Flannery Quinn was born to middle-class parents in the center of Dublin, Ireland, Earth in the year 2580. His mother was of Spanish descent and met Reuben Quinn while she was on a choral tour. Maria Morales was a mezzo-soprano beginning to achieve world-wide prominence. Reuben was a dock worker who attended one of her concerts and fell in love. Maria left the tour and moved in with Quinn. Flannery was born a year later.

The family was very close. From Maria, the boy inherited his olive skin and dark brown eyes; from Reuben his deep red hair. Flannery grew up an outgoing child, extremely loving, and a gifted musician--he had also inherited his mother's talent.

On his twelfth birthday, Flannery witnessed the deaths of his parents at the hands of off-duty Lord Security Guards. He was left homeless and totally withdrawn. He spoke to no one and abandoned his music completely. Turning to theft as his only means of survival, he managed to survive on the streets for a year.

When he was thirteen, he was hauled before the Discipline Tribunal on a charge of stealing a loaf of bread. The sentence was the removal of both hands at the wrist. His wounds were cauterized, and he was thrown back onto the streets. He managed to drag himself into the shelter of an alleyway before collapsing in a state of near-catatonia. It was here that Ace Kilcarney literally stumbled over him.

With the aid of Jeremy Fentress, he got Flannery to US Headquarters, and Kilcarney persuaded the US Research and Development team that the boy would be a perfect test case for their new work in prosthetics.

After long, hard months of work, Ace finally began to break through the boy's defenses and bring him back to society. Over the years, he has regained some of the charm that characterized his childhood, but is still suspicious and surly with strangers.

Quinn's function with the team is Wild Card. He attaches to whichever pair Ace decides needs his talents. Secondarily, he functions as hitman for US Headquarters. These contracts go against his psychological grain, and he has attempted suicide on more than one occasion. He is volatile and unpredictable, but the best at what he does--and totally devoted to Ace Kilcarney.

Quinn is owner and bouncer at a sleazy dockside bar known as The Deck. He plays and sings in the lounge as part of his cover, and it is rumored that he financed the purchase of the bar through royalties on songs published under various aliases.

Bottomline profile: Flannery Quinn is high explosives waiting a match. He has the stereotypical artist's temperament--and the gifts to go with it. He could be trouble....