Shane J. Caxton (シェーン・J・キャクストン Shēn J Kyakusuton) is a U.S. Army major working for the National Security Agency in a Special Operations Command unit called Grey Fox.
Appearance[]
Caxton is an older man of Caucasian descent with a tall build, pale skin, and short blond hair styled into a military buzz cut. He stated on one occasion that he is over 50 years old.[1] On battle missions, he wears a dark green tactical vest over a white short-sleeved shirt. He is armed with a Colt M4A1 rifle and a Colt M1911 pistol.
History[]
Caxton is a Major in the United States Army with years of experience in combat. During the Vietnam War in 1969, the men in his former unit, which he led, massacred a Vietnamese village in the Quảng Trị Province for allegedly sympathizing with the NLFSV. One of his subordinates, Larkin had wanted to rape and kill a surviving Vietnamese girl, prompting Shane to insult him as a scumbag who used war as an excuse to act like a bandit.[3] As Larkin's men stood by, the lieutenant sternly ordered him to draw his gun, resulting in a duel in which Raymond McDougal aided Caxton and shot Larkin dead. After the incident, the young girl was flown to safety, and McDougal began to look up to Caxton for his strong moral character in the face of banditry and bloodshed.[4] Caxton served in the Vietnam War until 1971.[5] Later in 1980, Caxton participated in the failed Operation Eagle Claw to rescue American Embassy staff in Iran; he was a survivor of Desert One and a member of the 1st Assault Group's Team Bravo, but his colleagues Coleman and Duffy Barney did not survive.[2]
El Baile de la muerte / Roberta's Blood Trail[]
Caxton became part of the NSA's Grey Fox unit, which was formed in 1994. Of Grey Fox's five teams, Caxton is a member and the leader of Team Alpha.[6] A notorious mission that they carried out on behalf of the NSA in the mid-1990s was called Plan 117. In Barinas, Venezuela, the plan was to interfere in Venezuelan politics by killing a new leader of the emerging leftist party MVR with a controlled explosion. Six months before the bombing, Caxton and McDougal (the latter now a captain) met up with Simon Dickens, a U.S. Army Colonel stationed at the U.S. embassy in Venezuela, and Marcos José Lucientes, a major of Venezuela's DGCIM who resigned four months later. At a restaurant, the four men discussed intelligence and planning the attack.[7]
On the day of the assassination plot six months later, once the leader Morales arrived and Caxton was informed of his arrival, he used military code to order his men to detonate the bomb and then exfiltrate. Ten people were killed, including the political leader and his prominent friend Diego Lovelace, the latter murder not being intended by Grey Fox. Immediately after they set the bomb, Grey Fox left and returned to the United States, with Caxton telling McDougal that they would take a vacation after their next mission, Operation China Pit, in Southeast Asia.[8]
Although it was reported that a member of a right-wing militia was arrested for the bombing, Diego's maid Roberta knew that this cover story was too convenient, and members of the Venezuelan military sympathetic to the MVR visited the Lovelace estate to tell Garcia Lovelace, the son of Diego, and Roberta about 6 conspirators with Western ties involved in the bombing. The officer showed Garcia and Roberta a photograph they had of 4 men, including Caxton, McDougal, Dickens and Lucientes, although they could only identify Lucientes. Accordingly, Roberta tracked down and killed all 6 members, the leader of these men being Marcos José Lucientes. After learning about the NSA's involvement from Lucientes, Roberta then hunted down and abducted Colonel Simon Dickens, the head of the NSA's operations in Latin America. After interrogating and torturing him, she learned about the Grey Fox unit and Caxton, revealing her true enemy.[9]
At the same time, Caxton and the rest of Grey Fox went to Roanapur, Thailand as part of their new mission to capture Shue Yan, a powerful general under Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army, in the Golden Triangle border region, so that they could put him on trial for his mass drug production.[6] Although knowing that they were venturing into the Central Intelligence Agency's territory, Caxton and his men did not know that the CIA had Agent Blend and Agent Sugar spy on them boarding a plane, taking photographs of Caxton and McDougal and then sending the photos to Langley. At the CIA headquarters, Richard Ravencroft decided that they would need to put a stop to the NSA's attempt to interfere in the CIA's control of crime in Southeast Asia.[3]
Because they did not have good relations with the Thai military, Shane Caxton and his men covertly entered the country and stayed in a few hotels in Roanapur, feeling great suspicion about the city.[2] Of Grey Fox's three main teams, Team Alpha (with Caxton as leader) resided in Tokaīna Hotel, Team Bravo resided in the Blue Moon Motel, and Team Charlie resided in the Ramsap Inn.[6] In a short amount of time, the various crime syndicates found out about the U.S. Army's presence in the city, with Mister Chang holding a Council meeting to discuss what steps each mafia should take.[10]
Meanwhile, Eda, herself a CIA contact who did not want the U.S. Army interfering with CIA operations in Roanapur, also wanted Grey Fox out of the area, and she got intel from Sister Yolanda's informant network about the troops' names and hideouts. Subsequently, Chang went to the Rip-Off Church and in the confession booth spoke to a CIA contact (Eda), who told Chang the names of the Grey Fox soldiers (including Caxton's), their mission in Southeast Asia, and their locations.[11] Balalaika, not wanting the U.S. Army to interfere with Roanapur's drug trade but also being convinced by Chang's advice, decided to deploy her Vysotniki to help Caxton's men, not wanting any groups to interfere since she felt only soldiers of equal power had the right to confront the U.S. Army.[12] While staying in the motel, Caxton talked to McDougal about Roanapur, with both men agreeing that the city gave off the same lawless and corrupt vibes that existed in Saigon during the Vietnam War.[3]
From left to right: McDougal, Will, Burroughs, Caxton, Gardner, Horner, Wright, Sanchez
Having several new enemies in the city, Caxton had several of his men keep intelligence on hostile forces in the city, not yet knowing that Roberta was after their heads. When the sun was close to setting, Will told Caxton that Brigadier General Wilder from the Pentagon approved their mission to go through, so Caxton told Will to leave the area before things went down.[13] As the U.S. soldiers prepared to leave, several amateur gunmen from Bren the Black Death's murder business tried to storm Grey Fox's locations but were easily pushed back. Caxton and his men used explosives to make their escape. After detonating them, the soldiers went to the roof and McDougal quickly pointed to the far away Roberta with a Barrett sniper rifle, immediately taking cover and quickly and successfully finding a way to escape her range.[14]
While fleeing from Roberta, Caxton and his teams were separated, so they decided to form a pincer attack to defend themselves against Roberta. At the same time, Roberta was fighting and killing FARC guerillas in the area at night, and Roberta soon killed Alberto Camarasa and found the terrified Garcia next to her. Upon seeing Garcia, she screamed loudly, giving away her position to Grey Fox.[15] Three of the U.S. soldiers, Horner, Sanchez and Burroughs, saw Roberta with a pistol ready to shoot Garcia in a hallucinating state, so the three shot the gun from her hand and brought the boy to safety. Upon learning of the boy's presence from Burroughs on their radio frequency, Caxton commended his men for saving him since he held the belief that they would never allow children to be harmed. Some of the troops, including Caxton, volunteered to stay behind and watch Garcia while the rest left to get to their rendezvous point to leave Roanapur.[16]
Soon, Garcia woke up and was scared of the soldiers, and Caxton gave the boy his word that the soldiers' new priority was getting the boy to a safe place. When he saw Caxton's face, Garcia recognized him as the man in the photograph of people suspected to be involved in the (accidental) murder of his father.[17] Accordingly, the young boy grabbed a gun and tried to shoot Caxton but got disarmed by Horner. Confused, Caxton asked him who he was since he said that the boy was no ordinary child, and Garcia told him that he knew about the bombing in Barinas. Shocked and feeling sorry for Garcia, the Grey Fox leader commented that he accepted responsibility for Diego's death, even offering Garcia a pistol to shoot him as revenge. Greatly reluctant in contrast, Caxton's men raised their guns in response, but Caxton sternly ordered his men to stand down.[18]
In the turmoil, Balalaika as "Jane Doe" radioed Caxton to inform him of Roberta's nearby presence. Though Caxton was skeptical of the anonymous caller, seconds later Roberta suddenly jumped onto Caxton, who quickly pushed her away. As Roberta ran from them, Garcia told the Grey Fox soldiers not to shoot her since she was merely unwell due to Diego's killing as well as ingesting too many stimulants.[19] With ease, the Vysotniki managed to corner Roberta and pin her into a dead end, with Balalaika introducing herself to Caxton and informing him that they would give him cover to ensure his team's safe passage out of the city. While radioing Caxton, Balalaika told him that she saved a child during the Soviet-Afghan War but got discharged due to the news, in contrast to Caxton saving a child and being praised for it. With Roberta successfully held back, Caxton and his men used Lagoon Company's PT boat (an arrangement paid for by the NSA as advised by Eda) to ride northward on the Mekong River to the Golden Triangle border region. Although skeptical of bringing children along, Caxton allowed Garcia and Fabiola Iglesias to accompany them.[12]
As he boarded the boat, Caxton talked with Dutch, and the former was glad to meet another U.S. veteran of the Vietnam War. While talking to Dutch, the major noticed that he appeared too young to serve as well as his confusion at basic military slang.[20] As the boat traveled up the river, Garcia talked with Caxton, and the boy told the major that he could never forgive him for killing his father and altering his life in such a horrible way, but he said that he still needed Caxton's help to put an end to Roberta's vengeful mindset using a plan concocted by Rock. After talking with the boy, Caxton reminded his men of their mission and that Roberta would still be pursuing them. Some of the troops had hesitancy regarding Caxton's order prohibiting any soldier from neutralizing Roberta, but Ray defended Caxton's intuition, so Caxton got them in formation.[21]
When they arrived to the region in the pitch black of night, Caxton bid goodbye to Dutch, and before he disembarked, Caxton told Benny that Dutch lied about his Vietnam War service, advising him to stay cautious. On land, the Grey Fox soldiers had Team Echo be the first team to surveil the adjacent jungle while Team Alpha gave commands. Soon, the soldiers found the area where Shue Yan was located booby-trapped. They found out that Roberta had Shue Yan hostage to lure the soldiers toward her, and she ran into the jungle thicket.[5] In the forest, Roberta used the tripwires and her musket to attack the soldiers. With the onslaught against Charlie and Delta starting, Caxton ordered all troops except for unit leaders to remove their thermal goggles due to Roberta's above attacks. Hunting down Team Echo, Roberta then killed several soldiers, including Wright, Gardner and Sanchez.
Grabbing Gardner's radiophone, Roberta radioed to Caxton and gloated that she had killed his "foxes." Terrified, Sanchez pleaded with Major Caxton to let him attack, and likewise Ray also pleaded with Caxton to reconsider the order. As Caxton remained silent, Fabiola pointed her gun at him, causing Ray in turn to point his pistol at Fabiola, who sternly asked Caxton if he would side with justice. While Roberta killed both snipers Bowman, Garcia and Caxton exchanged a serious look, and the boy solemnly told the soldier that he would continue his fight to save Roberta.[22] In the anime, the soldiers managed to dismember several of Roberta's limbs,[23] but she lost no limbs in the manga.
At the same time that Roberta quickly bandaged her wounds, Caxton radioed her and told her that he would give himself up if she handed over Shue Yan to his men. Although she refused at first and responded that she would never forgive his men, Garcia took the radiotelephone and convinced her to come out into the open to see Caxton. At dawn, Caxton walked with his hands up onto the open plain with Garcia and Fabiola following him, and Roberta saw him. Happy to see Garcia, Roberta commented that she could not tell reality from imagination and that she could take the young master back to the estate after finishing her slaughter. Garcia calmly ordered her to stop her rampage. Suddenly, Garcia pulled out a pistol and shot Caxton in the abdomen, terrifying Roberta since she did not believe that Garcia could kill anyone and believing that she must be the one to kill the U.S. Army major.
As Caxton lied down uninjured due to the bullet being fake, Garcia tried to dissuade her, but she aimed her pistol at him. Seconds later after proclaiming that everything would be fine, Garcia shot her with a fake bullet whereas Roberta shot back and grazed his abdomen. She finally exited her prolonged state of grieving once Garcia kissed her and assured her that she was seeing real people and not hallucinations, and the Grey Fox soldiers who survived the chaos agreed to let her and Garcia return to South America while they took Shue Yan and left Southeast Asia. Before they could leave the Golden Triangle though, Raymond McDougal pointed his rifle at Roberta, disappointingly telling Caxton that they could not just let Roberta leave since she killed their comrades. Before he could fire a bullet, Caxton shot him first, killing him. Hearing that the local military was closing in, the soldiers and the Lovelace associates quickly returned to Dutch's boat to travel back to their respective countries, finishing their mission.[24] Despite Grey Fox capturing Shue Yan, in the anime the CIA instead received jurisdiction over Shue Yan's custody afterward. Also in the anime, after his mission, Caxton went to Venezuela to make reciprocal amends with Roberta as well as accompanying two people whose family member got killed by Roberta years ago.[23]
Trivia[]
- During the 1969 flashback to the Vietnam War, it was shown that Caxton was a U.S. Army lieutenant, but more than two decades later, he only holds the rank of Major. A real-world U.S. military officer would hold the rank of at least a Colonel (if not higher) after so many years of service.
- In a popularity contest during the 10th manga collection release, Caxton ranked 29th with 25 votes.[25]
- In a popularity contest during the 12th manga collection release, Caxton ranked 37th with 31 votes.[26]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chapter 69: El Baile de la muerte Part 26
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Chapter 52: El Baile de la muerte Part 9
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Episode 25: Collateral Massacre
- ↑ Chapter 70: El Baile de la muerte Part 27
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Chapter 74: El Baile de la muerte Part 31
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Chapter 56: El Baile de la muerte Part 13
- ↑ Chapter 49: El Baile de la muerte Part 6
- ↑ Chapter 44: El Baile de la muerte Part 1
- ↑ Chapter 50: El Baile de la muerte Part 7
- ↑ Chapter 53: El Baile de la muerte Part 10
- ↑ Episode 26: An Office Man's Tactics
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Episode 28: Oversaturation Kill Box
- ↑ Chapter 57: El Baile de la muerte Part 14
- ↑ Chapter 58: El Baile de la muerte Part 15
- ↑ Episode 27: Angels in the Crosshairs
- ↑ Chapter 64: El Baile de la muerte Part 21
- ↑ Chapter 65: El Baile de la muerte Part 22
- ↑ Chapter 66: El Baile de la muerte Part 23
- ↑ Chapter 67: El Baile de la muerte Part 24
- ↑ Chapter 72: El Baile de la muerte Part 29
- ↑ Chapter 73: El Baile de la muerte Part 30
- ↑ Chapter 75: El Baile de la muerte Part 32
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Episode 29: Codename Paradise, Status MIA
- ↑ Chapter 76: El Baile de la muerte Part 33
- ↑ http://sundaygx.info/blacklagoon_contest/
- ↑ http://sundaygx.info/blacklagoon_contest_12/