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Cast of Characters
Bullets & Rust features character who are dangerously eclectic, a mixture of crooked businessmen, thugs, mafiosos, and femme fatales.
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Meet the main cast of characters below:
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Zeke Adams - an independent investigator, formerly a detective in the City of Cleveland's Police Department. His departure from the force was unexpected, to say the least, and not amicable, at best. Since then, he's been in business for himself. He has no shortage of clientele, but in Bullets & Rust he gets more than what he bargained for, a couple of cases that will take him to the darkest parts of Cleveland's underbelly. There, the wrong encounter could leave a bullet in your gut or a knife in your back.
To survive, Zeke will have to be careful and shrewd, and betrayal just might be around the bend.
Linda - Zeke's no-nonsense secretary, Linda is in charge of running all the time consuming errands that would slow Zeke's investigations to a crawl. She's also pissed, with good reason. Working for a private investigator is not exactly a glamorous profession, or a lucrative one.
Det. Blake West - Once upon a time, Zeke was a cop, and Blake was his partner and friend. Things have changed a lot since then.
It's been over a decade since Blake stabbed Zeke in the back, but the wound still feels fresh. And while Blake was willing to stick with the department in spite of its underbelly of corruption, Zeke was forced out. So, when Blake comes to him asking for help, Zeke's first impulse is to tell his old partner to hit the bricks.
But once he hears what the case entails, Zeke is hard-pressed to entangle himself with the one person he trusts least in the world.
Killian O'Malley - The city’s top prosecutor, Killian O’Malley has benefited from a charmed rise to power. Almost too charmed. The truth is, there’s grit beneath the surface of his polished veneer.
Now, his only child has gone missing. In Zeke’s experience, the parents of a missing child are always the top suspects, and Killian’s ruthless demeanor does him no favors. Still, is he vicious enough that he’d kill his own son…
Kindel O'Malley - Killian’s better half, Kindel is notably less assertive than her husband. Still, that doesn’t mean that she isn’t capable of terrible things. Now that her son Liam has disappeared, she’s even more closed off than usual. A seemingly-fragile woman with a mysterious past, Kindel may not be as innocent in all of this as she seems.
Mercy Malone - Kindel’s older sister, Mercy is the head of a small non-profit and used to taking action. She make no mystery of what she thinks of Kindel’s family life. She hates Killian, and has been trying to get Kindel to divorce him for years. Now that Liam has gone missing, Mercy is even more convinced that Kindel should leave her husband one and for all.
Furthermore, she’s willing to go behind her sister’s back, spilling intimate family secrets to Zeke if it will help him crack the case. However, is she really trying to help get Liam back, or is she taking advantage of the situation to help her sister dump Killian for good?
Abner Forrest - A high-level executive for the Synthetic Corporation, a local tech firm on the verge of going public. A powerful man at a powerful company, he's used to getting his way. Until now.
Someone is blackmailing Abner, and he's worried that his position at Syn Corp is in jeopardy. But is his blackmailer just looking for money, or a more diabolical form of revenge?
Riley Parker - Abner Forrest's administrative assistant. She's not a fan of Zeke, nor the idea of hiring a detective. Though she isn't an executive at the Synthetic Corporation herself, she does represent one. As such, she's used to speaking with a certain amount of authority.
Tied to her boss's fate, Abner's problems have out her at risk, too. The question is, what is she willing to do to solve them?
Liam O'Malley - The nine-year old son of Kindel and Killian O’Malley, he’s gone missing without a trace. The only clue was a plastic syringe cap found in his bedroom. No one is quite certain where he’s gone or even why he was taken. Extorion and political pressure seem like obvious motives, but there are also plenty of people who want to get revenge on Liam’s father. The question is, who would be willing to kidnap a nine-year child to do that?
Justine Ghent - The wife of Limacoli Family enforcer Spencer Ghent, Justine has been sleeping with Zeke on the side for the last two years. But as she says, just because she was fucking around doesn’t mean that she didn’t love her husband. Now that he’s been murdered, Justine wants revenge on the man who pulled the trigger.
Turned away by the Family, she’s turned to Zeke to find out who it was. It’s a request that puts Zeke squarely in the middle of the rival crime families that operate in Cleveland, and threatens to reopen decades of bad blood. She’s willing to risk it to put the bastard who murdered Spence in the ground, but it may just cost Justine her life.
And Zeke’s.
Chelsea Westmarch - There’s an old cliché about hookers with a heart of gold. Chelsea isn’t one of them. She knows what she wants. Sleeping with Abner has afforded her a comfortable lifestyle, one that his recent blackmail threatens to explode. With a razor-sharp wit and sex appeal to spare, Chelsea seems just as eager to put an end to this case as Abner is. But can her word really be trusted, or does she have further secrets lurking beneath the surface?
Kelly Fitzpatrick - Cleveland’s got a number of independent investigators, and Kelly’s one of the better ones. Sharp-tonged and less scrupulous than Zeke, she’s willing to take on all sorts of jobs that others might deem unsavory. Still, nobody’s perfect, and one of Kelly’s cases has sent her on a collision course with Zeke. Now, only time will tell if they can find a way forward that’s to their mutual benefit.
Det. Katie Stroh - One of the few honest cops in the Cleveland PD, Katie Stroh is one of the few people that Zeke believes he can trust. Zeke’s current cases are explosive, and he needs to play things close to the vest, with Katie as his ace in the hole. If he needs police resources, he’s not going to trust Blake West, a man who’s already betrayed him once. Instead, it’ll be Katie Stroh that gets the call.
Petra Vasylenko - An immigrant woman who works as a housekeeper for the O’Malley’s. She’s world-wise and knows a thing or two about tragedy. She’s survived this long by hardening herself for difficult truths. She’ll help Zeke find Liam, or so it appears, but does she have an agenda of her own?
Chester Geiger - An accountant for the Trovolone Crime Family, Chester is a man of his word. He owes Zeke, and as is true of any loyal accountant, he aims to pay his debts and keep his ledger balanced. But meeting with him still presents its own risks, ones that may come to haunt Zeke in the days ahead…
Antonio "Little Fish" Fischer - Some men kill with a gun, but all Little Fish needs is a single word. With most of the Limacoli family serving time, Little Fish is the man in charge of the day-to-day operations. He’s not a man to be trifled with, and he doesn’t suffer fools. However, he does have a certain level of respect for Zeke. However, that respect will only get Zeke so far.
Mark Hirsch - The owner of a bookstore in Shaker Heights, Mark and Zeke go way back. The two men’s complicated history pulls them together, even as the events of the last few days threaten to tear Zeke apart. When he has no where else to turn, Mark is one person that Zeke knows he can trust. Or so he hopes…
Tammy Mercer - The O’Malley’s young babysitter, Tammy was the only one present when Liam was abducted. As such, it’s strange that they’re eager to keep Zeke from talking to her. What secrets does Tammy know, and what danger does her memory of that night hold for the O’Malleys?
To learn about the many infamous, nefarious, and disreputable characters featured here, come back soon. Character bios will be added after the episode featuring that person has been released.