Brutus Carpenter

**Brutus Carpenter** is the head of the Carpenter Grand Family, as well Oakmont's crime kingpin, managing the rum-running and racketeering across town. He has an uneasy relationship with his son and heir, Graham.

## Description

Brutus is well past his prime, his hair fully white and eyes clouded by cataracts. Though widely feared, he insists that his age has hampered him, claiming to rely on a wheelchair to get around from time to time. Physically, he appears fairly frail, thin and sinewy, skin loose from age. Though apparently advancing in years, he wastes no time tearing into anyone who speaks to him, and casts dire orders with the ease of someone who has done it for a long time.

## Involvement

Brutus is met during the mission Fathers and Sons.

Reed seeks Brutus Carpenter out as a means to smuggle an informant out of the city. He is found hiding out in a safe house, in one of the flooded areas in town. His manner is immediately abrasive. Brutus reluctantly reveals to Reed that he woke up in the morgue, during what was a botched attempt on his life. He later discovered that he had been replaced with a decoy, which his men tried and apparently failed to kill. The knowledge of something greater at work sent him into hiding.

Curiously unable to recall the details beyond this, Brutus tasks Reed with finding the man behind the attempt, in return for the ticket out of town. He claims that the brush with death has made him more aware of how dangerous his lifestyle has become, and insists that he merely wants to know who to blame. He advises Reed to check his private journal for anything that might act as a clue.

An investigation of the morgue reveals that Brutus was brought in unconscious, arranged to be cremated under a false name. He woke up unexpectedly, attacking the man on duty and fleeing for his life. The man in question can be located at the hospital, suffering from injuries inflicted during the intended victim's escape. Those responsible turn out to be a developing cult in Oakmont.

Traveling to the Carpenter house, Reed uncovers several things about Brutus, specifically that he was previously obsessed with the approach of his own mortality. Tinctures can be found around his office, along with another decoy of Brutus himself, which makes no attempt to stop Reed as he searches. His journal reveals that he was in contact with the cult, which promised him extended life in return for support. This leads Reed to the church, where he finds evidence that not only did the cult turn on Brutus, but they did so under someone else's order: Graham.

From here, Reed is forced to decide whom to stand by. Brutus can be identified as a changed man, having learned from his brush with death, or dismissed as the savage criminal he always was.

*If Reed sides with Brutus:*

Reed brings the proof of Graham's involvement to Brutus, whom--after a moment of shock--ensures Reed that his involvement is no longer needed. He elects to take care of the situation himself, and declines to comment further. If questioned as to his future plans, he assures Reed that he will continue to live as he always have. He agrees to smuggle the informant out and dismisses him. Graham is later encountered by Reed in a vision, having apparently been slain on his father's orders.

*If Reed sides with Graham:*

Confronted with the proof of his involvement, Graham defends himself, insisting that his goal is not just a power-grab, but the legitimizing of the Carpenter family. Between claims of his good intentions for Oakmont, Graham enlists Reed to finish what he started. Reed returns to the hideout, where a fight breaks out, resulting in the deaths of Brutus and his people.

## Trivia

* An old photo can be found in Brutus' office, showing him in a delicate position with what is likely a younger Robert Throgmorton. Reed has some wry commentary on this, but the photo is never explained or mentioned again.
* The clone of Brutus, found in his office, is distinctly younger-looking than Brutus himself, having dark hair and a somewhat less weathered face. Its existence is likely a front by the cult, to give the illusion of his continued life until Graham has finished establishing himself.
* Brutus claims to use a wheelchair to get around, and one is present in the room with him in the safe house. This fact is somewhat contradicted by his escape from the morgue, a feat which would have required some amount of strength and endurance to manage. He also fights back if attacked, which could mean the wheelchair is a bluff.
	+ Alternatively, all of the above could be blamed on adrenaline due to a life-threatening situation.
	+ Considering the fact that he was found covered in ooze and his regained strength, as well as the discarded wheelchair in the temple, it is possible that Brutus has undergone the ritual and been reborn. The Brutus met by Reed may be the final successful copy of the original old Brutus.
* When asked if Graham could be behind his assassination attempt, Brutus immediately dismisses the idea, insisting that, while he and his son don't always agree, he would not betray him. He seems genuinely shocked with confronted with the proof of Graham's involvement.
* Despite his claims of seeing the error of his ways, Brutus later tells Reed quite easily that he intends to remain in control of the city as he always has, using the "traditional" methods. Whether the brief lapse in character early on is due to a true revelation or simple shock is up for debate, but it seems to have worn off all the same.