Bluebird - Exec

 

Bill Forsythe, was born to the Forsythe family. The Forsythes were interested in technology, so when Ziggurat, a communication corporation started up, William Forsythe wanted to be part of it.

As such, when the first CitiNets went up, William Forsythe decided to move the family to a corporately owned structure, to live closer to his job and to be able to respond to the demands as and when they were made from higher-ups, becoming an efficient wageslave. Bill's mother, Zara Efferanza, found her place as an entry level clerk, doing mainly reception work.

In the span of a decade, the pair managed to not only produce Bill, but also his two older brothers

(Wira and Zam) and a younger sister (Elma).

The life under Ziggurat's corporate eye was not unpleasant, but it was not luxurious either. Not sharing Wira or Zam's interests in technology, Bill would rather spend time with the other kids of the 'block', trying to stay out of trouble but close to it.

Bill would sometimes accompany his father to work and see the wonders of a functioning corporation, in spite of the damages wrought by the time of the Red. Thanks to the efforts of his parents, Bill was saved some of the more hostile moments that took place within Night City, leaving him to grow up a largely unremarkable, if upbeat kid.

As puberty and the year 2035 came around, Billy caught the eye of one of William's bosses. The

man, Adam Loweland, saw the youth playing with friends and discovered a talent for leading his

friends into trouble and getting them out again. Billy, not knowing things were being set up as a test, discovered a lot of the world that year. Messages scrawled onto old buildings pointed to data drop points, a small stash of cash facilitating the entry to a local medical facility, small explosives that lay in a gutter became an easy in to a waste processing plant... a great many doors no longer held secrets, and always the camera was pointed directly at Billy.

The year 2037, as Billy was going through higher level schooling meant to prepare him for a life

under the umbrella of the Ziggurat corporation, disaster struck. From one day to the next, William, Zara, Wira and Elma disappeared. The body of Zam, overdosed on whatever local junky stim was hip and happening that day, lay in the family kitchen. Billy was alone.

Alone but for the local friends he had made: Yronk (a techy who had the bad habit of losing his

money on boxing matches), Illyna (not quite a professed protitute but happy to earn the extra coin to

pay for faster rides), Tom (who had an odd fascination with dogs and dress-up) and Harambe

(probably not his real name, but a slicer who enjoyed old 'memes'). Being as they were, those four

were of little use to one who needed stability, so for a good year, Billy tried everything he could to

find his family, crashing on couches, getting sympathy where he could and spending cash where

charm failed.

Then a man turned up. A suit. Had with him a set of vids. Of crimes commited by Billy. By his

friends. By his lost family members. The suit had a simple request. If Billy did not want to see his friends outed as criminals, if he did not want *that* vid of his sister to be leaked on places where boys decided to be men and if he wanted to improve his own lot in life, Billy could come to work for the boss. The boss being mister Loweland.

Paranoid and highly informed, deranged in ways that defied the way Billy could comprehend, yet

softspoken and caring on the surface, Loweland became Billy's adoptive father.

Toxic, manipulative and hyperfocussed on success, Loweland needed bodies. Fresh bodies for his

study. He ran the Human Resources department of Ziggurat much like a gambler runs a table, little

regard for the individual pieces and always chasing a high. Corporate extraction teams need a likable talking point, and Billy was that. Discovering the new 'big thing' in the street requires going out onto said street and mingling. Billy could do that.

No danger for mister Loweland. No thread he would not be able to burn should Billy become a

liability. But as the years progressed, Billy proved to be ... a least a little worthy of trust. Loweland would not trust him with a penny if he would not have to, but the deniable asset that is provided by a young underling, one that mingles with streetrats, one that can enter bars without standing out like a ... rich exec in a mass of ravers. Adam could use such a figure. And if all else fails, there are those that used to be in Billy's life that could be used as levers still. Without too much of an issue.

Beyond the attentions and needs of mister Loweland, Billy's life is pretty good. He gets to flash his

Zennith card at parties, invite people over to private rooms to talk things through. He even gets a

small stash of credits to help out his friends, of whom he has many by now, some he knows by

name, some he knows by handle.

• Blizkrig - a german-styled barkeeper who packs a mean punch.
• Garou - a friend of Tom's, apparently a Nomad of sorts.
• Lazy Larry - perpetual stim-sim fan, does something with elves.
• Lakitu - a retro-game collector, a reference picture for each Mario character is tattoed on him
• somewhere.
• Urzulla - used to be beautiful, or so she tells everyone, a hooker over 50.
• The Jimmies - four near identical corp bodyguards that hang around Loweland's office. Billy has
• given up on trying to remember who is who.
• Gam Gam the Glorious - a professional wrestler, Billy is not sure where or how, but he frequents
• Bliz's, usually in the company of four or five fans.

As for Billy himself:

Around his right wrist, a thin goldish chain pendant is tied, soft blue shades slid up into black slick

hair. A grin, two copper rings through the top of his right ear, a couple of rings on his left hand.

That is how Billy meets the night. He prefers blue and copper as his colours, earning him the handle

Bluebird, first mockingly about his song and dance routine but with respect earned as time passes

on.

He's weak to drinks, and will always partake the first round.

He feels like he has little to offer beyond himself, so he sticks to his word. "My word is my bond".

He's a stickler for being clean, taking great pains to avoid getting dirty, if at all possible. Mister

Loweland has remarked that cleanliness is next to godliness and Billy has taken that to heart.

Junkies can elicit one of two responses from Billy. Either he seems them falling into a dark place

and tosses them some means of survival, attempting to save them like he thinks he could have saved

his brother Zam, or he blanks their existance and ignores them if trauma plays up.

Quite early on, before his family disappeared, Billy learned to use guns. It balances out his less than

engaged physical prowess and has kept him out of harm's way, combined with a natural hang

towards caution.