Not just a rich kid

Welcome to Division, Mr. Strickland. We are working for the government and decided to give you a second chance. You live in room #34 and your assigned handler is Roberta Williams who is responsible for your development. Please read the info in the Members Guide (x) and send in your account and AIM info within the next 24 hours.

→ Name: Keith Strickland → Age: 25 → Faceclaim: Garrett Hedlund → Hometown: Palo Alto, California → Occupation: Recruit

→ Biography and personality:

Keith Strickland was born in west California to very rich and doting parents.  He went to the best schools their money could buy, was involved in countless school activities - yet he still fell into a downward spiral after he graduated college.  He got addicted to cocaine and forwent graduate school, deciding instead to leave Stanford for Detroit and pursue a life of crime to finance his addiction.  While in school, however, he never showed any signs pointing to what he would become in the future.  He was a quirky, active kid who respected authority.  Keith was never too good at the humanities, but he excelled in the maths and computer sciences.  He was never rebellious, never stayed out too late, never even touched a drop of alcohol, even when his parents were the ones offering.

The sudden change in demeanor could have been due to the death of his parents shortly after his high school graduation.  Both Strickmans had died in a plane crash, and suffice it to say Keith didn’t take it very well.  He ended up sending one of his close friends into the emergency room after he’d gotten into a drunken rage.  Since then, Keith has vowed to himself that he would never drink alcohol again - after all, who likes an angry drunk?  He’s even gone so far as to deem cocaine a better alternative to escaping reality than alcohol.  

Although he’d made his way into the drug trafficking industry, Keith never lost his mostly optimistic and bubbly demeanor.  People around him think he never stops smiling, which is true until Keith is alone with nothing to keep him company but a pile of pilfered cocaine and his own thoughts.  While not in a drug-induced state, Keith draws people to him with his awkward, yet charming, personality.  He knows himself well enough to use those traits as a lure to draw “normal” people into his business.

One fateful day, when he wasn’t being as careful as he usually should have been, he strayed onto a rival drug lord’s turf.  Keith’s one rule was that he wouldn’t shoot to kill - a rule he was forced to break more than a few times in that incident.  When the fighting died down, Keith was the last man standing.  It was as if his trigger finger had acted on its own, hitting every target square in the chest.  Keith had no precedent for this, since he was normally so much more careful about going where he wasn’t supposed to go.  He was shocked - more at himself than at what he’d done - so shocked that he wasn’t fast enough to outrun the police when they arrived at the scene.  He was sentenced to life in prison for drug trafficking and manslaughter, at least until Division approached him about recruiting opportunities.

Keith looks older than he is because of his year-old drug addiction.  He appears friendly and approachable, and usually is, unless it has something to do with his business.  As adept as he may seem, he’s actually very clumsy when he becomes too aware of himself, which may happen when he is approached by someone of importance or romantic interest.  Keith isn’t above manipulating people to get what he wants, which is usually money or drugs.  He has a deep respect for authority, as long as they show they’re worthy of his respect, yet he admires people who disobey - for the right reasons.  His hand-to-hand combat skills are average at best; what he excels most at is long-range shooting.  Vehicle accidents of any kind set him into a panicked state, whether or not he witnesses it in person.  He likes to be upfront and honest, but will lie about anything if it makes himself feel more comfortable or less guilty.  He sometimes relies on luck, which has served him well so far aside from his parents’ death and his arrest.  Trying to redeem his recent, sordid past, Keith works hard to please - but he knows he can’t please everyone.