Dawson/history

• Tried and Failed: Dawson was a failure in nearly everything he tried. He barely made it through high school. Not because of grades but because he had a short temper and plenty of ways people could pick on him. He was too poor to be popular, too angry to play sports and to secretive to let anyone get too close.

• Anger Management: He was dismissed from the Marines before he finished boot camp. A drill instructor just had to push the wrong button with him and during the first day he was taken into custody for aggravated assault. The Corps held him in the brig for six months until they held a court martial where they threw him out.

• He’s got a Record: That very night, when he was enjoying a taste of freedom and cooling his heels in a bar off base to figure out his next move, some one recognized him as the guy that beat up their buddy. The bar was used to fights but since it was owned, operated and patronized by so many Marines, he was picked up again for basically the same charge but this time he was thrown in jail for two years. While he was in he made his bones with a few shanks, scored a few connections with people that wanted someone hurt or protected and made a few “friends” and no one seemed to care.

• Street Time: After he got out of jail he decided not to go home - wherever that was. So he decided to slum his way around between west Texas and southern California. Having a felony arrest record meant that he wasn’t going to find a normal job and that was ok for him. He’d move some drugs here and there - beat someone up if the money was right or keep someone from getting their asses kicked if the sex was better.

• Biker Biker Burning Bright: During his travels he was picked up by a biker gang out of New Mexico. Some connections he had made when he was in jail actually turned out to be handy on the outside. They moved drugs, weapons, sometimes people - anything to make money.

• Bikers go Boom: The gang ultimately consumed itself with bitter rivalry between the members and jealousy of the leader keeping the power locked up for himself. Daws actually arranged the blow up - turning people against each other and the leader as a distraction so that he could grab the money and, more importantly, the books and get out.

• On the Road: After the destruction of the gang, he was on his own. Though technically still a member, he didn’t really feel that he owed them anything. He took what he felt he was due and headed into southern California.