Dan Reilly is a hotel chain executive.
As we are introduced to him in the first recorded adventure, Reilly holds the impressive position of Senior Vice President, International Kensington Royal Hotel Corporation. We will learn quickly that organization is synonymous with quality overnight rest stops catering to both the occasional traveler of modest means as well as, and perhaps better known for, those able to afford the finer amenities at a much finer cost. That multinational company had "1,100 owned or managed properties in 98 countries, and another 855 franchises".
In that initial meeting, we watch Reilly practice in front of his hotel bathroom mirror as he prepares for an appearance before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. He is not particularly nervous about the upcoming testimony though he knew one senator from Montana was out to bait him. What the politician did not know about Reilly was that he "understood the rules of engagement perfectly: when to listen, and equally important, what to say and how to say it".
"Corporate savvy came from an undergraduate degree at Boston University and a master's degree in business at Harvard. He credited greater life experience to his two tours of duty in Afghanistan, where he earned his captain's bars and learned to distinguish friends from adversaries. His tact and skill at negotiation came from a Foreign Service stint in the State Department after the army. Each served him well today".
"Though out of the army for seven years, Daniel Reilly maintained a regular exercise routine. He consistently weighed in at 183 and could still pass for someone in his early 30s. But Reilly was actually 42, six-foot tall, with wavy black hair and bright white teeth. Anyone watching him on C-SPAN would see a handsome and confident man who didn't wear a wedding ring. Reilly was single again. Gratefully single."
Now comes the connection to Reilly and the CIA which will play a major role in the activities that we follow Reilly in. During his tours in Afghanistan, Reilly the U.S. Army officer had considerable interaction with CIA operative Bob Heath and established a friendship. This would prove useful when Reilly would initiate a program against terrorism geared towards protecting travellers in hotels, his company's or others, around the world.
Reilly would not just be a corporate bigwig issuing orders and signing checks from a distance; he was a hands-on guy who would take attacks on his guests very personally.