Alexis Gould

*"Hello? I'm in here! Somebody help me! Please!"*

- Alexis shortly before being rescued during the events of Operation Desert Viper

**Alexis Gould**is a character in the TACITUS saga. She is best friends with Task Force Reaper operative Ellie Cohen, having met the latter during their late childhood.

## Biography

### Early life and childhood

Alexis Gould was born in 1996, the daughter of Martin Gould, a private military contractor, and Pamela Gould, a marketing director for an unknown company. Raised in Wisconsin to a Baptist family and the middle child of three kids (she has an older brother, Patrick Gould), she was known by all to be very athletic, social and outgoing. In her early childhood, she developed a passion for singing, something she continued to embrace throughout her teen years and adulthood.

In her late childhood, she met Ellie Cohen, with whom she became fast friends after hitting it off during grade school. As the years went by, the two girls looked at each other like sisters, pledging themselves to a "loyalty pact" that they held onto for the rest of their lives.

### Operation Desert Viper

In mid summer of 2015, Gould (who was 19 at the time) was working overseas in the Middle East as part of an internship for her local college. However, her intern plans were immediately derailed when she was suddenly abducted by the Islamic State of New Palestine. The terrorist organization, intending to use her as leverage against her father (who is of a military background), threatened to execute her if the United States government did not release any Islamic State militants currently held in captivity on American soil. Out of desperation, Alexis' father turned to family friend David Murray, head of a clandestine special ops unit called Task Force Gargoyle, who in turn helped to coordinate a plan alongside the United States Marine Corps and Special Forces Operations Detachment-Delta (Delta Force) to rescue her, codenamed Operation Desert Viper. Though both the Islamic State and the joint Delta Force-Gargoyle-USMC rescue team suffered heavy casualties, Alexis was rescued and returned to the United States in one piece.

The torture and abuse she suffered at the hands of the Islamic State proved to be too much for Gould, who underwent months of therapy, along with consoling from her best friend Ellie and her family, to recover from the trauma she'd endured because of her captivity. However, ever since the hostage crisis, she grew ever closer to Ellie Cohen, whom she now sees as a "guardian angel" and a "Godsend."

### Vapor in the Wind

*Main article:*Vapor in the Wind

During the events of Vapor in the Wind, Alexis was kidnapped by members of a murder cult that worships Slenderman, alongside French National Policewoman Laurette Sorel and her friends Robin Buttars, Tamara Sultanovich, Joyce Briggs and Natalya Fashkova. She eventually escaped with Sorel and the others, but was later recaptured. Fortunately, Sorel was able to use a helicopter to chase down the kidnappers and crash their own getaway chopper before killing them in a hand-to-hand fight and rescuing Gould.

### Events of Life: A Compilation

In the short story collection *Life: A Compilation*, it is revealed that Alexis joined Task Force Reaper, out of desperation to find a new job (having left the internship at college due to the hostage crisis), as a partner to Ellie Cohen and an operative in the organization. Like David Murray before them, Ellie Cohen and Vinnie Crosby personally trained Gould in the tricks of the trade, eventually transforming her into a rather efficient operative for their cause.

## Quotes

*"I never knew true sisterhood until the day Ellie Cohen rescued me from the Islamist barbarians who kidnapped me. Ever since that day, our bond has tightened."*

- Alexis describing her now tight bond with Ellie Cohen after being rescued from Islamic State militants.

*"Ellie? I'm in here! I'm in here!"*

- Alexis attempting to call out to Ellie Cohen as the latter attempts to reach her in a flashback to Operation Desert Viper

*"I'm just...happy I'm with you."*

- Alexis to Ellie Cohen while hiding out in India in the aftermath of the Coup against Benjamin King.

## Trivia

* Alexis is a huge Taylor Swift fan, unlike Ellie Cohen (who prefers bands like Linkin Park).
* It is implied that Alexis still suffers flashbacks and nightmares from her time as an Islamic State kidnapping victim periodically.
* She is said to have an "unbreakable bond" with Ellie Cohen, highlighting their "sisterhood" together.