Shane Schofield
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Captain Shane M. Schofield, USMC is a fictional character created by the Australian author, Matthew Reilly, appearing in Ice Station, Area 7, Scarecrow and Hell Island. In the books he is a legendary Marine, revered by the Marines that serve under his command and known for his high-risk tactical maneuvers and inability to get into a vehicle without destroying it when he is finished with it.
[edit] Shane Schofield
Schofield's callsign "Scarecrow" refers to the vertical scars running over each of his eyes. They were inflicted upon him in 1995 when he was tortured in Serbia during Yugoslav Wars after his plane was shot down. A Marine Force Reconnaissance unit was sent in, one of its members being Buck "Book" Riley, who later joins Schofield's team in Ice Station. The Serbs technically blinded him, believing that he was helping US forces that were killing Serb soldiers. At Johns Hopkins University Hospital, they fixed his eyesight, yet the scars remained, leaving him to cover them with silver, wrap-around, anti-flash sunglasses for the future. Due to military regulations, Schofield was never allowed to fly a military plane again.
He then decided to become a ground soldier and returned to Basic School in Quantico. There "he did every course they had. He did tactical weapons training. He did strategic planning. Small arms, Scout/Sniper". Somehow the Marine Corps had the money to pay for this vast warrior education for one man, and this one man had the clout to obtain orders to attend these schools. A couple of months afterwards, Schofield was promoted in rank and was eventually given his own Recon unit. He was given command of the unit approximately two years before the events in Ice Station.
In Ice Station Schofield and Marine Reconnaissance Unit 16 were sent to answer a distress signal from an isolated American research station in Antarctica, claiming to have discovered an alien spaceship buried under the ice before the divers sent to investigate were killed. Schofield finds more than he bargained for when they are attacked by a French paratrooper unit before uncovering a secretive and insidious government intelligence organisation and meeting a former mentor intent on securing the secret of Wilkes Ice Station for himself.
Area 7 happens following the fallout from the Wlkes Ice Station incident. Schofield and his team are assigned to Presidential Detail, stationed on Marine One. While paying a routine visit to an Air Force Base on the Utah desert, Schofield is called upon to act as bodyguard for the President when he is greeted by hostile forces: if the President's heart stops, eleven major American cities will be destroyed.
Eighteen months later and Schofield finds himself as one of fifteen names on an international bounty hunt list, with each head valued at $18.6 million. Trying to constantly stay one step ahead of his enemies, Schofield uncovers a global conspiracy to frame other countries for starting wars with imitation nuclear warheads, controlled by twelve of the world's most powerful businessmen.
Schofield is an expert with all weapons and in hand-to-hand combat. He knows how to use almost all of the fictional weapons created in the books by Matthew Reilly, including the Armalite MH-12 Maghook - a magnetic grappling hook, the signature weapon of Marine Force Reconnaissance unit soldiers (in the novels, not in the actual USMC).
In the latest book of the series, Hell Island, like always, Schofield is reequipped with a new team of Force Recon Marines - a notable exception being Book II (A colleague in Area 7 and Scarecrow). In this book, Schofield went to a remote island Hell Island for a special mission.
[edit] The Scarecrow's Squad
Schofield's squad includes several women. In real life, women are not allowed to serve in Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance.
[edit] Gena 'Mother' Newman
Schofield's one-woman destruction unit. Tough, skilled and fiercely loyal, she has accompanied Schofield to hell and back, being involved in all of his missions. Her call sign, 'Mother' is short for Motherfucker. A run-in with a killer whale literally cost Mother a leg in Antarctica, since replaced with a state-of-the-art prosthetic. Mother is a gifted warrior with the rank of Gunnery Sergeant, she has even been offered her choice of assignments outside Schofield's unit. Mother Newman successfully managed to stop Schofield from committing suicide after the death of his girlfriend, Libby Gant. It is notable that she has only called him 'Shane' when attempting to stop him killing himself; she explains this by saying that she regards him as not just another man, but as being the Scarecrow, who can do things that nobody else can do. Mother has survived almost every kind of hazard imaginable; explosions, crashed towing vehicles, killer whale attacks, assassins and rogue agents. She is 6'4", has a fully shaven head and weighs in at 200lbs.
[edit] Elizabeth 'Fox' Gant
A twenty-six year old Lance-Corporal, Libby Gant becomes Schofield's girlfriend during the series, and Schofield was planning to propose before her death. She goes through many promotions and joins Schofield and Mother on all their adventures, including the disasters at Wilkes Ice Station and Area 7.
During the events of Scarecrow, she is captured by Damon Larkham. Later in the novel she is beheaded by Jonathan Killian and ex-ICG operative Cal Noonan, Killian believing that this is the only way to guarantee that Schofield will go after him rather than stop Killian's plan. Her death leads Schofield to the brink of suicide, but finally he changes his mind, and goes on a killing rampage, intent on destroying everyone involved with Fox's murder. After her death, Schofield goes on indefinite stress leave, but a letter from Knight convinces him to start living again.
[edit] Buck 'Book II' Riley Jr.
The son of Schofield's Ice Station Staff Sergeant Book Riley - who was murdered by Trevor Barnaby in Antarctica - Book II is quiet and cool under pressure. Introduced in Area 7, he is cautious and initially distrusting of Schofield, unsure of what to make of him and holding him partially responsible for his father's death. A good soldier with promising leadership skills, Book II is invaluable in Schofield's fight for survival during Scarecrow.
[edit] Other Allies
[edit] Andrew Trent
A friend of Schofield's from his early days as a Marine Recon leader. Andrew Trent, callsign 'Hawk', was dispatched to extract a team of university researchers who had discovered an artifact in Peru. After securing the party in a remote temple, members of Trent's team turned on him; an ICG liquidation squad sent to secure the artifact and eliminate the university party and Trent's team. For eleven days Trent evaded the ICG men before returning to America. With the help of an invesigative journalist, Trent managed to blow the ICG's cover and aid Schofield. He returned in 'Scarecrow' in a minor role, escorting David Fairfax on a mission to stop the Majestic Twelve.
[edit] David Fairfax
First appearing in Area 7, David Fairfax is a gifted crypto-analyst working for the Pentagon. Analysing a series of unauthorised transmissions originating from an Air Force Base in Utah, he stumbles onto a renegade group of 7th Squadron commandos planning to defect to China with a stolen bioweapon. He reappears in Scarecrow, first following up on a name on the bounty hunt list- simultaneously being responsible for the death of prominent bounty hunter 'the Zulu' by unintentionally sending him falling off a multistorey car park to crash to the ground- and later aiding Scarecrow in disarming Majestic Twelve's plan.
[edit] Aloysius Knight
Formerly of Delta Team 7, Knight was betrayed by the ICG in Sudan, along with Rufus, a pilot from Knight's base. Discovering a terrorist operation in a warehouse, Knight is told to stand down and wait for reinforcements. On arrival the reinforcements attempt to execute him. Although he and Rufus escape, Knight's young wife and child are murdered by the ICG and he himself is listed by the government as a traitor. Knight and Rufus turn to bounty hunting, performing numerous jobs the world over, including rescuing the daughter of the Russian Defense Minister, for which he is rewarded with a test-damaged Sukhoi S-37 fighter jet. He is known for equipping himself with exotic, unorthodox gear (eg. mountaineering pitons, "pony-bottle" diving rebreathers) and arming himself with silver short-barrelled Remington 870 Pump-Action Shotguns holstered to his thighs.
At the beginning of Scarecrow, the Black Knight as he is now known is rated the second-best bounty hunter in the world and is employed by French make-up heiress Lillian Mattencourt to protect Shane Schofield at all costs. During the mission, Knight develops great respect and loyalty for Schofield- something that, according to Knight, no man has done for a very long time- to the extent that Knight goes beyond the rules of his contract, saving Schofield's life even after Schofield has thwarted Majestic-12's plans.
Reilly has stated that, with his anti-flash glasses (Required due to his extreme sensitivity to normal light), coupled with his great skills in battle, Knight was created with the intention that he would be Schofield's amoral twin; he is Schofield's equal, but he is also a darker, more ruthless character than Schofield himself.
[edit] Rufus
A seven-foot tall incredibly talented, though socially awkward pilot stationed in Yemen when he and Knight were betrayed by the ICG. Surviving with 'the Boss', he became Knight's pilot and best friend. He flies Knight's heavily modified Russian fighter, the "Black Raven."
[edit] The President of the United States
After saving his life on many occasions during Area 7, the President only reappears twice in Scarecrow, both times offering the entire United States Defence Force at his disposal and to that of Mother, Book II or David Fairfax. He also grants Black Knight immunity and offers for him to come back to the Delta squadron.
[edit] Villains
[edit] Ice Station
[edit] Intelligence Convergence Group (ICG)
This is a fictional partnership of the National Reconnaissance Office and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It is an ultra-patriotic organization that infiltrates front line military units, universities and research labs for the purpose of securing new technology for the United States military. Its only goal is to keep the United States as the world superpower, no matter what the cost. If some professor discovers something of interest, he will be covertly eliminated by some ICG colleague, or if a military unit discovers something of interest in the field, ICG agents in their midst will quietly kill them off and make it look like an accident. (Apparently it's simpler to murder the person and engineer a forensics and administrative cover-up than it is to simply hire the individual and get him to sign a non-disclosure agreement.) According to Andrew 'Hawk' Trent, a former Marine betrayed by the ICG, these liquidation missions have only taken place four times in fifteen years. This was one of the many plot twists of Ice Station, when Schofield and his team were sent in to capture what was believed to be a spaceship but in fact was a futuristic airplane.
[edit] Gunnery Sergeant Scott 'Snake' Kaplan
One of the most senior members of Schofield's team and sniper, Kaplan, callsign 'Snake', is an ICG spy. He is responsible for the deaths of two team members, including Schofield (who he accidentally revives), and another Marine nicknamed 'Samurai', and is attempting to kill Mother when apprehended. Schofield leaves him behind when he realises the SAS is on its way. Trevor Barnaby later forces Schofield and Snake to attempt to kill each other in five minutes, a bloody encounter which sees Snake killed by the station's ice drill.
[edit] Sergeant Morgan 'Montana' Lee
A second ICG spy in Schofield's ranks, callsign 'Montana'. The most senior member of the sub-team Schofield sends down to the spaceship and responsible for the death of one other team member. He is killed by a mutated elephant seal when he attempts to kill Elizabeth Gant.
[edit] Sarah Hensleigh
A research scientist working at Wilkes who takes control of the situation when contact with the initial dive team is lost. Formerly with the Army, she is assigned by the ICG to infiltrate a university. She frames another scientist at the station for the death of a colleague, and is killed by a severely wounded Elizabeth Gant.
[edit] Admiral Thomas Clayton
One of the heads of the ICG who commandeers the Marine carriers, the USS Wasp. Upon Schofield's escape from Wilkes, he and twenty ICG agents proceed to take control of the Silhouette. Clayton discovers Schofield's attempt to 'destroy the evidence' with an explosive charge and calls out in triumph seconds before one of the Silhouette's own missiles destroys it, killing all of the ICG agents and burning his face off.
[edit] Sergeant Major Charles R. Kozlowski
The highest-ranked non-commissioned Marine in the USMC, Kozlowski is the overseer for all ICG agents in the Marines. After the events at Wilkes Ice Station, he attempts to detain and kill Schofield until he is apprehended by a group of Naval Police. His exact fate is unknown, though it can be assumed he was charged with treason and imprisoned.
[edit] Brigadier General Trevor J. Barnaby
Barnaby is the main villan in the book Ice Station. He is the leader of the legendary British S.A.S., and attempted to take Wilkes Ice Station from Schofield and his Marines through brute force. He once lectured Schofield on military tactics during his early days in the Marine Corps, and was one of the best commanders in the world. Schofield used liquid nitrogen charges to decimate his troops before killing Barnaby himself by instantly decompressing a diving bell they were fighting inside.
[edit] Mr. Nero
Barnaby's right-hand man, little more than a ruthless, high-efficient and amoral killer. A call of "Mr. Nero" from Barnaby usually results pain or the death of the person it is directed to. Nero is killed by Schofield along with twenty other SAS troops by a pair of liquid nitrogen grenades.
[edit] Jean Petard
The leader of a small unit of French paratroopers who arrive at Wilkes Ice Station before Schofield's team. A smash-and-grab raid, they force the Marines into a lengthy firefight that partially destroys the station. A master tactician, Petard attempts to turn a convincing surrender into a decisive counter-attack with a trap in the drilling room, but is foiled by one of Scarecrow's Marines and is ironically killed by his own trap.
[edit] Jean-Pierre Cuvier
A French paratrooper posing as a scientist from Dumont d'Urville. He is killed by Schofield with a crossbow bolt in the gas-filled Wilkes Ice Station after a fist-fight.
[edit] Jacques Latissier
French paratrooper posing as scientist; responsible for shooting Elizabeth Gant with a crossbow bolt to the forehead (a bolt she survived due to her helmet), who later returned the favour.
[edit] Luc Champion
Genuine French scientist from Dumont d'Urville. At first appears to be the leader of the French "scientists", a ploy developed by Petard to throw the Americans off-balance. When Schofield's Marines take the station, Champion is found hiding and is handcuffed to a pole on the lower decks where he remains until Trevor Barnaby executes him.
[edit] Area 7
[edit] Charles 'Caesar' Russell
A disgraced former Air Force General executed for treason. Caesar is revived and takes control of United States Air Force (Restricted) Area 7 in the Utah desert, a biological weapons complex. A man of patience and a certified genius, Caesar plans to incite a rebellion by assassinating the President of the United States on international television. A chip grafted onto the wall of the President's heart is emitting a signal to a satellite in geosynchronous orbit. If his heart stops, eleven major American cities will be destroyed. Trapped within Area 7, the President is thrown into a violent confrontation against the elite 7th Squadron with only a hadful of Secret Service Agents and Marines, among them Shane Schofield, to help him.
It is ultimately revealed that Caesar is racist, planning to annihilate the northern half of America while leaving the southern half intact, essentially recreating the Confederate States of America. His plot comes with a deadly endgame: Caesar himself had a chip grafted onto his heart, and in order to keep the bombs from detonating, both signals must be received by the satellite. Elizabeth Gant is able to imitate Caesar's signal, allowing the Scarecrow to shoot him. Russel is completely vaporised when Area 7's self-destruct mechanism is activated, detonating a 100-megaton thermonuclear warhead within the base (It is also revealed that Schofield's team accidentally destroyed Russell's transmitter before it could broadcast anything, meaning that Russell wasn't actually showing his assassination on live television, and America was actually watching a live news coverage of a movie star whose car had come off the road).
[edit] 7th Squadron
The fictional special forces unit made up of the United States Air Force's elite ground troops, noted for their efforts in rescuing a high-ranking CIA agent from a Chinese gulag prison and masterminding the defection of 5 Soviet nuclear scientists in the Ukraine during the Cold War. Made up of five ten-man squads named Alpha, Beta, Charlie, Delta and Echo, they are now loyal only to Caesar Russell and intent to kill the President of the United States. They are ultmately killed in a series of daring attacks masterminded by Scarecrow.
[edit] Lee Carney and Echo Unit
The fifth and final unit of the 7th Squadron under the command of Lee 'Cobra' Carney. Masterminded the extraction of two Chinese workers from the Changchun biologial facility with a sample of the Sinovirus, an 'ethnic bullet' or disease designed to kill certain ethnic groups. Carney, however, did a deal with the Chinese government, offering to smuggle a sample of the American anti-virus back into China via an experimental space shuttle, the X-38. Echo Unit's plan is uncovered by cryptanalyst David Fairfax. After being tipped off by Fairfax, Shane Schofield and the President sneak on-board the X-38 and hijack it, returning to Utah. Carney and the survivors of Echo Unit are killed on Caesar's orders when they land, Schofield narrowly escaping once again.
[edit] Gunther Botha
Formerly a member of the South African Medical Battalion and at the forefront of bioweapons development, Botha is a research scientist stationed at Area 7 when Caesar's insurrection takes place. While Caesar and the 7th Squadron attempt to kill the President, Botha steals samples of the virus and antibodies, intending to hand them over to Die Organaisse, a radical racist right-wing political movement in South Africa with the aid of a group of Reconnaissance Commandos. Gunther is blown to pieces by a missile from an Air Force helicopter after trying to kidnap a child from Area 7.
[edit] Scarecrow
[edit] Wade Brandeis
An ex-ICG operative who somehow survived the purge started by Schofield. Stationed in Yemen, he was sent to kill Delta Team member Aloysius Knight and pilot Rufus, but failed. Later captured Schofield, Knight and Rufus, when he tries to claim the bounties on their heads. Though, as Knight says, "Brandeis isn't a bounty hunter, and it shows ... he's just broken the first rule of bounty hunting ... if you have a choice between bringing someone in dead or alive, dead is better". Knight then exacts his revenge on Brandeis when he feeds the former ICG agent to a tiger shark.
[edit] Cal Noonan
One of the two men solely responsible for the greatest impact on Shane M. Schofield, USMC. Under the orders of Johnathon James Killian III, this former ICG agent nicknamed 'The Rat' beheaded Elizabeth Gant. When Schofield caught up with him a the end of Scarecrow, he returned the favour.
[edit] Majestic Twelve
The Majestic Twelve is a sexist and classist group of wealthy industrialists and military suppliers who placed a bounty on Schofield and 14 other soldiers and scientists in the book Scarecrow. They placed bounties on soldiers with abnormally fast reflexes because they were the only men able to disarm a special missile system with which the Majestic Twelve (M12) planned to launch disguised nuclear missiles at global targets and start a world war on terrorism for their own profit. They also placed bounties on the heads of all intelligence agents who knew of their plans. They were stopped by Schofield in the nick of time - had they succeeded, many major cities in the United States, Europe, China, India and Pakistan would have been destroyed. The Majestic Twelve were killed on the orders of the President, possibly by Aloysius Knight.
[edit] Jonathon James Killian III
A young billionaire and self-styled visionary, member No. 12 of the Majestic Twelve and owner of the Fortresse de Valois in France. He is an anarchist, amused by people committing heinous acts in the false hope of saving themselves; his castle plays host to the 'Shark Pit' a semi-underwater maze populated by tiger sharks and a hand-made guillotine. He is known to make Faustian Bargains with unfortunate people, offering them freedom if they'll kill one of their own number on the guillotine. Even if they kill someone on the guillotine he still leaves them to the mercy of the sharks, finding it amusing to see whether they continue to try and escape until the sharks eat them or cut off their own heads in the guillotine to escape that death. His castle also serves as the validation point for the bounty hunt, and he orders the death of Elizabeth Gant on the guillotine.
As member No. 12, he is a key part of the Majestic Twelve's plot as he controls the company that is contracted to build missiles for the United States government. However, he feels Majestic Twelve's plan of raining terrorist nuclear warheads on Western cities is not going far enough and changes several of the warheads. The end result would be mutual nuclear exchanges between India and Pakistan with China being bombed by Taiwaese missiles. He also includes an additional missile of Israeli origins with an American warhead to be aimed at Mecca in the hopes of inciting total global anarchy between Islam and the west.
At the conclusion of the novel, after Killian has taunted Schofield about being unable to kill him without becoming a monster himself, a nihilistic and suicidal Shane Schofield jumps out of Killian's fortress with Killian himself, saying that he wins because he, unlike Killian, is ready to die. However, Aloysius Knight catches Scarecrow with Gant's Armalite MH-12 'Maghook', saying that he couldn't let Schofield die like that. Killian plummets to his death on the rocks below the castle, and Knight assures Schofield that he's sure Killian got his point.
[edit] France
Working in association with Killian, the French apprehend Shane Schofield after he escapes Killian's fortress. After questioning him on Killian's activities and forcing him to test the CincLock-VII unit on-baord a Charles de Gaulle-class aircraft carrier, the French, led by DGSE agent Pierre Dufrense, prepare to execute Schofield by placing him behind a jet fighter and turning the afterburners on for his actions in Antarctica. Schofield escapes with the help of Mother, Knight and Rufus, who attack the carrier group in, as an incredulous French sailor exclaims, "a lone Russian fighter!" Schofield destroys the carrier by firing a Palladium-warhead RPG into its nuclear reactor.
[edit] Great Britain
The Intercontinental Guards, Unit 88 were working in association with and with the approval of M-I6. After capturing a high-ranking American Marine in Afghanistan, IG-88 turn their captive over to an M-I6 agent named Charles Beaton who interrogates him with a truth serum. The British appear to be after the Universal Disarm Code, an access-all-areas military over-ride code known only to a select few military officials. Precisely why Great Britain wanted to known the Code and what they intended to do with it is unknown as Beaton was killed by Schofield and Knight storming the transport plane they were on.
[edit] Cedric Wexley
A South African mercenary in charge of a group of bounty hunters sent by Executive Solutions (ExSol), a sinister African mercenary organisation with ties to an ultra-violent pro-apartheid organisation. Takes three heads in a set up mission in Siberia and starts a personal vendetta against Schofield when Scarecrow evades him. Later becomes Killian's personal bodyguard and is killed by Scarecrow in Killian's fortress. Former Member of the South African Recodos.
[edit] Damon Larkham
A former SAS commando with ties to Trevor Barnaby known as the 'Demon'. After being court-martialled, he escapes and turns to bounty hunting. For an unknown reason, The Demon has a horribly mutated face, most likely the victim of a fire. He commands the Intercontinental Guards, Unit 88 (IG-88), notorious for their weapon of choice, the hyper-velocity MetalStorm M100. Takes several heads in the bounty hunt, three of which are stolen by Knight and Scarecrow. As revenge against Knight, he kills Lillian Mattencourt, Knight's employer, before she can pay him for his efforts in keeping Scarecrow alive before diappearing. Rated as the world's best bounty hunter.
[edit] Major Dmitri Zamanov
An aggressive Russian Spetsnaz Major stationed in Afghanistan with a history of going AWOL. True to form, he abandons his duties to partake in the bounty hunt, commanding thirty Spetsnaz soldiers known as the Skorpions. Has a grudge against Scarecrow when he escapes in Afghanistan, and against Knight who aids him. Collects several heads, but only cashes one in before being crushed at the bottom of the English Channel.
[edit] The Zulu
A tall man described as being 'African', the Zulu is a shadowy bounty hunter who collects the head of Frank Nicholson, one of the two scientists who recreated the 'Cobra' MNRR tests, in the bounty hunt. He is killed by David Fairfax while attempting to claim the head of Thompson Oliphant, the other doctor on the bounty list doctor, falling out of an ambulance balanced precariously in a carpark before being crushed by its gurney.
[edit] Alyssa Idei
Alias the 'Ice Queen', Idei is a cold, calculating killer from Japan. After collecting the head of an old CIA agent, Damien Polinski, in a bar in Berlin, she turns her attentions on Dr. Oliphant who once worked for USAMRMC doing MNRR projects. After the Zulu is killed, she collects the second head and is prepared to kill Fairfax. Perplexed and amused at Fairfax's loyalty to Scarecrow, she lets him live before leaving him to sort out the mess. Her fate is unknown.
[edit] The Hungarian
Born Oleg Omanski, the Hungarian was one a member of his home country's secret police with a reputation for violence. Arrives at an ex-Soviet submarine repair facility in Siberia in time to have his Yakovelv-141 fighter stolen by Scarecrow. Afterwards, his fate is unknown.
[edit] The Nigeria Presidential Guard
The CIA trained team of guards who defend the Nigerian president, well trained and ruthless, are attacked by Knight, Schofield and Mother before a unit of the Sayaret Mistikal, an Uzi carrying group of Israeli crack troops.
[edit] The Etritean Army
Members of the armed forces from the small African country of Eritrea, who attack Captain Andrew Trent and David Fairfax onboard their boat. There snipers are no match for Trents team of Marines.
[edit] Weapons, Vehicles and Gear
[edit] Ice Station
In this novel, Schofield uses a MP5N submachinegun as his primary weapon. He used a .44 Desert Eagle as his secondary weapon. He also packs an Armalite MH-12 Maghook and a set of throwing knives. He wears a wetsuit under his combat dress, and has a kevlar ring in his collar as sniper protection. He also has a set of N76D Anti-Nitrogen Dive Pills these pills are designed to help the Navy with rapid dives and surfacing 'wet' operations. In Ice Station, Schofield's team arrives in LCAC hovercrafts, and he also flies a fictional stealth fighter and rides a diving bell.
[edit] Area 7
At a disadvantage to his foes, Schofield is only armed with a decorative nickel plated M9 pistol (Beretta 92FS), although he equips himself variously through out the book with weapons including a .44 Desert Eagle with flashlight, a Remington 870 shotgun, an MP10 (supposedly the nick name for the ten millimeter version of the MP5), a FN P90 and of course, a Maghook. He is wearing his Marine Corps dress uniform at the start, but changes to the uniform of the Seventh Squadron, and even wears a spacesuit for a brief time. In Area 7, Schofield shows off his skills with vehicles, getting behind the wheels of an aircraft towing vehicle, an AWACS 747, a Tiger Moth biplane, a twin-pod boat, an attack space shuttle, an AH77 "Penetrator" helicopter, and a magnetically-propelled subway train maintenance vehicle. Another weapon is Area 7's self-destruct device, a 100-megaton W88 thermonuclear warhead that is within the walls of Level 2, which goes off at the end of the story.
[edit] Scarecrow
The author, Matthew Reilly, after touring a Heckler & Koch facility in Sydney changes Schofield's primary weapon to the newer Heckler & Koch MP7 Personal Defense Weapon. He retains his signature .44 Desert Eagle and Maghook, but also packs some high explosives. Near the end of the book, Schofield uses a Remington 870 shotgun and a Heckler and Koch pistol of an unidentified model during the book, as well as a Colt Commando carbine in the final scene. In this novel, Scarecrow wears grey arctic camouflage and later uses one of Alloysius Knight's special vests containing handcuffs, an oxygen tank, mountaineering pitons, a bodybag and a PDA. In Scarecrow, the list of vehicles grows even longer. Schofield drives a rally-prepared Subaru WRX, a small submarine, a light-strike vehicle, a "driftrunner" mining truck, and a VTOL Yakovlev-141 jet, a VTOL and stealth Sukhoi 37 as well as flying in an X-15, a missile shaped aircraft that can reach speeds of up to 7000km (nearly Mach 7).
He uses a Heckler and Koch 9mm.
[edit] Hell Island (for Books Alive 2005)
Schofield is again armed with an MP7, although he now packs two Desert Eagles in the .45 calibre (A fictional calibre on the Desert Eagle). In this book, Schofield adds a HALO parachute to his list of gear. He also uses the weapon systems on an F-14 Tomcat, and "flies" (more like crashes) a CH-53 Super Stallion. This scene with the Super Stallion Helicopter sounds like it's in the Genre of manouevers a Battlefield Series Player would use. Battlefield players are noted for their quick movements, such as piloting an Mi-8 Helicopter, bailing out and landing in a jeep, driving the jeep to a PBR, jumping out of the Jeep and getting in the PBR and going back to base.
