Becker

In the novel Partners, there are three principal characters: Kyle, Karen, and Becker. The story could not have been told without Becker -- no transformative challenge for Kyle, no romantic crusade for Karen. Although the story is told from Kyle's perspective and his love affair with Karen is both superlatively sweet and often terrible, the mysterious gunslinger Jimmy Becker is the fulcrum of every scene, whether he's in foreground or not.

I painted Becker's family, a trio of sharply drawn personalities, father, mother, sister, and a dead twin brother, to show that everyone descends from a chain of life and circumstance. I also indicated that Becker served as a U.S. Marine Corps officer in Germany. That's all I dared to explain, in drips and drabs, because I detest exposition, cardboard confessions that recite one's backstory, purpose, and notable achievements in junior high school. Absolutely NOT something that Becker would do. He's as tight as a closed vise, incapable of schmoozing.

Because that renders Becker somewhat opaque, revealing behavior nothwithstanding, it's fun to chat about this interesting man. He's almost a monk, sacrificing himself as an angel of vengeance. He's controlled by his cold hearted parents and corrupt family friend Lt. Lepsky, fairly obvious from dialogue and description. Kyle is a shrewd observer. He sees that Becker is an unstable paper tiger with an emotional glass jaw, desperately in need of a partner to support him and a woman to love him, which Becker denies. He shoves everybody away in anger, won't let them join or compromise his crusade to dominate. Simple Kyle sees through it. Becker needs him and Becker cares about Kyle and clever little Karen. He does this by cursing Kyle, pointing a gun at him, ordering him to go away, and in the finale abandoning Kyle to face death alone -- after making Kyle his wealthy heir in bank documents!

Are there other characters like Becker? Sure. They're thriller heroes and odd ducks consumed by blind, insatiable revenge after losing a loved one to the bad guys, a See Spot Run motive for Charles Bronson to sleepwalk through "justifiable" violence. In the film Bad Day At Black Rock, it was Spencer Tracy's turn to avenge a death and to kill. It bored Tracy. He sleepwalked through pasteboard scenes, let the talented ensemble of snarling bad guys shine.

In reality, are there men like Jimmy Becker? Fewer now, but yes there are and were in 1975. Marines are devil dogs prepared to fight and die, steeped to the bone with one imperative -- to obey orders unquestioningly -- and trained to fight as a team. The smallest possible team is two. Becker needs a partner at his side. Lepsky and Judge Verhoeven issue the orders.

That's why I wrote Partners, to show what partnership is, why it exists.

https://www.amazon.com/Partners-Wolf-DeVoon/dp/1722608595