Character Bio for Grant

Sorry it took me so long to get this up.  But here it is:

Name: Grant Leonard Hardcastle
Age (at time of novel): 27
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 190lbs
General Appearance: Very dark brown hair kept short but not shaved, muscular but not large, toned, roman nose, hazel eyes, round symmetrical face, slight cleft in his chin, usually wearing darker colors.
Profession: Leader of Special Ops team
Skills:  Sharpshooter, speed reader, reading someone's character just by looking at them, athletic, martial artist
General Personality: despite being an introvert of sorts Grant inspires confidence in his people because of the way he is able to understand them and sympathize with them.  He doesn't rush ahead, instead plans carefully and is able to clearly explain his plans to others.  He's a bit hard on the outside, but really cares about all his friends, and would do almost anything to keep them safe.  This can be a conflict when in a situation where he has to put the mission first.  When he's not working or training he is usually reading, with favorite books including The Art of War, Dante's Inferno, WWII literature, and all sorts of religious texts (Bible, Koran, Torah, etc)  He's not a big fan of the second life game, or any kind of technology that takes you away from interacting face to face with real people.

When Grant was 3 years old he lost his father (Jared) in a suspicious accident (his father worked for the local police force), and therefore doesn't remember him well.  He was raised as an only child by his mother (Hannah) who wanted to ensure that he became skilled and athletic especially since he didn't have a father for a role model.  He participated in many sports and learned Karate, Jujitsu, fencing, and Kung Fu, growing up but also spent much of his time reading any book he could get his hand on.  He graduated from high school at the top of his class.  As a child he was always busy doing something (either school, training, or reading) and didn't have much time for friends.

When Grant graduated from high school he moved on immediately to a degree in Psychology from Notre Dame, while participating on their swim team.  He had an academic and athletic scholarship.  It was here that he met Jared and developed a life-long friendship.  After the first year he quit the swim team but kept up other activities, focusing mainly on the martial arts he knew.  Additionally he joined a group that helped people that were obese to loose weight.

At age 21 he was approached by a member of the government and offered a job working as a member of a special forces team.  He declined because he wanted to finish his degree, but a year later he was approached again and accepted.  He worked as a member of a team for three years, and met Micro who was a fellow member of the team.  This was good and bad for him, because a number of his companions died in combat.  He showed superior skill and responsibility though.  When he was 25 he was on a rescue mission with his team, trying to recover a California senator from an organized crime unit holding the man for ransom.  In the op, a trap was sprung and Grant's leader was killed early on in the op.  Grant was next in line, and ordered the team to retreat.  If it hadn't been for his quick thinking they would have all been killed.  It was after this that he was promoted to the leader of the team.  Since several of his team-mates were gone he recruited his old friend Jared, and Angelina (who he found through Micro).

He later met Polly after she had come up on a short list of potential candidates for the team.  He met with her personally, in disguise to get to know her better, then after a number of exchanges (during which Polly develops a small crush on him) he finally revealed his real job and asked her to join the team.  Together Grant and his team are among the most efficient and successful.