Characters in the Gary Booker Novel Series by VS Campbell

As in any novel series that offers a continuous, chronological group of stories, The Gary Booker Novel Series has more than one hundred characters that weave in and out of the different books and spin-offs. This list, organized by the books in which they were introduced, will help you understand the background and history of the characters. I hope you enjoy the adventure!

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Characters from Operation Austin, the first book in the Gary Booker Novel Series

Gary Patrick Booker

Born September 24, 1985 (34 years old at the time of the first book, July 2019). His mother’s name is Kim; she is sixty years old and lives in the Trilogy Community on Redmond Ridge, Washington. His father died several years earlier after struggling with Parkinson’s from exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. He is very close to his mom and was also with his dad. She is one of the main reasons he still has a residence in Washington State, since his primary home is on the Island of St. Kitts.

He graduated from the University of Washington with a master’s in computer science and a BA in Construction Management.

After graduating from the UW, Gary took a job as a project engineer with a large defense technology company. Eighteen months into his first project, the project manager was fired for having issues with the schedule and quality control. Gary knew the most about the project’s current situation, so after an in-depth interview, their boss handed the management position to him. The project finished on time and met the budget. The industry took notice.

Following that, he was hired as a consultant to solve problems on a Defense Department project, and his reputation grew as someone who had excellent planning skills and understood project management of technology-related projects. This led him to be hired by a cybersecurity/anti-virus company, where he became a TOR/Dark Web expert, falling in love with the world of cyber investigation.

That is how Gary met John, who was working for the internet security company. John had been hired to do some personal security by the CEO. The two men liked each other, and right after that, John ended up on a job that needed some tech work, so he called Gary.

John had started a firm doing security, both personal and corporate, with an emphasis on forced collections and hostage extractions. Having the right intel going into a mission can make all of the difference in the success of an operation, and Gary was the best in the business at penetrating computer systems and getting information out. This allowed John and the team to have a distinct advantage, because they were always in possession of information that gave them control of the location and their enemies. They were the apex predators, and their prey was usually unaware that they were being pursued.

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Gary also proved to be particularly good at strategic planning, and the team allowed him to take over that function, organizing the mission details and creating a framework of a plan that he would then present to the team in a ‘team consulting’ process. Each member of the team was an elite professional, selected by Gary, John, and Layla, to fill a specific role. John, Gary, and Layla had been together ever since, occasionally doing projects independently of each other but increasingly working as a team.

For Gary, there was something addictive about the chase, like a lion stalking a gazelle. Creeping so slowly that he could barely be seen moving, crouching where the prey couldn’t see him, with a rush, he pounced. It was usually over before his victim knew he was there.

That is what they did, John and he. They crept up on bad people, especially the ones that the legal system either couldn’t or wouldn’t touch. Then they pounced, destroying their target and taking everything that belonged to the criminal. When they were done destroying their prey, they left no evidence of their involvement. After paying themselves very well, they put the rest of the money they plundered into a fund to help the victims they rescued.

Generally, Gary did the stalking; John and the team did the pouncing, but lately, Gary has been participating more in the fieldwork. He felt it helped him plan missions better if he understood what they experienced, and he also needed to be there at the scene to secure the computers they found. This allowed him to extract information and to plunder the criminals.

At first, it was like a game for him. John and Layla had years of experience in the dirty work of the industry. They understood that torture and death were part of what they did to fight ruthless and violent opponents. To Gary, that was academic until they lost their first team member in battle. That, and another traumatic event experienced in the months before Operation Austin, opened up a dark side of his persona, one that Paige labeled El que trae Veneno: The one who brings venom, or El Veneno for short.

Paige Stewart Booker

Paige Stewart was born in 2001. She was 18 when she and Gary met in July of 2019, and would be 19 on September 29^th. She is 5’-8” tall and weighs 125 pounds. Paige is from McCall, Idaho, and was raised by her grandmother after her mom left her. She didn’t know who her father was, and her mom wasn’t very maternal. Grandma did her best but had her own issues and baggage. Paige excelled at running cross-country and playing volleyball.

When her grandmother died in her senior year of high school, Paige stayed with the family of a friend. The girl’s father kept making unwanted advances, so as soon as Paige graduated and turned 18, she left for Las Vegas to connect with a girl she’d met in a social media group for aspiring models. Of course, it was a façade for a trafficking ring, and when Paige got to Las Vegas, she was quickly snatched. Intended to be sent overseas, John Byrne, Scott Boardman, and Robert Monet rescued her while on a daring mission to extract Christie Rawlins, the daughter of Jack and Jeannie Rawlins, who you will meet in The Husband Whisperer, Sarah’s Story.

Scott Boardman

Scott Boardman grew up on a farm in Indiana with eight siblings: two older brothers, two older sisters, and three younger sisters. Played Defensive Lineman at Ohio State. Nicknamed ‘The Hulk’ in school.

He was 36 years old when he was introduced in Operation Austin. Army Ranger. 6-8, 310 pounds. Scott was a dominant football player for Ohio State University but decided to go into the army instead of on to the NFL.

He became an Army Ranger and a Green Beret, speaks English and Arabic. He had many deployments to Kuwait and Iraq with both teams as an expert in explosives and a medic, and is in love with Paula Cruz.

John Byrne

At the time of Operation Austin, John Byrne was 40 years old. His family background is Irish American, and he is a legendary fighter, football and basketball player in high school, and prior to meeting Gary, was the top enforcer and forced debt collector for the casinos in Las Vegas. He has a home in Redmond, WA, that he shares with Layla Rubio. His birthday is May 28^th.

Layla Rubio

Layla Rubio is was 34 years old in Operation Austin. She is 5’-4” tall and weighs 115 pounds. A ninja assassin, she excels in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kenjutsu, the traditional art of Japanese sword fighting. She was a Master at Arms in the Navy, stationed in Bangor, when she met John Byrne. She speaks English, Korean, and Tagalog. Born in the Philippines, she came to the USA when she was 6 years old, raised by her mom and stepdad, who was a Navy vet. From New York and Manila, mom and dad have homes in both places. Diving Expert. Prefers Glock 23. Lives with John in Redmond. Her birthday is August 12^th, she is a Leo.

Paula Cruz

Paula Cruz was 45 years old in Operation Austin, but is said to look 35. She is a Latina and speaks Spanish and Portuguese. She is a world-class IT/Technology Specialist, and attended the Air Force Academy. She holds a black belt in Aikido and is also a diving expert. She is 5’-8” tall and weighs 125 pounds. Originally from Colorado, she is in love with Scott Boardman and also prefers the Glock 23.

Rob Monet

Robert grew up in Florida and France, the only son of a family that owns casino ships based in Tampa and traditional casinos in France and other nations. He became a Navy SEAL and an elite warrior before meeting Andrea Duncan in Belize while the team was on a mission to protect her family in Austin. Rob was a sniper and weapons expert in the Navy and has three sisters.

Andrea (Andi) Duncan

Andi is almost twenty years old when she meets Paige Stewart, as her family is being spirited out of Austin under the threat of a terrorist plot. She is one of the leading IT students in the nation and quickly falls in love with Robert Monet, the incredibly handsome and charming team member who has a slight French accent. She has an older sister and brother.

Cindy and Don Duncan

Don and Cindy Duncan are the wealthy owners of one of the largest construction companies in the world. Based in Austin, Texas, they have offices all over the world and perform a lot of petroleum work as well as defense technology projects. Don was a dominant football player in Texas and had a short but brilliant career in the NFL before he suffered a career-ending knee injury. Cindy was a Longhorn cheerleader, and as the daughter of the founder of their company, she is among the leaders in Austin society.

Carla and Cristal Ramírez

Carla is Gary’s house manager in Ellensburg, Washington. She was 45 years old when she was introduced in Operation Austin. Her daughter, Cristel, is 17, and she meets Paige in the book Operation Vegas when Gary and Paige return from Belize.

Carla is a fantastic cook, and Cristel is a softball player and martial artist, although not intensely serious about it. Together with her best friend Denise, she occasionally helps with the housekeeping at Sherwood, more as a way for Gary to funnel money to her than for any practical purpose.

Carla’s Birthday is May 14th, a Taurus. Cristal’s birthday is January 22nd, making her an Aquarius. Cristel quickly becomes a project for Paige, as the older girl senses the need for support and encouragement that an older sister could provide. As she helps guide Cristel, Paige has the opportunity to live vicariously through Cristel, enjoying some of the things about high school life that she missed due to her poverty and the need to work to help support her grandmother.

Carlos and Elie Ramírez, Juan, and Isabel

Carlos and Elie Ramirez (No relationship to Carla and Cristel) are the captain and first mate of The Ghost, Gary’s 80-foot solar-powered catamaran that he keeps in Belize. Juan is the deckhand for the ship, and Isabel is his wife.