Richard Naismith

Richard Naismith (technical Holy Vesir) (2nd October 2002- ) is the taken name of a rogue clone progenated by the Apprentice codenamed the Claw. He currently functions as a professional thief and con artist of the highest ability, aided by his superhuman intellectual capacities. He was married to Sarah Naismith until her assassination. First appeared in the final chapters of The Florence Menagerie.

Origins
During what has now come to be known as the Florence Mission the five Apprentices were attacked at their hotel by the Menagerie of Fear, a criminal organization consisting solely of human-animal hybrids, who were their targets for the mission. The Claw was captured and taken back to their headquarters in the catacombs beneath the city. It was revealed to him that the Menagerie had been experimenting with the cloning process for months, and that these creations were the source of strange sightings around Florence. The Claw was attached to the cloning machine and successfully produced a identically-aged duplicate (Naismith, originally named GC-193). Unfortunately for the Menagerie, he was born without any of his host's genetic abilities, apart from superhuman intellect gained from a small malfunction. The Claw later escaped with the aid of his Ministry friend, Cejer Smith, who died while doing so. After the principal members of the Menagerie recovered from the surprise attack, they discovered GC-193 naked and alone, hiding by a tomb. After discovering he had not attained the Claw's superhuman capabilities, they left him on the streets of Florence to die. He was found by a young waitress named Maria Androzetti and was taken back to her apartment. She assumed he had been the victim of some form of assault common around this time of night in the city. Upon realizing himself he began both his criminal exploits and a relationship with his saviour. As there were little opportunities for rich thievery, he joined a gang, acting as a messenger. Upon killing a target later discovered to be a prominent French diplomat, he fled the country for England. His former lover sank into depression after he left and, while giving birth to his son Paolo, died.

Sarah Naismith and after
After making to Britain a wealthy young man, the now-called Richard Naismith began a highly organized pattern of cons and robberies, ranging from self-sustaining bankers to perverted members of the Royal Family. A notable activity of his was the Great Harrods Scam, a con where Naismith was successful in making a developer believe that substantial sources of minerals were beneath Harrods. This con was also memorable for being a double-bluff of the highest proportions. A corrupt police inspector was able to subdue Naismith in Harrods, but was later arrested alongside the developer for fraud and extortion. This grift gained Naismith a large amount of money (somewhere around 103 million pounds), and began his criminal reign.

After being forced to leave London briefly to his warped noriety over the Great Harrods Scam, Naismith came to Spain, hoping to have a however long break from crime. Unable to resist his urges, he expertly lifted the entire Van Gogh collection from an exhibition at El Prado. At the museum he met Sarah James, a famous artist, who was instanly smitten with him. They married three months later and moved to New York City. He never met her family, though successfully stole a priceless pendant from her senile aunt. In December, 2003, Sarah was killed by official decree of the OmniRace Ministry, and was shot in the head. She died instantly. It was later revealed in a post-mortem that she was pregnant with a girl. Richard Naismith's current whereabouts are unknown, as he disappeared after the death of his wife.

Relationships
Richard Naismith has had two prominent relationships: Maria Androzetti (died while giving birth to Naismith's son Paolo) and Sarah Naismith (died by assassination carried out by the Ministry). In an alternate future, his wife was not killed and gave birth to Alex Sarah Naismith in early 2005. He currently assumes his daughter is missing in this alt.un as she was captured by the Menagerie in 2023. She is a member of the organization in this alternate timeline and is married to its leader, Xerxes Kentauriis, which makes him a technical Holy Vesir.