Dallas Colt

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This article is about Dallas Colt. For other characters, return to the full character list.

This article features elements from Delta Green, a Lovecraftian setting where incomprehensible horrors are very real. Prior knowledge of the setting is not required.

Dallas James Colt (born 7th July) knows how to have a good time. He likes guns, horses, and whiskey - all of which he manages to indulge in a great deal whenever time allows for it. He also likes saving the world and, not to show off, but that's something he's done quite a bit too.

Based in Washington D.C., Dallas protects visiting heads of state and other key dignitaries, but he regularly travels all over the country on reconnaissance missions in preparation for VIPs. In his spare time, he usually travels home to Texas to visit his mother and his on/off boyfriend, Jesse, in Amarillo.

Sometimes, though, Dallas seems to vanish off the face of the earth. During these times, he's doing his second, secret job - fighting unimaginable monsters and things in the dark, saving lives, and then coming home and pretending that nothing unusual has happened. He's pretty good at this, having been trained by (in his opinion) the best - a pair of agents with the code names 'Lockdown' and 'Lynchpin'. Lynchpin and Dallas were especially close, but, unfortunately, the man died in violent, mysterious circumstances a few years ago.

Since the death of Lynchpin, who had become a father figure to Dallas, he's been going off the rails a little - taking more and more dangerous risks, though not to the extent that it's got him into trouble with his real work. At the end of the day, he's an adrenaline junkie without any real direction - but hey, what cowboy isn't?

Dallas is a man in his late 30s with short, black hair and dark brown eyes. He has a goatee that leans more towards rugged than neat. Depending on where he is and what he's doing, he either wears a smart, expensive suit (black, navy, or charcoal), or typical country wear. Whatever he wears, it is accompanied by a classic pinched front style hat (black or brown, depending on his outfit). Dallas is a charming guy, amplified by his captivating smile, but anyone looking past this will see that he's incredibly alert - constantly watching the room and keeping an eye on those around him. He speaks with a heavy northern Texas accent.

Dallas spent his youth living in the small town of Dawn, Texas (population ~130) - the second biggest town in Deaf Smith County (the county seat, Hereford, is the largest, with a population of ~19k). He was a hellraiser as a kid, running around and causing trouble with the few other local boys. If he wasn't creating chaos, he was helping his mother, Donna, with her business (tailoring and mending clothes and other fabrics), working as a farm hand on one of the local cattle ranches, or dreaming of a future as a rodeo star.

He never met his father. His mother told him that the man was a good-for-nothing son-of-a-gun, and that they were both better off without him. "If he ever dares show his face here," she would say, "I'll run him out of town." Dallas believed her. His mother had always been a fierce lady who could hold her own better than any man he knew - if she said she was going to do something, then you could damn well guarantee that she would.

Instead of going to college, Dallas started working full-time on the ranch after graduating from high school. He loved it, but his mother constantly pushed him to do something more. As soon as he turned 21, she got him an interview with the Country Sheriff's office. Dallas got the job (Deputy Sheriff) and, though he missed the ranch at first, he soon found he also loved the thrill of chasing down the country's criminals.

When he was 22, a politician by the name of George W. Bush announced that he would be running for the Texas governorship. He stopped in Hereford as part of his campaign tour and Dallas was assigned to assist with his protection. It wasn't something he particularly wanted to do (because he thought it boring, not because he was political in either direction), but a job was a job, and he could hardly turn down an assignment.

Dallas did a good job (and his innate charm didn't hurt either), so, as there was a position free in the security team, he was offered the chance to stick with them for the rest of the tour of the local counties. Figuring his mother would never speak to him again if he didn't take the offer, Dallas accepted.

While on the tour, Dallas grew close to another member of his security team - an ex-marine in his 50s named 'Lynchpin'. Obviously, that wasn't the man's real name, but it's what he told Dallas to call him, so it's what he stuck with. Lynchpin was close with another member of the team, 'Lockdown' (again, not his real name). One night, the two of them and Dallas were having drinks and chatting as they looked out across the prairie when, in the distance, he noticed something weird. A strange, eerie fog was gathering. It swirled in an unusual way, almost seeming to form living shapes.

As Dallas watched, the fog suddenly started to rush closer. This was accompanied by the sound of thunderous hoof-beats, and chilling shorts and neighs. He suddenly realised he could make out the shape of great, pale horse heads and legs, all charging towards him at great speed.

The events of that night were a bit of a blur. Lynchpin pulled him out of the way of the ghostly apparitions, saving him from being trampled to death, and Lockdown said something about how something must have spooked them. Dallas found himself tagging along as the two men picked up their guns and set out across the rolling grassland.

He still doesn't know what they killed that night, but it was terrifying. The adrenaline rush was addicting, though, and when Lynchpin later offered him the chance to join an organisation that dealt with such creatures, Dallas didn't hesitate in agreeing.

Joining L-cell as 'Lone Star', Dallas was informed that the organisation he was now part of, Delta Green, had pegged George W. Bush as the future president and wanted to keep an eye on him, so had pulled some strings to get a cell attached to his protection. (This is unusual for Delta Green, but they were keen to do so out of fear of Bush's father informing him of the Accord, a deal between the US government and aliens known as the Greys, once he became president, the organisation no longer wanting to keep the country's leadership in the loop about such things. Of course, this information was classified top secret, which meant that Dallas was never informed of this - neither then, nor afterwards.)

Dallas found himself joining the Texas Capitol Police so he could stay attached to Bush's security team, and then later, when the man became president in 2001, he was rushed through qualifying for the US Secret Service so he could continue protecting (and watching) him.

In 2002, the three agents noticed that a change had occurred in how they got their orders. They thought nothing of it, assuming it had to do with how Bush was now the president. (In reality, it was because the Program had been established, formalising Delta Green once again and covertly poaching the entirety of L-cell for themselves. Again, this was top secret, so Dallas never knew anything about it.)

In 2007, Lynchpin was asked to consult on a Delta Green mission in Alaska. He never returned, and it wasn't until five months later that his body was discovered on a remote peak, torn to shreds and mutilated beyond man's imagination. Dallas was distraught. Over time, Lynchpin had become a father figure to him. He looked up to him, and found himself feeling rudderless without once he was gone.

It was also around this time that his mother started showing the first signs of dementia. She began rapidly deteriorating, and by late 2008, Dallas was forced to move her to a care home in Amarillo.

Nothing was ever really the same after Lynchpin's death, and Dallas had no complaints when he was moved into a new team (protection for visiting heads of state and other VIPs) when Bush's presidency ended in 2009. Lockdown, on the other hand, remained in the new president's security team.

If you can get past his quirks, Dallas is a very easy man to get on with. He's charming, easy on the eyes, and good at his job. People like him, and he likes people in return! The problem is, Dallas does stand out a bit. He does tone it down when he needs to for his work, but a cowboy persona is hardly the most covert thing in the world.

Some people are annoyed by the way he acts. Most of the people he works with are used to it by now, but it isn't unusual for there to be friction, or at least confusion, when somebody new joins the team. This is where his charm comes into play again, and Dallas often quickly brings them around to, at the very least, putting up with him.

His superiors at work like him. Eyebrows have been raised at his career history - more than one person wondering exactly who was pushing him through the ranks - but he's never disappointed in terms of the quality of this work, and it would hardly be the first time something secret has come on within the US Secret Service. If anyone does ask questions, answers are in place to reassure them that he isn't some kind of foreign plant or otherwise nefarious actor.

With his choice of career (and side career!), Dallas does not have much time for a personal life. Theoretically, he works a shift of 60 days on, 30 days off, but it isn't uncommon for him to be asked to work extra days. The majority of his spare time is spent visiting Texas, where he travels to Amarillo to see his mother. Donna Colt suffers from dementia. In recent years, it has been getting worse and worse, and she now lives in a care home, where she is very happy. She now longer remembers her son, but Dallas still makes an effort to visit her as much as possible. Though he finds these visits upsetting, he refuses to abandon her - especially when he never knows if his next visit is going to be his last.

(Unbeknownst to Dallas, she was a CIA agent in her youth. The reason why she moved to Dawn was because her identity had been leaked while undercover in Russia, and she needed to hide somewhere off the radar. Dallas was born eight months later.)

If he isn't visiting his mother, Dallas spends his time in Texas with his on/off boyfriend, Jesse Newman, or with his horse, Outlaw. Jesse runs a stable for breeding and training quarter horses, so Dallas keeps Outlaw there too, which luckily means he can often kill two birds with one stone with his visit.

He and Jesse have been an 'item' since 2005, but the relationship is very turbulent. They're stuck in a constant cycle of fighting, breaking up, and then making up again. They do love each other, but Dallas struggles with commitment and Jesse struggles with Dallas' time spent away from Texas.

When he and Jesse are on a break, Dallas has been known to sleep around quite a bit. He never does this at work, though. That is a professional line that he is not willing to cross.

Back in Washington D.C., Dallas still remains in contact with Lockdown, but they have not got along since late 2008. The two of them had an argument about Dallas' behaviour which resulted in Dallas pointing out that Lockdown isn't his father, and Lockdown retorting that Lynchpin wasn't either. Things have been very chilly between them since then. This argument is the main reason why Dallas didn't mind moving away from the presidential security team.

Other than that, Dallas doesn't really have any strong connections. He just doesn't have time for them. Despite that, Dallas desperately wants people to look up to him and consider him something to aspire to. He wants to be cool, and the kind of guy that nobody wants to leave behind.

This article describes common pre-established verses. Other verses are available but must be discussed prior to any threads. Individual interactions occur in their own separate universes unless otherwise discussed. Please send an IM if interested in plotting any interactions.

Dallas follows the majority of information described on this page.

Born on a cattle ranch in District 10, Dallas stunned and delighted the Capitol during his Hunger Games with his charm, his distinct idiolect, and, most importantly, his skills with a lasso. After his victory, and having enjoyed the spotlight while he had it, Dallas decided to introduce rodeo to the Capitol. They love it, especially the more dangerous aspects, and Dallas finds himself having to do more and more daring stunts in order to keep the attention of the people. He doesn't mind, though; he's an adrenaline junkie at heart, and the danger helps him keep his mind from wandering back to less pleasant memories.

The son of the goddess Tyche, Dallas is known around Camp Half-Blood for his daring stunts and his desire to ride a monster (he's not fussy about which!) like a bull in a rodeo. He doesn't see why he should play it safe in life. After all, how can he lose when he literally has luck on his side?