Better the Devil You Know: Haven Profiles (Duke Crocker)

Date: 1/3/2013
Subject Name: Duke Crocker
DOB: 04/24/1977
Gender: Male
Age: 35
Place of Examination: Data compiled at Chandler/Hammett Investigations offices
Occupation: Owner and proprietor of The Grey Gull; import/export specialist though that line of work is currently a sideline rather than his primary occupation in terms of time. In terms of income we have far less data either way due to the nature of the business.
Marital Status: Widowed; estranged prior to that.
Race: Troubled.
Classification: ST-BD-####




Presents with: Subject displays considerable charisma and charm, some of which appears to be natural inclinations but a great deal of which is also calculated use of those natural talents and inclinations. He uses the technique of offering conversation and steering the subject of discussion to avoid things he does not want to talk about and focus on either topics which he considers harmless or topics about which he wishes more information. This apparent willingness to talk also conceals his true emotions, providing a field of distracting "noise" to obscure whatever behavioral or verbal signals he might be expressing. Unclear when or where he developed this set of defensive reflexes, but most likely in childhood.

It is known that Crocker's father died when he was seven or eight years old; and his father before that when Simon Crocker was approximately the same age. Though we have some idea that Simon Crocker's primary influence while growing up was the group of anti-Trouble unstable and violent personalities, we do not know who Duke Crocker's primary influence was. The only testimony we have on his childhood comes from Nathan Wuornos, who does not remember anything kind about him, and Vanessa Stanley, his childhood babysitter who did remember him but unfortunately died before more could be learned from her. However, certain qualities displayed in his behavior indicate that he was raised with more of a permissive or tolerant attitude towards the world than his father. He does not display any inclination to impose his beliefs on others, nor does he attach a value towards other people because of inborn attributes. As a general rule, this is the sort of outlook learned in childhood and indicates that whatever time he may have spent with his father he considered the morals and values his father held to be toxic and not to be emulated.

By the time he was twenty one it is known that he won a boat from Sal [last name unknown] in a poker game and subsequently left Haven and did not return; this would have been at almost the exact mid-point of the cycle. Despite this, Crocker does not show an inclination to leave Haven again now that the Troubles are escalating. This indicates a strong sense of loyalty above most other traits, given the twofold attachment of both his promise to his father even at the age of eight when it would have been coercion, as well as his ties to subjects PT-TR-#### and IN-####. It also indicates a sense of responsibility, as he is now tied to Haven via the Gray Gull. However, he still appears to maintain his smuggler contacts, which may or may not be an indication of his ability to engender trust despite the blatant connection with law enforcement. It also shows at the very least a subconscious need to have several avenues of approach or escape available to him, which likely dates back to his father's influence. His smuggler career and his subsequent ownership of the Gull does show several things for certain: firstly, Crocker is resourceful enough to keep an older boat afloat despite the lack of a support network. We can infer this from the age of the boat (it was most likely not new when Simon Crocker purchased it in 1982-1983, Duke did not inherit it until his 21st birthday around 1996, at which time the boat may well have been towards the end of its lifespan) as well as the fact that it is still in solid working condition in the present in Haven. Whether or not Crocker was raised with a broad knowledge of ships and their workings, he clearly knows enough to maintain a ship with minimal connection to the maintenance bays and crews, which requires ascertaining that the work has been done completely and competently. Secondly, it demonstrates his ability (or at least his confidence in his ability) to manage multiple sets of tasks, multiple roles over a long period of time, as well as delegating more minor tasks, which requires good judgement of character and, again, confidence in said judgement. Thirdly, his success as a smuggler reinforces the evidence for the previously mentioned ability to conceal his motives as well as his projected charisma.

At some point in the 10 or so years he was away from Haven he met and married Evidence Ryan; while a long-term relationship is well within the displayed pathology the marriage or at least the agreement to marriage most likely occurred while one or both was under the influence of assorted substances. Given Crocker's aforementioned sense of responsibility it is unlikely he would assume the responsibilities inherent in the role of husband while sober, especially considering his subsequent reaction (leaving her without warning or direction and disappearing back to Haven). Her concept of responsibilities as far as a marriage partnership or her expectations of Crocker are unknown, as is whether or not they have discussed it, however, it is equally unlikely that her expectations would affect his expectations of himself to the extent that he would consent to a marriage given his already-made promise to his father. But, the origins of their marriage aside, it is clear that they both worked together in a social engineering and acquisitions field, and that they cared for each other. Unclear what brought Ryan back to Haven at that particular time, as she did have at least a few years between Crocker's departure and her arrival in Haven, but he did not seem overtly surprised to see her. In this case it is estimated that this was less due to his ability to control his reactions and more due to him expecting some high degree of probability that she would track him down.

Although the exact year of the subject's return to Haven is unknown, one of the first actions he took was to seek out subject PT-TR-#### and approach him as a friend. Whether or not the intended friendship was genuine or artificial to serve a purpose is unknown, as the only testimony we have about that time is from Wuornos, who is less than impartial. According to Wuornos, Duke Crocker solicited his assistance as a police officer to provide a legitimate facade for his illicit activities, and an argument resulted when Wuornos discovered this. Although Wuornos claims that this and several childhood incidents of aggression are responsible for the contentious relationship between the two, Crocker himself offers very little in the way of direct anecdotal evidence one way or another for their relations prior to the arrival of subject IN-####. He makes sideways mention of things that Wuornos has done that imply Wuornos would consider his own actions questionable, at least now if not at the time, but never refers to specific incidents.

It is possible that the subject's animus against police officers and official authorities begins with Wuornos's position as a police officer, but unlikely; it is more likely this contention with police officers begins in his childhood. Assuming that the police officers who were also orchestrating Roy Crocker's killing of Troubled persons continued to then orchestrate Simon Crocker's subsequent killing, Duke Crocker would not likely have gotten a good impression of police officers, frequently and pervasively through his early childhood. If not that, then he would have developed a wariness of law enforcement in his career as a smuggler, however, the first scenario is equally likely. Subject IN-####  is currently a police officer, and so his first interactions with her are fraught with tension and he projects a false sense of hospitality and charisma without revealing significant personal information. The trigger for his change in approach to her was likely her display of compassion for his friend's death, which resulted in an attempt at forming deeper relations shortly thereafter. Her rebuff set the progress of their relationship of trust back, but that initial compassion did move her from his mental category of police officer to something more advanced and intimate. By the time several weeks to months had passed he was comfortable enough to trust her not only with the knowledge of his Trouble and his uncertain feelings towards it, but also his father's journal, newly discovered.

It is unclear why Simon Crocker never told his son about the Crocker Trouble, although current speculation leans towards his feeble and ham-handed attempts to give his son a normal life including the opportunity to leave Haven if he so chose. Certainly the fact that he made Duke promise to come back indicates he felt he had reason to believe that the younger Crocker would leave in the first place. Because the subject did not know about his Trouble prior to it activating during violence (which resulted in unintended potential harm to an ally), he did not have opportunity to form opinions about it until he was an adult with formed opinions about violence, physical harm, and death or murder. At this point it seems that Crocker's opinions about physical harm and murder supercede his opinions about his Trouble and its benevolence or malevolence thereof. The only instance in which he has chosen to use his Trouble to end an individual's life was under dire circumstances where, left unchecked, the Trouble in question would have destroyed many lives. Even so, he was manipulated into doing so by subject IN-#### and was far from unconflicted about the necessity of doing so. (See file HV-303 for additional details.) However, subsequent to this incident, subject appears to have decided to use his Trouble via less harmful means and to good ends: at least once he has used a preexisting wound to engage the enhanced strength aspect of his Trouble to save another Troubled individual, and at least twice he has used his Trouble to determine whether or not another person is Troubled. This is contrary to his initial opinion of his bloodline, which seems to have been largely predicated on fear of being like Simon Crocker. It is likely that the passage of time (during which he did not, in fact, lose his sense of self and decide that killing the Troubled was his destiny) as well as a brief interaction with his grandfather is responsible for the reversal, insofar as Duke determined that Roy Crocker was attempting to protect the lives of his family. Moreover, the subject's negative attitude toward the Troubles has been restricted to himself and the Troubles as a concept; around other Troubled individuals he is frequently understanding and sometimes sympathetic, depending on the danger they present to himself and those he cares for, including but not limited to subjects IN-#### and PT-TR-####. He often expresses frustration with Haven and its Troubles, but rarely does he direct it against those unable to control their affliction. Instead, the subject prefers fact-finding and problem-solving to major issues; he tends to take both a shorter-term and broader view of such situations. This was exemplified when he learned that Audrey Parker was due to disappear from Haven in approximately two months; the subject chose to examine the larger ramifications of this potentiality, seeking answers from the Teagues who are known to conceal a great deal of information about the history of Haven. (See files TD-BD-#### and TL-BD-#### for further details.) Though the answers he received were notably lacking, his intention to stand and fight Parker's supposed fate was immediate and unhesitating. The subject furthermore did not allow her to distance herself from him as she did with Wuornos, instead providing support both physical and emotional whenever and however she needed it; though this could have easily become overbearing and condescending he retained an excellent sense of when Parker truly needed distance and when she felt it was her duty to say that she did. In many respects Crocker's investigation into Parker's imminent departure paralleled Wuornos, indicating a level of uneasy trust on at least Crocker's side.  

Updated 1/28/13: Due to the de-aging Trouble (see case file HV-312), we now have some confirmation that subject was a practical joker in high school and the reputed recipient of a good deal of female attention, which it sounds like he did little to discourage. He has still not been identified as part of any given group or sub-group at that stage of his life, however, leading us to believe that he was indeed something of a "wild child," popular but with loner tendencies. This may have been exacerbated if subject was frequently away from Haven, as may have been the case; we have no confirmed sightings of Crocker in Haven between the time of the Colorado Kid's murder in 1983 and some assortment of sightings during high school, some 8-10 years subsequent. Subject has confirmed the nature of his feelings for subject IN-#### designation Audrey Parker as being "in love with," though he did so only under extreme duress. It is safe to assume that he has no intention of telling her directly unless he is placed in similar duress. Subject has been shown as willing to use both deception and deadly force yet again in furtherance of protecting subjects IN-#### and PT-TR-####, culminating in a series of high-risk actions, from guarding subject SR-BD-#### to diving into the collapsing barn in search of Parker.

Observations & Speculation: Due to the prodigious quantities of data on this subject, this profile is to be taken as a work in progress. Frequent updates may be made, and a long form profile will be distributed to the office via hard copy to prevent security breaches.

There are a great many details lacking in our knowledge of the subject's childhood at this time. Records are spotty at best, indicating that whatever his home life after Simon Crocker's death when Duke was approximately 7, either little made it to formal paperwork or said paperwork was doctored in subsequent years. Given the subject's chosen profession, along with his father's illicit but potentially police-condoned activities, both are equally likely. Information regarding the subject's mother is unavailable at this time; data-mining is in process. If he did not live with her after Simon's death, then it is probable that he had a nominal guardian, whether state-appointed or otherwise. He has spoken of being on his own from a young age, though this may have referred to Simon Crocker's absentee parenting more than to whoever took him in after his father died. (This death is presumed to be violent and in relation to subject IN-#### designation Lucy Ripley; however, we have no further data to support such an assumption at this time.) The one thing that is certain is that Duke Crocker learned early and often that anything he needed or wanted, he would do best to rely on himself to acquire. This textbook case of neglect and emotional abuse would have greatly contributed to anti-social behavior such as those described by Nathan Wuornos, as well as the subject's flexible morals. At some point, however, he must have encountered some moderately healthy and stabilizing influence (perhaps Evidence Ryan, though probably earlier), as his morals stop short of physical harm to others save in self-defense or for a perceived significantly greater good. Some portion of this may have also been in direct opposition to the things done (and not done) to him by his own father, inasmuch as he was capable of realizing that this was not a healthy model of behavior. We may safely assume that Simon broke many promises to his son; in response, Duke seems to have decided that promises are not to be made lightly and not to be broken at all. This we see in the 30-something man keeping the promise of a 7 year old boy and returning to Haven when the Troubles began again. As his friendship with and respect for Audrey Parker grew, the subject also began deepening his self-awareness and consciously choosing actions in line with the person he on some level wishes to be rather than taking the easiest route. Though he has never spoken the words, his actions toward Parker indicate that he loves her, probably in a romantic sense, but has chosen not to push the boundaries of his friendship with her in deference to what he perceives as a clear preference on her part for Wuornos. Particularly recently, he appears to hold no animosity toward either Parker or Wuornos for their relationship (such as it is); most instances of hostility toward Wuornos arose in response to the police chief's stated dislike of Crocker or in response to Crocker perceiving Wuornos as being insufficiently supportive of his partner. Indeed, we might speculate (though this is highly tentative and quite likely unprovable) that Crocker's Trouble activated when he realized the depth and true nature of his feelings toward Audrey Parker, and only displayed the next time someone Troubled bled on him. Since this is a relatively infrequent occurrence (at least when accidental), the time frame during which his Trouble might have activated is fairly broad. It is, of course, also possible that the emotional stress of the search for the box and having Dwight Hendrickson indicate a desire to take answers about Crocker's family away from him was the actual trigger. Unfortunately, as noted, this is probably unprovable either way. If further data about how his father and grandfather's Trouble first manifested comes to light, or further data on the origins of the Crocker Trouble appear as well, we may be able to speculate with greater accuracy.

The subject is closely bonded to Parker and Wuornos and they are in many respects his strongest influences at this time. Individuals as well as groups who have attempted interference have met with resistance ranging from the consistent and stubborn to the outright destructive, depending on the extent of the interference. It is safe to say that Crocker will continue to protect the others with his life, as they would for him. Beyond the scope of known behavior, we have the unknowns of what will happen should subject IN-#### enter the barn (or not) and what effect that may have on Crocker's stability. It is reasonable to assert that regardless of the circumstances he will be unstable for some period of time if Parker disappears; that instability is most likely to take the form of self-destructive behaviors though it may find outward expression and aggression toward others if he has other parties to blame and can reasonably justify and achieve some degree of revenge. If she does not disappear or enter the barn, it is likely that events within Haven will also cause some degree of mental instability (provided he survives said events), but as long as the triad remains physically present it is more likely that the instability will take the form of some kind of target fixation. This may be its own form of self-destruction; however, it is more easily justified as having a purpose and focus. Regardless of the resolution of current events, it is unfortunately likely that the subject will experience further emotional and probably physical trauma as a result of Haven's Troubles.

Updated 1/28/13: We have unfortunately acquired no further data regarding subject's childhood and early influences. However, we do know that subject's behavior is in many respects self-destructive already; many people would opt to remove themselves from an unrequited love situation and work at a greater distance from the object of their affections. Crocker, in contrast, grows closer to subject IN-#### and indeed has become one of her pillars of support, yet he has carefully and deliberately avoided telling her his feelings outright as well as acting on them. It is interesting to speculate if the subject would be less broadly supportive and more willing to challenge Parker's tendencies towards martyrdom if they were in a romantic relationship; however this is a matter of speculation only and unlikely to be testable at this time. Subject has experienced several forms of emotional and physical trauma (though the de-aging was not harmful beyond the blow to the head, it cannot have been pleasant to experience loss of physical control in such a manner) recently, from various emotionally manipulative tactics to feeling obligated to prevent subject PT-TR-#### from interfering with subject IN-####'s choice to enter the barn. It is unknown at this time what additional trauma subject will undergo having entered the barn, but it is safe to say that it will at a minimum be emotional and probably on the extreme end. Subject seems likely to continue the trend of target fixation on subject IN-#### in that he will help her regardless of personal cost.


History (Clinical): Though subject has come in for an interview, his tactics of bluster and obfuscating torrents of babble have prevented us from gathering any significant additional data.
History (Family): Father, grandfather both deceased. Father abusive and possibly alcoholic, died when subject was 8-9. (See file WR-TR-JWIN for cross-referencing purposes.) Unknown how long subject remained in state care system, though it is presumed he was in the system as well as on his own due to the nature of said system in fairly short order.
History (Medical): Subject's medical history is irregular at best, both from childhood due to avoiding the system and from adulthood due to his chosen occupation. Moreover, his Trouble may have unknown physiological downsides; this bears further scrutiny.
Recommended Action: Shift to Kitty for surveillance and further updates.