Deadman/Backstory
Who is Deadman? Deadman was Anthony Warren. Deadman was a loyal member of the Piccadilly Boys--a fearsome gang of high-class gangsters who worked under a man named Archduke Kingsley Archibald.
The story behind how Anthony found himself in the Piccadilly Boys is a simple one: guns meant power, power meant money, and money meant not having to worry about much. That was Anthony's mantra: do as little as possible to gain the most. And, like most mantra's, this was also his biggest flaw.
Anthony was lazy, arrogant, and cared little for those around him. It wasn't until he found himself doing a small job for the Piccadilly Boys that he understood camaraderie. Working with a gang of three gunners to rob a jewelry store, he saw how the gang worked together, helped each other, and genuinely enjoyed working one another. Anthony wanted that, and so he found his way into the gang.
Now after two years after Anthony's entrance into the Piccadilly Boys, Kingsley Archibald finally noticed Anthony. In those first two years, Anthony didn't stand out much. He was always present, but he was just a hidden face in the crowd. He made deals with Fences, he fronted runs, but he was never really seen. Kingsley was perplexed by this man. How could he hide in plain sight? How could he move from gunner to run-organizer in two years?
Kingsley added Anthony to his personal runner team. He ran jobs directly for Kingsley with 2-3 other runners and all were run to perfection. Anthony made the gang his life. He assisted in organizing other runs and he punished disloyal members of the gang. In the end of his fourth year in the Piccadilly Boys, Anthony was easily the most loved man in the gang. Kingsley would not stand for this.
On a rainy Sunday evening in London, Kingsley assigned Anthony and one other runner to perform a simple job: Steal the family ring and watch of King Edric. An impossible job. Not due to the number of runners, but because this was the king: a disabled man in a castle under heavy lock and key and being caught breaking into the Buckingham Palace meant certain death.
But, being the man that he was, Anthony agreed, no questions asked. His partner, Leslie Babb was the hacker and confident in Anthony to deliver on the job with her.
It was 8:59pm when Kingsley got the call from Anthony. He had the ring and the watch. He sent photos of both. He and Leslie were coming back to the headquarters in an auto-taxi. It was done. They walked right in. Can you believe it, boss? Kingsley could not believe it. By 9:12pm, one-hundred armed English military were swarming the Piccadilly Boys headquarters.
Of course, it wasn't the job that was supposed to get him, it was the third runner Anthony and Leslie weren't told about that was. While Leslie was deep in the Matrix, bringing down the cameras and security at the back service-entrance to Buckingham Palace, the rogue was positioning his knife onto Anthony's back.
As the knife pressed into Anthony's kidney, whatever speech the rogue was trying to give, Anthony didn't hear it. The only words he heard were, "Kingsley sends his regards." How cliché. Anthony took the knife into his side and with the flash of a bullet, blew the man's head clear off his shoulders.
Leslie snapped out of her Matrix stupor to find Anthony patching himself up, but, as was a possibility, attributed his wound to a guard. Within the hour they had the ring of the royal English family and were on their way back to the headquarters.
Anthony's relationship with Leslie was strange. When Anthony had first joined the gang, they became fast friends and, suddenly, lovers. There was little romance between them, but enough enjoyment that they saw each other for nearly a year. However, nearly one year exactly after Anthony's joining, Leslie could no longer handle their relationship and it was over. No hard feelings. The two continued to be friends. If there was ever a person Anthony could say he was truly loyal to, it was Leslie.
In the taxi back to the headquarters, Anthony took a photo of the ring and the watch. It was 8:38pm. Anthony pulled his gun from its holster and handed it to Leslie. Explaining what had happened to him and what he was going to do next, he told Leslie that if she didn't want to take the risk, she could shoot him here and take the ring and watch.
At 9:32pm, Anthony Warren boarded a direct flight to Detroit, MI, USA.
In the car, he had told Leslie that in 10 years, they would find each other again. In 10 years they could reunite and take Kingsley down and get their revenge. Until then, they had to keep a low profile. Neither told the other where they were flying to. Anthony kept the ring, Leslie kept the watch.
