Billy Hawkins

Jason's sniper in HotZone 4.

Billy's Diary

My name is Billy Hawkins and I'm from Franklin, Tennessee. I'm 33 years old, I stand 5 feet 10 inches tall and I weigh 155 pounds. My build is lean and strong and I'm not too easy to pick out of a crowd 'cuz I look like a fair amount of other folks.

I grew up shootin' guns. My dad Edward (ex-US Army Ranger and retired cop) was always workin' with guns and thought it'd be a good idea to teach me how to use one as a youngin', so he did. I took to 'em like a duck to water and we used to practice shootin' together as much as we could.

While Pops was fine with shootin' the same damn targets at the same damn distance most the time, I got bored with that. I kept tryin' to shoot things from a wider distance every time I'd go out and practice, and I'd hit those farther out targets pretty damn square in the middle every time.

Pops was impressed with my skills and started callin' me “Billy the Kid”, “Wild Bill” and “Hawkeye”. He also said I ought to sign up for the military when I finished high school and maybe even be a Ranger like him.

I enlisted for four years in the Army after high school and while all the PT kicked my ass at first, I got used to it and grew to enjoy it after some time. Just after I made it to PFC, I wanted to test myself more, so I signed up for Ranger School.

Ranger School made Army PT look like a walk in the park, but I got through it without dyin'. As a Ranger, my long-range shootin' skills came into play during my overseas tours. I was a sniper in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, with my longest recorded kill being about a half a mile away – there've been longer since, now that I've got access to better rifles.

After a year as a private and three years as a Ranger (promoted to Specialist), I decided to re-enlist and sign up for Delta Force. I figured my snipin' skills could be useful on more troublesome operations than shootouts in the desert, and I was right. I saw a lot of shit that I can't even talk about!

With lots of dicey operations under my belt and four more years of service time to Uncle Sam on the books, I left the military and became an independent contractor working for the highest bidder at the age of 26.

I did that for a couple years before meeting up with the current cell and I made some lifelong friends on those adventures. If I ever need to get some info on a job goin' down, call in an airstrike, or have someone to go drinkin' all night with while playin' Texas Hold 'em and cussin' at each other in Norwegian, Uncle Derwood's got my back.

As far as advantages and disadvantages go, I'm a sniper and I shoot very well. I'm very capable of surviving some serious shit and I've got a high pain threshold – Ranger and Delta Force training wasn't fun and I made it through without too much suffering. I'm able to scarf down MREs and drink some mighty foul liquor without my stomach givin' me hell, so it must be made of cast iron or somethin'.

I'm good at keepin' a level head when shit's goin' down, though not as much when nothin' much is goin' on – I get antsy. Too much downtime leads to compulsive gamblin' and drinkin', so it's good to keep me workin' and busy. I've also been known to win a fistfight or two during a night of heavy drinkin'.

I do well with shootin' 'cuz I know I need to slow down my breathin' and my movement so I can focus on what's on the other end of my scope and squeezin' the trigger.

My physical attributes aren't too out of control – I'm strong, but not burly; I'm fast, but not speedy; I'm smart enough to stay alive when shit's going down but I can't recite any Shakespeare for ya; I am resilient though. I can take a punch or a graze from a bullet and keep movin' forward.

I like to travel pretty light aside from my rifle and ammo. I keep my kevlar gear, a change of clothes, some MREs (I got a taste for 'em in the military), and a canteen in my pack. I also keep a utility knife in my pocket when I need it.