Mercenary Guild
The Mercenary Guild is a loosely structured organization, which takes care of magic "hazmat" too minor to attract the attention of the Order of Merciful Aid or Paranormal Activity Division of local police force. The Guild has two divisions: administrative, which is located in the main Guildhouse in Atlanta, and merc, which consists of all of the mercenaries who actually do the work in the field. The individual mercenaries, called mercs, are employee-owners of the Guild: as long as they within the Guild, they own a tiny share in it. The admins may or may not be employee-owners, as some of them are employed on temporary basis.
Each merc is assigned a "zone", a small geographical area that is their territory. Mercs are grouped into "chains", according to their ability and location. A typical chain has 8-10 links.
The day-to-day Guild business takes place as follows:
1) The admin division receives a trouble call, which may come by phone, in person, or by some other means.
2) The admins evaluate the call, making sure that the Guild is authorized to take the job and that no other agency or individual have been simultaneously employed to handle the same problem. Mercs are a violent lot, and the primary function of the admin division is to keep detached body part count to a minimum. If the Guild is clear to proceed, the trouble call is logged in as a "gig".
3) The admins determine into which zone the gig falls and alert the mercenary assigned to that zone. If the merc declines the gig, the job is passed on to the next person in their chain. Occasionally, the job is too difficult for a single merc, and the "owner" of the gig may choose to team up with another merc. It is up to the individual mercs to determine how they want to split the bounty.
4) The merc performs the job and delivers proof to the admins. In cases where the job was done remotely, the person who has made the trouble call or the local police agency usually has to confirm that the problem has been resolved. The merc then collects the bounty, 30% of which goes to the Guild to pay for medical and dental insurance for the mercs, admin maintenance and salaries, lawyer fees, and other various expenses. Most mercs also contribute up to 10% of their bounty to their pension fund. Nobody has yet gotten rich enough to live in style on their pension, but it has kept a few retirees off the streets.
Prominent mercs
Solomon Red
Solomn Red is the Guildmaster. Born and raised in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, he spent eight years as a Navy Seal until he was honorably discharged due to a "personality disorder." Solomon embodies a hands-off leadership style and takes an active part in the function of the Guild only when something threatens the organization overall.
Mark
Mark ought to have a last name, but nobody remembers it. The few times he has to be indetified beyond his name, he is usually refered to as "Mark, the Corporate Asshole." Mark is the Guild's secretary. He has never met a rule he hasn't fallen in love with at the first sight. Usually Mark makes his appearance when some sort of ugly problem rears its odious head. Your paycheck is one thrid of what you think it should be? Go talk to Mark. Carlos suggested your mom was a good lay and you broke a chair over his head in the Guild hall? Go talk to Mark. Just sawed the head off the wrong saber-fanged wolf and customer is unhappy? Hey, Mark wants to talk to you.
Clerk
At least Mark got to keep his first name. The clerk is known only by his professional designation. This is nothing against him. Mercs tend to assign nicknames, and just so happens that when you say "the clerk", everyone mmediately knows the guy you mean. He is somewhere on the crossroads of thirty and fifty. His hair is dark. He is short, trim, and smiles easily. The clerk tends the counter in the Guildhall. Mercs see him at the start of the gig, when they get the job description ticket, and at the end of the gig, when they turn in to fill out capture tickets to claim their bounty. The clerk knows everything about everyone.