Finished my CS. :) [hider=Michael Alker] [center] Name: Michael Alker (born Mikhail Alkaev) Age: 45 Appearance: Michael is a strongly built man; broad shouldered, tall, and intimidating. Despite his age he still has a full head of dark hair which he combs back. He always dresses plainly and for the job, just like everything else he does. His bright blue but cold eyes are another example of his imposing appearance, as Michael excels at staring people down. In fact, his entire demeanor is somewhat frightening, especially when he wants to be. Every movement he makes has a purpose and there is no wasted energy; he has great control over himself. Michael is also fit for his age, as he likes to keep in shape to ensure efficiency in his work. Occupation: Investigator Personality: Michael appears to be trying to disprove the old adage that no man is an island. That's not to say that he doesn't work well with people, but that he doesn't seem to have friends, family or even hobbies outside of work. There is a well worn story about him around the office; one night when he declined to go out celebrating with the other detectives as he always does, one of his coworkers asked what he did when he was done at the end of the day and he responded in a very rare joke: “I stare at the wall until Green reboots me.” Since then some of the younger and more immature officers sometimes refer to him as 'Ed 209' or 'Robocop'. What little humor he has is very dry. Michael has made following the rules and obeying the law into a personal doctrine. He is the epitome of professional. Anyone in the workplace trying to get him to talk about anything but the job would have a monumental task ahead of them. People tend to think that he's hiding something, but the simple truth may be that he really has nothing to talk about. He used to be a friendlier man before his breakdown and return to work, though he's not necessarily unfriendly. Despite his solitary nature, he works well with others when the job calls for it as he knows that working alone or fighting with his partners can only lead to inefficiency. His strength in his job is running down and finding the criminals, as he tends to know how they think and where they're going. Like a trained bloodhound he can pick up a scent, and if something runs, he chases. Michael also has an odd penchant for doing paperwork. Bio: Michael was born Mikhail Alkaev in 1969, his parents changed theirs and his name when they emigrated from the Soviet Union to the United States in 1970. As a result, Michael is bilingual; though his parents desperately wanted to 'become' American they taught him Russian as well. At first this seemed like it was done out of affinity for their homeland, but it was for another reason. His childhood was normal on the surface and it seemed normal to him at the time, though sometimes his parents did odd things like have secret meetings with friends. They even taught him how to shoot a gun at a young age, but this didn't strike him as important at the time. When he was 17 however, his parents were arrested and tried as criminals; for many years they had built up a criminal organization trading and dealing in the expected vices; drugs, prostitution, contract killing and blackmail. The entire thing disgusted Michael, and he cut off all ties with his family, more than happy to let them rot in prison for life. In defiance of them and their way of life, he used the skills they taught him and joined the police academy. That is how he got into the profession, but he continues to do it not because of his past, but out of servitude to the law. He graduated and became a patrol officer until he rose through the ranks to become a homicide detective. When he was 42, he had a temporary mental breakdown. No one but himself and his doctors know what caused it, as it apparently had nothing to do with anything that happened at work. He had been acting nervous and saying odd things the week before and then was missing for two days. There are rumors that Green found him wandering the streets, barefoot, malnourished, soaked to the skin and speaking entirely in Russian. Since then he took time off and therapy to recover. When he returned, he passed thorough and rigorous psych evaluations so he could return to his job. Michael is apparently back to normal now, though he does seem even less talkative now. This hasn't affected his job, and he is just happy to be back at work. Other: Michael carries a back up gun, just in case. He also has a love for take out Chinese food and knows where all the good places are. [/center] [/hider]