Alexandra “Marionette“ Mercer

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No one calls her Alexandra. Few even know the name. To the Agency, to her enemies, and even to those who think they know her best, she is only Marionette—the woman who pulls the strings. At 5’6”, with striking blonde hair and ice-blue eyes, she is as captivating as she is dangerous. Born in 1999, she was recruited into the CIA young, her intelligence, adaptability, and ruthless cunning making her an asset too valuable to ignore. Fluent in twelve languages and armed with a degree in political science, she understands the game of power on a global scale. But Marionette doesn’t just observe—she controls. Her most prized asset is Damien Raines, a former Tier 1 Special Forces operator with a reputation for being unbreakable. Yet, somehow, Marionette has him in her grasp. Whether through manipulation, leverage, or something even he refuses to acknowledge, he answers to her now—begrudgingly, unwillingly, but inevitably. And he knows it. Beyond her psychological warfare, Marionette is a skilled marksman, just as lethal with a rifle as she is with her words. Calculated, composed, and always in control, she operates in shadows, never leaving loose ends. In her world, attachment is weakness, and trust is an illusion. Alexandra Mercer may have existed once, but Marionette is all that remains.

Damien “Goliath” Raines

At 6’5”, with long blackish-gray hair and a beard to match, Damien Raines is an imposing figure—a living specter of war. His eyes, cold and unreadable, give nothing away. Emotion is a luxury he discarded long ago. Born in 1970, he has spent his entire life in conflict, molded by violence into the most dangerous asset the CIA has ever handled. He enlisted in the Army in 1988, earning his place among the elite Army Rangers by 1992. By the time most soldiers were considering retirement, Raines was still on the front lines. In 2010, the CIA took notice, pulling him into the shadows. He wasn’t just an operative—he was a weapon, deployed when missions required more than skill, when they needed certainty. Over the years, Goliath burned through twelve case officers, each unable to control him. Some quit. Some were reassigned. A few didn’t survive. Then, in 2023, they gave him to a rookie—Alexandra Mercer, the woman who would become Marionette. The Agency expected her to fail. Instead, she did what no one else could. She didn’t tame him—no one could—but somehow, she held his leash. Raines is a master of all forms of combat—hand-to-hand, firearms, blades, unconventional warfare. There is no battlefield he hasn’t walked, no enemy he hasn’t faced. He has been shot, stabbed, blown up, left for dead more times than anyone can count, and yet, he always comes back. That’s why they call him Goliath—a force that refuses to fall, no matter how many times he’s struck down. He doesn’t speak unless necessary, doesn’t form attachments, doesn’t feel—not in any way that matters. His purpose is simple: survive, kill, complete the mission. And yet, with Marionette, there is something different. He doesn’t trust her, but he listens. He doesn’t like her, but he obeys. Maybe it’s respect. Maybe it’s something darker. But one thing is certain—Damien Raines is not a man to be controlled. Even Marionette knows that. She just makes him think he is.

Elliot Raines

Elliot Raines is everything his father is not. At 6’0”, with a lanky frame and an air of quiet intellect, he carries himself with the confidence of a man who has built his own legacy—one that has nothing to do with the ghost of Goliath. With sharp features, dark brown hair, and piercing gray eyes that mirror his father’s, Elliot has the look of a man born for something greater than violence. Born in 2000, he grew up knowing little about Damien Raines beyond whispered stories and the lingering absence of a father who was never there. Where others idolized the legend of Goliath, Elliot resented him. He had no interest in war, no desire to follow in the footsteps of a man who left destruction in his wake. Instead, he buried himself in books, choosing law over bloodshed, intellect over brute force. By 22, he had earned his degree in political law. By 25, he was one of the youngest professors at Harvard, specializing in constitutional law and government ethics—a stark contrast to the shadowy world his father operated in. Elliot refuses to acknowledge the man who shares his blood, distancing himself from Damien at every turn. He despises everything his father represents, seeing him as nothing more than a relic of a world built on violence and deception. To Elliot, Damien Raines is not a war hero, not a legend—just a man who abandoned his family for a life of killing. And yet, no matter how far he runs, there is one undeniable truth: he is his father’s son. That fact lingers like a curse, one he can never quite escape.

Lillian “Lily” Carter Raines

Lillian Carter Raines was the kind of woman people couldn’t help but notice—not just because of her beauty, though she had plenty of that, but because of the warmth she carried with her. At 5’7”, with long, flowing black hair and striking blue eyes, she had a presence that felt both gentle and unshakable. Born in 1982, Lily grew up in a small town, the kind of place where everyone knew everyone. She never had grand ambitions—never wanted power or danger, just a simple, quiet life. She worked as a waitress in a diner off a back road, the kind of place where people came and went, never really paying attention. But Damien Raines did. No one ever understood what drew Goliath to her, or why she was the only one who could soften the sharp edges of a man who seemed otherwise untouchable. She saw something in him—something even he didn’t see in himself. And for a while, it worked. They married in 1999, had Elliot the next year, and for a brief moment, Damien Raines wasn’t just a soldier, a killer, a ghost in the shadows—he was a husband, a father. Then the war called him back, and Lily was left to raise their son alone, always waiting for a man who never truly came home. She loved him, but she never understood him, not the way the world did. He was a force of nature—something too big, too dangerous, too untamed to be held in place. In 2011, everything ended in an instant. A car crash on a rainy night—nothing dramatic, nothing intentional. Just fate. Just bad luck. Just a moment that took her away forever. Damien never spoke of her after that. He buried her, made sure Elliot was cared for, and then disappeared deeper into the only life he knew. But those who knew him before and after would say that was the moment Goliath truly became a ghost.