Raymond Kirk

**Raymond Kirk** is a supporting character featured in *Red Dead Redemption 2*.

## History

### Background

Raymond Kirk was born into a rich family in around 1881, to a father who was a government official. He his older sister, Jenny, enjoyed a privileged upbringing in New York, living in a “big fancy house.” When he was still a young teenager, in around 1896, his father was moved to Saint Denis, to work for the new mayor, Henri Lemieux. He was supposedly “disgusted” by the rampant corruption in Lemoyne State government, and within a few months someone, “either the mob or the Mayor’s goons, or both” killed their parents, leaving young Raymond and Jenny street orphans. With their privileged backgrounds, the pair struggled and at some point they joined a gang. The gang “used” them for a while, before leaving the pair on a after Jenny refused to become a prostitute for the gang.

Raymond joined the Van der Linde gang in 1898, when they found him and his sister abandoned on the side of the road in North Elizabeth

### Events of *Red Dead Redemption 2*

#### Horseshoe Overlook Chapter

During the first two chapters of the game, Kirk is mostly seen around camp, stating his boredom to Arthur, and begging him and Dutch to let him “come robbing”. He complains later in the chapter, telling Arthur how he has turned eighteen, so he is “old enough now.”

#### Clemens Point Chapter

In an attempt to get Arthur to accept him, Ray goes into town and finds out about a big house with a stash of money South of Van Horn. He asks Arthur to accompany him, and if he does the pair ride to the mansion, and the player can choose whether to sneak in at night or attack the house at day. Either way, two outlaws are sleeping in the house after robbing it, and the pair rob the robbers. Afterwards, Arthur congratulates Raymond, giving him his share of the money.

#### Saint Denis Chapter

Raymond attends the party at the Mayor’s mansion along with Arthur, Dutch, and Hosea. Raymond’s interactions with the other guests are suave and he easily fits back into the high society from which he came, which gains him praise from Dutch and Hosea. During the night he finds a lead for a lucrative stagecoach.

With this lead, he plans a robbery, and Dutch tells him to bring Arthur and Micah. The three plant explosives on the stagecoach’s path to halt it, before attacking the stagecoach’s guards and accessing the loot, which they split between the three of them.

#### Beaver Hollow Chapter

After the unsuccessful robbery in Saint Denis, which he didn’t take part in, Raymond joins the rest of the gang in fleeing, first to Lakay, then to Beaver Hollow. During this chapter, Kirk finally becomes accepted as a gunman in the gang, joining them in fights and robberies.

However, with the downfall of the gang, Raymond becomes more opposed to Arthur, as he sticks by Dutch against Arthur and John, amongst others. This displeases Tilly, who begs him to think for himself.

Because of this, he takes part in the assault on the Cornwall refinery, in which he joins the gang and the Wapiti Indians in battle against US Army soldiers led by Colonel Favours.

Raymond is also present in the final train robbery, where he is seen accompanying Dutch, Micahand Joe in going back for John after he was shot. However, the four men later return without John, with Dutch and Micah falsely claiming that he had died. Later, a standoff at Beaver Hollow ensues when Arthur and Micah draw guns on each other at camp; Raymond stays by Dutch’s side, unsure of whose side he will take. Dutch then pulls out his revolvers and demands who is "with" him and who is "betraying" him, causing Raymond to hesitantly join the majority of the gang on Dutch and Micah's side, until the Pinkertons descend upon the camp, with the larger group being the first to flee. Raymond is later seen riding with Dutch, Cleet, Joe and Micah, attempting to hunt down Arthur and John. However, at some point between this and Micah and Arthur’s final stand, Raymond slipped away, as he is nowhere to be seen in the later cutscenes.

### Personality

Raymond is an intelligent young man, loyal to the gang to a fault, literally so when he takes Dutch’s side over Arthur’s at the end of the game. He seems to be somewhat withdrawn from gang life, not often engaging in revelries when the chance comes. In Horseshoe Overlook, he mentions to Arthur how much he misses his sister, and how he wishes he’d died in her stead. He has a good relationship with all three senior members of the gang, but he regularly irritates them by begging to join them out robbing. Raymond appears to be good friends with Lenny, sometimes reading together with him. His closest friendship however, seems to be with Kieran, who he initially mocks for his O’Driscoll past, but they quickly grow close, sitting together in camp and tending the horses, though Kieran tells Kirk he is “not a natural” at grooming horses. There also seems to be a romantic connection between Tilly Jackson and Ray, as Arthur alludes to in dialogue, along with the fact they can occasionally be seen in the forests behind Clemens Point, sitting and laughing. However, Kirk doesn’t get on with Micah Bell at all, as Bell’s disrespect of his sister and abuse towards him about not “pulling his weight” cause arguments between the two.

Mary-Beth is considered the kindest and most gentle member of the Van der Linde gang. This is seen during many moments throughout the story, such as when Mary-Beth would often offer to speak with Arthur about recent events and offer him comfort on his inevitable death by his illness. Her kindness also extends towards strangers and possibly threatening figures, as seen during random events in the camp, Mary-Beth gives Kieran a cup of water while the latter remains tied up in a post after witnessing Karen taunting and mocking him. She and Kieran eventually become very close, and Mary-Beth is devastated over his death. Like most of the other women in the gang, Mary-Beth does have a soft spot for young Jack Marston, which is shown when he is safely returned from Angelo Bronte.

### Appearance

Raymond is a fairly tall, thin young man, with dark brown hair, which is neatly cut short in chapters 1-4, but after Guarma is down to his shoulders. He also initially appears clean shaven, but he has light stubble in Chapter 6.

Raymond’s standard outfit is a battered black vest, which he wears over a dirty grey shirt and blue patched pants, with black boots. He can also occasionally be seen wearing his winter outfit with the coat unbuttoned, to a white shirt beneath. In chapter 6, Kirk wears his same vest and shirt with a new blue scout jacket, black pants, a gunbelt, spurs and a new black felt hat.

While in Colter, Raymond wears a black coat with a fur collar, buttoned up over hos blue pants and boots, with no hat.

## Mission appearances

*Red Dead Redemption 2*
* "Outlaws from the West"
* "Enter, Pursued by a Memory"
* "Eastward Bound"
* "The Battle of Shady Belle"
* "Angelo Bronte, A Man of Honor"
* “The Gilded Cage”
* "Horsemen, Apocalypses"
* “Fleeting Joy”
* "That's Murfree Country"
* “My Last Boy”
* ”Our Best Selves”
* "Red Dead Redemption"
* Companion Activities
* Rob a Homestead
* Rob a Stagecoach

## Trivia

* Raymond, like many members of the gang, uses a custom sidearm. His is a silver double action revolver with an ivory grip, engraved with various gambling motifs, though the meaning of this is unknown.
* His horse is a Silver Tail Buckskin American Standardbred, a unique coat
* It is implied through various lines around camp that Tilly and Ray have some kind of relationship, such as when Arthur states she’s been “giving him… a lot of attention.”
* While interacting with her at camp, Arthur states that he believes Mary-Beth is either “21 or 22” years old, though she does not confirm this, stating that it’s rude for Arthur to be talking about her age.
* One of her outfits, in which she wears a green shirt and a maroon skirt, may have been inspired by a similar outfit worn by Diane Lane in the 1989 TV series *Lonesome Dove*. This is further supported by the fact that Rockstar Games listed *Lonesome Dove* as one of their favorite works in the Western genre on their website in 2010, even singling out Lane's performance.
* The success of her novels can be read in the in-game newspaper article Romance Novel Proves Best Seller.
* Her pen name, 'Leslie Dupont', is possibly a nod to real-life author and editor, Leslie A. Dupont.
* If the player boards the train that Mary-Beth leaves on after encountering her in the epilogue, she is nowhere to be found.