Edward Hamon
How is a brilliant strategist like an unhinged madman? When they’re both Edward Hamon, the brains behind the Son of Swine’s brawn.
Edward Hamon was raised in the sedate suburbs of Hogsburg’s west side. A brilliant child, he always had a fondness for mathematics and logic. Edward was the runt of his family, and often overlooked by his parents and lost among his twelve athletic siblings. They scolded him for never working hard enough or even cheating to ‘fake’ his genius.
Those memories haunted him as he grew older. It drove Edward into an obsession with his studies. Physically weak, but mentally a giant, he consistently out-performed others in both school then later work. As a data scientist for WyrmCo Enterprises, Edward routinely displayed his gift with numbers, logic, and the ability to solve even the most complex puzzles.
It wasn’t enough. Instead of being overlooked, he was used. Now, he was considered ‘too valuable as a resource’ for promotion. The truth was his co-workers were stealing his hard work, and genius, for themselves. They got away with it because they were better connected, sometimes wealthy, and often corrupt.
Edward had chased this puzzle since his childhood. In a flash of rage one evening, he realized the solution. Society had become complacent. Lazy. Incompetent. People had stopped thinking, and that was the fault of the wealthy, corrupt, and powerful. They took everything, ruined everything, and left nothing behind.
Nature was out of balance. People like Edward were overlooked, used, and then brushed aside. Society needed the corruption scrubbed out of it. People needed to open their eyes to see how broken everything had become. Edward would make them see the truth. They would learn to think again, or die trying.
Edward started with his boss, Tyrone Terrell.
One evening, Edward left a note behind for his boss that read, “What goes down?”
Tyrone learned the fatal answer when his elevator in plunged ten stories to the ground. The brakes had mysteriously been removed a few hours before. Edward had arranged for maintenance on that very elevator; just without the ‘out of order’ sign.
It was a beginning. A fresh start that made Edward feel alive. But it wasn’t enough; not nearly enough.
That started Edward’s reign of terror, his crusade, through Hogsburg. Corporate leaders, government officials, so called ‘public servants’, were all a target. It was anyone Edward felt was associated with the rich and powerful. When those weren’t available, he targeted the news media or entertainers. People in the public eye.
He tested every one. Some survived his lethal plans, either through cleverness or luck. Those that didn’t? They died as dramatically as possible in public. All it took was careful planning and a fresh supply of disposable minions.
In the end, Edward asked one question too many.
His road to ruin started when he saw a news article about Cody Moore, CEO of Cyclops Energy Corporation. Moore was a successful businessman and a strong candidate for Hogsburg’s next mayor. But there were stories that suggested he had ties to the brutal Varda crime family. The press dismissed them as just rumors. Curious, Edward hacked deep into the Cyclops Corp databases to see for himself.
The rumors were true.
The Varda crime family erased opposition to Moore’s corrupt march to become Hogsburg’s next mayor. In return, Moore used his newfound political connections to remove attention from the Varda’s lucrative money laundering and exotic animal trafficking business.
Edward had found his next target.
He stalked Moore, looking for the right moment to strike. Patience paid off, when Edward learned Moore planned to give a press conference about his run for mayor.
Before the CEO could head to the stage, Edward paid him a secret visit. Cody Moore still gave his speech. It just wasn’t the one he planned.
Moore walked on stage with explosives strapped to his chest. Off-stage and out of sight, Edward asked the questions about Moore’s ‘favors’ for the Varda syndicate. Behind the podium, a terrified Cody Moore told everything to a shocked audience. Every word of Moore’s corruption was broadcast live. Then, so was his death, when Edward triggered the bomb.
The Varda syndicate didn’t take the public spectacle lightly.
Edward had planned for almost everything, from when Moore would be alone to security for the event. But in his hurry to punish the CEO, he overlooked a second copy of the backstage security footage. Giovane Varda arranged for that video to find its way into the hands of the Police Investigating Greed Squad. The P.I.G.S. did the rest. They arrested Edward the next day.
Currently, Edward Hamon is serving 60 years in prison on the charge of terrorism and bombing. The authorities dropped all other charges related to his reign of terror due to lack of concrete evidence. These days, Edward enjoys his daily crossword puzzles and being El Gordo’s personal ‘problem solver’.
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