Blaise Newkirk

Concept: Political Fixer/Black Magician

AKA: His birth name is Sean Newkirk Jr. Some years ago he had it legally changed and has gone to no small effort to eradicate his original name.

Desc: Tall, dark, handsome. Capped teeth. Contact lenses, unless he needs to look smart. Then the Ben Franklin style bifocals come out. Can buy off the rack but rarely does. Goes in for Bespoke and Italian leather shoes. Has the kind of musculature that you’d expect from someone who plays squash. Has a kind of restless energy that most people would equate with a habit for nose candy, but no, that’s all him. Doesn’t exactly have Pianist's hands, but still plays. He has eyes that pay attention. Has a slight trace of British accent, as if he went to prep school there.  It’s carefully calculated

History: Sean was an only child, which was probably just as well as his father was a drinking, abusive fuck. He and his family lived over on the poor side of town and as Sean grew, he came to hate his existence. He was a smart kid and he knew that he loathed his father. He didn’t want to be anything like that guy, grubbing for every penny during the week and then spending half of his meager paycheck on Miller High Life every weekend.  That usually led to his mother getting smacked around and extra discipline for him as well.

So rather than suffer. He decided to do something about it.

At the tender age of 13, Sean secreted a tape recorder and mic. Taped his mother being brutalized, Mailed it to the police and while that tape was being listened to, cozened a teacher into calling in an abuse charge. He also got a friend to make an anonymous call saying that Sean’s father was selling smack out of their tiny apartment. Sean saved up his money and bought an amount of horse which he then cut to make it look much larger.  So, when the police came calling they not only weren’t inclined to listen to Sean Senior. After finding the smack, they took him away and beat the ever-loving fuck out of him.  Sean’s dad went away, and when he got himself shanked in the prison yard up at Clearwater, Sean Junior breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

   Of course, Sean’s mother tried to get with any dickhead who was willing to smack her around some, because that’s what she was used to. Sean found ways to make them go away and stay away.

   Sean’s not the smartest kid. But he is driven and he knew that he was never going to amount to anything unless he was able to go to college. He went out for track and was good enough at it to letter, but not good enough to wrangle a scholarship with it.  He wasn’t an academic superstar either, so a scholastic scholarship wasn’t likely to be in the cards.

But Sean knows people He’s got great people radar. It comes from having an abusive souse for a father and not knowing from moment to moment where the emotional wind is blowing. You get good at learning cues. So, Sean found ways to enhance his academic performance. He took AP courses and paid smarter kids to do some of his coursework. He made friends with a young man who was getting involved with computers and hacked a grade or two. In one case, he slept with a teacher. In another case, he blackmailed a gay teacher. He graduated near the top of his class, but not Valedictorian or anything crazy like that.  He was able to test well, and cheat even better.

As a result, he got into a good school on a full ride. He got a part-time job that enabled him to afford joining a fraternity and using THOSE connections, Got himself an internship as a paralegal with a prestigious firm.

So how does a poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks manage to get himself enough money to be able to leverage himself that kind high-class life?

Easy. Black magic.

Sean dated a girl in his first year of college who considered herself an occult adept. Sean had never thought there was anything to any of that stuff his whole life until she summoned something up that she couldn’t put down. Once Sean had managed to cover up her “Disappearance” He found himself perusing her books, and this is the important part...Seeing where she went wrong.

So. He gave it a try. and being a little morally flexible, was able to make a deal with that entity that they could both live with. The demon, for his part, was actually a little impressed.

Now, He runs a little concern called “The Barron Group” It’s a publicist firm, A very very exclusive publicist firm. He has three associates who do almost all the publicist work, and a partner who is an Entertainment Lawyer that he met during his internship. Olivia Cassavetes essentially runs the place while “Blaise” goes out and makes rain for the firm.

How? By offering his services as a political fixer. Blaise has a mind full of sharp things and an impressive rolodex that only comes from being a professional extrovert and being constantly on the prod. He’s a member of the Vermillion House, and just may be one of the youngest members being considered for the inner circle. Also, he’s expanded his portfolio as a black magician, he’s got about dozen demon contacts now.

Attitude: “Politics is an ugly business. But you don’t need me to tell you that. You already know that. What you don’t know is how low some people are willing to stoop. It’s my job to make certain that you and I are never EVER surprised on that front.  Everything else is phone calls, favors, and cash.

Skills: Blaise is NOT a combatant. He’s only ever been in one fight in his whole life and got the crap kicked out of him then. He’s got muscle mass and is healthy, but he’s not trained in any way, and learning combat out of anything other than dire necessity would make him think he’s becoming like his father. It ain’t likely to happen.  As I say, though. He’s certainly fit, and has the kind of stamina that one could expect from someone who is a teetotaler, doesn’t smoke and is a complete horndog. Mentally, he’s a bit above average and comes off a lot brighter than he actually is. Socially, he’s a total monster. Never gets rattled, usually sees them coming a mile off, and could probably talk the devil out of her panties.  He will have a vast panoply of social merits. He makes ridiculously good money too. He will also have a goodly chunk of dots in Occult, and a Second Sight Template for Apostle of the Dark One.  He’s developed “Unseen Sense (Vampires)” Because it was useful, and he made a deal many years ago for a truly impressive schlong.

Gear: Has the sort of stuff in his phone that could topple governments in this state. As a result, it’s got Intrusion countermeasure software loaded onto it. He’s got his iPad for music, books, and movies. He has a Bluetooth earpiece for his phone, and he is almost constantly on that phone. Usually, while he’s walking. He keeps a treadmill in his office.  He had a vasectomy years ago, but still carries condoms out of habit. You just never know anymore.

In addition, He’s usually got cash and a dozen credit cards in his slimline wallet, which is also  RFID shielded. He keeps multiple chargers and phone batteries in the glove box of his Jaguar. He has a boat which isn’t QUITE a yacht. But it will sleep four couples comfortably and has come in handy for body disposal.

Some years ago, He invested a decent amount of money in surveillance equipment that you can actually purchase on the open market, and few piece of equipment, that you can’t. He has a white panel van that bears the legend “Montgomery Tech Solutions” but also has a couple of magnetic signs that could be put over that stowed in the back.  Some things, he’ll go and do himself. Other things he’ll farm out to P.I.’s It all depends on the nature of the target.

Home: His penthouse is a bog standard penthouse, The only things that are remarkable about it are the fact that it requires a keypad code to get the elevator to go up to it and the truly impressive amount of sex toys that are stowed in one of the walk-in closets.  He rarely eats here and the kitchen shows it. Most of the time he dines out with clients, “Friends”, “Frenemies”, Lodge Brothers ,and Fraternity Brothers.

His office is on the 22nd floor of the Mainway Tower downtown.  Surrounded by law firms and high-level accounting firms. Its offices are well appointed but cozy and intimate.(Comfy leather and plenty of plants.) Blaise’s personal office features a grand piano which he noodles at while he’s thinking and a bookcase with a hidden keypad that opens into a hidden ritual space about the size of a garage.  If “The Barron Group” is ever forced to pull up stakes and leave, this ritual space will need a team of exorcists to clear it.

Circle: Vast and pervasive. Blaise is actually fairly methodical and has a grand strategic plan for the sort of alliances and friendships he hopes to make in order to grow his influence.  Any character in these pages above a certain income level is liable to be in his rolodex and even criminals and gang members have their uses, so they are fair game too. In fact, I’ll only hit the highlights in terms of his connections below. He is instinctual about offering his business card and asking for one in return. There is ALWAYS a follow-up call,text,or email the next day. 

Story Uses:  “Look, I told you. I have the local media sewn up around her. You want the full court press, You buy one of our packages. You want to get frozen out and have anemic box office. That’s entirely on you, Ms. Swift.”

He’s got the media in his pocket and his political and corporate portfolio is nothing to sneeze at. He seems damn near ubiquitous. He works hard to be so.  He’d make a great ally. Possibly a decent mentor for a younger character who is young, scrappy, and hungry.

“If you want to amend the contract I understand. But I’m going need something in return. Don’t worry...You’ll still get your sacrifice.”

Blaise is in the middle of a bewildering web of contacts, negotiations, obligations and favor trading. He is constantly in need of people who are willing to handle things for him. Maybe your players wouldn’t mind having him owe THEM a favor. But then again, maybe they WOULD.

“Yes, sir. I’ll handle that personally.”

Yes. Blaise Newkirk would be an awesome get for some vampire. There’s just one problem. it would seriously piss off the entirety of the Vermillion House.

Connections: 

*The Vermillion House considers him to be one of their rising stars and the power of a new generation. Blaise has gone to some effort to conceal his humble origins from them. While it might be a rude shock to some of the members, others would still consider him part of the "Natural Aristocracy" of the world.  He HAS seen how there is something of a divide between people who made money and people who inherited it within the House.

* Holmes, Gillis, Baker, Savage, North, and Dean  Blaise considers Roderick Holmes to be one of his oldest and dearest friends and looks up to him like a mentor. They brunch once a month and between them carve up the cities available influence pool. He also plays squash with Ilyana Baker and then fucks her afterward.

* Jamal Cooper is always good for some violence for pay. Of course, Blaise thinks he is a bit unstable and has been cultivating his boys for when he eventually gets himself killed or jailed.

* Boolie Hinson "I've never had a problem with him. He's as professional as they come. I just wish he'd lay off the speed.

* Captain Roy Gunderson "I don't ever want to hear you call him "Captain Smelly" in my presence again. That man is a genius and has saved my bacon more times than I care to count."

* Aldous Church "He came to me highly recommended by certain government people. And I have to admit he has not disappointed me yet."

* Marcie Hawkins "I only know her by reputation. But I'd love to meet her."