI, Richard's mother finally succumbed to alcoholism. Finding himself yet again faced with despair and lonliness he decided Brooklyn was no longer his home. He set out West, lured by the tales of opportunity, and found his way to San Francisco. Fueled by his guilt for his early street crimes, and his developing vigilante bent due to the death of his brother, Richard decided it was time to go straight and arrived in San Francisco determined to make a new name for himself.

The realities of a "better" life quickly turned out harder than he expected. He found himself back to his old ways of lifting fruits and vegetables off the stands of merchants just to survive. The opportunities he heard so much about did not seem to present themselves to the un-educated lower classes. One fateful day the best and worst thing to ever happen to a street pilfer happened: he got caught.

One particular store merchant noticed Richard would come by ever so often. The store had a rash of recent thefts and the owner guessed Richard was one of those lifting his veggies. After 2 weeks of watching him closely the owner could never visually see Richard lift any fruits or vegetables, however, the owner kept careful count and always came up short after Richard was around. Intrigued by how skilled Richard was at lifting, and convinced he must be stealing from him, he finally confronted him. When confronted about the crime Richard simply confessed "Yes, I was hungry".

What amazed even Richard at the time was the owner's reaction. He did not call the police. He offered him a job.

You see, the owner had noticed something peculiar about Richard. First off he noticed rather naturally that Richard was struggling to survive, and obviously had no home or family. But he also noticed Richard had an unusual talent for observation and a slight of hand that was unmatched. Because the owner knew others must be stealing from him besides Richard, he offered him a job as a stock boy. Under one condition: Richard had to help him catch other thieves. While Richard initially refused, he had no choice.

The following months Richard proved himself very capable at spotting the tell-tale signs of thieves, and the owner grew fond of his straight talking, hard working ethic. The owner saw something in Richard others seemed to have missed. It was clear Richard was not on the streets because he wanted to be, but because of his unfortunate past. He was still rough around the ages, and had a no nonsense temper that was developed from his time on the streets. However, he seemed to take real pride in working at the store and helping the owner catch crooks. Soon after working there the owner offered Richard a place to stay in the stock room above the store.

Over the years the owner became a mentor to Richard, and Richard became something of a family member to those at the store. Lifting and hauling merchandise around the store developed a physical toughness that matched his quick wit and short fused temper. He still never went to school, but as he saw it he no longer needed to. His work and accomodations were adequate, and he even started to build a notoriety with the local law enforcement for the crooks he had turned in over the years. As his situation improved so did his easy flowing bantor with customers and his coworkers. As Richard found himself well-fed and comfortable his charm started to shine through, especially with women.

In his mid 20s Richard became restless and decided it was time for him to yet again grow up. He enjoyed the feeling of justice he brought about by catching theives at the store and his good graces with the law gave him the idea to try his hand at "official" law enforcement. He decided to attend the police academy.

While his field tests and observational skills were excellent, Richard scored poorly on paper. His temper and unorthodoxed techniques also left their mark on his superiors. After 3 years of trying to make it on the police squad, and 3 years of failure, Richard gave up and decided the "nim-witted flat-foot squad" was not for him. It left him with both a distaste for authority and for the boys in blue.

Around this time the Great Depression hit for which the family store did not survive. As he could not go back to working at the store again he started to take odd jobs around town to make money. One of those odd jobs would steer his life in he right direction. He was asked to simply follow a man suspected of cheating on his wife. Richard caught the man with his mistress, in Chinatown of all places, and the distraught wife graciously paid him $30 for the adulterous confirmation, the most money he had ever made in 1 day. Then the spark struck and engulfed his brain like a forest fire. If he could not enforce the law as a policeman, then he would do the next best thing and make money catching crooks as a private eye. Over the next few years he took on more and more odds jobs, and increasingly took on more dangerous work to fuel his passion for crime and justice. He had a real knack for it and looking back he had an appreciation for what the tough life on the streets had taught him.

His early upbringing taught him life is tough and full of bad luck. Surviving the depression showed him the next meal is not guaranteed and you have to take advantage where you can find it. Earlier memories of his struggling mother have given him a soft spot for women in need. His time as a stock boy toughened his body and sharpened his senses. His time at the academy showed him how to work with weapons and the subsequent rejection has fueled his distaste for authority yet motivated his desire to show everyone he can be the best detective in town.

Richard is no longer a boy, no longer tied to his now dead family, and no longer Richard. Richard died that day in the River Colne with his brother David. It's time for Dick Victory to make his own luck now.