BASIC INFORMATION:
NAME: Erik Callaghan. AGE: 52. PLACE OF BIRTH: Launceston, Massachusetts, United States. AFFILIATION: Neutral. (Mancini Family, loosely) OCCUPATION: Former mayor. FACE CLAIM: Gabriel Macht. AVAILABILITY: TAKEN.
(Warning: Brief mention of a pregnant character's death.)
“I promise we’ll talk later.”
It was the last thing she’d ever said to him.
And where he desperately tried to cling to the memory of the gentle smile he adored, more often than not, it was the pain in her eyes that night that crept into his thoughts.
Pain that he had caused.
Erik had made so many mistakes in his life it was hard to figure out where to start. But never her. Norah had never been a mistake, even if the rest of the city seemed to decide her one on his behalf.
It’d been such a mighty fall from grace one wouldn’t have been hasty to assume his redemption impossible. Erik had come from a wealthy, much-loved Anderson Island family whose reputation somehow traversed the usual line between the upper classes and everybody else. He’d always been well-spoken, well-read, and an absolute credit to his lineage. As was expected of him, he’d attended Ivy League schools—first Yale, then Belmonte—and had been on track to become everything the city expected of somebody like him. Upon his return to Launceston, he had a new wife in tow, and a healthy ambition to change the city he adored for the better.
Things were never that easy though, were they?
Particularly not when the criminal empires that plagued Launceston were growing more powerful by the day. And changing the city for the better was not something they appreciated.
It’d always been his goal to make his way into the world of politics. All the connections he needed were already there, his last name gave him a boost that most others could only dream of, his wife was a supporting rock for his campaigns, and he was just young and hopeful enough to believe he could do some good in the world. When he eventually ended up becoming mayor a little less than two decades later, it was all he could’ve dreamed of. The public adored him. His family was so proud of him. The changes he was making really were with the best interests of the city at heart.
And that was precisely where it all came crashing down.
First, the threats were only directed toward him, and not to be deterred, he upped his security and carried on life as normal. But when the safety of his wife came into question—his two daughters, not long after—things started to become more complicated. The Russians, the Italians, the French…they all wanted him out of office, and directly into a hole in the ground. Erik had lived in Launceston long enough to know that their threats were not to be assumed empty.
Livia was so scared for the safety of her family, seeing her in pain tore at him. She pleaded with him to stop, to step down, to think about what this was doing to them. The woman barely ate, barely slept, barely left home... Ellie and Laura needed a security detail just to go to school, and even if they were too young to understand what was going on, they were astute enough to know something was wrong. Especially with their mother. Erik and Livia fought constantly because he was too stubborn to back down out of fear—he couldn’t when he was finally hitting the gangsters where it hurt—and it was utterly destroying their marriage. Some nights he didn’t even go home at all, because he couldn’t find the mental capacity to deal with everything that was going on, the stresses of work, only to be greeted by a woman who couldn’t even stand the sight of him anymore.
And that was when the affair began.
Erik wasn’t the first man to excuse his straying on marital troubles, and he wouldn’t be the last, but Norah Pierce would end up being much more than a convenient escape from his wife.
It’d started out as late nights in the office, her offering him legal counsel, as was her job, over dinner. Livia had no reason to be suspicious at first, because he’d already been sleeping there when things got really bad between them. Quickly, their relationship grew into something much more serious, though. Erik had never intended it to be anything more than a casual way to blow off some steam, but God, he loved her more than he ever thought possible. Was completely and utterly in love with her. It was stupid, and it was unprofessional, but he couldn’t help himself. She was everything he didn’t deserve, but everything he needed. For the sake of both of their careers, they were as careful as possible. One night they’d gotten brazen and headed back to her place, though, and little did he know, that one heat of the moment decision would ruin everything.
The St. Clairs were having him watched. Barely a day later, Erik had the photos on his desk.
In spite of his massive popularity during his first term, for the sake of his sanity, he didn’t intend to run for office again. But now Nicolas had leverage. Erik would run again, and he would appoint Faye St. Clair as his deputy, or the photos would hit the press and he would lose everything. His family, his career, his dignity…and Norah a reputation she’d worked so hard to build from the ground up.
Of course, he was re-elected in a landslide. Launceston loved him, and he had been so productive the first time around, they wouldn’t have wanted anybody else at the helm during one of the city’s most turbulent periods. But things would be different this time around, and his popularity would quickly plummet once he started to walk back on his anti-organised crime stances due to St. Clair’s pressure. Livia hated him more than ever—berated him for putting his family through hell only to undo it all—and filed for divorce within the year. Norah, who he had at least confided in about the truth, was scared for not only her own safety, but the safety of the man she loved. His life was in fucking shambles.
Erik started drinking. Started to push away the few people who stuck by his side, Norah included, out of guilt and shame and absolute fucking disgust at what he’d become. Until finally, he snapped.
“Leak the pictures. I don’t give a fuck, Nicolas. I’ll tell them about your daughter, the blackmail…”
And that’s a conversation he regrets to this day.
“I promise we’ll talk later.”
Norah had told him she was pregnant that morning, and they still hadn’t had time to discuss what that meant for them. The hurt in her eyes was because he still refused to acknowledge their relationship publicly. Was pushing her away, even though she was fighting so hard for him. What she didn’t realise was that he was doing it because he cared. Not about much else anymore, but he cared about her. Erik knew what was to come. Erik knew that his reputation would not survive this, no matter how it played out, and he didn’t want to drag her down with him. All he wanted to do was marry her, take her away from the mess of a city, and never look back, but it would never be that easy, even if he wanted it to be.
Erik had given a speech that night, much to the distaste of the audience. It’d been The Palace Hotel’s annual breast cancer benefit. And right as the last word left his mouth, a gunshot rang out.
A chaos the likes of which the city had never seen before ensued, but all he could see was her lifeless body on the floor. The bullet had been meant for her, but it’d been meant for him, too.
The St. Clairs weren’t to be fucked with.
Erik resigned the next morning.
Everything good in his life was gone.
Like an absolute coward, he’d departed the city shortly after, and fallen off the face of the earth for almost five years. Livia and the kids were better off without him. The few friends who had stuck by him, too. The pits of absolute depression and numbness were a welcome reprieve from the grief, in a way. Erik had no intention of ever going back to that place. Never wanted to be faced with the memories of everything he’d destroyed.
But when the news of Nicolas St. Clair’s passing reached him, something changed.
The man was fucking dead, just like he deserved.
And suddenly, he was angry instead of numb for the first time in years.
Upon returning to Launceston, the former mayor was greeted with the reception he deserved: utter disdain. But one man had thought of him differently. One man had made a point of seeking him out, and requesting an audience with the once beloved politician. Salvatore Mancini. Erik still doesn’t know, to this day, how the Italian found out about the circumstances of his relationship with Nicolas St. Clair, but he made it abundantly clear that he hated him just as much. At first, he’d scoffed at the idea. Erik didn’t care about petty fucking disputes between gangs. But when the old man told him that Nicolas St. Clair had been responsible for the murder of his wife, the mother of his children, he understood that his interest in his predicament was genuine. Because it was personal.
Erik would’ve been content to continue life as the villain if it hadn’t been for him. Mancini convinced him to tell the truth about why he had walked back on his policies. About the blackmail, and about what they’d done to Norah to punish him for even considering speaking up.
And whilst many St. Clair loyalists would be quick to condemn him for trying to tarnish the reputation of a man who could no longer defend himself, a great many more of Launceston’s citizens believed him. Supported him. Belatedly grieved for him.
Salvatore supported him every step of the way. Unlike St. Clair, however, it was unconditional. He expected nothing in return, and Erik was grateful for that. For him.
A few years have passed since he came clean, and finding his footing again has been a struggle. What has proven much harder to swallow, however, is watching Faye St. Clair in the mayoral seat, carrying on as though nothing has changed.
Eleanor O’Reilly is challenging her for her position at the next election, and although the prospect absolutely terrifies him, she has asked him to run as her deputy. With crime a more pressing issue than ever before, having someone who has not only suffered through it personally, but made great amends for the mistakes he made as a victim of it, would put an entirely different light on her campaign. One of honesty, one of strength, and one of more determination than ever to make the people responsible for causing so much pain in the city pay for their sins.
Erik doesn’t know whether he has it in him to accept the offer, whether it would even be allowed after all that’s transpired, but it would be a lie to say that he isn’t considering it. Especially after Salvatore Mancini leaked the idea to the press, and the Launcestonian public unanimously called for his return to the mayoral office once more…
SOCIAL CONNECTIONS:
RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Norah Pierce (partner, deceased), Livia Callaghan (ex-wife, unplayable) FAMILY: Ellie and Laura Callaghan (daughters, unplayable) CONNECTIONS:
Eleanor O'Reilly: Good friend. Though she'd been the opposition candidate during his second campaign, even when he won the seat that she deserved, she was never bitter. It's difficult to find good people in a city like Launceston, but Eleanor is one of them, and the fact she doesn't utterly despise him after all that's happened is a certified miracle. Getting his life back on track has been an uphill struggle, but she's been at his side for all of it. Even if he doesn't deserve it, or her.
Salvatore Mancini: Friend. When Salvatore's crimes finally caught up to him and he was arrested by the FBI, Erik was more upset than he'd expected to be. Never could he have imagined mourning a mobster being put behind bars, but after everything Mancini has done for him, everything he's done to show that he's a genuinely good man, Erik can't help but be disappointed their friendship was cut short. There are few 'mobsters' he could ever imagine sympathising with, but Sal is decidedly not like the others. It seems a shame to Erik that it's him behind bars instead of a Frenchman or a Russian.
Angelo Morello: Friend. Though he was slightly less accommodating than Salvatore had been in the beginning, Angelo too hates the French with an almost unrivalled passion that Erik can relate to. It was enough for the jaded old men to bond. Whilst he has to keep any relationship with anybody who isn't strictly above board a secret after all that's happened, there is some comfort to be found in knowing a man like Angelo is in his corner.
Faye St. Clair: Dislikes. Nicolas pushed her into this life and he knows it. Erik witnessed the turmoil she went through being involved in a campaign she wanted no part of. But her father is gone now, and if she wanted to, she could come clean about all the terrible things he orchestrated. Instead, she remains in office, continuing to perpetuate the same bullshit to keep the St. Clairs on top that her father had expected of him. So if he'd ever felt sorry for her predicament before, that's sure flown out of the window now. Even if he doesn't run with Eleanor, he'll damn sure do everything he can to make sure she takes the seat next election.
