Evie Sullivan

Evie Sullivan is a police officer in Chicago.

Biography

Evie Sullivan knew she wanted to be a police officer when she was six years old. She made the momentous decision on the day that her father, himself a decorated veteran of the Chicago police force, received his promotion to captain. Later, as her father and his buddies celebrated over beer and cigars in the Sullivan's kitchen, she put on his hat, strode proudly up to the big, burly men seated around the kitchen table and declared that she would be the city's best detective ever. The crusty old cops laughed until they cried, and Evie fled the room with tears of her own. In later years, when she pulled an all-nighter studying for a test, faced a 10-mile run in icy rain or had a police instructor screaming in her face, she remembered that afternoon in the kitchen, gritted her teeth and paid whatever price in blood, sweat and tears that was necessary to get the job done.

By the relatively tender age of 26, Evie was well on her way to proving those old cops wrong. Joining the police academy right out of high school over the angry objections of her then-retired father, Evie struggled with the physical demands of police training, but her sharp mind and exceptional memory won her praise from her classroom instructions. After graduation, Evie was offered several administrative positions within the force, but declined in order to become a patrol officer like any other rookie cop. Finally, Evie found herself assigned to Chicago's Organized Crime Task Force, with a promise of a promotion in six months if she performed well.

Evie's superior on the task force was an experienced detective named Larry Donegan, a "lifer" who'd worked on the task force for decades. Evie found Donegan to be aloof and cynical, dismissive of her abilities and smugly certain that the mob in Chicago was there to stay. With characteristic stubbornness, Evie vowed to prove Donegan wrong. But the more she threw herself into her investigations, the more she realized that the mob was always one step ahead of the cops. Not only were they strangely prescient about the police force's activities, the city's many gangs seemed subtly coordinated. Obviously, someone inside the force was tipping the mobsters off - possibly someone on the task force itself. After six months of hitting one dead end after another, Evie started watching her fellow police officers. It wasn't long before she narrowed down a lost of likely suspects, and Larry Donegan was at the top. She worked with her boss by day and started tailing him by night. What she learned surprised and frightened her.

Donegan made no effort to disguise his movements. She followed him to meetings all over the city and watched him sit down with major figures in every mob outfit. She expected to see money change hands, but Donegan seemed to be issuing orders rather than supplying information. When he spoke, hardened criminals hung their heads like dogs. The sight unsettled her in a way she couldn't put into words. What worried her more was that it seemed like Donegan knew he was being watched and didn't seem to care.

Evie spent four months taking photos, making notes and building an ironclad case she could take to Internal Affairs. Then, just as she felt that it was time to go public, Evie woke one morning to find the dossiers, tapes and photos missing from her apartment. Her home-security system was still armed, and there were no signs of an attempted entry. Then, that morning, as she sat alone in the precinct breakroom, Donegan paid her a visit.

Looking back, Evie thought that the conversation must have taken only a few moments, but at the time it seemed as though they spoke for more than an hour. Time seemed to stand still. Donegan complimented her on her persistence, her attention to detail and her integrity. He told her how much he looked forward to working with her directly in the future, and promised her great things if she proved to be a team player. He never mentioned the evidence she'd gathered, much less her months of surveillance, but he knew. She could see it in his eyes. Donegan knew, and he wasn't afraid. He was untouchable. And when he talked to her about opportunities and close partnerships, she found herself nodding, even excited about the prospect. Evie never even noticed him leave the room.

When she finally returned to her sense it was all she could do to make it to the bathroom before the shakes took hold.

Donegan wasn't human. She didn't know how she could be so certain of such a bizarre notion, but there it was. It was in his eyes and the way his voice left her feeling like a rag doll. Somehow, he was controlling the gangs, and she was never going to make a case against him.

Donegan left her alone for a few days after the evidence vanished, letting her wallow in her own despair. There was a point at which she seriously considered taking Donegan up on his offer - after all, when the game was rigged, why fight it? But then she remembered that summer afternoon in her parent's kitchen and knew she had to make a terrible choice.

Arranging the bust was simpler than she'd thought. Donegan was a creature of habit, and it was simple enough to tip off the narcotics squad when he was set to hook up with a particularly vicious set of Latino drug traffickers. The shootout claimed the lives of three officers, including Larry Donegan, a long-time veteran of the police force. Evie went to each and every funeral and prayed to God that she'd done the right thing.

Character Sheet

Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3, Charisma 1, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3, Perception 4 (Crime Scene), Intelligence 4 (Analysis), Wits 2
Abilities: Academics 1, Alertness 2, Athletics 2, Awareness 2, Brawl 2, Computer 1, Dodge 1, Drive 2, Firearms 3, Intimidation 2, Investigation 3, Law 3, Medicine 1, Melee 2, Research 1, Science 1, Security 1, Streetwise 2
Backgrounds: Contacts 3, Resources 2
Virtues: Conscience 3, Conviction 3, Courage 3
Willpower: 8
Faith Potential: 2
Equipment: Heavy pistol, Kevlar vest, collapsible baton, handcuffs, SUV

References

• DTF: Saviors and Destroyers, p. 88-89