The Phoenix Foundation

**Name:** | OPI (Formerly)
Department of External Services (Formerly)
 **Motto:** | Cover: "Think Outside the Box"
 **Members:** | **Head**
Matilda Webber
James MacGyver (Formerly)

**Field Director**
Russ Taylor
Matilda Webber (Formerly)
Patricia Thornton (Formerly)

**Agents**
Angus MacGyver
Jack Dalton (Reassigned)
Letty Morelli
Samantha Cage (Medical Recovery)
Leanna Martin
Carla Bannister †
Desiree Nguyen

**In-House Specialists**
Riley Davis (IT)
Lore Morelli (Language/Linguistics)
Wilt Bozer (Disguises)
 **Affiliations:** | Delta Force
 Navy SEALs
 Special Activities Division
CIA
 FBI
 **Engagements:** | Second World War
Cold War

> *“In ancient mythology the Phoenix rose from the ashes, stronger than it ever was.”*
>
> -MacGyver “The Rising”

The **Phoenix Foundation**, formerly the *Department of External Services* and before that the OPI, is an privately funded government operation, tasked with defending the U.S. national interest both at home and abroad. Disguised as a government think-tank, the Foundation's true nature is classified above top-secret and operates as the hidden fourth arm of the US intelligence network along with the NSA, CIA and DIA. The agency itself handles missions that are too politically sensitive or too potentially embarrassing or damaging, too absurd for the NSA, too sensitive for the CIA or too complex for the DIA.

After Elliot Mason infiltrated the Phoenix Foundation, the government decided to defund the agency and blacklist the agents. Russ Taylor would go on to buy the Phoenix foundation and reassemble the core agents in order to establish a privately funded and government sanctioned task force.

## Background

The origins of the Foundation can be traced all the way back to the Second World War, indicating that it began in the 1940s and making it the oldest intelligence agency in U.S. history. According to James MacGyver, it has existed under a number of different names however its mandate has remained unchanged. Before 2016, it was known as the Department of External Services and before the new millennium the OPI. In 2016, the agency was forced to rebrand itself once more when one of its agents turned against them and it became the Phoenix Foundation.

## Mandate and Operations

Like its predecessors, the Phoenix Foundation has upheld the unique practice of pairing the finest soldiers in the U.S. armed forces with equally brilliant scientists for the purpose of creating covert ops teams with the perfect combination of military skill and scientific knowledge. It is this science-oriented approach that makes Phoenix agents so successful.

The Foundation's greatest strength is its off-the-books invisibility that allows it a certain latitude in regards to protocol and red tape and gives it the ability to be proactive in its efforts to stamp out threats worldwide before they grow too powerful. Additionally, the agency operates with what is essentially blank-cheque funding that allows it to purchase or develop advanced equipment, weapons and technology that is normally out of reach of government agencies.

The Foundation is helmed by a Field Director who in turn is commanded by the Head of the Foundation who wields supreme authority in all matters. The Director is essentially the COO and principally conducts field operations and decides which agents go on which missions and what projects to undertake. The Head of the Foundation is the highest-ranking official in the agency and has the final say on everything from finances to recruitment to disciplinary measures. Up until 2016, the agency was led by Patricia Thornton, a legendary U.S. spy until she was exposed as a mole and imprisoned. From then on, the Foundation has been led by Matilda Webber, a renowned operative from the CIA. Since before it was even called the Department of External Services, the agency has been commanded by James MacGyver, a legendary science operative.

The agency operates about 50 field agents worldwide in small 4-5 person teams of military operatives and scientists. While this number pales in comparison to that of the larger agencies like the CIA, Phoenix agents are by far the most highly-skilled, well-trained and multi-talented of all and are regarded worldwide as the finest covert operatives in the Western Hemisphere. They carry no badges or identification and everything they use in the field is made untraceable.

The Foundation scans for potential recruits among every branch of the U.S. armed forces as well as the intelligence agencies and operatives have been known to be former Navy SEALs, Delta Rangers, Marines, CIA operatives and USAF Pararescue airmen. Agents with strong science backgrounds recruited from the top educational institutions in the U.S. are then paired with such military operatives into teams.

The Foundation also employs dozens of top-grade analysts, technicians, computer hackers, engineers and mathematicians primarily to aid the operatives in the field but also to help maintain its think-tank persona. The flagship team of the Foundation is made up of agents Angus MacGyver, Jack Dalton, Riley Davis, Letty and Lore Morelli and Wilt Bozer and it is they who undertake the most important and dangerous assignments.

Phoenix agents can be deployed anywhere at anytime at a moment's notice in both allied and hostile nations and carry out often questionable operations against private individuals, entities or even governments that range from stealing codes for nuclear missiles, intel from corrupt police forces and kidnapping terrorist leaders to stopping Chinese submarine attacks and preventing the overthrow of the Nigerian government by rebels.

## Known Members

* James MacGyver (Former Head, Deceased)
* Matilda "Matty" Webber (Field Director)
* Patricia Thornton (Former Field Director; Incarcerated; Undercover Terrorist)
* Angus "Mac" MacGyver
* Jack Dalton (Reassigned)
* Letizia "Letty" Morelli
* Samantha Cage (On Medical Leave)
* Leanna Martin
* Desiree "Desi" Nguyen
* Russell "Russ" Taylor (Owner; Private Military Contractor)
* Riley Davis
* Lorenzo "Lore" Morelli
* Wilt Bozer
* Jill Morgan (Deceased)
* Carla Bannister (Deceased)

## Levels

* Level 4: Data Center
* Level 3: Human Resources
* Sub Level 4: Mostly Storage but a part of it is Riley’s Server farm
* B9: Cold Storage
* The Phoenix Foundation Lab
* Phoenix Interrogation Room
* Phoenix Operating Room
* Phoenix War Room