Mo: Trollface

So remembering what I was saying about non-traditional teams? Yeah, even when we do have one 'traditional' role, it's filled in a most unexpected way. Not saying it's bad, it's just different, that's all.

Many teams have a 'face', the guy who's job is to be the frontman of the team, He handles the meetings, negotiations and the business end of the job. He's the guy who tries to get the best deal out of Mister Macquarie, while also doing his best to convince the guy not to tool you over. He's a key part of the legwork phase of a run, meeting people, playing nice with them and trying to play them for a bit of key info that could make the difference between life and death. Finally, a good face can talk you out of a bad situation, using their charm and wit and silver tongue to suggest that it's in everyone's best interests if we don’t try to kill each other,

Mo, a troll in a swanky coat

Mo does all of these things. He's clever, charismatic, sophisticated and a quick wit who seems to know the right thing to say at the right time. What makes him really unusual is not what he does, but the fact that he's a Troll. Told you that we were non-traditional.

Mo's path to being a runner is an unusual one to say the least. For starters, he's an old troll; late thirties, early fourties area, which means that this is a rather late in life career change for him. From what I can tell, before he took up running, he had any number of different jobs. He was a salesman, an office worker and a stand-up comedian among other things (although in the latter case I can't say I’ve ever heard of them, and it's not like there's many troll stand up acts. Those that you do find are mostly about prop comedy for obvious reasons, and I am digressing) before setting into his current job of taxi driver. In fact, that latter one seems to be supporting his lifestyle between runs to the point where I have to wonder what's making him more.

How he got into running is a bit of another matter. See, Mo's got an idiot cousin called Dave (or "David David David" or even "Dingus") who was a bit of a problem. Dave/Dingus seems to have been a bit of a yob all his life, and engaged in numerous idiot acts inclosing arson and assault and battery with a harpoon launcher. At some point, Mo got himself dragged down along with him or even took the fall for him, resulting in him being lumped with a criminal SIN and thus, combined with the Troll thing, pretty much ineligible to work anywhere.

(I think Mo is Dingus' only family, or at least the only one who will put up with him. I haven't asked, and it’s probably an awkward/embarrassing story, especially when you consider that Dingus is the reason why Mo is in this mess in the first place. In short, Dingus is living the embarrassing rellie dream)

At any rate, being barred from working anywhere and now needing to support himself and his unemployable drongo of a cousin, Mo found a new outlet for his talents. Now he works in the shadows, wheeling, dealing, conniving and all those other things that a face does with the added advantage of bring really big and thus adding just a bit of intimidation (be it conscious or unconscious) into the whole deal. And here's the amazing thing: it works fantastically.

You see, Mo is a very personable Troll; exceptionally such, really. He's well-spoken, clear and concise while being personable and engaging. You feel like you want to tryst him and agree with him from the moment he opens his mouth. And even better, he's great at tailoring his message and his approach to the individual situation and environment and the like. What works at a society ball obviously won’t work at a gang meeting, but he seems to be pretty much capable of presenting the right image and message for both. Plus he's a snappy dresser (says she who’s wardrobe is largely 'op shop chic')

He's also very well-read and articulate, none of the things you expect out of a Troll. It’s not so much as he's defying the stereotypes, as he's never heard of them whatsoever and is instead determined to be the most capable negotiator/con man/whatever else you need who just happens to be two and a half meters tall.

Mo's beat stick (And his only weapon)

Speaking of defying stereotypes, he really doesn't seem to like violence. Not in the usual sort of  'trying to avoid things getting loud because that probably means we've completely messed everything up' kind of a way but more of a 'pacifist doesn't want to shed blood at all' kind of way. I'm sure there's some interesting story here, but the basics of it is that all he carries is a stun baton and a taser. That’s it. No guns, no knives, no nothing else. Yep, of the entire team, the Troll is the one who least wants to be in a fight. I'm really not sure how I feel about this. On one hand, it's good to have somebody who will try to think or talk his way around a bad situation. On the other hand, you want a bit more then just that for when the crap hits the fan and the bullets are flying around and some bloody Corp goon is trying to pop your head off for simply being there.

Ford Falcon Taxi. Not an Americar at all

In his day job as a Taxi driver, mo hears a lot of chatter from his passengers which can actually be insanely useful at the most unexpected moments. His Taxi is your basic Ford Falcon (Note: The local equivalent of a Ford Americar, because no burke would try selling something called an 'Americar' in Australia) which is a perfectly functional and serviceable vehicle, good for what it does and, even better, not just some cheap plastic crapbox.