John Tyler is a freelance agent.
Another descriptive word for him would be troubleshooter. He is the man to call when a government needs something done immediately and for whatever reason finds it best not to use its own operatives. This is just what Tyler wants because he likes to call the shots, or, as he puts it, "I do have my own morals - and being an independent contractor gives me a certain amount of leeway to flex the jobs and my methods".
When we meet him in the first recorded adventure, he has been in his line of work for quite a few years. He is described by one less-than-fan as a "shabby lookin' mother f**ker with a bad attitude" and by a different person, a tad more kindly, as a "black ops scalphunter".
Tyler puts it this way: "It's what I do, what I'm very well paid to do. I'm no policeman or judge. I don't understand or give a s**t about the ins and outs of the law, it doesn't concern me. I'm contracted to clean up mess but I'm not a detective either, nor am I simply seeking truth. The reason I get paid the big bucks is because I steer the truth - and the mess - to an effective conclusion beneficial to whoever is writing my cheque. Of course, by sheer coincidence that conclusion always happens to benefit me too. Ideals are expensive, they cost a hell of a lot more than scientists. I live in the real world where deals are undone, promises broken."
He also tells us that "I've worked in some awful places, got myself into some terrible situations." He has the proof of this all over his often battered body. He is 43 years of age and is well aware of his no longer being young. "Nothing was healing properly these days, as if my body was slowly packing in, needing twice as much downtime after every job but never getting it, always playing catch-up and slipping further behind. And that's before we get into the other damage, the nightmares, the screaming, blurred faces every time I close my eyes, and sometimes even when they're open. I needed to get out of this game or I wouldn't be playing it for much longer." Still, as the British handler who sometimes hands Tyler his jobs put it, "You think you want out, but really you know it's the only thing keeping you alive."
Good Lines:
- Said by Tyler about Americans, "Easy to deal with as long as you don't trust them".
- A pithy synopsis by Tyler of his chosen line of work: "Pain, scars, pay cheque, repeat - there had to be better ways of making a living."