Simon Thorfinn

Simon Thorfinn had it all; a large, beautifully furnished house overlooking the ocean, the sports car he had always wanted and a prosperous independent brokerage firm with his business partner Rolando Cruz. Life was a breeze with plenty of simoleons in the bank and several prospects for love among the single ladies of Sunset Valley and most nights were spent fine dining or lying on the beach looking up the stars with a lucky lady. Things went well for him for nearly three years and even then it seemed nothing could go wrong. What he failed notice; too busy to notice in fact, was that Rolando spent long hours at work, sending emails to his “clients” and getting more distracted by the day.

When Simon’s accountant notified him of a negative balance on one of their accounts, he sent for Rolando and questioned him about the account; one that his name was attached to. After ducking and dodging, Rolando finally admitted that he had taken on a new client without consulting him; a local man named Harvey Rabbit.

Following the man’s instructions had made some poor investments that had not only lost the initial investment, but what was in Rolando’s business account as well. Simon, not knowing the whole truth, told Rolando to drop Harvey Rabbit as a client and figured it was done and over with, but he didn’t know that Rolando didn’t have that option. He watched for the next few days as his partner became increasingly troubled, and often disappeared during the afternoon; then stayed late and disappeared in the evening as well; so he decided to follow him.

Simon watched him walk down to the beach and saw several men already there waiting for his partner. Many minutes passed and a heated argument ensued and when Rolando returned to the office, he was even more flustered than his usual, even going as far as to put his head down on his desk for several minutes. Simon became concerned for Rolando; having been partners for three years and friends for five before that.

Having seen their faces and knowing one of their names, he decides to check with the Sunset Valley police department to find out all he can about these men; when he comes out, he is not happy. Harvey Rabbit is the leader of the small criminal band known as “Tri-Fecta” for having three members; the other two men he saw. Knowing now what kind of trouble Rolando is in, he asks the man for the truth.

At first Rolando was hesitant to say anything, not wanting to have Simon involved. His partner was adamant and already was involved and angrily demanded to know the truth of the situation. Finally he gave in and told Simon that the initial investment was half a million simoleons; and he had been hoping for a quick return. Even though he had followed Harvey’s instructions perfectly, Rolando was still at fault for losing his money and demanded repayment. He had patently refused to pay at first, but when his life was threatened (and not so subtly); the amount taken from the business account became merely a deposit on what was owed. When Rolando disappeared and Harvey Rabbit dropped by at Simon’s home for a “friendly” visit with the man who, by his estimation, had inherited Rolando’s debt since he had apparently skipped town without paying.

Though Simon flatly refuse to pay the debts of his former partner,  Harvey wasn’t listening, and insisted forcefully that not only did Simon owe him the balance of the debt; but now had interest on top of it, “for all his trouble” Simon was at a dead-end, unable to pay what Harvey expected; even in a reasonable time frame. 

Later, through an associate it was Harvey who suggested that perhaps a deal could be reached. He told Simon of the Last Sim Standing competition; telling him it was his choice; but to not consider it for long. The veiled threat wasn’t lost on Simon and he soon realized he had little choice in the matter. Once he had agreed, Harvey spoke of taking what capital Simon could scrape together in the week before the tournament and place a bet on him; which is likely to have some exorbitant odds. With Harvey gone for the time being, Simon took a trip his favorite spot, gazing out upon the agitated water of the pond and wondered how he will be able to compete against the men and women of the competition; ones who likely already have training in hand-to-hand combat.

His brain kept turning over with thoughts of what was to come, he becomes more and more resolved to do his best, and should the worst happens, at least he will die with some dignity; not buried in an unmarked grave in a lonely field somewhere.