Is Paris Burning: CLAUS

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Agent CLAUS

Agent Name: David Ben-Asher

Aliases: David Schlüssel (birth name), Daniel Mason (cover identity), Agent CLAUS

DOB: April 22, 1930

Nationality: Israeli (formerly German)

Branch/Department: Mossad/Caesarea

Profession/Rank: Soldier/NCO

Education: partial college education (pharmacist)

Motivation: Altruism

Military Service: Israeli Defense Forces, 1948 Arab-Israeli War (NCO)

Bonds:

Roger Carlton (2) - David's childhood friend, now also living in Paris.

Baruch Frankel (2) - Mossad handler, diplomatic attache at the Israeli Embassy in Paris. Baruch is a mentor figure and confidant.

Investigative Abilities

Academic:

Anthropology 1

Foreign Language 3 (Native: German, additional languages: English, French, Hebrew)

History 1

Military Science 1

Interpersonal:

Agency (Mossad) 2

Cop Talk 1

Flattery 1

HUMINT 2

Intimidation 1

Negotiation 1

Reassurance 1

Streetwise 2

Tradecraft 2 (-1)

Technical:

Chemistry 1

Notice 2

Pharmacy 1

SIGINT 1

Survival 2

General Abilities

Athletics 8 (-6)

Bureaucracy 3

Conceal 3

Disguise 3

Drive 2 (motorcycles, armored cars)

Firearms 7 (-1)

First Aid 1

Health 9

Mechanics 2

Melee Weapons 8

Network 8

Preparedness 4

Sanity 7

Sense Trouble 6 (-2)

Stability 7 (-5)

Stealth 7

Unarmed Combat 8

Background

Born in 1930 in Berlin to a middle-upper-class doctor of Jewish descent, formerly named Schlüssel. David's family fled Germany in 1934 for Britain. Before their exile David's family had been fairly secular but during the War they became ardent Zionists. They emigrated to British Palestine in 1946 and changed their surname to Ben-Asher to commemorate David's grandfather, who died in the Shoah.

David Ben-Asher fought in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war initially as an enlisted solider, and was eventually promoted to an NCO role. After the war, he spent time studying at university to become a pharmacist but never completed his education. Instead, he was recruited into the Mossad in 1953 as a field agent. His foreign language fluency led him to be posted to Western Europe through the mid-50s. He was eventually promoted into the fledgling "Caesarea" division, specializing in the kidnapping and assassination of Israel's enemies.

(I have not chosen an Instigating Incident for David, as I'd like to go with the angle that his knowledge of the Unnatural is limited/non-existent, and he has not knowingly done work for Delta Green in the past.)

Roger Carlton is an English businessman of the same age as David, and they went to school together in London, and Roger is now living in Paris with his family. He is the only person in Paris besides David's handler that knows his true identity. Roger is married to a Frenchwoman, Celeste, and has two small children with him. Roger lives an entirely normal life in Paris and has no connections to the intelligence or Unnatural worlds (as far as David knows). He represents a "normal life" that David can't have, and he makes it a point to connect regularly with Roger and get together for coffee or to listen to sports on the radio together. Roger understands that David is doing some kind of spy work, though David has let slip enough subtle hints to make Roger think it's for MI6 rather than Mossad. And he certainly doesn't talk to Roger about the assassinations.

Baruch Frankel, David's Mossad handler. Baruch is the closest thing to a Mossad station chief in Paris. As a much smaller intelligence agency than either the CIA or KGB, Mossad doesn't have the same extensive network of agents in the country, but Baruch does handle a few other assets besides David himself. Baruch and David go back to David's time in the IDF, where Baruch was a superior officer in David's unit. He was also instrumental in recruiting David to the Mossad. The two have a close working and personal relationship.

Profile

Ben-Asher is a charming chameleon, adept at blending into a variety of social situations, and trained in gaining a target's confidence and trust. German is technically his native language, but having spent his formative years in Britain, he speaks English fluently with a London accent. He is also a skilled and ruthless close-quarters combatant, drawing on both his military experience in the IDF, as well as further training after joining Mossad. Ben-Asher has been the point man in multiple Caeserea operations where his ability to subdue or eliminate a target has been vital. His main cover identity as a resident spy in Paris is Daniel Mason, a British pharmaceutical salesman.

David is motivated by Altruism. His motivation earlier in his career was definitely Patriotism but he's evolved a bit since his younger days. Spending time in London and Paris as an adult (instead of as a young refugee with his parents) has made him more worldly. His work as an assassin has been complicated and not always easy for him. He's probably killed no more than a few targets, at most, and he's not psycho enough to feel no remorse or pain over them, even though the targets have been terrorists and criminals. He regards his work as something for not only the benefit of Israel but for Jews and non-Jews everywhere - getting bad people off the streets who wouldn't be able to be arrested and tried in normal situations. This justification isn't totally satisfying to him, but it's what he clings to. As he becomes exposed to the Unnatural as the game progresses, these various thoughts and attitudes will coalesce into the Altruism motivation - he has to do whatever he can to protect the regular people of the world from these monsters.

Equipment

Beretta M1951 Automatic

.303 Lee-Enfield Rifle with telescopic sight

Nice suits

A variety of sample pharmaceuticals for his cover (which can be creatively recombined to form a variety of compounds useful for spy work)