As we approach the launch of the next story on Thursday, April 20, I’m publishing a few character previews. Next up is Augustus Bell. Bell has long been the warden of a state prison in a fairly remote part of a western U.S. state. One glance at him reveals a man whose best years are behind him. He looks perpetually tired, perhaps due to a medical condition which he doesn't discuss, and for which he takes medication.
He's mostly bald, with a few unkempt wisps of grey hair floating atop the edges of his head. He dresses in outdated clothes, such as old three-piece suits with hideous plaid patterns, and the buttons of his vests strain to contain his exaggerated stomach. In short, he has the look of a man who, if he ever exuded charisma during his fifty years on the planet, lost it at some point in time.
Maximus Savage, though, sees something in Bell that others don't see. Savage sees a man he can trust. He sees a man with a sense of justice, and he treats Bell - "Auggie" to him -- with a compassion he doesn't show anyone else. In Savage's eyes, Bell's sense of justice isn't the fake justice of the criminal justice system, but a genuine, moral justice. The two have a history together, going back at least a few years, although the nature of their history isn't clear.
Bell also serves a special role for Savage. When the Savage Gang moves into a city, the gang makes its message clear to the top law enforcement official in the city -- stay out of our way, or you'll suffer the consequences. Those consequences start with injuries or death to friends and family of the official. If the official still doesn't stand down, he becomes a permanent resident of Bell's prison, delivered personally by Maximus Savage in a battered and beaten state, forever to rue his decision to stand up to the gang.
The relationship helps Bell, too. Like many prisons, his prison is home to dangerous gangs. Those gangs respect Bell's authority, because their members have seen Savage arrive at the prison, bringing a well-known law enforcement official to live out his days in captivity in a secret part of the prison. In short, the gangsters known that the most dangerous gangster in the country is in Bell's corner.
“Perpetually tired”, “medical condition”, “exaggerated stomach”.....Augustus Bell reminds me of Kenneth Chase a.k.a. Jeffrey Hawk/“The Clown” from the survival horror video game “Dead by Daylight”, if you’ve ever heard of that. His attribute of owning a massive prison and effectively acting as one of Savage’s chief enforcers does add a little bit more to the mix, though.....curious how Sapphire’s going to deal with him.
Just chilling in the hospital with a bowel obstruction, with a long tube up my nose, getting my intestines drained, and facing the possibility of an imminent surgery. Sounds like a GREAT Thursday night, huh? :P
At any rate, great to hear about yet another character. The portion about Savage seeing Bell’s prison as not being a “fake justice” but a “moral justice” again brings to mind the character of Maxwell “Max” Atkins/Mastermind from a future PCU novel; someone with a HUGE vendetta against the typical justice system because of how they’ve treated a certain demographic. But beyond that, the similarities end.
Maximus Savage, Rocco Lynch, and Augustus Bell. Who’s on fourth? Come on, Cal Valik, Cal Valik, Cal Valik.....