Aiden 'Shep' Shepherd

Aiden James Shepherd (or Shep) is a trained hitman for the Clerkenwell Crime Syndicate, considered their deadliest, most discreet and skilled assassin.

Aiden is currently on retainer by Torchwood Ten

Family

 * Children: None
 * Spouse: None
 * Father: Patrick Shepherd
 * Mother: Sienna Shepherd nèe Johnson
 * Siblings: None

Early Life (1987 - 2001)
Aidan was born on the 2nd of August, 1987 as the only child of Patrick Shepherd and Sienna (nèe Johnson) Shepherd. Born at Portland Hospital in London, his parents were well off, his father being an executive for a prosperous technology firm and his mother staying at home to tend the house and raise their newborn son.

Eventually attending Fox Primary School, he excelled in a number of areas. He had no trouble fitting it with other students, but was rather reserved and liked to stay in the background of things, never volunteering to be in charge of any class activities. Despite his parents encouragement, this trend would continue throughout his whole life.

Middle Years (2002 - 2010)
He went on to attend Regent High School, again receiving high marks in his classes. Making few friends, those he did tended to have a bad reputation for various reasons. One day, he followed his friend and ended up robbing a small shop not far from the school. It wasn't until after that he found his ability to elude pursuers, another trait he would carry into adulthood.

Feeling more at home in illicit activities than at school, he maintained his good marks while moonlighting as an amateur thief. He hid his criminal activity from everybody very well, not even his parents suspected their son was into any trouble. He would later go on to graduate Regent with honors and enroll at the University of Westminster.

Westminster University
At University, he quickly found that his criminal life and his life as a university student weren't compatible. Having always been intrigued by why he was so easily drawn to his illicit activities, he quickly found himself focusing on criminology. Taking to it well, he learned a lot about the criminal mind, even his own.

His attention now focused on his studies, his criminal life quickly went by the wayside. His grades improved, his social life improved, and he finally started to focus on having a legitimate career after graduation. By his third year, he had already earned the attention of a few prospective employers. Aidan happily looking forward to a career. Given his past, he tried to put that behind him. Looking forward, he felt that his criminal past held no sway on his future. He was quick to find out differently.

First Encounter With the Syndicate
A month before graduation, he was walking home from a night out with some friends. In a part of town he knew well from his thieving days, he started to wind his way through some back alleys. Eventually, he stumbled across what was a member of the Clerkenwell Crime Syndicate assaulting a shop owner. Unaware of this, he brazenly pulled the man off of the shop owner. The result was a gun to his face. After a brief struggle, Aidan managed to wrest the gun from the assailant's hands and, as if on reflex, shoot him in the head with it. Stunned at the body hitting the ground, he reflexively did the same to two other members who rounded the corner. Overwhelmed, he threw the gun and ran down the alleys to his room and did his best to forget the incident.

A month later, he graduated. The three homicides had been forgotten fairly quickly, not even twenty-four hours. As one whose job it was to study the criminal mind, he was troubled by how easily he was able to kill the three men and so unfazed about it that he brushed it aside so simply. Nonetheless, he applied for a great deal of jobs with only one calling back. Dressing up in his best, it seemed to be fate that he was going to be interviewed by his future employer: Just not in the same position.

The Interview Process
The room he found himself in was bare and very comfortable. The was he was muscled in was just as uncomfortable as the room. He maintained his nerve until a sophisticated looking man sat down across from him with a remote. With a click, he activated the video player in the room. With a flicker, a grainy video, what seemed to be a surveillance camera, jumped onto the screen: A video of him shooting three men in that dark alley. After a review of his entire criminal history, obviously not as well hidden as he believed. It wasn't long before the end of the video and he was offered a choice: Kill for the Syndicate or be killed by them. With a sigh, he took the job.

Welcome To Your First Day
When he walked in for the first time, he was met at the door by lady who identified herself as Sophie Chamberlain and she was going to be acclimating him to the job. He was taken aback by the mention of rules that the beautiful woman spoke of, figuring that a bunch of professional killers had no rhyme or reason to follow any rules. A winding set of hallways later, he had taken in what she told him and was firmly told to never forget the rules, they offered guidance where there may otherwise be none.



The beautiful Sophie turned out to be a drill sergeant from Hell itself, putting him through a regimen of learning about the techniques, the tools, and how to use them. From A to Z he was taught the way of the assassin from his harsh mentor. He, alongside two others, learned quickly. He learned more quickly than the other two and was taken aback when she told him that she was impressed by his seemingly natural talent for killing.

It wasn't long before he had started to take shape in the image of what Sophie was building him to be. No matter the tool, no matter the target, no matter the approach, he always made the kill quickly and quietly. Not only did it impress his teacher, but it made an impression on others as well. Despite his inexperience, he was soon given his first contract. An easy one in retrospect, it broke the ice on what would become a highly regarded reputation as the most efficient hitman in London and elsewhere.

The Gold Standard
Word of his ability had spread far and wide, and with that came unwanted attention. While those in the area followed the rules, there were others who did not. His employers did business of the illegal sort, and that was never confined to just his home. All walks of life came and went through his corner of London, both in status and in nationality. Some were more agreeable than others, but some were concerned regarding bad deals and the presence of a highly competent assassin to convince people to see things the Syndicate's way.

Of course, he still kept working and killing, but didn't spend his money on extreme luxuries, often spending his earnings on his equipment and accessories for the equipment. His work went on and on, getting the same successful result every time. Loyal to his employer, he was surprised when a strange woman, who identified herself as Derowen MacFie, approached him with an offer. Brushing it aside, it only took a phone call to learn he shouldn't have done so.

Torchwood Ten
Following the phone call, he managed to find Derowen and revisited her offer. It soon came to be that, despite his career at Clerkenwell, he soon found himself on loan to Torchwood Ten.

Early Career

 * Alistair Northcott - Lawyer
 * Sophie Chamberlain - Former assassin turned informant
 * Victoria Morris - Business executive
 * Johanna Berg - IRA member

The Middle Jobs

 * Richard Strong - Arms Dealer
 * John LeBlanc - Drug Lord
 * Benjamin Travis - Police Chief
 * Shizuki Amano - Yakauza assassin
 * Jaxon McDonald - Involved in human trafficking ring

Recent Hits

 * Carmela Milano - Mafia Don's daughter

Appearance
Aiden is a white male with well groomed brown hair, and has a fair complexion and athletic build. His eyes are not trademark, but are known to be the most cold and least emotional part of him. His facial features are quite imposing, his ice blue eyes a focal point of a face that projects an air of distinction as well as a serious, no-nonsense attitude. He is 6'2" (188 cm) tall and 187 lbs (85 kg).

He almost always wears tailored suits, ties of various colors, and black leather gloves on the job. Favoring secrecy, he often hides his weapons in concealed holsters and uses discreet body armor. Off of the job, he dresses in casual fashions and colors. Dressed off however, reveal numerous scars on his arms and torso, reminders of the jobs he has completed in the past.

Personality
Even though Aidan is a relatively heartless assassin, he shows some signs of morality. His absolute highest priority is completing his contract. He will sacrifice innocents if he must, but he will kill the target. He is emotionally closed off to the suffering of others when appropriate on a contract. He is content with being alone, but has a deep if unexpressed admiration for the few people he becomes close to. He also once expressed his disgust at exploiting innocent people, as during a past contract, he lamented on how his target used "children as weapons".

Aidan approaches his assassinations with professionalism but will, however, not show any hesitation or remorse when it comes to killing or silencing witnesses and other potential threats to his mission. Aidan generally speaks in a proper, non-threatening tone, rarely swearing, or even raising his voice. Aidan has a serious and focused facial expression, often scanning the scene with his eyes; the only other facial expression Aidan has been known to show is pain, but also occasionally smirks. When not on assignment, Aidan shows typical human behavior such as cursing under frustration as well as sharing a few jokes with his associates. But more often than not, he prefers to share little words and keeps to himself.

Given his fees, Aidan is a well-off individual from his contract earnings but never stops going for new contracts. He only spends his money on simple things like food, suits, gear, and shelter.

As evidenced by his spending, Aidan does his work as a hitman for more than just money, but for purpose in life. He shows some sense of honor when doing his contracts like honoring Sophie Chamberlain's last request after she died, despite her inability to know if he would do so or not. It is embedded in his mind that his contract and mission is to be fulfilled as it is part of his conscience. He does show some concern for other human beings by accepting that he has to work as a hitman as trying to live a "normal" life will endanger those around him.

Skills/Abilities
Aidan is highly proficient in the art of stealth, being able to terminate multiple enemies one at a time and sneak up on almost anybody and quietly neutralize them. He is physically strong even when compared to average adult males of his size and build; being able to move and dispose of bodies, snap necks, and knock opponents unconscious. Aidan is a skilled driver owing to past chases from law enforcement. To keep in his physical condition and also keep his skills in balance, Aidan practices his combat, shooting, assassination, and stealth skills whenever he is not on an assignment.

Trained extensively and experienced in armed and unarmed combat and in the use of improvised weapons, explosives, sniper rifles, automatic weapons and bladed weapons, Aidan is fully adept at surveying his environment and using it to his advantage or using it as weapons. Aidan is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant and can disarm trained guards with relative ease, as well as being able to render people unconscious with minimal effort. He is also resourceful enough to maintain anonymity by avoiding leaving forensic evidence for law enforcement agencies to discover through various methods. Aidan is skilled in infiltration, ex-filtration, and evasion, as well as the traditional art of assassination as seen when carrying out contracts. He is also an expert marksman.

Aidan possesses an understanding of the criminal nature due to his time at Westminster University. He also has an understanding of human anatomy and is good at striking vital points when strangling targets silently or using hand to hand combat. He also knows how best to move throughout an area without catching the attention of civilians or armed guards. He knows exactly what parts of the human body to shoot that would be a survivable shot, a fatal shot or even a slow painful shot which Aidan has used to interrogate several sources of information. He is also able to face multiple enemies unarmed and survive the encounter.

Whatever the situation, Aidan doesn't panic. He always keeps his composure and clear mind to the point of being aware of everything around him and reevaluates every situation, never losing focus.

Equipment
Aidan has shown preference for certain weapons throughout his career as a hitman, his first preferences ingrained into him by his training and then upgrading to more efficient equipment as he gained experience. As one of the Syndicate's highest paid hitmen, Aidan also has the funds to procure nearly any firearms or other equipment he may need.

''*The listed weapons are examples and does not represent the entirety of his knowledge. Though always picking the best tool for the job, his typical choices are in italics''

Melee

 * Garrote
 * Pentagon Elite II

Handguns

 * Beretta M9A3
 * Glock 21
 * Heckler & Koch HK45 Tactical (HK45T)
 * Heckler & Koch HK45 Compact Tactical (HK45CT)
 * SIG Sauer P220 Combat TB

Sniper Rifles

 * Accuracy International AT308
 * Blaser R93
 * Heckler & Koch MSG90-A2
 * Kalashnikov SV-99

Machine Pistols/Submachine Guns

 * Beretta 93R
 * Heckler & Koch MP5SD5
 * Ingram MAC-10

Assault Rifles

 * AK-101
 * M4 carbine
 * L85A2

Shotguns

 * Benelli M4
 * Franchi SPAS-12
 * Remington Model 1100 Tac 4

Other

 * Bullet Resistant Vest
 * Grenades
 * Various other explosives