Ian Bragg is an agent with the Peace Archive.
That is a very, very odd name for the organization that Bragg works for, or at least with. The Archive part in itself is a bit peculiar because that would connotate a repository for preservation and that does not sound at all like what the group does. The Peace part is the beguiling word as that is the last word I would associate with the organization, unless I thought of 'rest in peace'. The Peace Archive handles death contracts.
Bragg is an assassin. As he puts it, "I kill bad people for money". He does clarifies both parts of that statement with, "Not a lot of people but a lot of money".
He lets us know in the opening statement of the first recorded adventure that he enjoys his work. "I get to do what they wouldn't let me do in the Marines. Rid the world of bad people." And he gets well paid for his work in the process. By the time we meet him he has executed (pun intended) six contracts and was a multi-millionaire.
Bragg does admit that the name of the company he takes contracts from is "a name that misled. A clearinghouse for hired killers." He has no idea if there is any criteria for which contracts the Peace Archive accepts and then puts up for bid by the contractors like Bragg but Bragg himself has a personal code. He will only bid on jobs where he feels the target deserves what is coming. Luckily for his financial well-being, there are plenty of those around.
As a freelance assassin per se, Bragg would not qualify for membership in this compendium except that his work interconnects with governments enough, both for and against, to warrant admission. This holds especially true with the first target he is given after we meet him, a man who was thought to be a bad guy but then turned out to be good, and about whom not killing him will be a major turning point in Bragg's life. Even more so when that man later becomes the Vice President.
By the way, Ian Bragg is not his real name. What that is, I have not yet learned. Bragg was "my operator cover, the name on my identification. It had not yet been compromised. I'd get a new one if it became public with the wrong people."
Playing a major role in the life of Ian Bragg, so much so I almost gave her title credit, is Jenny Lawless. What a remarkable woman she turns out to be!
Good Line:
Bragg's thoughts concerning himself, "I'm a nice guy. I keep telling myself that. It's easy to believe, except for the day job [assassin]. Aren't we told our job shouldn't define us?"