Name:
Mr. James Rookwood
Age:
70
Occupation/ Cover:
Fisherman / Rum Smuggler
Owner/Captain of the fishing boat Chloe.
Racket:
Rookwood runs rum, plain and simple, under the guise of running a legitimate fishing operation which he actually enjoys most days. Largely regarded as the best rum smuggler on the US south coast, he supplies folks from Mexico to Florida with the finest Caribbean Rum that can be found. His connections in various Caribbean countries are all largely through retired military contacts. Recently he has begun to receive pressure from Cartels looking to use him as a mule for cocaine smuggling.
Public Goals:
To the public Rookwood is a retired and decorated war veteran, having begun a successful Naval career in the waning days of World War I. Widely known as a friendly fisherman who delivers fresh product to seafront restaurants and markets, he is a welcome face in any pub. Even the Coast Guard, who is likely aware of his activities, has a wave for him when he passes. It is no secret he hopes to live out his days at sea.
Private Goals:
Rookwood is a widower whose two estranged children have long since moved away with their families. His only true goals at the moment are to enjoy what remains of his life in relative comfort and to tame the ghosts and demons that plague him.
Supporting Cast:
Mrs. Hawkins- The most prominent purchaser of the rum he brings across from Cuba. He is vaguely aware of her business interests, legitimate or otherwise, and general enjoys her company.
Thomas Blackthorne- Thomas has been at sea, working the boat with James, for the past ten years - ever since his wife died - as the ships engineer. The two men, only a year apart in age, share their space and speak little.
Personal History:
James Rookwood was born in 1902, the eldest son of a frail shrimp boat captain and his bulldog wife on the Mississippi coast. Six more children followed, all of whom would work their fathers shrimp boat as youngsters. It wasn't much of a living, but it was something, and they never went hungry, but any sort of formal education was off the table.
When the United States declared war on Germany in 1917, fifteen year old James slipped away from the family home in the wee hours of the morning. Tall and strong, he passed himself off as eighteen and joined the United States Navy and was assigned to a destroyer on the Atlantic Coast. His sixteenth birthday came and went on the high seas during convoy escort duty.
James never saw action in the First World War, a ignominious start to his military career. When the peace was signed he was among those lucky enough to keep a berth aboard an active duty ship as others were paid off, the hulls mothballed, and crews sent home.
He quietly began to attend night classes to obtain his high school education and graduated without ceremony at the age of twenty in 1922. He applied at once for the Naval Officers training program and was turned down due to lack of funding and available positions. Undeterred, he continued to serve with pride, was promoted twice and transferred to the Pacific Fleet in 1939.
December 7, 1941, found Rookwood stationed in Pearl Harbour at the Fleet School, instructing small arms to new recruits. Within forty eight hours his constant applications to enter the officer training program had been approved and he was catapulted into the Second World War. Six months later he was assigned to a patrol boat searching the waters around Hawaii for any further attempts by the Japanese to finish off the Pacific Fleet. Then, in March of 1943, the young Lieutenant Rookwood was assigned to the USS Johnston and began his date with destiny.
During the Marshall Islands campaign, the USS Johnston bombarded the beaches at Kwajalein. Rookwood, as the gunnery officer, was praised for his skill and calm while providing direct support to invasion troops there, destroying several pillboxes and taking revetments along the beach under fire. While en-route to patrol duty in the Solomons on 15 May, the USS Johnston sank the Japanese submarine I-176 using depth charges. He again showed his skill on 21 July when the Johnston teamed up with the USS Pennsylvania to bombard Guam. Devastatingly accurate gunfire directed by Rookwood shattered the enemy's naval installations, numerous pillboxes and buildings.
Then, on the morning of 23 October 1944, the USS Johnston and its newly promoted First Lieutenant, James Rookwood, made their mark on American history. US submarines detected and attacked units of the Japanese fleet coming in from the South China Sea toward the precarious Leyte beachhead - also known as Taffy 3 - defended only by the USS Johnston and her small escort carrier task unit.
By the time the smoke cleared, the USS Johnston had been sunk, but not until the far larger enemy force had been forced to retreat with considerable losses and "Taffy 3", along with all its invaluable supplies and reinforcements had been saved from destruction. From Johnston's complement of 327 officers and men, only 141 were saved. The sole surviving officer was a badly wounded Lieutenant Rookwood who was fished unconscious from the sea.
Amazingly, by April 1, 1945, Rookwood was back in action in time to take part in the Invasion of Okinawa, this time as Commander of the USS Hamilton. The Hamilton would suffer no less than three kamikaze strikes and numerous near misses from bombs and torpedos, managing to stay float only through the heroic efforts of her captain and crew.
The proudest moment of Rookwoods life came on September 2, 1945, when the USS Hamilton was chosen to escort the USS Missouri into Tokyo Bay for the unconditional surrender of the Empire of Japan. Rookwood would go on to serve a further ten years in the United States Navy before retiring with full honours and a modest government pension at the age of 53.
Rookwood married late, shortly after the end of the Second World War, and had two children. Suffering from serious PTSD and night terrors, Rookwood often found himself lashing out at his wife and children, abusing them verbally for no reason. His actions would eventually lead to his wife committing suicide and his children cursing his name before they moved away to live with their mothers family in New York.
Nearing sixty years old, Rookwood, without family, slumped deep into depression and moved back to Mississippi to live with his youngest sister who had always been a favourite of his. With her support he purchased a small fishing boat and began to ply the waters of the Caribbean. It did not take long for an old sailor to sniff his way to a ready supply of rum, so cheap to obtain on the Caribbean islands, fetched a hefty price in the United States. He quickly turned to smuggling.
An old Naval friend, Thomas Blackthorne, arrived a couple of years later and the two old cronies bought a shared house near the waterfront and turned their hand to smuggling with enthusiasm. In a way, dodging the coast guard was reminiscent of dodging Japanese warships and brought some semblance of peace to their minds.
Recently, however, certain cartels have begun to sniff around in an effort to employee the two as cocaine smugglers. Much money has been offered and both had turned it down so far.
Notes: Both men may be old, but they're no fools. Each still carries their service pistol from the war, as well as a pair of rifles - reportedly for "shark deterrence"- well oiled and ready for use.